And try to strategize about what the hell to do next.
Sure, the Sweet Water pack knows I've kept in touch with Keir, and no one has said anything nasty, but that's a whole different story from bringing home my own male fated mate. The older members in particular aren't going to be very accepting, and I don't want my mate to have to deal with that kind of nonsense after whatever ordeal he's been through.
But I can’t exactly leave him here to go deal with my pack either.
There's no way he's ready for me to claim him—hell,I'mnot ready—and until we complete the bond, we need to stay together if we want to avoid suffering the effects of the mating frenzy.
I sigh, massaging my forehead with one hand. Maybe Macy will have some ideas on the best way to go about this.
I brush my mate's hair away from his face and gently stroke his cheek. “I'll be right downstairs,” I say. “I won’t go far.”
I get to my feet and return the wet towel to the bathroom, hanging it up on a rack. My heart about stops when I return to the bedroom and the bed appears empty. Where could he have possibly gone in that short amount of time?
I catch sight of the tip of a furry ear peeking out from under the blanket and let out a sigh of relief, placing a hand on my chest as if to prevent my heart from exploding. He’s back in wolf form which is odd, but he’s here and he’s safe.
I take a few deeps breaths and sit down on the edge of the bed. Gently, I tug the blanket down to check on him. Now that he’s clean, his white fur has regained a bit of its shine even though it’s patchy in some places.
A familiar scent I can’t quite place hits my nose, and I lean closer, trying to get a better whiff. Shock rockets through me and I almost fall backward. Now that the heavy chemical smell, of wherever he’d been, has been washed away, there’s no mistaking it even with a human nose…
My fated mate is an omega.
And I’m really not sure how to feel about that, especially after what happened to Keir in Sweet Water. Things are different now, sure, but that doesn’t mean the old prejudices have been completely eliminated. Randall is dead, Malachi is gone, and John is… whatever, but that knowledge doesn’t lessen my fears.
Or my determination to protect my mate. I’ll burn Sweet Water pack to the ground before I let any of them hurt him.
Hopefully I can avoid that, though.
Reluctantly, I pull on some pants and leave the small, sleeping wolf to head downstairs, following the sound of voices into the kitchen. The space is large and modern with a small breakfast nook where Doc and Macy are sitting with cups of coffee on the table in front of them.
“Care to explain what that was about earlier?” asks Macy, eying me warily. For good reason. I don’t think I’ve ever growled at her like that.
“Sorry,” I say, collapsing into one of the chairs and resting my head in my hands. “It was pure instinct.”
“What do you mean?”
I sigh. “He's my fated mate.”
Doc blinks at me, a stunned look coming over his face, and Macy's jaw drops.
“Seriously?” she asks. “How… what…?” She trails off, shaking her head. “I'm not sure what to say.”
“Neither am I.” I blow out a breath. “I helped him get cleaned up but he's asleep again. Whatever happened to him, he's not talking, and he's not healing as fast as he should be.”
“I could examine him if—”
I cut Doc off with a low growl and he instantly drops his head, baring his neck in submission.
“Down boy,” says Macy. “There's no need for that. We're all friends here.” She glances at Doc. “Well, sort of.” She looks back to me. “What do you want to do?”
“Sleep for a week,” I reply in a dry voice. “And ignore the fact that I have to do anything at all.”
Macy chuckles. “Well, that's not going to work. I assume he's going home with us, right?”
“Yeah. Of course.”Eventually.
“Alpha,” says Doc, his voice hesitant. I motion for him to continue. “Given everything that happened before, might I suggest that you call the triumvirate and report that you've found your fated mate. Though we don't know who he is, we know he's not from this pack and notifying the triumvirate might prevent any issues from cropping up later.”
He has a good point. The first week of Keir and Julien's mating was a mess of legal battles and actual battles. Callingthe triumvirate might not completely prevent my mate's pack—whoever they are—from taking an issue with our mating, but having them on our side early would be a good thing.
