Chapter 10 #2
I bared my teeth but managed to suppress a growl, then cursed myself for not thinking this through before calling her.
I could lie, but it was never a bright idea with Vi.
The woman could smell a lie three miles away against the wind.
The same went for prevarication or omitting things. Also, she was family.
I went with: “You won’t guess what happened in the woods night before last.”
“Well, you won’t guess what I do to little wolves who make me guess the answers to the questions I asked them.”
Vi’s voice was deceptively sweet. Alpha or not, that made me squirm.
I pushed off the picnic bench and started pacing.
“Fine. Listen, this might sound a little out there, but hear me out. Linc found his mate in the woods. A human. He was hurt, because he was stumbling around in the darkness and fell. You know how the terrain out there can get the better of a hiker.
“Anyway. He calls for Dom and me, and when we get there, we realize the hiker isn’t just Linc’s mate, but all of ours.
Which we know is a bit unusual, but we also know we’re right, because what everyone says about the mate bond hitting you like an angry rhino, that’s definitely true. Funny how these things go, huh?”
I waited for her reaction, counting the seconds. I got to eight.
“Are you joking?”
“Nope.” I kicked away a hollowed-out hazelnut shell some bird or squirrel had dropped.
“You said you’re all in a mate bond together with a human? Did I hear that right, or was I hallucinating?”
“That’s right.” And Linc and Dom are going to be so pissed I told you before talking to them.
“Was there anything else in the woods that night? Did your alleged mate see anything?”
I growled at her. “He’s not our alleged mate, Vi. He’s our mate.”
More silence. “Did your mate see anything else in the woods that night? Was he with other people?”
“No. He fell and hit his head. He was alone when Linc found him.”
“Hmm.”
I didn’t like the speculation and doubt behind that sound. It took all my control not to snap at her. I didn’t like what she was implying.
After a few more seconds, she said, “You know what, I think I’d like to meet the man who is your mate. The human. I’ll drop by for dinner later. Talk to you then, Ellie.”
With that, she hung up on me before I could tell her that wasn’t going to work for us. Damn her need to barge into a situation, with force. I’d have to tell the others, but that could wait. That way, at least the three of them could have a few more hours of peace.
I finished my shift with a superhero figure lodged in a nasal canal, but little else that was particularly remarkable. I stopped by the grocery store before heading home to get the oolong for Marcus and some more food for dinner with Vi, but that was really all the delay I could reasonably justify.
Also, I wanted to see Marcus, wanted his scent in my nose, wanted to touch him. Would he let me hug him? I would give anything for that, but I didn’t want to risk pushing him away from us with too much physical contact too soon. Humans could be so very touchy about…well, touch.
I drove up to the house, the gravel crunching under the tires. I parked my electric car right there, close to the house, got out, and grabbed the grocery bag from the trunk. All the while, eagerness was building in my belly.
Everything looked safe—something I hadn’t really thought about all that much just a day ago, but now, I found myself smelling the air and checking the tree line for threats.
I’d heard bonded alphas talk about this, how their protective instincts just went into overdrive, particularly when anything triggered them. A hurt, sick mate would do that, a mate in that state having to deal with an unsavory ex even more so.
I walked up the steps to the front door and pushed it open. Linc, being Linc, made sure everything was locked up tight at night or when we went away, but when we were home, we left the door unlocked.
The hallway smelled of Dom’s signature waffles and the sweet, warm scent of our mate.
I walked into the living room to find Marcus napping on the couch and Dom cleaning the kitchen.
Dom gave me a gloomy look when I walked in, the grocery bag crinkling noisily when something inside shifted. Marcus blinked his eyes open.
“Sorry I woke you up.”
I put the groceries on the living room table so I could kneel in front of the couch and run a hand over Marcus’s side. He’d had a bath, and he was no longer wearing Dom’s clothes but his own.
Seeing he’d been a little more active was good, but his eyes were red. Allergies maybe, but wouldn’t I have seen that before? Something else was more likely. Had he…cried?
“It’s fine.”
My hopes for a smile from our mate lay crushed.
Marcus didn’t sound fine. He looked about as gloomy as Dom did, which made me wonder whether the two of them had had some sort of argument.
I didn’t think Linc would let that happen, but then again, Linc wasn’t here. I listened as Dom came up behind me.
“Linc’s in his office. Something happened, and we kind of didn’t want to tell you while you were at work.”
That explained that. Linc’s office was soundproof.
Marcus groaned. “There’s no need to tell any more people about it, actually.”
Dom eyed our mate, then looked at me. “Ugh, fuck it. That Steve fucker sent an email with some revenge porn to a bunch of people.”
Marcus gave Dom a sour look. “And thank you so much for telling more people, Dominic.”
I only barely managed not to show teeth. “Your ex did what?”
Dom grabbed the shopping bag and dug through it for the tea. “I told you to call me Dom, Marcus. Hmm. I think Ell got you that oolong. What’d you buy olives for, Ell?”
I cleared my throat. “Well, I sort of may have gotten Vi to invite herself over for dinner.”
Dom gaped. “What’s she want? Also, no.”
“Who’s Vi?” Marcus looked tired, even though he smelled as if the cold was getting better.
“My aunt.” I shrugged. “She’s nice.”
“She’s not having dinner with us while our fucking mate is sick, Ell. Are you fucking kidding me?” Dom walked to the kitchen and went about making our mate some tea.
Marcus looked at me with his tired eyes. “She’s a werewolf as well, then?”
“She’s mean is what she is.” Dom picked out one of Linc’s mugs, one of the ones he’d moved across country with him. They’d become Dom’s favorites.
I heard the door of Linc’s office open, and then he came down to join us.
He looked mad—a rare thing. Marcus moved into a sitting position, and I sat next to him, so close that our bodies touched.
He accepted the proximity without issue, and I saw the minute softening in Linc’s expression when he took that in.
Linc looked away briefly as he dropped into one of the armchairs.
“I have my lawyers on it still, but I don’t think there’s anything we can do, legally.
He didn’t post it anywhere that I could find, although I have my A-Team looking.
He didn’t send it to any of your work contacts either, from what I can tell. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”
The last bit came out pained, and I sympathized.
Marcus’s smell was full of confusion and unease. He stayed quiet, but he perked up when Dom put a large mug of tea in his hands and sat on Marcus’s other side.
“I still volunteer to bite his dick off.” Dom meant that.
Marcus looked at Dom, then sipped some of the tea. “Thank you, but I think the tea’ll do. What’s your A-Team?” He looked at Linc.
“Tech-savvy hacker types who specialize in finding things anywhere on the web or the dark web. And a few other unique skills we don’t need to talk about right now.”
Marcus nodded and looked at the steaming mug in his hands. “He sent it to my family too, didn’t he?”
Linc hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded. “It seems like it. You’ve had no calls though. Do you want to give them a call yourself?”
Marcus snorted and his knuckles went white around the mug.
“Why do you think Steven was my emergency contact? My parents aren’t in my life anymore.
When I pushed back on their demands and told them my feelings matter, actually, theirs were so hurt they decided they didn’t have a son anymore.
I mean, that’s what they said, but it was some manipulative gaslighting shit. I’m not talking to them anymore.”
Linc gasped. My and Dom’s arms went around Marcus, sheltering our mate between us. It came as naturally as if we’d done this a million times before. No one said anything.
In the silence, the sound of a car crunching over the gravel and approaching the house was impossible to miss.
I sighed. “That’ll be Vi.”
Linc looked confused. “What’s Vi doing here?”
I fumbled with my collar. “There was a guy at the ER yesterday. He said he was bitten by a rabid wolf, but then he vanished before he could get tested and treated for rabies. I called Vi to let her know, and she said none of the pack bit a human. She asked why I wasn’t at work yesterday, and one thing led to another, which led to me telling her about Marcus. ”
Vi’s car door opened and closed, and her light footfalls came closer. Dom growled.
“Well, fuck.” Linc stood and faced the door.