14. Dylan

Dylan

Chapter 14

I tried my best to keep my face neutral as the truck bumped and rocked down the rutted path, but my poor abused ass ached with ever pothole we hit. No matter what Tristan claimed, this could not be called a road by any stretch of the definition. It just barely cleaved through the thick forest encroaching on both sides, and for a second, I wondered if the wilds would just swallow us up, chew us up and digest us, never to be seen again. Good luck to Shan in trying to explain that one to my father.

Soon, though, I could make a lightening ahead, a paler shade of green and brown. "Is that it?" I asked, but Tristan just smiled. Then suddenly, we erupted through the trees into a clearing. I blinked in the sudden glare, my eyes adjusting to the glaring sun beating down from directly overhead.

Tristan pulled the truck up to the side and turned off the engine. "Welcome home, kitten," he said, drawing my hand to his lips and kissing the inside of my wrist tenderly.

I swallowed hard. "Home. Right." I felt all kinds of uneasy. It didn't smell like home. In fact, it smelled an awful lot like wet dog. I eased out of the truck warily, watching as a small collection of shifters gathered nearby, wearing matching welcoming smiles. Nobody said anything, though, until Shan stepped out of a small shack, a squirmy toddler with unruly curls in his arms.

"Hey! I half expected I wouldn't see you guys for another week at least."

I frowned. "But you said to be back today. Why wouldn't we be here?"

Shan laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, you're going to be such a great influence on my Beta, I just know it."

The child in his arms reached for me, leaning so far over that I had no choice but to catch him before he ended up headfirst on the ground. "Oh!" I grunted, his solid weight settling into my arms, his grubby hands going straight for my cheeks.

"Sorry, Mal doesn't get a chance to meet a lot of new people around here. He's a stubborn one. It's easier to just go along with it. Do you mind?"

"Uh, no. It's fine." I had no clue what to do with children. I hadn't been around any since I was one myself. "Hey there… buddy?"

"Hi!" he squawked, kicking his chubby little legs against my thighs. "Hi, hi, hi!" With each word, he patted my face on both sides, and I tried my best to smile through the sensation of dirty, sweaty fingers on my nice clean skin. My eyes went to the tag sticking off the collar of his shirt, which was backwards and inside out, as if they'd had to wrestle it on.

I turned around looking for Tristan, starting to feel a little frantic. This was all too much! I needed a rescue, and I found it when my mate swooped in, plucked Mal from my arms. "Look at this monkey I found!" Then he flipped the child around until he was dangling upside down, giggling madly. "You okay?" he asked me quietly, while simultaneously tickling the squirming toddler. For someone still getting to know me, he seemed to take my measure pretty well, his keen gaze missing nothing. Maybe it had something to do with that unbreakable tether linking us together—bodies, minds, and emotions alike.

"Mm-hm," I answered vaguely, nodding, but my smile felt strained and brittle, and I could tell by Tristan's raised eyebrow that he wasn't buying it for a second.

"Sure. Well, let's start with some introductions then. I see you've already met Malachi. He pretty much runs the place. Isn't that right, Mal?"

"Yeah! I'm the boss!" the boy yelled, nearly booting Tris in the head with a thrashing bare foot, but my mate avoided injury with a quick dodge.

"This is his daddy, Brody, our Alpha Omega," he said as an omega a few years older than me came over.

Brody's smile was genuine, and just a little bit apologetic. "Hi, Dylan. Jude gave me the general outline of what happened, but I'd love to hear the story from you later, once you're settled in." He bypassed the hand I was offering for a handshake, going straight to a hug.

"Oh, okay. We're hugging…" Since I usually spent most days around security guards and paid staff, it would come as no surprise to anyone that I wasn't a super touchy-feely kind of guy, but… I found I didn't hate this. It was warm and soothing in a way I hadn't felt since my mom died. I belatedly brought my arms up to return the embrace. He smelled like wolf, obviously, but my keen senses picked up something else as well. "And congratulations," I blurted without thinking.

"For what?" Shan asked.

"For… the baby?" I pointed at Brody's stomach, and a few mouths dropped open. Oh shit, they didn't know?

"You can smell it?" the Alpha asked me in awe, before he turned to Brody, eyes wide and glossy. "You're pregnant?"

Brody gaped, a hand moving to his belly. "I-I mean, I—maybe?" His gaze went unfocused for a few seconds. "Yes, my wolf thinks I am." His grin widened, and he threw himself into his mate's arms with an excited squeal.

"How did I get so lucky," Shan gushed, before they started kissing in a very not-PG way, with teeth and tongue and groping hands.

Honestly, I would've kept watching if Jude hadn't appeared and given them a shove toward their cabin. "Would you guys go somewhere a little more private? You're going to give Dylan the wrong idea about us." He smiled at me in apology and said, "Good to see you again, Dylan," before he reached for Mal. "Come on, dude. Let's go splash around in the creek. Your daddies need some time alone."

If that hadn't been enough excitement, Tristan took me by the hand and led me around the camp, introducing me to his packmates—"Our packmates," he reminded me—whose names I would very likely forget by this evening. The tour of the camp itself didn't take very long, since it wasn't more than a collection of half a dozen small homes, a couple storage sheds, an outdoor kitchen, and a firepit in the middle of the clearing.

"Well? What do you think?" he asked, and I could feel his hope humming through the bond.

No matter how well I schooled my features, I could feel my nose wrinkling up a bit, so I decided to aim for teasing, since I was a horrible liar. "Ugh, the smell, so much canine," I said, waving a hand back and forth in front of my face. "That's gonna take some getting used to."

"Hey!" he said with a laugh, hooking an arm around my waist to drag me in. "You don't seem to mind my smell." He was playing along, but there was a hint of defensiveness in his voice.

"Yeah, but that's because you're my mate. Nobody smells as amazing as you do. You're all leather and pine." I buried my nose in his neck where the scent was the strongest. It helped to center me when the world around me was unsteady and unfamiliar. I threw myself into it, hoping that comfort would drown out the rest of my doubts. "Your scent never fails to make me a bit… hungry."

"Is that right? I'd better feed you then." Without warning, he crouched down and swept me straight up into his arms like I weighed no more than a feather. His grip on me made me feel safe, protected in ways even my security guards had never managed. I knew that even without high walls and holstered guns, he would always do whatever it took to keep me healthy and happy, just as I would for him.

He carried me over to the small cabin next to Shan and Brody's and somehow managed to juggle me and get the door open. "Welcome home, omega mine." He carried me over the threshold and set me back on my feet, but instead of being charmed by the romantic gesture, I became more aware of the tension in my body, the nervous energy that had been growing since we left Fairhome's cityscape behind.

His home was… rough. That was a polite way to say it was a hovel. The floor was bare, unfinished wood, as were the walls. There was one tiny dresser and only one rickety chair in front of a folding TV table. The bed was narrow, the mattress thin. At least everything is clean, I thought, trying to find something positive.

I couldn't stop the sigh from escaping. I felt a million miles from home, and when I tried to picture my future life here, my imagination came up blank. I could feel Tristan at my back, holding his breath as he waited for the verdict.

"Where's the bathroom?" I asked, putting off giving him my opinion. I needed to stall long enough to come up with something nice to say.

His tentative smile fell, and I hated that it was my fault. "Um, it's… across camp."

"Right, of course it is."

As much as I'd wanted to get out of my father's mansion, this wasn't anything like what I had in mind. I figured I'd be downgrading to a two-bedroom apartment or something, not some backwoods camp in the middle of nowhere. What would I even wear? My entire wardrobe was useless here. Besides the thin layer of dirt that seemed to cling to everyone and everything, there wasn't even a closet. My silk suits would get ruined!

Brat, my panther scolded. Go run, he suggested, nudging me toward the woods. Because of course my panther liked it here. What did he care about plumbing or designer clothes.

Running doesn't solve everything, I sassed back, but there was no way I could convince him of that. He wanted to stretch his legs, and in the city, he'd always been pent up, caged in. To him, this felt like the best change in scenery.

Tris moved in behind me, his intense heat soaking into my back and settling my nerves a little. "Take off your clothes," he commanded in a gravelly voice that traveled all the way down my spine and settled like a warm pool in my core.

I raised an eyebrow but found myself reaching for my shirt buttons all the same. So far, I'd found there was this irresistible push and pull between us in the bedroom, a battle of wills to see who would come out on top, but I decided it was easier to give in to his demands for the time being. The physical aspect of our relationship was more fun to maneuver than the emotional side of things right now.

I backed away from him and moved slowly, loving the way he watched me. "What about you? Aren't you going to undress?" I asked.

He hummed in response but made no move to follow yet. I felt like I was putting on a performance for him as I bared one inch of flesh at a time, letting the fabric fall away, setting my skin tingling. His gaze seared a path down my body, raising goosebumps.

When I was finally bare, he whipped off his clothes with deft fingers, making less of a production but with an impressive result all the same. My alpha simply glowed with confidence and sex appeal.

Instead of taking me to bed, though, he took my hand. "Come with me," he said, tugging me back toward the door. "I want to show you something."

"Where are we going?" There wasn't anything for miles and miles, and our options while naked were limited.

"You'll see…" He flashed me that cheeky smirk that made me fall in love with him all over again.

Fate doesn't make mistakes, I reminded myself as I put my trust in him. For better or worse, I'd been brought here, and I had to believe it was where I was meant to be.

It felt foreign to be naked outside where anyone in the camp could see us. A few people turned to look, offering a smile or wave, but there weren't any disapproving glares. It was a far cry from the city. Out here, away from humans, the connection the shifters shared with their beasts was different—freer, more in tune. It was… nice.

Tristan led me out of the cabin and then between the buildings to the edge of the woods, where the lily of the valley was tiptoeing its way into the clearing. Evening was descending, the shadows deepening, and a dampness crept out from between the trees that smelled fresh and green, of moss and new spring growth.

"Run with me," Tristan invited, walking backward between the trees, our fingers still entwined—until they weren't. His body rippled with the shift, and he dropped to all fours. I'd seen his wolf before, but I had a feeling no matter how many times I saw him, I would never stop being in awe. He was truly a thing of beauty.

He yipped at me and bounded back and forth, and I could sense his eagerness. It was contagious, and I felt my own beast surging beneath my skin.

I laughed. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." The shift was almost painful it had been so long. It was like rebreaking a bone to set it the way it was supposed to be. My panther sighed in relief, stretching our limbs and back. Our pelt felt tight and itchy, and almost right away, my beast prowled over to a wide fallen tree, sharpening our claws on the rough trunk.

He'd never blamed me for the way he was kept muzzled inside me, it was just the way it was for exotic shifters like us living in the city. In order to let our wild selves out, we had to travel to designated safe zones, marked to the public as private sanctuaries. The past few years, though, after my mother had died, my father had decided I was too much of a target.

And while I was probably still a target, I couldn't bring myself to care right now. Not when our feet sank into the soft, fragrant loam, not with the way the breeze felt like it was running its fingers down my spine. My panther was purring even before Tristan's wolf nuzzled into our neck, properly introducing our other halves.

He was bulkier than we were, with sharper angles, his back standing taller, but I'd bet he couldn't climb a tree…

Feeling particularly frisky, the only hint our long tail flicking behind us, we lunged into the woods, and I heard Tristan's playful yip as he gave chase. I lost track of time as we took turns playing predator and prey, but it was full dark by the time my panther broke through the trees onto rocky ground.

I found him there, my mate, as a man, standing on the borders of a pond, his skin opalescent in the silvery light shining down on him. The moon, just past full, was reflected off the water's surface in a rippling pattern written by the wind.

My panther greeted him, butting our head against his leg to demand his attention, and Tristan crouched and ran his fingers down our sleek fur. "Simply beautiful," he whispered.

When my panther finally decided I could have a turn, I shifted back to my skin, and Tristan stepped back, watching me with a soft smile. I barely felt the cool night air licking my body. Instead, I was warm and whole, more at peace than I ever had. Never once in my father's house had I felt at home. It was safe and it was comfortable, but it was never truly where I belonged. They were just thick walls filled with hollow space, but somehow, I had never even noticed something was missing until now.

Now… all I could see was my mate.

The rocks were sharp beneath my feet, until I stepped forward onto the softer mud, with the water lapping at my ankles. I drew even with Tristan, and we reached for each other without conscious thought; it was simply where we were meant to be, arms encircling waists and entwining limbs, chest to chest and heart to heart.

"Look up," he murmured, tucking his chin into my neck.

I did, and even though I thought I'd been prepared, I gasped, because how could I not when faced with an infinite sky flecked with ancient stars. Even with the moon's bathing glow, it was breathtaking the number of stars compared to what could be seen in the city. "I've never seen anything like it," I whispered reverently.

"Now listen. Tell me what you hear."

I closed my eyes and breathed. I heard the undulation of water on the shore, crickets chirping, an owl hooting and its mate replying in the distance, but there was so much more. I could hear the trees, their wistful sighs as the wind tugged at their boughs, their roots extending deep into the ground among the wriggling of worms, an entire undergrowth teeming with life. I couldn't just hear it, I could feel it. Earth and water and air, nature in harmony, and now, I was a part of that world. "I hear… everything."

Tristan sounded tortured when he next spoke, and when I looked up at him, he looked like he was in pain. "I know living here in the camp means giving up so much of what you're used to. No more hot showers, no silk sheets. But I promise, the forest has so much to offer you. If you give it a chance, I'll make it worth your while."

I felt like such a spoiled brat. None of what I missed about home were necessities. They were extravagant luxuries, and I felt embarrassed and humbled as I thought about everything I'd seen today. The Grim Wilds pack stayed together out of more than obligation and responsibility. They were a family, bound together by more than blood.

I gazed into my mate's depthless blue eyes and stroked his cheeks, rasping with two days' worth of whiskers. "I know you will."

That crease formed between his brows again, and his Adam's apple bobbed with a hard swallow. "If you really want to go home, I'll go with you. I would follow you to the ends of the earth if that's what made you happy. You're the only thing that matters to me now."

"I am home," I told him firmly, and I meant it. "Now take me to bed, alpha mine."

His grin was equal parts relieved and mischievous. "It would be my pleasure—but more importantly, yours."

We didn't make it to bed that first time—or the second—but we got there eventually. And at the end of a long day, getting to crawl into bed with my mate felt like every kind of perfect. It made every sacrifice more than worth it, and I looked forward to a lifetime of days just like it.