“If I take off my clothes, will you agree to stay here while I go to Green Field?” Brian didn’t laugh or even smile, so apparently, he didn't understand the pun.
“No, but I’ll be less annoyed while I disagree with you about that for the millionth time.” Keith tucked his legs underneath his butt, held his hand up, and twirled his finger. “Take it all off, okay? Underwear too. I want to watch your dick swing while you pace.”
“I am losing my mind.”
“Don’t fret about it. Join us. The water’s fine.”
“Keith?”
“Uh-huh?”
“You are sitting on a couch. There is no water.”
“I meant the figurative water.”
“Don’t ask,” Brian said under his breath. “Don’t ask.” He started walking and then stopped, looked up at the ceiling, closed his eyes, and said, “What do you mean ‘figurative water’?”
“The figurative water in the figurative lost-our-mind pool. It’s where the cuckoos go to play when we leave our nest.”
After several long moments of silence during which Brian blinked his eyes open and stared at him, mouth gaping, he shook his head and said, “Are you doing this to wear me down so I give in?”
“Doing what?”
He waved his hand in the air wildly. “This.”
“I don't know what you mean, but no. I don’t need you to give in.”
“You don’t?”
“No.”
“So you agree not to go to Green Field?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“But you—”
“Mate.” Keith swung his legs down and stood. “I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate your care.” He slowly walked toward Brian. “My parents died before I knew them. I don’t have other family. This, here with you, means more to me than you can understand.” He curled his hand around the side of Brian’s neck and gazed into his eyes. “I love you, Brian Berger,” he whispered. “I don’t want to upset you. I respect you. I’ll give you a little more time to come to terms with it. But whether you agree or not, I’m going to go to Green Field to take care of my pack.”
Chapter 9
Snout raised to the sky, Brian inhaled deeply and took in the scents of his pack. Several feet in front of him, his mate lay on his back, rolling from one side to the next, tongue lolling out of his mouth. He looked simultaneously ridiculous and adorable.
Brian shifted into his human skin and walked over to him. “What are you doing?”
Twinkling eyes landed on him and Keith’s thick tail swung from side-to-side against the ground.
In wolf form, his eyes were slightly lighter than their human counterpart, the same amber shade as Brian’s. His coat, on the other hand, was the polar opposite—a very light gray, almost white, as compared to Brian’s charcoal coat. And he was much, much taller and longer, but still distressingly lean. Unfortunately, food wasn’t a priority for Keith, but thankfully, he didn’t push back when Brian told him it was time to eat and sat with him for a meal. The same was true for rest. Keith seemingly had no off button, so he’d go at full speed all day and into the night, but when Brian got into bed, he willingly lay down.
Managing his own pack while also trying to figure out what to do about Green Field required more hours than he had in a day, but taking care of Keith took priority over everything, so Brian made sure to stop for food and rest, if only so Keith would do the same. He was confident that, over time, he would help his mate regain his strength.
“Are you scratching your back with the brush?” he asked, amused at the sight of a grown Alpha wolf behaving like a domestic puppy. Leading a pack for the first time in his life was difficult. The situation in Green Field was stressful. He had never faced so many challenges and in many ways, this was the most difficult time of his life. Or it would have been, if it wasn’tfor his mate. His confounding, hyperactive, obstinate, beautiful, charming, funny mate. “You’re going to be filthy.”
In what felt like a single blink, he found himself looking at his mate’s human form.
“Feels good.” Keith grinned up at him. “You should try it.”
“How’d you do that so quickly?”
