Chapter Two
Jameson
I’d held it together for the most part, but when Russ’s shoulders fell when we entered the house, I knew it was all over for both of us. I couldn’t take seeing him like that, especially since I thought I’d never see him again in this lifetime.
“Hey, it’s okay. You are safe and Oliver is safe.” Crossing the few steps of space between us, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled his form against my chest. I inhaled deeply, remembering the scent of him—it hadn’t changed since we were children, but matured. He was no longer the smell of pine and sunshine, but cedar mixed with night.
Russell was intoxicating.
Before making a move to let go, I heard the first whimper come from him. I was sure he never showed this vulnerability to anyone. He had always been so strong in his convictions—nearly perfect. I held on for a few minutes despite hearing Travis’s truck pulling up in the driveway. What the hell was he doing here already? Couldn’t he see his brother needed time?
“Travis is here,” I said, reluctantly putting some distance between us and grabbing a bag of his stuff to have a random reason for his scent to be all over me.
I wanted it all over me, deep in my skin.
“Oh, okay.” He wiped violently at his cheeks and eyelids.
I grabbed another bag just for effect and glanced outside to see Oliver being pushed on a tire swing Russ and I used to play on as kids. Already he was attached to his grandparents and probably had no idea the turmoil his father would have to endure to keep him here and safe.
“Russell,” the alpha called out, opening the door like he owned the place instead of me. My growl was barely contained. “Russell,” Travis said louder.
Give him a minute, Alpha. He is in trouble, not deaf.
“I’m here, Travis.” He snapped his mouth shut, like he was keeping himself from saying more.
Good omega.
“Your probation will last two weeks. I wanted it to be six weeks, but our parents convinced me otherwise. You are expected to seek out your true mate, and hopefully he will seal your mating even with the—boy.”
He had to be stewing inside. I knew I was. The boy had a name, and if anyone in this situation was innocent, it was him. There was no reason to take out unresolved anger out on him.
“Of course. I want that as well. I hope that he can accept both of us. And if he can’t or if I haven’t met him by then? Most of the males in this clan have already been claimed, right?”
Travis shrugged, inspecting his belongings and the house then at me. “Most of them. In the case that you do not find your mate, your situation will have to be reevaluated. I can’t give you a sure answer.”
Russ swallowed hard and nodded with tears brewing in his eyes. Travis couldn’t be in his presence for a full minute without bringing his brother to the brink of breaking.
Anger swelled in my chest. Travis was his brother—his family—his blood. That was thicker than pack—thicker than anything but the mating bond. Why couldn’t he just see his little brother broken and scared in front of him?
I hated to say it, but couldn’t he be just a little bit more human?
Russell steeled himself, squaring his shoulders and calming himself with a heavy exhale. “I understand, Alpha. I will make it my goal to find my true mate as soon as possible.”
Finding his true alpha would be easy, as far as I was concerned. I was his true mate—there was no doubt in my mind, and my wolf had absolutely no doubt. He loved Russell and craved his presence—had since we were teenagers—maybe before that.
Travis stepped forward, and I thought for a split second he would actually act like he loved the man I did. “We can help. I will send the eligible males over here one by one. They can go through the test.”
Dropping both bags, I forced myself into the conversation. “Alpha, he just got here. You’re going to have each male come here, invade his privacy, and have him taste their blood? Can’t we give him some time to get settled in before resorting to that? You said he has some time. Let’s give it to him.”
It was a selfish reaction. I didn’t want any other male near him—much less sniffing around—and I for sure didn’t want any of their blood in him, not even a drop of blood.
I’d overstepped my place, speaking to the alpha in such a manner, but my mate would come before my station in this pack—even if he didn’t know he was my mate yet.
“Jameson, you forget your place, Beta.” He stilled, his gaze firmly on my face. “But I do see your point. Your two weeks’ probation will serve as your settling time as my beta suggests, and after that, you are to find a job and your mate. Are we clear?”
He spoke to Russ but never shifted his glare from me. I would hear about this incident later.
“We are clear. Thank you, Travis.” He reached for him but quickly realized his attempt was in vain. “I’ve missed you, brother.”
The pure sentiment and care in Russ’s voice shattered me—but what was worse was that my alpha showed no such shatter. Nor did he show any concern when he failed to answer him and walked out the door.
I paused and waited for the right time to speak but soon realized that there wasn’t one. “He will come around. The alpha job changes people. He has to put up a strong front for the pack.”
Russ turned on me with seething anger in his eyes. “There is no pack in this house to be strong for. He hates me, and he always will. It’s fine. As long as Oliver is safe, everyone in this pack can hate me. It will all be okay if he is safe and cared for.” I didn’t think he was talking to me as much as himself.
“Ollie will never know anything of your past if I have anything to do with it. Now, let’s get you unpacked and make a run to the grocery store. There’s no food here ,and I’m sure your pup has an appetite like all male pups.”
His shoulders slumped. “You have no idea. He puts you and Travis to shame. There’s no filling him up.” A smile flirted with the corners of his full mouth, but it was gone as soon as it came.
“More reason for us to get this stuff at least in the rooms they belong in. Is this all you have? There’s not much here.”
He shrugged. “We didn’t have much. I was a cook and a single father. We got by, and that was enough.”
I noticed for the first time the pronounced dark crescents below his eyes and a significant weight loss. It must’ve been hard on Russ. He hadn’t been much more than a slip of a male before becoming pregnant.
I nodded and got back to work. In no time at all, we’d sorted everything to its proper place. There was a lack of everything. He had two pots total—a toaster old and dented enough to be from the eighties, and five plates—no spoons.
“Why don’t you go get Ollie—is it okay if I call him Ollie?”
He nodded and smiled politely.
“Go get him, and I’ll go get my truck and meet you right outside. We are going shopping.”
Russ inhaled sharply. “Jameson, when I say I don’t have much, I’m not being modest. If this place had been fifty miles farther down the road, we would’ve been hitchhiking the rest of the way.”
I winked at him. “I know, love. I’m doing okay, okay enough to help out someone I care about.”
He sprang to the defense. “I’ll pay you back. This is just a loan. With interest.”
Rolling my eyes, I answered, “You will not. But that was a good try. Go get your son and hurry it up. We’re losing daylight.”
“Oh—okay.” He went outside. While I sprinted back to my house and started up my truck, I couldn’t help but smile. He was back in my life again—returned like a hurricane to pick up their next victim, and I was happy to be caught up in his storm.
I had a chance for him to be mine again. He’d always been mine in my heart, and this time I wouldn’t be losing him to anyone.