Chapter 08
TALIUS
I watched my two sweet men playing video games together in the games room.
They were seated on the couch, controllers in hand, eyes glued to the screen. The sofa was big enough for three, but they were sitting pressed shoulder to shoulder, arms touching, laughing away at whatever was happening on the screen. Every now and then, one of them would rest their head on the other”s shoulder.
They were happy and carefree when together, and so much in love. My heart thudded in my chest, nearly bursting with pride and gratitude. I was the luckiest alpha, that the Goddess had seen fit to grant me two such wonderful mates, mates that fit so well together.
A burst of heat flushed through me as I thought about the night before. It had been a good call to get Isca to fuck Irian. Irian had been hungry for him, and Isca had been so proud afterwards. And a little shocked too, I think. My jeans tightened at the memory and I thought about joining them on the sofa, but I had work to attend to.
The game ended with a loud crash! as the spaceship they were flying was overwhelmed by superior forces, and Isca tossed his controller onto the rug.
”We haven”t won a single game since we got this,” he grumbled. ”This new game...”
”Sucks!” Irian interjected, then he pulled a face. ”Maybe we should go back to playing against each other. I suck at this. I”m just holding you back.”
Isca kicked back on the couch. ”Nah, it”s more fun to play together. You just need more practice.”
Isca threw me a wink over the back of the couch. I knew my role.
”Irian already spends far too much time on that damn machine,” I asserted.
”I do not!” Irian jumped to his feet, hands on his hips, glaring at me.
”...time he should be spending on the house-keeping,” I continued, the corners of my mouth struggling to stay put.
”The fuck?” Irian spluttered, vertical wrinkles appearing between his brows and the muscles in his jaw tightening. His nostrils flared and his mouth opened to deliver a scathing retort, when he must have caught sight of Isca laughing silently beside him, hand over his mouth and tears streaming down his cheeks.
”What the...?” His head ping-ponged between us. ”Fuckers!” he exclaimed, as I gave up my fight to keep a straight face. I wrapped my arms around myself, shaking with laughter. He was so easy to rile up, and now we were a triad I had a willing accomplice anytime I wanted to stir the pot.
Irian plonked himself back down on the sofa with a huff. Isca launched himself on top of him, pushing him onto his back and covering his lips with his own.
It was tempting to join in, but then I”d get no work done at all this morning. Sighing, I adjusted myself, and after leaning over the back of the couch to kiss both men on the head, turned and made my way reluctantly to my office. Sometimes it sucked to be the Pack Alpha.
◆◆◆
After a deadly boring hour of doing the pack accounts, I pushed away from my desk and stood up, groaning as I stretched my stiff muscles. I needed to get out of the house and into the fresh air. I felt more restless than usual, and whenI started to feel this way, it usually meant the full moon was near and my wolf was near the surface.
That reminded me that I hadn”t heard back from my contact on the Council. Making a mental note to follow that up, I left the office and headed past the living room and kitchen, which were now deserted, and out the front door.
Johnson was usually checking the fences at this time of day. Looking around, I couldn”t see the quad bike anywhere, which suggested he was still out in the paddocks.
Walk or ride?
I roamed my gaze over the distant paddocks and along the stretches of road visible between the trees. It was deserted. With my wolf already so near the surface and eager to be set free, it was tempting to shift and run to wherever Johnson was working. Easier to locate him in my wolf form, too.
But... it was a risk I didn”t need to take. I didn”t need someone reporting a wolf sighting in the district. Foxes were common here, but not wolves. A sighting would create a hue and cry, and a level of observation we shifters didn”t need.
Not this time,I told my wolf, but soon. I”d check the calendar when I returned to the office and if the full moon wasn”t soon enough, I might take a run tonight.
I found the motorcycle in the shed, and took off down the track on that. The track had been recently graded, so it wasn”t too bumpy, and the fresh air rushing past my face was exhilarating. So much better than being captive indoors.
I found Johnson out in the back paddock. He was dealing with a branch that had fallen across the boundary fence. He”d already sawn it in half and was repairing the broken wires of the electric fence when I got there.
”Hey, Talius,” Johnson looked up from where he was crouched twisting wires through an electrical insulator.
”Hey, Johnson. Another one of these trees down again?”
”Yeah. Happens every time there”s a decent wind.”
I heard the pop of his joints as he stood up, and he groaned and rubbed his hip.
”Why don”t you get Agelius out here doing some of this?” I suggested. ”You”re not getting any younger and he”s more than capable. Put those young muscles to work.”
Johnson”s mouth pinched and he glared. ”I”m not ready for the nursing home yet, Talius.”
”No, but when you are we”ll have to build one on-site. Can”t imagine the humans would be too happy with a wolf running down the hallways of their nursing home every full moon. Seriously though, bring Agelius out here. You could probably bring Isca too. He”s interested in farm work and we need to make sure to pass on the knowledge to the next generation.”
Johnson shrugged. ”Jeez. How to make a guy feel old. But yeah, okay, guess you”re right. I should do that. I do feel my age some days.”
He gingerly knelt back down and resumed patching the fence.
”What can I help you with?” I asked.
Johnson waved a hand further along. ”There”s a section over there that needs a wire reconnected,” he told me, ”if you want to fix that.”
I got to work. The day was heating up, the early morning chill of the air dispelled by the strength of the southern hemisphere sun. It wasn”t long before perspiration was dripping down my back.
After a while, Johnson mumbled something to himself, settling back on his heels and checking his work.
”I presume you didn”t just come out here to help me fix a fence you know I can manage on my own,” he said. ”Trying to escape the office?”
”A bit of that,” I admitted, twisting the wires together. I looked across at him. ”I really needed to get some fresh air.”
Johnson nodded like he understood. ”Yeah,” he said quietly, ”I”m feeling it too... less than a week ”til the full moon.”
I thought for a bit, then I said, ”Isca”s going to join us for the run this month.”
Johnson”s hands stilled, and his green eyes met mine. His brow wrinkled.
”Do you think that”s safe?”
”I think we can make it safe. Who”s joining us for the run this month?”
”That I know of... only Lucius” pack, though of course they”ll probably bring friends.”
”They”re decent wolves,” I noted. Then I added, ”Has anyone been out to Isca”s old pack house recently?”
Johnson wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as he looked up at me. He shook his head. ”Not since the time we went looking for Isca.”
”Mmm. I wonder if we should send someone to check it out.”
Johnson raised a bushy eyebrow. ”What are you thinking?”
”Just to see who”s there, if anyone. I wouldn”t like to be surprised by Zarbius returning here and us not knowing about it.”
”We can send someone up there tomorrow, maybe this afternoon, depending how the work”s going?”
”Yeah. I think we should. Find out if anyone”s living there now, and if they are whether it”s that pack or someone new.”
”Sure. I”ll send a couple of guys... just in case there”s trouble.”
I shook my head. ”By all means send two, but I don”t want themengaging with anyone. If they find someone there, tell them to stay well clear. I don”t want anyone thinking we”re interested in the place.”
”Sure,” Johnson grunted and we got back to work.
Once we”d finished with the fence, I hefted the massive chainsaw from the back of the trailer and we moved on to sawing up the bough and stacking it well away from the trees, ready for burning off at a later date. Now that more and more city folk were moving out to the country and panicking every time they saw smoke, it had become obligatory to notify the local fire authority prior to lighting any fires, so we tended to prepare all the piles ahead of time and then spend a solid week burning them off all at once.
By the time we were done, my shirt was soaked and sticking to my back, my sweaty hair plastered to my forehead. I swallowed, my throat dry and raspy. My stomach growled. But I felt good. Physical work and fresh air were just what I needed to placate my wolf, make it feel closer to nature.
”I”m gonna head back to the house,” I told Johnson. ”Want to join us for lunch?”
He shook his head. ”Thanks, but no. I”ve got a couple more jobs I need to finish up before I head back.”
I turned to go, paused mid-step, then facing him again, said ”Let me know as soon as you find out the situation at Isca”s old place.”
Johnson grunted affirmatively.
Mounting the bike again, I headed back to the compound.
Later that evening, I was enjoying a quiet post-dinner moviewith Irian leaning up against me on the sofa, and Isca seated on the floor between my legs, when the familiar buzz of my phone hummed in the background.
I was comfortable where I was and didn”t relish interrupting our evening, but Isca bounded up and grabbed the phone off the table before I could tell him not to bother.
”It”s Johnson,” he told me, holding the phone out.
Irian paused the movie as I grudgingly accepted the phone, my cozy evening with my omegas interrupted. However, I never refused a call from Johnson. He knew what was important and he was unlikely to ring for anything else.
”Hey,” I said into the phone.
”Hey, Talius. Sorry to disturb your evening but I”ve had a report back on Zarbius” pack house and I thought you”d want to get an update as soon as I had it.”
I leaned forward, phone pressed to my ear, listening attentively. ”What did you find out?”
”The place is completely deserted. It”s as though they just packed up and left and no-one”s been there since. The outside is overgrown, and inside is empty and dusty. Everything”s gone, except for in one room which looks untouched. I”m speculating that was Isca”s room.”
”Do you have a description of the room?”
”Just a minute.” I heard Johnson and some other voices conversing in the background, before Johnson came back on the call. ”I”m gonna put Oscar on. He and Anders were the ones who went up there.”
A deep voice spoke into the phone. ”Alpha, this is Oscar.”
”Hey, Oscar. Thanks for going up and checking on the property.What can you tell me about it?”
”Alpha, it”s obvious no-one has been there since the pack left,” he told me. ”Me and Anders scented around the buildings before we went in, and there was no trace of any shifters having been there recently. Just the usual forest animal scents. There was evidence some animals had been living in the house - scats in some of the rooms, a couple of snake skins and the like - but no humans and no shifters. The buildings had all been cleared out, except for one room in the main packhouse, and everything was overgrown, not that it means much. From what we”d seen of those guys when they were in town, they didn”t seem too concerned about appearances.”
”Tell me about the room that wasn”t cleared out. Where was it located in the building? Can you describe it? Any distinguishing features?”
There was silence for a moment, then Oscar said, ”It was in the main house, as I said. If you enter from the back door, you go through the kitchen, down a corridor and it was the first on the left. Had a single bed, bookcase, closet with one door half-broken off. Had a few clothes inside. Small window, the glass was cracked. Blue walls. Nothing else remarkable.”
”Hold on a minute.” I put the phone on mute. Turning to my newest omega, I said ”Isca, I”ve just had someone go up to your old packhouse and check on things...”
Isca”s eyes flared wide, pupils dilated. He sucked in a sudden breath.
”It”s okay,” I reassured him. ”There”s no-one there. They haven”t been back since... since they left. Did you have your own room there by any chance?”
Isca nodded. ”Yes. I... I never stayed in Zarbius” room, even when we”d...” he shrugged, a red stain flushing his cheeks, and didn”t finish his sentence. I couldn”t blame him for not wanting to say the words. He”d probably tried to blank those memories out; the pain, the shame, and the sense of helplessness. I felt the rage bubbling inside me at the thought of this poor defenceless omega, cast out of bed after his sadistic alpha had taken what he wanted from him. How sad Isca”s life must have been back then. I gritted my teeth. There was nothing we could do about his past, but his future was with us and I was determined it would be nothing like his previous life. Nothing was too good or too much for my omegas, either of them.
”Can you describe where the room was... ah, in relation to the kitchen?”
”Um, yeah. Down the hallway, first door on the left. Why?”
It was going to be hurtful to hear this but it couldn”t be avoided. Despite everything that had happened to him, or maybe because of it, Isca was a strong omega. He would be hurt, but he would be able to deal with those feelings. And we were here to help him with that.
”Is there anything you”d like to have from your room? Any possessions that you want? I can send someone to pick them up for you.”
Isca stayed quiet, blinking softly. I saw the moment he came to the inevitable conclusion. His face fell, the corners of his eyes and mouth turning down, and his shoulders curled inwards.
”They left all my stuff behind, didn”t they?” he said numbly. It shouldn”t have come as a surprise, but it was another slap in the face for him, another sign of how little they valued him.
I tossed the phone on the bench and took the two steps I needed to reach him, wrapping him up against my body and tucking his head against my chest. I felt a patch of wet seep through my shirt, felt the tremors ripple through his body. I rubbed my hands soothingly up and down his back, buried my lips in his hair and as I kissed him, murmured, ”We”re your family now. We love and appreciate you. No-one”s going to hurt you anymore.”
He pushed his nose between the buttons of my shirt onto myskin and inhaled a deep shuddering breath. The shaking eased and he sagged in my embrace. He took another deep sniff against my chest and when he looked up at me, although his cheeks glistened, there were no more tears falling, and his eyes had the slightly dopey expression that a good dose of alpha pheromones could give an omega.
A pair of arms slid around my back and Isca was squashed harder into me as Irian came up behind him and wrapped his arms around both of us, making an Isca sandwich.
”You have us,” I heard Irian murmur into Isca”s ear.
”I know. It”s just hard knowing how little I meant to them. I did everything for them... I fed them, cleaned up after them...”
”Hush,” I breathed against the soft strands of hair. ”Some people don”t know a good thing when they see it. It doesn”t make you less valuable, it just makes them stupid.”
Isca made a little choking sound that was half laugh, half sniffle.
”And their stupidity is our gain,” added Irian. ”And we get to love you forever!”
Isca sniffed and wriggled in our arms. Irian released his grip allowing Isca to stand freely, though we were all standing so close that our scents mingled. The smell of us combined was intoxicating. It was tempting to scoop them both up and take them to bed, but we weren”t done here.
”So, Isca,” I used my gentlest tone, but my voice had dropped to a husky growl despite myself. He shivered. ”Is there anything you want from there?”
Isca”s eyes blanked over as he contemplated the question, maybe running through his possessions in his mind.
A sudden gasp burst from him and his eyes refocused.
”Yes! It”s been so long since I even thought about it, but I had something hidden away. There”s a small wooden box, with a lock on it. It”s on the bookcase, behind the books. If I could havethat... and the recipe book sitting in front of it...”
”Anything else? Clothes, maybe?”
”No. That”s all. I... I didn”t have much and anyway I want to leave that part of my life in the past where it belongs.”
”Very well. Let”s get those things for you.” I picked up the phone again.
”Oscar? Still there?” I asked after unmuting the call.
”Yes, Alpha, I”m still here,” the beta replied.
”That room you described is Isca”s. There are a couple of things I want you to bring back for him.”
”Yes, Alpha. I can go up again in the morning or I can go now if you”d rather.”
”Tomorrow is fine. In the bookshelf in his room you”ll find a cooking book - a recipe book - and hidden behind that is a wooden box. He wants the box and the book.”
”Nothing else, Alpha? While we”re there, we can bring back as much as he wants.”
”That”s all he wants. Thanks Oscar. We”ll see you tomorrow then.”
”Yes, Alpha. Goodnight.”
”Goodnight Oscar.”