Back in Arrowtown, two weeks later.
Liam hung the last of Beau’s clean shirts in the closet and closed the door. Beau had gone to Jackson for the day, looking for office space. He was considering moving his base of operations there so that it would be closer to Arrowtown; instead of down in Florida where it was now. The last week of their holiday had seen him develop a tiny baby bump so Beau wanted to get things organized before he got too big. They had their first doctor’s appointment the following day. Doc Farriday was going to use his new ultrasound machine and Liam was bubbling with excitement at the thought of seeing their baby for the first time.
Beau had begged Liam to go to Jackson with him. He could barely stand to be out of Liam’s sight for more than five minutes. But in the spirit of impending fatherhood, Liam decided he needed to start taking his job seriously. He was due back at work that afternoon and was using his free morning to catch up on laundry. He refused to go to work in a wrinkled uniform.
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever catch you on your own.” Lucien’s head came around the door. “Got a minute?”
“Of course,” Liam grinned. Since getting back from their vacation, Liam had heard how Lucien’s bookshop was doing remarkably well for a small town. “I thought you’d be at the shop all ready. I was going to call in, once I started my shift, and see what you’ve done with the place.”
“It’s a shop. It’s got shelves with books on them.” Lucien’s smile didn’t quite meet his eyes.
Liam sat on the bed and patted the space next to it. “What’s going on, Lu? You know you can tell me anything.”
Lucien shuffled over and sat down heavily. Liam noticed the bruises under his eyes from lack of sleep and the way his t-shirt hung loosely over his chest. Slinging his arm around Lucien’s shoulder, Liam pulled him close, hugging him tight. “Come on, Lu, please tell me what’s going on. Who do you need me to kill for you, or at least give a sound thrashing to?” He smiled to show he was joking but his brother didn’t return it.
“I’m not sure anyone can help with this,” Lucien sniffed, and Liam was horrified to see he was close to tears. “Your brother in law, Noah, is my mate.”
“The bastard!” Liam’s response was automatic, especially with what happened with Theo. But when his brother didn’t say anything, he hugged him close and said more calmly, “Why the hell didn’t he come back with us, then? I take it, he knows? This wasn’t a case of you sniffing him and running off to hide in a book somewhere, was it?”
“He knows. From, you know, when we were working on tracking Theo. We both knew then.”
Liam thought back. His life had been a bit of a rollercoaster since he’d met Beau, but he remembered the night Lucien was talking about. “Noah disappeared. Beau couldn’t work out why. He’d been counting on Noah’s help dealing with Theo.”
“Yeah, well you can blame me for that, and blame me for you having to take the life of your own mate.” Lucien angrily brushed the tears from his eyes. “If I’d had my head in the game, I’d have gone through that ward and been captured, not you. But no, I spent the whole bike trip with my head in the fucking clouds thinking about Noah’s stupid ass.”
“It’s not a bad ass,” Liam offered, nudging Lucien with his shoulder. “Not as good as Beau’s, of course, but it’s bite-worthy.”
“Keep your eyes off my mate’s ass.” Lucien managed a small grin, before his face turned serious again. “Li, you’ve got no idea how sorry I am about Theo. I feel totally responsible. It should’ve been me that killed him, not you.”
“You’ve been worrying about that all this time? Bro.” Liam slapped Lucien hard. “There was no way any of the shit that went down was your fault. One, Theo would’ve put his grubby paws all over you and yeah, that would have devastated me. Two, he was a walking demon suit and you would’ve died. How the hell do you think me, Beau or Noah for that matter would’ve felt then? Beau couldn’t bring you back from the dead. That only works with mates.”
“Would have served Noah right,” Lucien’s tone was bitter – something Liam could understand. It wasn’t fun being rejected by his mate. “He gave me the same song and dance routine Beau gave you; about having two mates and needing them to meet first. I thought what happened with you guys, would’ve slapped some sense into him, but no. He refuses to come near me.”
“He’s a fucking idiot.” Liam thought back over what he knew about Noah. Noah was the younger brother, not as big as Beau, and from all accounts a lady’s man, through and through. Although, Beau had hinted more than once, he enjoyed a bit of kink too. “At least you don’t have to worry about him hooking up while he’s away. Beau said as soon as he felt the spark from me and Theo, his cock wouldn’t work for anyone else.”
“Yeah, but I haven’t met my other mate yet, so maybe his dick does work. I know mine doesn’t, but still. And what if Noah meets our other mate before I do and prefers that person to me? I’ll be on my own forever.”
Liam’s eyes widened. “That’s what the Fates were talking about when we met them. You wanted to know if things would work out with you and Noah?”
“Well, duh. Of course, I did. Fuck, you’ve been through this before with Theo. You know how I feel. What the hell do I do?”
Liam was fresh out of ideas. “Does he text you, call or anything like that?”
“Yes, well, texting at least. Once in the morning, once at night. I’ve sent him pictures of my store and he just replied ‘that’s nice. Good on you.’ I tell him about when we go out, and sent him a video of the kids when Annabelle took her brothers flying. Nothing. It’s like sending scraps of my life into a dark void and nothing comes back. I never know a thing about what he’s doing or what he gets up to during the day.”
“Hmm.” Liam thought for a minute. “Give me your phone.”
“Why?” Lucien dug in his pocket and handed it over. Scrolling through to the videos on the phone, Liam stopped at the one taken a few months before. It was of the whole pack when they’d done a strip tease to help raise money for Doctor Farriday’s new equipment.
“Have you sent him this one?” He asked as he hit play. Liam hadn’t actually seen the video, but he knew the whole pack had a copy. He and Lucien had played it up for the crowd, who were all laughing and clapping and yelling out their encouragement. “You’ve got to admit, you look damn sexy in those pants. Look at that. Whoever took this got a perfect shot of you as you ripped your shirt off.”
“It won’t make any difference.” Lucien slumped back on the bed. “I tried to kiss him that first night after he told me he couldn’t be with me until I’d met our second mate. I don’t go anywhere. Am I meant to hope that my second mate will just walk in the shop one day? That shit’s only found in romance novels. One little kiss, that’s all I wanted. I felt as though he’d punched me in the gut when he ran away.”
“No harm in trying.” Liam quickly clicked the share button and pulled up Noah’s number. Lucien had it listed under ‘Sexy Bastard.’ Tapping out a quick message, he hit send.
“He won’t even notice. He probably won’t even watch it. He doesn’t want me.”
“If he doesn’t say something after seeing that video, then I’ll message him and tell him he has an appointment with the doctor. Maybe his dick doesn’t work or something.”
“It works,” Lucien moped. “Just not around me.”
“Well, you’re not going to worry about that now.” Liam turned off Lucien’s phone and put it in his pocket. “You have a wonderful business you’ve started all by yourself, and you’ve got everything to be proud of. Just because these Phoenixes are older than dirt, doesn’t mean they get to call the shots all the time.”
“Yeah,” Lucien sighed. “I’d better go in and open up. Can I have my phone back please?”
“Nope. I’ve turned it off and you’ll get it back when I’ve finished my shift tonight.”
“Li. Give. Me. My. Phone.”
“No,” Liam said, hopping off the bed and dancing over to his closet. “I’ll get dressed for my shift and then I’ll come into town with you.”
“But what if Noah does ring, or tries to text me?”
“Then he’ll experience the same void he gives you.” Liam held up a finger as he reached into the closet and grabbed his uniform. “No. You said he would ignore the video anyway. I don’t want you sitting around moping all day, getting more and more upset if he doesn’t respond.”
“But what if he does?”
“Then he’ll wish he’d been more open with you sooner.” Liam laid his uniform on the bed and dragged his shirt over his head. Replacing it with the tanned Sheriff’s office shirt, he straightened it over his frame and changed his pants. Only once he’d secured his belt, did he give Lucien a hug. “Lu, what was it you told me when I was moping about Theo? About how I was the stronger animal and how if Theo couldn’t recognize that, then he was an idiot.”
“He was an idiot. He got possessed by a demon.”
“Okay, bad example, but Lu, having you as a brother is the best thing that ever happened in my life, apart from Beau. But if Noah can’t see how wonderful you are, then we’ll…kidnap him, tie him up and you can shift and nibble on him.”
“I seem to remember mentioning us doing something like that with Theo.”
Liam grinned. The light was back in his brother’s eyes and strong arms squeezed him around his middle. “Noah was hugely impressed with the size of my lion. He’ll go gaga over yours. In fact, that’s probably why he asked me about my size and if it was common in our lot.”
“I’m trying not to be jealous that you’ve spent more time with him than I have,” Lucien said softly. “It’s not easy.”
“Ah, but now I know why,” Liam said, “and if you think Beau’s going to let Noah get away with this nonsense, then think again.”
“Let’s see if the video works first.” Lucien stared straight at him. “It would mean a lot to me, if he came back of his own accord. Not because he felt I’d met another mate, and not because Beau played the heavy on him. But because he wants me, you know?”
“I understand.” Liam slung his arm around his brother’s shoulders as they headed out the door. “But if he doesn’t, I will play the Beau card. One drunken Lamont lion is enough in Arrowtown.”
“You weren’t that bad.” Lucien nudged him and grinned.
But Liam knew, despite his brother’s assurances that he had been that bad, and he was damned if he was going to see his own brother go through the same thing. Now Lucien had confessed, so many other little acts made sense. The way Noah had been so angry at his father over what happened to him with the hunters. The interest Noah showed in his lion form. The fact Noah had been staying less than an hour’s drive from Arrowtown despite his businesses being in Florida, the same as Beau’s. And most of all, the way Noah insisted on staying at the beach house and encouraging him to talk about his family life, when he and Beau wanted time to themselves while on vacation. You’re already a done deal, bro-in-law. If you haven’t come back and claimed Lucien by the time I see Beau tonight, I’ll be coming for your ass. Climbing on his bike, hearing Lucien start his, Liam thought about the message he’d sent with the video to Noah.
Having a wonderful time. Shame you’re not here.