Chapter 15

"You know my mate died when I was a kid. How can Alvin be my mate?"

"Maybe someone somewhere decided you deserved a second chance?" It blew Manu's mind that Eli had another mate. Eli was a loner. He had his place outside the village, liked to roam the woods in wolf form, and pretty much stayed away from people.

Being head of security was a role Eli was qualified for, and Manu couldn't think of anyone better, but knowing Eli the way he did, he knew it made the shifter agitated on occasion.

Eli paced in front of him, and Manu waited him out. Eli's silver eyes narrowed, and he stopped and dropped his head. "There has to be a mistake."

"Why?" Manu asked softly. Yeah, he and his mate had an interesting road ahead of him, and even though Preston annoyed the fuck out of him, Manu actually couldn't see his life without the human in it. They butted heads, but they worked well together when they needed to, and Manu knew Preston had his back. He'd proven that.

So yeah, they had a ways to go, and it might be the case that they always fought, but Manu actually enjoyed spending time with his mate, even when they argued. Not that he was ever going to admit that to Preston. The man had enough of an ego as it was, so Manu wasn't helping it get any larger.

"I'm old enough to be his father for a start, and there are kids. Actual kids. I'll have to do bedtime and homework and dealing with timeouts. I'm too old and cranky, and I want an easy life. This place and what's going on is hard enough without a mate and kids."

"I have a mate."

"Yeah, we all know how smoothly that's going." The sarcasm had Manu rolling his eyes. All true, of course. "You two spend more than five minutes in the same room and I need a timeout." Eli rubbed his short blond hair and squinted at Manu. "You look freshly fucked."

"And freshly out of there too. Said I was fat."

Eli grinned. "Well, now that you mention it…"

"And back to you and Alvin."

Eli threw himself in his chair, and Manu was surprised when it stayed upright. "I have to go back to avoiding him."

"Back to avoiding him. How long have you known he was your mate?"

At least Eli had the grace to look away sheepishly, ducking his head and running his hand over his hair again. "A while."

"And how long would that be?"

Straightening, Eli glared at Manu. "None of your fucking business."

"You're right, it isn't, but it is Alvin's. How long have you denied him his mate?" Manu stood and shook his head. "I've never once seen you run away from a fight, yet here you are." Eli surged out of his chair, and Manu shouted, "No! When Alvin needed you the most, where were you? Hiding. Letting a kid—and that's what he was, a kid—deal with all the shit his parents left him with. And you knew? You knew he was your mate."

"I would have stepped in if he needed me." Eli lifted his chin and stared at Manu, but Manu remained unaffected.

"He needed you. You knew this, and you didn't step in. You tucked tail and ran away. Hid." Manu shook his head. "Pathetic, Eli. Pathetic."

Manu left Eli's office, ignoring him screaming his name. Standing outside, Manu huffed. "Idiot." Seeing the sun beginning to set, Manu stared in the direction of Preston's apartment. He had a mate too. Climbing into his truck, Manu started the engine and headed home. To Preston.