Chapter Eighteen
They stayed another hour at the beach, getting to know one another. Cade asked most of the questions, trying to understand Hunter a bit better. He wished he could help the alpha somehow. Underneath the mask Hunter presented to the world, there was real fear. Fear of the anger held inside him and what he’d do if it was unleashed.
Hunger and cold got the better of them and they climbed back up, walking back toward the cottage. Seth was waiting for them.
“Hey. Dad wants us to check something out. He said to send Cade to the pack house. I guess Mom wants to see him.”
Seth seemed a little out of sorts, in Cade’s limited experience of the other alpha, but Hunter didn’t seem to think anything was wrong, walking him to the pack house, giving him a quick hug and sending him inside.
When he stepped through the door, Angie was in the living room, watching the younger kids.
“They’re in the study,” she said, pointing to a corridor off the kitchen. Cade made his way there, wondering who ‘they’ were. He knocked, hearing the alpha’s gruff voice call out. “Come in.”
Stepping inside, he found Angus and Sybil sitting around a table. Sybil’s brother Shane, alpha of the Weir, was also there, standing near the door. When he got a few feet inside, Shane moved, swiftly closing the door and taking up a position in front of it. Even if Cade wanted to leave, he couldn’t. Before he could even ask what was going on, Angus reached down to the floor and lifted something, setting in on the table. It was Cade’s backpack.
“I think you have some explaining to do.”
He lied, telling them it was just food for a picnic. The sweater and rain jacket were in case the weather turned. And the knife, well, you never knew when you’d need a knife. He was thankful he hadn’t stolen the keys to Hunter’s motorcycle like he’d planned. That would have been harder to explain. His answers didn’t seem to satisfy them and he quickly figured out why. They knew he’d asked Joe about the borders. They’d obviously been watching him a lot more carefully than he’d realized. Had Joe been spying on him for them?
He shut his mouth once he realized they weren’t buying his story.
“Hunter never had any intention of taking a mate, did he?” Angus barked. “I should have guessed when he chose you at the Gathering. Did you and he even-”
There was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal Elena. She had a crazy look in her eye.
“Did he confess?”
His sudden interrogation was starting to make sense.
“Confess what? What am I supposed to be guilty of?”
“Putting a spell on Hunter, leading him on, and scheming against the pack. I heard you, asking Joe about the borders, asking about our patrols.”
So it wasn’t Joe who’d informed on him. Somehow, that made him feel better about everything.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“We don’t even know what pack he’s from. Not Baelon’s. I asked my cousin who lives there and she says they found him a few weeks before the Gathering.”
Shit, they weren’t really believing Elena’s craziness, were they?
“I just want to go home.”
“Where is home?” Angus asked.
Cade shut his mouth. He didn’t trust these people and he wasn’t going to put his den at the mercy of a pack of crazy, dormant wolves.
“This is getting us nowhere,” Angus said, “I’m going to talk to Hunter.” He left, Sybil herding Elena out after him. Shane stayed by the door, arms folded, watching him. A few minutes passed, then Angus called for him.
“You sit tight now,” Shane said, stepping outside and locking the door after him.
Cade knew he should get up, try the windows, look for a way out but he just didn’t have the energy. He felt cold all over, weak like a kitten. So he stayed put, curling up in the chair and waiting. He wished he was back at the den, with his brothers, his friends.
Footsteps alerted him to a new arrival and he didn’t even bother to turn as the door opened.
“Cade?” a voice called, so achingly familiar he could almost kid himself he was family. A face appeared in front of him, concern etched all over it. Hunter.
Hunter’s patrol with Seth was short. He and Seth covered half the western boundary then headed back to the pack house. Seth seemed a bit off and he kept rolling his shoulders when he didn’t think Hunter was looking.
“Did I hit you too hard?” he asked eventually.
Seth shot him a glare and rolled his eyes. “Like you’re not feeling the burn after yesterday. Anyway, it’s not that. Dad was a bit… off with me earlier. I don’t know what his problem is.”
Come to think of it, Hunter wasn’t feeling the burn. He’d barely noticed his ribs.
“He’s probably looking for the next problem to solve. My guess is they’re trying to find you a mate. That going to be tough.”
Seth shoved him playfully. “What? Why?”
“How are they going to find someone willing to put up with you?”
“Well, if you can find a mate, it gives hope to us all,” Seth said with a grin. Ouch.
Hunter stepped into the bathroom as soon as they got back to the pack house, locking the door, and pulling off his shirt. In his haste to leave that morning, knowing Cade was likely to make his move, he’d pulled on a shirt without thinking, without looking.
His reflection in the mirror showed nothing he hadn’t seen before. Just not what he’d expected. There wasn’t a single bruise left on his skin and not even an ache from his previously broken rib. Was that why Cade had been so eager to touch him? So that he could heal him?
Someone called his name from outside. Not Seth, who he expected was waiting impatiently for him to get a move on. It was Angus and he sounded pissed.
He found the alpha in the living room, standing with his arms folded, a look akin to thunder on his face.
“What is it? What’s happened?”
“Did you think we wouldn’t notice your sham mating?” Well, damn.
The next few minutes were just shouting. Angus yelling at Hunter, Hunter yelling right back, and Seth lending his voice to the argument. Sybil was trying to calm things and Elena -why was she even there?- seemed energized by the chaos, all but clapping her hands with glee.
“You never had any intention of mating,” Angus was saying. “You were going to let that lying omega run, after we’d welcomed him into our home.”
“Where’s Cade?” Hunter calmed down enough to ask, realizing that the omega had gotten there ahead of him.
“Somewhere safe,” Shane said.
“Bring him out here. Let’s get this ironed out,” Angus said.
“No,” Hunter said. “Let me talk to him. He’s probably wondering what kind of crazy pack he’s mated into.”
“He was planning to run, Hunter.”
“I told you he was struggling to adjust. That’s why we took some time out this morning. He told me he’d been thinking of leaving, he showed me the bag. He didn’t run. But I’d say he’s rethinking that now.”
“What about all the questions he asked?” Elena said.
“He’s just joined a new pack. Of course, he has questions. What business is it of yours, anyway? You’re just jealous I didn’t choose you. I told you, Elena. You and I; there’s nothing there. You have to let it go and stop taking it out on my mate.”
Angus had started to calm down.
“Go, talk to your mate. Then both of you come out here and explain yourselves. I’m going to need some assurances.”
“Going to watch us fuck, are you?”
“Hunter!” Sybil said. “That’s enough.”
“Mate or exile, Hunter. That was the choice we gave you. If I’m not convinced you’ve done the former, there won’t be any second chances.” Angus stared at him, his expression hard. “Cade is in the study.”
Shane tossed him the key and Hunter went to check on Cade.
His mate was curled up in a chair and shivering.
“Cade?”
The omega was awake and alert but he seemed listless, not responding to Hunter.
“Hey, Cade, come on. I’m sorry about Angus, he can be a little hard-headed sometimes.”
His words didn’t seem to help, Cade tucking his head down, hiding his face in his knees.
“Okay, that’s it. I’m getting you out of here.”
He didn’t wait for a response, picking Cade up easily and walking with him out the door. The omega hid his face against Hunter’s shirt, avoiding the stares of Hunter’s family.
“Don’t,” Hunter said, when Angus opened his mouth. “I think you’ve done enough damage for today. I’m taking my mate home. And I’m taking a break from my patrolling duties so that Cade and I have some time together. In case you’ve forgotten, we were virtual strangers up until a few days ago.”
He knew his tone wasn’t winning him any brownie points with Angus but he didn’t care. He had to draw a line in the sand and this was it.