by Aiden Bates
The hand that settled in his hair was gentle this time, guiding his head back until his father–no longer standing over him but crouched so they could see eye to eye–could look at him. The hard expression on his face softened.
"Don't cry," he said, and his voice was gentler than it had been since he returned from hearing Raul's request.
Gavin reached up and wiped away the tears that had fallen on his cheeks. "Sorry," he whispered.
"No," his father said. He lifted himself up to sit down on the log beside Gavin, and to Gavin's surprise his father's arm wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him in close. "I..." He sighed. "Do you really want to mate Raul?"
Not sure it wasn't a trick, Gavin leaned into the arm around him anyway, his head resting against his father's shoulder. "I like him," he said quietly. "I know you don't."
Tears threatened to begin again, and Gavin blinked them back before they could fall.
"I don't," his father agreed. "And I like even less that he thought he could touch you like that."
"I wanted him to," Gavin whispered, even though he'd already confessed to it. "I know I shouldn't have."
Another low sigh from his father, and the arm around his shoulders held him closer. "You're twenty two," he said. "And unmated. I suppose it's only natural that you would be getting impatient."
Gavin watched his father’s hand rake through the greying blond of his hair.
“I’m going to have to think about it,” he said after a moment. “I want you to go find something else to do.”
His arm fell away from Gavin’s shoulders, and Gavin obediently stood.
“And Gavin,” his father added as he turned away.
Gavin paused to look back, a question in the tilt of his head.
“Nothing that involves seeing Raul. I mean it.”
“Yes, sir,” Gavin answered.
He turned and walked away, slipping into the mill of shifters.
Raul’s camp, he knew, was on the south east end of the grounds, with the rest of the Superior wolves. He wandered, careful not to go too far in that direction.
“Gavin,” a voice said behind him.
Startled, Gavin turned, found himself looking at Grey Sheldon. The other omega was standing just behind him, brushing a strand of raven-black hair back from his face.
“Are you okay?”
Gavin tugged at his lower lip with his teeth, and found a nod for the older omega.
“Just one of those days,” I guess, he said, trying to play it off light.
“I heard a bit about what happened from my uncle.”
No playing it off light then. Gavin looked down at his feet.
“Is it going to be all over camp?”
“No. Of course not.” Grey laid a hand on his arm. “My uncle is just worried about you. He thought it might help if you could talk to someone.”
Gavin looked up into the clear grey eyes that all the Marrocks shared.
“It might,” he admitted quietly.
Grey’s arm slid around his shoulders, and the older omega carefully guided him to the edge of the camp grounds where they could both sit down together.
“What happened?”
How much should he say, he wondered? Nothing about what had happened before this morning, Gavin decided. That was too risky. If Grey knew that he and Raul had been seeing each other before the kiss, the news might somehow make it back to his father.
“Raul kissed me this morning,” he said, not looking at Grey. “We ran into each other in the woods.”
“And your father is angry?”
“He turned down Raul’s suit.”
For a moment, Grey was silent, processing that, Gavin was sure.
“And did you want him to?”
Gavin shook his head. “No.” He took a breath and let it out again. “I didn’t. I really didn’t.”
That had maybe given away more than he should, but Grey wasn’t going to share uncertain rumors around, Gavin was sure. He didn’t know the other omega well enough to be one hundred percent certain he wouldn’t take something concrete to one of the Alphas in his pack, but he did know that Grey wasn’t known for gossip.
“You like him, then?”
Gavin nodded.
“I like him. He’s very kind.”
That got a smile from Grey. “He is that. And strong. He’s a good match. Once your father has some time to think about it, he’ll cool down. It will do him and your pack a lot of good to have ties to the Superior wolves. He’ll realize that when he’s thought about it.”
Gavin wasn’t so sure. “You think so?”
“I know so. Your father may be a traditionalist, but he’s also a pragmatist. He’ll do what’s good for his pack.”
Grey’s arm tightened around Gavin’s shoulders – a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
“It will be all work out, Gavin. Just give it a little time.”
Chapter Eleven
When Gavin made his way back to the camp site he shared with his father, it was getting dark. He found his father sitting where he had left him, a fire crackling in the fire pit. Karl looked up when Gavin walked onto the grassy patch where they’d set up their tent.
“Come sit down,” he said.
There was authority in his voice, but the growl had left it, and Gavin felt relief wash through him as he followed his father’s order, sinking onto the log across from him.
“I’ve been giving it a lot of thought,” his father said. “And I’ve taken into consideration everything Raul had to say, and even everything Gerard Marrock said.”
He poked at the fire with the stick again, and sparks flashed off the wood, spiraling upward with the smoke. Gavin took a breath and let it out slowly.
“I’ve decided I will let Raul Fallon’s suit stand.”
Gavin stopped breathing entirely. It took him a moment to gather himself, to remember how to speak.
“You will?”
He knew his voice had come out too high, too eager, but his father had already said yes.
Karl Bodolf nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I see that I have been keeping you with me for reasons that aren’t entirely about your safety. And there’s much to recommend a mating with such a strong pack, traditional Alpha or not.”
He sighed, and raked a hand through his hair.
“Since your carrier died,” he said, voice quiet. “I’ve been maybe a little more protective than I really needed to be.”
Gavin watched his father with wide eyes, hardly daring to move in case he scared him off the subject. His father almost never spoke about his omega. Never opened up to share feelings.
“Your carrier,” his father went on. “Was very dear to me. His death was a shock, and I always worried that something would happen to you too.”
He took another deep breath, and Gavin realized with a shock that he was crying, tears glittering on his skin in the firelight. For a moment, he considered moving, getting up to lay a hand on his father’s shoulder, but that might make him realize what he was talking about. Might make him stop. Gavin sat still.
“You’re just like him, you know. You’ve picked up some of my mannerisms, but you have his spirit. I suppose that’s why I’ve been harsh with you. I thought if I kept my distance, it wouldn’t hurt so much when you finally left. You’re all I have left of him. I admit that I’m finding it very hard to let you go.”
Tears pricked at the back of Gavin’s eyes. “You’re not losing me, you know.”
When his father just looked at him, he did get up, crossing the space between them to settle tentatively down at his father’s side.
“Even when I’m mated, you’ll always be my father,” he offered softly.
His father’s arms wrapped around him then, and Gavin leaned into him, his own arms wrapping tight around his father in return. He was crying. They were both crying. If someone had tried to make him believe that something like this could happen, he would have told them that they didn’t know his father. Gavin closed his eyes
, and breathed in the comforting scent that had always been a part of his world.
“I’m not going to turn my back on you because I’ve mated,” he said quietly, muffled against his father’s shoulder. “I’m not going to be ashamed of our traditions, or cut all ties with our pack.”
The embrace tightened. “You weren’t supposed to know I was afraid of that,” his father said, and there was a smile in his voice, even if it sounded a little shaky.
Gavin drew back enough to look at him. “I should have realized sooner.”
“It wouldn’t have helped, I think,” his father said. “I don’t think I would have listened. I was too wrapped up in my own worry and my frustration.”
For a moment, there was silence between them. They sat beside each other, staring into the fire.
“Dad,” Gavin said, a little hesitant. When his father turned to look at him, he pressed on. “I’m sorry about what happened. With Raul.”
To his surprise, his father just chuckled. “Do you want to know a secret?”
Gavin tipped his head slightly to one side, eyebrows drawing upward. “What?”
“I stole a kiss or two from your carrier, before we were mated.”
“Really?”
His father grinned. “Really.”
Laughter bubbled up in Gavin’s throat. He wasn’t sure he could believe that. His perfect, ultra-traditional father had snuck kisses. And his carrier had let him.
“I suppose no one’s as perfect as they make themselves out to be,” he said when the laughter had faded.
“No,” his father agreed. “No one is.”
They sank into a companionable kind of quiet, sitting there next to the fire with the sounds of the meet going on around them. Overhead, the stars were coming out, strung bright across the dark sky. Moonlight washed the woods with silver.
It was a bit silly, maybe, to believe that all was right with the world. But in that moment, for Gavin, it was.
Chapter Twelve
Serious business at all-pack meets was conducted by the pack Alphas, who discussed the terms of treaties and solved disputes between groups, but good news was everyone’s business. They all gathered in the center of the camp grounds that night for a meal before the moonlight run, and when most of the plates had been cleared and the talk had died down to a contented murmur, announcements were made. Gavin’s father stood with the rest of those who had news to share, and Gavin saw Blake Marrock and his uncle–sitting at the next fire pit over–exchange smiles.
“You have no doubt been wondering,” Karl Bodolf said as he stood up before the gathered packs. “If I was ever going to let Gavin leave the family home.”
There was a scattering of laughter, and Gavin saw with amusement that those who laughed loudest were members of their own pack.
“It will please you, then, to hear that we’ve made a decision. Raul Fallon, Alpha of the Superior pack, has made a formal request to take my son as his mate, and I have accepted.”
A murmur ran through the crowd. The Superior wolves, of course, had known; they would have had to approve their Alpha’s decision. Gavin didn’t doubt Raul could sway them into agreeing with nearly anything. The rest of the meet, however, outside of the Marrocks, had obviously heard nothing. The startled whispers were proof of that.
Gavin’s father sat down again, and a cheer went up amid the ranks of Raul’s pack. Gavin felt his cheeks flush. A moment later, Raul was standing beside him, offering a hand, and when Gavin took it he was pulled to his feet. Raul grinned at the assembled packs.
“I’m sure you all know what my announcement is,” he said, pitching his voice to carry. “Let me assure that I am…” He turned his head to smile at Gavin, bright and pleased. “…deliriously happy.”
All the wolves cheered then. Gavin turned his burning face against his Alpha’s shoulder to hide the scarlet flush in his cheeks.
That night, he ran by Raul’s side under the moon, and it felt like the place he had always belonged.
Chapter Thirteen
The ceremony was set for the twenty eighth of June, planned around having them mated before Gavin’s next heat. The Superior wolves would be there, and the wolves who followed Gavin’s father. The Duluth pack, so closely intertwined with Raul’s, had invitations. Beyond that, guests were their decision, and Gavin made certain to invite the Marrocks.
There was no more sneaking out after their official engagement. Raul hardly had time; he was setting the affairs of his pack in order to allow them a brief honeymoon. They would be married as well as mated. His father didn’t see the reason for it, but Gavin wanted to be Raul’s husband as well as his omega, and Raul had readily agreed.
Days moved quickly. Gavin was caught up in preparations for the mating feast and preparing to move out of his father’s house, and there never seemed to be enough time. One week became two, became three. It was the twenty sixth. The twenty seventh. Gavin laid in bed that night and stared at the ceiling, his mind going in too many circles to allow him sleep.
Tomorrow, he would be mated. It was almost a strange thought, after so long. Tomorrow he would be Raul’s. Everyone would have to acknowledge it. No more sneaking. No more fear. And he was ready. God, he was ready. But he still couldn’t sleep. With a sigh he rolled out of bed.
He stepped out into the warm summer night, the grass dry and a little itchy against his bare feet. The garden was still growing. He had weeded it that afternoon, one last goodbye to the plants he had spent the spring nurturing. Raul had promised him a garden in Superior, but he was going to miss this one. Was going to miss Rollins, if he was honest. It was going to be a big change, moving from the woods to the city. For Raul, though, he could do it.
Gavin turned away from the garden, fingertips running along the smooth wood of the little fence that edged it. Slowly, he made his way back up to the house and inside. He laid back down in his bed. After tonight, he wouldn’t sleep alone any longer. Raul would be there. He was still thinking of that when he slipped into dreams.
----
When he woke, sunlight streamed in through the window, and his father was knocking on the door. Gavin scrambled out of bed and over to the closet, calling to his father along the way to let him know he was awake. The ceremony started at eleven so it would be done in time for a late lunch. He still had a couple hours to get ready, but he needed to make sure everything was ready to go for the ceremony. And for after.
The drive up to Gooseberry Falls was nearly an hour. Gavin sat in the passenger seat of his father’s pickup, knee bouncing up and down as he stared out the window at the road ahead, willing time to move faster.
“Quit that,” his father said finally, firmly.
Gavin’s leg went still.
“Nervous?” his father asked.
“Anxious,” Gavin answered after a moment’s hesitation. “I want to get there. I want it to be over so I don’t have to worry about something going wrong anymore.”
His father laughed. “I guess that’s fair.”
Gavin turned enough to offer him a slightly shaky smile. He’d gone back to his old ways after that night at the meet, quiet and gruff, but his manner had softened enough that Gavin could still see the echoes of their talk by the fire. His carrier, he thought, would have been pleased to see it.
They rode in silence after that. Gavin took out a book and tried to read it, though he mostly ended up rereading the same passages over and over, his thoughts pulling him out of the words. He just wanted the official part to be over. Until they were really mated, he would worry that it could somehow be pulled out from under him. When they pulled into the state park, he hardly waited for the truck to slow to a stop before he jumped out of it.
Grey was already there, and his brother’s mate Darren with them. They’d offered to help him with preparations, and Gavin had been too swamped to do anything but agree. When all this was over, he was going to talk Raul into buying both of them dinner. It wouldn’t be that hard. Raul was as grateful for their h
elp as he was, had teased more than once that without them his omega would have worked himself to death before they were ever mated. Gavin had retorted that he should try planning a mating ceremony in three weeks.
“How is everything?” Gavin asked as he hurried over to where Grey was setting up the tables.
“It’s all going just fine,” Grey answered, shaking his head at Gavin. “You need to take a moment and just breathe.”
“I’m not sure I’m capable,” Gavin confessed.
Grey laid a hand on his shoulder. “What are you afraid of?”
It was really unfair how everyone always seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. Gavin looked down at his sleek dress shoes, and bit his lip.
“That it will go away before I can make it real.”
Silence. Gavin took a deep breath.
“It’s not going to go away.” There was a smile in Grey’s voice. “I know how it feels, because I felt the same way when I was getting ready for my mating ceremony to Nicholas, and I didn’t have all the reasons you do to be afraid. But I promise you, it’s real.”
Gavin lifted his gaze.
“In six years?” Grey said, laying a hand over the swell of his belly. “This will be you, and you’ll be wondering where the time went.”
The smile Gavin tried for didn’t quite manage to stick.
“If my father finds out…”
He realized too late that he shouldn’t have said the words.
“If you father finds out what?” Darren asked, returning with a bag full of silverware.
“We’re not going to tell him, whatever it is,” Grey assured him.
Darren, who had a scar along his eye socket from an encounter with hunters as a child, smiled. “Omega solidarity.”
“Raul and I have been sneaking out to meet each other for months,” he confessed in a whisper.
Two pairs of eyebrows winged sharply upward.
“Now that,” Grey said, “I never would have guessed.”
“I was convinced you were completely perfect,” Darren said, his smile only widening. “Nice to know you share some traits with the rest of us mortals.”