by Noah Harris
Mikael’s mother bore a strong resemblance in shape to Katarina. She too was a tall woman, though still a head shorter than her husband. Her frame bore the same strength and dignified grace that Katarina had, although there was even more strength in the way she composed herself. Her face was slight and beautiful, holding the same sweetness that he had seen in Lucille. Those eyes though, they were the most familiar. He would know them anywhere, though he had only ever seen that shade of hazel, a hazel that swam with more blues and greens than yellow, in one other person.
That person also happened to be his very tense, and rather silent boyfriend, who stood next to him as they entered and paused at the sight of his parents. For a moment, Dean was afraid that the other man had simply frozen up. But after the pause, Mikael began moving again, leading the way. Apparently, the pause was a polite gesture, or a show of respect. Dean was in over his head here, and he really wished he had spent a little more time asking Mikael what would be expected of him during this meeting.
“Father,” Mikael said, greeting the large man, then to the woman, “Mother.”
The man said nothing, but the woman stirred, her voice melodic and soft, “It is good to see you Mikael.”
“Yes,” the man spoke, his voice rough and low, “now that you have finally decided to show your face around here.”
Dean tensed at the words, noting the acidic, biting way that they had been spoken. Mikael only tensed up further, a feat that Dean hadn’t thought possible. The woman remained impassive, pausing in her greeting. When she seemed to feel that the tense moment had passed, she turned her attention to Dean.
“Greetings Dean,” her face gave nothing away, though her tone was at least friendly, “I am Matalina, this is my mate and alpha, Samuel. I am sure you have figured out already that we are Mikael’s parents, Mother and Father to the whole of the pack.”
As much as he despised the reason for their meeting, Mikael’s mother was clearly making an attempt at civility, and he did the same, “Thank you. I am glad to finally have met you both.”
Samuel said nothing, at least not with any spoken words. The hard gaze that turned on him however, spoke volumes. While Dean couldn’t figure out what was going on in Matalina’s head, he could certainly make a good guess as to what was going on in Samuel’s. The man was not at all happy to see Dean, and he was left wondering if this man was the reason Mikael hadn’t wanted him to travel to the Grove in the first place.
“It has been weeks, Mikael,” the man finally said, still staring hard at Dean, “Do you care to explain yourself?”
Again, Dean wasn’t left to wonder what the man was thinking. It was obvious that the large and imposing man was placing the blame for that particular problem squarely on Dean’s shoulders. Dean couldn’t say he was necessarily wrong, either. Dean had wanted Mikael to stay, had dragged the man out of his hiding place, and played a very active role in everything that had happened over the past couple of months. It was difficult, surprisingly, to not feel a little guilty as he had thrown a wrench into things with his pigheaded ways. Yet, he ignored the squirm of guilt in his gut, staring back calmly.
Mikael however said nothing, barely twitching, even though he wasn’t the one under that baleful gaze. Samuel stared for a moment more, and Dean could swear the man was waiting for something. Dean again wondered if he was supposed to avert his eyes. He knew that holding a dog’s gaze was thought to be a challenge, but he didn’t know if that applied to wolves as well, let alone werewolves. Well, he knew what it could mean for people to stare at each other, and the cultures couldn’t be that much different. That same stubborn part of him that had pushed to bring this situation about reared its head again, and he held the man’s gaze in the silence.
Then the moment passed, and Samuel turned his attention back to his son with a frown, “Nothing? You have nothing?”
When Mikael spoke, his voice was as tense and sharp as his body language, “What do you wish me to say, Father? You know what happened, and you know why.”
“And you have nothing to say? You seriously have no excuses for attacking your own pack mate? Your family?” Samuel’s voice was growing rougher, his eyes narrowing further.
“That pack mate attacked me,” Dean finally said, speaking when he realized that Mikael was saying nothing. The man remained kneeling beside him, staring a hole into the wall behind the pair across from them. Dean couldn’t tell if Mikael was scared or simply angry, everything he knew about how to read his lover was thrown out the window in the face of the man’s unwavering stiffness.
Both Samuel and Matalina looked over at him, though it was Samuel who spoke, “Attacked you? You struck him first.”
Dean squirmed slightly, “Yes . . . but only after he attacked my dog.”
Samuel snorted, telling Dean exactly what he thought about that, “Mikael. If you believe that your attack on Dante was justified, why avoid us? You have been given many privileges as my heir, but you have abused them by staying away for weeks. Without sending word, without anything. Shacked up with this . . . human.”
Dean ignored the jab at his species, utterly unsurprised by the man’s attitude. Probably the only thing that spared the humans of this community from the same treatment was their Kin status. What really caught his attention, though, was Samuel referring to Mikael as his heir. Now that was something new.
“I made my wishes clear on that, Father,” Mikael replied, his voice winding tighter and tighter.
“And I made mine clearer,” Samuel ground out, obvious in his assertion of authority. Even Dean wasn’t immune to the sudden command that came over the man’s tone. Some part of him shrank back from it, wanting to avoid having to hear that angry tone again. Another part of him was annoyed that the man was just being an ass. “You were made to understand that you could have all the fun you wanted, Mikael, I was young once too, I know what it means. But you had to go and take this a step too far, as you always have.”
Now that annoyed Dean, “I’m sorry, but, a bit of fun?”
Samuel snorted once more, turning an almost dismissive gaze upon him, “Yes. The future of our line rests on my son, and he has responsibilities. If he wishes to have a little fun with you to spend his time now and again, so be it. However, between his inability to stick to his responsibilities and your apparent inability to respect what must be, it has gone too far.”
Well, that made it perfectly clear. Samuel didn’t care that Mikael had been sleeping with Dean, that wasn’t the problem. To Samuel, that was just Mikael’s way of sowing his wild oats, and that was perfectly fine. As far as the Alpha was concerned, the real problem was that Dean had pushed the relationship beyond the set boundaries, trying to make it into something more for both his sake and for Mikael’s. The second problem was not that Mikael had wanted the same things, but that he had given into that want, rather than fulfilling his duties. This man did not believe their relationship was or should be anything more than a temporary fling, a fling now well past it’s allotted time.
But to confirm his suspicions, he played the idiot, “So, is this a ‘no gay’ thing?”
Dean would almost swear the man looked offended, “It is not about whether or not he should be sleeping with other men! This is about the fact that he is our only son, and our heir. Humans may not respect the ways of birth and inheritance, but we do.”
Right.
“Are Lucille and Katarina not capable of having children and passing down the family line, or however you want to put it?”
“It is passed down officially by the males of one’s family,” Samuel retorted, his jaw tightening once more.
“I’m still confused,” Dean continued, cocking his head in an unconscious mirroring of Mikael’s habit, “isn’t it the same blood?”
There went the nostril flaring again, “It is not your place to question our traditions. Traditions that have served us well through the generations. You are an outsider and that is not why you are here in the first place.”
&
nbsp; Dean repressed a sigh, “Why am I here then?”
Mikael moved slightly beside him, and Matalina’s gaze locked onto his. Both were apparently reacting to the conversation, but only Mikael was obvious disapproving of it. Well, maybe not disapproving, but Mikael certainly wasn’t comfortable with his comments. Dean knew that Mikael hadn’t been happy about him coming out here in the first place, so he probably didn’t appreciate Dean making it worse by mouthing off to Samuel. It was obvious that the Alpha could only be pushed so far before something bad would happen, and Dean was getting the idea that it wouldn’t be that hard to do, either.
“You are here as a guest,” Samuel ground out behind clenched teeth. “Whatever you may feel for my son, or think about what he needs has no bearing. You are an outsider, guest or not. You have no place here and you are here only as a courtesy, nothing more. Do not think that being allowed to be here makes you more important than you are.”
Dean felt his temper flare at the blunt insults thrown at him by the larger man, but knew it wouldn’t do them any good for him to snap at the man. The difficulty lay in finding what to say that wouldn’t carry the anger he was feeling. The fact that Samuel already seemed to be at the limits of his patience wasn’t going to help him any either. The man clearly had a short temper and was already beginning to try to force his will on Dean, trapping him between his anger and his sense of decorum. It was a cruel tactic, and Dean barely withheld his displeasure from showing.
Neither Matalina nor Mikael said anything, though Dean could feel his lover’s tension rolling off him in palpable waves. The fact that he was saying nothing, hardly reacting at all, was telling for Dean. Dean had always assumed that the other man was as free-spirited as he was laid back and playful. He had thought that Mikael’s determination to forge his own path away from the Grove had meant that he was more determined than this. The man’s silence was frustrating, leaving Dean to fend for them both, and failing at that miserably.
The long pause that followed was nearly as tense as Mikael. Samuel’s attention turned away from Dean, his posture relaxing slightly. The dominating stance remained, perhaps sharper than it had been before. Dean realized that the other man was acting as if he had never been there or spoken in the first place.
“Mikael, you have been neglecting your responsibilities for too long now, and I can’t ignore this any longer,” Samuel told him, his voice still a little rough around the edges. “You and I shall discuss just how you’ll make up for the time you have wasted.”
Dean didn’t miss that insult either, his own shoulders going taut. Not just at the insult, but at the way that Mikael seemed to accept both the rebuke and the dismissal of what Dean would have sworn was something that had been important to Mikael. He didn’t know whether to be angry or to let the feeling of heartbreak take over instead.
“You,” Samuel turned his attention back to Dean, his tone icy, “are free to remain here as my son’s guest. Do try not to get in the way, or overstay your welcome.”
The smile Dean gave felt as tight as it was false, nodding slowly to the other man to show that he understood. There was a moment’s pause and Dean wondered if the man expected him to verbally acknowledge what had been said. Dean might very well be willing to keep his mouth shut against the assault of ugly insults and insinuations, but he wasn’t too sure of his ability to fake a positive response. So, Samuel would have to just deal with the nod and fake smile, it was the best he was going to get.
The dismissal however, had been plain. He thought perhaps it was politer for him to wait until Mikael stood before he made for the door. Slowly rising once Mikael had made it to his feet, Dean stood facing the pair across from him. Something silent passed between the three that Dean missed, but somehow, he felt like maybe he didn’t really want to know. Samuel was an asshole, that was obvious, and Matalina was as impossible to read as her youngest daughter. He wanted to be out of this room, and free of the stifling air and their presence.
When they finally moved, Dean could barely repress the sigh of relief that threatened to bubble up out of him. The sight of the setting sun was absurdly blinding as they stepped free of the stuffy air inside the building. Dean breathed deep, letting the smell of the forest fill his lungs and relax him.
He was apparently the only one willing to take the moment to breathe, Mikael was still wound so tight he could have been used to hold up a bridge safely. Dean brushed his fingers along the back of the man’s hand, blinking as Mikael jerked away from the touch. He tried not to show the hurt on his face as Mikael shot him an apologetic look, rubbing at the spot where Dean had touched him.
“I . . . I’m going for a walk,” Mikael told him, tone flat, “I need to clear my head.”
Dean knew that to mean the man wanted to be left alone, so he nodded with the best neutral expression he could muster, “Okay, I can find my way back to your place on my own, don’t worry about it.”
The look of relief on the man’s face sent another jolt of pain through Dean as he silently watched Mikael turn and walk away. At the sight of his slumped shoulders, and his almost shambling gait, Dean felt his first real doubt. Doubt about whether the two of them would be able to weather their way through this storm.
chapter
Nine
Dean had known from the moment they left the meeting with Samuel and Matalina that things were going to be awkward and tense. What he hadn’t known was that things were going to be awkward and tense for more than a day. A couple of days had now passed, and Mikael was still on edge and quiet. The fact that the man was barely touching him was enough to drive Dean out of his head, but what was worse was that Mikael barely even looked at him anymore.
Ever since the initial meeting, Mikael had been meeting alone with Samuel almost constantly. Dean would have felt a little better about those meetings if he thought Matalina was at each of them. Despite the woman’s quiet way, Dean had noticed that Mikael had taken some measure of comfort from her presence.
Each time Mikael returned, Dean sensed that another piece of unrest had been added to Mikael’s mind. He had also taken to leaving with some members of The Grove, taking part in activities that Dean wasn’t invited to. Now it was nearly night and Dean had barely seen him at all that day, catching just a glimpse of his lover before Mikael had left without breakfast. Though Dean had never given it much thought before, he envied the ability to turn into a wolf. He could certainly do with a bit of free running in the woods, overwhelmed by sights and smells, free to give in to the animal inside.
That desire wasn’t helped much by the fact that he was all but trapped within the house that Mikael had built for himself. Hardly anyone in The Grove would even look at him, let alone deign to speak with him, unless he addressed them first. The first morning he tried, he had gained only blank stares, and some of them had even acted downright hostile. Considering that he hadn’t even thought to bring a book, he was left to either wander around the woods and probably get lost, or stay at the house.
The occasional visit from Artemis and Apollo helped, though it was Artemis who did most of the talking when she showed up. He had yet to see Lucille at all, and Katarina only in passing. The twins had at least spared him the misery of climbing the walls out of sheer boredom. The loneliness he could take, even when it was the distance from Mikael that caused the ever-present ache.
Their visits weren’t long by any measure, the two of them only stopping in for a few moments before heading back out to do their appointed tasks. Dean was mostly left to his own devices, and there wasn’t much to do when he was wary of wandering too deep into the woods. The last thing he needed was to get lost, or somehow disrupt something when everyone was already treating him like the leper of the community.
Which was why that afternoon, as he lay on the couch at the center of Mikael’s house, he leapt up eagerly at the sound of a knock at the door. The fact that they hadn’t just walked in, or sounded like they were trying to bring the door down told him it was neither M
ikael nor Samuel. The first was a disappointment, but the latter was certainly a relief.
Springing up, he all but bounded to the door and swung it open, hoping he didn’t seem too eager and desperate as he did so. Katarina’s face brightened at the sight of him in the doorway. She was dressed simply in a tank top that showed her long and well-toned arms, simple jeans and almost knee-high leather boots. None of her attire seemed to be homemade, and for the first time, he wondered who did the shopping outside of the community. He knew it wasn’t Mikael, the man was already busy enough as it was with what he did in town.
“Katarina, hi,” he greeted brightly, motioning her into the cabin.
“You’re really happy to see me, which must mean you’re more bored than I thought,” she remarked with a knowing smirk as she crossed the threshold. There was no hesitation in her movements as she walked to a nearby chair and flopped down. Dean had the feeling that if it hadn’t been for him being here, she would have just let herself in.
“Yeah,” he admitted sheepishly, “it’s been . . . rough.”
“You had to meet Dad, and then your boyfriend went and started disappearing on you, leaving you with a group of people who won’t even speak your name.” She rattled it off bluntly, as if she were reading from a memorized list. “I guess rough would be one word for it, I would call it personal hell, but hey, that’s me.”
“Is it like . . . a female werewolf thing, to just be blunt?” Dean asked, wondering just how much of his question was serious as he sat down.
