Chapter Two
Bas
After a long shower, Bastian changed into a pair of old, comfortable jeans and a soft T-shirt.
His mind was still whirling from the shocking revelation earlier.
Even through all of Noah’s teasing about him being rescued from a tree, which hadn’t happened—Bas was the best climber, period—he couldn’t stop thinking about the big smiling human that had so earnestly wanted to help him.
And had smelled like Bas’s favorite everything.
So, this was what happened when a shifter scented their mate.
Bas still had trouble believing it. At first, Bas had been annoyed that his nap had been interrupted until he’d gotten a look at the human whose deep voice had penetrated his dream.
Then Bastian just wanted to get closer. But Bas knew better than interacting with humans when he was shifted.
He tried to show the human that he was fine by walking to the smallest part of the branch, but that had only upset the human even more.
Eventually Bastian figured the only solution was to get down from the tree.
He had not expected the human to snatch him up. Or how fucking good the human would smell.
Mate.
Was it really true?
Bastian had been certain when he’d been held in the human’s arms and against that awesome broad chest. The human was just Bastian’s type.
Big, tall, wide, and strong. He’d been seriously considering letting the human take him home.
How Bas would explain that to others hadn’t mattered.
He’d have let the human rub him for as long as he was able.
Instead, Noah had shown up and Bas had been yanked back into his senses.
There was no way that Bas had met his mate. There must have been something in the air. The flowers or whatever. Bas just needed to forget all about the handsome human. Although, since the man had been dressed in the town’s firefighter uniform, if Bastian wanted to investigate further, he could.
Banging on the cabin door pulled him from his thoughts of the human. He stomped forward and threw open the door with a frown. He’d said that he would be right out. Bas just needed a few minutes to think.
Leo, Aaron, and Gavin all hovered in front of him.
“What?” Bastian asked with a scowl. “I’m not late for dinner.” He’d checked the time. There was still twenty minutes before everyone else got home. Although he could hear some of the boys already starting to play in the yard.
“Noah said you had to be rescued from a tree?” Gavin asked.
“I did not!” Bastian pushed out his chest. That was a ridiculous statement and Bas wouldn’t stand for it.
Leo smirked. “No? Did you want to be captured by the hot fireman?”
“Noah was very certain you were not fighting to get away,” Aaron added.
His friends were idiots. “The human was upset, thinking I was stuck. I was allowing him to pet me to help him feel better.” That was Bas’s story and he was sticking to it.
Gavin snorted. “I’ve seen Hudson. I’m sure you were just being nice, letting that handsome man put his hands all over you.”
Bas narrowed his eyes at Gavin. “Does your mate know you call other men handsome?” That bothered Bas more than he wanted to think about. No one should be thinking Hudson was handsome other than him.
“I’ve seen Hudson too. He’s hot!”
Bastian looked over Gavin’s shoulder to see Stryker sitting on the rail of the porch, grinning.
He rolled his eyes. Great, the gang was all there. Not really. It was a large family after all. “I was being nice. It wouldn’t do us any good to make the humans around here suspicious of us.”
Gavin shook his head. His smile couldn’t be any more obvious. “Whatever you say, man.”
“Papi! You can see he’s fine,” Stryker called. “Can we please go see if Adam is here yet?”
Turning on his heel, Gavin pointed at his mate. “I will make sure you and Adam never spend a minute together again if you disappear on me. I swear, boy. I will handcuff you to myself if I have to.”
“I’m pretty sure I have some zip ties in my kit from my council days,” Bas offered.
Stryker grinned. “Kinky.”
Leo groaned. “I do not want to hear what the two of you do in the bedroom.”
Gavin grunted as he stomped across the porch. He picked Stryker up then threw him over his shoulder.
Bas and Aaron laughed. Gavin strode away with Stryker continuing to taunt him which just made the whole situation even more funny. Leo just stared at the ground and shook his head. “Those two. They’re just perfect together.”
“You have to admit it’s never boring here,” Aaron said.
It was on the tip of his tongue to share with his friends Bas’s suspicions about Hudson, but what if he was wrong? No, it would be better if he did some research into the human himself before he said anything. “True,” he settled with saying.
“They’re grilling steaks tonight,” Aaron said. “And Drake brought some of the sides from his restaurant as well. It smells fucking fantastic.”
Stepping out of the cabin, Bas strode to the rail where Stryker had been sitting.
He could tell it was close to dinnertime with how full the yard was.
Bryce, Nate, Ansley, and Anton were playing at the top of the playset.
A massive colorful set that had to have been custom made.
Logan was in his lion form, napping under his tree with his massive head in Dean’s lap as Noah, also shifted, was curled up on his chest. Lawson, River, and Sam were playing a board game at the patio table.
Drake, Axel, and Bo were standing at the grill talking.
Rainer was showing Craig, Shawn, and Trevor something on a tablet as they kept looking toward the woods.
Gavin walked out of the forest with Stryker over his shoulder with Mal, Adam, Ash, and Seb.
Levi and Mason stepped out of their cabin across from his and waved.
Family.
That was what these men were to one another.
Mated couples and throuples scattered around because they were also bonded like a pack.
It made sense to him when he thought of Hudson running across the yard or calling out to him.
“Never thought I’d see a group of men like this together,” Leo said quietly. He stood at Bas’s left as Aarin joined them on the right.
“I keep waiting to hear growling or a fight starting,” Aaron said.
“Yeah,” he agreed. Growing up in the council training center, there hadn’t been a time when in a large group they didn’t need to be on alert.
A simple look or muttered word could cause instant chaos.
They’d watched each other’s backs from other kids who wanted to be top dog and tried to take one of them out to prove their strength.
“I’m glad my brother found this.” Leo’s vice was full of emotion.
Bas pressed his arm against his friends. They weren’t big on physical touch but sometimes a touch helped to ground them. Missing pack bonds, or some shit that Bastian had read in a book.
“This is what we worked so hard for,” Aaron stated.
It was. Bastian had never been able to forget all the paranormals that he’d rescued over the years. There might be information on his laptop where he’d tracked and made sure that their lives were better off. Just to make himself feel better.
“Mates,” Leo said. “How did we never know anything about them not being found? Why didn’t the council do more?”
Bas snorted. “If it doesn’t affect them, they don’t do anything.”
Leo shook his head. “We did good working with them.”
“For them,” Bas corrected. “And we were always too late to save everyone.”
Leo turned. “Did you really hate it that much?”
“I didn’t hate it.” It was hard to find the right words to explain.
“I just feel used. Like we could have done so much more. While riding around the country, I ran into so many shifters that are basically living in poverty or in fear of discovery. I did what I could, offered advice, or helped around their territory, but it never seemed like enough. The council never sent us to those places.”
Aaron hopped on the rail, much like Stryker had been sitting. “You’re not going to join us, are you?”
Bastian hadn’t made up his mind. Meeting Hudson earlier changed things. Bas wasn’t going anywhere until he knew the truth about Hudson. And if he’d found his mate? Well, he would decide later what that meant.
“What if we went another way?” Leo asked.
“What do you mean?” Bas was intrigued. While he didn’t want to go back to working for the council, Bas felt listless once he’d left. Riding around on his bike had given him the chance to help paranormals again. That was what he wanted to do with his life. It was all he’d ever wanted.
“I can still retire,” Leo told them. “I just didn’t know what to do with myself now that I found Gavin. I want to stay in town, but it’s not like we don’t have too many years ahead of us. We need jobs.”
Aaron nodded. “We’ve both been there. The trying to figure out what to do after. If you have any bright ideas, please share with the class.”
He met Bas’s gaze and Bas nodded. Bas had just been wasting time trying to figure out what he actually wanted to do.
He’d enjoyed the solitude and being able to go wherever he wanted when he wanted but it was also a lonely existence.
That was how he’d found the first pack of shifters that needed a helping hand.
“You want to still help the paranormal community,” Leo said. “So do I. Those packs you came across, did they say why they never contacted the council?”
“I asked,” Bas told him. “They all said that they had reached out to their representative. No one ever came to help.”
“We can help,” Aaron said suddenly. “And we don’t need to be part of the council to do so.”
“How?” Bas questioned. He’d never admit it out loud but this was starting to come together. He could feel it.
“Working with Aaron’s private investigator license gives us access to databases we might need. And we all have contacts with the council that we can reach out to if we need. All we have to do is find the paranormal communities that need assistance and go from there.”