Chapter Twelve

Blu

The next day, I tried hard not to think about the fact that Trike was now ‘working' to protect the pack, only his absence in the motorhome was too noticeable. He'd gotten up early, made me breakfast before he'd slipped out of the motorhome after tucking me back into bed and insisting I get another couple of hours of sleep.

After the night we'd had, sleep wasn't the priority, now I felt guilty that I could stay in bed, and he couldn't. So here I was cleaning the motorhome, rearranging things to fit my few belongings, so they sat next to Trike's.

I patted the small pile of T-shirts now sat next to the larger pile, getting a thrill of pleasure.

In such a small amount of time my life had changed and now I couldn't imagine what life would be like without Trike in it. Daddy.

Yes, cutie-sauras.

How long are you going to be working?

His chuckle sounded strained, and my hand hovered over the pile of boxer briefs I'd started to fold.

For the day. I'm out on pack lands learning the boundaries.

Oh . I couldn't hide my disappointment or figure how I was going to fill my time, seeing as I was almost done, and it was only ten o'clock in the morning.

Go to the pack house and see Russ. I'm sure the babies will entertain you. Then when I get back tonight, we can go out and grab a burger… watch a movie or do something fun. Anything you like.

A smile lightened my face at the idea of doing ‘datey things' with my Daddy. Can we do both, Daddy?

Yes. Now I'll see you later, I have to concentrate, and you my cutie are too much of a distraction.

A warmth that was becoming familiar spread through my chest. Okay, I sing songed, I'll see you later.

Doing as he suggested once I was happy with the placement of my things, I roamed up to the house. It felt different walking in this morning with not a soul about. The silence suggested there was no one home.

Russ… you home?

I waited several seconds before trying again. Russ, you here?

Erm… oh yeah, fuck… like that…

Eww!

Why would he do that to me!

I shuddered with disgust and blocked out Russ when the picture of what he was doing was way clear that it ever needed to be, darting back out of the house at a speed that had me unable to avoid hitting a man walking up the porch steps. My brain registered who it was as Harou, one of the pack enforcers, reached out to steady me.

"Sorry, Harou," I gasped, trying to get my heart to slow down. "I was…" I glanced up and tried to explain exactly why I was running without giving too much away. Evidently Russ and Olowin had no babies this morning…

"They aren't very discreet," Harou muttered, the droop of his shoulders and sadness coming off him gave me pause. "You need to be loud." The smile he offered with the suggestion fell way short of being happy.

"I'll remember that." I didn't point out that I'd not actually caught them doing the physical act, that would have been way more traumatic because nobody wanted to see their brother naked and… certainly not, no I didn't want to witness that.

I hesitated on the step when Harou let go and went to walk into the house. I reached out and laid a hand on his arm. Under the sweater he wore, the muscles flexed like he'd flinched even without him pulling away. "I… Doc… you… it's none of my business… but if you… wanna talk…" I stuttered and stumbled over what to say, but wanting to help. The connection to Trike I had would never have been denied.

No, the agony that would cause would be unimaginable, yet Doc… I sort of understood why he'd rejected Harou. Oh, not because the wolf wasn't stunning or that he was a wolf, not one of our kind. It was something else completely. Something that Doc, had one night when he'd gotten drunk, confessed when I'd come across him sat in a field alone looking up at the night sky, a large empty bottle of brew at his side.

Would it help if Harou understood the reasoning behind Doc's rejection if I told him the truth? Would it ease his suffering?

I wanted to do that as I looked at the enormous wolf who seemed to carry the weight of the world right there on his shoulders.

"What's to talk about… he rejected our mating bond. Left without so much as a word. Nothing says, ‘fuck you' like that, does it?" Each word dripped with melancholy and made my heart ache more for him.

"I think there is something you should know about Doc," I said, coming to a decision I hoped like hell wouldn't make matters worse. Then how could it be worse when both men were suffering?

A coal black stare held my gaze for the longest time, considering me, before he nodded slowly. "It can't harm, I suppose."

Looking at the open door of the pack house and recalling why I was leaving, I suggested, "Why don't we go into the motorhome, we won't get disturbed there."

"Alright, but only as long as you let your mate know I didn't invite myself into your home, I prefer all my skin where it is right now." This time, the humor came through when he gave me a small smile.

"The ass asked for it. Taunting my Da… Trike that way was only asking for trouble," I rushed on to say, hoping like crazy he never noticed my slip up at nearly calling Trike Daddy.

He chuckled softly. "That he did." A disheartened sigh followed. "Nim… he's unhappy with the new way of things," he said diplomatically.

"You mean different shifters coming into the pack." I smiled at him and tugged him along with me towards the motorhome. "Fate doesn't seem to care about who gets paired with who, so why should he?" I shook my head. "I never thought it was possible to be so happy to find myself mated to a dinosaur, no less. But here we are." I grinned, forgetting myself when I entered the motorhome and then caught Harou's dismayed expression.

Bugger it!

"Sit, I'll make us coffee," I fussed, needing a moment to regroup and stop my stupid mouth running away so that my brain had no time to catch up.

He slid onto the bench and leaned on the table, remaining silent and looking like I might try to attack at any minute with the stiffness of his posture.

I sighed under my breath and considered I'd never make a good counselor, placing the mug of black coffee in front of him. I grabbed the creamer and sugar, putting them between us, before grabbing my mug and sitting on the opposite bench, looking directly at him.

He sweetened his drink but left the creamer alone. He watched me with a weariness that suggested I'd messed up.

I sipped at my own doctored coffee, enjoying the hit as I gathered my thoughts before speaking. "Doc is old."

"Huh?"

"Like really old," I continued, unsure what to make of Harou when his brows looked to be having a fight with each other the way they pinched together. "He's the oldest surviving potato shifter in Potatoville," I stressed.

"And?" he asked, clearly missing my point.

"No one knows… we don't know how long a potato shifter can live for."

"Wolfs live very long lives'. When we mate, our joined life force gives our mate the same life line." His broad shoulders lifted in a shrug. "Unless one of us gets injured or an illness that could kill us. But what has this got to do with me… with my… Doc?"

"Yes, I get that." I did now. Would that be the same for me and Trike? When I thought about how long Trike had already been alive for my mind boggled. I could be alive a very, very, very, very long time… phew!

I blew out a breath and pushed that thought away to continue with where I was heading with this conversation. "That's you and another wolf, right? There's nothing out there to say it works with interspecies matings' when one of you is a vegetable or piece of fruit. With Olowin's pregnancy, things are getting mixed about and turned around. No one knows what the long-term effects of that will be."

Harou's brows were back to fighting with each other. "Are you saying that Doc rejected me because he doesn't know what will happen to him… and not for some other reason… like he didn't want me?"

The quietness of his question was no less impactful when it came with a huge dose of hope attached to it.

"His worry is two-fold." Or that was how I saw it when I'd listened to him ramble. "He's old and as I said, his concern appears to be dying and leaving a mate suffering because of his selfishness."

The table, which was fixed to the floor, groaned at the force with which Harou attempted to get his legs out from under it when he wanted to rise. Coffee splattered the wood, but he didn't notice as he finally escaped and paced in the relatively small space between the table and the opposite counter. "Selfishness… why him making decisions without discussing it with me, that's selfish!" The scowl, though aimed at me, held fury I knew was directed at the man back in Potatoville.

Oh dear, maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"Can't you see that his only worry is leaving you suffering?"

He looked at me with wide, disbelieving eyes. "What the fuck do you think I'm doing now?" He pounded a fist on the table, making the mugs jump and create more mess. "It wasn't his damn choice alone."

Not at all perturbed by the show of anger when I'd witnessed some epic ones by my many siblings, I waited him out. He ranted on… and on, eventually running out of steam when there was more coffee on the table that in the mugs.

When he sank back on the seat, flushed and breathing hard, I got up, grabbed a cloth and cleaned up. Quietly, I made more coffee, giving him time to gather himself, then placed the second mug in front of him.

"Sorry," he murmured morosely.

"It's fine."

He groaned and ran his hands through his untidy hair. "Dare I even ask what the second thing was?"

I lifted my cup out of harm's reach, looking pointedly at Harou. "Research. He's a doctor. Science. The body's anatomy. Things are changing, as you know. He's… terrified of what happens when two alpha's mate."

"Alpha… what… hang on… he's an alpha," he asked in alarm.

"It would seem so. He did some test when Frenchie mated with Tala, because up to then there was no distinction for us. But Doc found that in some cases, like Russ, the alpha gene is more dominant. We still have both omega and alpha genes in one potato. Problem is, he started testing other shifters in town and well, he discovered he fell into the alpha group…" in for a cent in for a dollar. "Only he's got a lot more alpha in him than anyone else in town." I lifted my shoulders. "You're an alpha," I finished, clutching my cup away from the table, expecting another outburst at any moment.

I wasn't wrong, only it wasn't the one I thought, when the door burst open and in stormed Trike. He glanced between the two of us and growled threateningly at Harou.

"Daddy, stop that," I said, not wanting any blood shed when I'd already made Harou's day worse by interfering I suspected when he remained seated, totally unaware of Trike's presence when he didn't so much as look at him.

What's wrong with him?

Daddy, don't be cross…