Delevan trotted around the garden, stopping at the fountain to drink. Blair didn’t follow him. He stretched in the sun, loving the sensation on his tough skin. It was hot, but not so hot to make Blair uncomfortable. He closed his eyes and basked until a heavy weight slumped beside him.
Delevan head-bumped him again, and Blair licked his mate’s nose. Delevan batted at Blair’s nose, and Blair knew he wanted to play. He rolled his eyes and Delevan huffed and rose. He trotted away, looking back at Blair in clear invitation.
Blair got up slowly, huffing in delight when Delevan growled at him. Blair ran at him, and Delevan ran away. He obviously wanted Blair to chase him, and Blair didn’t have to be asked twice.
They spent an hour or so running around the garden, until Delevan’s chest was heaving and Blair wanted to cool down. They shifted where their clothes were, but Blair put on only his shorts. He needed a shower, and from the way Delevan’s skin glistened, he knew he wasn’t the only one.
“Shower?” he asked.
Delevan nodded and took Blair’s hand. He pulled Blair along as he walked back to the house and they entered the kitchen. Dominic was there, drinking water, and he smiled when he saw them. “Hot?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“You’re cute when you play like a cub, Del.”
Delevan growled, but his dad just laughed. “Playing around with your mate is the best thing.”
“How can you know that? Ani can’t shift.”
Dominic grinned. “No, but it doesn’t mean we don’t play around.”
“Oh, eww, Dad. I don’t want to hear you talking about your sex life.”
“I’m not. You know I like to wrestle Ani when I’m in lion form.”
“And that’s unfair. Poor guy is half your size when you’re human. He doesn’t stand a chance when you’re a lion.”
“Maybe not, but he loves it as much as I do. And if it ends in the bedroom...”
Delevan slapped his hands on his ears and sang, “Lalalala. I don’t want to hear it.”
Dominic laughed. “What are you going to do for the rest of the afternoon?”
Delevan shrugged. “Shower, then I don’t know. Rest a bit, maybe watch a movie. Do you need help with anything?”
Dominic’s grin slid a bit, but he was quick to smile again. “No. I’m handling this, don’t worry.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. I’ll ask you if I need anything, I promise.”
“Good.”
Dominic opened the fridge and took two bottles of water out. He threw them to Blair and Delevan, then walked away. “Be good, boys. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Dad!”
* * * *
Delevan was on his way to the kitchen to grab something to eat when someone knocked on the front door. He frowned, wondering why whoever had opened the gate wasn’t there to open the door.
There was another knock, and Delevan headed toward the door. It couldn’t be anyone who shouldn’t be there, unless they’d climbed the fence, and that hadn’t happened yet. He opened the door and found himself face to face with a man who was vaguely familiar. “Yes?”
A blond-haired, blue-eyed man looked straight at Delevan. “Dominic Nash called me.”
“Uh, sure. You are?”
“Kay Morris.”
Delevan thought about the name as he gestured Kay inside, but he couldn’t remember who the guy was. “Do I know you?”
“You probably saw me the first and last time I was here.”
“And that was?”
“Last summer. I’m a friend of Troy’s.”
Recognition sparked. “Oh, right. The cop. I haven’t seen you around since then.”
Kay looked away and his cheeks flushed lightly. “Yeah, well. I had a hard time accepting all this.”
Delevan didn’t have to ask what all this was. From what he remembered, Kay was human, and he hadn’t known about shifters until he’d almost assisted at the birth of Troy’s son, so Delevan could see why Kay had freaked out. “Doesn’t mean you had to stay away. I’m pretty sure Troy could have used a friend.”
“I saw more than enough people around the house. He probably hasn’t even thought of me since then,” Kay answered coolly.
Delevan shrugged. “I wasn’t saying you did something wrong.” Well, he actually had been, but he wasn’t stupid enough to repeat it to the man’s face. “Just that there’s some difference between childhood friends and people you meet as an adult. Now, you said you needed to see my father?”
“Your father?”
“Dominic Nash.”
Kay rocked back on his feet and looked at Delevan. “He’s your father?”
“Uh, yeah, that’s what I just said.”
“So you’re what? The alpha in training?”
Delevan widened his eyes in horror. “God, no. It doesn’t work that way, at least not here. If something were to happen to my father, Nate would take his place. The last thing I want is to be the alpha.”
“Why not?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I don’t want to command, especially not after seeing what my father has to do. Besides, I didn’t even know I was a shifter until I was thirteen.”
“Your father didn’t tell you?”
“Oh, I met Dad only a year ago.” Kay opened his mouth, and Delevan was sure it was to ask another question, so instead of letting him ask it, he pointed at the hallway that led to the offices. “You said you need to see my father?”
“He was the one to call me, but yes.”
“Let’s go, then.”
Delevan led the way, and Kay followed. The silence between them was a bit awkward, because Delevan could tell Kay wanted to ask more questions, and Delevan didn’t want to answer them. If the man was really so curious about shifters, then he shouldn’t have dumped Troy. He could have had answers all along, but instead he’d left his best friend with a newborn. Well, Aaron had hatched only a few months after Troy had laid the egg, so there hadn’t really been the need to take care of him before that, but still. Delevan hadn’t kept in touch with his childhood friends, and he missed some of them. He knew how it went, and he suddenly felt guilty about it. What could he tell them, though? Yeah, I went to find my dad, and by the way, I shift into a lion and so does he, and he’s basically the president of the shifter world. That would go over well.
Delevan rolled his eyes at himself and knocked on the office door. He wasn’t surprised to hear several voices inside, not after what had happened with the detectives.
“Come in.”
Delevan pushed open the door and stepped in. He nodded at Nate, and smiled at Ani and Chogan. “Troy’s cop friend is here to see you,” he told his dad.
Delevan’s dad arched a brow. “And why are you the one showing him in?”
Delevan shrugged. “No idea. I was going to the kitchen and he was knocking on the door. I don’t know who let him in, but they forgot to open the front door.”
“That was probably Isaiah. He’s busy, so I’m not surprised he opened the gate but not the front door.”
Delevan nodded and stepped aside to let Kay in. The man looked around, his body tense and ready for a fight. His eyes were hard, as if he didn’t want to be there, and he probably didn’t. Delevan couldn’t imagine he’d been happy to hear from his dad, and he wondered why Kay was there. He didn’t seem to care much about Troy, so why would the future of the pride matter to him?
“It’s Detective Morris, right?” his dad asked, striding closer and offering Kay his hand.
Kay nodded stiffly. “Yes. Can I know why I’m here?”
Oh, the guy had a stick up his ass. Delevan couldn’t wait for him to meet Nysys and Keenan.
His dad sighed and gestured toward the couches where everyone else was gathered. “Have a seat.”
Kay looked like he wanted to say no, but he nodded and went to sit. He took the corner of the couch Chogan
was sitting on and took care of to keep as much space as he could between them. It was a bit ridiculous, but if Kay wanted to behave like a five-year-old on the playground, Delevan wasn’t going to protest. Chogan wouldn’t get offended anyway.
Delevan’s dad looked at him. “Do you want to stay?”
Delevan didn’t, but he also didn’t want to be in the dark. He might have started living with the pride only a year before, but it was his home, his family, and he wanted to know what was going to happen to all of them. “Yeah, sure.”
No one but Kay seemed to have a problem with that. “I thought you didn’t want to be the next alpha?” he asked Delevan when he sat next to Ani.
His dad looked at him with an arched brow and a smile playing on his lips. Delevan shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want to know what’s going on.”
Kay looked around. “Why am I here?” he asked again, dismissing Delevan. Not that Delevan cared. The guy was an asshole. Maybe Nysys could play a little prank with his doll again. Or maybe not. Delevan wasn’t sure the thing hadn’t been put to use yet.
His dad relaxed in his seat. “We had a visit from two detectives this morning.”
“And how is that my problem?”
“It’s not, not if you don’t want it to be. I know other people in the police department, but I also know that while you haven’t come to see Troy in a year, you asked to be transferred to Whitedell as soon as you went back home last summer.”
Delevan arched a brow at Kay and of course, Kay ignored him.
“So?”
“So it seems to me that you care more than you want us to know. You don’t have to say yes, but I’d appreciate it if you could look into the case and see what they have. We haven’t been accused of anything, but I can’t be sure it’ll last.”
Kay narrowed his eyes. “And have you done anything?”
“No. We’ve been dealing with a group of hunters. Humans. They targeted and killed several small groups of shifters. They killed innocent people just because they were different. We haven’t retaliated, mostly because we still don’t know much about them, but the fact that they kill often has been noticed by the police.”
“How are you involved? Why did they come to you?”
“Because I’m head of the council. Alphas come to me for help, to discuss things. All the alphas who were killed had my number.”
Kay nodded slowly. “I see. What do you need me to do?”
“Will you help?”
Kay took his time to answer. He tapped his fingers on his thigh, looked at everyone in the room, and Delevan could have sworn he’d seen Kay’s eyes soften at one point. Then he nodded. “I’ll help.”
* * * *
When Delevan didn’t come back, Blair went to look for him. He’d said he was going to the kitchen to grab something to eat, but fifteen minutes had passed. So unless he was cooking or had been sidetracked, he should have already been back. Not that Blair was worried—Delevan was in the mansion, and the mansion was one of the most secure buildings Blair had ever been in.
The kitchen was empty. Blair thought about calling Delevan, but he didn’t know if his mate had his phone with him, so he went for a walk instead. The dining room was empty, the living room wasn’t, but no Delevan. Blair waved at Shad, Darin, and Gabriel, and went on.
He climbed the stairs and decided to try the library. Delevan wasn’t a big reader, but the library was silent, and that was something Delevan liked.
Blair stepped inside and thought the room was empty until someone sitting on the puffy armchair next to the window moved. He yelped in surprise and the person chuckled. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
Blair walked closer and turned one of the small lamps on the tables on. “Why are you in the dark, Ben? I’m pretty sure it makes it hard to read.” Ben threw a book at Blair’s head and Blair caught it before it could do any damage. “I think I should tell Jayden that you throw his precious books around when he’s not there.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Of course I would.”
“He’d kill me.”
“Then you should stop throwing books.”
Ben sighed. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for Delevan.”
Benjamin’s mouth tightened. “Well, he’s not here.”
“I can see that.”
“So you can go.”
Instead of leaving, Blair walked closer and slumped on the arm of Ben’s seat. Ben slid to the side so that they didn’t touch, and it hurt a bit. They’d done a lot more than brushing against each other, yet now Ben looked like he’d rather be anywhere but there with Blair. “What are you doing here, in the dark? And don’t tell me you were reading.”
“Fine. I won’t say it.”
Blair rolled his eyes and bumped his arm against Ben’s. “Smartass.”
“What do you want, Blair?”
“To talk. Can’t I want to talk with a friend?”
Ben snorted. “We’re friends? Since when?”
Blair didn’t really have an answer to that. Ben was right—they weren’t friends, not really. They’d fucked and nothing more, but it didn’t mean Blair didn’t want to be friends with him. He liked Ben. He had a quirky personality and he was funny. He was also passionate, but that wasn’t something Blair wanted to think about. “Since now.”
“Right.”
“Hey, the fact that we fucked doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”
Ben flinched at Blair’s words. “No, but the fact that you’ve ignored me ever since Delevan came into the picture does. You clearly don’t care about me, so why should I be your friend?”
Ouch. “Yeah, okay, I deserve that. I haven’t behaved like a friend, but I can change that.”
“Why would you want to? You have your mate now. You don’t need me anymore.”
“Jeez, Ben. I wasn’t talking about sex.”
“You can’t think Delevan will be happy about this.” Ben shook his head. “No, it’s better if you stay away.”
Blair didn’t want to. He didn’t think Delevan would have problems with him being friends with Ben, not now that they were mated. Blair knew how lonely Ben was, and he knew it was mostly Ben’s fault. He’d noticed how Ben pushed everyone away, and he wanted to know why. “Delevan will be fine with it.”
“Right.”
“Really. He’d feel it if I had any... inappropriate feelings for you.”
Ben straightened and nearly pushed Blair on the floor. “Leave me alone.” He slammed the book he’d been holding on the table next to his seat and stalked away, leaving Blair feeling bewildered and worried. What was up with Ben? Why did he keep everyone at arm’s length?
Blair couldn’t ask Ben, but he knew two people who would know everything he needed to answer those questions. Blair just had to find them.
He took his phone out and sent two texts. Where are you?
He wasn’t surprised when his phone beeped before he could even put it back in his pocket. Both in K’s room. What Do U want?
I’m coming.
Ugh. I didn’t need 2 know that.
Very funny. I’ll be there in a few.
Blair put his phone away and hurried to Keenan’s room. He knocked on the door and it flung open right away. Nysys blinked up at him, wearing a pink and white unicorn onesie. His hair was sticking from under it and there were crumbs all over the front. “What the heck have you been doing in here?”
“Binge-watching that TV series about the ghost hunting brothers.”
“An entire season?”
Nysys grinned. “You mean the entire first three seasons.”
That explained the way Nysys was dressed. “Do you have some time for me?”
Nysys tsked. “Already trouble in paradise?”
“No. I was just wondering about Ben.”
“Benji? Does Delevan know you’re asking questions about Benji?”
B
lair huffed. “Why should he? I’m not going to sleep with Ben again. I just want to be his friend.”
“Yeah, good luck with that. He’s resisted even us.”
“Oh, that means everything is lost, you’re right.”
Nysys narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like you.”
Blair kissed the tip of Nysys’ nose. “You love me.”
“You’re right.” Nysys sighed. “Come in.”
Blair stepped in and blinked. The air smelled of cheese puffs and the room was a mess. Keenan and Nysys had opened the sofa bed and made a blanket nest on top of it, even though it was the middle of the summer. The air conditioning was blasting and Blair shivered.
Keenan’s head popped out of the nest, and Blair laughed. Keenan was wearing a dragon onesie, and he had two orange horns poking from his head.
“What does he want?” Keenan asked.
“To know about Benji.”
“Why? Is he going to cheat on Del?”
“He is right here,” Blair groused. “And no, I’m not going to cheat on Del. Why do you think that?”
“Because you had sex with Benji. Everyone knows that.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m going to do it again. I hadn’t even met Delevan when I did! I’m not a cheater.”
Nysys patted Blair’s arm. “I know, Boo. Come on, get in our fort.”
Blair eyed the blankets. “Do I have to put a onesie on?”
“Nope, that’s optional, but I’ll make sure to buy you one for next time.”
Blair wasn’t going to tell Nysys there wouldn’t be a next time, because there was no way he’d wear a onesie. He climbed on the bed and crawled in, and Keenan held the blankets open. The thing was surprisingly roomy. They’d made walls with pillows and had draped blankets on top of everything, and it was soft and comfy.
Blair settled into the middle, and Nysys and Keenan squeezed on both sides of him. Blair had to push Keenan’s tail away because it was digging in his ass, but they finally settled.
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