Chapter 36 #2
“Is it okay if we reschedule our Tuesday appointment?” Warren asked after the waiter had taken their order, sipping his sparkling water. He was seated between Max and Marcus, Harland across from him.
“Of course,” Harland said. “We don’t have to keep track. Whenever you feel like it is good.”
“You’re actually going to have to quit, at least officially,” Marcus said.
Max was surprised.
“What, why?” Warren asked, immediately on the defensive.
Max knew that he needed the money he got from his job to pay for both his own and his sister’s school, so he understood.
“I’ve registered you as a member of my pack.” Marcus’s voice was matter of fact. “Your agency doesn’t allow people who are members of a pack to work for them.”
“But I need my job,” Warren said. “Why do I have to be in your pack?”
Marcus clenched his jaw, looking deeply offended at the question, before visibly relaxing his facial muscles and taking a deep breath.
“As a member of my pack, you get tuition and expenses for school covered for both yourself and your sister,” Marcus said.
Before Warren could object, he held up his hand.
“It’s not special treatment. All members of the pack are entitled to it.
As for why you have to be in my pack, because I claimed you and I want everyone to know that you’re mine. ”
Warren bit his lip, the possessive look on Marcus’s face clearly doing it for him.
“I don’t want to be your sugar-baby or anything like that,” he finally said, his face flushed and a small smile playing on his lips. “I want to get a job and make my own money and have my own career.”
“And we’ll support you in that,” Marcus said.
“All the way,” Harland added.
“I have a job and I’m totally a sugar-baby,” Max piped up. He had come to terms with the enormous wealth disparity between him and Harland pretty fast. “I have a credit card and I buy whatever I want and I’ve never seen a single bill. It’s awesome.”
“Will you hire someone else?” Warren asked Harland, though he shot Max a quick, amused glance to acknowledge his joke.
“Do you enjoy it when I feed?” Harland leaned back, watching Warren closely.
Warren nodded.
“Then it can be something we do when you feel like it.”
“But will you hire someone else?”
There was jealousy in Warren’s voice and Max could feel how pleased that made Harland across their bond.
It was weird, having these little insights into how Marcus and Harland were feeling. He wondered if the insights would be more consistent as time went on, or if they’d always come and go like this.
“No. You were an experiment that Max suggested. I’m perfectly happy with my bagged blood for everyday feeding.”
Warren turned to Max with surprise. “It was your idea to hire someone from the agency?”
Max nodded. “I figured, he’s rich, people need money, why not indulge in some fine dining?” Max took a big bite of his very expensive steak and grinned while he chewed.
“Can you feed on werewolves?” Marcus asked, a curious tilt to his head.
He and Harland looked at each other, a delicious tension between them.
Max wondered what had gone down between them that had resulted in Harland smelling like he had come in his pants.
He bet that they’d wrestled. It seemed to be their favorite bonding activity.
“I can,” Harland said. “But your wolf wouldn’t like it. Max and I have tried a few times and it didn’t work out.”
“It’s so weird,” Max said, still imagining Marcus and Harland wrestling and frotting against each other. “My wolf hated it.”
“Maybe it’s different when you’re mated?” Marcus suggested.
He clearly wanted to try.
“I wouldn’t expect it.” Harland sounded sure.
Their food arrived, including a heated bag of blood for Harland.
“Did you arrange this?” he asked, holding the bag and giving it a squeeze.
“I did!”
He was used to seeing Harland feed and he figured that Warren and Marcus should get used to it, too. The bag wasn’t clear, so it wasn’t too gross.
“Thank you.”
Harland let his fangs drop and bit into the top of the bag, drinking it like a juice pouch.
Warren looked fascinated.
They started eating, the conversation drifting naturally from the topic of Warren’s school to Harland’s investments, and then to Max’s day at the fire station. Eventually, Max broached the topic of what they would do after dinner.
The mood turned heavy with anticipation as Marcus and Harland both looked at Warren to see what he had to say.
“I actually have a super early morning,” Warren confessed, putting down his fork and folding his hands in his lap. Max felt the air of anticipation collapse into disappointment.
The early morning excuse. That was a pretty clear way of telling them that they weren’t getting lucky.
“What do you have planned?” Harland asked.
“I’m going to Disneyland.”
Max, Marcus and Harland stared at him, and Max could feel their joint befuddlement across the bond. He wondered if they’d heard him correctly.
“Disneyland, like the theme park?” Marcus finally asked.
“Yes. My sister won a last-minute trip for two people. We get the tickets and hotels for free, and my sister bought me a super-cheap ticket. It’s the worst timing, but she’s so excited and I want to go.” Warren picked at the edge of his shirt. “It’s for three nights, so I’ll be back on Wednesday.”
Max shared a glance with Harland, his instincts telling him that they should forbid this act of abandonment, while the rational part of his brain insisted that there was no reason to be upset about his boyfriend going on a four-day trip.
“That was lucky,” Harland said. He put down his bag and forced a smile. It was wider than any expression he’d make naturally and genuinely creepy.
“That’s Alex Brady’s pack, right?” Marcus asked. His voice was thoughtful.
Max realized that as a member of Marcus’s pack, Warren technically needed permission to travel to another pack’s territory.
“No, it’s right on the border,” Harland corrected. “Neutral territory.”
Trust Harland to have exact knowledge of where the borders of all the major territories were.
“I can drive you to the airport,” Max said. He pushed his wolf and its unreasonable instincts to the back of his mind.
He was not going to be some red-flag possessive asshole boyfriend.
Warren relaxed, and Max knew that he had made the right choice.
“Thank you. She’s so excited about it.”
“Of course,” Marcus said. “She’s your family.”
“You know,” Max said, nudging Warren with the tip of his boot. “If you wanted to be a sugar baby – which is totally an option – you could take your sister to Disneyland whenever you wanted. You could just put it on your credit card and go.”
Warren laughed. “I’ll think about it.”
Max and Harland shared a glance, and Max knew that Warren would have his own card by the time he got back from California.
“Your sister lives in San Diego, right?” Harland asked.
“She does,” Warren said. He picked up his fork and took another bite of his pasta. “It’s a pretty long flight, but she arranged it so that we’re meeting at the airport. The contest she won pays for transport from the airport to the park.”
“Well, I hope the two of you have a good time.” Harland smiled, more genuine this time. “You should go to bed early so that you’re not too tired.”
“But we could have a little fun first, couldn’t we?”
Max looked at him, Harland and Marcus doing the same. The tension ratcheted up again, something delicious simmering under the surface.
“Fun?” Marcus asked, his voice dark and his tone rumbling.
Warren turned red, but he looked determined. “I mean. If Max is driving me, we could all go back to the house and stay the night. Right? That gives us some time to…. Have a good time.”
Max licked his lips, his grin stretching wide enough to show off his canines.
He should have known that Warren wouldn’t let them down.