Chapter Eight
Hunter and Seth arrived back at the cabin to find Elena earnestly petitioning Angus to nullify Hunter’s mating claim to the omega. They heard her voice from outside and Hunter skipped around the back, entering through the door into the kitchen. He was happy to escape the crazy that was Elena.
The omega in question was sitting calmly at the table, an empty plate in front of him.
“Good, you ate,” Hunter said, fixing himself a sandwich. “We’ll just stay out here until the drama is done.”
He caught a wisp of a smile on the omega’s face, there and gone almost before he saw it.
Sybil came back in, looking pained.
“Elena’s mother is going to take her to stay in Moon Weir’s cabin for the night. She’s upset about how the claiming went.”
Hunter felt a pang of guilt about that, even though he’d never encouraged her, or given Elena any hint that he intended on choosing her. But she could be very single-minded.
“I’ve told her this just wasn’t her year. Next year will be different,” Sybil added.
“I’m sure she’ll find someone,” Hunter offered, feeling some response was necessary, “given some time.”
Sybil let out a breath. “Oh, I hope so. Or maybe you’ll decide to take a second mate.”
She smiled at the horror on his face, sharing a quick look with the omega who was struggling to hide his smirk. Seth hadn’t picked up his sense of humor from Angus, that much was certain.
“Angus doesn’t permit secondary mates,” Hunter pointed out, setting his plate down on the table and taking a seat across from the omega.
“I think, in this case, he might be willing to make an exception.”
Hunter shared a look with his mate, raising his eyebrows, as Sybil bustled from the room. “That would be a nightmare and a half,” he muttered.
Sybil was back in the blink of an eye.
“You have a room to yourselves for tonight, in honor of your claiming. It’s all ready.” She was gone again a moment later.
“I hope they didn’t break out the candles and rose petals,” Hunter muttered. The omega sputtered a laugh, covering his hand with his mouth.
“You won’t be laughing when I’m carrying you over the threshold,” Hunter teased.
That quietened the omega, who darted a look at him, a mix of fear and anger on his face.
“So, are you going to tell me your name anytime soon or do I have to pick one for you? I was thinking you look like a Wally. Or a Cletus.”
When he looked up again, his mate was glaring daggers at him.
“It’s Cade,” he mumbled finally.
“Cade,” Hunter repeated, relieved they were getting somewhere at last. “I guess that’s better than Cletus. What pack are you from, Cade?”
The omega didn’t answer him.
“How did you nearly end up as Baelon’s mate?”
Silence again.
“Quite the talker, aren’t you?”
“I’m sure you’d have lots to say if you’d been locked in a cage for days,” Cade snapped.
“Well, I got you out of that cage, didn’t I? And away from those Red Fang psychos who were probably planning on serving you up for lunch.”
“Yes, alpha, that was so brave of you. We both know that had nothing to do with rescuing me. I’m not going to stroke your ego for you or any other body part for that matter.”
Hunter growled, slamming his plate down on the table and feeling his anger rise to the surface. “Keep your voice down. Do you want the others to hear you?”
To his surprise, Cade laughed in the face of his anger, picking up his plate and cup and carrying them to the sink.
“You bears are so touchy. Must be those huge forms squeezed into those tiny human bodies.”
Hunter clenched his fists. It took effort to force the anger down, to restore calm in the swirling vortex of emotions inside him.
“This is a wolf pack.” There, that sounded almost normal.
Cade glanced at him over his shoulder.
“I know.”
“We’re wolves, not bears.”
Cade made a sound of disbelief in his throat but didn’t say anything. Hunter guessed he was baiting him again, though why, he couldn’t imagine.
He got up, carrying his plate to the sink, and setting it on the draining board. Cade reached for it, but Hunter stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“Leave it,” he said. “It’s late. We should turn in.”
A flash of fear broke through the anger on the omega’s face and his hand shook as he let go of the plate. He was a lot more scared than he was letting on.
“I’m not sleeping with you,” he murmured, so softly no one outside the room would overhear.
“I know,” Hunter replied, his voice equally soft. “But we need to put on a good show, for them.” He nodded his head to the next room, where talking and laughter filtered through the door. “Okay?”
Cade nodded, still wary.
“Once we’re home, once we have some privacy, we’ll talk properly, come to terms, alright?”
The omega nodded again, some of the wariness easing.
“Come on,” Hunter said, taking his hand, and drawing him across the room. He opened the door and pushed Cade through ahead of him. All talk in the room slowly faded.
“My mate, Cade, and I are going to bed now.” He placed his hands on Cade’s shoulders, feeling the omega tense briefly before forcing himself to relax. There were a few catcalls and wolf whistles, but they all fell silent when Angus stood, the alpha’s commanding presence drawing the attention of the room.
“Welcome to Moonrise Cove Pack, Cade. We’ve very happy Hunter has found his other half.”
Clearly, the omega knew the respect due to a Pack’s alpha. He took a step forward and dropped to his knees, a gesture of deference largely forgotten. Hunter followed his lead, kneeling just behind and to the side of him. Cade’s next words surprised him.
“We present our mating for your approval, alpha.”
Angus chuckled but when he spoke his voice was firm. “And you have it.”
There were some sly looks as he and Cade got to their feet. Hunter took Cade by the hand, drawing him from the room and into the corridor their bedroom lay off.
Music started playing from the living room, loud enough that Hunter was reasonably sure it would drown out any noise they might make. A concession from Angus, letting them have some privacy on their first night together.
“Come on, let’s get some rest.” Hunter showed Cade in through the door. There was only one bed in the room and Hunter didn’t need to see Cade’s face to know his reaction.
“I’ll take the floor,” the omega said, without missing a beat.
“That won’t work. Someone is bound to check on us during the night or first thing tomorrow.”
“I’m not—”
“Yeah, I got that part. You take that side, I’ll take this side. Keeping my hands to myself, I promise.”
The omega spun around. “What do you want? If it’s not me, then—”
Hunter wasn’t getting into that, not until they were back at the Cove. Seth was right, they needed to convince Angus that their mating was real. If the omega ran too soon, it would raise suspicions. He needed everyone to let their guard down, to be lulled into a false sense of security. And then Cade could disappear off into the night.
“I can’t get into this right now. Not with my whole pack in the next room. Until we get back to the Cove, we need to make nice and play along. Got it?”
The omega rolled his eyes. “Got it.”
Hunter sighed, moving to shut the door. When he turned back around, Cade was already in bed, on his side, his back to Hunter. He climbed in beside him, lying on his back and watching the ceiling. When had his life got so complicated? Oh, who was he kidding, his life was always complicated. His dad out of the picture before he was even born, his mom moving around all the time until she’d finally seen the anger he couldn’t control, and dumped him with Angus, promising to come back. She never returned, and Hunter still counted it as one of the best things that had ever happened to him. Angus had raised him like a son, helping him take control of his anger, helping him become a better fighter. He was Angus’ secret weapon, though, after today, a little less secret. The packs hadn’t seen him in full fighting form, not yet. One day, when Angus most needed him, they would.
Hunter had been right. Their door opened in the middle of the night, long after everyone had gone to bed, waking Cade from the light sleep he’d fallen into. Hunter lifted his head beside him, glancing at the door.
“We’re trying to get some shut-eye here,” he said, his voice rough with sleep.
Cade didn’t move, keeping his breathing even, and whoever it was closed the door and went back to their room.
The alpha fell back asleep beside him, but Cade struggled to follow suit. Hunter hadn’t made it clear whether he actually planned to mate with Cade. Of course, he didn’t know what Cade knew, that a proper mating bond had to be Cade’s choice. The omega knew he needed to be out of there before it came to that. He also needed to figure out where Moonrise Cove was in relation to his den or he’d be running blind.
Cade was going to have to make nice with Hunter and pretend some interest in his new pack. Once he had the information he needed and the second Hunter’s back was turned, he’d be out of there. Not right away, though. They’d probably expect that, given Baelon’s mates were telling everyone who would listen that he was a runner. But maybe, if he pretended to take an interest, get to know their names, help out with the chores, do the sort of things packs thought bonded omegas were supposed to do, he’d lure them into a sense of false security where he was concerned.
The problem in Baelon’s pack was that he’d been confrontational from the very beginning, too angry and distraught by the fact they’d captured him at all, to think clearly; to be strategic. By the time he’d been levelheaded enough to realize he needed a strategy, they were past the point where they’d believe he’d willingly do what they wanted. This time, he’d play it smart.