“Daryl and Mike will see you out.”
Newell grunted but followed Cam’s betas out the door.
The room fell silent as they left, the echo of their footsteps fading as the doors closed behind them.
“Fuck.” Seb let out a harsh breath, cheeks immediately colouring as everyone turned to look at him. “Sorry. It’s just, that was….” He looked over at Tim with a “help me out” expression, but it was Cam who went over to him.
Careful not to touch him—Tim was far too on edge for anyone to touch his mate, even his alpha—Cam met Seb’s gaze. “No need to apologise. That was incredibly tense, and while necessary, not what I wanted for your first pack meeting.”
Seb visibly relaxed.
Cam’s soothing tone changed the mood of the whole room. Gareth and Alec let go of Tim’s arms, and he immediately hurried over to Seb, crowding him against the wall. No words were needed. With his nose pushed into the crook of Seb’s neck, and Seb’s scent filling his lungs, Tim’s wolf settled, and Tim could finally relax. He felt Seb do the same, the tension leaving both of them on a sigh.
“Is it over now? Am I safe?” Seb whispered.
Tim nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” He felt Cam’s hand on his shoulder, the touch of his alpha now more than welcome.
“With my accusations now raised with the alpha council, Newell will be under too much scrutiny to try anything else. Neither he nor his pack will be a problem.”
As Cam finished speaking, a familiar scent drifted into the room—P-Pack.All heads turned to the door. The firm knock had Cam raising an eyebrow. “Enter.”
A slightly terrified-looking Mark came in and stopped. “Alpha Newell ordered me to come back for my jacket.” His gaze drifted to where Cam had left it on the table.
“I’m sorry, Mark. But you’re going to have to tell your alpha that I’ll be keeping that as evidence for the council.”
Mark didn’t look all that surprised. “I thought as much. But I had to ask.”As he turned to leave, Mark paused; he set his shoulders and then walked back into the room a little.
He faced Seb. “I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but I’m sorry about what happened to you, and I want you to know I had no part in the attack or the business with the jacket. I didn’t recognise the scents on it as belonging to one of the rogues. I’d never have worn it if I had.”
Seb smiled. “Thanks.”
“I suspect there are a lot of your pack who are innocent in all of this,” Cam said, drawing Mark’s focus.
“Yeah. But I can’t say any more than that.”
“I understand.”
Mark hesitated before walking farther into the room towards Alec. “I wanted to thank you.”
“For?” Alec gave him a slow once-over.
Mark’s gaze dropped to his feet for a second. “I know you were just protecting Tim, but you saved my life. So thank you.”
Alec nodded, and to Tim’s surprise, a small smile appeared. “You’re welcome.”
Mark lingered a little, looking up to meet Alec’s eyes, then seemed to remember where he was. “I better go, they’ll be wondering where I am.”
With a deferential nod to Cam, he turned and walked quickly out the door.
Tim watched him go. Hopefully that was the last they’d see of P-Pack members for a while. Not that he disliked Mark now that he knew he wasn’t involved, but their pack scent had started to leave a nasty taste in his mouth.
Seb’s hands gripped his waist, pulling him closer, and Tim relaxed into him, P-Pack already forgotten.
“Take me back to your flat.”
Seb’s voice was a little huskier than it had been seconds before, and when Tim breathed in, the faint trace of arousal tickled his senses.Fuck. “Watching you attack him was scary-hot, and now that it’s all over, I’m leaning towards just plain hot.” He nudged his thigh between Tim’s and the firmness in his jeans pressed against Tim’s hip. “Come on.”
Tim groaned softly; the bond was a warm glow getting hotter by the second. He cleared his throat, ready to make his excuses, but Cam beat him to it.
