26. Roman

Chapter 26

Roman

I flinch instinctively when I catch sight of the all-too-familiar omega among the members of Rodrick's pack. I'd memorized every detail I could glean from the blurry photo I'd been given before we'd been sent on our search. It's no wonder I'd mistaken Oliver for him; they do look similar from a distance.

I mop the sweat from my brow as we end the volleyball match in a draw. Despite the lack of a firm outcome, everyone looks satisfied, and wolves from both sides are chatting with one another excitedly over the feats of athleticism they'd witnessed. Among the crowd, cheering on the wolves we'd been playing against, was Dodger.

This time, there's no doubt in my mind that it's really him. Even this far removed from the hunt we'd been sent on to find him, my wolf was still keeping alert for the target we'd never captured.

"What's wrong?" Oliver asks, catching hold of my wrist as I stare off into the crowd. He'd come to watch the final portion of the match with Rodrick in tow. The older alpha is standing nearby, chatting amiably with one of his packmates and seems completely unbothered by Dodger's presence.

Of course he's not bothered by him. Why would he be? He doesn't know about Dodger, he doesn't know what we know about him.

"It's Dodger," I say, my voice low, doing my best not to alert anyone other than Oliver.

"Dodger? The omega you were sent to find? Are you sure?" Oliver follows my gaze and looks for the other omega. "We should tell Rodrick what we know about him. If it really is Dodger then he needs to know what he's done."

"Tell me what?" Rodrick approaches, his curiosity clearly piqued by the sound of his name.

"There's a wolf among your pack that may not be who you think he is," Oliver says carefully.

Rodrick frowns at us and shakes his head. "I think you must be mistaken," he says with a firm shake of his head. "Everyone in my pack is known to me. They're friends or relatives. We haven't let outsiders join us since I was young."

"Then what do you know of that omega?" I ask, gesturing toward Dodger who is happily talking with several other wolves.

"Him? That's my younger brother." Rodrick lets out a short barking laugh. "Dodge, come here!"

The omega in question comes trotting toward us without hesitation but stops short when he catches sight of me.

"What's going on?" he asks, looking at Rodrick with uncertainty in his voice. "Did you need something?"

"Why don't you explain what you've been up to lately?" Rodrick says, gesturing to Oliver and me. "Because our lovely hosts seem to think that you're not who you say you are."

"R-right..." He rubs the back of his neck and looks away sheepishly. "I-I mean… So I went on a little bit of a trip recently. With a bunch of friends. It was just supposed to be a short-term road trip thing. Not a big deal. But things kinda got out of hand. I got separated from my friends."

"You mean the irresponsible, unreliable, layabouts ditched you so they could avoid getting caught by the police," Rodrick corrects him.

"It's not like we did anything wrong," Dodger continues without arguing back. "We were just messing around. Someone threw a break, broke a window, next thing I knew the police were coming and my friends were gone. So I wound up in jail until I could get Rodrick to send bail money. But, well…"

"But then he was stranded in another state with no way home," Rodrick continues, looking up at us. "So I told him to find his own way back. I'd hoped he'd learn his lesson and call me in a few days asking me to forgive him and to come pick him up. Instead…"

"Instead, I found a pack that had this really sweet set-up and were more than willing to take in a poor, abandoned omega that had nowhere else to go," Dodger explains. "And I was pissed at Rodrick for not coming to get me, so I decided I'd stay there for a while until I figured out what I was going to do."

Dodger looks up at me carefully. "I didn't do anything wrong. I was just hanging out there and didn't want to cause any trouble. But one of the pack elders took a liking to me. Like a lot… a creepy amount. I kept telling him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't listening to me. I tried to avoid him, but he came up with ways to be around me and get me alone. Then one day he tried to kiss me, had me pinned in a corner and everything. The only thing that stopped him from doing more was…was you coming in the room to ask him a question."

Dodger looks at me as he speaks. "I managed to slip away when he turned to speak with you. I knew I'd gotten lucky, and I needed to get out of there. So I took the first opportunity to douse my scent and run."

"He called me from a truck stop the next morning," Rodrick explains. "I picked him up and brought him home immediately. And from what he's just said, you must've been from the pack he fled."

I nod slowly. I have no evidence to corroborate his story. Nothing but his word against that of an elder I'd trusted for my entire life. But I can sense no lie from him, and given that I was willing to turn my back on the elders and their way of doing things, I can't help but question how much I truly trusted any of them.

"We were sent to find you," I explain. "We'd been told that you'd sold extremely sensitive information to the hunters and that you were to be brought back to face judgment. It was during our hunt for you that we met Oliver."

Dodger grits his teeth and spits in the dirt. "That old bastard just wanted to make sure no one would believe me if I told them what he'd done. What he'd tried to do…"

"So, does that answer your question?" Rodrick asks, looking at me pointedly. "This isn't going to be a source of conflict for us, will it?"

I swallow the lump in my throat as I catch myself throwing away the final scrap of loyalty I had to my old pack. I may never know the truth, at least not without any shadow of doubt. All I can do is trust that Dodger and Rodrick are telling the truth and move forward with my life. The life that I have with Oliver and the others.

That's right. That's all that matters now. Whatever happened in the past, whatever orders I'd been given, none of it matters anymore. All that matters is my omega and our family.