“Jude called. He’s on his way over. He wanted me to ask if Jordan stayed with you last night,” Thor questioned his son.

“He did.”

“Why?”

“He needed a place to stay.”

Jude walked onto the patio where Thor and Damian were sitting. “That’s ridiculous. He already had a place to stay.”

“Then why did he come to my place, asking to stay there?” Damian asked.

“I haven’t the slightest idea.”

“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Thor asked.

“Tell him, Jude. He should hear it from you, not me. Tell him why Jordan is staying with me.”

Jude shrugged his shoulders then stretched his neck to one side, then the other. It was a nervous habit of his that Thor knew all too well. “I’m done talking about this. Since Jordan is acting like a child and refusing to answer his phone, just tell him I said for him to come home. His mother is worried sick.”

“He’s fine. You can assure her of that. He’s sheltered, he has plenty of food, and even more, he’s a grown man. He’s not a child anymore,” Damian said in a harsh, authoritative tone.

“Damiano, enough. Tell Jordan to come here so this can be resolved right now. I’ll let Calista know we’ll eat after this is taken care of.”

Thor stood and walked away, unsure if leaving his Alpha son and Beta in such close proximity was such a good idea. He had no idea exactly what was going on, but he knew it wasn’t good.

Damian texted his Beta and told him to join them. He took quite a while to respond, but eventually said okay. Within minutes of receiving Jordan’s reply, they all saw him walk across the lawn to the breakfast area.

“Good morning,” Jordan said, as if there were no issues at all.

“Jordan, there seems to be a bit of a disagreement this morning regarding you spending the night with Damiano. Can you help shed some light on exactly why you left home?”

“I prefer not to say.”

“I understand your reluctance. But your father seems quite upset by your decision.”

“He shouldn’t be surprised. After all, he’s the reason.”

“How is that?” Thor asked.

Jordan looked at his father. “Do you want to say or should I?”

“Fine! Fuck it all to hell. I said it yesterday so I’ll say it again today. I’ll say this much right now; I still stand behind my words.” He looked at Thor. “My friend, I love you like a brother, you know that.” Thor nodded. “But your son is a loose cannon. My biggest concern is that further harm will come to my son if he follows Damian to the new Pack.”

“Seriously, Jude? I’ll agree that Damiano hasn’t been known to make the wisest decisions in the past, but things are different now. He’s mated. Even I can see a change in his demeanor.”

“No offense, Thor, but the boy rubs others the wrong way. And my son’s been shot twice while in his company.”

“Certainly you can’t blame Damiano for a rogue. He did nothing to provoke that, I’m sure. We talked about what my investigative team found out just yesterday. The buck had pledged revenge for the deaths of his family members. Only they hadn’t been killed by Wolves or Mountain Lions. They met their end at the hands of some wild coyotes.” Damian and Jordan looked at each other. Neither had heard the findings of Thor’s investigation request. “Why on earth would you blame Damiano for that?”

“He’s the common denominator in all of this.”

“Jude, I’m warning you. Stop right now. We vowed nothing would come between us, but I can’t sit idly by while you place blame where it doesn’t belong. Back off of Damiano, now.” Thor turned his attention to Jordan. “Is there anything else?”

“He doesn’t like my mate.” Jordan shrugged. “The Goddess chose her for me. I didn’t go out seeking a human soul-mate.”

“Again, something that happened while with Damian. I’m going to walk away before I say something I may possibly regret.” Jude turned, then spun back around to face his son. “Jordan, do whatever you see fit, just know I don’t agree with either of these things.”

“Jude, come on. How can you be so harsh with your own son?”

“Thor, with all due respect, please don’t lecture me. I never voiced my opinion when you and Damian butted heads, and I’d appreciate the same courtesy from you. He’s my son.”

“And Jordan’s my Beta,” Damian said. “You had to have known we’d move at some point.”

Jude glared at Damian. He knew all too well about Damian’s plotting to overtake his father to become the Pack leader. He never told Thor about everything he’d heard because he knew it would crush him. He wanted to blurt it out, but thought better of it.

“He has a point,” Thor said.

“I’ll talk to you later. I need to leave before I blow a gasket.” Jude turned on his heels and walked away.

Thor looked at Jordan. “He’ll come around. It’s not easy being a parent, watching your son grow up and finding his independence.”

“Really, Father? Is that the way you felt when you practically threw us out of the Pack?” Damian asked.

“Damiano, please. We went over this. I provided you an opportunity to become Alpha. I watched you become independent, and believe me when I tell you it wasn’t easy.” Thor chuckled.

Jordan laughed and within seconds Damian joined him. “Touché, Father. Touché.”

Calista and Angel walked out to where the men were sitting. Calista walked over to her Alpha and rubbed his shoulders. “I heard laughter, that’s good. Is Jude going to join us?”

Thor glanced up at his Alpha mate. “My Beta is sulking. Unfortunately, he won’t be joining us this time.” He shifted his gaze to Jordan. “Jordan, you’re welcome to join us, if you’d like.”

“I’d love to.”