“I’m not telling you this because I want your pity. It was what it was, and now it’s over.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because since then, I’ve learned what a pride is supposed to look like. I’m the beta of my pride, the second-in-command. My brother took just a few who were on the run and turned us into a pride that accepts everyone for who they are or what they are. He gave us a home, a place where we can live in peace with our families, our mates.”
“You mean here in Potter’s Creek?” Jackie was trying desperately to connect the dots and follow along with what the man was telling him, but he really wasn’t sure where this was going.
“It started here, but it’s spread out to my old pack. Like I said, my brother Otto took over after our father went to prison. My brother Sawney mated the alpha heir of another pride. My brother Tre became alpha of yet another pride.”
“You have a lot of siblings.”
Boone snickered. “Like I said, my father was a rat bastard.”
“It was always just my father and me.”
“What about your mom?”
Jackie shook his head. “She took off right after I was born. I don’t even remember her.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Jackie shrugged. He really didn’t want to talk about it.
“My father told me my mother had been killed in a car accident when I was about eight. It wasn’t until Hugh took over as alpha here that we learned he had lied. She was alive. The asshole told her that we died in the same car accident. She spent almost twenty-five years thinking her kids were dead.”
Jackie couldn’t stand it. He walked over and wrapped his arms around Boone, giving him a hug. The man shook against him for a minute before his arms came down and wrapped around Jackie.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Boone.”
“You’ll like my mom. She found her true mate and settled here, raising a family.” Boone chuckled. “Giving me even more siblings.”
Jackie glanced up. “You want me to meet your mother?”
“Well, sure. You’re my mate.”
“You do remember that I wear nail polish, right?”
Boone’s brows drew together. “Yeah, so?”
“It doesn’t bother you?”
“No, why should it?”
“Because I’m a guy.”
Duh.
“I am very aware of that fact.” As if to prove a point, Boone pressed closer, the hard length of his cock rubbing against Jackie’s abdomen. “You’re a sexy guy with a flair for color, and I dare anyone to say any differently.”
Jackie was stunned. He leaned back more so he could get a good look at Boone’s face. “You mean that, don’t you?”
“I very rarely say things I don’t mean, Jackie, and I will never tell you a lie, even if I don’t like what I have to say. Lying to a mate is wrong. It’s an insult to the gifts the gods have given us.”
Jackie breathed in deep and slowly pushed out of Boone’s arms. It was hard not to give in to the need he could see burning in Boone’s brown eyes. No one had ever wanted him the way Boone did.
He needed to put a little space between them before he gave in. He wasn’t sure he wouldn’t at some point. So far, he liked what he was hearing about how mates were treated. He just wasn’t ready yet.
“I think I have enough stuff in the fridge to whip us up some hoagie sandwiches. Does that sound okay?” Jackie knew he had some lunch meat, cheese, and vegetable fixings. He might even have a bottle of stone-ground mustard lying around somewhere.
