Chapter Two
"Wow." Acheron wasn't certain if he was angry, irritated, or heart-broken. After traveling North and South America for over eight decades, he'd finally run across his mate... and the man had practically run from him. "I... uh--"
Holy fucking shit! My mate, the other half of my soul, just blew me off!
A low growl escaped him.
Oh, hell no!
His frustration won out.
Before Acheron could figure out an appropriate response, he watched Adam offer him a commiserating smile before firing up the Can-am and driving the Spyder through an open chain-link gate.
"I don't know the cat shifter well, Acheron," Kontra told him, resting a hand on his neck and squeezing gently. "Perhaps Jethro can shed some light on Rusty's actions?"
"Uh... maybe..." Jethro began slowly. He'd shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked away from them a couple of steps. "Rusty is a very private, family oriented guy. Now, I don't have a shifter nose, but did any of you bother scenting him?" Shrugging, his expression uncomfortable, Jethro continued, "I'd say you embarrassed him by, well, not to be rude about it, coming onto him like a drunken prom queen."
"Or as if you were in a nightclub looking for a screw." Everyone turned to look at Lamar, whose brows were furrowed, and he sported a pinched look. "Rueben and I had a similar misunderstanding when we first met."
Rueben chuckled, nodding, as he wrapped his arm around Lamar's shoulders. "Yep, except I was the guy excited for what I thought was a hookup." Nuzzling Lamar's neck, he pressed a kiss to the peacock shifter's slender column of flesh. Rueben lowered his voice. "Took me a while to loosen ya up, and for me to come to terms with your need for more discretion, but we did it."
Acheron swallowed hard as he listened to the men's comments. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, fighting his desire to head into the store and track down his wayward mate. His scorpion had recognized the cat as being less dominant than himself, so even though he was the smaller of the pair, he craved the man's submission.
Hearing his scorpion chitter irritably in the back of his mind, Acheron took a step in that direction, pulling away from Kontra. He felt a hand clamp onto his shoulder, making him pause. While he managed to fight back a snarl, he still scowled. Seeing Kontra's narrow-eyed gaze, Acheron quickly cleared his throat... and his expression.
"Give your mate some space and learn from the experience," Kontra rumbled softly. "It will be easier the next time around."
Acheron blew out a harsh breath and allowed his eyelids to slide shut. Tipping his head back, he focused on enjoying the sun on his face. It had been a long time since he'd submitted to anyone, but he knew he needed to do it now.
Once Acheron felt calmer, he refocused on the grizzly shifter that he was trying to consider his alpha. "I know you're right." He let out a soft sigh, mentally shushing his irritated animal. "So, talking first." Acheron turned and focused on Jethro. "Guess I better get our paperwork done so you can pass on my phone number to him."
Jethro nodded. "Yeah. That's a good place to start."
With the reminder that he'd wandered for over a quarter of a century looking for his mate, Acheron knew that in the grand scheme of things, another day wasn't going to hurt anything.
Yeah. Doesn't mean I have to like it.
"Haven't you ever heard the expression a watched pot never boils?"
Acheron lifted his gaze from his phone and peered at Sam Abbott. The big, broad, Texas longhorn shifter wore a concerned expression. There was a speculative gleam in his dark eyes.
"I was actually reading a book," Acheron told him, holding up his phone to display his open reading app. Although truth be told, he couldn't say what the last page had said. He waved at the seat across from him. "I'd be happy to have company, however."
Watching Sam ease into the large chair of the common room in the sprawling lodge-style home that Kontra's gang was renting, Acheron couldn't help noticing his tension. It didn't take a genius to realize what caused it. It wasn't the fact that Acheron had met his mate that day, either.
While Acheron's human form looked like a twink, his emperor scorpion was dominant--damn dominant. By the time he'd hit his fortieth year, he'd no longer been able to coax his animal into submitting to his alpha. It was either leave the nest or take it over.
Acheron had known there was no way that his shifter nest would accept a gay alpha. While the members of his old nest had whispered behind his ex-alpha's back about how horrible he was, that didn't mean they were progressive enough for that kind of change. Instead, Acheron had left.
He'd been on his own for almost one hundred years.
Kontra's people recognized the dominance of his animal, even when he wasn't trying to exert it. As the acknowledged beta of the gang, Sam definitely felt a little uneasy with him. Sam wasn't the only one who didn't know how to treat him.
Even when I've done my best to keep a low profile. Oh, well. Looks like I may not be traveling with them anyway.
Setting his phone on the arm of the chair, Acheron kept his hand on it. He couldn't seem to get himself to let it go. Sam had been right that he was watching the clock.
"You've all been very kind to me," Acheron began slowly, softly, then he paused and scoffed. "Hell, you've been kinder to me and the humans you rescued than anyone I can think I've come across." Leveling a serious look at Sam, Acheron stated, "I'm not going to do anything around here to rock the boat. Please try to relax. I get that I'm an anomaly." Shrugging, he added, "Always have been. It's why I've been a loner for so long."
"That's going to change for you." Sam narrowed his eyes and leaned forward as he made the declaration. "You get that, right?"
Acheron tilted his head just a little as he shrugged. "Not really. Rusty is settled here, so here is where I need to stay. Jethro says Rusty doesn't have a pride." Staying in one place would definitely be a big change, though. Giving Sam a wry smile, he added, "Even though traveling with ya'll would have been fun." Acheron frowned, realizing the human boss probably didn't have all the facts. "At least, not one that he's aware of." Rubbing his face, he mused, "Although, Jethro did just learn about shifters not too long ago, and he said Rusty is pretty reserved. Maybe he just doesn't know about his pride?"
Gods above, that would totally suck.
Sam scoffed and shook his head. He leaned back in his chair, relaxing. "Actually, I'm reminding you that Rusty is a family man. He lives with his brother. That means you won't be alone." Sam's eyes narrowed as his lips curved into a hard smile. "Better accept that damn fast, Acheron."
"Rusty lives with his brother? Why?" Acheron had totally missed that tidbit of information.
"Korvyn is confined to a wheelchair. I didn't hear why," Sam told him. "I met Korvyn once. He's a friendly, upbeat guy. They're definitely a package deal."
Frowning, Acheron blurted out, "You're not saying that Rusty is going to expect me to fuck Korvyn, too? Are you?" Just the idea caused him to cringe.
Sam barked a laugh, causing the scar bisecting his left cheek to crinkle in an interesting way.
Acheron used his focus on how the marred flesh appeared more jagged when the bull shifter laughed to keep his annoyance in check. He didn't appreciate being laughed at, even if his words sounded foolish when he had a chance to think about them. They were both shifters and fated mates.
No chance they'd be able to share.
Hearing Sam's chuckles easing, Acheron grumbled, "Yeah, yeah." He waved his hand, betraying his slight annoyance. "So, explain what you meant."
Sam's brown eyes continued to twinkle, but he nodded. "Very well. I mean you need to be prepared to win Korvyn's approval, or he could make things very difficult for you." Dipping his chin, Sam offered the warning with mirth in his tone, "Plus you might want to consider checking the thickness of Rusty's home's walls, seeing as the brothers live together."
Scoffing, Acheron couldn't help smirking back at the big male. "Hmmm, I've never heard of a shifter ending up in a wheelchair." He rubbed his thumb over his lips thoughtfully. "Do you know how it happened? Must have been a hell of an accident."
"Oh, Korvyn's not a shifter. He's human." Sam shook his head. "And I didn't hear how it happened or even what kind of paralysis it is. Not something you ask someone you only met a couple of times in passing."
Confusion filled him. "But you said they were brothers."
"Half-brothers," Sam amended. "Korvyn was the offspring of their mother's first marriage, then she found a fated shifter mate, so--" As Sam grimaced, his expression turned a little vacant. "Can't imagine falling in love with someone, then having your world rocked by Fate and the existence of shifters. Must have been a hard change."
"I imagine so. Never been in a relationship myself," Acheron admitted. "Never been in one place long enough or found anyone interesting enough to give it a go."
That had all changed in the blink of an eye when he'd spotted the wiry, tawny-haired, bandana-wearing cat shifter admiring the Spyder Adam had driven. He'd wanted to get closer, to touch his lean, toned body. When he'd drawn nearer and he'd gotten his first whiff of the handsome male's scent, his fixation had immediately made complete sense.
Sidling up to the man and acting like a bitch cat in heat wasn't his finest moment. Still, he'd recognized that Rusty was a shifter. Shouldn't his mate have immediately responded, even if he was embarrassed?
None of the guys around them would have said much more than congratulations.
It was definitely something Acheron needed to find out.
I bet it was damn difficult for Lamar to speak out to me the way he did. Unless he's more dominant than I gave him credit for. The guy is pretty reserved.
"You know, it's okay to talk out your thoughts," Sam told him, cutting into his musings. He was smiling at him. "While I doubt you'll ever grow comfortable enough with any of us to do it, you should think about how to share with your mate." Leaning forward, Sam rested his forearms on his thick thighs. "Communication and compromise are a big part of making any mating work. You know that, right?"
Acheron swept his gaze over Sam's serious, earnest expression. While the advice, the warning, was unsolicited, he nodded anyway. He knew the other shifter was right.
Besides, the guy is in a stable, loving relationship with his human, I ought to take his advice.
"Thank you, Sam," Acheron began slowly. "I'll definitely give your words some thought, and I--"
The vibrating of the phone still under his hand cut him off.
Excitement surged through Acheron even before he'd moved his palm so he could look at the screen. Seeing Rusty's name and number on the screen--Jethro had given it to him with the express promise that he wouldn't call, but would wait for Rusty to make the first move--Acheron rose from his chair. "Thank you," he murmured to Sam as he hit the connect button and brought the phone to his ear. "This is Acheron."
"Good luck."
Acheron heard Sam's soft comment as he moved past him, intent on heading to his room. Just hearing Rusty's few words of greeting, "Hi, Acheron. This is Rusty," caused his blood to flow south. His cock swelled in his jeans, and he had to reach down and adjust himself so he didn't cut off circulation to his dick before climbing the stairs to the second story.
"Hi, Rusty."
Acheron just managed to cut off his comment about how just his mate's voice made him hard as nails. He wasn't used to curbing his tongue when he was interested in someone. Of course, in the past, that had always been in bars and clubs.
Jethro and Lamar had been right about that.
Instead, Acheron crooned, "I am so very happy to hear from you, Rusty."
Hearing a pause on the other end of the line, Acheron realized how suggestive just his tone might have seemed.
Gods, this is going to be difficult.
"Thank you for calling me," Acheron commented, trying again after he cleared his throat. He'd reached his room and slipped inside. Needing some way to start connecting, Acheron thought about Sam's words--communication and compromise. "I know we come from different worlds. Can we talk about that?"
Gotta start somewhere.