Chapter Forty-One
Rue
Rue sat in Silas’s office, staring at his phone.
His thoughts circled around on who to call first to share his news.
He swiped to open the screen, and he went into the video chat app, and pressed Laken’s name.
He would call Dad and Popi next. First, he wanted to let Laken know, before anyone else, that he had two mates.
Six rings later, and Rue thought that Laken must be in a meeting that couldn’t be interrupted. He was about to end the call when a dishevelled-looking Laken appeared on the screen.
Rue, in all the time he’d known Laken, had never seen him—but once—anything but put together, so this was a sucker punch that he’d once taken from Booker. It knocked him right off the reality perch he sat on about his expectations of Laken.
“Holy fuck, are you home with a hangover when you’re supposed to be at work?”
Was that high-pitched voice his? It fucking seemed so when Laken grunted, and a glass of what looked like water appeared on the screen in front of Laken’s face. He downed it in greedy gulps.
Rue stared wide eyed at his brother, at a total loss at witnessing behavior he’d never have believed of him. “Have you taken some vacation time? Cause I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to be at work.”
“Not when I can’t fucking concentrate,” he snarled, placing the glass down on something with a clatter. “He’s everywhere I fucking turn, I can’t escape!” Unfocused eyes skittered about as if searching for whoever Laken was talking about. “Smells like Popi’s cinnamon rolls.”
Clearly, he wasn’t as sober as he should be at ten am on a workday when he sounded like a starving man in desperate need of said cinnamon roll!
Again, Rue acknowledged the gut punch and unnerving feelings seeing his sensible brother, in his view, allowing himself to get drunk enough that he couldn’t get up for work.
Or to talk so freely about something so personal when the man never talked about his dating history, making Rue wonder if he did indeed date.
The behavior right then was making it obvious who Laken was referring to. He was clearly home and hiding from Isley to Rue’s mind, but he chose not to make assumptions.
“Escape who?” He didn’t mention the cinnamon roll part.
Laken blinked groggily at the screen and appeared to try to focus his eyes.
“My iddy-biddy PA.. Who else?” He groaned and ran a hand over his unshaven jaw.
“How can someone be so small and take up so much room in a brain?” he demanded, only Rue suspected he wasn’t asking him the question.
“Do you know how small a sugar glider is? They can fly right into the palm of your hand when they’re pissed off and refuse to let go of your fingers! ”
Rue struggled to stop himself laughing aloud at how Laken knew that and instead asked in all seriousness, “How long?”
“How long, what?” replied Laken, sounding confused.
“Have you been in love with Isley?”
“I’m not,” he spluttered, sobering before Rue’s eyes. “He’s the bane of my existence.” There was absolutely no truth in that statement when Laken wore a lost expression Rue hadn’t seen in years.
“Do you wanna talk about this?” he asked in a tone that brought Laken’s haunted gaze to the screen.
Laken unenthusiastically shook his head. “Nah… not now.”
“I’m just at the end of the phone when you’re ready,” he said softly, understanding the denial when it came with fear of the unknown. He’d been in that place.
Laken pinched the bridge of his nose. “What did you ring for?”
“I wanted you to be the first to know I’m mated.” He said it like he was ripping off a plaster, fast and without hesitation, practicing for what was coming.
The phone clattered to the floor, and Rue got an upside-down view of Laken as he grappled to pick it back up, wearing a look Rue hadn’t expected to see—jealousy.
Rue recognized it from looking in the mirror when he thought about how lucky Taylin, Booker and Silas were.
God forbid he ever admitted that aloud though.
“You are!” Laken appeared fully on the screen, croaking, “Who is it?”
“Monty and Kendrick, the guy from the bar.” He had mentioned the hook-up to Laken after he questioned where he’d been after he’d not shown up for work. Laken was good at not prying, so he was the easiest for Rue to talk to.
“You claimed them both.”
He wore a flabbergasted expression causing Rue to snort in amusement. “If you could see your expression.”
“I can, you dork. We’re on video chat.” Back was some of the amusement he was used to sharing with Laken.
“You threw me off with this hobo look you got going this morning.”
“Drop it,” he said sharply, then sighed dejectedly. “Ignore me. I’m happy for you, genuinely.”
“I know you are.” He did. “And that’s why you were my first call.”
The hand he was dragging through his disheveled hair, stopped. “You haven’t rung Dad and Popi?”
“Didn’t I just tell you I wanted you to be the first person I shared the news with?”
“Right. I’m honored, but you know I’m gonna gloat about this, right?”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else. So, if you wanna drop that nugget in the group chat, go for it.”
For the first time since he answered, Laken looked more like himself when he grinned. “Hang on.”
Laken disappeared from the screen, and Rue figured what he was up to before he got a notification from the alphahole group chat.
“Is Kendrick planning on moving to Hazardville?” Laken questioned while his phone blew up with notifications.
“I’m moving to Bayfield permanently.” They had actually managed to fit in some talking this morning, despite how tired they all were from being up all night.
Monty, regardless of his complaints of being tired, had gotten a second, then third, wind last night, resulting in Rue’s ass feeling Monty’s dick bomb too.
Laken’s face reappeared as Rue chuckled at Monty’s new description of his dick.
“How’s that gonna work? Dad and Popi will not be happy to hear that news.”
Directed back to the conversation, Rue informed Laken, “I spoke to Dad about the potential when he came up for their anniversary—spying—visit.”
“I figured that might be what they were doing. How did he take it?” Laken was all avid interest.
“They’re okay with it.” He didn’t know what else to say when he didn’t want to share the conversation he’d had with Dad.
His phone pinged several more times, making Laken laugh. “You need to go read the chat.”
“Will do. Are we good?” Rue had to know.
“We are. I’ll see if I can wangle a trip out your way to meet my future brother-in-laws.” The sly wink left Rue open-mouthed and gave Laken time to end the call with a quick “bye.”
“Asshole,” he mumbled good naturedly to the empty room. Somehow Laken knew exactly what Rue would want. Switching to the alphahole chat to see how his brothers had taken the news, he burst out laughing as he started reading.
Alphaholes
Laken: Another one bites the dust!
Kodi: What are you talking about? And where the fuck are you? We had a meeting at nine am!
Laken: I asked Charlotte to reschedule it.
Booker: What are we missing, Laken?
Silas: Clearly something when his reference sounds like he knows something we don’t.
Laken: Rue is mated!
Kodi: No fucking way! Please tell me it’s not his PA.
Laken: Kendrick…
Jupiter: I figured.
Laken: How so?
Jupiter: The way he eyefucked the guy at the bar, same as he was doing to Monty. Does he have two mates? Laken, spill. You seem to have all the goss?
Kodi: Wait up. Two mates? Who would be that fucking crazy?
Laken: Rue.
Kari: Good for him.
Kodi: Is it fucking really? This will give the remaining PAs damn ideas. That leaves me, Laken, Kari and Jupiter as the only single ones now! Did some fucker put something in the water? I don’t wanna catch whatever this is.
Jupiter: Why are you freaking out? You do have a choice, and mine is to remain just as I am.
Silas: Jup, I can’t wait for the smug smile to get wiped off your face when you fall. It will be epic. And Kodi, I don’t think you got anything to worry about, no one would want your overreactive ass.
Kodi: Thank fuck!
Jupiter: Hell will freeze over first, so be prepared because I know you hate the cold Silas.
Booker: How’s this gonna work when he comes home?
Rue: I’m mated, which means I won’t be coming home. Kendrick is happy in Bayfield, and so am I.
Dad: You better call your Popi before he hears this secondhand, son.
Rue: On it.
Taylin: Someone wanna tell me why you aren’t all ragging on Rue’s ass like you did me?
Jupiter: You’re just special.
Taylin: Fuck off. I can hear your sniggers through the wall, Jup!
Rue ignored the continued back and forth, closed the app and dialed home. His breath came in fast puffs at what he was about to do.
“Hello, Starling residence.”
“Hey Bessie, is Popi about?”
“Sweet boy, how are you?”
“I’m good Bessie.”
“Is that Rue on the phone?” Dad’s muffled question came from somewhere in the background.
“It is, he’s after Lane.”
“I’ll speak to him first, if you could get Lane from the nursery?” There was some rubbing at the speaker before Dad came on the line. “Congratulations.”
Rue released an undignified sniff as he was hit by a wave of emotion at how pleased Dad sounded.
“Thank you, Dad,” he choked out.
“What is it?”
Rue braced at hearing Popi and then Dad muttered, “Good luck.”
“Rue’s on the phone. He wants to speak to you.”
“What… why… why are you smiling like that?” Rue heard before there was an almighty screech. “Rue, are you mated? Oh my, I couldn’t be happier. This is just wonderful news. I can’t even…” Then started the sobbing that left Rue at a loss when he’d not gotten a chance to say a word.
“Give me the phone, my love.” The sobs increased, and he realized Dad was holding Popi.
Rue choked back his own emotions when Dad came back on the phone. “Your Popi’s just a little emotional right now. He’ll ring you back when he’s pulled himself together.”
“G-good… r-right,” he stammered, working on holding back the urge to join Popi for no damn reason. None whatsoever—except every damn reason: love.