“Here. We deserve a cold beer after what we did.”
“We only moved a bed and a mattress inside the house.”
“And you put the bed back together, and if my memory is good you also patrolled the entire morning.” Craig sat on the lumpy couch, grimacing as he tried to find a comfortable position. Thomas opted for the armchair closer to the fireplace. He wanted to be able to look at Craig when they talked.
“Maybe I slept this afternoon.”
“Did you?”
“Nope.”
“I didn’t think so.”
Thomas drank from his bottle, thinking about what was coming. Craig didn’t seem to want to start the conversation even if they both knew it was time. “I told my kids I was divorcing from their mother and that I was moving out.”
“That’s... I don’t even know what to say. Can you, I don’t know, tell me more about your family? I know you’re married and I know Elias, but that’s about all.”
Thomas smiled. “Yeah, he seems to like you. I also told them about you, and he didn’t seem to mind.”
“That I’m your mate?”
“Uh huh.” Thomas took a drink before continuing. “Did someone tell you about our old alpha?”
“The asshole? Yeah. Zach didn’t have kind words for him.”
“That’s because he was an ass. He was the one to tell my father I needed to get married and have kids, and I knew it was that or being shunned. I was only nineteen, I didn’t know anyone outside the pack and my parents were still alive at the time.”
“So you said yes.”
“I love Laura, have since we were kids, but I already knew I was gay. It’s not that kind of love. I buried my sexuality as deep as I could and married her anyway. I swore I was going to be a good husband and father, and I didn’t have too many problems keeping that promise until Kameron won the challenge for the alpha position. Once he did, it’s like something clicked in me. I knew I could finally be myself, and I couldn’t seem to be able to go on like I have for so many years.”
“It doesn’t mean you’re a bad husband or father.”
Thomas smiled at his mate. He was kind of surprised that they weren’t at each other’s throats yet, but Craig was quietly listening to him, so he went on, “I tried to go on like always, but the only result was that I was a cranky bitch to everyone.”
Craig snorted. “I noticed.”
Thomas looked at his bottle and scratched his neck. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
“As long as you apologize to Jago, I don’t care.”
Thomas nodded and emptied his beer. He was waiting for Craig to say something, but the man didn’t seem to want to, and it made Thomas nervous. “So, um, now what?”
Craig took his time answering. He was looking down at the bottle in his hands, turning it this way and that, his strong fingers playing on the damp glass. Thomas longed to reach for it and take it away, put it down and have Craig’s fingers on his skin rather than on the cool glass, but he knew he needed to wait for Craig to take the next step. With what he had already done to the man, the way he had treated both Craig and his friend, he couldn’t afford making the wrong move.
“I’m not a shifter.”
“I know that, and I don’t care. No one will, or at least they shouldn’t, not anymore.”
“That’s not what I meant. I’m human, and while I worked with shifters for the past few years, I didn’t really have the opportunity to talk with them and to learn about them. I know the bite you gave me means you claimed me, but I don’t know what it means, not exactly.”
Now it was Thomas’s turn to look down. He had thought Craig had taken the claiming a little too nicely, and now he knew why. He had no idea what it meant. “That’s how shifters claim their mates. We bite them and drink their blood, and they do the same. It’s what binds us together, and it will allow you to live as long as I will, to age slower and even to heal faster.”
Thomas saw how Craig’s fingers tightened around his bottle, and he knew the man finally understood. “I didn’t drink your blood, though.”
“No.”
“What does it means? For our... mating, I mean.”
“Shifters have only one mate, and once we’ve found them and claimed them, our animal won’t let us stray ever again.”
“You won’t be able to cheat on me.”
“It’s more than that. Even if you decide you don’t want me, my wolf will still view you as our mate, and he won’t let me have anyone else.”
“So since you claimed me, you’re stuck.”
“I don’t see it like that. Sure, I can’t have any other man, but what I could have with you more than makes up for it.”
“And what would that be? Every time we talk we end up biting each other’s head off, so I’m not sure how good a permanent relationship between us could be.”
That was one of Thomas’s fears. He knew mates were perfect for each other, but it did look like Craig and he butted heads more than anything else. “We didn’t even try to be decent to each other, or at least I didn’t. I was angry about what was happening with my family even before I met you and realized what you were to me. Then when I did, I thought you were in a relationship with Jago, and I didn’t take it well. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, and I guess from your point of view it’s weird, but I grew up knowing my mate would be the perfect man for me.”
“I have a hard time believing that, but I’ll give it to you, we didn’t exactly meet in a normal way. You have stuff happening in your life and I just lost everything. I’m actually happy about that, but it’s still a big step. I obviously never lived with shifters, and while I can already see I’ll like it, it still takes some time adjusting.”
Thomas’s heart sank. “You’re... rejecting me?”
Craig took so long to answer that Thomas’s wolf whimpered and curled up in the back of his mind, already mourning the loss of his mate. Thomas wanted nothing more than to run away and avoid the inevitable answer he knew was coming, but he stayed right where he was and braced himself when Craig opened his mouth.
“No, not exactly.” Thomas let out a relieved sigh that was so loud he knew Craig heard him. He gave Thomas a small smile, and it was nearly enough for Thomas to run over and hug him, but he stayed in the armchair and waited for his mate’s next words.
“I’ve been here for only a day, but I saw how Zach and Kameron are together, and I can’t say I don’t want that. I didn’t have time for a love life in the past several years, but I’m starting from the beginning again, and this time I can live however I want, and I definitely want someone to share my life with. I’m just... not sure if we really can do well together.”
“What can I do?”
“Talk to me. Be my friend, spend time with me, and let’s see if we can avoid killing each other.”
It would be torture, especially if Craig continued spending time with Jago, and Thomas knew he would. Still, it was a step forward, albeit a small one, but he was willing to do anything to be able to be with his mate. While his wolf wanted Craig right this instant, the human part of Thomas agreed with the man. He wanted to get to know Craig, not to just give in the mating urge, even if he had already bitten him.
He nodded, warmth spreading inside him when Craig smiled back. “I can do that.”
“Good.”
“I just... I know you said Jago is just a friend, but it really looked as if you were kissing him this morning. Can I ask what happened? Why you were hugging him?”
“He was feeling homesick. He hasn’t told me how he got in the lab, not yet, but I know something happened to his family, and he misses them. He doesn’t really have anyone here, and I’m the closest thing to a friend for him. I was just comforting Jago.”
Thomas nodded. He knew he had to trust Craig if he wanted things to work, but it was hard, especially after seeing him in another man’s arms, even a friend. “Thank you. You didn’t have to tell me, but thanks for doing i
t.” He rose from his chair. “I better go now. I don’t to wake whoever I’m sharing a room with tonight.”
“Yeah, Kameron’s house is still pretty crowded.” Thomas saw Craig hesitate and he waited for him as he got up from the couch and got closer, taking Thomas’s empty bottle from him. “You could stay here if you want. The couch isn’t exactly comfortable, but you’d have the room to yourself.”
“I’ve slept on worse.” Thomas was surprised at the proposition. They had just decided to take things slow and Craig was asking him to sleep on the couch? Maybe he wasn’t as hesitant about Thomas as Thomas had thought. “I think I’ll take the couch, then. Thank you.”
The smile Craig gave him more than made up for the uncomfortable night ahead. “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
They stayed like that for a few seconds and Thomas wanted nothing more than to kiss his mate goodnight, but Craig just gave him one last smile before turning around and heading to the kitchen. Thomas watched him go, desire burning through him at the sight, knowing he would dream of his mate that night.
Chapter Six
“Thomas!”
Craig groaned and rolled to his side, pushing his head under his pillow to cut the noise out.
“Thomas! I know you’re there!”
The pillow wasn’t enough. Craig knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, not with whoever it was screaming outside. He pushed the pillow off and glared at the clock, swearing when he saw it was only seven AM. Thomas and he had gone to bed late the night before and he didn’t have to teach his first lesson until the afternoon. He could have slept at least a few hours more without the jerk who was pounding on his front door.
“Tho—”
The pounding stopped abruptly and Craig sighed. Thomas must have gotten up and opened the door, but it didn’t mean he would go back to sleep. Now that he was awake, Craig was more than a little curious to find out who was at the door.
He got up and grabbed a clean T-shirt from the bag he had abandoned in a corner of his room the night before. Putting it on, he slipped into the bathroom, still listening for yells, but he heard nothing. Apparently opening the door had been enough to shut up whoever had been on the other side of it.
Five minutes later, he was walking down the steps, and he could hear voices coming from the living room.
“What the fuck are you doing? How could you?”
“Kevin, I just told you what happened.” Thomas’s voice was a little weary and Craig suddenly wanted to throttle the man who was giving his mate a hard time. Wow. It was still weird to think about Thomas as his mate, or that he had a mate at all.
“I don’t understand how this—this can be what you want, not after all these years with Laura.”
“Look, I get that it’ll take you some time to get used to it, but—”
“Some time? Some time? I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get used to you being with a man, Tom! And if you lied about something this big, how can I know you don’t have other secrets? I feel like I don’t know you anymore.”
Craig had had enough. He might not be ready to accept a full bond with Thomas yet, but he didn’t want the man to be hurt either. He walked into his living room, ready to take on the man who was giving his mate a hard time.
Thomas was standing next to the couch, facing a man that had to be a family member, probably his brother, although with shifters it was hard to tell. They looked very much alike, except the other man didn’t sport the ridiculous mustache Thomas had, and he was slightly shorter. Still, the blond hair was the same, as were the brown eyes and the nose. Thomas’s jaw was cut more squarely and he was bulkier, but yeah, they had to be brothers.
Craig extended his hand toward Thomas’s brother. “Hi, I’m Craig. I don’t think I met you before.”
The man looked at Craig’s hand as if it was going to bite him, so Craig let it fall to his side.
“This is Kevin, my younger brother,” Thomas told him, and Craig nodded. “I’m sorry we woke you up.”
“It’s okay, as long as I have coffee. I’ll leave the two of you at it, then.”
Craig didn’t like the way Kevin looked at Thomas as if he had never seen him before, but the situation didn’t have much to do with him, at least not at the moment, so he disappeared into the kitchen before remembering he didn’t have a coffee machine yet. He looked into the cupboards, swearing when the only thing he could find were a few bags of tea. Who the heck didn’t drink coffee?
Still, he had no intention of going out to buy some and leaving Thomas alone with his brother, so he grabbed a pot and filled it with water before putting it on the stove. At least it worked and they would have boiling water soon.
“I don’t know what more to tell you, Kev. This is me, and you’ll have to accept it.”
“What if I can’t?” Kevin’s voice was softer than before, but he was still being a bitch in Craig’s opinion. The fact that Thomas was gay didn’t have anything to do with Kevin, and while he could understand it might be hard to see your brother in a new light after forty-something years, it still couldn’t be harder than what Thomas had been through.
“Then you can’t. Believe me, I didn’t decide to do this without thinking it over—hell, I’ve been thinking about it for months. I couldn’t lie to myself anymore, and now that I found Craig...”
“Are you sure he’s your mate? Maybe you made a mistake or something.”
Thomas scoffed and Craig filled two mugs with warm water before dipping the bags into them. He didn’t have the patience to wait for the water to boil. He just hoped the water was warm enough. “Please. You know as well as I do that we can’t not recognize our mate. How did you feel when you met Theresa?”
Silence met Thomas’s question and Craig decided it was time to join his mate. He grabbed the two mugs, hoping Thomas didn’t ask for sugar because he didn’t have any. When he walked into the living room both brothers were sitting on the couch, and Kevin’s face carried an array of expressions, from hurt to worry to betrayal.
Craig handed one of the mugs to Thomas and kept the other one, hopefully making what he thought of Kevin popping up at his house at seven AM clear. He sat in the armchair that had been Thomas’s the night before and took a sip, grimacing at the taste. Yeah, he definitely wasn’t a tea fan, and the lukewarm water didn’t help. “Sorry about the tea, I can’t make coffee yet.”
Thomas smiled at him. “It’s okay, thank you. I, uh, I guess we should go.”
Craig cocked a brow. “Why? Weren’t you talking about me?” Kevin looked like he wanted the couch to swallow him and Craig smirked. “What, you thought I couldn’t hear you? I might not be a shifter, but I’m not deaf, either.”
“Kevin didn’t mean anything by it, he’s just having a hard time dealing with me being gay.”
“Not as hard a time as you had playing straight for twenty years, I bet.”
Kevin narrowed his eyes at Craig. “You think you know my brother just because you’re fucking him?”
Craig chuckled and let his gaze travel over Thomas’s body, taking care to show exactly what he thought about the idea of fucking him. If Kevin wanted to play, Craig wasn’t going to back out. “I wouldn’t have anything against fucking Thomas, but alas we haven’t got that far yet. I just think you should try to put yourself in his shoes for a few minutes. You’re mated, right?” Kevin nodded, and Craig went on, “Okay, so imagine you were forced to marry a man and live with him for twenty years. Then you meet your mate. What would you have done differently?”
Craig wasn’t deluding himself that Kevin would suddenly understand and hug his brother as if nothing had happened, but he hoped he had at least put a hint of doubt in Kevin’s mind, for Thomas’s sake. He might not be sure what he wanted from the man yet, but he didn’t think Thomas deserved to be hurt when he had done nothing wrong. Hell, he had done so much trying not to hurt anyone that he had ended up being the one hurting the most.
It d
idn’t take long for Kevin to leave after that, looking as angry and confused as he had when Craig had first seen him. Craig stayed in his chair and watched Thomas walk his brother to the door, hoping things would get better between them. He didn’t have any family, but he could see how much it meant to Thomas.
“Thank you.”
Craig looked up. Thomas was standing in front of him and looking down at him. He got up, bringing their bodies so close together that he could feel Thomas’s warmth. “For what?”
“For sticking up for me and trying to explain. My brother can be an ass sometimes, but he’s still my brother. I don’t know what I would do if...”
Craig bent and put his still full mug on the coffee table. He wanted to kiss Thomas’s worries away, and there was nothing stopping him from doing just that. Thomas was his mate, after all.
He reached for Thomas’s waist and brought him closer, pecking him on the lips. “You’re welcome.” Craig scrunched his nose. “Why do you wear this thing?”
Thomas slid his arms around Craig before answering, “What thing?”
“The mustache. It makes you look like Tom Selleck, and it doesn’t suit you. I don’t think it ever suited anyone other than Tom Selleck, to be honest, and the eighties are long gone.”
Thomas barked out a laugh. “You want me to get rid of it?”
“It would make kissing you a lot more pleasurable for me.”
“How can I say no to that?”
Thomas brought their lips together again, and Craig forgot all about the mustache.
* * * *
Thomas stroked his naked upper lip with the tip of his finger. It still felt weird, and most of all it still looked weird. He’d had the mustache for years, but his mate had wanted it gone, and Thomas had taken care of it the day after Craig had asked. It wasn’t like it was a big sacrifice for Thomas anyway, and he had to admit he didn’t look bad without it. It was just taking him a little time to get used to it.
He washed the sink and gathered his things, a sigh escaping him. He didn’t much like living in the alpha’s house, especially with all the people still there. Sure, they were slowly moving out, but Thomas didn’t know when it was going to be his turn. He hadn’t even started looking for a house, because the only place he wanted to move into was the house Craig was living in. It was too soon to do that, though, even if the two of them had been getting along well recently.
Craig [Gilham Pack: 3] Page 10
