Crash, page 4
But this was different. The past was behind him now. The road ahead stood open and the scent of the trees, and the life teeming within them, tickled his nose with every new turn of the road.
Axel didn’t say a word. After they finished their breakfast, he tossed the empty boxes in the back and scrunched in his seat for a nap. His puffy cheek rested against the window, the sun shining in and lighting up his flame red hair. The cut on his lip had popped open and a little smudge of blood colored his pink lips red.
Ben kept his eyes on the road. He willed his damn heart to stop sputtering like that, and his groin to calm the fuck down. The other wolf wasn’t interested in him. Not romantically or in a friendly capacity. But how could the omega stop a feeling he couldn’t control? A feeling that chewed on his mind ever since they were in high school.
He loved Axel Cross.
The alpha should be his mate, but Axel didn’t agree.
That wasn’t the most pressing issue. How the hell was the omega supposed to explain he wasn’t going to Baton Rouge? Oh, and when was Axel going to tell him why he’d tagged along in the first place? It wasn’t Magnus’s idea. Was the alpha just trying to skip out on paying Tommy Malone? Or was it something worse?
Probably criminal, Ben thought, and hoped Axel hadn’t stashed drugs in his car. The smaller wolf put up with a lot of Axel’s eccentricities but trafficking was too much.
They reached Louisville by midday.
Axel blinked and yawned as they drove into the city. The cheek that’d been leaning against the window was pink, and he rubbed it tentatively. “Why are you stopping?” he asked, as Ben pulled up to a promising looking fast food joint. If they were in Kentucky, they may as well have fried chicken.
“Several reasons. It’s lunchtime and I’m hungry. Also, I need gas, and I’m sick to fuck of driving. Oh, and I need to piss.”
The alpha glanced at Ben, his bottom lip dropped open slightly.
The omega forced himself to smile. “What did you expect me to say? I saw a hot guy on the side of the road and decided to hit that?”
Axel rolled his eyes and opened the car door. His long legs stretched out in front of him, and Ben heard the taller wolf’s bones creak as he stood up. Right. He’d gotten in a fight with those were-cats less than twelve hours ago. The omega only saw what those asshole’s had done to Axel’s face. His body might be in worse condition.
“Fine. We’ll get what we need. I’ll drive next.”
Ben looked at the late summer sun. Sweat beaded on his brow in the heat, and he shook his head. “No. We’re going to sit down and eat like civilized people. We have a good six hour lead if you’re afraid Tommy’s gonna send goons after you.”
Axel narrowed his eyes into dangerous, golden slits. The look was somewhat upset by the alpha shaking out his feet like they’d fallen asleep. “Do you think I’m scared of that shithead or his goons?”
The omega was treading on dangerous ground, and he knew it. But it was difficult to think of the wolf standing in front of him as an unpredictable criminal when they used to spend the night at each other’s houses.
“Why’d you skip town to get away from him then? Oh, wait. Is this your way of asking me out after all these years? I’m flattered, but a simple phone call would’ve–”
Axel grabbed Ben by the front of his shirt. The omega briefly thanked the moon he’d gone with a button up and not a T-shirt. The alpha couldn’t stretch the collar on this one.
“Tommy Malone doesn’t scare me. Magnus doesn’t scare me. I skipped town for my own fucking reasons that have nothing to do with either of them.” His bottom lip trembled as he spoke, and a drop of blood, as bright as a ruby, appeared. Axel flicked it away with his tongue.
Ben stared at his former best friend and held his breath. The alpha might punch him. He looked mad enough to do just about anything at the moment. “What about your dad? Are you still scared of him?”
Motherfucker. Why did he have to say that? It was just like Ben’s dad always said, the smaller wolf couldn’t help stirring up trouble with his big mouth.
Axel’s eyes widened into great golden orbs. His jaw tensed, and the omega squeezed his eyes shut, ready to take the blow. No way in hell the alpha wouldn’t hit him for that.
“Fuck you, Ben,” Axel breathed and let go of the smaller wolf’s shirt.
The omega gaped. Axel didn’t hit him. Instead, the taller wolf’s lips tightened into a line and he pulled out a cigarette with trembling fingers. Was he actually still scared of Cross senior? The man had been in prison for years, and he was going to stay there for the rest of his life. But after what the bastard put Axel through, maybe he had a reason to fear the man. That didn’t explain the alpha scion skipping town though.
“Sorry,” Ben said. “I’ll get lunch. All the chicken you can eat, on me. I mean I’ll buy you all the chicken you can eat. Not that you can eat your chicken off me – unless you wanted to.”
The alpha took a long drag off his cigarette and frowned. “Yeah. Fine. Whatever.”
Shit. Maybe Ben was just as much of a fuck-up as Axel, only in a totally different way. The omega sighed and dug into the glove compartment, coming out with a little first aid box. He had to do something to make up for what he’d said.
“Come to the bathroom.”
The alpha cast him a sideways glance, and Ben rolled his eyes.
“Not for a blow-job, unless you really want one. I’d be game if you were, but I’ve got a first aid kit for your face.”
Axel took another drag and followed him.
When they got inside, the alpha leaned against the sink as Ben washed his hands and took out a couple of Band-Aids and alcohol pads. When they were kids, Axel always took Ben to the bathroom to clean up after Tommy or some other bully pushed the omega around too much. The smaller wolf returned the favor when Axel limped over to Ben’s house after Cross senior got through with the alpha scion.
Ben’s stomach turned, and he held the pad up to the alpha’s lip.
Axel flinched as it touched his skin, but he didn’t recoil or grab it from the omega’s hand. He stared down at Ben, and the smaller wolf tried to remember when they were still the same height – or at least closer to being the same height.
Elementary school, probably.
The alpha took a breath, and Ben moved to the smudge of dirt on Axel’s cheek. Then he placed the Band-Aid over the cut and leaned back. It wasn’t perfect, but it was all he could do.
Axel stared at the omega for a long moment, his tongue flicking out over his lip ring like he was trying to taste the air. Ben stared back, his expression completely natural for the first time in ages. God, he probably looked like a gaping idiot!
“Thanks,” Axel grumbled and stepped away, moving into a bathroom stall.
The omega stared at the gray door and sighed. What did he expect? A kiss? “I’ll go get lunch.”
Ben ordered them a couple full meals. The guy behind the counter looked behind the smaller wolf, like he was sure the food was for more than two people. The omega grinned. “We have quite the appetite. It’s a weight training thing.”
Coming from a scrawny shrimp like himself, Ben knew the guy wouldn’t buy it.
They settled at a table outside and dug into their greasy lunch. After they finished, Axel paid for the gas without a word and held out his hand for the keys.
The omega frowned at the little silver chain that held onto his freedom. This was the city when his escape was lost. If the alpha drove south instead of west, they’d be headed to Baton Rouge and not the shining freedom Ben pictured. No way a pack of Magnus’s choosing would be good for the omega. Hell, they were probably ready to haze him now.
The smaller wolf gripped the keys and shook his head. “I’ll drive. You look beat. Take another nap until we stop for the night.”
Axel tilted his head to the side, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and took a slow step closer to the omega.
Ben leaned against the driver side door. The car’s metal was hot on his back, and he swallowed hard. The alpha’s aroma hit him in waves. The scent of musky wolf and blood and a tinge of gas station soap filled his nose.
Axel’s hair, usually styled, hung limp across his forehead. He frowned at the omega. “What aren’t you telling me?” he growled.
“Is this about that time in high school? I was jacking off while looking at you from the window, but it was only because you were walking around your room naked. It wasn’t fair for you to do that, especially since you already knew I was gay. Wait. Did you do it on purpose to turn me on?”
Axel scowled and reached for the keys.
Ben slipped his hands behind his back and held his breath. The alpha wouldn’t reach back and get them, right?
Wrong.
Axel stepped closer. His chest pressed against Ben’s, and he slid his hands behind the smaller wolf. The taller man’s eyes shone, and his lips quirked from a frown to a smile. What the hell was the bastard playing at?
For a moment, the omega forgot they stood at a gas station in Kentucky and imagined them in his old bedroom instead. The smaller wolf dreamed of Axel in that position a hundred times before – only they were usually naked and the alpha wasn’t reaching for a set of car keys.
Ben felt the taller wolf’s heartbeat. It thumped faster, like his own, and Axel took a sharp breath. Sweat ran down the omega’s back, and he licked his lips. If the taller wolf got any closer they could – shit! This was going to get him hard.
“Give me the keys.”
Ben squeezed his mouth shut and shook his head. Anything he said would just feed the raging fire in his veins – the hot need building in his cock at Axel’s proximity. Why couldn’t the alpha kiss him and get it over with?
Right.
Not being gay was probably a big reason.
“I’m not fucking around,” the alpha growled, and it rumbled through his chest and into the smaller wolf’s.
“Too bad. I like fucking.”
A strong hand closed around Ben’s fist. But the alpha’s long fingers didn’t pry it open; instead he rubbed the skin softly, almost tenderly.
“You can give me the keys or I can take them,” Axel whispered.
Ben smiled. “Sounds kinky. I might like it.”
The alpha snorted and slipped a knee between the omega’s thighs. That could end badly if the bastard moved suddenly. Or he’d feel Ben’s growing stiffness and freak out – either way it wasn’t good.
“What the hell do you think I’m going to do? Drive us into a lake?”
“What? No! But Baton Rouge is–”
Axel shook his head. “Do you really think I’m that stupid? You’re not going to Baton Rouge.”
Ben tried to school the surprise on his face. “I’m not?”
“Please. You, of all people, aren’t going to follow Magnus’s orders. I’ll bet you couldn’t wait until he cut you loose. You’ve been acting like a prissy ass for years just to piss him off.”
“Maybe I am a prissy ass, as you put it. I’ve just been myself. We’re really not going to Baton Rouge?”
Axel looked at the hood of the car, his reddish lashes brushing the edge of his cheek. “No. We’re going someplace else. Now give me the fucking keys.”
The omega opened his palm and let the keys fall into the other wolf’s hands. “You gonna tell me where, or is this all part of our grand adventure?”
“I’ll tell you when we get there,” the alpha said and leaned back.
Ben grinned and walked to the passenger’s door, ignoring the glances from the locals. Whatever game Axel played was okay, as long as it got them away from Magnus.
6
Then
Faggot.
The word rang in Axel’s ears as he slipped around the side of the high school. Seemed like Tommy Malone learned his lesson in middle school, only to forget it a year and a half later. No one talked about Ben like that – least of all that fucking were-cat.
After his first tussle with Tommy, Cross senior taught Axel the one and only thing he ever needed to learn. If you’re going to do something bad, don’t get caught.
The alpha scion didn’t intend to.
“Hey. There you are. I got some nachos for you,” Ben said and balanced a tray on his arm. His clean polo shirt was tucked into his perfectly fitted jeans and a khaki jacket was thrown on top to keep the cold October air at bay. He looked more like someone ready to go golfing than a freshman in high school.
“Yeah. In a minute,” Axel said.
Ben peeked over the taller wolf’s shoulder. “Whatcha looking at? Tommy?”
Axel stepped forward so the smaller wolf wouldn’t smear cheese on his clothes. “None of your business.”
The omega raised a dark eyebrow. He did that a lot lately; he did a lot of things more lately. Like combing his hair neatly in place and cleaning his room without his ma yelling at him about it. Ben also started looking at fashion magazines, and he always wanted to stop by the thrift store to see if they ‘had anything good.’ And he started hanging out with a few girls. He’d never done that before.
At first Axel thought he was the only one to notice the change in the scrawny omega, but then other kids at school picked up the hint too. While Ben was never overly masculine, he still liked acceptable boy things: comics, action figures and playing video games to name a few. Now his interests were swaying while Axel’s stayed stubbornly the same – protect Ben.
One of these days, the omega might confess the truth to his family and the whole pack. The alpha scion’s gut clenched. The Singers might take it well, but Cross senior sure as hell wouldn’t. And if assholes like Tommy Malone were already calling names, Axel needed to put a stop to it once and for all.
At the moment, they stood downwind of the were-cat so he wouldn’t pick up their scent. Not that he’d think anything of it at school, but Axel wasn’t about to ruin a perfectly good ambush.
“Does this have something to do with P.E.?” Ben asked and lifted a chip to his mouth.
Give me the ball, faggot.
“No,” Axel said and scowled at his calloused knuckles. He would’ve beat the shit out of Tommy right there if Coach Stevens wasn’t around.
The omega nodded. “What did Tommy do?”
The alpha scion grabbed the box of nachos from Ben and chomped while he thought. “Who says he did anything? I just don’t like the bastard.”
“I heard he asked out Cary Lewis,” the omega said to the ground.
Axel stiffened. She was a human, but most of the guys at school had a thing for her. Probably because she was easy. “So?”
“So I thought maybe you liked her too.”
The taller wolf licked a glob of cheese from his fingers and frowned at the omega. Ben would think that. Axel had never given the smaller wolf a reason to doubt his sexuality. It was better that way.
The alpha scion shrugged. “Yeah?”
Ben didn’t meet his eyes, but he seemed to take that as a positive answer. The omega nodded and his fingers tightened on the tray – his knuckles whitening. “I’ll, uh, wait for you to finish. Good luck.”
A vice tightened around Axel’s heart, and he didn’t know why. Lying to Ben shouldn’t make him feel like that. “Good luck with what?”
The grin his best friend gave him threw the taller wolf off balance. “With Cary. She gives good head, or so I’ve heard.”
Axel swallowed the lump in his throat and shrugged. He didn’t give a shit about Cary Lewis’s blowjob abilities, but he didn’t say that to Ben. “Oh, great. I’ll meet you at the usual spot.”
With one last glance, the omega walked away.
Axel tore his eyes from his friend’s retreating back and stalked up to Tommy.
The were-cat started when Axel approached. “What the hell do you want, Cross?”
The wolf raised his fist in answer. Tommy’s nose was permanently crooked because of the first time Axel punched him. Maybe the wolf would have to break it again.
He hit the were-cat in the jaw, and the boy tumbled across the grass. He wasn’t as tall as Axel, but he was strong just the same. Typical of a were-creature. He barreled into the wolf, but Axel held his ground and slammed his fists into Tommy’s exposed back.
The were-cat screamed and crumpled into a pile on the grass. Pulling his foot back, the wolf kicked Tommy in the stomach. Again. And again. And once more for good measure.
Then he leaned down and grabbed a handful of the were-cat’s hair. “Next time, I’ll go after your balls. Make it so you can’t have kids. Got it?”
Tommy Malone wheezed and coughed, his eyes screwed up in pain. “Why?” he mumbled.
“Don’t call my best friend names,” Axel said and let the boy’s head fall to the ground.
He glanced around once before he stalked away. No one was watching. Perfect. The taller wolf headed to the bathroom and washed his hands, splashing water on his face, before he walked over to Ben. The less the omega knew what it took to protect him, the better.
Like usual, they walked home together after school. Axel shoved his hands in his pockets to keep off the fall chill, and Ben pulled out a pair of gloves.
“Leather. Can you believe it?”
“What? That leather gloves exist?”
Ben laughed. “No! That I got them from Goodwill. Two dollars! Well, that was on sale. And they were brand new.”
Axel bit back what he wanted to say – that his mom cared about shopping less than Ben did. At least the omega had hobbies, but why couldn’t it be a normal hobby that wouldn’t get his ass beaten to a bloody pulp?
“Uh, cool,” he muttered instead.
Ben grinned and kicked a pile of leaves. Thankfully, he changed the subject to something that didn’t skirt too close to the dangerous truth. Axel wanted to avoid that as long as he could.
Then the alpha scion’s hackles rose.
Cross senior stood on the front porch, a cigarette dangling out of his mouth. His eyes narrowed as they approached.
