Chapter Twenty-eight
Brady
It was dark outside by the time Glenn pulled into a large parking lot, and while he was still aroused and would have been fine with going straight to Glenn's apartment, he realized in the saner part of his mind that eating a good meal was probably a good idea. That, and Glenn was clearly excited to see his pack again. The last hour of the drive Brady had had to tell him to slow down numerous times. In contrast, the closer they grew to The Den the quieter Parker had become. He was worried, that much was obvious. Brady tried to lean into him and calm him but he wasn't sure if it helped. All Parker had done was grabbed his hand and given him a small smile.
"I called ahead of time so Caleb should be there for sure," Glenn said to Brady since Parker didn't know Caleb. He hopped out of the truck and waited for Brady and Parker to climb out as well. Brady felt conflicted. He was happy to be here for his mate, to meet his family, and to see Caleb and Asher. But something about being in the city, so far away from his safe, quiet home was unnerving. Glenn was patient while he waited and soon enough, they were hand in hand, walking through the door to the restaurant.
Despite having been there before, it took Brady a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to everything he was seeing. At the entrance, there was a small waiting area, and beyond that the restaurant was laid out openly with two levels. On the lower level to the right was the bar. Bottles of liquor stood in front of mirrors on glass shelves that were lit from the bottom. A series of beer taps lined the bottom counter. Beside the bar was a swinging door that looked to lead into the kitchen.
Brady looked for faces he recognized and while he saw a great many pair of eyes peering back at him, none of them looked familiar. That was not the case for Glenn who was unable to take a single step without someone rising to clap him on the back or give him a handshake or hug. Brady fell back, behind him, and reached out for Parker's hand. They would let him have his reunion, this was his pack after all. Except, Glenn didn't seem satisfied with that arrangement and looked back, grabbing their hands and pulling them to his sides. "My mates," he said proudly. "Brady and Parker."
The group of wolf shifters circled around them looked at Brady and Parker with new eyes. Though it wouldn't have been obvious to anyone outside of the lifestyle, Brady noticed them leaning in, drawing in their scents. Their eyes slid over Brady as they discovered he was human and instead lingered on Parker who was growing redder by the minute. No one asked outright, but the question was on their faces.
"Didn't you tell them?" Brady asked from the side of his mouth.
"Of course," Glenn answered in a much louder voice. "I told Conner and Felix. I don't know if they told everyone, but it doesn't matter. You are my mates, they will accept you."
He sounded so sure, Brady didn't know who he was trying to convince.
"Glenn!" a young voice cried out and finally, Brady recognized the speaker. "Brady!" Caleb rushed over, a tiny baby in his arms. "Conner told me you were coming but I didn't believe it, not until I saw it. And mated! I knew you two would hit it off. Like, I didn't know right away, but once I started thinking about it, I knew."
Apparently, Conner and Felix, Glenn's pack masters had told no one. What were they playing at? Brady thought that some warning would have been nice. At least then Parker didn't have to be there when the shock crossed their faces.
"And you brought…a friend?" Caleb asked, peering over at Parker. His eyes fell down to where Glenn and Parker's hands joined and then over to where Brady and Glenn also held hands. "What's going on?"
Just then, Asher lumbered over with a baby in each arm. "I'd give you a hug," he said to Brady. "But as you can see I don't have arms. And besides, Glenn might rip mine off." Asher laughed loudly.
Well, this was awkward. After everything Parker and Glenn had heard about his relationship with Asher, meeting him would be interesting from their perspective.
"Your friend looks just as mad," Asher said, speaking about Parker. Asher didn't try to disguise it when he inhaled Parker's scent. Except, he froze. "Coyote," he said sharply. He backed away quickly, setting the babies in their chairs at the table and then returning. "Caleb, go get Conner," he ordered, his voice deep and menacing.
Brady saw it all happening, so fast he felt helpless to stop it all. Caleb, rushing away, Glenn tensing and standing tall, his fists clenching in preparation. Asher's body mimicked his which only seemed to fuel Parker's nervousness. Coming here had been a horrible idea, worse than taking in a nomadic stranger and a known shifter.
"Can everyone please calm down?" Brady asked, lifting his hands in surrender.
Asher started towards him. "Are you okay, Brady, have they hurt you?"
It was a slap in the face to the two men in that room who would never hurt him and they responded as anyone would, with growls and snarls. Brady found himself sandwiched between the two shifters.
By that point the other wolf shifters in The Den had noticed an altercation and while they thankfully did not choose a side, they did jostle closer, making Brady more nervous and claustrophobic.
"Hold it!" an authoritative voice boomed over the crowd. "Everyone hold on." To have the power to stop so many wolf shifters from action, the man had to be one of the pack masters. When Brady finally saw the person that belonged to the voice he found he did recognize him from his last and only trip to The Den when he had warned Asher that his home had been destroyed at that the little wolf had been taken, by coyotes. Brady groaned inside because he was just as much to blame for this explosion of anger and misunderstanding as Asher or Glenn or anyone else with mistrust in their eyes right now.
"I'm not being harmed," Brady said over Glenn's shoulder. His voice was shaky and quiet because he hated speaking in front of so many people. He would though, for his mates. "Glenn and Parker have become my mates, they are my mates. And Parker is a coyote. But that doesn't change who he is to me. He's a good man with a huge heart."
Asher pulled back, noticing everyone else standing at the ready. After so long in the woods, that moment had to be uncomfortable for him. Caleb went to his side then, his arms free. Asher pulled Caleb close to his side, the movement seemed to calm him and his face cleared from the hostile mask he'd been wearing.
"Let's meet," Conner suggested, waving his arm in a sweeping gesture towards a door in the back of the restaurant.
Glenn looked back at him and Parker. "Are you two okay?"
"Fine, fine," Parker mumbled as Brady nodded. They followed Conner, Asher, Caleb, and a few others who Brady just assumed were also shifters through the door. To the right there was a hallway and what looked like storage rooms, but Conner led them straight ahead up a flight of stairs into a small sparsely furnished studio apartment.
"Why didn't you tell anyone that I was bringing Parker?" Glenn started right away, seemingly comfortable enough with his pack master to disagree right away with his practices.
"Felix and I discussed it and thought that warning people would give them a chance to form preconceived notions," Conner replied calmly.
"Or a chance to come to terms with their discrimination," Glenn said.
Conner sat down on the edge of the bed. "It is my experience that time does not allow people time to get over deep seated fears. They would have been riled up by the time you arrived. How would it have felt to meet a crowd carrying pitchforks and torches?"
Though he wouldn't mention it at the moment, Brady understood Conner's reasoning. The way they had planned it, things had been going fine until they'd gotten to Asher who was probably one of the only people who could sense coyotes simply because he'd lived near them in the woods for so long.
"Felix is out there now, explaining the situation. Everyone will be ordered to be on their best behavior but it won't be simple, Glenn. You had to know that."
Glenn didn't respond, making Brady believe he had known. "He's my mate," Glenn said instead.
"I understand," Conner said. "And he will be afforded the protection that comes from being mated to one of our pack. But you'll have to have patience before this union is completely accepted by everyone."
"I don't give a fuck if—" Glenn started angrily. Brady settled his hand on his shoulder. This would be hard on him. Glenn, who had never really faced prejudice. He'd been accepted, loved, and adored his entire life. Not like Brady or Parker who didn't need to communicate to understand what the other was feeling in that moment. Parker spoke through his tight hold on Brady's other hand, through the heat that emanated from his palm that still managed to be a little clammy.
Conner pulled out a cell phone and began typing on the screen. It seemed an oddly dismissive gesture to Brady. "I was just texting Pippen to bring us up some food and maybe a few beers. That is, if your mating heat could handle it?" Conner asked the three of them.
Glenn grunted while Parker opened his mouth for the first time. "I could go for a beer," he said hoarsely.
"Beers it is," Conner replied cheerfully, tapping on the screen before setting it down. "My life has gotten so much easier since we got these phones. Someone mentioned it was just silly for us not to all be connected. Got a great family plan at the phone store too. The lady helping us thought we were in some polygamist religion where a bunch of guys married one girl since we only had Stella and Franny with us." Conner shrugged. "She gave as an amazing deal."
A little while later, a thin, pale, handsome man walked in with a tray that looked much too heavy for him, though he carried it easily enough. Brady assumed this was Pippen, Conner's mate. "You text me one more time with an order like I am some delivery driver and I will cut you open," Pippen said instead of hello.
Conner simply kissed him on the cheek and helped him unload the tray.
"Hello, I'm Pippen," the man said to Brady and Parker. He reached out his hand which Brady shook and then did the same to Parker. "Nice to meet you. If anyone gives you trouble, send them my way."
Despite having just met the man, Brady knew he would not want to be sent his way in punishment.
The door opened again and a large man entered with a smaller man beside him. "Everyone is settling down," the larger man said. Introductions were made and Brady learned they were Felix, the other pack master, shifter hybrid and doctor, and Sorrell, his mate.
"If we're all done with introductions," Caleb said. "I'd like to hear how everyone met?"
Brady bit his lip. That story didn't start with Parker in the best light. He wouldn't want to make Parker even more uncomfortable. But it was Parker who cleared his throat and broke the silence. "Actually, that's a funny story, you see I was sent to spy on him."