of vertigo from being upright for the first time in…in so long he couldn't remember. Judging from the angle of the sun, he'd slept past noon again.
At least it wasn't because of moonshine this time. He'd ended that bender a little over a week after Josie had left. The constant ache in the center of his chest was hard enough to endure without adding splitting headaches and nausea.
"Have you added social worker to your list of pretend titles?" he asked wearily.
"Somebody needed to look in on you."
"Somebody already did. Ryder and his mate came by a few days ago."
"That was two weeks ago." Gray didn't bother hiding the annoyance in his voice. "And you refused to open the door for them."
Oh, Knox had done more than that. If he was remembering right, he'd threatened to douse them both in piss if they didn't get off his porch.
He sat up a little straighter, wondering what it was going to take to get rid of his brother. "At least they had the civility to knock."
"Listen, Knox," Gray sighed, dropping the aggrieved tone. “Whatever the hell this is, it's gone on long enough. You can't lie around rotting for the rest of your life. Though I'll admit, the beard's a nice change."
Knox ran his hand over his chin, surprised at how long his whiskers were. It hadn't been a conscious choice—like so many other things, shaving had simply stopped seeming worth the effort.
"Can it, Gray. The last thing I need is one of your lectures."
"Then what the fuck do you need? You haven't left this house in weeks. No one's seen you at the roadhouse."
"Wait…are you trying to tell me you've been worried about me?"
"Of course, you fucking imbecile." Gray rolled his eyes as if he didn't take every opportunity to make clear how little he thought of Knox. "You may be a smug, self-centered pain in the ass, but you're still an alpha. Now get up, shake off this shit, and start acting like one."
Knox laughed bitterly. "That's your idea of an inspirational speech?"
Gray cursed under his breath. "I can't believe I came all the way out here for this. I'm so sick of your shit—"
"Does that mean you're leaving?" Knox cut in hopefully.
"You want me to leave? Fine. Answer me one question, and I'll get the fuck out forever. If Josie was so damned special that you're wallowing in self-pity over her, why the hell didn't you touch her and make her your mate?"
Knox muttered a curse. As if it was that fucking simple. Of course, Gray had it easy with Olivia. The betas had made her life hell, too, but all Gray had to do was find her, take her, and fight off those who threatened her. For all his big talk, Gray didn't have a clue what real sacrifice was.
But maybe it was time he learned.
"You really want to know?" Knox stood up, the cabin's cold, dank air instantly chilling his skin. It had been days since he'd bothered to build a fire, something he now regretted. "Josie's a fighter. She's strong. She deserves a hero…and I ain't one."
"I agree. 'Hero' is not a word I would ever use to describe you. But you might want to figure out how to become one real quick because apparently, we're in the minority."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Gray slapped a newspaper on the edge of Knox's bed. "I'm talking about Josie. You might be interested in knowing what she had to say about you in a press conference."
Knox grabbed the paper and took it to the window to read the headline in the light.
Second day of Senate Hearings on Omega Testing Scandal, screamed a huge headline. Underneath were the words Price Testifies She Owes Life to Alpha "Hero"
"Where did you get this?" Knox demanded.
"One of those damned smugglers brought it yesterday," Gray said. "Mari was right—now that they've figured out how to get past the blockade, the fuckers are all over the place. Though I have to admit that it's nice to have decent beer back at the roadhouse."
Knox quit listening as he devoured the article. Josie had done precisely what she said she would, exposing the Alpha Control Division's secret strategy and spreading a message of unity. From the tone of the article, it appeared that cracks were beginning to appear in the wall of disinformation the beta authorities had built, and people were beginning to understand that despite the enormous differences between alpha and beta culture, there was