He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Alec.Not going well. Can I tell Seb everything?
The reply was immediate.Do you trust him?
Yes.
Then tell him if you think it’ll help.
Tim slipped his phone back in his pocket and looked up to find Seb watching him.
Seb fiddled with the seam of his shorts, then spoke before Tim had chance to. “Jared told me everything, you know.”
Everything?“About what?”
“About Cam asking him and Nathan to be fake boyfriends.” He waved a hand in the air. “Before everyone knew they’d bonded.”
Seb obviously had a point to make, so Tim gestured for him to go on. “And?”
“Well, it’s obvious you guys have no concept of boundaries, so whatever it is you’re not telling me, I’m guessing it’s probably something along those lines.” Tim gaped at him. “Am I wrong?” Seb raised an eyebrow in challenge.
Fuck.“No. You’re not.” He sighed and put his hand up before Seb could say anything else. “Let me explain everything first, and then we can talk. Please?”
Seb stared at him for another second before giving him a small nod. “Fine. Explain away.”
Tim started at the beginning. He told Seb about the volatile history the two packs shared, about how Nathan’s escape from the rogue pack had pissed of Alpha Newell, and how Cam and his betas didn’t trust P-Pack not to be out for revenge.
Seb listened intently, not offering a comment or asking questions until Tim finished speaking. “I don’t understand why P-Pack are pissed off with Nathan, though?” He frowned. “Newell told Cam to make Nathan the car driver, and Nathan did it. What does it matter if he didn’t die? Surely that’s a good thing, no?”
Tim paused, trying to find the right words to explain. To a shifter the insult was obvious, but probably not to Seb. “For us, yes. But Newell expected him to die, wanted him to. He believed driving the van on a suicide mission, with no help from either pack, was a fitting punishment for Nathan lying and essentially putting both packs in danger by harbouring an illegally bitten human.”
“Oh. So when Nathan escaped, he felt… what? Cheated?”
“Essentially, yes.”
“That’s bollocks.”
“Unfortunately, it’s shifter politics. Newell didn’t actually come out and accuse Cam of helping Nathan, but he heavily implied it.”
Seb covered his face with his hands and groaned. “Christ, you lot make everything so fucking complicated. Why can’t Newell just suck it up and let it go? What’s Nathan to him, anyway?”
Tim hated trying to explain pack etiquette to humans; it always came off as petty, ridiculous, or cruel. “For Newell, I believe it’s a matter of pride.”
“It’s always pride with you lot.”
You lot.That was the second time Seb had used that expression. Was he intentionally trying to reiterate their differences?
In this case he was mostly right. A lot of the problems within packs, or between them, came down to pride.
Tim cleared his throat to get Seb’s attention. “In light of all that, Alec asked me either to get you to stay, or to pretend to be my boyfriend, so I’d have an excuse to keep an eye on you and avoid offending P-Pack.”
“Ugh, you’re making my head hurt.” Seb left his hands over his face and spoke through his fingers. “Wasn’t this already tried with Jared and Nathan? I’m sure P-Pack aren’t stupid. If you suddenly start visiting and say “Hey, we’re boyfriends now,” they’re not going to fall for it.”
“That’s what I said, but….”But I really like you, and it wouldn’t be pretending for me.
“But?”
“Getting Nathan to react badly is probably top of their list at the minute. And if anything happens to you, then Jared will be devastated, and by default, Nathan too. If you aren’t concerned about your own safety, then think about Nathan’s. If he so much as lays a finger on a member of P-Pack without provocation, he’ll be in serious trouble.”
One second stretched into two, then three. Tim counted the soft ticks on the clock in the kitchen. It took Seb ten long seconds to answer. “What exactly would we have to do? Because I really can’t stay here any longer.”
