Lucas didn’t think Benjamin’s father had heard Benjamin. He was talking with Dominic in hushed tones while Dominic was on the phone giving instructions.
Lucas looked at Benjamin, who shrugged like he didn’t care. Lucas wasn’t sure that was the truth, but now wasn’t the moment to talk about this anyway.
Rachel kissed Benjamin’s cheek, then, to Lucas’ surprise, his too. “That’s great,” she said, and Benjamin nodded.
“Thanks. We only met a few weeks ago and I was, well, I was still injured, so it’s still very new.”
Rachel’s’ eyes widened. “You were hurt?”
Benjamin’s brother put his hand on Benjamin’s shoulder and Benjamin reached up, pressing his palm against it. “Yeah. The pride was attacked by the hunters.”
“But you’re all right now?”
“I am. It took a little while, but I’m fine.”
“Does that mean you’re going to mate?”
Benjamin wasn’t surprised when Rachel batted her lashes. She knew very well that was a private question, but she wanted the answer anyway. Benjamin looked at Lucas and smiled.
“I guess. We still need to talk about it, because Lucas is human and he doesn’t live in the mansion, not usually.”
Rachel’s eyes went even wider. “He’s human?” She lowered her voice. “You know Dad’s not going to be happy.”
Benjamin snorted. “Lucas is a guy, so Dad’s not going to be happy anyway. I think the human part is the least of our problems. Not that I care about what Dad thinks anyway. He made it clear that I’m not his son anymore, so I guess that means he’s not my father and he doesn’t have anything to say about who I mate with. Not that he had anything to say about it before anyway.”
Rachel crossed her arms on her chest and nodded. “Well, I don’t care. He’s your mate, so you have to be with him, not with anyone else.”
Lucas knew it wasn’t that easy, but he was glad at least part of Benjamin’s family supported them. It would have made things so much harder if they hadn’t.
“All right,” Dominic said, and everyone turned to look at him. He hung up and looked around. “You probably want to go and rest, maybe eat something.”
Benjamin’s father nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
“We can talk about what’s going to happen to you tomorrow.”
Benjamin’s father was clearly surprised. “What’s going to happen to us?”
“Yes. Benjamin is a pride member, and I won’t accept you in the pride unless he’s okay with it.”
Benjamin’s father turned to look at him, and Lucas was surprised that he managed to look both angry and pleading at the same time. “Benji-amin.”
Benjamin sighed and leaned back against Lucas’ chest. “I don’t know, Dominic. I don’t want you to throw them out, but... ”
Dominic nodded. “Like I said, we can talk tomorrow.”
“But—”
Benjamin’s father tried to protest. Dominic cut him off with a shake of his head. “John is going to take you downstairs so you can get something to eat. I’ll make sure my PA gets rooms ready for you. They probably won’t be close to each other, so I hope it’s okay.”
There wasn’t much Benjamin’s father could say to that. He wasn’t a pride member. He was a guest, and he was in front of the man who probably was the most powerful in the shifter world. Lucas didn’t understand all of it, but he’d had the time to talk with some pride members, and one of them had mentioned the fact that Dominic was basically the president for them, and that all the shifters knew it. There wasn’t much Benjamin’s father could say to that.
So he nodded, and when John rose from his chair, looking amused, he followed him. Benjamin’s father snatched his mate’s hand as he passed by her and glared at his children. Rachel rolled her eyes and kissed Benjamin’s cheek. “I’m going with them. I’m hungry.”
Benjamin smiled. “I’ll see you later. You can ask anyone in the house if you want to find my room.”
Michael nodded at both Benjamin and Lucas and followed his sister and his parents out. John closed the door, and Benjamin instantly relaxed in Lucas’ lap.
“So. Want to finally tell me what happened when you went back home after you were rescued?” Dominic asked.
Benjamin sighed. “Do I really have to?”
“No, but it would help in this case.”
Lucas rubbed Benjamin’s back and Benjamin gave him a grateful smile. Lucas couldn’t do anything to change Benjamin’s past, but he could try to make the present easier, even if it was only slightly.
“There’s nothing much to say,” Benjamin finally said. “I went back home, told my dad what happened. He asked how I got out and I said the Whitedell Pride saved me. He’d heard about the pride, but the pride wasn’t this powerful and famous back then.”
Dominic nodded. “We were known only because ours was the only pride where almost all members had been kicked out of their family and shifter group.”
“Yeah. So he knew most people here are gay, or in a same-sex relationship, whatever. He didn’t like it, asked me what I’d done to pay you back, what I’d done while I was here. He didn’t know I was gay, but I blurted it out, because I was angry with him for saying stuff like that. And that’s it. He told me I wasn’t his son anymore and that I shouldn’t try to contact anyone from the family.”
“And you came back to Whitedell.”
“Yeah. Alpha Lang told me I could stay with the skulk even though my father didn’t want me there, but I didn’t want to create problems.”
“All right. What do you want me to do?”
Lucas tightened his hold around Benjamin’s waist, hoping it was enough for Benjamin to know he was there, that he’d support him no matter what. He wanted to go back to the ranch, but now that Benjamin’s family was there, he knew it would take a while longer. He missed his home, but he’d miss Benjamin more. Besides, he could ask one of the Nix to shimmer him to the ranch whenever he wanted to. That scared him, but he’d do it if it was necessary. He wasn’t about to ask Benjamin to choose between staying in the mansion and spending time with his family and going back to the ranch.
“Honestly? I don’t know. I don’t want to have to live in the same house as my parents, although it would be fun to see how my father reacts to me and Lucas being together. I want to be able to see my siblings, though. I already spent too much time away from them.”
“There’s a skulk not far from here, in Laramie. I can call them and ask if they can welcome your family. That way they wouldn’t be too far, but not too close either.”
“That would be great. Thanks.”
“I’ll let you know.”
Benjamin nodded and got up. Lucas followed suit, but before they could walk out, Dominic said, “Oh, and I’ll make sure Keenan puts your parents as far away from your room as he can.”
“Thanks.”
“But I’m sure he’ll be able to find some empty rooms close to yours for your brother and sister.”
The smile on Benjamin’s face when they left the office was everything Lucas needed.
Chapter Five
Benjamin wasn’t surprised when someone knocked at his door about an hour after his family had left Dominic’s office. He wanted to see the end of the movie he was watching, but luckily for him, he could pause it and continue watching when his siblings left.
Lucas looked up from his book, his glasses looking like they were about to fall off his nose, and he looked adorable and dorky. It made Benjamin wonder why the heck they weren’t mated yet, but that was a question for a time when no one was waiting for them to answer the door.
Benjamin started to climb off the bed, but Lucas shook his head and put his book on his nightstand. He took his glasses off, put them on the book, and went to open the door. His bulk hid whoever was on the other side of it, but when he moved, Rachel burst into the room. She looked around for a few seconds before climbing onto the bed as if she
was at home—and she was, kind of.
Michael was slower, coming in and hovering by the foot of the bed as if he didn’t know what to do, but then he’d always been the quiet one of their bunch. Lucas leaned forward and checked the hallway, then he closed the door. He didn’t sit by Benjamin on the bed again, choosing the chair next to the dresser instead and leaving the bed to Benjamin and his siblings.
Michael noticed that and sat on the edge of the mattress, looking mildly uncomfortable.
“Where are Mom and Dad?” Benjamin asked.
“In their room,” Rachel answered.
“But we all know they won’t stay there for long,” Michael said quietly.
Benjamin grimaced. “How long before they’re at my door?”
“Fifteen minutes? Twenty?”
“We’ll have to do with the time we have, right?”
Michael smiled, and damn, Benjamin had missed it. He’d missed both his brother and his sister, and even his mother. His father, well—that was more complicated. He’d missed the memory of his father, although they’d never been very close. Still, he remembered playing with his dad when he was a kid, and that was the father he missed. He knew he wouldn’t get it back, though, and he’d made peace with it.
“Are you all right?” Rachel asked. “I mean, you said you’d been hurt.”
“I’m fine. I had to spend way too much time in the infirmary, but now I’m as good as new, apart from a few scars.”
Rachel paled. They both knew shifters didn’t scar that easily, so for him to have scars now, well, she had to know it had been much worse than Benjamin was saying. Benjamin sighed and pulled on the collar of his T-shirt to expose the scar on the left side of his upper chest. The blade had barely missed his heart, and he knew it still looked bad.
The scar was pinkish and puckered, but it was a scar, and that was better than the wound he’d been nursing for the past few weeks. Rachel reached out and skimmed a fingertip over the skin. She looked cautious, as if she might hurt Benjamin, and even Michael leaned forward to see. Lucas already knew the scar, because Benjamin didn’t have problems strolling around their room naked.
Benjamin loved it, actually, because it made Lucas blush more often than not. Benjamin should probably have felt bad about embarrassing Lucas on purpose, but really, the only reason he hadn’t jumped Lucas’ bones yet was that Jared had threatened to tie him to his infirmary bed until he was healed. And Lucas could always leave the room if he didn’t want to see Benjamin naked, right? Since he hadn’t yet, Benjamin took it as a go ahead and tried not to be too self-conscious about the scars.
The one near his heart was the worst one by far, but the ones on his stomach were visible, too. Benjamin tried not to think about them, because he couldn’t do anything to make them disappear, and he hoped the reason Lucas looked away when Benjamin walked around naked was because he was shy rather than because he didn’t like what he was seeing.
“Benji?” Rachel said.
It brought Benjamin back to the present, and he shook his head. He couldn’t start thinking about Lucas not liking his body, because he’d go mad if he did. “Yeah?”
“I asked you if it hurts.”
Benjamin let his collar go and smoothed his T-shirt. “No. It hasn’t hurt in a while.”
Lucas snorted softly. “In a week, you mean.”
Benjamin narrowed his eyes. “Whatever. A week is a while.”
Lucas arched a brow. “It is, huh?”
“Shut up.” Benjamin really wanted to make Lucas shut up himself in a few creative ways, but his siblings were there, so that was out. Maybe once his father came to get them back.
Rachel was looking at Benjamin, her nose scrunched. He didn’t ask what was up, because he knew she’d tell him when she was ready. It didn’t usually take long.
Sure enough, she reached out and pulled on Benjamin’s collar again. He thought it was to see the scar, but then she tugged on the other side of his collar, and he knew what she was looking for.
He put a hand on her wrist. “We aren’t mated yet. I needed to get better before we could. I lost a lot of blood.”
Benjamin’s father wouldn’t be happy to know he was telling Rachel this, but she was thirteen. She was old enough to be told the truth and to understand that Benjamin had been hurt badly. He was fine now anyway.
Rachel let her hands fall to her lap. “But you’re fine now, right?”
Benjamin smiled at her. “Perfectly fine.”
She grinned. “Does that mean you’re going to mate tonight?”
“Aren’t you too young to talk about mating?” Benjamin might think she was old enough to know about his injury, mating, and even sex, but he drew the line at being the one to talk to her about the last two.
Rachel snorted. “Please. I’m thirteen. Some of the girls in my year barely talk about things that aren’t sex.”
Lucas made a choking noise and Benjamin had to bite his lower lip so he wouldn’t laugh. “You know mating doesn’t have to have anything to do with sex.”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “I know, but I’m not stupid or blind. You want to bone Lucas.”
The choking noise came again, louder this time, and Benjamin laughed. “Stop right there. I’m not talking about sex with you.”
“Yeah. Mom already gave me the safe-sex speech anyway. Dad just said he’d kill anyone who tried to lay a hand on me before I turn eighteen.”
Good luck with that. Rachel was feisty, and she’d do what she wanted. If it meant having sex before she turned eighteen, she’d do it, no matter what their father said.
“I probably should leave the three of you alone,” Lucas said as he started rising from his seat.
“He’s cute,” Rachel stage-whispered. The blush on Lucas’ cheeks deepened, and she giggled.
“Yeah, he is,” Benjamin answered, never looking away from Lucas. He really was cute. One wouldn’t think that, not with Lucas’ height and muscles, but he was. He had a gentle giant charm, and mixed with the glasses and the blushes, it took everything Benjamin had not to jump him right then.
“Oh my God,” Lucas muttered. “You and your sister are exactly the same.” He looked at Michael as if wondering if he’d be the next one to say something, but Michael smiled and shook his head.
“I’m the quiet one,” he said, and Lucas relaxed. Then Michael grinned and said, “But they’re right. You are cute.”
Lucas sputtered and licked his lips, and Benjamin tracked the movement. It had been too long since he’d last gotten laid, and his mate was there, in front of him, looking so fuckable that Benjamin wanted nothing more than to do just that.
He briefly considered asking his brother and his sister to leave, but before he could make a decision, someone tried to knock the door down. Benjamin sighed, because he knew exactly who was on the other side of it. He’d recognize that pounding anywhere.
“Lucas, can you please let my father in?”
* * * *
Lucas didn’t know exactly what to expect, but he knew it wouldn’t be good, not after what Benjamin had told him and Dominic about his father.
He was suddenly glad he was so tall, taller than Benjamin’s father. Lucas usually hated his height and wished he could be closer to a normal height, but right now, he didn’t care.
He strode to the door and swung it open, blocking the sight on purpose so that Benjamin’s father couldn’t see inside the room. The man blinked and looked up, and up, until his gaze locked with Lucas’. He swallowed, and Lucas couldn’t help the smile that bloomed on his face. He didn’t want to, anyway.
“Yes?” he asked, wondering what Benjamin’s father would use as an excuse for pounding on their door as if the house were on fire.
“I’m, huh, looking for my children.”
“The three of them are here.”
Benjamin’s father didn’t react to Lucas’ words, but Lucas saw the tightening of his eyes. “I’m looking for Rach
el and Michael.”
Lucas looked backward to check if Benjamin was fine with letting his father in. Benjamin nodded, so Lucas stepped aside. Benjamin’s father looked like he’d rather run away than walk in, but he straightened and did just that.
Lucas closed the door behind him, because he didn’t want the rest of the pride to know what was happening. Of course, they would if Benjamin or his father started yelling, but until then, they had privacy.
“Dad,” Benjamin said from his seat on the bed. He looked almost regal, surrounded by pillows, his back against the headboard, his gaze firm. The small red hearts on the white comforter and his pajamas broke the image a bit, but he still was a sight to behold.
Benjamin’s father didn’t even look at Benjamin. “Michael, Rachel. Go back to your rooms.”
“Dad!” Rachel protested, but a glance from him was enough to shut her up. She didn’t do so with grace, though, crossing her arms on her chest and huffing. She also didn’t move from where she was sitting next to Benjamin, and Lucas saw the irritation on their father’s face.
“Now, Rachel. Go.”
“I just wanted to talk to Benji. He’s my brother.”
“He’s not, not anymore.”
“But—”
“Rachel.”
Rachel huffed again. She kissed Benjamin’s cheek, even though her father was staring at her. Then she climbed off the bed and headed for the door. Lucas didn’t expect her to stop by him, but she put a hand on his arm. He leaned down on instinct, and she reached up and pressed a kiss on his cheek too, surprising him.
“I’m so glad you’re Benji’s mate,” she said loudly, and Lucas had to press his lips together. She and Benjamin were so similar, and they both obviously were having fun trying to get a rise out of their father. “I know you’ll make him very happy.”
Lucas nodded. “I’ll try my best.”
Rachel sauntered out when Lucas opened the door for her, but Michael was still sitting on the bed, in a staring contest with his father and looking like he wasn’t going anywhere.
Benjamin Page 8
