“The body remembers a lot, even if the mind doesn’t.” Luke’s head nodded in agreement with the idea. “He can meet the Pack to get comfortable and we can see what he has an aptitude for.”
“We don’t even know how long it has been,” Seath said. “How long he was there.”
“Not too long, he’s in his early twenties now, so he had to be taken in his late teens to twenties I would guess. A couple of years at most. Any longer and he wouldn’t have survived.” Luke’s opinion weighed heavily on the group.
“Little Wolf is strong,” Caine said with a smug look at Seath, one more time.
Chapter six
The Future Pack Alpha
Seathslidintohisbedroom chambers, what was more like his den, with a long sigh. It had been almost a month ago that Lycan had arrived at the Pack House, and worrying about him had taken up the free space in his mind not jumbled otherwise with the picking up of Pack business now that the seasons were due to change.
Greene was still at the Council, and although they spoke frequently, Seath managed the day-to-day life of the pack almost without much conscious thought. It was just part of him now. He was due back soon, though, and that gave Seath some comfort. He needed his Alpha the same as anyone.
Just that day, Lycan had been moved to his own rooms and out of the hospital. He was actually closer to Seath, something Seath liked very much. Too much. He cared for the little omega, and watching him get stronger every day filled something inside of him. The Alpha instinct, he supposed, to always protect.
But seeing Lycan in the gym, swimming laps or engaging in Krav Maga like he was born for it, made Seath feel even better than the reports from Luke. Seath liked seeing how much better Lycan was doing with his own eyes. He liked seeing more of Lycan’s beautiful, creamy skin emerge from the bruises. More weight on his limbs. More movements from his once-broken hands.
More careful smiles. A joke now and then, especially when he interacted with the younger pack members.
And if Seath found himself distracted by the curve of Lycan’s trapezius or the soft whimsical smile he sometimes gave, well, that was no one’s business but his own. Lycan was a pretty omega, of that there was no doubt.
Seath forced those thoughts away, just like he had and would keep doing.
Lycan would need a job before long, as Caine had said. A place to plug into Pack life beyond being a strange sort of visitor. Lycan had agreed to stay, at least for the meantime which made Seath feel a sense of pride he likely hadn’t earned. Where would Lycan go, exactly, if he hadn’t, though? So, Seath steeled himself to get Lycan to a place where he had choices. Strong enough physically. Mentally restored and rested. And then he could ask again if Lycan wanted to stay, when there was a real answer to be found. And then he could ask Lycan to be Pack.
Restless, Seath stepped out onto the balcony that set out from the Pack House in such a way to allow him a view of the beach and the forest. Pacing in the night air wasn’t enough, so he made his way down the stairs that led from the balcony to the ground. Barefoot, he let his feet sink into the dirt of his Pack, connecting him to the land. He sighed, imagining a complex web of root systems like the forest, and further imagining that now he was plugged into that ancient history. Wisdom.
Tell me what to do, he asked it, letting his thoughts go where they wanted, and asking the one thing he couldn’t say out loud. Instead, he felt it and let the connection know those feelings. The way Lycan tightened his stomach and made his head buzz. The way just watching him try, again and again, to get something right — like his foot placement when he was sparring. Lycan’s sunshine bright hair in his face as he was bent over a book. The faraway look he got in his eyes, sometimes, as he worked with Caine to not remember with his mind, but to let his body tell him the secrets it held about himself.
He wanted Lycan, but it was more than a sexual desire for someone he found attractive and with whom he had chemistry. And he was betrothed to someone else.
“It must be something, to have you out here meditating with your feet in the dirt,” a deep rumble of a voice came from behind Seath.
Seath turned, practically running to throw himself around the bear shifter.
“Greene! I wasn’t expecting you today.”
Greene gave as good as he got, clutching Seath to him and filling his Legate with the warm, Alpha energy only Greene could provide. When they pulled apart, Seath looked for Evan or Teller, Greene’s assistant and his bodyguard.
“They went up to chambers, we had a full day at the Council.” Greene said, before Seath even asked. “I thought maybe you would be up for a stroll on the beach, since you are up and restless.”
Seath nodded, raising an eyebrow at Greene, who merely shrugged. “I can feel something coming off of you in waves, Seath.”
So, they rolled up their pants and took off their dress shirts until it was nothing but chinos and t-shirts and found themselves walking on the sandy shore as the moon came up over the water.
“It’s good to be home,” Greene said, “I hope I am not putting too much on you, but the Council—we are having some reports of strange activities in the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. It has everyone on edge and that has, in turn, caused even more work.”
Seath smiled. “It’s fine, Greene, I can handle things here.”
Greene smiled, staring out into the night as they walked with an even pace.
“I would like to know about this conflict inside of you. What’s going on? Is it the new wolf, Lycan?”
“I’m attracted to him,” Seath burst out, the words coming fast, yielding to the unspoken demand of his Alpha to tell the truth and not hide his feelings. “But attraction isn’t the right word. It’s . . .different than just that.” Seath faltered, unable to explain how Lycan haunted his thoughts and seemed, some days, to be taking up residence in his very soul.
“And you are worried because of your pledge to your fated mate? And Prince Donovan?”
