Sebastian appreciated the vote of confidence in them, but he was wrong, at least where they were concerned. “Logan and I wouldn’t have talked. Even now I’m still surprised we could.”
“I’m not. You two care a lot about each other. He knew you were upset. That’s why I was pulled in. Next time, just talk to each other and you won’t need to call me back to you. That’s the biggest problem I see. People just need to talk together. I know it’s scary and it’s hard to be that vulnerable and to talk about your needs with someone else that you care so much about, but you need to. Everyone does.”
“It was scary, and very hard to do,” Sebastian admitted. But now he and Logan were in a much better spot than they had been before Connor came into their lives. “I know I was a jerk to you, but I am glad that you were able to help us.”
Connor let out a loud laugh. “It’s fine. Really. You’re not the first jealous, possessive mate that I’ve had to lay it all out for. I don’t have sex with couples unless I’m invited and everyone is involved and on board. Cheating lying crap just isn’t for me.” He yawned and stretched out in his seat.
They weren’t all that comfortable together, but they’d make it work. It was only a few hours in the cramped car, after all. “If you need me to stop so that you can walk around, let me know,” Sebastian offered.
“What I need you to do, really and very honestly, is put yourself back into the pack. I wanted to talk to you about this yesterday, but you’d already had a lot to process. Logan spending more time at home and with you is one thing, and that’s great, but you need to have a purpose outside of just making his life better.”
Sebastian wasn’t sure where that had come from. Connor was looking at him so seriously. “I am in the pack,” Sebastian told him, though he wasn’t sure why Connor needed to be reminded of that. It made no sense.
But Connor just shook his head. “No, I know you are. But not really. You’ve been relegated to Logan’s at home help. And maybe he does need you there. Maybe not. Maybe he can do his own laundry and wipe his own countertops sometimes. It’s a home that you both share and should both take care of. What I want you to do is find something that you can still do in the pack. Something regular, on a schedule, at least a few times a week. Something outside of the house. Outside of your mating even, but still within the pack. That’s my homework for you. And, also, you have to check in with me. Next week.”
Sebastian wanted to roll his eyes, but he thought that might be childish. “I hate homework,” he grumbled. And he wasn’t sure how he was going to do what Connor was asking him to. No, that wasn’t right. Connor wasn’t asking. This was Connor telling him to do something. And, strangely enough, Sebastian wanted to do it too. Maybe, just maybe, part of him even wanted to do it because it was Connor telling him to do it. Though that made absolutely no sense.
“Tell me you’ll do it,” Connor pressed.
“Whatever.” But Sebastian was still smiling.
Snorting, Connor just smiled at him too. “There you go.” He sighed loudly. “Are you cuddly with people besides Logan?”
“That’s out of left field.” And Sebastian had no idea how it related to anything. “I don’t cheat on Logan.”
“I’m not talking about cheating,” Connor was quick to snap back. “Really, I got that the first time. I’m asking about cuddling. Hugs. All those physical things that we do with each other that have nothing to do with cheating or even sex. Do you do those things with people who aren’t Logan?”
Sebastian did. All werewolves did. But he had no idea why Connor was bringing that up. “I’m not sure why that matters at all.”
Connor let out a loud sigh. “Can I hold your hand? That’s what I’m really getting at. I know you don’t really like me, and you certainly didn’t want me in your lives, but I like you two. I’m glad I was able to help you.”
Holding hands didn’t have to mean anything, and Sebastian didn’t love how pathetic Connor sounded. He silently held up his open hand, offering it to Connor. Connor’s hand was softer than Sebastian expected it to be, and he didn’t mind touching him as much as he’d expected to either. He’d only ever really done this with Logan. Even when he’d been with guys before his mating, it had been more about sex than anything like the simple act of holding someone else’s hand as they drove together.
Oddly enough too, when Sebastian got Connor back to his pack, he wasn’t immediately ready to let go of him. He parked in front of the house Connor was staying in, after following Connor’s quiet directions, and sat there with their hands in the middle between them.
“I’m glad you came to help us,” Sebastian said.
Connor leaned close and gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek. “I am too. Take care of each other and, if you ever need anything again, you can always call or text me.” He slipped quietly away, and Sebastian took a deep breath and wondered why he suddenly felt like he was actually going to miss Connor.
He called Logan on his way back home. It was a long drive, by his standards, and even though he wasn’t doing anything besides sitting and driving, he was still feeling exhausted by the time he was an hour from home.
“Hey,” Logan said, answering after the third ring. That wasn’t like him so Sebastian figured he must have been busy. “Did everything go okay dropping Connor off?”
“It did. Is it dumb that I feel like I’m going to miss him? I really don’t even know him. And I didn’t want him with us to begin with. But now that he’s helped us, I’m realizing it was kind of nice having him around.”
Logan quietly chuckled. “You can always invite him over. Now that I know how lonely you are at home, maybe you should have him over. Or maybe we should think about adoption at some point.”
Sebastian knew for sure that wasn’t the answer to his problems. “I don’t need or want a kid. More time with you will be fine. But yeah, maybe Connor could come spend a weekend with us sometime.” Sebastian wasn’t sure what they could do together in that weekend, but maybe they’d be able to come up with something.
“Want to go for a run tonight when I get home? We haven’t shifted together in a while. It might be nice.”
“Yeah. It would be good.” Sebastian knew that most couples shifted together all the time. Some people in the pack even spent whole weekends together as wolves. But he’d never been like that. Maybe now they could shift more, though. “So I’ll see you soon?” If Logan really was busy he didn’t want to hold him up.
“I’ll see you when I get home. I shouldn’t be too much later than when you get back yourself. Bye.”
“Bye.” Sebastian drove home feeling lighter, and happier, than he had in a long time.
* * * *
Logan loved to shift, and it was so good to be able to shift with Sebastian there with him. They didn’t do this often, which he’d never understood since they were both werewolves and shifting was natural for them, but Sebastian had never been as interested in shifting as he was.
But that night Logan was able to pounce on his mate and bite his tail to get him to play. Sebastian bounded through the tall grass with him and chased him as he ran, but Logan knew something was going on with him. Logan played harder. He ran faster. Anything to get Sebastian’s mind out of whatever funk he was in now.
When he was out of breath he laid down next to Sebastian and ran his muzzle over his mate’s. Sebastian smelled like the earth and the sweet grasses around them. Sebastian shifted and laid back in the grass. Though he was no longer a wolf, at least he still had his hands in Logan’s fur, and that was something.
“I’m glad we did this tonight,” Sebastian quietly said.
Logan laid down with his head on Sebastian’s chest. He was glad too, and he hoped that Sebastian knew that. He wanted to be able to talk to him though, and he couldn’t do that while he was shifted, so he got rid of that part of himself for the moment, and came back to being a man. He leaned up and kissed Sebastian on his chin. “I missed you toda
y. How was the drive? I know it’s pretty long.”
“I was bored,” Sebastian grumbled. “And I did miss you too. It’s dumb, but I also kind of still miss Connor. Just a little. I mean, I was pissed that he was brought into our relationship at first, but now I’m actually really glad. And he was a good guy.”
Logan smiled at him. “Yeah, I think so too. I am glad that you liked him though. And, maybe, I miss him a little too.”
Logan expected Sebastian to glare at him and to be instantly jealous, but there was no jealousy within his mate right then. Sebastian continued to be relaxed under him, his warm body soft against his own. “That didn’t upset you.”
Sebastian gave him a little smile. “You expected it to.”
“I did,” Logan said with a nod.
Sebastian seemed to consider that for a moment. “Maybe it’s different because it’s Connor. I don’t know. I really can’t even begin to explain it. And I know it’s sudden and not rational at all, but maybe friendship shouldn’t be that rational.”
Logan liked this side of him. Sebastian had never been all that uptight to begin with, but this was new for him. It was new for both of them. Logan wouldn’t mind having Connor around more either, but his interest in him wasn’t just someone to sit and talk with, and he knew he had to tell Sebastian that too before anything happened that they might regret later. “I have a small confession to make.”
Predictably Sebastian was suddenly tense under him. “What is it?” His voice had been warm and soft. Now he was full of apprehension and mistrust.
Logan sighed and kissed Sebastian’s collarbone. It didn’t help him relax at all. “I found Connor to be attractive.”
“You never had sex with him though.”
Logan loved how sure Sebastian sounded. Like he really trusted him and knew he wouldn’t have done that to him. “No, I didn’t.”
“So then why are you telling me if nothing happened? I don’t care who you’re attracted to. I just care if you act on it.”
“Because I didn’t want you to not know if you caught me looking at him or something when he comes over next. I’m not going to be staring, but—”
“It’s okay.” Sebastian ran his hands down Logan’s back, and he believed him.
“You’re really not mad?”
Sebastian gave him a small smile. “I was kind of attracted to him too. He’s cute. Once I got past the idea that there was this awful stranger in our home judging us and telling us everything that was wrong with us, I got better about him being there. It wasn’t so bad. It wouldn’t be bad to have him there with us again. It might be really nice.”
Logan was very happy to hear his mate say that. “He could be a good friend for you.”
“For us,” Sebastian corrected him quickly.
Logan nodded. “For us.” He had friends outside of Sebastian, and people that he worked with to keep him busy too, but he knew that his mate needed more contact. He wouldn’t even mind if Sebastian was attracted to Connor and acted on those feelings. It wouldn’t have bothered him at all. He was Sebastian’s mate, and that was all that mattered to him. The rest of it...he could live with that. “If you wanted to kiss him, you could.”
Sebastian laughed, and Logan knew his mate thought he was joking with him. “Would you watch us?” he teased.
With them both being naked there was no way to hide the way that idea instantly appealed to Logan. He wasn’t ashamed of his body’s reaction either, it simply was. It didn’t have to mean anything. But Sebastian didn’t seem to see it that way as he grew stiff in his arms. “Don’t pull away,” Logan pleaded.
“You want something that I can’t give you though,” Sebastian quietly said.
Logan huffed in irritation. “No one said anything about that. I’m not expecting to have a threesome here. I just want you to have friends. And I’m saying that if you two kissed it wouldn’t kill me inside to know that you’d found closeness with another person. You’re my mate and that’s not going to change, but if you wanted more than what I can give that’s okay too.” It took a long time, but eventually Sebastian became soft beside him again and Logan sighed into his mate’s hair. “You’re a worrier.”
“I’m going to become a biter too if you don’t knock it off about wanting to see me kiss someone else.”
Logan kissed him. That just turned him on even more, but at least now Sebastian would know that his body’s response was for him and not because he was turned on at the idea of seeing Sebastian and Connor together. It had only been a momentary thought, but it was an idea that stuck with him for the rest of the night.
* * * *
That night Connor dreamt of them. It wasn’t unusual for him to have dreams about the people he had helped in the past, but this was different. Sometimes he dreamt of running with the people he knew. As wolves they would race through open pastures and step lightly through deep woods. But this was...intimate. He had dreamt of lying in bed with Logan and Sebastian. Of sleeping in and the sun coming in on the three of them. When he got up he missed that feeling of being with them, which was rare enough that he continued to wonder about it well into the morning as he went through his routine.
By noon he’d decided to text Sebastian. He told himself it was just to check up on the two of them, but the truth was that he missed them. Hey. He really wasn’t sure what else to say to him. How are things with you?
Sebastian took a few hours to reply. Connor hoped he was busy being an active member of his pack again.
I’m tired. I gave a lesson on gardening to the kids. They had a ton of questions. Apparently our alpha wants teaching outdoor classes to be a regular thing for me.
Connor smiled down at his phone. He’d been in the middle of watching a movie, but now Sebastian had all of his attention. Good.
Connor wanted to say more. He wanted to tell Sebastian that he’d been thinking about them. Both of them. But he didn’t want to come across as clingy or needy, so he kept those thoughts to himself and put his phone aside to focus on the movie.
But it wasn’t long before his phone beeped again.
I don’t really like kids all that much, Sebastian said.
With a snicker, Connor shook his head. I’ll tell you a secret. Even though I’m an omega, I don’t really either. We’re supposed to like everyone in the packs equally but I’ve got my favorites for sure.
Are we two of your favorites?
Connor was surprised by Sebastian’s question, but he had no problem giving him an honest answer either. Yes. You two definitely are. And I’m not just saying that.
Thank you.
Allen came up to his room and knocked lightly. Connor didn’t generally mind interruptions, especially when they came from his alpha. He kept his door open as an invitation to talk to whoever wanted to speak to him.
“Hey,” Connor said as he paused the movie.
“Can I come in?”
Smiling, Connor waved him in. He appreciated Allen asking permission to come into his space. Most alphas didn’t. They thought that everything within their territory was automatically theirs. Connor didn’t agree with that line of thinking, but his opinion didn’t amount for much even on the best of days. “What can I do for you?” Connor asked. He made more room for Allen beside him on the bed, but Allen didn’t join him. Instead he stood next to Connor.
“I’ve been meaning to talk with you since you got back, but things kept coming up. Did you enjoy your time with Sebastian and Logan?”
Connor nodded. “I did. They both seem sweet and I’m glad that they are on a better track with their relationship. I wouldn’t mind going back down there if someone else in their pack needs help in the future.”
“What if they came here? And joined my pack?”
Connor really wasn’t sure where Allen was going with this. “They have a pack. They seem happy there.”
Allen nodded, but then said, “I’m sure they are. However, I have an opening for a be
ta. And you did like them.”
Connor doubted that either Logan or Sebastian would go for it, but he knew asking them wouldn’t hurt anything either. “I’ll ask and see what happens.”
“You do that. I know you can be convincing.”
Allen was smiling and Connor just rolled his eyes. He’d ask, and if they said no that would be the end of it. “Is it because Logan is your nephew? Would you be asking me if they were anyone else?”
“It’s mostly that. Logan was always a good worker. And his mate, I haven’t even met him. You say they seem good together, but I want to see that my nephew is happy. I want to know that he’s doing well. Having him three hours away isn’t going to get that done for me. He needs to be closer. I’m at the point in my life where I want what little family I have left to be nearby. Years ago when he went to the other pack, I thought the experience would be good for him. And I’m sure it was. But now I want him to come back here. He’s the nephew of the alpha. Maybe someday he’ll take my place.”
Connor really hadn’t known Logan that long, but he was pretty sure that neither he nor Sebastian really wanted to be alphas. They just didn’t seem like they had it in them. They were happy where they were in life, as long as they had each other. But Allen looked as if he expected an answer so Connor nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good boy.”
Allen gave him a rare pat on the shoulder and then left him alone again with his movie. Connor tried to get back into watching it, but now that Allen had asked him to do something, it was as if he was compelled to do it. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to focus properly on the movie now that his alpha had given him an order, he put it aside and turned over onto his stomach on the bed. It was just a twin, but at least it was his, even if he did have to share the room sometimes. When Allen had guests sometimes their kids would be put into the room with him. Connor tried not to mind that, but really it would have been nice to get his own space all the time and not just seventy percent of the time. It wasn’t even like it was just older kids either. He probably could have handled that. But his last roommates had been a pair of toddlers that hadn’t gone to bed for hours after he had wanted to be asleep.
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