“You invited me.”
Micah chuckled. “I know, but I also know you could have canceled, and that you’re scared to death. My dad isn’t going to kill you, don’t worry.”
“I know. I want him to like me.”
Micah gently steered Trevor into the house and closed the front door. Trevor could hear someone moving around, then a voice asked, “Micah? Why are there three plates on the table?”
* * * *
Micah swallowed hard and took Trevor’s hand to keep him right where he was.
“You didn’t tell him I was coming?” Trevor whispered loudly, then snapped his mouth shut.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Micah sighed. “Because he wouldn’t have wanted to meet you.”
Trevor’s eyes widened and he tried to extricate his hand from Micah’s. “I should go home. I can come back when you tell him, and when he won’t try to kill me as soon as he sees me.”
“Micah?” Micah’s dad asked again. Micah didn’t have the time to say anything more to Trevor, because his dad stepped into the hallway, blinking when he saw Trevor. “You have a guest?”
“Um, yeah. I invited Trevor over for dinner.”
Micah knew from the way his dad’s eyes narrowed that he wasn’t happy at all.
“Trevor? The shifter?” Micah’s dad spat the words out, and Trevor flinched next to Micah.
Micah had known this would happen. His father didn’t like shifters. He never had, but then how could he have? The only shifter he knew about was Erik, and Erik was a bastard.
“Dad, Trevor’s not Erik. He doesn’t want me to do anything I don’t want. He even gave me the option not to—to mate, if I don’t want to.”
Micah’s dad snorted. “And you believe him?”
Micah straightened. He loved his father, but he wasn’t going to let him talk shit about his mate. The thought made Micah blink, but he didn’t back down. “Yes, I do. I’ve talked with Trevor, and I’ve gone out with him. I know he doesn’t want to hurt me.”
“So he says.”
“So I know. He could have hurt me at any time in the past. You know he’s the guy’s who’s been leaving cupcakes for us. Does he really look dangerous to you?”
“I told you, you should have dumped those cupcakes.”
Micah rolled his eyes. “You liked them as much as I did.”
Trevor tried to take his hand back, but Micah held on. Trevor leaned closer. “I think I should go,” he said. “I’m obviously not welcome here, and after what you told me about Erik, I understand.”
Micah’s father snorted again. “Erik was an asshole, but he wasn’t dangerous. I know of you and your pride, and I don’t want my son to have anything to do with you.”
Micah gaped. “His pride? What the fuck, Dad? How do you know about them? I met the alpha only today, and I haven’t even told you yet.”
Micah’s father narrowed his eyes. “You met the alpha?”
“Yeah.”
“He didn’t hurt you?”
Micah frowned. “Why would he?”
“Because they’re animals! It’s easy not to think about it when you see them in their human form, but they are.”
Trevor jerked backward, and Micah stepped in front of him. “Look, Dad, I understand you have problems with shifters after what Erik did to me, but not all guys are bastards, and not all shifters are. Trevor’s a great guy, and if only you’d give him a chance—”
Micah’s father hit the wall with his cane. Micah stepped back, bumping against Trevor. He’d never seen his father do something like that. “Dad?”
“Erik isn’t the problem. Do you know what shifters do? They kill and torture people, humans, like you. I don’t want that to happen to you.”
Micah opened his mouth to answer, but Trevor walked around him and faced his father. “I never killed or tortured anyone.”
Micah’s dad narrowed his eyes. “Maybe not you, but you’re all the same.”
“How can you say that, Dad? Trevor just told you he never hurt anyone.”
“They’re animals,” Micah’s father insisted.
Micah couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His father had never been the most accepting of men, but he’d never been intolerant, either. It had taken him a while to accept Micah was gay, but he had. Micah didn’t understand what he had against shifters, especially since Trevor was the first one he met.
“How many shifters did you meet, Dad?”
Micah’s father scowled and hit his injured leg with his fist. “Who do you think did this to me?”
“But... you said it was a hunting accident.”
“It was.”
Micah jerked back in horror. “Were you hunting shifters?”
Trevor hissed next to Micah, but Micah kept his focus on his father. He couldn’t believe his dad, the man who’d held him when he’d cried after Erik, the man who cooked for him when he had late work appointments even though he shouldn’t stand up too long, could do something like that.
“Someone needs to do it,” Micah’s dad answered, and Micah didn’t know how to answer.
He felt Trevor move, and he tensed, thinking that maybe Trevor would try to hurt his father. He didn’t. Of course he didn’t. Micah might not know him well, but he did know him well enough to know Trevor wouldn’t hurt a fly.
He faced Micah’s father, his hands balled in fists by his sides. “You hunt shifters. Are you part of the hunters killing innocent people?”
“We don’t kill innocents,” Micah’s father declared.
Trevor took a deep breath. “You do. You attacked a nest of mice shifters last week. You killed all of them, even the children.”
Micah knew his father couldn’t have been there. He could barely leave the house on his good days, not with his leg. “Wait. Did a shifter injure you, Dad?”
“Yes. You see? They’re animals.”
Trevor snorted. “It wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t attacked. When did it happen? Six months ago, when the hunters eradicated a nest of rabbit shifters? Or the week before that, when you killed an entire nest of swan shifters?”
“It was a bear,” Micah’s father said.
“Did you really attack first?” Micah asked. He had to know. He didn’t want to, but he had to.
“I needed to do it! I couldn’t let them hurt anyone.”
“The sleuth you attacked was peaceful,” Trevor said.
Micah turned toward him. “Are you sure?” He didn’t know what answer he wanted. He couldn’t believe his father would hurt innocents, but everything pointed to it.
“I am. I know when your father was injured, more or less, and only one sleuth was attacked around that time. The hunters usually attack weaker groups, shifters who can’t defend themselves as well.”
“Why bears, then?”
“Because that particular sleuth was formed almost entirely by mothers and their cubs.”
Micah’s eyes prickled. He looked at his father. “You killed children?”
His father deflated. “No. I never did. I refused to do it.”
“But you didn’t stop the others when they did,” Trevor pointed out.
“No.”
“Why? I understand why shifters can be so scary in humans’ eyes, but why attack someone who hadn’t hurt you?”
“I need to protect my son. I need him to be safe.”
“Don’t try to blame this on me,” Micah snapped. “I never asked you to kill people to protect me. I don’t need protecting.”
“You did.”
“I got out of Erik’s grasp without your help, Dad! And you couldn’t have known of him before I told you, so that means you became a hunter after I was safe.”
Micah’s father started to move toward him, but he stumbled and started to fall. Micah reached for him, but Trevor arrived before he did. He grabbed Micah’s father’s arms and kept him upright. Micah was surprised his dad didn’t try
to push Trevor away, but then Trevor didn’t linger, so maybe his dad didn’t have the time to say anything.
“Thank you,” Micah said when Trevor was back by his side.
Trevor didn’t answer, but he wasn’t leaving either, so maybe he wasn’t completely disgusted with the situation. God knew Micah was, but he loved his father, and he couldn’t leave him on his own, especially not now that he was injured.
He swallowed and wished he didn’t have to ask the question he was about to ask, but he needed to know. “How many?”
Micah’s dad looked at him. “How many what?”
“How many did you kill?”
Micah’s father looked like he didn’t want to answer, but he did anyway. “I don’t know. I didn’t keep a count or anything.”
“But you did kill people.”
“Yes. Only when they were in their animal form.”
“Because it was easier,” Trevor said from behind Micah. “Because they weren’t human to you then.”
Micah didn’t look at Trevor, but it was to him he was talking to when he asked, “What now?”
Chapter Six
Trevor knew what he had to do. He hoped it wouldn’t make him lose Micah. He’d just found him, and he wasn’t sure he’d come out of it whole if he did.
He swallowed and answered. “I need to call Dominic.”
Micah turned to face him, his eyes wide. “Why?”
“Because your father hurt shifters, and Dominic is the head of the shifter council. He needs to talk to your father.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Micah’s father said.
Trevor hadn’t expected him to go without saying anything, but he had hoped the man would make things easier on his son. “You’ll have to.”
“Shifters don’t have the right to do anything to me. I’m human.”
“And you had the right to kill shifters? Why? They weren’t human.”
Micah’s father looked down, and Trevor took his phone out. Micah looked scared, and before Trevor could dial Dominic’s number, Micah put a hand on his wrist, stopping him. “What are they going to do to him?”
Micah’s father stomped his cane on the floor. “You’re going to let them take me? Just like that?”
Micah snapped his heads toward his father. “You killed people. You have to pay for it, no matter how much I love you. That’s what you taught me, Dad. That I needed to deal with the consequences of my actions. You have to do the same.”
“They’re going to kill me.”
“No, we’re not,” Trevor said. “Micah met Dominic, and he knows our alpha isn’t that kind of man. He’s just, and he’ll make sure your punishment will be the one you deserve.”
“Death.”
Trevor rolled his eyes. “He didn’t even kill the guy who kidnapped hundreds of shifters and experimented on them, and he could have. No one would have said anything. You, well, you did kill shifters, but you’re nothing compared to Raymond Glass, believe me.”
Micah was pale, but he nodded at Trevor when Trevor raised his phone again. Trevor nodded back and made the call. He’d called Dominic’s private cell to be sure he’d be the one answering. The last thing he wanted was to have to answer Keenan’s questions as to why he was calling home.
“Trevor. What can I do for you?” Dominic said when he answered.
“I need you to send a few enforcers to Micah’s house.”
Dominic was silent for a moment, then he asked, “Why?”
“His father was a hunter.”
“Was?”
“He got injured some time ago, and he isn’t able to walk well now.”
“Is he going to resist?”
“Probably, but he can’t run away.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Trevor hung up and looked at Micah. “We should go into the kitchen.”
Micah nodded, his lips thin. He walked to his father and offered him his arm, but his father jerked away. He stomped his way to the kitchen, the sound of his cane hitting the floor loud in the silent house. Trevor could smell that Micah had been cooking, and it hurt him to know that what should have been a family dinner had become a moment when ugly secrets had come out.
He waited for Micah to go after his father, but he didn’t. He simply stood in the middle of the hallway, still wearing an apron that had a red streak on it. Trevor wanted to comfort him, but he wasn’t sure it would be welcome. He’d just told Micah his father was a killer and that he had to be punished for it. What had happened hadn’t been Trevor’s fault, but he knew all too well that life sucked, and that innocent people often paid for the sins of others.
“Micah?” he asked softly.
Micah shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
Trevor frowned. “About what?”
“About everything. It’s my fault he became a hunter and hurt people.”
Trevor couldn’t let Micah talk like that. He moved closer, wrapping his arms around Micah from behind when Micah didn’t turn to look at him. “Did you force him to become a hunter?”
Micah tensed. “Of course not.”
“Did you know he was one? That he was hurting people?”
“No.”
“Would you have stopped him if you had?”
“Of course I would have!”
“Then how is it your fault?”
Micah let his head fall forward. “I was the one who told him about shifters, about Erik. He wouldn’t have hurt anyone if he hadn’t known about him.”
“You needed comfort from the person you knew loved you the most. You’re not responsible for what your father did in reaction to that. He was the one to decide every shifter was bad and needed to be killed. He was the one who went to look for the hunters, and who agreed to become one. He was the one to agree to go on raids, who agreed to kill innocent people. You have no responsibility in his actions.”
Micah leaned back against Trevor. He didn’t look at him, but he pressed his hand against Trevor’s. “What about you?”
“What about me what?”
“How do you feel about me being the son of a hunter? Do you... do you still want me?”
“Why wouldn’t I? And don’t say it’s because you’re responsible, because you know how I feel about that.”
Micah chuckled. “Yeah, I heard your scolding.”
“So?”
“Do you really want to be with the son of a hunter?”
“I want to be with you. It doesn’t matter to me who your parents are, or if you’re a purple zebra. I just want you.”
“Because I’m your mate.”
“And because I love you.”
Micah shuddered, and Trevor winced. He probably should have chosen a better moment to admit his feelings, but he’d already told Micah he was in love with him. It was almost the same, even though I love you seemed so much more definite and serious.
“Do you love me because you have to?”
“No. Mates don’t have to fall in love. I’ve heard of mates rejecting their other half just because they were the wrong sex, or had the wrong skin color. It’s bullshit, but it happens. The only thing being mates does is making you feel drawn toward your other half. It doesn’t make you fall in love. You just feel the need to be close, but nothing will happen if you don’t want to.”
“But if you reject me, you’ll never have another shot at having a mate, right?”
Trevor sighed. He knew humans often had problems understanding how a mate bond behaved and felt. “No, I won’t. But that wouldn’t mean I’d never be able to have someone in my life. If I chose wisely, I could be with someone without problems, and without fear they’d find their mate. They wouldn’t be perfect for me, not like you are, but humans don’t have soul mates. They make do with the people they fall in love with, and they learn to deal and compromise.”
“Will we have to do that too? Even though we’re mates?”
“Of course. Our relationsh
ip is like every other relationship. We’re helped by the bond a bit, because it makes you feel what the other is feeling, but deciding what to do when your mate feels sad, or angry, is entirely up to you. You could ignore it.”
Micah slowly nodded. “I get it.”
“So you understand I’m in love with you because you truly are perfect for me? I would be even without the pull of the bond. You’re smart, and you cared for your father when he was injured. You didn’t push me away when you found out I’d been watching you for years, even though I expected it. You’re fun to be with, but serious when you need to be. You didn’t defend what your father did just because he’s your father. What’s not to love?”
Micah gently unhooked Trevor’s arms from around his waist and turned to face him. “So mate with me.”
* * * *
Trevor blinked at Micah, and Micah bit on his lower lip. He’d screwed up. He shouldn’t have asked Trevor to mate with him right now. Trevor would probably think he was still upset about what had happened with his dad, and Micah was, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t sure about mating with Trevor.
Trevor opened his mouth and Micah held his breath, but before Trevor could say yes or no, someone knocked at the front door. Micah turned to look at it. “Already?”
“Dominic probably had a Nix shimmer the enforcers here.” Trevor gently pushed Micah way. “Let me answer, just in case.”
Micah nodded and watched Trevor cautiously approach the door and open it. His shoulders lost their tension, and Micah relaxed without meaning to. Trevor opened the door, and Dominic appeared. There was a blond man with him, and both looked grim. They looked at Micah, and Micah wanted to run away. Instead, he said, “I’m sorry.”
Dominic shook his head and walked in. He stopped by Micah’s side and looked down at him. Micah held his breath, wondering what Dominic would do. For all that Trevor had said he still wanted him, it didn’t mean Dominic would be as nice about it.
Dominic clasped Micah’s shoulder, and Micah’s shoulders buckled in relief when Dominic said, “You have nothing to be sorry for, unless you’re a hunter, too.”
“I’m not. I didn’t even know my father was one until tonight.”
Trevor Page 10
