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jeans.
 Bring it, Derek offered, adjusting the prominent bulge in his
pants.
Dirty comments started flying so fast Danny couldn t keep up.
After a purge of energy, all the guys calmed down and crowded in
close.
Ryan Stone was the one who quietly asked,  How many of us are
gay?
There had long been a rumor that all-male Twin Pines was a
school for homosexuals, but Danny dismissed the accusation as trash
talk. He figured the school had no more gay guys than did the general
population.
After a long note of silence, several heads popped up to check on
coach before settling back down. Ever so slowly, guys started raising
their hands. Not high, but to their chests. High enough that everyone
in the circle could see, but the other men on the bus couldn t.
Danny almost fell out of his seat when all of the twentysomething
Powerful Alpha 75
guys in the core group lifted their hands.
 Well, this explains why Dylan is freaked out. Kevin Henderson
cast his attention toward the back of the bus.
Danny followed his gaze. Through the window, he saw the
equipment truck trailing them. Dylan and the driver were clearly
visible in the dashboard glow. Even though the rig had plenty of
room, and there was a console unit between the two front seats, Dylan
was sitting mashed up against the door, as if he couldn t get far
enough away from the driver.
 Sheesh, Brandon said.  If he could, he d probably ride in back
with the equipment.
 Even from this distance Dylan looks pissed off, like he knows
what we re talking about. Kevin adjusted his bulge with an
aggressive hip thrust.
Everyone turned to look at Dylan, who flashed them all the finger,
then turned his head away, as if he were looking out the side window.
A round of snickers erupted.
 Homophobe.
No, he s the nexus.
Danny had no idea where the thought had come from. How could
Dylan Peterson, the only one determined to keep himself on the edge
of the team, be the center of the team, the very thing that held them
together? Danny had always pictured himself in the center of the
team, but he realized he wasn t the nexus. He was...
The Omega.
Danny shook his head in disagreement. He knew Omega was the
last letter in the Greek alphabet, but he couldn t remember what it
meant. Moreover, nexus was Latin and Omega was Greek. Maybe it
was the idea behind the words and not the origin of the words that
mattered.
From the depth of his duffle, Danny withdrew a spare cell phone
that was new enough to connect to the internet. A quick search told
him all he needed to know about Omega. In addition to being the last
76 Anitra Lynn McLeod
letter of the Greek alphabet, Omega also meant heir, conclusion, and
end. Pondering the significance of what he d learned, Danny shut off
the phone and returned the inert device to his duffle.
You are the Omega and Matthew is the Alpha.
Danny heard the voice so clearly it was as if someone spoke
directly into his mind. Wildly, he looked around, but no one was
really looking at him, except Matthew.
 Danny? You okay? Concerned, Matthew rose as if to comfort
him, but Danny waved him off.
 I m fine, just worried I might have forgotten something.
 The master of the list forgetting something? I doubt it, Ryan
Stone said.  You keep us so well taken care of, we feel like spoiled
royalty.
They should be spoiled. They are the Twin Pines Grizzlies. They
are powerful shifters, and soon they ll come into their own with the
help of you and Matthew.
Chalking up the intrusive voice to exhaustion, what with keeping
on top of his studies, loading the team s gear, and sneaking trysts with
Matthew, Danny took a deep breath and tried to relax. Frankly, with
everything going on, it would be more surprising if he didn t have a
mini mental breakdown.
 Wait, what are the odds? Ryan piped up.  Statistically, this is
nothing short of amazing. In the general population, only ten percent,
at best, are gay, so to have our team comprised of more than half
homosexuals is nothing short of amazing.
There was a long silence.
 Brainiac. Anthony Reed rolled his eyes, but it was clear he was
giving Ryan crap and checking him out at the same time.  But what
about all the comments about hooking up with the girls from the
colleges we ve had games at?
 Fronting. Brandon shrugged.  I do it all the time. I don t mean
to, it s just a holdover from high school. Being out in that
environment wasn t an option. Hell, my own dad practically
Powerful Alpha 77
disowned me when he just thought I was gay.
 Me, too, Derek agreed.  It s easier to fit in if I keep everything [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]