Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Dario

Ten minutes later, the fever breaks.

The crippling lust fades as my knot slips from Alessio's body. I've never experienced an alpha rut before, and I feel weak and foolish. My muscles are mush. My brain is still groggy. I'm mortified that I lost complete control with Alessio.

I claimed Alessio.

I squeeze my eyes closed, panic washing through me. How do I fix this situation? What we just did with each other is a fucking disaster. I can't claim Alessio. The kid wants to murder Valentino. And even if he wasn't on a murderous vendetta against Valentino, I have no desire to have an omega or a kid right now. If I did secretly want that, Alessio isn't the omega I'd pick. He's too obnoxious. Mouthy.

Hell bent on murdering my best friend.

Was this some sort of trap to get to Valentino? Could Alessio be that devious? Was he acting just now? Was I the only one truly lost in the moment? Paranoia shifts through me as I lie there with Alessio in my arms. Or was this real for him too and now he'll become needy. Clingy?

I'm jogged from my thoughts as Alessio suddenly hauls off and punches my chest as hard as he can. Scowling, I glare at him as he rolls off the bed. He grabs his jeans from the floor and slams into the little bathroom. I get off the bed and I quickly dress. I sit on the edge of the bed, waiting for Alessio to come out of the bathroom. I rub my chest where he hit me, scowling. What was that for? Is he going to pretend he didn't want what just happened between us?

After about five minutes he comes out of the bathroom. There's tissue stuck to the bite mark on his throat. His face is pale as he dresses quickly. His hands are trembling and he won't look at me. It's obvious he's as upset as me about the circumstances, so I'm certain now that he wasn't trying to trap me just to get to Valentino.

"Look―" I begin.

"Save it," he snaps. "What's done is done."

"Alessio, you're probably―"

"Pregnant?" He growls. "Yeah, I know. We need to get back to the city for many reasons, not least of which so I can get a morning after pill."

I'm relieved to know he's at least trying to get ahead of the problem. "What happened, it was a mistake." My voice is gruff. "You went into heat and I just lost control."

He swallows hard. "I'm well aware of what happened. We both lost control. Now, can we please just drop it? It's not like we haven't fucked each other before."

I frown at how he's trying to play down what happened. "Yeah, but this was different. I gave you my bite."

"You think I don't know that?" He reaches up and rips the tissue off the bite mark. His face twitches as he balls the tissue in his fist. "I can't worry about that now. I'll handle the pregnancy first and figure the rest out later." He leaves the room and goes out the back door of the kitchen.

I use the restroom and then follow him outside. I find him around the back of the small structure. There's an open carport at the back of the lot. Tires are piled inside of it along with some rusted barrels. There's also a dirt bike, and Alessio is tinkering with it as I reach him.

I crouch beside him. "Do you think this runs?"

"Not at the moment." He pokes at a thin green wire that's flopping loose. "It looks like the ground wire came loose from the stator. But there could be a ton of other issues as well."

I frown. "You know about dirt bikes?"

He shrugs. "I was always interested in them, but my father wouldn't let me near them. Still, I read a bunch of magazines and watched stuff online."

"Huh." He seems like such a refined type of guy, it's hard to picture him interested in dirt bikes. I wouldn't think he'd want to get grime under his perfectly polished nails. "Can you fix it and get it running?"

He grimaces and stands. "I don't know. Like I said, I've never owned a motorcycle of any kind."

"So then you don't think you can fix it?" I stand too, studying his tense face.

"I don't know, Dario." He sounds exasperated. "I want to get the hell out of here as much as you. It's just none of my knowledge is hands on."

"Can't hurt to try, right?"

He rakes a hand through his silky blond hair, looking unsure. "I guess. But I don't have any tools and I don't see any lying around."

"What kind of tools do you need?"

He grimaces. "At least a screwdriver."

I nod. "Would a knife do? There's one in the house. I used it to open the soup yesterday."

He bites his bottom lip. "I guess I could try using that."

"If you can't fix the bike, we'll have to hoof it down the mountain. That'll take forever." I finger the rusty handle bars of the dirt bike. "Obviously, Carlo's is looking for us right now. Getting back to the city undiscovered, and on foot, will be no easy task."

"No, he'll be watching the roads for sure. He'll want to deal with us up here. He's not going to risk us getting back to the city."

"Exactly," I say. "He can't afford you telling your people what he tried. That's a death sentence for him. Since the two alphas he brought with him are dead, he'll have brought in new guys by now. He didn't want many of his guys knowing what he was up to, but catching us will probably trump that. He can't let us survive."

"No," he murmurs. "He'll stop at nothing to prevent us returning to Los Demonios."

I rub my jaw, my nails rasping against the stubble. "We don't actually have to get all the way back to the city. We just need to get to a phone."

"There's a small gas station half way down the mountain. They have a pay phone."

"Yeah?" I perk up. "Then let's do everything we can to get there. The sooner, the better. Wait here. I'll go get that knife."

I head back to the cabin, and hurry inside. I grab the utensil off of the counter and turn to leave the cabin. As I do that I catch movement outside the cabin. My heart stutters as I see a black SUV driving up the long dirt road that leads to the cabin.

"Fuck," I hiss under my breath. The vehicle isn't the kind of SUV you might see in the mountains usually. It's way too clean and has expensive rims. Everything in me screams it's Carlo's guys.

There's no back door on the cabin, and I'm afraid the vehicle is too close for me to slip out the door without them seeing me. I try not to panic as the vehicle rolls closer. Most of the windows in the cabin are small and facing toward the road. Gritting my teeth, I hurry into the little bathroom and I size up the window in the room. It's facing the back of the property, and bigger than some of the windows in the main room. But the window is not a big window by any means. It's tall and narrow, and I'm a big guy. I don't think I can squeeze through that opening, and getting stuck half way would be disaster.

I go back out into the main room and then back to the kitchen. The only way I'm getting out of the cabin is through the main door. I watch the SUV as it continues down the bumpy road toward us. My only hope of getting out of the cabin without being spotted is in the fact that there's a row of spruce pines that line the road. The occupants of the SUV will lose view of the cabin for a few minutes when it passes behind them.

Sweat breaks out on my face as I watch the SUV approaching that blind spot. I'll have to time it just right, but that blind spot is really my only hope. I hold my breath as the SUV disappears behind the row of pine trees, and then I bolt like a bat out of hell toward the back of the property. I don't know if Alessio is aware of the approaching SUV. As I reach the carport, I can see he isn't. He's kneeling down by the bike, oblivious to the danger rapidly approaching.

"Alessio," I call out.

He looks up, frowning.

"Incoming," I growl and I slide to a stop beside him. "Carlo's men are driving up to the cabin."

"What?" He widens his eyes, obvious panic glittering in the green depths.

"There's no time to work on the bike. We have to hide, now." As I speak I move past him toward the thick wall of pine trees.

"We're just going to leave the bike?" he rasps, stumbling to his feet. "It's our only quick way down the mountain."

"If we're dead, the bike is no use to us."

"But…" He looks muddled.

I move back toward him, eyeing the road nervously. "We'll double back if we can. But right now, we need to run, Alessio. They're gonna see the broken glass on the back door, the couch, and the food and know someone was there. They'll probably know it was us. We have to get as far away from the cabin as possible."

"Fuck," he says harshly, scowling.

I grab his arm. "Come on. We need to go now."

He pushes my hand off. "I just need a few minutes to get the wire attached."

"There's no time," I growl.

"I should at least try." His eyes shimmer with frustration.

"And if the wire isn't the only problem, then we're fucked. Be smart, Alessio. We need to go and come back later if possible."

Just leave him.

That's obviously what I should to do. Especially since he's being obstinate. Why am I risking my life trying to convince him to come with me? His survival isn't attached to mine. I don't have to wait for him. I didn't even have to tell him Carlo's men were coming. Why did I do that? I'd already be hidden in the woods if I hadn't stopped to get Alessio to come with me. Every second I waste trying to convince him to come with me slashes the odds of me surviving.

He grabs the knife from my hand, and he kneels next to the bike again.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I rumble, panic rising in my throat at the sound of tires crunching on the road out front.

"Trying to save us." His hands are shaking so bad he almost drops the knife, but he manages to scrape off some of the green plastic that covers the wire. Next he attaches the bare wire to a small metal part.

"Goddamn it," I mutter, torn between leaving him and staying. I don't understand why I can't seem to abandon him. But my feet feel glued to the ground as I stand over him. I feel an overwhelming urge to protect him, even as my instincts scream I should leave.

Once the wire is attached, he stands, breathing hard. "I'm gonna try and start it now."

"Do you even have the key?" I ask, glancing uneasily at the cabin.

"It doesn't use a key" he says breathlessly. "Most dirt bikes don't. It has a kick starter and a kill switch." As he speaks, he straddles the bike. He places his foot squarely on the kick pedal, and says, "Come on you mother fucker, start."

I have no faith the bike will start. Fear surges inside of me and I take a step toward the forest. "You're a fool, Alessio. I don't want to die with you."

"Then go." He pushes down hard on the pedal, and nothing happens. He tries it a few more times, and still nothing. Swearing under his breath he tries again, and the bike sputters to life. It instantly splutters out again, but the excited look on Alessio's face stops me from leaving.

I once more look to the cabin, hope of survival sinking. I know it's a matter of seconds before those guys come out back. They probably heard the motorbike starting up. We're fucking doomed and I'm still unable to do the smart thing and just leave Alessio. I study his young face as he grips the handle bars tight, gritting his teeth. Something inside of my chest aches painfully. I don't want to die and I don't want to see him die, but I can't leave him.

"Come on, baby." He pumps the starter pedal hard two times and the bike starts. He tweaks something on the handlebar and the bike roars loudly. A plume of blue smoke puffs out of the tailpipe, and I cough, waving it away from my face.

The surprise on Alessio's face is obvious and then he grins at me. We're probably about to be murdered in cold blood and the idiot is grinning like a fool because he got the damn bike started.

"Get on," he yells over the noise of the bike. I hesitate and he scowls. "Dario, get the fuck on the bike."

"They'll shoot us as we pass them," I say hoarsely.

"They'll shoot us for sure if we stay." He revs the engine impatiently. "You have two seconds to get on the bike, or I'm leaving you behind."

I have no reason to doubt he'll leave me. Cursing, I relent and climb behind him on the bike. I wrap my arms around his slim waist, and he revs the engine again. The blue smoke once more puffs from the back of the bike. If Carlo's guys don't shoot us as we drive by, with our luck the bike will malfunction and drive us off a cliff.

He presses the gas and the bike jerks forward. We almost tip over because neither one of us has any idea how to ride a fucking motorbike. But Alessio somehow manages to keep the bike upright, and we speed toward the front of the cabin. The smell of gas and burning oil fill my nostrils as we roar toward the dirt road.

Just as we pass the cabin, two men in black suits come running out of the structure, guns drawn. Alessio guns the motor and the bike speeds past them. I can't hear anything over the roar of the engine, but I fully expect to feel a bullet rip through my body. I should have run into the woods and let Alessio distract them by driving off on the motorbike. Instead, I'm clinging precariously to him as we speed down the bumpy dirt road that leads away from the cabin.

When a bullet doesn't tear through me, I glance back over my shoulder. I see the SUV in the distance, dust churning from it's tires as it follows us. The road is uneven, and we're able to go faster than the big SUV over the ruts and dips. Still, our balance is precarious, and we almost tip the bike many times. When I glance back at the SUV, they've gained ground.

"They're following us and they're closing in," I yell.

Alessio nods and speeds up. The wind whips my face and I hug Alessio's slim body harder. I'm still in shock he managed to get the bike running. It was foolish to keep trying, but he succeeded. I don't want to think about what would have happened if he'd failed. Those guys didn't hesitate to shoot at us just now. They're not interested in capturing us. They're definitely trying to kill us.

We pull far enough ahead of the SUV that I lose sight of them. I don't want to get my hopes up, but thanks to Alessio, we may actually make it down the hill alive. When we reach the main road, Alessio shocks me when he turns to go further up the mountain instead of down it.

"What are you doing?" I growl.

"They'll expect us to go down. I'm trying to throw them off." His husky voice carries to me on the wind. He leans forward as the bike races up the road, carrying us even further from the city. "Trust me, Dario," he calls out.

Trust me?

Gritting my teeth, I hold back my angry retort. Asking me to trust him is asking a bit too much. Our relationship, so far, hasn't been based on anything even close to trust. We're working together purely out of necessity. Two heads are better than one in a situation like this. But seeing as he's the one driving, I have no option other than to hold on while he does what he thinks is best.

I also have to acknowledge his move is probably smart. The guys chasing us have probably already contacted anyone working with them who's positioned further down the hill. They'll no doubt be waiting to intercept us on the main road. I long to get off this fucking mountain, but I'll have to be patient for now.

At one point, Alessio turns onto a side road. Eventually, he pulls over, coming to a stop beneath a big pine tree. He cuts the engine and groans, "That was too fucking close."

"That was a huge risk." I get off the bike, stretching my back side to side.

"Yeah, but it worked." He pats the fiberglass side panel of the bike. "Now we have a way to get to that gas station quickly."

"If the bike keeps running."

He grimaces. "Well, yeah. I think it should. Either way, they'd have picked us off easily if we'd gone down the mountain just now."

"Now they know we're on a dirt bike. That might make it easier for them to spot us."

"We'd have been sitting ducks on foot as well." He gets off the bike and stands near me.

The breeze flutters his blond hair, and I inhale his honied scent. As I study him, that weird aching need to shield him comes over me again. Are these protective feelings because I gave him my bite? That's the only thing that makes sense. Other than Valentino and his family, I don't tend to feel it's my duty to shield anyone else.

He asks softly, "Why'd you warn me?"

"What do you mean?"

He shrugs. "You could have easily just disappeared into the woods and I'd have been none the wiser."

I hold his curious gaze, unwilling to be honest. "I don't know."

He distractedly touches the bite mark on his throat. "Is it because of this?"

I blink at him but I don't respond. There's no way I'm showing him any vulnerability he could use against me.

"Is that why you couldn't just leave me earlier?" He narrows his eyes. "It is, isn't it?"

"You're barking up the wrong tree," I murmur.

"I don't think I am." He gives a humorless laugh. "Don't become attached to me, Dario. It won't be reciprocated."

I curl my lip. "Your ego is huge as usual. I'm not attached to you. My decision to stay while you worked on the bike was pure logic. I knew having the dirt bike would increase my odds of survival. That's the only reason I didn't leave you behind."

"I hope that's true."

"It is."

He once more touches the bite on his neck. "If I am pregnant, once I've gotten rid of it, you should pay for me to have plastic surgery to have your bite removed."

I shrug. "That's fine with me."

His eyes flicker. "Is it?"

"Of course. Why would I want you to wear my bite?"

"Because alphas can be irrationally possessive. They fight over omegas they don't even want because they don't like sharing."

"I won't fight for or over you, Alessio. Bite or no bite, you mean Valentino harm, which makes you my mortal enemy."

A muscle works in his cheek. "I'm glad we're on the same page."

"We definitely are." I move past him toward the bike. His scent is intoxicating and his eyes so piercing, it makes it difficult to keep up the disinterested act. He must never discover that I do indeed feel territorial about him. I resent the idea he wants my bite removed, so that he can attract other alphas. I really don't want to feel territorial about him, but the jealousy is there. "We should wait for dark to make our way to the gas station."

"There's no need. This dirt road curves up ahead and then runs parallel to the main road." He climbs on the bike as he speaks. "It lets out about a half mile before the gas station."

"Okay." I get on the bike, slipping my arms around his waist. I rest my hands on his flat stomach, and the thought of him fat with child comes to me. My dick throbs at the image in my head. I grit my teeth, pushing away those foolish thoughts. If he's pregnant, that child will never be born. After we get to the gas station, I'll probably never have any dealings with Alessio again, unless he comes for Valentino.

And if he's foolish enough to do that, bite or no bite, I'll be forced to end his life.