Remy moves his hand away from the laptop, his eyes darting between me and the screen. He blows out a breath, then gives me a semi-pained smile. “Damn, I was kind of hoping it wasn’t going to be Rockcastle.”
“That… doesn’t sound promising,” I say. “What’s wrong with Rockcastle?”
“I think the question is, whatisn’twrong with Rockcastle.” Remy lets out a low chuckle. “To start off with, they’re really isolated. Most packs are named after the nearest city or town, but Rockcastle is named after a river that goes through Kentucky and part of the Daniel Boone National Forest. The pack is located a good hundred miles from anything.”
“So, it’s rural like I remembered,” I say.
“Yeah,” says Remy. “But there’s ‘rural’ and there’s ‘the ass end of nowhere.’ Rockcastle is very definitely the latter. Plus, it’s not just the physical isolation that’s an issue. The Rockcastle pack doesn’t interact with other packs. Their Alpha doesn’t attend any of the summits. They aren’t even fully registered with the triumvirate. The only reason I know they have the white wolf gene is because there was a smaller registered pack that Rockcastle kind of… absorbed?”
He glances toward Keir before continuing, “If you decide to contact them, you’ll need to be careful how you go about things. There was a ton of drama that went down when Keir and Julien got together because of Sweet Water’s isolation and backward ways. Who knows what kinds of laws and traditions Rockcastle might have.”
He shares a look with Keir, then Keir focuses on me. “Before we get too far into making a decision on that, how much time have you and Luke had to discuss the fated mate bond and what that means?”
“Not much,” I say. “We’ve been kind of worried about other stuff.”
Keir chuckles. “I know exactly what you mean. You wouldn’t believe all the shit Julien and I went through when we first got together. It was like every time we turned around some new issue popped up. Hopefully, you and Luke won’t have such an eventful courtship.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “Things have been pretty crazy so far.”
“True enough.” He shoots me a playful smile. “But how many times have you been kidnapped?”
“Uh, at least once? Probably?”
He breaks out into laughter, muffling the sound with his hand. “I’m kidding. Well, not really. Kidnapping was like a rite of passage for me.” His expression goes serious. “But you’re… okay with everything? The whole fated mates thing?”
“Of course,” I say, tilting my head to the side. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You could have your reasons,” says Keir. He presses his lips together and glances down at his hands. “Look, I get the impression you don’t have much experience with, well, life, but you should know that as an omega you have choices if you want them.” His gaze darts to the doorway and then back to me. “You aren’t… required to make things work with Luke if he’s not what you want.”
“But isn’t a fated mate bond permanent?” I ask.
“Most people think so,” he replies. “But apparently it doesn’t work the same way for omegas. We’re kind of valuable for whatever reason, and I guess fate didn’t want anyone to be ableto take advantage of us, so we can choose to walk away from a fated mate.”
“Would you have walked away from Julien when you first met him?” I ask.
Keir lets out an amused huff. “I kind of did,” he says. “I was so scared of what he represented that I ran the first chance I got—even though at the time I didn’t even know I could refuse the fated mate bond. He tracked me down and the two of us made it work, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have doubts, likea lotof them.”
“I don’t understand why you’re telling me all this.”
“Because I’m pretty sure my dear brother-in-law is going to suggest ‘mitigating the risk’ of problems with Rockcastle by completing the mate bond ASAP, and I want to be sure you know you have options.” He sighs. “Luke and I weren’t particularly close as kids or anything, but the guy saved my life more than once so I owe him—but you don’t.”
“I know that,” I say. “But I don’t need that out or whatever. Luke is… everything I never knew I wanted. I’m all in.”
Keir’s expression softens. “I’m glad,” he says in a low voice. “My baggage prevented me from leaning into things right away, and though we’re solid now, I think that makes Julien still a little worried.” He pauses, then grins at me. “Okay, now that that’s sorted, it’s time for the safe sex talk. As an omega, you don’t have to worry about lube, but I’ll leave some condoms in the bathroom. You might feel ready to complete the mating bond, but I’m sure neither one of you is ready for a surprise pregnancy.”
Remy coughs out a laugh and I join in.
“Definitely not,” I say.
Remy claps once. “Okay, back to the matter at hand. Keir’s right about me suggesting you complete the mating bond beforehaving any dealings with Rockcastle. That aside, the question is, do youwantto contact Rockcastle?”
“Yes,” I say with only a second’s hesitation. “If nothing else, I want to talk to my brother.”
“Completely understandable. Let’s see if we can get you in touch with him.” Remy turns back to the computer, his fingers flying over the keyboard as his eyes narrow on the screen. After a few minutes, his brow furrows. “There’s only one phone number for the entire pack,” he says, his gaze sliding to me. “Are you okay with talking to whoever answers?”
“I guess so? I can probably just ask for my brother, right?”
Remy shrugs. “Normally if there’s only one number for an entire pack, it goes to the central pack house—the Alpha’s house. With everything wedon’tknow about the situation, it might be better if you let me do the talking. If everything goes okay, and we can get your brother on the phone, Keir and I will step out and give you some privacy.”
