They were walking in silence, but it wasn’t awkward, not the way it had been at the beginning.Thomas had been wary of Rowan then, but Rowan didn’t think he was anymore.He wouldn’t say that they were best friends, but then, he didn’twantto be Thomas’s best friend.He wanted to be more.
He wanted to keep the conversation going, but it wasn’t easy when it had stopped when they left the diner.He didn’t have a lot of time left.Soon, he and Thomas would be climbing into their cars and driving home, and they wouldn’t see each other until tomorrow.When they did, they’d be at work, which wasn’t the best place for Rowan to gently poke at Thomas and find out what he thought of him.
He was a little scared to do that, to be honest.He couldn’t read Thomas, and while Thomas seemed fairly relaxed around him now, it could only be because of the help he was giving him.He really hoped that wouldn’t be the case.Rowan was sure that if Shane had to choose between him and Thomas, he’d choose Thomas every time.Thomas had been working there longer, but he was also a pack member, just like Shane.Most people in town were pack members.
But not all of them, which was one of the reasons Rowan had chosen Mayport.He knew about the pack, but also that it was diverse.He knew that no one was forced to become a pack member, but also that it was fairly easy to become one, no matter what kind of animal one could shift into.Apparently, the alpha also welcomed humans.That was so starkly different from Rowan’s birth pack that Rowan had known this was where he needed to be.
And now, he was, and he liked it, but he wasn’t sure what his next step should be.
He cleared his throat.“I’ve been enjoying living in town,” he said, desperately trying to come up with something.“Everyone is nice.”
Thomas nodded.“They are.It would’ve been easy for most of them to hate me and my family, but instead, they welcomed us.Well, we had a few problems when my brother started dating the alpha, but that was mostly because a lot of people didn’t know Theo.Now that they do, they can’t deny that he’s a good alpha mate.”
Rowan blinked.“Your brother is dating the Mayport alpha?”he asked.
“Yeah.I haven’t told you that yet?”
“I think I’d remember it if you had.”
Thomas shrugged as if this wasn’t anything important.Maybe to him, it wasn’t, but it was to Rowan.He was still thinking about possibly becoming a pack member, so he felt he should know who the alpha was dating.
He’d done his research before coming to Mayport.He knew that the alpha, Chance, was fairly young.He’d taken over the pack after his father had retired, and while the old alpha was still around to help, he wasn’t in charge anymore.The decisions Chance had made of letting more people in, no matter the species, were entirely his, and it made sense that some people weren’t happy with it, especially when he was dating an outsider.
“It’s nothing special,” Thomas said.“Theo was our alpha when we lived on the street.It made sense for him to be the alpha mate.”
That was another piece of information Rowan hadn’t had before.“You were homeless?”
Thomas’s cheeks flushed, and he looked away.He clearly hadn’t realized that he was revealing something that Rowan didn’t know, but Rowan didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable.He wasn’t sure how to get out of this conversation, though, especially because he wanted to know more.
“Yeah, I was.That’s where I met my family.I’m not actually related to any of them, but they’re brothers and sisters to me, and Theo was our leader until we moved to Mayport.I guess he still is, although he’s the alpha mate now.He and Chance live together.”
“And you live with Seth, right?”
“Yeah.He’s Theo’s biological brother.It doesn’t make a difference, though.We still treat each other as family.”
“That sounds great.”
“You mentioned a sister earlier.What happened to her?Did she have her baby?”
Rowan smiled as he talked about her.“She did.She left the pack after that, though.It felt restrictive, and I understand why.The alpha was pushing for her to get married since she’d had a baby.He didn’t want a single mother as a pack member.”
“No offense, but your alpha sounds like an asshole.”
Rowan laughed.“I’m not offended because I agree.Heisan asshole.He’s a control freak, and he didn’t like that my sister went against that.He didn’t kick her out, but she knew she wouldn’t have a future with the pack.The alpha wanted her to get married and become a stay-at-home mom, probably pop out another kid or two.Instead, she became a nurse.”
“Is she in Mayport?”
“No.She’s living in Seattle now, with my nephew.I saw them before I moved here.”They’d been happy, which was all he’d ever wanted for his sister.He’d been sad when she’d left, but also impressed.It had taken him a few more years to do what she’d done, but now, they were both free.He wished his parents would follow them, but they wouldn’t.The pack had been their lives for much longer, and it truly was everything they’d ever known.His mother had encouraged him and his sister to leave, but she also mentioned that she was too old to do the same.Rowan wasn’t sure that was true, but it wasn’t like he could force her.
They reached the sanctuary parking lot.Like he had last time, Rowan walked Thomas to his car.He didn’t have a lot of time left, and while he wasn’t ready to let Thomas go just yet, he knew he had to.“When are we doing this again?”he asked.
Thomas dumped his backpack into the passenger seat and turned to face Rowan.“I don’t want to monopolize your free time.You should go home and get some rest after work, not babysit me.”
“I’m not babysitting you.I’m helping you.”
“You’ve already done enough of that, don’t you think?”
“It’s fine if you don’t want to continue, but if you feel that way for my benefit, there’s no reason to.I promise that if I want to stop helping you, I’ll tell you.You’re not forcing me to do it.I’m doing it willingly.”And he was enjoying himself.This wasn’t the kind of relationship he wanted with Thomas, but it was thanks to it that they were becoming friends.They weren’t quite at the more than friends stage just yet, but Rowan had hope.
