“I’d recognize that fur anywhere. What the fuck are you doing out here, Thomas?”
Thomas growled at Duncan, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew the man wouldn’t let that scare him away, because he knew Thomas wouldn’t hurt him. Much.
Thomas uncoiled from the tight ball he had slept in and got to his feet. He stretched, happy with the way the sun warmed his fur. He was lucky it was summer, or sleeping outside wouldn’t have been fun. Not that it had been, given the reason he’d done it, but Thomas had still enjoyed it, at least until he had been woken up.
“So, are you going to tell me why you’re sleeping out here and not in your bed with your sweet little wife?”
Thomas growled again and he nearly flinched at the sound. He hadn’t meant to be so aggressive, but Duncan was touching a sore spot. He whined, but Duncan wasn’t stupid. He already knew something was wrong.
“Hey, no need to be a bitch.”
Thomas whined again and sat back down. He pressed his belly into the cool ground and burrowed his muzzle in his paws, unwilling to think about what had brought him where he was. He knew he had done the right thing by telling Laura the truth, but his mate’s rejection stung like nothing else ever had. He wasn’t sure he wanted to get up now, not for a while.
A hand skimmed over his head, fingers sinking into the fur of Thomas’s neck when he didn’t react. “What’s wrong?”
Thomas whimpered. He desperately wanted to tell someone. The knowledge of him being gay, of Craig being his mate and rejecting him, was heavy on Thomas’s mind, so heavy he wasn’t sure he would be able to bear it for much longer, at least not without lashing out. Thomas couldn’t afford behaving even worse than he had done in the past months though, and he didn’t really want to. Thomas didn’t like being a jerk, but emotions had won against common sense and kindness lately.
“You can talk to me, you know. I know you haven’t had the easiest time lately, and that you didn’t tell anyone about it, but I’m your friend. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”
Thomas sighed. He might as well tell Duncan. It wasn’t like it would remain a secret for long anyway, at least not the part that he was divorcing from Laura, and he knew Duncan wouldn’t tell anyone if he asked him not to.
In that situation the decision wasn’t hard to make, so he quickly shifted. His clothes were in a bundle next to him and he put his jeans on before flopping down on his ass. It was hot enough for him to stay shirtless and enjoy the sun on his skin for the time of the conversation. At least that would be nice—the only nice thing, really.
Duncan sat down beside him but he didn’t look at Thomas, as if he knew Thomas wouldn’t be able to talk to him if he did.
“What are you doing here?”
“I had patrol early this morning. I just finished and was heading home when I saw a bunch of fur gleaming in the sunlight. I thought it was a pup, at least until I got closer.”
“Aren’t you taking too many patrols?”
Duncan shrugged. “Probably, but it’s what I’m good at doing.”
Thomas wanted nothing more than forget about his confession and tell Duncan that he was good at so many things, but he knew it would only be a way to run from something he needed to do. “Yeah, we’ll have a chat about that later.”
“Sure, if that’s what you want. Now spill the beans.”
Thomas let his eyes wander on his surrounding, not really seeing them. “I just told Laura I wanted a divorce.” Duncan didn’t say anything, and Thomas felt a pang of affection for his friend. He wasn’t judging him or even pushing him to confess more than Thomas would want or be able to say. “You know our wedding was arranged.”
“By Erskine, yeah. Yours isn’t the only one.”
“But I might be one of the few who would have rather gotten married with a man.”
Thomas held his breath. He knew Duncan wouldn’t have anything against him being gay, what with his brother being mated to a man and Duncan himself being bisexual, but it was still a huge revelation to someone who had known a straight, married Thomas for most of his life.
“To a man, eh? Shit, I can’t even imagine what your life has been like for the past twenty years.”
Thomas let out the breath he had been holding. “It wasn’t as bad as you might think. I never thought we would get rid of Erskine and his goons, so I kind of resigned myself to stay with Laura. It’s not like I hate her, and then the kids were born and the last thing I wanted was to hurt them. I really thought I would be able to stay with her the rest of my life. I love her, just not like I should love my wife. Not like I could love my mate.”
Duncan nodded. “Then Kam won his challenge and became the alpha.”
“Yeah. I was suddenly free when I didn’t even think I wanted to be. I told myself I was fine with my life as it was, but it became harder and harder to stay convinced of that, you know? Not when I had the possibility of being myself for the first time in my life. Still, I wasn’t about to tell Laura, but something happened, and my son talked some sense into me.”
“Elias, huh? Smart kid.”
“Yeah. He told me he would love me even if I left his mother, but that I couldn’t stay with her if it made me so unhappy. He was right, I guess.” Thomas took a deep breath. No one but him knew what he was about to say yet. “The fact that I met my mate now felt like destiny, like I was doing the right thing, at least until he rejected me.”
“Okay, wait, wait. You found your mate?”
“Yeah.”
“Does he know?”
“No.”
“Which means he’s not a shifter. We have only one unmated human here at the moment.”
Thomas grimaced. “Yeah.”
“So it’s Craig.”
“Yeah.” Duncan stayed silent, obviously thinking it over, but the silence pressed on Thomas. “So?”
“You didn’t tell him, but you say he rejected you.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you going to tell me what happened, or do I have to torture it out of you?”
“There’s nothing much to say. I came by the house yesterday since Laura didn’t want me to stay home. Craig was watching TV so I sat beside him and we ended up kissing, then he told me I was a jerk and that it was only a kiss, that it wasn’t as if he was going to spend the rest of his life with me.”
“That’s it?” Thomas nodded and Duncan chuckled. “Thomas, I don’t think you can say he really rejected you, not if he doesn’t know he’s your mate. You have to admit you weren’t very nice to him and his friend the few times you talked to them, so of course he’s going to tell you he doesn’t want you. Who would with the way you’ve been acting?”
What Duncan was saying made sense. Thomas hadn’t been able to look past the pain yet, and even if it still hurt like hell, the situation didn’t look as dire anymore. “What do I do?”
“You talk to him. You apologize to him and Jago, you explain that you’ve had a tough patch. Tell Craig the truth about Laura and your wedding. Then you have to be nice to both him and Jago. Let him get to know you under your jerkish shell. He won’t be able to resist.”
“You don’t think I should tell him about being my mate?”
“Not at the moment, but of course it’s only what I think. Let him get to know the real you before you do, or he’ll feel trapped into it, since he doesn’t like you.”
“When did you get so smart?”
Duncan laughed and the sound made Thomas feel better. “I was always smart, I just didn’t have the chance to show it. I kind of feel like a love doctor, what with me helping everyone and their mother to get with their mate.”
Thomas chuckled. “I think I’ll call you LD from now on.”
Duncan made a show of puffing his chest out. “You do that.”
Maybe Thomas’s situation wasn’t that bad after all. He had friends, and a mate he would do his best to convince he was worth spending the rest of his life with.
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* * * *
Craig had managed to stay out of Jago’s path until the time for his test came. It hadn’t been easy, especially at lunch, but he wasn’t in the mood to answer Jago’s questions yet, or maybe never.
Instead, he had spent the time exploring the woods around Kameron’s house, not that there was much to see there. They were only woods after all, but Kameron had given him the choice of the two empty houses in the pack territory, and he had gone to see those.
One of them was the right size for a single man, but it was too isolated for Craig’s taste. The other one would be perfect for a couple with kids, and Craig felt slightly guilty at taking it for himself, but he didn’t really have a choice. Still, he would ask Kameron if no one else needed it before moving in.
It was a quick walk to the pack’s gym, and Craig enjoyed it. He wasn’t used to being outside, since his job had been done mostly inside the labs, and he had missed feeling the sun on his skin and the wind ruffling his hair, not that there was that much to ruffle. He couldn’t wait for it to grow out of the military buzz he’d had for the last fifteen years, really.
The gym door was open when he got there, so he walked in. There were only three people inside—Kameron and what had to be Nick and Maxine. The woman was pocket-sized and looked out of place in the gym, but Craig knew that didn’t mean anything. He had seen more than one fragile-looking woman pound huge men into the dirt because they thought they were so much better. Since Kameron trusted Maxine, she had to be good. Hopefully, she wasn’t as good as Craig, because he needed the job.
“Hi.”
“Hey, Craig. Where have you been? Jago’s been asking everyone who listened and even some who didn’t if they’d seen you.”
Craig nodded at his alpha, and wasn’t that about the strangest thing he had ever thought? “I ran from him. I’m not afraid to fight, but Jago terrifies me. He wants me to talk.”
“Oh, now I want to be there when he finally finds you.”
“Don’t make me think about it, please.”
Kameron gestured to the other two people in the room. “Those are Nick, my beta, and Maxine, the trainer you’ll work with.” The two were dressed accordingly to what they were about to do, just like Craig. “They decided that you’ll go against Maxine first, then Nick, and if you do well, maybe even the two together.”
“What, you’re not going to test me?”
“Nope. They’ll be more than enough to tire you out. We wouldn’t want you to be so tired you can’t start working tomorrow.”
“Wow, that’s fast.”
Kameron shrugged. “I don’t like having the kids free to do whatever they want. They need to focus, or they’ll start misbehaving.”
Craig nodded and looked at his opponents. Maxine was already on the mats and crooked her index finger at him in a come-hither gesture. Craig nodded at the alpha and took his shoes off before accepting her challenge.
They started circling each other and Craig watched her, searching for any weakness he could use against her. He still hadn’t found any when Maxine struck. She was fast, faster than Craig was thanks to her small frame, but Craig had the bulk and strength to counter her, and he knew how to use it.
He blocked her fist only a few inches away from his face, but she was already kicking up with her left knee toward Craig’s groin. Craig punched down with his other hand, intercepting her knee, then pushing her away. He avoided head butting her because it was only a test and he didn’t want to hurt anyone seriously.
The fight was fast after that. Craig wasn’t able to stop all of Maxine’s punches and kicks, and the strength behind them reminded him that he wasn’t fighting against a human, but he’d been trained to do just that, after all. He let her tire out by mostly blocking her fists and feet, and as soon as Maxine’s chest was heaving, he grabbed the wrist of the hand that was coming toward his nose. He quickly moved around her, his hand never letting her wrist go, and grabbed the other one before pushing Maxine to the floor.
Craig did it as softly as he could, but he still felt Maxine’s breath leave her lungs when she landed without being able to cushion herself with her hands. Once she was down, he placed one knee on her back without letting go of her wrists and looked up at Kameron. “How did I do?”
“Well. You didn’t try to use brute force as most of the men would have done and you got hit about half the times I thought you would be,” Nick answered before grinning. “That doesn’t mean you’ll do as well against me.”
Craig let Maxine go and held his hand out to her. They were both breathing hard, but that didn’t stop Nick from immediately taking her place on the mats when she walked toward one of the benches that were placed against the wall. Craig tried to get his breath under control while keeping his eyes on Nick, but he still had a hard time stopping the kick that went straight for his face.
What came after that was a blur of punches and kicks. Craig knew he didn’t stand a chance against Nick. They might both be trained very well, but the beta had his shifter’s strength and speed going for him. Still, it didn’t mean Craig would give in easily. He gave as good as he got, and even with a bleeding nose and sore ribs, he felt smug when he felt his knuckles collide with Nick’s ribs and he heard the small yelp coming from the man.
“Guys, I think we’re fine. I wouldn’t want the two of you injured or anything, especially since Craig is only human.”
Craig turned to Kameron. He felt completely drained and was hurting in places he really didn’t want to hurt, but it also felt good. It was the good kind of pain, the kind that meant Craig had worked his ass off and had managed to stay on his feet even against a fully trained shifter.
He held his hand out to Nick, chest still heaving, and the beta chuckled and grabbed it. “That was good. Sure, you wouldn’t win against a shifter, but you can hold your own.”
“If that’s what your compliments are, I can’t imagine how you sound when you insult people.”
“You stay on my good side and you’ll never have to find out.”
They both grabbed a towel from a shelf and a bottle of water. Nick chugged half of it before turning to Kameron. “I think he’ll do just fine with the older kids. He can use what Maxine teaches them as a base to make good fighters out of them.”
“So I got the job?”
“You got the job,” Kameron said. “You’ll have the eighteen and above age group. They already trained with Maxine for two years, so they’re not complete beginners, but she teachers mostly defense, while you’ll have to work toward making them good enough to protect the pack.”
“How many kids are we talking about again?”
“Twelve.”
Craig grimaced. “I won’t know for sure until I meet them, but I might need a hand. Twelve is a large number, especially if some of them, how did you word it? Misbehave.”
“If they do you, have the power to kick them out of the program, but if that’s what you need, I’ll assign someone to help you. Just let me know.”
Craig waited for Maxine and Nick to leave before talking about the houses he’d seen. “I went to see the empty houses.”
“And which one do you want?”
“One of them is too isolated and far from the center of the pack’s territory, but the other one is too big only for me. I feel guilty taking it from a family who could need it.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. We’ve had several houses emptying since I became alpha and we already relocated the families that needed it. If you want it, it’s yours.”
“I’ll take it, then. I’ll need help to go grab my stuff where I stored it, though.”
Kameron clasped Craig’s shoulder. “You’re a member of this pack now. If we can help you, we will. Just say the word.”
That more than anything made Craig realize he’d made the right decision. He finally had a family.
* * * *
Now that Thomas had made the decision to talk to Craig an
d ask for forgiveness, it seemed like he couldn’t find the man anywhere. He had passed most of the morning packing his things, taking advantage of the fact that Laura wasn’t home, and once he was done he’d stopped by the alpha’s house since he needed to talk to Kameron anyway. He had looked around, hoping to get a glimpse of his mate, but he hadn’t seen him.
He knocked on the office door, and Zach told him to enter. It was still weird to think of him as the alpha mate, but Kameron and he were the living proof that one could be happy even after hiding for so many years, and it made Thomas feel better.
“Thomas, hi. Sorry, but Kam isn’t here at the moment.” Zach’s eyes were wary, and it made Thomas feel bad. Had he really been such an asshole that the sweet man in front of him was afraid to talk to him?
“Do you know when he’ll come back?”
“He’s at the gym testing Craig, so it could take hours as far as I know.”
“Testing Craig? What for?” Thomas knew Zach had no reason to tell him anything, but he hoped the alpha mate would satisfy his curiosity anyway. He wanted to tell Zach that Craig was his mate, but he needed to tell Craig first. He would tell everyone else only with Craig’s approval.
“When we asked him what job he wanted in the pack, he said he was a good teacher, so Kam wants him to take the older group’s training.”
Thomas frowned. Kameron would give Craig a job only if the man was already a part of the pack. “When did he become a member of the pack?”
“Yesterday.”
Thomas’s stomach felt sour. Craig had already been a member the night before and he hadn’t said anything. Sure, Thomas wasn’t even his friend, but it still hurt to know just how unimportant he was for his mate. “Does that mean my assignment is over?”
“The one in which you had to befriend Craig? I don’t know. Craig is a member now, but I don’t think Kam wants you twiddling your thumbs.”
Craig [Gilham Pack: 3] Page 7
