by Bru Baker
He smelled Danny before he heard him. Max retracted his claws and scrambled to dash away the tears that had gathered while he’d been meditating. By the time Danny came around the corner of the shed, Max had unlocked his phone and flipped to one of the dozens of browser tabs he had open.
Danny plopped onto the ground next to him. “What are you doing back here?”
“Watching videos on the proper way to eat lobster,” Max said, showing him the screen. He didn’t want Danny to know he had doubts about Danny joining the Pack so soon. The last thing he wanted to do was scare him. He was so skittish about the Alpha Mate bond—Max didn’t want to give him reason to run away.
“Max,” Danny said, unamused.
He had watched that video a few weeks ago, when he’d been so nervous about the gala they never attended. Lobster had been on the menu that night, and Max had been tied up in knots about embarrassing Danny with his table manners.
“Ina said she puts lobsters in her clambake,” Max said, thumbing the screen off. He tossed the phone into the grass.
“They’re cut in half and easy to eat,” Danny said. “What’s going on? Is this about what Sloane said? She’s not really that nervous about joining the Pack, you know. She’s just being herself.”
“It’s nothing.” Max stood up and held a hand out to Danny. Instead of letting Max pull him up, Danny tugged hard on their joined hands and Max fell into his lap with an oof.
“It’s not nothing, and we’re not going up to the house until we talk about it. Alpha Mate, remember? Whatever you’re thinking about had you upset enough I could feel it all the way up there.”
Max rolled off Danny and lay on the ground, his arm shielding his eyes from the sun.
“It’s just Alpha stuff.”
Danny lay next to him on his side. Max could see him looking down at him, his face impassive.
“Alpha stuff is literally what an Alpha Mate exists to deal with,” he said flatly.
Max sat bolt upright. “Not when the Alpha Mate is the problem!”
Danny paled, and Max reached out to grab him as he scrambled up. They were both on their knees, an arm’s length apart, with Max’s hands on his shoulders. They probably looked ridiculous, covered in grass.
“I didn’t mean that.”
“Yes, you did. It’s the first honest thing you’ve said since I came back here.”
Max winced. The urge to shift washed over him, but he swallowed it down. This was exactly what he’d been worried about. Confrontations with Danny shouldn’t cause his instincts to go off the rails like that.
“I love you,” Max said evenly. “I love you more than I thought it was possible to love another person. I love you more than my family. More than my Pack.”
Danny sat on his heels, and Max let go of him, reassured he wasn’t going to run before Max could explain.
“And that stresses you out? I thought an Alpha Mate was supposed to like, share the burden. I thought loving me was supposed to be a good thing.”
He was making an awful mess of this. Shit.
“It is. And you do. But we’re still learning, and the bond is still forming, and coming so close on the heels of my Alpha transition—sometimes it’s just too much.”
Danny’s face went blank. “Too much?”
“Not like that. I can handle it.”
“I don’t want to be something you handle,” Danny spat out.
“That’s not—Danny, loving you is the best feeling I’ve ever had, okay? But my instincts are going fucking crazy. I’m trying to give you room to figure out your role in the Pack, but I want to be all over you. I’m flashing my eyes at people who bump into you on the street. Last week Ray took a hot dog off your plate, and I stabbed him in the thigh with my claws! That’s not normal!”
Danny had regained color in his cheeks, but the scent of his hurt lingered in the air.
“I figured that was just a brother thing.”
“No, it was an Alpha who keeps losing his shit kind of thing,” Max snapped. He shouldn’t be taking his frustration out on Danny. Max took a breath before he spoke again. “It’s okay. I’m working it out. I was back here meditating. Trying to get my head on right before hundreds of people fill up this yard and every single one of them wants a piece of you. That’s going to be hard for me to handle. It’s going to be even more intense after you join the Pack, and to be honest, I’m worried about how I’ll react.”
“To me being part of the Pack?”
“To anyone trying to touch you after I’ve claimed you as mine in that ceremony.”
Danny still looked confused and hurt, so Max started talking. He let all his anxieties out, telling Danny about the times his control had slipped. He started with the way he’d reacted to Danny in the helicopter on their first trip to Montauk and took him through every incident he could remember, right on up to growling at Sloane when she’d come into their bedroom on the yacht this morning to wake them up.
Danny looked stricken by the time he was done. “I had no idea. Max, you’ve got to tell me these things. You’ve got to let me know when you need something.”
“That’s just it,” Max said. “What I need in those moments isn’t rational. I can’t lock you away in a tower, Danny. You’re going to get pushed on the street and yelled at on the subway. I can’t lose my shit every time that happens.”
He braced himself for a lecture on Alpha asshole tendencies, but it never came. When he looked up, Danny was staring at him with wide-eyed amusement.
“One, I’d like to see you try to lock me in a tower. I’d eviscerate you. And two, how do you think I feel every time you go to work? It drives my wolf crazy that I can’t protect you from all the horrible things you see and all the people who want to hurt you. It’s a two-way street, buddy.”
“But—”
“But nothing.” Danny stood up, and Max followed suit. “I’m going to let Sloane know that we’re postponing the induction ceremony indefinitely. You’re going to talk to Lola about control, and we’re going to keep exploring all the ways this Alpha Mate bond connects us. That way you can ease into it and not worry about having the Pack bond form at the same time. And when you’re ready, I’ll join the Pack.”
“I promised—”
“Sloane isn’t in any hurry. Neither am I. So what if we’re Torres Pack in name only for a few more months? No one in the Pack is going to question that we deserve to be there, and if anyone outside the Pack has anything to say about it, they can go fuck themselves.”
Max was too stunned to protest. He’d never seen Danny so assertive. Logically he’d known Danny could hold his own—he was a court advocate for children. He had to be assertive and sure of himself. But he’d never witnessed it himself. It was kind of awe-inspiring.
Danny grinned like he’d read his mind. “I’m the Alpha Mate. No one else in the Pack can give you orders except me. That’s my role. To know what you need. You take care of the Pack, and I take care of you.”
Max blinked back unexpected tears. “And you’re okay with waiting to join the Pack?”
Danny shrugged. “Max, I’ve lived my entire life on the outskirts of a Pack. I know you can’t understand that, because your connection to your Pack is pretty much a sixth sense to you, but I don’t have that. I’ve never had that. So I’m not going to be languishing without it for the month or six we have to wait for you to settle into your Alpha spark. Same for Sloane. We’ll be okay. The Pack won’t be okay if its Alpha goes off the rails. So it’s an easy choice.”
Relief slammed through Max, making him weak in the knees. He felt a hundred pounds lighter, like his worry had been a physical thing he’d carried on his back.
“I love you,” he told Danny. “I love you so much. I’m so excited to share my Pack with you. But you’re right. I need to wait.”
Danny beamed at him. “Look at you,” he teased. “You’ve been mated to a therapist for almost a month and here you are, using words and expressing your emotions.”
“Like a real adult.”
“Speaking of adults, Alpha Connoll told us he wants Joss to wait until he’s eighteen to join his Pack. It’s not a bad idea. Joss has just started therapy, and I know he thinks he wants to join the Connoll Pack, but that could change.”
Max had been a little offended when Joss announced he wanted to join the Connoll Pack, but after he’d had a little time to think about it, it made sense. Alpha Connoll had several selkies in his Pack, and it would be easier for them to mentor Joss if they were in the same Pack.
“His petition to adopt Joss was uncontested, so Joss will be a Connoll. He’ll just be an informal Pack member for now.”
Max was glad Joss had found a place in Connoll’s family. He knew his parents wanted to adopt Joss as well, but Connoll was a better fit for him. Max’s parents could love him, but they couldn’t give him the kind of support Alpha Connoll could. The Torres Pack was big, but the Connoll Pack was massive. He had access to a lot of resources that Max and his family didn’t. And Joss got along really well with Connoll’s youngest son, Ryan. They were two peas in a pod, and it had done wonders for Joss to have someone close to his own age to hang out with.
Max took the hand Danny held out for him and let Danny pull him up.
“Ina wants me to make about twenty gallons of lemonade,” he told Max. He batted his eyelashes. “She only has one citrus juicer, but I bet an Alpha would be able to do it with his bare hands.”
“YOU might get hungry later,” Ina said, pressing a box full of Tupperware containers into Max’s hands.
He didn’t see how that was possible. Her clambake fed two hundred, and no one went hungry. Max had eaten his fill and then some. Ina rented dozens of picnic tables and covered them all in huge sheets of parchment, and the easy atmosphere meant Max didn’t have to worry about eating his lobster the right way. Danny, Sloane, and Ina had all circulated, helping the Janus Foundation kids who’d never seen a clambake before. It hadn’t been like any of the fundraisers Max had attended with the Cresswells.
For starters, everyone had been wearing tacky plastic bibs with lobsters on them—and they’d loved it. Mrs. Cresswell hired a band, and the entire afternoon had been full of food, music, and yard games. The kids loved it, and so did Max.
“I don’t know if we have room for all this on the boat,” Max said, eyeing the box.
Ina waved off his concern. “Three shifters, two Weres, and a teenage selkie? You’ll eat it before you go to bed tonight.”
That was probably true. Ray and Tori were coming to spend the night, and Max and Danny were taking Joss out for a weekend sail after they left in the morning. Well, the captain was taking the boat for a sail. Max knew nothing about sailing, but the Cresswells’ yacht had a full crew.
“There’s an extra serving of pavlova in there too,” Ina said with a wink. “Something for you and Danny to nibble on as a midnight snack. I remember how insatiable new mates are. Did you know my husband is a werewolf? Back when we bonded, J—”
Max bent down and kissed her on the cheek to cut her off. He liked her husband, and he wanted to continue to be able to look him in the eye.
“Thank you for everything, Ina. Next time you’re in the city, you should come by. The Torres family lumpia recipe is the best you’ll ever taste. We’d love to have you.”
Ina clapped her hands together. “That sounds fantastic.”
Sloane shouted for him from the car, and Max apologized as he rushed out the door. Tori raised an eyebrow when she saw the box but obligingly took it and rested it on her knees while he climbed in.
“Finally,” Sloane said as Ray started the SUV. “I adore Ina, but she’s a talker.”
“She’s lovely,” Tori said. “And the food was amazing.”
“It always is,” Danny said from the passenger seat where he was squeezed in with Joss. “Remember the time we spent Thanksgiving there, Sloane?”
“Everything had at least two sticks of butter in it and tasted like angel tears and unicorns,” she said dreamily. She turned to Max and rolled her eyes. “She can’t stand Uncle Daniel, otherwise we’d go there every year. He was away for some big real estate deal that year.”
“You’ll spend it with us this year,” Max said without thinking. “I mean—you can. You can spend it with us this year if you want to. Or not. If you don’t want to. Because I would never Alpha order anyone to do anything. Especially in that case.”
The car was silent, and he could have kicked himself for his misstep. They’d literally just talked about this, and he’d promised not let his Alpha get the best of him. And here he was, an Alpha asshole telling his mate he couldn’t go home for Thanksgiving if he wanted to. Jesus.
Danny cracked up first, and everyone else followed suit. Max snapped his mouth shut and glared at his sister as she laughed until tears ran down her face.
“Ohmigod, your face,” she gasped out.
Sloane elbowed him in the ribs. “I’d spend Thanksgiving with a roomful of strangers if it got me out of the formal dinner from hell Aunt Veronica usually has catered for us. Uncle Daniel insisted we spend it with them, but after tomorrow he’s not going to have any say over what we do.”
Danny turned around. “Uh, about that. I talked to Max and asked if we could move that back. It’s too much change, too quickly. But obviously we won’t be spending Thanksgiving in Manhattan, whether or not we’re officially Pack by then.”
Max appreciated Danny making up an excuse, but he didn’t want to be the kind of Alpha who kept secrets.
“That’s part of it, but I also wanted to wait because I’m not sure how my Alpha spark will handle it. I need some time to get that under control before we do it.”
Sloane smiled. “It doesn’t matter to me when we do it. I’m down, but I’m not in a rush.”
The last bit of worry over postponing the ceremony evaporated, and Max breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been afraid Sloane would see it as a rejection, which couldn’t be further from the truth. He wanted to be the best Alpha he could be for them, and unfortunately he wasn’t living his best life at the moment, as his niece Jessica liked to say.
Tori reached across Sloane and squeezed his hand, and even Ray read the moment well enough that he didn’t tease Max. They were closest to Max in age, and there was a reason they were the siblings he was closest to. If his cousin Bert resigned as Second, the two of them were his top contenders as a replacement. He’d been dreading the decision, but now he had someone to share that load with. As Alpha Mate, Danny would get a vote too.
He didn’t have to do things alone anymore, and it was a huge relief. He had his family, his Pack, and his mate. Life was good.
Epilogue
Three Years Later
“YOU’RE sure you want to do this? You don’t need more time? Severing from a Pack is a big decision. It can be undone, but your connection to the Pack will never feel the same,” Max said as he knelt in the center of the circle his Pack had formed around them.
He was whispering, which Danny figured was more for the illusion of privacy than the actual thing. Everyone could hear, though they all kept their eyes on the ground in deference to their Alpha.
Danny held his breath. This was a big night for him. He was happy—God, he’d never been this happy—but a piece of him felt incomplete. He hadn’t realized how much until now, when he was on the cusp of having everything he’d ever wanted.
“As the moon is my solemn witness,” Veronica Cresswell said, “I petition to sever my ties with the Connoll Pack and join the Torres Pack as a full member. I pledge myself to your service, Alpha Torres, and to the service of your Pack.”
Danny blinked back tears as he watched his mate flick a single claw out. Max slit a thin cut into his palm, then repeated the process with Danny’s mother, who had held her hand out after her vow.
Max and Danny’s two-year-old, Aidan, was perched on her hip. He had his fat little fingers tangled up in the pearls around her neck, a delighted expres
sion on his face as he played with them.
“Veronica Cresswell, I welcome you into my Pack. I am honored to have you by my side. May the light of the Torres Pack embrace you. Your Pack sisters and brothers greet you.”
The entire Pack spoke as one. “We pledge ourselves to you, sister. May our bond be blessed and fruitful.”
Max held their palms together. “Veronica, do you promise to be a faithful member of the Torres Pack?”
“I do.”
“Do you relinquish all other Pack bonds, both those you consented to and those that were forced upon you?”
They’d worked on the wording of this for weeks. His parents had divorced last year, just before Danny and Max had adopted Aidan. She’d still been bound to Danny’s father with their mate bond, which he refused to sever. Alpha Connoll helped Max and Danny land on a vow that would cut all of his mother’s ties, both to the Connoll Pack and to anyone else.
“I do so relinquish any previous bonds,” his mother said.
Danny was proud of the way her voice didn’t waver. She stood as straight-backed and confident as ever, but now that they were closer, Danny could see through the mask. She’d been as much a victim of his father’s abuse as he was, and he was sorry it had taken thirtysome years for him to figure that out.
Max had jokingly asked if the Janus Foundation was a family business when they’d met, but now it was. His mother was their head of fundraising, and Joss, who was practically family even though he was officially a Connoll now, was juggling college and his job as activities director for the foundation.
Danny loved every minute of it. Especially because having more help at the foundation meant he could be home with Aidan more often.
Max put his free hand on Veronica’s head. “As Alpha of the Torres Pack, I accept you into our bond. May the moon guide you and keep you, and may your bond forever serve as a reminder that you do not walk in this world alone.”