by Lisa Oliver
Tony glowered, and then shoved his shovel back into the dirt, heaving up big clumps that went flying over his head. “That still doesn’t explain why G keeps talking about him all the time.”
“Maybe Gregor’s proud of him, did you ever think about that?” Rex started digging again too. The sooner the damn hole was dug, the sooner he could think about getting back to his mate. “It can’t have been easy for the bear to raise a baby with no warning it was coming or anything else, especially one with physical challenges.”
“If you think that when why did you insult my mate’s skills as a parent?”
“Because this has been a shit of a day, and it ain’t over yet. Because I opened my big trap and instead of saying how much I miss my mate, and how much a cuddle from him would mean to me right now, I opened my mouth and shoved my boot in it. And while we’re on the subject, I appreciate you sticking up for me against your mate, but don’t you think he deserves your loyalty first, or are you so jealous he had Devyn in his life, you can’t see straight? Nothing happened between them.”
“I’m thinking our parents never did us any favors in showing us what a loving mated relationship could look like, and if our dad’s dying, like Bovis said, then his death can’t come too soon for me.”
“You’re trying to pin your worries on the wrong person, bro. Our parents were shit, yep, but they can’t be blamed for the choices we make now. We’ve been grown up long enough,” Rex said, taking out one last shovel full of dirt. “Sooner or later a person has got to stand up for what they believe in and accept the consequences of their own words and actions. You know damn well you owe your mate an apology and so do I.”
Tony didn’t answer, but he put his shovel aside when Rex did and together the two men rolled Bovis’s body into the hole and started filling it. When the last shovel full was firmly patted down, Tony spat on the grave. “Burying was too good for that bastard,” he said as they started the long trek home.
/~/~/~/~/
Devyn was curled up on his couch, on the edge of sleep – he’d been having a lovely dream where his loving mate had taken him on a picnic and was doing all sorts of sexy things to him under the bright blue sky. But his wolf alerted him someone was in the house and as strong arms wrapped around him, he smiled sleepily. “You smell funky,” he said. “Did you get everything you need done?”
“Not yet, Omega, but I’m working on it.”
Devyn gasped, his eyes flying open. “You’re not Rex. Get your hands off me.” He slapped against the stranger’s chest, but the man just laughed as he hoisted Devyn off the couch. “Who the hell are you? Put me down. My alpha will beat the hell out of you when he realizes you’ve touched me.”
“Touched me, taken me away from my lovely home.” The stranger’s chuckle grew louder. “Your alpha coming after you is exactly what I plan to have happen. We had to get him back where he belongs somehow.”
“You’re from Rex’s ex-home pack.” Devyn’s heart was pounding so hard he could barely breathe. “What do you want from him?”
“To do the right thing, of course,” the stranger replied, jostling Devyn as he reached into his pocket. “Don’t worry, little omega. This won’t hurt much. And this time when the alpha orders you left in the forest for daring to carry his son’s scent, I’ll make sure they kill you first. Nightie, night.”
Devyn felt a sharp prick on his arm, and his vision blurred. Rex. Oh my god, Rex. Help me!
Chapter Eighteen
“Where is he?” Rex stormed into his bar, so angry hair was sprouting up his arms. Leaping over the counter, he pushed Gregor and Tony apart, snarling at the pair of them. It’d been a fucking long trek back to the house he and Devyn shared, after Gregor had taken the truck. Not finding his omega waiting for him on the couch was disconcerting, but Rex reasoned his little mate was waiting for him in bed.
He was wrong. What’s worse, there was a strange wolf’s scent near the couch where Devyn’s unique smell was strongest, but no sign of a struggle or anyone in the house. As Devyn wouldn’t go with anyone willingly without at least leaving a note, Rex figured Gregor was playing fast and loose with his mating and he wasn’t going to stand for it. “You’re the asshole who got at me because I wanted Devyn with me. Now tell me where the fuck he is, or I swear, bear, I will take you down.”
“I left Devyn at the house more than two hours ago. I called round to let him know you’d be late….”
“Because you fucking abandoned us in bumfuck nowhere.”
“He was going to watch television and wait up for you,” Gregor continued as if Rex hadn’t spoken. “Rex, I get you’re upset, but don’t you think you can give Tony and I a chance to work things out between us? Tony’s already jealous of my involvement with Devyn. You said yourself, he’s your concern now.”
“What part of he’s missing, and there’s strange scents in the house don’t you understand. Devyn is MISSING,” Rex screamed his frustration.
All he could think of on his long trek home was how much he wanted to fold himself around his sweet omega and thank the Fates he was blessed with someone so wonderful in his life. He’d never done anything special. He was just a typical low-born alpha who’d been born in a hut with barely any running water, and yet the Fates in their wisdom had given him a mate who was kind, clever, understanding, and fucking gorgeous.
“Then find him.” Gregor turned back to his own mate. “Tony, there has never been anything between Devyn….”
“G,” Tony held up his hand. “I get what you’re saying. But Rex is distraught and it’s not as though Devyn can fend for himself against intruders….”
“Fuck, what is it with you wolves?” It seemed Gregor was just as frustrated, but at least he could see his mate. Rex hadn’t seen his since fucking lunchtime. “You say you want my focus on you, so I’m giving it to you, and now you’re telling me you want to go looking for Devyn. The man you see as a threat to our mating?”
“Devyn’s not a threat to your damn mating,” Rex snarled. “He’s my mate. Mine.”
“You are not putting all this on me,” Tony said hotly. “Beta or not, I’m not the fucking scapegoat here. I have every right to be concerned if the love of my life spends all his fucking time talking about another man.”
“You love me?” It seemed something could shatter Gregor’s self-control after all.
“Of course, I fucking do.” Great, now Tony was upset. “Why do you think it bothers me so much when I ask you to share things with me about your life, and all you can talk about is Devyn. I get he’s like your son, or something, but you had a life for well over a hundred years before he came along. You must have done something worth sharing with me.”
“Not a lot I was proud of.” There was a faint tinge of pink on Gregor’s cheeks. “I played around a lot, mixed some moonshine on occasion, did a spot of gold prospecting, but I never really achieved anything.”
“But, don’t you see, it’s those roguish parts I want to know about,” Tony beamed at his bear. Rex wanted to smash something. “You’ve been to so many places, seen so much. That’s what I want to hear about, you silly bear. I know you’re a great parent, but it’s not like we’re having kids anytime soon. I want to learn about you – the man I fell in love with. The man I claimed as my own.”
“Fuck, Tony, I’m so sorry. You must know I love you too.” Gregor shoved Rex aside, intent on reaching his mate, but Rex pushed back.
“No. No. NO! No lovey-dovey shit. You love each other, great. You can fuck over the counter for all I care, after you tell me where Devyn is.”
Gregor reached for Tony’s hand and tugged him past Rex’s body until they were snuggled together. “He’s not at the house?”
“I said he wasn’t.” Gregor was lust drunk, that was the only excuse Rex could think of for him not listening the first time.
“He didn’t take his truck?”
“I drove the damn thing here.”
“There were strange scents in the house?”<
br />
“Just one, and this.” Rex held up the empty syringe he’d found in front of Devyn’s couch.
Gregor’s face paled under his beard. “Okay. That’s not good. He’s been taken, and given what we’ve been doing this evening, there’s only one possible explanation. Bovis had back up when he came into town who was a damn sight smarter than he was. Tony, my love….”
“I know exactly what you’re going to say, G,” Tony held onto Gregor’s arm. “I’m coming too. No arguments.”
“Even if it means facing your home pack?”
“My ex-home pack,” Tony said strongly. “This is my pack now. Rex is my alpha, you’re my mate, and given that Rex is mated to Devyn, that makes him my alpha mate. Of course, we’re going to find him together. It’s what a pack does.”
Rex was sure he heard Gregor mumble something about how the hell he ended up in a damn pack now, but he wasn’t paying attention. He should’ve realized his father was behind Devyn’s disappearance. The man always covered his bases. Rex’s only excuse for not thinking of it earlier, was he was still on the fence about his feelings on killing Bovis. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that either. His only focus had to be Devyn. The fact he couldn’t feel his precious mate through their bond, was getting more worrying by the minute.
You touch one hair on my mate’s head, father, and I’ll bury you right next to Bovis. That was the only thing he was certain of.
Chapter Nineteen
Well, I ain’t in Kansas anymore, or at least Devyn didn’t think he was. He could be, but given that was three states away from his house, it wasn’t likely. How long have I been out? Questions, questions, but his current surroundings weren’t giving him any answers.
From what he could see without his glasses, he was in a hut. There was no other word to describe the half round log walls, that had tiny slits in lieu of windows. The floor was roughhewn planks – thank goodness for the thin blanket Devyn was lying on. He wrinkled his nose. Great for no splinters, but eww on the hygiene side of things.
Looking around, it was clear why Rex had left home so young if this was the standard of accommodations his pack were used to. There was nothing in the hut but the blanket and two buckets. Devyn’s throat was raspy, and his tongue felt furry, but he wasn’t about to bum-walk his way over to the buckets to see if one of them had water in it. Not yet, anyway. He could hear the faint sounds of birdsong, and a murmur of people waking up and starting their day. He was not about to be caught trying to get to the buckets on his butt.
He shivered. This is the last time I’m dressing down in the hopes Rex ravishes me when he gets home, he thought. His thin pale gray sweatpants weren’t a lot of help in keeping out the chill and Devyn’s nipples were hard for all the wrong reasons. Pushing his upper body off the floor, Devyn wiggled around until his back was leaning against the wall, crossing his arms and tucking his fingers under each armpit.
There was no handle on the only door. What are the chances it isn’t locked at all? Devyn was still weighing up those chances when he heard the slide of wood on wood. The sudden light flooding into the dim hut caused him to blink rapidly, until it was three-quarters blocked by a shape in the door.
“Get up. You’re coming to the alpha.” Not a voice he recognized, but all that told Devyn was it wasn’t the man who kidnapped him the night before.
“I’m up as far as I can get.” Devyn waved at the bottom of his sweatpants. “I don’t have feet and I doubt the goon who stole me thought to bring my wheelchair with him.”
“What the fuck? No feet. Really?” The big behemoth came closer. Long thick black hair framed a surprisingly young and gentle face. “I’ve never seen anyone without all their bits before.”
“I have the bits that count,” Devyn said quickly as the man prodded at the bottom of his pants. “But as you can see, I can hardly get up and walk to the alpha, can I? I can do this.” Uncurling his fingers from the warmth of his armpits, Devyn put his hands flat on the ground, straightened his legs as best he could and lifted his butt. His body swung as he moved forward about four inches, his outstretched legs almost hitting the man watching him, as he rested his ass on the floor again.
“That’s it, I’m afraid. Maybe the alpha can come and see me if it’s important?” Close up, Devyn didn’t think the man was dangerous, but then he’d been wrong before.
“Shit.” The man frowned, scratching his head. “Shaman said to come get you. He didn’t say nothing about no feet.”
“It is what it is. I’m not trying to be difficult.” Devyn managed a small smile. “You could carry me, I suppose, like the guy who brought me here did, but I’d be a bit wary of that if I were you.”
“You’re small enough. I bet you don’t weigh barely anything.”
“Probably not to a big strapping shifter like yourself, but you see if you carry me, then my scent will get on you, and your scent will get on me, and my alpha will have a fit when he smells it.”
“Our alpha’s sick.” The man was clearly thinking. Devyn could almost see smoke coming out of his ears. “There’s no other alphas here.”
“Not at the moment, no. But my alpha will come. Have you heard about your alpha’s eldest son Rex?”
A big smile broke out, showing a lot of teeth. “Yes,” the man nodded. “The alpha told everyone he’s coming and he’s going to look after us. I spent two weeks helping over at the pack house getting it ready for his mate and new pups.”
It was Devyn’s turn to scratch his head. “Are we talking about the same Rex? Only my mate doesn’t have pups.”
“He doesn’t have them yet, silly,” the big man laughed. “But the girls are all a flutter over who he’ll choose and then there’ll be new babies, and new life in the alpha house. It’s going to be so wonderful.”
Okay, this guy has a few loose screws in the brains department. “Aren’t you going to miss your existing alpha?” Devyn was making conversation more than anything else. He had no doubts someone else would be along soon enough, once they realized there was a delay. But he wished he’d asked something else, when the big man’s jolly face turned sad.
“He’s been a great alpha.” The man sniffed and swiped at his cheeks. “But those magic people got him good, and we all knows about the circle of life. That’s why Rex is coming home. The alpha wants to know we’re being taken care of before he goes to the great forest in the sky.”
“That’s very decent of him,” Devyn murmured politely, but his new buddy seemed to take encouragement from it.
“He’s the best. Did you know he has his own women homeschool all the kids in the pack? We all know how to read, and write our name, and do our numbers. And when they get bigger, the menfolk are offered places on the logging team just ten miles away. They send a truck for us, can you believe it?”
“You work in logging?” Devyn wouldn’t be surprised. The man would make a sexy calendar picture with his shirt off and an axe over his shoulder.
“Oh, no, not me. I’m an enforcer,” his buddy said proudly. “There’s only me since Beau left the pack and Jonah isn’t old enough yet. It’s an important job. We’re the biggest men in the pack.”
“Why did Beau leave? Does that happen very often?”
“The alpha said the ones who leave are seduced by gadgets and hot water.” The guy looked so serious Devyn wanted to laugh. “We don’t have stuff like that there. Who needs hot water when the stream cleans you up good and what’s the point in having all those fancy phones you hold in your hands if you’ve got no one to call? If I want to talk to anyone, I yell, or go and see them.”
“I thought Rex talked to the alpha on the phone quite often.”
“From the land line.” The man said the words slowly as if he wasn’t used to using them. “The alpha got it put in when Rex left to go sow his oats in the city. It was the only way the alpha could keep up with his son’s training. A lot of the pack weren’t happy. But it’s only one phone and it’s on the alpha’s desk. No one else can u
se it.”
“That makes sense.” Devyn wiggled his ass. The floor was hard. “So, is everyone looking forward to Rex coming?”
“The whole pack. The alpha said we had to be patient with him – city ways makes a man say weird things sometimes. But once he’s mated and has pups, he should settle down fine.”
“What if he’s already mated to someone not in the pack?”
The big man shrugged. “His wife can come too, I suppose. So long as she’s wolf, it won’t be no problem, cos the new alpha has to have pups.”
“And what if….” Devyn didn’t get a chance to say anything more as the light from the door was blocked by a figure he did recognize.
“Rogan, I thought I told you to get this boy to the alpha. He’s waiting.”
“Shaman.” Rogan jumped. “You didn’t tell me he didn’t have feet. I wasn’t sure… I didn’t know….”
“You have to carry him, fool,” the shaman snapped. Devyn didn’t like the misery on Rogan’s face. “Pick him up and get on with it,” he added before striding out the door.
“I’m sorry,” Rogan whispered, moving closer and holding out his arms. “How can I…? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Nothing hurts,” Devyn said, his natural empathy making him want to help his new friend. “Just scoop me up and things will be fine.”
At least Devyn hoped he’d be fine, but as Rogan did as he instructed, and Devyn got his first look at the compound Rex grew up in, his biggest worry was that Rex wouldn’t get to him soon enough to save him. The pack didn’t appear large, but every person he saw turned their backs as Rogan went by. I didn’t realize being an omega was contagious.
