Page 16 of Guarding the Runaway Omega

The tension between them broke and Hawk pulled his dad into a one-armed hug. “I appreciate this. Like I said, we’ll talk soon.”

Hawk let go and his dad grabbed his hand before he could walk away.

“I love you, son. Don’t ever doubt that.”

Hawk swallowed past a lump in his throat. “I don’t. I love you too.”

* * * *

Something woke Jasper up, but he couldn’t figure out what it was at first. Then he realized the truck had stopped moving. I think that’s what it was. The memory of something from a dream danced at the edges of his mind, teasing him with promises of love and safety.

Jasper stretched his cramped legs and scrubbed his face as he tried to rouse himself further. They’d been traveling south all night in an area near the Kuskokwim range, but avoiding the small villages along the river as much as they could. Jasper feared that at some point they’d hit a spot that would be impassable for the truck, and since he still couldn’t shift, they’d be stuck. But Hawk had assured him he knew ways to avoid that scenario. They might have no choice but to cut through some population centers along the way, but if they did, they’d drive straight through and keep a low profile.

Except when we need to fill the gas tank. Fortunately, Hawk’s dad had given them quite a bit of cash and a burner phone so they couldn’t be tracked electronically. If only he could still shift, they wouldn’t be in such an awful mess. He snorted. If only my father wasn’t such a raging asshole, we wouldn’t be in such an awful mess.

He yawned then blinked repeatedly as he gazed around. The barest hint of dawn cast enough light on the surroundings that he could tell they were parked next to a small clearing shielded by an enormous pine tree and stack of boulders. He frowned.

Wait. Everything’s sharper. Not only did his vision seemed more acute, but his hearing too. And sense of smell. A lingering aroma clung to the inside of the vehicle, a reminder of the scent he’d been aware of ever since he’d first been rescued by Hawk, the only smell that didn’t upset his stomach.

But this is…more delicious.

Jasper started at the tap on the driver’s side window, the sound akin to a loud bang now that his hearing had sharpened. Back to normal. Holy shit. Before he could carry his thoughts forward, the ear-splitting tap sounded again. Gotta get used to this again. He turned to see Hawk waving at him, his breath coming out in puffs of mist. Hawk opened the truck door and stuck his head inside.

“I think we should stop for a while, have something to eat then get some rest before we carry on. If there were any shifters searching for us in this vicinity last night, they would’ve called it off by now. I think we can risk a campfire for a few hours.” Hawk frowned. “And you have to be starving. That beef jerky you ate last night was almost nothing.” Hawk continued to frown as he regarded him. “I feel like you haven’t been getting enough to eat.”

Jasper heard what Hawk was saying but wasn’t fully grasping his words. All he could do was stare at Hawk, to inhale him in, bask in Hawk’s scent until he was dizzy with it.

God, he’s so fucking gorgeous.

“Jasper? Are you listening to me?” Hawk’s expression radiated worry. “I’m worried you haven’t been eating well while you were being held by those monsters.”

Oh, right. That.

He tried not to cringe at the memory of why he hadn’t been well fed while imprisoned. But judging by how enraged Hawk became whenever Jasper mentioned anything too horrendous that had been done to him, he decided not to share how the guards wouldn’t feed him if he refused to suck their cocks. If it hadn’t been for the doctors finding out and beating the guards, he likely would’ve starved to death. Between that lovely situation and being too upset to eat all that much, he knew he’d lost a lot of weight. For some reason, that had bothered the doctors. They kept trying to force him to eat fattening foods.

They didn’t appreciate it too much when I’d hurl it back up, though.

“Sure, I could eat something.”

Jasper dropped out of the truck and followed Hawk to the clearing, amazed by the beauty of the location, how the greens seemed much brighter and how the morning dew graced every blade of grass or leaf or pine needle. How the world suddenly seemed as if nothing could go wrong, that it was a great day to be alive.

Once he rounded the pile of boulders, his jaw dropped. A small tent had been set up and a rabbit was roasting on a spit over a fire. The scent was heavenly. He came to an abrupt halt and his eyes went wide. Even if he hadn’t completely lost his sense of smell, it had been reduced to the point where every aroma had made his stomach churn, even food being cooked.

Have the drugs worn off completely? Can I shift again?

Jasper attempted to call forth his wolf and was startled when his animal wasn’t as hidden as he’d been for so long. The tingle that would build to an explosive rush of electricity to help propel him into the shift was barely present, but stronger than it had been since the first needle had been stabbed into his arm.

Hawk had continued ahead of him, but as if sensing Jasper was no longer following him, he stopped and turned around.

“What is it?”

Hawk’s tone telegraphed even more concern than before. Jasper could only imagine how stunned he must appear.

“It’s coming back. M-my senses I mean. I can smell.” A laugh bubbled out of him. “I can smell the rabbit and it’s amazing!”

The expression radiating from Hawk was a combination of shock and… even more shock?

Jasper had to admit he was confused. Shouldn’t Hawk be thrilled that his senses were strong again? His gut clenched. What if Hawk has been in on this the whole time? Faked everything so he could bring me back to my captors? His legs shook, weakening as if they might melt away at any moment and leave his body in a pile of goo on the ground.