Chapter Ten Xavier
I was wrong about the Anax wanting an early start.
I hadn’t taken into account the fact that driving toward Boston, which we had to do to get from the hunt house to Winthrop, on a Monday morning wasn’t something to do between six and nine.
Or, really, at any time, but those were the hours when traffic into the city was the worst.
The Anax and Kyle stayed in bed late, unsurprisingly since it was the day after their wedding.
We finally left the hunt house around ten.
I had the honor of driving the Anax and Kyle, with Davion as a second guard.
On the way out to the hunt house, it had been just the Anax and me; he’d wanted to run, and he had insisted he only needed one guard.
This time, because Kyle and the Anax were both with us, Seth insisted two guards accompany them. The Anax didn’t argue.
Ordinarily, he would have sat in the front passenger seat, but for this trip, he chose to sit in the middle seat with Kyle.
Davion took the back seat. Since the front seat was available, I assumed there wouldn’t be a problem with Ren coming back with us, but I asked the Anax’s permission anyway.
“Anax, given that we have room, is it all right if Ren rides up front with me?”
“Of course.” He raised an eyebrow. “You think I’d refuse to let your mate ride with you?”
“No.” Yes, because I hadn’t declared Ren, let alone claimed him, and I wasn’t sure how valid that made us as mates. I didn’t say that, of course. “Thank you, Anax.”
“You’re welcome.”
Ren was standing by the back of the SUV looking uncertain. As the Anax and Kyle settled themselves, I went over to him. “You can ride with us. You’ll be sitting up front with me.”
“Oh.” He looked up with a slight smile. “Okay. Good. I mean, I like it here.” He gestured at the house. “I can’t just stay, though.”
“You’d be alone. And Chloe wouldn’t be here to cook for you.” And he would be away from me, something I wouldn’t be able to stand. I didn’t say that, either.
He snorted. “I do know how to cook. Not that I’ve had much practice. Streets don’t have kitchens. But I’ve learned a few things over the years.”
“That’s good. Chloe can always use an extra hand.” I touched the SUV. “Everyone else is ready. You good?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I guess.”
We didn’t have much opportunity to talk during the drive.
Speaking to each other in front of the Anax and Kyle would have been rude, and sometimes Davion paid a little too much attention to others’ conversations.
Of course Ren and I had our bond, but driving, particularly as we got closer to the city, took most of my mental bandwidth.
As the Boston skyline came into view, Ren inhaled sharply. “This is where we’re going?”
“I told you Winthrop is by Boston, didn’t I?” The Anax sounded concerned. “We don’t live in the city, Ren, but we’re quite close to it. That’s why we also have the hunt house. Can’t run and hunt near a major city.”
“Yeah.” Ren wet his lips with his tongue. “Cities. Um.” He shook his head. “It’ll be fine.”
“If you have any issues, you can always come to me,” the Anax said.
“Or me, because I’m less intimidating.” In the rearview, I saw Kyle leaning forward slightly. “Anytime, Ren, seriously, you can come to one of us. You are one of us now.”
“Thanks.” Ren looked down at his hands. Clearly Kyle’s words weren’t as reassuring to him as Kyle had probably intended.
You can come to me, too, I said, choosing our bond in the hopes that Ren would feel less like the center of attention if others didn’t know I was speaking to him. Even if I’m on duty, I’m not always doing anything.
Thanks. His thought was just as much a mumble as when he’d said it out loud. Clearly something was wrong, but this wasn’t the time to ask him what was going on. It would have to wait until we could actually speak in private, and that wouldn’t be until tonight.
Traffic through the city was as monstrous as usual, and I had to turn my full attention to navigating the too-narrow four-lane highway while people either acted as if lane markings were an option rather than a guideline or changed lanes with inches to spare.
After the third near-miss, Ren whimpered and closed his eyes, tightly gripping the sides of his seat.
In a corner of my mind, I ranted and cursed the drivers who were upsetting my mate, but I couldn’t really spare the mental bandwidth for much of that either.
Fortunately, we arrived home with no issues. In the circular driveway, I drove up directly in front of the house’s door, as befit the Anax.
“I have a few things to attend to before lunch.”
The Anax sounded displeased. “Following up on issues that were brought to my attention during the gathering. Lunch will be informal so Chloe doesn’t have to rush to prepare anything. Eat when you’re hungry; there’s food in the kitchen. We’ll have supper as usual.”
“Anax?” Ren said in a tremulous voice. “What do I do?”
“You get used to the place,” the Anax said gently. “Kyle, would you show Ren to the small room on the second floor? I think that will be a good place for him.”
“Sure?” Kyle said.
“Yes.” The Anax’s tone hardened. “We might as well put it to use, and Ren, you were comfortable in the room you used at the hunt house, yeah?”
“Yes, Anax.” Ren turned in his seat. “I can sleep wherever, though.”
“I’d rather have you sleep where you want to be, not wherever.”
The Anax took a breath. “Come inside with us, please. Kyle will show you where you’ll sleep, and then he can show you around if you like, or you can just wander. The only parts of the house that are off-limits without permission are others’ bedrooms and my office. Davion,
if you would please bring our bags in. Xavier, once you put the SUV in the garage, wait for Seth for instructions.”
“Yes, Anax,” Davion and I said together.
Ren looked at me, wide-eyed, as he slid out of his seat. I don’t know about this.
It’s all right, I said. Go with Kyle. He’ll get you settled.
I hated the idea. My wolf hated it, to be accurate.
Another guy, one who was also attracted to guys, alone with my mate.
My human side, though, was fully aware that having his own mate, to whom he was now legally married, Kyle had zero interest in Ren.
If you want, you can come find me in a little while.
Seth will probably have me checking the house to make sure nothing was disturbed while we were all gone.
That was the usual procedure after we returned from the hunt house.
Um, sure. He closed the door. See you later, I guess.
Yes. I hope so.
I didn’t see him again until supper, when he slipped into the empty chair beside me as the Anax was going over his schedule for the week.
The Anax raised an eyebrow but didn’t make any comment about Ren being late, and Ren simply reached for the serving platter of mashed sweet potato in front of him.
“The alphas of Berkshires, Connecticut, and Hudson packs will be here on Wednesday,” the Anax said.
Ren jumped. “Connecticut?”
“The Anax is speaking.” Seth didn’t sound as pissed as he would have if one of the guards had interrupted, but his tone left no doubt that Ren had screwed up.
“Sorry.” Head bowed, Ren poked at the sweet potato with his fork.
“You won’t see them, Ren.” The Anax gave Ren a small smile. “They’ll arrive at ten and go straight into my office. If the meeting goes into lunchtime, I’ll have Chloe serve us in there.”
“I apologize for interrupting, Anax,” Ren mumbled. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The Anax went on with his list, stopping periodically when Kyle nudged him to put food in his mouth.
I passed Ren the platter of steak, and he put the smallest piece on his plate.
The rest of us continued eating while the Anax talked, as was the usual procedure.
Breakfast and supper were time for debriefing and discussion, but the Anax, although he sometimes forgot to eat, made sure the rest of us had our meals.
Ren barely touched his food. He fidgeted with the fork, glancing out of the corner of his eye at me and the Anax, and sometimes at Kyle and the other guards, especially Mandeep, who was sitting on Ren’s other side. Why he was so nervous, I couldn’t guess. He knew all of us.
Then again, I realized as the meal went on, this was the first time he’d sat down to eat with all of us. The first formally organized meal, rather than the buffet-style, eat-where-you-want things we’d had at the gathering. He probably hadn’t had too many sit-down meals prior to that, either.
“That’s all from me.” The Anax took a drink of his iced tea. “Seth, Laurits, any instructions for the guards?”
“Only to keep an eye out, as always,” Seth said. “The day team found nothing during our check of the house and yard. This soon after the gathering, problems are unlikely, but we all know nothing’s impossible. Be alert, and if anything seems amiss, notify me or Laurits immediately.”
“The world needs more lerts,” Ren whispered.
Of course, at a table full of werewolves, everyone heard him. “What was that?” Seth asked, sounding considerably less pleased than earlier.
“Oh, shit.” Ren’s face went deep red, and he bowed his head so far his chin touched his chest. “I’m so sorry. I was just…”
“Whistling in the dark, as a book I once read put it,” Kyle said. “It’s all right, Ren. You were trying to break some tension.”
“Yeah.” He pushed his chair back. “Um, I have to wait to be excused?”
“You’re excused if you need to be,” the Anax said. “I did want to talk to you about what you’ll be doing to help out around here, but let’s wait until morning for that. Give you a little more time to feel settled.”
“Thank you, Anax.” Swiftly, Ren got out of his chair and booked it into the kitchen. After a moment, footsteps thudded on the back stairs.
“The rest of you are also dismissed,” the Anax said. “Night team, with Laurits. Day team, you’re free to go unless Seth has more for you.”
“Nothing more,” Seth said.
“Xavier, stay for a second, please.” The Anax tapped his plate with his fork.