Page 31 of Alpha Awakened
“Oh.”
Ice didn’t offer any additional information on why he hadn’t grown up with a shifter family or in a pack even though he could tell Hazard wanted to know more. His nose was practically twitching with curiosity but he didn’t pry.
“Well, I’ll tell you your wolf sign now then.”
“Do you actually believe in that stuff?”
Hazard shrugged. “Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t. Either way it’s a bit of harmless fun. What month were you born?”
“August.”
“Ah. You were born under the Lazy Moon.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means you’re a big, grumpy bastard who won’t take off his mask.”
Ice threw him an annoyed glare. Hazard grinned, clearly not at all bothered by the stern look.
“Okay, seriously. You’re a calm, steady force. Coincidentally, your wolf sign is compatible with mine. You see? We are meant to be a great team.”
“What’s yours?”
“Fierce Moon.”
“Let me guess.” Ice stretched his legs out in front of him, getting more comfortable on the couch. “Shifters born under the Fierce Moon are overly energetic little fucks who never stop talking?”
Hazard threw back his head and laughed. “Now you’re just being mean, Captain.”
“I give as good as I get.”
Hazard smiled at him over the rim of his glass, pale green eyes twinkling with humor in the low light.
“I bet you do,” he said low before he drained the rest of his drink.
For some reason, the words, thetone, gave Ice that nice, light feeling again. Except this time he felt it lower, a soft lift behind his navel. He immediately squashed it. Feeling anything that rode the edge of attraction toward his subordinate was unacceptable. Besides, Hazard’s flirting, if you could even call it that, wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. It was simply a part of his playful personality.
The night continued on. A second drink turned into a third before they switched to water. Their conversation flowed from topic to topic until they heard Jax outside the door, laughing and talking with someone before he started whistling the theme song ofGimme A Break.
Hazard looked at the clock hanging over the wall above the dark TV. “Sweet Mother Wolf, it’s four in the morning.” He stood up and stretched, letting out a small groan when his back popped. “Guess we should get to bed. Ourownbeds,” he teased.
“Very funny,” Ice said as he stood too.
Hazard leaned down to pick up the glasses they’d abandoned on the coffee table. Ice reached for them at the same time. Their fingers touched — a fleeting brush of skin-to-skin contact. Hazard’s gaze rose to Ice’s as he took the glasses from the omega’s grasp.
“I’ll take care of them,” he said.
Their gazes stayed connected for a single heartbeat before Hazard blinked and looked away.
“Thanks.”
Hazard drifted over to his room while Ice went to the kitchen to rinse the glasses out in the sink. When he finished, he stood in the kitchen, looking across the room to Hazard. The kitchen light just barely reached him, lighting him with a soft, warm glow as he stood braced against his bedroom door.
“I had a nice time talking to you, Captain,” he quietly said. “Good night.”
Ice dipped his chin once in acknowledgement, then watched as Hazard opened the door and disappeared into his room.
As he stood there alone, thinking of the hours he’d spent with the corporal, that feeling returned yet again. And again, he squashed it. Maybe they were developing a connection as teammates just as Ortiz wanted. But that was it. He wasnotattracted to Dylan Hazard Mitchell. They were teammates. Nothing more.