12. CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 12

Nothing. They'd been gone for a week and they had a few medical supplies, but in all reality they had nothing. They hadn't even gotten very far as it had taken three full days to search Des Moines, where they probably could have spent a week, but since they had found little of anything, they'd decided it was time better spent trying to find a town that hadn't already been overrun.

"Maybe we should go to the next town," Wilder suggested when it was obvious there wasn't any store, medical clinic, or pharmacy that hadn't been picked clean.

"Have you heard from Westland, Anise, or Oxley?" Raman asked Coleson, who was in charge of their walkie talkie.

They had found them in Des Moines, but there had only been two. So they split up into two main teams. Each of those teams would split up, but search in the same general area in case help was needed. But the two main teams would only check in if necessary, which so far they hadn't.

"No," Coleson said.

In the town they were in, it had been decided Coleson would lead the team that would search businesses, while Westland's would check homes. Renzo doubted they'd found much, although they were discovering it was homes where they tended to have more luck. Not much, as it would only be a prescription–at most–worth of medications, or possibly a couple packages of bandages, but otherwise it was limited.

"Why don't you see if they've had any luck," Renzo suggested to Coleson. Then he pointed at a vet clinic. "While you're doing that, Wilder and I can see if there's anything in there we can use."

"Animal medicine?" Oxley asked, with his eyebrows rising nearly to his hairline.

"Actually, most animal medications are the same as human ones." He wasn't surprised Oxley hadn't known that since most people didn't. "Plus, they still use the same gauze and dressings as we do."

Coleson gave him a nod to go check it out while he got out the walkie talkie. Westland had just responded as he opened the door and led Wilder inside. The Omega whistled when they stepped into the first examination room and found the cupboards full of various bandages and lots of towels and other supplies. No medication, but he wouldn't expect it out in the open.

The world might have drastically changed, but the need to lock up certain medicines hadn't. "Let's see what else is in here to see if we'll need help carrying it all to the truck."

Wilder nodded and headed to the next examination room down the hall, while Renzo went in search of where they might have stored their medications. In the back were empty crates for various sized animals and a storage area that was also filled with medical supplies.

The next door he tried was locked. His heart sped up as he hoped that meant there were still drugs in there. Since he wasn't strong enough to open it on his own, he headed back to find Wilder nearly running into him when he'd stepped into the hallway, as the Omega had been so excited he'd been practically running to find him.

"Every room is stocked with stuff," Wilder exclaimed.

"The supply room is too," Renzo told him. "And I found a locked door. I think it's the medicine closet. The only reason they would have locked it is if it had medication in it."

Wilder grabbed his hand and tugged Renzo after him. "Come on. We have to get the others."

In his delight over finally finding a decent amount of medical supplies, he hadn't thought about what it would look like when they came out of the clinic basically holding hands. Nor had he realized it was a problem at first, even though Coleson was glaring at the spot their hands were joined. It wasn't until Wilder practically shouted out their find and Coleson was still frowning? No. More like ready to punch someone and based on the way he was glowering at Renzo, he assumed the target would be him.

The thing was, when Wilder started talking, he'd dropped Renzo's hand, so he hadn't even realized why Coleson looked at him like he'd stabbed him in the back. It wasn't until Westland's team arrived and they'd loaded the truck and were headed to the next town that he'd dared ask what was wrong.

"Nothing," Coleson spat out, which was clearly a lie.

"Really?" he asked, kind of wishing he hadn't even brought it up. "Because since we found the supplies in the vet clinic, you've been looking at me like you'd like to wring my neck."

That got him a "Hmph," but nothing else as Coleson looked completely enthralled with whatever was out the passenger window, even though there was nothing different from what was out the front window.

"I can't fix whatever I did if you don't tell me." The scowl that was shot his way had him wondering why in the hell he kept pushing. Except…

Damn it. There was no denying he was completely and totally in love with the Omega next to him. Nor had he even wanted to disavow it. But knowing he loved Coleson and finding a way past all his prickly roadblocks so they might have a chance to be together were two very different things.

Which left him where?

That was something he couldn't answer. It also was the reason he was asking questions he wasn't entirely certain he wanted the answers to.

For twenty long minutes, they rode in silence while he navigated the two-lane road with enough pot holes to make it hazardous to take his eyes off it for even a few seconds. Next time, they were going to have to figure out some other mode of transportation because he just didn't see how they were going to keep the vehicle on the road much longer.

They had been heading north since leaving Des Moines, and they figured they would stop at two more towns before heading back along a different route. It would mean traveling for at least two more weeks, but it would be worth it if they found another couple of places like the vet's office.

"Watch it," Coleson practically screamed at him even though the next pothole was only just visible and they weren't close to it yet. "If you don't pay more attention to where you're going, I'm going to take over the driving."

That would be fine by Renzo and he was tempted to stop and switch seats, but with the mood Coleson was in, he didn't think it would be a good idea for him to be behind the wheel. There may be no one else on the road, but between potholes and debris that littered the surface, he would need to be a lot calmer than he currently was.

When he said nothing to the outburst, Coleson started tapping his fingers on the console between them relentlessly. It was distracting as well as annoying, but he refused to rise to the bait. If his Omega didn't want to tell him what the problem was, that was fine, but he'd be damned if he'd get into an argument without understanding what had pissed Coleson off.

Apparently, that was the wrong choice. At least in Coleson's mind, because his Omega got more upset as the minutes ticked by. When it had been an hour since they'd left the vet clinic and it seemed as if Coleson was about to explode, Renzo had had enough.

Stopping the car, he gestured to the others to go ahead of them. Once they'd passed them, he turned to a silently fuming Coleson and said, "Out with it."

That earned him a glare that told him if looks could kill, he'd be dead and buried already. But Coleson remained stubbornly silent.

Opening the door, Renzo got out and leaned against the truck as he took in one steadying breath after another. He wasn't the kind of person who fought with others. Mostly because he hadn't been passionate about trying to prove he was right. Not that he was necessarily right, but he'd observed over the years people argued most when they felt their opinion mattered more than someone else's.

At the moment, because he was extremely passionate about Coleson, he was prepared to dig in his heels, which again, he realized through the years was never a good idea. Especially when he was hoping to woo the Omega in question.

"Are you going to stop pouting and drive?" Coleson yelled after climbing out of the truck.

Renzo had zero doubt the Omega was glaring daggers at him, but he just would not interact when he was behaving like a brat. Still, how dare he accuse Renzo of pouting?

"I swear you Alphas are all the same. Don't care who you flirt with so long as an Omega pays attention to you and if one doesn't, your feelings are hurt and you act like a child with his toy taken from him." Coleson wasn't making any sense.

Turning around, he couldn't help but notice how hurt Coleson appeared. Flirting with anyone? What in the hell was he talking about? Yet, Renzo knew it was the clue to figuring out what in the fuck was wrong with his Omega.

"Who in the fuck but you have I ever flirted with? Hell, I haven't even looked at anyone but you since we met, even though you treated me like I was the devil." Renzo was man enough to admit that had stung big time. It hadn't been until they'd arrived in Sanctuary that he'd acted as if Renzo might be an okay person instead of some sort of demon ready to destroy all Omegas.

He hadn't meant to swear or yell, but he just hadn't been able to hold back any longer. It had been the wrong thing to do, but he had it with Coleson's surly attitude.

"Don't you fucking swear at me," Coleson pointed a finger at him as he stomped around the front of the truck. When he was standing right in front of Renzo, that finger stabbed at his chest. "Just because I'm a lowly Omega doesn't mean you get to act all superior Alpha ."

It was wrong. He knew it was. But Renzo snapped. Grabbing Coleson's upper arms, he yanked him close and slammed his mouth onto the Omega's in a punishing kiss that had his cock going rock hard in less than a second. He'd was almost dizzy with how quickly lust had knocked into him.

For several, way too brief seconds, he was in heaven. But then Coleson pushed him away, blue eyes blazing with fire as he yelled, "How dare you kiss me after holding Wilder's hand!"

Huh?

Suddenly, the day played out for him and he clearly remembered in Wilder's excitement he'd taken Renzo's hand to drag him out to the others. He blinked at Coleson before bursting out laughing.