Chapter Seven

On Sunday afternoon, Alton went to his parents’ house for dinner, something he did nearly every Sunday. The entire family did. At least the immediate family. Antoine, the oldest, was no longer around, of course. He would probably never see the light of day again in his lifetime. But the rest of Alton’s siblings came every Sunday unless something dire got in the way.

Austin was there with Nuria as were both of Alton’s sisters, one older and one younger, Abigail and Adriana. Neither of them had found the right man to bind to yet. Until a few weeks ago, none of the Tarben kids had completed a binding. Austin was the first to fall, and he was thirty.

Although, if Alton were honest with himself, he’d known who his mate would be for longer than the average shifter. Granted Nuria and Austin had met in the fourth grade also, so who knew? Maybe his sisters also knew their mates and kept it secret.

Dinner wasn’t ready yet, and Alton had a pounding headache, so he excused himself and wandered toward the tree line on the other side of the barn. His family had always kept a variety of animals, but when his parents opened the brewery twenty-nine years ago, they hired a foreman to maintain the barn and whatever creatures inhabited it. Currently, Alton thought there were two horses, a cow, and a few goats.

Beth Tarben, his mother, thought it was important for her kids to grow up around animals, which was comical since they could shift at any time and lope through the mountains at one with nature.

Spying his favorite rock inside the tree line, Alton perched on the edge of it, taking a deep breath as he glanced at the back of the barn. It had been repainted a few times over the years, but it still sported the dark brown siding it had always had. The same siding as the two-story house situated in front of it. And the matching brown paint also coated the log fencing that stretched across the clearing behind the barn where the animals could roam.

The two acres were surrounded by evergreen trees that cocooned the property, hiding it. Protecting it from unnecessary detection.

For most of his childhood, the barn had represented a place of solace. So many good memories happened in that barn. He’d learned to take care of horses in there, saddle them, brush them down, feed them. At one time or another, he’d enjoyed a wide range of cats and dogs.

He never had time for anything like that anymore. Life always got in the way. And besides, he often did not permit himself to enjoy life too much while his mate wasn’t at his side. It seemed wrong in a way.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, inhaling the air around him to make sure he was alone before he sent a quick empty text. Nothing reached his nose except a few animals and the ever-present scent of pine.

Seconds later, his phone vibrated, indicating an incoming call and bringing a smile to his face. “Hey,” he whispered, his usual greeting.

“Hey, yourself,” she responded in kind.

“You busy?”

“Nope. I’m in my room curled up by the window staring at the pages of a book.”

“Are there words?” he teased.

“I have no idea.” She sounded sad.

“Baby…”

“I miss you.” Now he could hear the tears in her voice.

“I know.”

“We can’t keep this up.”

“I know that too.” It was a broken record with them.

She sighed. “You at your parents’?”

“Yep. Everyone’s here. It makes my chest hurt to watch Austin with his new mate Nuria. They’re so damn happy. I had to escape for a few minutes.”

“So you’re sitting on your rock behind the barn.”

“Yep.” She knew him well. “Your knees are pulled to your chest, and you have a ponytail?”

“Yep.” She giggled, the sound going straight to his cock.

“Wish I could tug that band free and run my fingers through the waves of hair.”

She sighed again. “Alton…” Her voice was filled with emotion.

He rubbed his forehead, inhaling deeply, which caused him to sit up straighter and glance around. “Gotta call you back. Someone’s coming.” He ended the call without waiting for a response and stuffed his phone in his pocket. If anyone ever stole his phone and went through his records, he’d be toast.

At least he had his own apartment and lived alone. Joselyn lived with her parents. Even though she had her own cell phone in her name, not connected to anyone else in her family, he worried one day someone else would pick it up, or she might inadvertently leave it lying around, and they would be found out.

Seconds after ending the call, he realized who was approaching. It wasn’t one of his immediate family members. It was Austin’s mate, Nuria. Alton hadn’t had much time to get to know her yet. He remembered her from when they were kids, but she was five years older than him and moved away when he was ten.

She stepped into his line of sight with her hands tucked into the pockets of her jeans. Her long brown curls hung in ringlets around her face, curtaining her from the world. Timid was the best way to describe her. She’d had a hard life before returning to town two weeks ago and binding to his brother. Theirs was a love story that rivaled Alton’s. In fact, he might have to concede defeat to Austin seeing as his brother went fifteen years not knowing where his mate was or if she was alive even though he’d known at a young age she was his.

The concept of being so certain two people belonged together was foreign to a lot of grizzly shifters. Other species operated under a fated premise, but not the bears. At least until recently. There seemed to be more and more locals coming out of the woodwork with long stories of destined romances.

Alton winced at the thought. He was one of those statistics. If many others like him were keeping their relationships secret, perhaps there was some merit to the idea of Fate stepping in.

“Hi,” Nuria said as she got closer. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.” She tucked a curl behind her ear and lifted her deep green eyes to meet his gaze.

“You didn’t.”

She smiled warmly but held his gaze. “You were on the phone.”

He winced. Had she heard him? How the hell had she gotten close enough to know that without him scenting her? He rubbed his forehead with two fingers. Apparently, he was getting sloppy.

She didn’t press the issue further. When she spoke again, she changed the subject. “I just wanted to uh…” She dropped her gaze to the ground and used one toe to shuffle the dirt around. “Well, I mean we haven’t had a chance to get to know each other yet.”

He relaxed his shoulders but wondered what she was trying to say. It wasn’t like they hadn’t spoken at all. She’d been at the house the previous two Sundays for dinner with Austin. Alton wasn’t sure why she would specifically single him out for a chat.

And then she dropped the bomb. “Look,” she lifted her face again, tucking another loose curl behind her ear, “I know.”

“You know what?” He gulped and then held his breath. Fuck. Did she know about Jos? How?

“Don’t freak out or anything. I don’t think anyone else knows. But it was obvious to me. And I wanted you to know that I know. And also…” She stopped moving, holding his gaze. “I can’t keep this from Austin. It’s not fair. We don’t have secrets. It’s been two weeks, and we’ve been so busy that it totally slipped my mind until today, but seeing you… I have to tell your brother.”

Alton stared at her, not completely sure they were even on the same page, let alone the same book. And he sure didn’t want to out his relationship with Joselyn unnecessarily if she was speaking of some totally unrelated topic. He opted for a one-word, vague answer. “How?”

“Two weeks ago. The day I was kidnapped, and then that crowd of people was here at your parents’ home. The Arthurs were here, several of them. I saw you. I saw her too. I think your family and hers were so preoccupied with dealing with the Arcadian Council and worrying over me that no one noticed.”

Alton couldn’t breathe. If Nuria noticed, surely others had. But no one had said a single word.

“It was the last thing on their minds that day, Alton. And I assume the two of you don’t often find yourselves in the same crowded room.”

“No. We don’t.” Though neither of them said Joselyn’s name, it was evident Nuria knew about them. Fuck.

“I just happened to catch a look you exchanged, and then I watched you skirt around each other in a sort of dance. Broke my heart.” Her voice hitched, and she reached up to wipe a tear from her face.

Alton choked, but he didn’t move.

“Alton, I spent fifteen years living on the opposite side of this country missing your brother so badly it caused physical pain. Take my word for it. You don’t want to do that. You actually can’t. Denying the pull to bind isn’t possible. Not even with time or space. I’ve proven that the hard way.”

He swallowed the lump in his throat. His voice was low and gravelly when he spoke. “I know. Believe me, I know.”

“It’s like a piece of your soul won’t be whole until you bind yourself to the one you love. I thought I could walk away. I thought I could do it fifteen years ago, and I thought I could do it fifteen days ago. But it’s not a choice. It will eat you alive.”

He knew that much better than she could imagine.

“How long have you known?” she asked, tipping her face to one side while she tried to corral another curl behind her ear. The air was brisk, but still too cold to stay out there very long.

Alton stared at her for a moment, considering his options. He didn’t have to tell her anything. He could blow her off. He didn’t even know her well enough to confide these secrets.

On the other hand, he had no one else, and he now needed to deal with the fact that his brother was about to find out. “Longer than you and Austin,” he breathed out, relief over the admission racing through his body.

“Oh, Alton.” She pressed her hand to her mouth and sobbed.

He took a deep breath. Why did it feel so good to share this with someone? A practical stranger? “Third grade. I guess you’ve known about Austin longer, but I was even younger. I was nine. I remember the day perfectly.”

Tears rolled down her face. “Why?” she choked out.

Good question. Why? He tipped his face toward the ground as though looking for the answers in the dirt while at the same time avoiding the emotion on her face. “It’s complicated.”

“It’s never that complicated.”

“Yes. It is. This time it is. You know how our families feel about each other.”

“But that’s changing. You were all together just two weeks ago right here in the same house. Don’t you think you can come out of that closet now?”

He shook his head. “That was a fraction of our families. Just because my parents made nice with her parents for a while under dire circumstances doesn’t mean Jos and I can step forward and declare our love. Most of my aunts and uncles would freak out.”

“Who cares?” Her voice rose. “Surely you’d rather be happy with your mate than appease all those people? Family or not.”

She was right to a certain extent. But there was a lot more to it she didn’t know. She couldn’t possibly fully understand the dynamic between the two packs. Binding himself to Joselyn could be the end of their lives in Silvertip. Yes, the pull on his soul to claim her was strong, but pack ties were also strong, and severing those ties was an enormous step. For both of them. “I know. And I wish it were that simple. It just isn’t. For either of us. I’m heartened that our immediate families are on speaking terms. It also gives me hope that Austin is such good friends with Joselyn’s brother Isaiah.” Was it enough, though?

“They’ve been friends for fifteen years too, you know. Hiding. It makes me so sad to think two teenagers had to conceal their friendship and meet in the mountains for all these years so they wouldn’t piss off their parents.”

He nodded.

“But you know what? No one even cared in the end. Not your parents nor Isaiah’s. Those are the same people who will be open and understanding of your situation, Alton.”

“Maybe.”

“I’m sure of it.” She stood straighter, forcing a smile. “Or you can continue to torture yourself year after year, meeting secretly in odd places until you realize you’d rather die than not have her with you.”

“I’m past that point,” he admitted, holding her gaze.

She pursed her lips, obviously trying not to let her tears start up again.

“And I’m working on it. It’s only been two weeks since all hell broke loose, bringing the families closer together.”

“It’s been building longer than that. Your two fathers came together a few months ago too when Antoine went all stupid and tried to bind himself to Heather.”

Alton chuckled at her word choice. “Stupid? Nuria, my asshole brother tried to rape you fifteen years ago. Who knows if he meant to bind Heather to him or kill her that day? Or both. He’s a fucking bastard. We don’t even know how many other women he’s accosted over the years. Stupid is too kind of a word.”

“Okay, but he’s your brother. I didn’t want to be disrespectful.”

Austin chuckled again. “He’s not my brother. He’s a fucking idiot. I hope I never see him again. If he ever surfaced again and Austin didn’t kill him with his bare hands, I would do so for him on your behalf.”

Nuria nodded. “Nevertheless, I feel horrible for Heather. That poor woman has us all beat after what she’s been through. She wasn’t even a shifter until a few days before that when…”

Austin held out a hand to stop her from continuing. He didn’t want to verbalize the atrocities of any other member of his family at the moment. He was embarrassed enough as it was. It didn’t matter that everyone he ran into insisted he was not his brother or his cousin Jack, who attacked Heather in the woods in the first place, causing her to transition.

“Well, that’s all. I didn’t mean to interrupt your call. I’m sorry about that. I’m sure finding the time to speak to each other is hard enough as it is. But finding a time to speak to you privately was also a challenge. And I wanted to give you the heads up before telling your brother.”

Alton nodded. “I appreciate that. Would you do me a favor and let me tell him?”

She chewed on her bottom lip again. “When?”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Tonight is fine. After dinner? Your place?”

She glanced over her shoulder. Someone else was approaching. They both sensed it at the same time. Austin. “That will work,” she hurried to add. “When we get home after dinner, stop by.”

“Okay.”

Austin stepped into their line of sight two seconds later. His face lit up as he spotted Nuria, and he came toward her. “There you are.”

She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her middle. “Ran into Alton. We were getting to know each other.”

“Good.” He rubbed a thumb over her face. “You’re freezing. Let’s get back inside.” He turned them both around, glancing over his shoulder. “You coming?”

“Be there in a sec.” Alton stayed right where he was, watching his brother and Nuria disappear. A tight knot formed in his stomach that wouldn’t release. Watching the two of them fawn over each other made him physically ill. Not because he wasn’t happy for them, but because he was so miserable with himself.