Chapter Fourteen
Angus
"You look proud of yourself," Angus said to Heath in the kitchen after Maggie and Gaia had left.
Heath set down the spatula he'd been holding. "I am. I solved my problem and the threat. I mean, I know Marcos can't be trusted one hundred percent, but you heard him. I didn't owe that much."
"Until now, it hasn't seemed like that," Angus replied. He had to speak carefully since all his bear wanted to do was tie his mate up and keep him safe somewhere in a cave where no one would find them. That wasn't a sane option, so he ignored it. But, to him, what Heath had agreed to do wasn't sane either. He was dead set on solving this problem on his own, just so he wasn't a burden. How come he couldn't see that Angus wanted to solve his problems? That he wasn't – and never would be – a burden? That making his mate's life easier made him feel amazing?
Probably as amazing as Heath feels right now.
Angus never wanted to deny his mate anything. Making him happy and keeping him safe was his life's work now. What did Angus do when keeping Heath happy made him unsafe? When, keeping him safe, made him unhappy? Angus couldn't agree to allow Heath to get his way, but he could wait and listen. For now, that was the best he could do.
"Come here," he said, drawing Heath into a tight hug. "I trust you, you know," Angus said into Heath's hair on the top of his head. "It's just other people. Those are the ones I don't trust."
"So you'll let me fight?" Heath asked, his eyes wide with excitement.
Angus couldn't bring himself to say yes to that question, so he simply hugged Heath tighter. Allowing his mate to fight would be like telling the world he wasn't alpha enough to protect him. Except Heath wanted to fight. Angus sighed, content with holding his mate for now, even while his brain buzzed.
***
Later that night, after his mate was asleep, Angus held him, staring at Heath's sleeping form. His bear raged. The more he thought about it, the harder it became to not just pull Heath away from it all. They'd find a nice cave and live there until this all blew over. Or until Angus could eliminate the threat.
Angus silenced his growl, but when his bear got like this, it was only a matter of time before his anger broke through the surface.
He didn't want to disrupt Heath though. He needed all the sleep he could get. With regret, Angus slipped out from behind Heath. Leaving his warm mate alone in bed was hard, but so was keeping back the growls and snarls as he thought about his mate putting himself in danger, again
He stepped out into the night, not bothering with a jacket or shoes as he prowled the camp. There wasn't another light on in any of the other cabins, which made sense since it was the middle of the night. Angus checked the perimeter, searching for signs that anyone had approached or spied on them.
He heard a snap to his right and sunk low, stalking toward a bush as he approached whatever had made the sound. As he got closer, he saw the shape was too large to be a rabbit or other wild animal. This form was huge and man-sized. Angus jumped, landing on the huge man's back as he kicked his feet out from under him and held him in a chokehold.
The man tapped his arm as if tapping out.
"It's me, you idiot," Roscoe wheezed. Angus held on to him for a second longer before his adrenaline ebbed enough to release his brother.
"What are you doing here?" Angus asked, taking a seat next to him on the ground.
"Same thing as you probably. Worrying. Making sure the area is safe," Roscoe said, rubbing his neck and glaring over his brother
"Not the same thing," Angus replied. "I wasn't out here getting my ass kicked."
Roscoe punched his shoulder hard enough to leave a bruise, but Angus wouldn't let on that it hurt.
"Gaia told me about Heath's plan," Roscoe said, staring into the blackness that was their camp.
"I can't let him do it," Angus said.
"Of course not," Roscoe replied.
Finally, Angus was speaking to someone who understood. Earlier, Angus had relied on Maggie to speak up about how stupid of an idea Heath's fight was, and when she had remained silent, Angus had seen that he was truly alone with his opinions.
"But if I keep Heath from doing it, he will hate me."
"For a time," Roscoe agreed.
"Any amount of time is unbearable," Angus replied. Roscoe let out a sharp laugh. "Listen to you, wrapped around his little dude-bro finger."
Angus pushed Roscoe over. "Like you wouldn't do anything Sawyer asked of you the moment he asked it."
"I lucked out with Sawyer. He only has a past that I regret that I can't fix for him." He was quiet for a second, likely fantasizing about going back in time to protect his mate before they even met. "Is he any good? At fighting?"
Angus thought back to the one time he'd seen Heath in the ring. He'd been holding his own, up until that last punch.
"I guess he's okay against a human," Angus said, like that explained everything.
"And he'll be fighting a human?" Roscoe asked. "Marcos indicated as much. But what difference does that make?" Angus asked. "How am I supposed to let him put himself in danger?"
"Alphas don't need to have all the answers," Roscoe told him. "They only need to seem like they do."
Angus snorted. "Thanks for that, wise man." Roscoe shrugged.
Angus sat with his older brother for a while longer as they looked out at the community they were building together. When their other brothers came back, it would feel even more like a home, surrounded by family.
Eventually, Angus got up and padded over the wet ground back to his cabin. He slipped inside and, after changing out of his damp clothes and wiping off his feet, he returned to bed, slipping in behind Heath as if he had never left.
His mate murmured and mumbled something in his sleep as he cuddled up against Angus.
"Moving," Heath said, his eyes still closed. "Gaggie's moving."
Angus slipped his hand under the blanket and pressed it against Heath's bare stomach. He was still flat, with toned abs that Angus knew Heath would want back as soon as the baby was born. He knew it was too early to feel any sort of movement, but that didn't stop Angus from lying there with his palm against his mate's middle, falling asleep as he held him.
Just before sleep finally took him, Angus could have sworn he felt the slightest flutter.
***
The time passed, as Angus knew it would. When he thought about what Heath had agreed to do after the pregnancy, it felt like the time was passing very quickly.
Then, when he thought about how excited he was to meet his child, it passed slowly. They didn't talk about Marcos, since there was no common ground and talking about it would just cause stress for Heath and the baby.
Instead, Angus concentrated his efforts on a thing bears were notoriously good at. Nesting. He'd started remodeling the second bedroom into a nursery the moment they'd gotten confirmation from the doctor. Neither of them had wanted to know the sex beforehand, so they were blissfully in the dark. Angus stood back, looking at the nearly complete room.
"It's perfect," Heath said from the doorway.
Angus spun, hurrying towards his very pregnant mate. "I told you to stay out, Heath, because of the chemicals."
"Chemicals are safe for the baby's room but not for me?"
"No, I was just about to set up the fan and air the room out. Then you can see it. Until then, stay out," Angus said, shutting the door. He set the fan up and opened the window. There wasn't any rain in the forecast, so he left it that way, shutting the door behind him.
Heath wasn't in the living room or kitchen. Angus found his mate pouting in the bedroom, avoiding his gaze. Heath tried to cross his arms, but they just rested on his pregnant belly, making the whole thing look a lot more adorable than Heath intended.
"Do you have something you need to say?" Angus asked, shutting the bedroom door behind him.
Heath just turned from him with a hmph.
"Did you want to decorate the room?" Angus asked, sitting down on the bed beside Heath.
"I have a good eye for interior design," Heath said with a pout. But he couldn't help himself from smiling immediately after. His mate was wonderful, but he would not be pursuing a career in decorating anytime soon. "I could have helped anyway."
"You help by being near me."
"That's bullshit."
"This attitude is bullshit," Angus said, sitting up straight.
Heath made an outraged noise but Angus saw the firelight in his eyes. He enjoyed being challenged as much as he enjoyed the fight for the upper hand. Luckily for Angus, Heath also enjoyed bending beneath him when Angus showed him which one of them was the alpha.
"Then just go away," Heath said with a scowl.
"I don't think I will. I think I'm more in the mood to take a taste of what is mine," he said, reaching toward Heath who jumped off the bed.
"No thank you!" Heath replied primly. But at the last minute, the smallest smile tilted the corner of his mouth before he was able to stop it.
"I guess no means no," Angus replied breezily. He stood and shucked off his pants without ceremony. Then, he grabbed his hard cock. "I'll just have to help myself then," he said, giving his length a few long strokes.
He loved watching Heath's face transform. He wasn't in heat, but the sight of Angus' cock had the same effect. His pupils dilated as he began rubbing his arms and neck. His tongue poked out, swiping his bottom lip and leaving it glistening.
"I could help," Heath said, his bored tone undermined by the way his head frantically bobbed up and down as if agreeing with himself.
"Nah, you're mad. I don't want to bother you." Angus turned from him, keeping his hand on his cock. He smiled at Heath's noise of outrage.
"You're my mate too, you know!" Heath shouted, as he stood and tugged on Angus' shoulders.
"Okay, okay, I guess I can let you help, but I get a taste too," he said, laying back on the bed. Heath scrambled on top, his movement made a little more difficult with his swollen belly in the way. Angus stopped him. "Turn around," he said, making a spinning motion with his finger.
Heath's eyes widened when he realized what Angus meant for him to do. They'd enjoyed exploring Heath's firsts, and this was going to be one more.
"I'll crush you," Heath said, though his eyes sparkled with excitement.
"I'm durable," Angus replied, manhandling Heath's body until he was where he wanted him. Angus had been bluffing his indifference. The need to have his mate in his mouth was strong. Heath caught his cock in his warm mouth as Angus spread his sweet cheeks open, bracing Heath's body so that there wasn't too much weight on Heath's belly. He licked Heath's puckered hole as Heath swallowed his erection, taking him down his throat as he had been practicing. He was getting really good at deepthroating, and Angus told him as much.
Heath purred, the sound vibrating down Angus' length. He licked and sucked Heath, sticking his tongue just barely in his hole and lapping around, stretching his mate out as he enjoyed the sweet treat.
If Angus died rimming Heath, he would die a happy man. He didn't just love the way Heath intensified his efforts when Angus licked him just the right way, but he loved the noises Heath made. Soft mewling sounds interrupted by long streams of curse words.
Heath was perfect for Angus. Trusting and sweet but with an edge of adventure.
Angus knew he would have gotten bored with a lover that simply agreed to everything he said. Heath kept him on his toes. And in return, Angus would kiss his asshole until Heath pointed his toes.
"Fuck you, fucking hell I am going to come!" Heath wailed at the end of one of his more impressive strings of curse words.
Angus wet his fingers in his mouth and then lifted Heath's body as he sank his saliva lubed fingers into his ass. Angus then took Heath's cock into his mouth just as it began to release the proof of his pleasure. Angus swallowed every drop, his mate's taste on his tongue setting off a chain reaction that had his own dick painting the bed sheets and his mate's face as he tried to catch it all.
Afterward, they laid there panting. The sheets would need to be changed, and Heath especially needed a shower - or at least a towel to wipe off his face and hair. But all of that would have to wait because Angus wasn't nearly finished.