Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
Theo woke up feeling warm and safe. It was such a strange feeling that for a minute he thought he was still asleep and dreaming. But then he understood he was cradled in a pair of strong arms, and that he could hear snoring.
He didn’t figure he would dream about snoring, so he opened his eyes, trying to see through the gloom.
Then he realized it was the alpha, who had found him on the top of the mountain, holding him.
How wonderful. Theo relaxed. This was the one he’d known would come for him and Gael, and he understood now that it was his mate.
There was just enough light coming through the covered window for him to have a look at the man holding him.
He had a strong jaw and sharp cheekbones.
Dark lashes fanned his cheeks, and really dark hair fell over his forehead.
He was glorious, his muscles corded underneath the skin of his neck and on his arms, where the sleeves of the sweater were pushed up.
His shoulders were super broad, and the rest of him felt trim and hard and very alpha like, honestly.
Theo couldn’t believe he was so lucky, and he figured he would have to work to get back to being healthy, because his mate deserved someone who was whole and able to keep up with him.
He heard the tiny little sniffling sounds that Gael made. He opened his eyes. The son of his heart wore clean, soft clothes, and was bundled up in a blanket. And was staring at him. Uh, right.
Sitting in the little bassinet next to the bed was a bottle.
Theo imagined someone had come in to bring the bottle, and that was what had actually woken him up.
Still, the fact that someone could come in without throwing him into a panic meant that he knew he was safe here.
There was a sense of peace that hung around everything in this place, and it screamed of a shaman.
He smiled at himself as he sat up and grabbed the bottle so that he could feed Gael.
Could something as peaceful as a shaman scream shaman?
He wasn’t sure, but whispered shaman just wasn’t quite right.
Maybe, echoed shaman. Gael rooted for the bottle, refusing to let him forget why he was here, which was obviously to feed this baby.
“All right, little one,” he whispered. “Look at this yummy bottle. Someone’s taking good care of us, aren’t they?”
“I would hope so. These are good people.”
Theo blinked over and offered Liam a smile. “Alpha.”
“Oh, honey, I’m not a wolf. I don’t know that I can be, but whatever this is, I’m right here, and we’re going to make sure that you and the baby are all right.”
Not a wolf. That was ridiculous. Of course, this alpha was a wolf. Theo could smell it.
So Liam had been hiding and having to pretend he was not a wolf. But if so, why would he be so relaxed here? Obviously, these people were pack.
“He already looks better.”
He nodded, happy to see it. “I think so too. It was hard for him, being so hungry all the time. I’m glad you came and found us. I was wishing for you.” Falling for you?
“I know. I could hear you. Which, let me tell you, isn’t the slightest bit unnerving, dreaming about you over and over and over again.”
He pushed his matted hair out of his face. “I’m sure I’m not the dream you’ve had right now.” Hopefully, he cleaned up better.
“Hush; you’re perfect. I’m just glad I found you in time. I’m not sure you would have made it another day.”
“I don’t even want to think about how awful that is.” Oh, goddess, that was a scary thought.
Liam shook his head, leaning close to hold him. “No, no, me either… It doesn’t matter now, because you did it. You survived. It’s amazing. You never gave up.”
Of course he hadn’t. He never would have given up on his mate. Never. “I wish for all of us to have a long, healthy, happy life.”
Gael especially. To honor his parents.
He didn’t want to think about everything.
Honestly, he didn’t want to think about any of the dark days that had just passed.
From the moment they’d been driven from their homes until this very second had been overwhelming and horrifying.
And terrifying. Now he was going to think things that weren’t scary and awful. In fact, he was going to be joyous.
“Soon we’ll be able to take you down where you can have a bath and relax. Maybe have some breakfast. Meet everyone. I think everyone’s eager to meet you.”
“Are there many people?”
Liam chuckled. “There are a lot of werewolves and one people. But mostly werewolves. There’s Niall and Loyal and their children, all four of them.
LuAnn and her mate and their babies. And then there’s three or four other couples who have joined them up here.
So it’s, it’s not, it’s not a huge pack, not like Keegan and Jameson’s pack, but it’s a nice size. ”
“Do you have a pack?” He wanted to know all about Liam.
“I have a large family. My brothers and I live at the base of the mountain. Well, everyone but one brother who lives with his mate in the pack, the big pack, and I don’t know how he’s a werewolf. He must have had a different dad. I don’t know.”
How very confusing. But it sounded as if Liam was hiding his whole self, and there must be a good reason, so he would play along until he could figure out the why. And then he would support his mate in that.
His omega mother had taught him how important it was for an omega to support their alpha as long as they were being fair and equitable. Liam seemed incredibly fair to him, so unless he proved otherwise Theo would just go ahead and cut him some slack.
Just about the time he got Gael settled in his arms and popped the nipple of the bottle into the baby’s mouth, a knock sounded at the door, quiet but firm. “Yoohoo. Did I hear everybody was awake in there?”
Liam grinned at him. “Come on in, Niall. We’re awake.”
The door opened, and a beautiful silvery wolf walked in, his hands laden with a tray.
“Glad to see you’re feeling better, Theo, and it’s good that Gael is eating.
I made sandwiches, and I brought those cookies I promised you, Liam.
I also brought some cut-up fruit and some macaroni and cheese I had leftover and heated up. I hope that’ll work.”
All of a sudden, Theo was shaking he was so hungry, his body trying to tell him that he was having a crisis. “That sounds amazing. Thank you.”
“No problem at all. Just call if you need me. I’ll leave you to it. Oh, and, Theo, let me know when you want to have a bath, and we’ll get that set up for you.” Niall was gone with a wave of his hand and a swirl of magical energy behind him.
Theo looked at Liam. “He’s kind of amazing.”
“He is. He’s our seer. He’s great. Here, hand me the baby, and I’ll feed him while you eat. It looks like you need to have a sit.”
Liam was absolutely right, because he’d gotten up to walk a bit while he fed the baby.
So he handed over Gael and let his wobbly legs take him back to the bed where he could sit down.
The food smelled like heaven, and his belly snarled again.
It felt as if it had been eons since he’d eaten anything but jerky and hardtack he’d made himself.
Theo grabbed the grilled cheese sandwich first, and it was perfect.
Crunchy and golden on the outside and gooey and cheesy in the middle.
He wanted to snap it up in two bites, but he didn’t.
Instead, he savored it, tearing off little chunks and eating them, chewing them completely, and swallowing before he went for the next bite.
He thought that way if his stomach was going to rebel, he would know right away.
Liam looked as though he fed babies all the time, holding Gael confidently in one arm and the bottle in the other hand. The baby sucked lustily on the nipple.
“Is it good?” Liam asked gently.
“It’s so good you can’t even begin to understand.
” He chuckled, grabbing a piece of fruit.
This fruit salad held all sorts of things he knew there was no way they could get up this high at this time of year, so somebody had to bring them supplies.
Bright and tart and yet sweet, the pineapple and strawberries and grapes burst on his tongue. “Did you want something?”
He should have asked Liam to begin with and given his alpha the first choice, but he had just been so hungry.
“God no. I’m still full from what I ate when I first got here.” Liam jerked his chin at the food. “You just go ahead.”
“Thank you.” He started on the macaroni and cheese, and that was just as yummy as the grilled cheese sandwich, so creamy and scrumptious, and yet it had that little crust around the edge that the leftover mac and cheese got when you heated it up again in the oven.
Tears stung his eyes because it had been so long since he’d had something so wonderful, and he tried to swallow them down, not wanting Liam to see how on edge he was.
“So is this where you live?” Theo forked up another bite.
“No, this isn’t even where the main pack lives,” Liam told him. “Where we found you…” Liam paused, chewing his lower lip as if he wasn’t sure how much to tell him.
Theo understood; they might be mates, but Liam didn’t really know him. How did one tell a complete stranger everything about their life?
Liam took a deep breath as if he had made a decision. “Where we found you used to be a dragon enclave, but they left and we thought they had taken their house with them. I’m not sure how it managed to show back up.”
“I don’t understand how an entire house can go missing.” That didn’t make any sense.
Liam shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
He frowned, utterly confused. “You mean you don’t know?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t know a lot of things, obviously.” Liam rocked Gael, gave him a frown. “You don’t seem surprised about the dragons.”
Why on earth would he be? “What about the dragons—that they disappeared?”
“That they exist? You don’t seem surprised that they exist.”
He shrugged, not loving the distrust he was feeling. “Do you think I ought to be?”
“Well, that’s an exceptional question. I don’t know.” Liam chuckled softly, and the tension eased. “We’ve dealt with a lot of werewolves and more than a couple dragons. But this is something new, something big. It’s a tad concerning that the house is there, because it had disappeared.”
“Did it leave a hole?” A house that big had to have left a hole.
“No, it was like a facade. I mean, like the front of—”
“I know the word.” He was hungry, not uneducated. He’d managed to keep the baby alive, keep himself alive. That was a win-win situation. “Wow. I was running, and I thought it was safe and—it was empty, so I didn’t—I wasn’t doing any harm, I do know that.” He hadn’t hurt anything. Nothing.
He found himself close to tears, and Liam reached out for him and took his hand. “Yeah, you were not doing anything wrong. That’s absolutely true. You’re not in any trouble. I don’t want you to feel like you are.”
That touch was very comforting, and he turned his hand over and twined their fingers together.
“I have to admit. I don’t know how to feel about it.”
“You don’t know how to feel about what?” Him?
Liam offered him a smile. “The dragons were our friends, and they disappeared. They just up and poofed, gone. It’s wild. And, you know what? I miss them. I went up there, and there you were. I’m not used to interesting things happening to me.”
Theo added another piece of pineapple and then kind of stared over at him. “Dragons are pretty interesting.”
“Yeah. I mean, my family has been taking them supplies for… decades. It’s just weird to not have them up there.” Liam chewed on his lip, which he noticed was a habit. “Maybe the house knew you needed it so it reappeared.”
“Hmm.” He chuckled. “So if you went up there, would it still be there?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to go see, but I can wait until you and Gael are stronger.”
“Oh, you don’t—”
“Yeah, I do.” Liam put the bottle aside when Gael finished, lifting him to one shoulder to burp him. “You’re what’s important to me now, Theo.”
His cheeks heated, and he smiled with genuine pleasure. “Thank you, mate. Gael should sleep again for a while now…”
“Yeah?” Liam bounced the baby, who burped hugely. “You want a bath?”
“Oh, goddess yes.” He was crusty. Gross. A hot bath sounded heavenly.
“I’ll go tell Niall.” Liam stood, putting Gael back in the bassinet. “And see about some diapers to change him into.”
“You’re good with children.” He loved the sight of Gael in Liam’s hands. It felt so right.
“I like to think so, yeah.” Liam winked at him. “I have a lot of brothers, and I’m an uncle.”
He found a warm smile for his new mate. “Do you think that I might get a brush for my hair?”
Liam gave him a look that was surprising and burning with a sudden passion, which he knew he didn’t deserve. He was not at his best. In fact, he was decidedly at his worst. “I’ll make sure you do.”
Liam disappeared, and Theo went to pat little Gael’s back. “That’s our alpha. It’s very exciting. We’re going to take very good care of him, I promise.”
The baby blinked at him, nice and slow, just staring.
It comforted him how much healthier, with just a few bottles, little Gael seemed to be.
Thank goodness their kind tended to be made of stronger stuff, because otherwise, he wasn’t sure he’d have been able to keep Gael alive.
“I took care of him,” he whispered, hoping his pack could hear him. “I did my best. I swear to you I did the very best I could for him.” He’d been so frightened, still angry, but at the same time, he had managed to make sure the baby survived. Death was never simple, and violent death was worse.
“You did an amazing job, and he’s sound asleep, so he can’t hear you.” Liam came back in, towels in hand.
“I don’t feel like I did an amazing job. In fact, I feel like…like I’m kind of a… but I’m not a warrior. He had a gun.”
“You saved the baby. Sometimes, that’s all you can do.”
“Sometimes.”
“Come have a bath. Baths are important.” Liam leaned down and kissed his cheek.
“Yes, well…” He managed a warm, real smile. “But smelling better is vital.”
And perhaps, if he was very lucky, he might convince Liam to join him and help him untangle his hair.