Chapter Twenty-One
Jeremy
Where the fuck was my Cass?
“I told you,” Mary snapped, hitting my arm. “Stop pacing!”
The whole pack and I waited outside the community center for Cass to return. I didn’t like the fact he’d left suddenly, and without telling me about it. Mary had just explained he’d been in a hurry to leave.
I hoped it wasn’t because he’d gotten cold feet. That would kill me.
A car came into view, silencing all of us as we watched it approach. I sniffed the air, finding Cass’ scent between the scents of pack and car exhaust.
Relief hit me, but I scented the Brown Pack was with him, and I still wasn’t sure what to make of them.
Cass flew out of the car and ran into my waiting arms. His scent enveloped me, letting my instincts calm themselves now that he was safely in my arms. Unharmed.
Silas came closer, Greg right beside him. I could tell something was up, but they weren’t exactly hostile. It would’ve been a dumb move if they were, since the whole pack was here, ready to fight them.
“What happened?” I demanded, speaking directly to Silas.
Cass’ arms tightened around my middle. My poor mate had been affected by whatever it was.
“Cass’ father,” Silas began, giving me a look that told me it hadn’t been a good reunion for Cass. “He demanded Cass return to the city and marry some woman.”
“A woman I’ve never even met!” Cass complained. “He’s never done that before! He always gave me his opinion on who I dated, for sure, but never demanded I marry someone for his gain.”
“What?” I asked, clearly having misunderstood something.
It was Greg who explained further. “His dad came in, wanting him back because people miss him. Then he wanted him to marry someone because her father was important. He didn’t really seem to care much about what Cass wanted.”
“Then,” Silas added, “he hinted at Cass being a whore, so I hit him.”
Blinking, I took everything in. How had they gone from Cass needing to marry some woman, to him being a whore? Not important, I told myself, getting back to what was important. Cass.
“Let’s go inside and eat. Everyone’s hungry and I want more details,” I nodded to the doors leading inside. Silas followed with Greg beside him, then my pack followed suit, all giving them their silent approval.
When we finally sat down, Dad, Milo, and Darius joined us. Silas sat opposite me with Greg by his side.
“Is this my recipe?” Greg asked Cass excitedly.
“It is!” Cass confirmed. “I added some rainbow sprinkles to the batter, you know, to make it more festive.”
“I love that!” Greg gushed, gingerly biting into his muffin.
“Um,” Milo said, eying Greg with confusion. He was a big guy and all muscles, so I guessed his appearance didn’t truly match his personality. But I found I liked that. Cass liked Greg, and that was all that mattered to me.
“Oh,” Greg said, blushing. “I’m Greg.”
“Milo,” my little brother replied, smiling with amusement.
“Milo,” Silas said, trying out the name. “I like that name.”
That made Milo blush and Darius growl lowly. Silas winked at Milo and I fought the urge to slap my brother, who, idiot that he was, winked back.
Poor Darius.
“So,” I began, wanting to stop whatever was happening between my brother and Silas. “Is Cass’ father going to be a problem?”
Silas shook his head. “I don’t think so. I hit him pretty hard, causing him to lose consciousness, but I think he knows that he’s not welcome here anymore.”
“And to think he tried to threaten you,” Cass said, shaking his head in disappointment.
“And Jeremy,” Greg added. “It was cute how he thought money would work as a bribe.”
“Right?!” Cass laughed. “Oh, and your comment on me not being a dog, loved it!”
They both laughed, the rest of us smiling at their happiness.
“We’ll watch out for him if he does return,” Silas promised me. “Cass is important to us, and we want him safe.”
Greg nodded at that. “He’s pack.”
A growl escaped me, but Silas was quick to intervene. “We’re not stealing him.” That calmed me somewhat. “I actually wanted to forge an alliance between our packs. I know we’ve never been friendly before but we care for Cass.”
Dad gave me a look. The others wouldn’t understand it, but I saw respect there. He’d always pitied Silas for how his former Alpha, and father, had left him with a broken pack with lots of money problems.
“I’d like that,” I agreed, smiling at both Greg and Silas. “Maybe your pack could come here for a party. I know many in my pack would love to meet other shifters.”
“Mine, too.” Silas smiled. “They would also love visiting your town. I hope your pack will do the same to ours.”
“No doubt there. I hear you have an animal shelter, and we need two more cats in the future.”
Cass gasped. “How did you know?!”
Laughing, I explained. “You left your to-do lists all over the house. It had Diamond and Destiny on it. I figured they would need to join Queen Daisy soon.”
His eyes were so filled with love, I was surprised he wasn’t blurting the words out of his mouth. Instead he asked, “How long do we have to stay here?”
Dad laughed. “You two can go, but remember, your ceremony hasn’t been held yet….”
“Damn,” Cass and I groaned.
“We’ll have the new one in a week,” Dad assured us, making us both groan loudly again. A week seemed like months away, but there was no way we could do it properly now after all the drama.
“I can’t thank you enough,” I said, giving a nod of respect to both Silas and Greg. We were the only ones outside our community center, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before Cass came bouncing out the doors.
“It was no problem,” Silas assured me. “We love Cass. Don’t know how he managed to make us all fall for his charm.” We all laughed at that. “But he did, and now we want him safe and happy.”
“I’m still grateful.”
I also felt like I’d failed Cass by not beating his father myself, but maybe if he dared show his face in the future, I’d get my way then.
“And I’m grateful you agreed to the alliance. My pack needs good people around them.” I could tell Silas wanted to say more, but Cass came out then, diverting our attention his way.
“I feel like I could roll home,” Cass said, patting his belly.
“I know,” Greg groaned. “Whatever they put into those mango dessert thingies is truly addictive.”
“Right?!” Cass agreed. “You should come by some day and cook with us. I learn so many new things from the pack chefs.”
“Really?” Greg asked excitedly. “I would be allowed to do that?”
“Of course,” I answered, smiling. “Maybe you could teach them some stuff, too.”
“I would be honored.”
Silas’s phone rang then. “It’s Rowan.”
Greg nodded. “We should go.”
They waved and we promised to see them soon.
“Come, my mate,” Cass declared, holding my hand. “Our Queen awaits her dinner.”
It had only been three days since Cass’ father showed up, but there had been no sign of him since. I was glad, mostly because that meant Cass remained happy.
He was currently napping on our couch, Daisy asleep on his stomach. She was a big cat, but could somehow still make herself seem tiny.
We’d spent the first two days fixing up Cass’ house, hoping to make it all pretty for Silas, who really wanted to move in there.
I still had no idea how things were with his pack, but him wanting to move further away from them wasn’t a good sign.
I would welcome him into my pack in a heartbeat if he wanted it, but offering that might make him feel like he’d failed as their alpha, so I’ll wait it out a bit more.
My front door flew open, startling Cass to a sitting position and Daisy was a silver blur that escaped the room faster than I thought possible.
My wolf was on high alert, but calmed when the familiar scent of Darius reached me.
He barged into the living room. “I’m this close to spanking your brother!” He then flopped onto the couch next to Cass, who wiped his tired eyes.
Groaning, I sat in the arm chair next to them. “What did Milo do now?”
“He’s flirting with that Alpha, Silas!”
I could tell it bothered my best friend, but I also felt like I needed to tread carefully here.
“Have you told him to stop it?” Cass asked, clearly not caring about the whole treading carefully thing.
“No,” Darius muttered. “I don’t want him to know how much it bothers me.”
“You’re not hiding your emotions as well as you seem to think,” Cass stated. “So, trust me, Milo already knows how much you hate his flirting.”
Darius let out another groan. “I’m fucked either way.”
“Why don’t you try talking to him?” I suggested. “Maybe try to work on your relationship?”
“I fear talking to Milo will be a waste of my time. He isn’t taking this mating seriously at all,” Darius said. “His flirting is proof of that.”
“If it makes you feel any better,” Cass said, patting his shoulder. “Silas knows Milo is your fated mate, and he isn’t interested in him like that anymore.”
“What? Really?” I asked.
“How did he find out?” Darius asked at the same time.
Cass shrugged. “I told him. I didn’t want Silas to be led on by Milo and it felt wrong not saying anything. Silas is my friend and he protected me, so in return, I wanted to protect him.”
“Thank you,” Darius whispered.
I bet that helped my friend a lot. Just knowing Silas was no longer pursuing his mate, must have saved him lots of sleepless nights.
“Now,” Cass said, standing up. “Let’s cook some dinner. I’m starving.”
Darius followed Cass silently into the kitchen, already eager for whatever Cass would cook up for us.
Smiling, I followed, glad to see the two men I cared about the most getting along this well.