Noah pressed his shoulder to Slade’s, all the comfort they dared give each other right now.
“Are you really okay?” Slade murmured, unsure how sensitive wolf ears were.
“Yeah. I think I am. I’ll need time to process, ya know?”
A bit of Slade’s appetite returned with Noah’s reassurance. They loaded their plates with potatoes, gravy, and roast beef. The ratio of meat to side dishes increased on the wolves’ plates. At least, if the older couple were Noah’s kin, they had to be wolves too, right? So much Slade didn’t know.
He studied Noah’s newfound relatives while eating, the woman beaming and the man wiping his eyes occasionally. No mistaking the likeness between the uncle seated on the other side of the table and the man in the picture—Noah’s father.
Andrew’s father.
Yeah, a whole lot of new concepts to learn. Debra chattered away while Ed stayed quiet. She’d be a valuable source of information later. “Ed and I never had pups of our own, and we’re so happy to find Andrew, I mean, Noah, alive. Out of five pups, Ed’s the only one in his family still living. One by one, the eastern packs fell. We wound up here.”
“How long have you been here?” Slade asked.
“Oh, about twenty years or so, wouldn’t you agree, Ed?” Debra turned her attention to her mate, who gave no outward sign of agreement. She nodded all the same.
Mac sat a few tables over with Buddy, a woman, and a passel of kids. Or pups, rather.
“Mac’s a widower,” Debra said. “So sad. His wife died young, leaving him with four pups.”
Everyone else at the table occupied themselves with eating. Only Debra chatted. Slade stretched out his leg, pressing his ankle against Noah’s. Noah pressed back.
After dinner, Slade, Noah, and Sam held back while everyone else filed out. Was he still supposed to be escorted? Would he go back to the guest house alone? Could he ask questions without saying too much? He’d seen male-female pairs exclusively since arriving. Wolves might frown on his and Noah’s association—an association he needed tonight.
Not sex, but holding his man. Since they’d found a pack, how many more opportunities would they get?
Sam took them on a side trip to get the Durango, then met them back at the guest house. “Noah, your aunt and uncle invited you to stay with them if you’d like.”
How could anyone tell anything about what the uncle wanted unless the aunt was telepathic?
Noah studied his shoes.
“Which is why I’m here instead of them,” the healer said. “We don’t want to pressure you. It’s going to take some time for you to adjust to being Andrew Dillashaw.”
Andrew Dillashaw. Try as he might, Slade couldn’t imagine Noah being anything other than “Noah.” The name suited him.
“If it’s okay, I’d rather stay with Slade.” Noah lifted his gaze from the ground to Sam’s face.
Sam engaged one of his many smiles. “Of course it’s okay. We’ll talk more tomorrow.” He strode off into the darkness. Few security lights illuminated the area. At least the place had electricity, though no cell signal or Wi-Fi.
Slade and Noah stood outside the door for a moment, possessions scattered around them, breath fogging in front of their faces before Slade unlocked the door.
He placed his laptop case on the floor, dropped the rest of the bags he carried, and slammed Noah against the wall, invading his mouth in a hungry kiss.
God, how he needed this!
Noah did one hell of a starfish impersonation, allowing Slade to shuffle them into the bedroom, where he placed Noah on the bed and crawled on beside him.
By some unspoken agreement, Slade wound up on his back, arm wrapped around Noah. Neither spoke. They’d spent so much time dreaming of finding more of Noah’s kind that the reality caught them off guard.
Slade kept his promise to find Noah a pack, and not any old pack, but family. Noah would be safe here, with a sheriff to watch over him and witches to ward the premises.
For now, the pack let Slade stay. How long would the hospitality last? Didn’t matter. In a month, he’d have to leave.
This time Noah wouldn’t be at his side.
Chapter Thirty-One
