Chapter 8

Chapter

Eight

S omething was wrong.

Fen didn’t know what it was, but he knew something was wrong, and he knew it had to do with his mate. The problem was, he wasn’t exactly sure where his mate was .

He knew Rory was at the Calhouns’ place, but what that meant was kind of, at best, vague. At worst, it was a complete mystery.

“What’s going on, man?” Timothy asked after Fen had broken his third piece of pine and snapped one of his finer blades.

Fen shook his head, slamming the piece of wood on the worktable, the snap incredibly satisfying. “Something is wrong with my mate.”

Timothy tilted his head. “Okay. What are you feeling?”

Fen was super glad his new friend hadn’t just told him he was nuts. “I don’t know. I can just feel this…it hurts right here.” He rubbed his sternum. “And it’s like a dozen bees in the back of my head. Angry ones.”

“Crap.” Timothy took off his safety glasses. “Where is he?”

“I have no idea. He went to his brothers to get supplies, I think. He said he had a big load to pick up.” It seemed as if that was hours ago, but it was maybe…three? He hadn’t even had a break for lunch yet.

“Well, let’s go find the alphas. They’ll know exactly when he left. Can you hear him?” Timothy put a hand on his arm, steering him out of the shop.

Oh. Goddess, that was still so new…

Rory? Love, can you hear me?

He got no answer.

Timothy tilted his head. “Well, let’s go talk to Jameson. He’ll know what to do.”

Timothy was nothing if not all about the alphas, and so young and eager to please.

Still it wasn’t the worst idea in history. Jameson and Keegan would know where the Calhouns were, at least.

“I’m probably being ridiculous.” Fen started putting his tools away, though, and nodding because there was something wrong. Even if he was being ridiculous, he knew his mate needed him.

They headed out of the workshop, not running but worried, and Fen was shocked to see Jameson striding toward him with a serious expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?” He’d known something was off. He could feel it in his soul. “What’s the matter with Rory?”

Jameson waved Timothy off and his friend melted away like frost. “Well, we got a little bit of a problem. I’m going to need you to come with me, Fen.”

His wolf tried to rush to the fore, his body shuddering with the need to shift.

“Hey. Hey, I need you to keep it together, man. Your mate needs you.”

“All right, I can do that. Just tell me what’s wrong. Is he all right?” That was the most important part.

“He is. He’s finally shifted. He’s fuzzy and locked in one of the Calhoun’s guest rooms because he was a little stressed, and they didn’t know what else to do. They didn’t want him to hurt anybody or himself.”

“Oh.” Well, that was…oh dear.

How wonderful.

Fen chuckled. “That’s—I’m sorry I missed his first shift, but I’m so pleased for him. Can I go to him?”

“Yeah. Liam is on his way up, and he’ll take you back down. That’s one of Rory’s brothers. He’s a good guy, so just trust him to get you down the mountain a ways.”

Fen walked with Jameson to the center of the village. “Can you tell me about where his brothers live? I hate going into civilization blind.”

Jameson snorted. “Civilization is sort of a strong word. They have a trading post. It’s at this bend in the river, and it’s pretty much where the human roads turn away from this side of the mountain. They’ve owned that land for ages, and they keep us safe from anyone who might want to build out this way. They’re surrounded by national forest and reserves, too.”

“Perfect.” That meant he could bring Rory back home on foot if he could handle it physically. Take him on his first run.

“So I guess this means that the mating bond is going well.”

Fen’s cheeks heated, but he nodded. “Very well, thank you, alpha.”

In fact, most everything seemed to be going well. Except that Rory was having trouble with the shifting.

Even that was more trouble with the believing that he could shift, that his wolf was more than spiritual.

Also, his mate was just determined that he had more things. It bothered Rory so much that he’d lost his home and things that were precious to him.

That, of course, made Fen adore Rory even more, but he did wish that his sweet lover would just relax and enjoy the mating process and the whole situation they were building together.

“Good. Good. I mean, all of a sudden, his wolf has popped out, so you’ve made more progress in a month or so than we’ve made in years.” Jameson gave him a glinting grin and clapped him on the back. “If you need help with him and his wolf, talk to Keegan. His mate, John, thought he was human when he came to us too.”

“Yes. Rory told me about that. He seems to have settled.”

“John?” Jameson’s smile went fond. “He did. But it was hard going to begin with.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” He settled in to wait, nodding when Jameson left and Tate, one of the alpha’s seconds came to wait with him. He supposed someone wanted to introduce him to Rory’s brother to make things easier.

It didn’t take long before an old truck came trundling up filled with supplies. A handsome man who was the spitting image of Rory hopped out, eyes just a little wide.

“Liam,” Tate started, standing to meet the man. Fen stood as well, brushing wood chips off his pants.

He wasn’t in any condition to meet Rory’s family. None at all.

“Hey. Hey, I guess you know I called Jameson? I have a bunch of stuff in the back of the truck. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I should load it now, unload it up here, just take it back down and then take it back up. I just didn’t know what to do.” The man’s eyes were wild, wide, and worried. “My brother—he’s turned into a wolf, and he is in the bed in my guest room, locked in, and I need to know what the fuck to do about it. I do not approve. What if he hurts himself?”

Someone was worried, but for Rory, not about Rory, and it made Fen smile. This was a brother, and Rory was loved.

“No problem. It won’t take us ten seconds to unload everything,” Tate said. “And then you can head back down there, and Fen won’t need anything when he’s on his way back with the Rory. They’ll run.”

“Run. Okay, well. So you’re Fen. You’re the one—” Liam pierced him with a glare. “This is all your fault.” Then about the time he was sure Liam was going to beat him to death, the man held out one hand. “I’m Liam. I’m Rory’s brother. I don’t approve of all of this nonsense. I need your help. I also think ninety percent of this stuff is for you.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Fen shook and grinned. “And I’m sure, on your list, there’s even more.”

Fen, Tate, and a few others unpacked. They could all stay in the common area until Rory got there and divvied it out however it needed to be divided.

He was chafing at the delay by the time they were done, but it heartened him to see Liam was too. He jerked his head at Fen. “Time to go.”

“Yes, please.” He slid into the truck, a weird feeling of unreality passing through him. Had it been that long since he’d ridden in a vehicle? He supposed it had. He almost offered to just shift and run along behind it.

They rode in silence for a while, then Liam glanced at him. “So Rory says you got shot?”

“I did. I was trying to avoid the pack… I could smell it, so I went high, up toward the tree line. And—” He shrugged. “I never saw it coming.”

“I’m surprised you weren’t drawn to the healer halfway between where you were shot and the pack. Niall is very strong.”

He blinked. “I just followed my gut. I suppose I was looking for my mate.”

“I guess, yeah.” Liam sighed. “No offense, man, but this is weird.”

Not to him, it wasn’t.

“I’m sorry that it’s uncomfortable, but I do swear to care for your brother and to be a good father.”

“You have children?” Liam’s eyes went wide. “Rory didn’t say that.”

“Not yet.” But he would. He had no doubt. He and Rory would have beautiful, amazing babies, and they would thrive.

“So you think—That’s weird too.” Liam laughed. “I mean, that Rory would be a…what do they call them? An omega?”

He grinned a little. “Yes, exactly. And he is.”

“I don’t want to know.” Liam held one hand up off the wheel as they bounced down the dirt track.

“I will spare you then.” Fen reached out with his mind, trying to find the thread of Rory’s thoughts.

Where are you? I was going to wake up but… Fen could tell there was a fuzziness to the thoughts. Yes, they seemed stronger, more powerful, but they weren’t as focused.

Oh, sweet mate. You’re all right, Fen sent . Shh…rest for a bit longer. You’re about to have a nice run, and you’ll need your energy.

Fen intended to run hard, to luxuriate in his mate.

Running. That was a satisfied thought. Mate? You’re… I can feel you coming to me.

Yes, yes, mate. Just rest. I’ll be there in a minute. I’m on my way.

He hoped it wouldn’t be much longer. Fen thought he could feel Rory yawn and stretch, and he had to smile. He couldn’t wait to see his mate. Would he be dark? Would he be white? Would he be gray? Small. Huge. The options were myriad, and he wanted to know right now.

“Dude, dude, can you not shift in my car? I would not be a happy camper. I just washed everything.” Liam did not sound amused. In fact, he sounded a touch stressed out. “I’ve had as much wolf excitement today as any human being deserves to have. Ever. Are we clear? No fuzziness.”

“You’re no fun,” he dared to tease. “I promise to be good.” At least until he got to Rory. After that, all bets were off.

“So how do you want this to work?” Liam asked. “Do you want us to just open the door and let you in? You want us to shut you in with him? You want us to try and lead him out?”

Fen pondered that a second. It shouldn’t honestly be too difficult, should it? “Is there a way for you to leave a path outside? Then you could go behind a shut door and just let me lead him out. It would be so much easier if I can shift first and help him leave the house. Once we’re in the open, we’re golden. But I do want to be able to get him outside.”

“Thank you. That won’t be a problem. Will he know us?”

“I don’t see any reason why not. He’s not a monster after all. He’s just fuzzy. I mean, he’s probably a little confused. And the nose—the thing is, is that the first time you shift, it’s going to be overwhelming, all the odors. You can smell so much better, right? And so that’s gonna be the biggest thing; he’s going to be distracted and confused. But he knows about werewolves. He understands what we’re like, what we are, how we function. He’s been living among us so…” Everything should be fine.

“Okay. Okay, cool.” Liam drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I mean, he didn’t hurt anyone when he went all fuzzed, so yeah. I need to meet with him about going up to the dragon home, but that can wait until—you know.”

“I’ll go with you. But that might have to wait a few days.” He gave Liam a wink as they pulled onto a paved road, and the trading post came into sight, the bend in the river shining in the sun.

It was a good place. He could tell by the look of it. By the…scent.

“Here we go,” Liam said as he pulled in and parked.

The trading post was long and low and surrounded by the trees, the lights in the windows making it seem warm and welcoming. One day, he would love to explore it with his mate.

“Thank you. If you don’t mind, you could go in and just sort of have everybody else go get in a room with closed doors and open up the door for Rory? I’m going to take my clothes off out here and shift. I don’t have a whole lot of them and I’d hate to ruin them, especially my boots.” Clothes didn’t grow on trees, not even for his Rory.

“Ohh, I understand. No reason to ruin what you don’t have to, right?” Liam nodded to him. “Give me five minutes and then come in.”

“Just open the door with the front door when you’re ready for me, because I’ll be ready for you.” He shifted easily, so it shouldn’t be a problem to be ready to meet his mate.

Liam went inside, and he began to strip down carefully, keeping his mental voice slow and easy. He didn’t want to wake his mate up yet. He folded all of his clothes up neatly into a little package, which he left on the seat for Liam to bring up in a few days. And then he shifted, letting himself go wolfy. His wounded arm felt strong, and his shoulder did too. As soon as Liam opened the door, he hurried in, calling for his mate.

Rory, Rory, Rory, Rory.

Fen? Mate, love? Is it you? Oh, his mate woke quickly, the touch of that mind like a drug.

He followed his nose down the hall, and as soon as he found the door that held his mate, he nosed it open and saw his mate sitting there.

He stared, stunned. His mate was a mottled red, with a lovely white muzzle, long, slender legs, and amazing ears. He could imagine his mate running so quickly, moving through the trees like a streak of lightning.

So beautiful.

Oh, they were going to make beautiful babies.

His mate stood, staring down at him, from on top of the mattress, and then bowed deep, his muzzle resting on the mattress. Hello. Mate, mate, it is you.

He nodded. It is me. Come, mate, let’s run. Let’s run as fast as we can.

As Rory hopped down, he found himself panting, almost unbearably excited.

His muzzle rubbed against Rory’s, and a burst of pure happiness hit him, making him bark.

Rory barked back at him, and they turned as one, running out the series of open doors in a flash. He knew the way back now, too, and he followed the trail of Liam’s truck back up the hill, turning onto the dirt track. He led Rory away from “civilization” as quickly as he could, not wanting to take a chance on being seen by a random hiker or some such.

Humans took such a dim view of wolves. They loved to look at them in zoos, but not in the wild.

They ran, and Rory soon passed him, tail like a flag, a moving target for him to keep up with. To nip at teasingly.

Oh, he was so in love.

Rory was as quick as he had imagined and intensely curious. He ran in bursts, then would stop to hunt, exploring every sound, every sniff, every fallen leaf. It was at once adorable and exhausting.

Rory chased the rabbits. He dug a mole. He disturbed the birds. Then he snapped up a grasshopper, which made him foam a little bit and gag. Then he immediately went and ate a beetle.

Finally, Fen just plopped down in a little spot of grass, snuggled in, and watched. He didn’t begrudge Rory this first shift, the pure rush and joy of it, but he was going to save his shoulder, his energy, in case he had to do something to wear Rory out so that he could shift back into his human form later.

Is it always like this?

Fen chewed a burr out of his tail. Always. If there’s food and water and good rest, being a wolf is amazing. You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

Me? What about you? It’s like I’ve never seen you before. Rory’s tongue lolled out. You glow.

Do I? He didn’t mind that, not one bit.

You do. The moon is making you shine. Rory’s head tilted, those huge ears twitching. Someone’s coming.

Are they? Who? He felt the presence too, but Rory needed to learn this. To experience his wolf.

Don’t know . Rory sniffed again, inhaling deep. I do know. I know that smell.

As Rory danced in anticipation, Jameson and Keegan appeared as wolves, the alphas staring at them both.

To his surprise, Rory bowed again, tail just wagging.

Jameson and Keegan took that as their due, and they came to Rory, rubbing muzzles with him, welcoming him as pack.

That squeezed Fen’s heart, because it was so amazing to watch.

Shocking him, Rory then brought Jameson and Keegan to him, and he stood, shaking out his fur from nose to tail. He didn’t bow deep like Rory. He had been an alpha of sorts in his own right. But he did acknowledge them as his pack alphas now. He wanted to stay here.

To be with Rory.

Jameson touched noses with him, cold and wet and surprising, and he chuffed, his tail wagging of its own accord.

This is good, right? Please tell me this is all right because I’ve never done this before and I’m a little bit nervous. Rory was damn near vibrating beside him.

Be at ease, mate, you’re amazing. You did perfectly.

Perfectly is good. I like that.

Was I ever that young? Jameson rolled his eyes, then nudged Rory with his head just a little hard. Rory went stumbling back, then came rushing back to jump and play. It was an amazing thing to see alphas playing. Letting their inner wolf be joyous and open instead of closed up and stern.

He was lucky to have found this pack, and he knew it. But he also knew there were some wolves out there close by, and they were not kind. It bothered him deep in the wound on his shoulder.

That was for another day though. Today was for Rory.

Today was for the first shift and the beautiful, fuzzy laughing wolf that had come to stay.

His mate.

Today was for celebrating his mate.

Rory came rushing up to him, running so fast that he was a blur, and Fen braced himself for impact, but just before they slammed together, his mate leapt, soaring over the top of him. He whipped around to give chase.

Fen felt the alphas’ approval wrap around him like a hug, and he knew he’d done right. They could worry another day.

Today was for Rory now.