The Night Movers - Season 1 - Ep. 26 (Patreon)

This is going to be a bit of a choose your own adventure for the next chapter. Tomorrow I'm going to put up a poll and ask what you think should happen next. I'll give you some options. In the meantime, enjoy Ridley doing his best to tap dance around Rain's questions. Unbeta'd/Unedited.

On the way home, Rain huddled beside Ridley. It was weird that Ridley already thought of the place as home. How quickly he’d acclimated to being their pack omega, to being mated to a man he was only just beginning to understand. How would Ren feel about his new life? Would she accept it? Would she stay with him? His stomach soured. Would he ever even see her again to find out? 

He bit down on his lip until he tasted blood, letting the pain ground him. He couldn’t afford to think that way. He knew that. But he couldn’t feel her anymore. There used to be this…radiating warmth inside, this constant presence that he’d never noticed…until it went cold. Now he was always so cold. Cold and isolated and alone in a way he couldn’t explain. 

It was the not knowing that got to him. He’d told Diesel that he might feel better if he could just…feel her, if he could just know where she was…how she was…if she was alive and sleeping and eating. If she was scared or hurt. Anything. 

Diesel had said the opposite was true. That if Ren was out there being brutalized, knowing it wouldn’t make Ridley work harder to find her, it would just cripple him emotionally. Part of him had wanted to argue, but when Ridley had tried to push him on it, he’d just pinned him to the bed and fucked him into the mattress…again. 

Rain whimpered, burrowing closer to Ridley. He slid his arms around the other omega’s shoulders, combing fingers through his hair like Jensen had done. Now that the alpha’s pheromones weren’t pumping him full of calming chemo-signals, it was clear he was growing agitated again. Could he smell Ridley’s distress? They probably all could. 

Ridley rested his cheek on the top of Rain’s silky hair, letting his eyes fall shut. He didn’t open them again until Diesel brushed his thumb along his cheek. “Wake up, Princess.” 

Ridley had forced his eyes open, cranky at having fallen asleep for just long enough to feel worse than had he stayed awake. He gently shook Rain’s shoulder. He immediately flinched away from him, eyes darting around like a cornered animal. He looked at each of them in confusion until the fog of sleep slowly lifted. He sagged against Ridley, following the alpha’s back to what Ridley had secretly started calling their ‘lair’ in his head. 

Once underground, Rain curled in on himself, his shoulders slumped like he was trying to make himself disappear. He refused to make eye contact with any of the alphas and whimpered if he thought they looked at him for too long. Was this all from his short time with Rurik, or was his original pack just as bad? 

It was only once they reached the cavernous space of their living room that he remembered he had to decide whether to be himself or the spoiled, bratty caricature of himself he’d played all night. The boy was already suffering. How could Ridley keep up this act and potentially traumatize him more? But if he didn’t, he was jeopardizing everything his new pack had worked towards for years.  

He couldn’t betray his pack. 

“I’m going to take my new pet for a bath. Can you find me something to dress his wounds? Please, alpha?” Ridley all but purred at Ryker. 

Ryker slow-blinked at him like a cat, then hummed in the affirmative. “I’ll put the supplies on your bed.” 

“But don’t spend hours in there. The rest of us need hot water too. Shower together,” Titus barked. 

“Yes, alpha,” Ridley said breezily, before going up on his tip-toes to give Ryker a kiss that lingered. 

Ryker stiffened, then melted into it, lingering just long enough to sell their supposed intimacy before pulling away. 

Ridley made a show of kissing each of them. 

Titus and Diesel first. Titus fisted his hand in his hair, basically holding him hostage as he plundered his mouth. Diesel’s kiss was slow and filthy. Sugar kissed him like he had nothing but time, exploring his mouth lazily. Jensen bit at his lips, sucked on his tongue, growled into his mouth like a feral animal. 

When he broke the kiss with Jensen, his eyes fell on Steele, who leaned against the wall, arms crossed as he smirked at him. God, he made him nervous. There was just something about his casual disinterest that gnawed at Ridley’s insecurities. Why was he always so hot and cold with him? He’d all but mauled him the night he went into heat, but since then, he’d kept his distance. 

Would he reject him now? In front of Rain? That would be humiliating. But more than anything, it would be dangerous. He had no idea what he would tell Rain about their pack…about their arrangement, their lives. But he knew, for now, it wouldn’t look good for Steele to reject him. Or maybe it would just drive home in Rain’s mind that they were thug alphas just like all the others. 

Ridley couldn’t remember which was supposed to be the better option. 

As he approached slowly, Steele answered his unasked question, wrapping a hand around Ridley’s throat and hauling him in, crashing their mouths together so hard their teeth clacked painfully. Heat punched through him. Ridley whimpered, lips parting instinctively. Steele wasted no time fucking his tongue inside, holding him in place so he could do as he liked.

 It was just so very…Steele of him. 

Another raw sound escaped as Steele’s hand squeezed, cutting off the blood supply to his brain. Ridley’s hands clawed at Steele’s shirt, afraid his knees might give out. He smelled incredible, like bourbon and vanilla. Ridley wanted to eat him up, wanted Steele to eat him up too. 

By the time Steele shoved him away roughly, Ridley’s head was swimming. He was embarrassingly wet, his hard-on impossible to hide. Yet Steele didn’t seem even a little affected. He just gave him another disinterested once over before crooning, “Night, Strawberry.” 

Ridley did his best not to react to his dismissive tone, reminding himself that they all had a part to play. But Steele wasn’t acting. Ridley just couldn’t get a read on him, no matter how hard he tried. Did he like Ridley? Did he hate him? Did he regret biting him and making him part of the pack? Had he only done it out of duress?

The thought left a hollow feeling in his chest, his omega feeling like he’d failed. Ridley silently led Rain to the bathroom attached to his bedroom and turned the hot water on. They both removed their shoes. Ridley sighing with relief. They were so heavy. He peeled off the small scrap of fabric that made up his shirt, tossing it out the door, before catching Rain’s eye. 

He grasped the hem of the boy’s shirt. “Can I?” 

Rain nodded once, then lifted his arms to help Ridley slide the shirt up. He tried to school his features into some kind of neutral state, but the damage those alphas had inflicted on the small boy was…extensive. 

Try as he might, he couldn’t stop his scent from souring. Rain flinched, covering himself. “Don’t look.” 

“Shh,” Ridley said gently, tugging his hands away. 

Had this been all Rurik? Was it even possible? 

Fingerprint shaped bruises—all in various stages of healing—covered his hips, his upper arms, his shoulders. There was a softball sized, eggplant colored bruise on his ribs and another beneath his collarbone. Someone had recently pierced the omega’s nipples, crudely so. They looked raw and swollen, not from infection, but like Rurik had toyed with them often to hurt the boy, instead of letting them heal.

Ridley blinked back tears, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat. There was no part of him they hadn’t touched. There were rope burns on his wrists. Bite marks littered his chest, waist, and belly. All this in just a matter of…days. 

Rurik’s death had been too quick. 

Ridley saw Rain taking in his own bite marks and bruises, before looking up at Ridley. He could hear the other omega’s unasked questions. Was he forced? Did they hurt him on purpose? Would that happen to him, too? Ridley didn’t know if the truth would make Rain feel better or worse? 

They were both the same. Both slaves. Both hostages. But Ridley was meant to treat Rain as his pet, like he was less than. How could he do that and live with himself? A pampered slave was still a slave. And a slave that policed other slaves was just a traitor. That’s how every omega had seen Ridley tonight. As a traitor. They weren’t exactly wrong. 

Ridley removed the rest of his clothes first, hoping it would make Rain feel more comfortable, earning a giggle when Ridley’s underwear hit the floor with a wet splat. He wrinkled his nose, biting back a laugh of his own. Sometimes being an omega was really embarrassing. 

When Rain made no move to take his own pants off, Ridley hooked his thumbs into them and did it himself, doing his best not to acknowledge the other injuries. Both free of their clothes, Ridley checked the water temperature, then guided Rain beneath the spray before stepping in behind him. 

He hoped the white noise of the water helped drown out his gasp as he took in the boy’s back. Someone had beaten the boy with…something. A stick or a cane, maybe? The angry red stripes were perfectly uniform, criss-crossing the skin of his back, his ass, the tops of his thighs and even his calves. 

“I should have made them kill him slower,” he muttered. 

If Rain heard him, he didn’t acknowledge it. Ridley grabbed the bar of soap and quickly scrubbed his own body, ridding himself of his makeup and the evidence of his hookup with his mate in the office. When he finished, he went to hand the bar to Rain, but he just stared at it, eyes dull. 

“Want me to do it?” Ridley asked quietly. 

Rain nodded, turning to face him. Ridley pushed the boy’s wet hair from his eyes, combing it back with his fingers. He really was so pretty, with his crescent moon shaped eyes and full lips, eyelashes so long they cast shadows on his cheeks. It seemed almost impossible to imagine that someone with such a pristine face was hiding so much pain beneath his clothes. 

Ridley washed him clinical efficiency, doing his best to be gentle while disconnecting from the feel the boy’s bones beneath his skin. Rain kept his eyes shut the whole time, swaying slightly on his feet. When it came time to wash the boy’s hair, he went slower, took his time, massaged his scalp until the boy was letting out these breathy little moans that went straight to Ridley’s core, making him half-hard. 

They both jumped when a deep voice said, “Towels, strawberry.” 

Sugar. 

“Thank you, alpha.” 

“Ryker’s med kit and some clothes are on the bed for the both of you.” 

He didn’t wait for an answer before he turned and walked away. Ridley turned off the water and reached for the towel, gently drying Rain off. He wrapped the boy’s towel around his waist, then quickly took care of himself. 

Once in the bedroom, Ridley threw on the oversize blue hoodie he knew belonged to Diesel and a pair of boxers that were most likely Titus’s. The other pile of clothes was from Jensen. He recognized the scent. That wasn’t a coincidence. Maybe they figured the alpha’s scent would soothe Rain like it had earlier. 

Rain studied the pile of clothing warily as Ridley guided him to sit on the edge of the bed. He started by dabbing antibiotic ointment where the collar had punctured the boy’s throat, then moved lower, carefully rubbing it over his piercings, wincing in apology when the boy couldn’t hold back a whine. 

He worked his way down the boy’s body, coating any bite marks or injuries that had broken the skin with the salve. There was nothing he could do for the wounds on his back. They looked terrible, but they were closed. That didn’t mean they didn’t hurt. 

“Are you in pain? I could look for something to make it better? A pill or-or something,” Ridley asked, not even sure such a thing existed down there. 

He reached for Jensen’s black hoodie, shaking it out to put it over the boy’s head. 

“They let you wear clothes to sleep?” Rain asked quietly. 

Ridley stopped short. “I-On nights where I’m not sharing a bed with one of them, yeah.” 

“Aren’t we sharing Jensen’s bed tonight?” he asked warily, his enthusiasm from earlier clearly having waned. 

Must have been the pheromone shower talking. 

Ridley shook his head. “Not if you don’t want to. No.” 

Rain hesitated, then nodded, raising his arms so Ridley could slip the fabric over his head. It was huge on him. When he offered him the underwear, the boy shook his head, then tucked his feet beneath him, tugging the fabric down over his thighs before shoving his nose against the collar, inhaling deeply.

“Do you like his scent?” Ridley asked. 

Jensen’s scent was the strangest of all of them, but it was also oddly addicting. Ridley couldn’t put his finger on the smell, something like wax but not exactly that. 

Rain, it seemed, didn’t have the same problem. He thought on it for only a minute before he said, “He reminds me of my birthdays when I was really little, before my jiji died. He smells like…like…sugar and candles right after you blow them out.” 

Ridley grinned. “That is what he smells like.” 

“Too bad he’s an alpha,” Rain muttered. “They’re all the same.” 

If someone had said that to Ridley a week ago, he would have agreed wholeheartedly. But now he wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t sure of anything. He couldn’t tell Rain that, though, not without giving up their secrets. And there were now so many secrets for him to keep track of. 

Rain’s gaze suddenly flicked upwards to him, his intense stare nailing Ridley to the floor. “What’s your deal, anyway?” 

Ridley flinched at the sudden suspicion in his voice. “What do you mean?” he asked carefully. 

“You’re acting different from how you seemed at the arena. How come?” 

Ridley sighed, forcing himself to look away. He walked to the head of the bed, grabbing one of his mangled pillows and fluffing it, before tugging down the ugly blanket that kept him warm when he was alone in his room. 

He pointed to the spot. “You should get some sleep.” 

“I’ve been asleep for hours,” he said, even as he gave a jaw-cracking yawn. “Besides, how am I supposed to sleep next to someone who seems to have six alphas at his beck and call? How do I know you’re not some kind of monster, too?” 

“Lie down with me?” Ridley asked, stretching out his hand to Rain. 

Rain just stared at it. 

“I could make you, you know,” Ridley said. “You belong to me now. At least as far as they’re concerned.”

He watched as something died behind Rain’s pretty brown eyes. He glowered at Ridley, then wriggled himself until his head was on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling while Ridley tucked him in like a child.

He shouldn’t have said that. What was his problem? Why was he so impatient? With everything Rain had been through, now even Ridley was threatening him. He didn’t know how to do this. He wasn’t a spy or a double agent. How was he supposed to pretend he thought he was better than him? 

But he couldn’t betray his pack either. 

He walked around to the other side of the bed, crawling in before sitting cross-legged beside Rain. 

“Look,” Ridley said. “A couple of weeks ago, I went to register as an omega and got kidnapped by the New Guard. They sold me to these guys.” He gestured vaguely around the room. “And now I’m here. I’m still trying to figure out what the hell I’m doing, too.” 

Rain narrowed his eyes at him. “You’ve really only been with them a couple of weeks? I thought they’d maybe just been hiding you away.” 

It hadn’t even been a couple of weeks, but saying that made it sound even worse. At least to him. 

Ridley shook his head. “They brought me here, and I went into heat. My first since my presentation. It was…intense surrounded by six alphas. Not how I saw myself losing my virginity,” he added quietly. “I was so high of alpha pheromones, I can’t even tell you what happened during the height of my heat, but when I woke up, I had a mating bite and five pack bites. So it wasn’t like I was going anywhere.” 

“They bit you during your heat?” Rain asked, eyes wide. 

“Yeah.” 

Ridley studied him. “That still doesn’t explain why they…treat you like they do.” 

“That’s a little more…complicated.” 

“Yeah, you collared your pack leader,” Rain said sullenly. “Sounds pretty fucking complicated.” 

“Would you believe me if I said they treat me well because I have something that makes me useful to them?” 

His gifts hadn’t really proved all that useful. Yet. So far, it had only gotten him claimed by a pack of near feral, surly alphas with a mission. And maybe it had helped keep Titus alive tonight. Maybe. As much as Ridley hated to admit it, he was grateful nothing had happened to the man. Even if they didn’t quite understand each other yet. 

“I’d believe you,” Rain said. “But if my pack wanted something from me, they’d just torture me for it. Omegas don’t get to say no.” 

Ridley’s stomach sloshed at that. It was true. Most omegas didn’t get to say no. He chewed on his bottom lip. “They can’t get what they need from me if I’m…under duress,” Ridley hedged. “Their only two options were to kill me and forfeit what I can do or treat me like an equal and reap the benefits. They’re criminals. They took the most lucrative option.” 

“But your alpha didn’t need to mate you for it? Right?” Rain asked. “He just did.” 

Ridley felt like he was walking on a tightrope over lava. “He wanted to keep me from running away. He knows that there’s somewhere else I want to be. You know what happens to a claimed omega when they leave their mate. They go insane. Now I’m tethered to him for life.” 

Rain studied him carefully. “But he’s also tethered to you. How’d you get him to agree to that?” 

“By force. When I woke up claimed, I was pissed. I hadn’t agreed to that. I’d only agreed to use my…talents to help them. I gave him an ultimatum.” 

Rain frowned. “But the collar? He wore a collar.” 

“That was just payback,” Ridley said, a little smugly as he touched his own collar through the thin material of his shirt. “I wanted him to know what it felt like to be owned.” 

“Can I scent you?” Rain asked suddenly. 

Ridley’s eyes went wide, heart rate speeding up. “Um, sure. Uh, how do you want to do it?” 

Rain chewed on his full lower lip, staring up at Ridley for a long moment before he asked, “Can you lie down, too?” 

Ridley nodded, stretching out beside the boy who immediately rolled on top of him, nosing his head to the side to rub his cheek against Ridley’s scent gland, first one side and then the other. Wisteria bloomed in Ridley’s nose as Rain released his scent. 

When he finished, he tilted his head to let Ridley do the same. Without Jensen’s heavy pheromones clinging to the boy, his sweet floral scent was obvious. It was lovely. Rain was just lovely. He scented him for longer than he probably should have, but there was so comforting about being wrapped around another omega. He felt like purring. 

When Rain seemed to deem them bonded enough, he rolled off of Ridley but stayed close by. “So…are we sleeping with Jensen tonight?” 

“I think you’ve had enough excitement for one night. You need to sleep. I’ll take care of Jensen.” 

“What’s going to happen to me?” Rain asked. “Am I really your…pet?” 

Ridley laughed softly. “To everyone but you and I…yes. They have to think that you’re my pet. At least, for now.” He caught Rain’s nod in his periphery. “I won’t ever let them send you back to Rurik’s people. Just so we’re clear.” 

“Good,” Rain whispered. 

“But…what about the others?” Ridley asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. 

Rain turned to him. “The others?” 

“Orochi? Was it? Hideo’s brother?” Ridley asked quietly. “Do you want to go back to him?” 

Rain shook his head, but there wasn’t much conviction behind it. His lovely floral scent withered, though. 

Ridley turned onto his side, propping his head on his palm as he looked down at the boy. “Are you sure? It seemed like there was…something there between you two.” 

Rain heaved a heavy sigh, his expression pained. “It’s…complicated.” 

“Isn’t it always?” Ridley said, around a sigh. “If you want to go back, I can make it happen.” 

“They don’t want me back,” Rain said, his disdain obvious. “Trust me.” 

“Orochi definitely wanted you back. He tried to barter with my alpha before we left. Seemed pissed when he wouldn’t negotiate.” 

Rain scoffed. “If he wanted me, he had years to do something about it. Hideo bought me from an auction house when I was thirteen. Orochi saw me every day. He saw what his brother did to me. What they all did to me. He never took part. But he also never helped me either.” 

“Was he afraid of his brother?” Ridley asked. 

“No. They didn’t get along, but that was no secret. Orochi is only mad because he waited years to take me from his brother, only for Rurik snatched me away before he could finally have me for himself.” 

“Orochi wouldn’t share you with the pack like Hideo did?” Ridley asked carefully. 

“He claimed he wouldn’t. But alphas can’t be trusted. None of them. Ever,” his conviction somewhat muddied by another yawn. 

“Go to sleep. We’ll talk more in the morning.” Rain nodded, letting his eyes fall shut. “Do I have to worry about you trying to run away?” 

“Run where?” Rain asked. “Does a safe place exist for people like us?” 

Sanctuary cities. Maybe one day soon, Titus could sneak Rain away from all this and he could be safe and at peace, try to have some semblance of a normal life. 

“I just don’t want you getting hurt, and it’s dangerous in this place if you don’t know where you’re going.” 

“You’re not staying with me?” Rain asked, eyes cutting to him, his voice trembling a little. 

“I’ll be back. I need to explain to Jensen why it’s just me tonight. But don’t worry. I know how to keep him distracted,” he lied, winking at the boy. 

Rain gave a stilted nod, then rolled over to face the bathroom. 

“I’ll be back,” Ridley promised, slipping from the bed. 

He shoved his feet into the thick fuzzy boots that he’d gotten during his shopping excursion. They did nothing to help the biting cold whipping around the large space. It still pierced his thin shirt and chilled his bare legs, but at least his feet were warm. 

Ridley had to pass the living room to reach Jensen’s bedroom. He didn’t expect to see a flickering light or hear the soft hum of voices. His heart tripped in his chest when he peeked around the corner and found Steele slumped on the couch. He’d changed into baggy black pants and a t-shirt. Alphas always ran hot. 

There was a projector behind the sofa, beaming an old movie onto a blank spot on the wall. Steele had a beer in his hand, but it was almost full. He cut his eyes in his direction, but didn’t give him his full attention until he stepped inside the room. 

“If you’re looking for Jensen, he bailed to play some game with Diesel and Ryker.” 

“Rain’s asleep.” 

Steele gave him a hard once over, lingering on his bare legs long enough to make Ridley shiver. “But not you.” 

Ridley shook his head. “Not me.” 

They stared at each other in silence, sizing each other up. There was something about the way he looked at Ridley that made him desperate to…please him. He wanted Steele to want him, to be as desperate and hungry for him as Ridley felt every time he bothered to give him his attention. Which wasn’t often. 

After a long moment, Steele dragged his gaze away, turning back to the television. 

A smile played at the corner of his mouth when he saw Ridley’s face fall. 

Asshole. 

He needed to turn around and leave. If he went to Diesel’s room, the others would let him stay. They’d give him all the attention he could want or need. Titus would, too. Hell, even Sugar wouldn’t turn him away. 

“Do you hate me?” Ridley blurted. 

Steele huffed out a humorless laugh. “No.” 

Ridley caught his bottom lip between his teeth, stumbling awkwardly as he attempted to get closer. “Do you like me?” 

Steele slowly shook his head, even as he gave him another heated once over. “No, not really.” 

That stung, but it did nothing to stop the familiar heat stirring in his belly, his omega fully prepared to do whatever it took to prove himself to the alpha before him. 

He gathered his courage, closing the short distance between them. “But do you want me?” 

Steele set his beer on the table, letting his legs fall open, brow raised in a silent challenge. Ridley couldn’t stop himself from crawling into his lap, straddling his hips. 

“Do you?” he asked again. 

Steele’s big hands gripped Ridley’s narrow hips, dragging him forward until he could feel his hard length against Ridley’s own. “What do you think?” 

That was really all Ridley needed.