Nolan wanted to pry, but an old lady interrupted him.
“Your man is right, you know? Who cares what those bigots think, you just keep on being yourself.” She winked at Nolan and left him there with his mouth hanging wide open.
“What the hell?”
Casey chuckled. “You’ll find out that most of the people in this town are used to seeing gay couples together, and most of them don’t care. Sure, there are those who don’t like it, but they’re a minority. I guess they’re kind of used to seeing us from the pride on dates.” He shrugged.
Nolan couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Had Casey ever brought someone else here for a date? Nolan knew it was definitely a possibility. After all, Casey might be young for a shifter, but not so young as to have no experience, and it showed in the way he kissed.
“Are you done, love? Do you have everything you need?”
Nolan nodded, even if there was something else he wanted to buy. He just wasn’t sure how Casey would react. His mate didn’t seem to have problems with others knowing that he was gay, but he might not like how flamboyant Nolan usually was. “Nolan? There’s something else you need?”
“Well…there is something, but I’m not sure I should.”
Casey frowned. “Why?”
“I don’t want to embarrass you.” Nolan had never really cared what other people thought about him, but he didn’t want Casey to feel bad if someone said something. Casey put his fingers under Nolan’s chin and lifted until he was looking in his eyes.
“You can do nothing to embarrass me. Now, which shop do you need to go to?”
Nolan smiled. He had been so lucky to get a mate like Casey.
* * * *
Casey’s mouth went dry and he nearly swallowed his tongue when Nolan appeared at the top of the stairs. He had finally shed the borrowed sweats and white t-shirt he’d had on since he had arrived at the mansion and had put on the clothes he had bought in the morning instead. What Casey hadn’t been expecting was the make-up and the rest.
Nolan had several golden bracelets on both wrists. They matched the golden writings on his black t-shirt and the ring on his middle bare toe. His jeans were tight enough that Casey could see exactly what his mate packed in there, but not so tight to result in being slutty. Casey remembered Nolan’s bare body from when he had seen it in Dominic’s office, even if it had lasted only a few minutes, and now he couldn’t wait to unwrap it.
Nolan had also styled his hair in a just-got-out-of-bed fashion and his eyes were circled with black eyeliner. Casey had never been into make-up or with someone who used it, but it looked so damn good on Nolan. It brought out his warm and sparkling eyes, in which Casey could see, even now, the hesitation. Nolan was so different now that he knew that the possibility of having a future together was real. He was more hesitant and shy, and while Casey treasured every side of Nolan’s personality, he longed to get the little spitfire back.
Nolan stopped at the bottom of the stairs and twirled so that Casey could see every inch of his outfit. “So, how do I look?”
“Perfect.” Casey wrapped his arm around Nolan’s waist and brought him near enough to get a good whiff of his scent. He really wanted to pull him over his shoulder and take him back to his room, but he had promised his mate that he would present some of the pride members to him before enjoying a movie together.
Casey realized that Nolan wasn’t the only one who acted different now that they had met. He had never felt so out of control. Casey usually was pretty much laidback, but now he was always on edge, wanting to jump Nolan’s bones. He didn’t mind—much—but he hoped that after claiming him the feeling would ease at least a bit.
Casey had to take a step back, but he kept Nolan’s hand in his. He tugged him along, showing him the kitchen and the downstairs living room, as well as all the other rooms that were used by all the members of the pride. Every time they met someone, Casey presented them to Nolan, hoping that knowing who lived in the house would be another step toward convincing Nolan to move in with him. He hadn’t been lying when he had told his mate that he was willing to move to Colorado Springs if that was what Nolan wanted. But Casey would prefer to stay here. This was the only family he had ever known. He remembered his parents, but they had died so long ago and he had been so young. The pride had taken him in when he had nothing, and he looked at Dominic as an older brother.
Once the tour of the house was finished, Casey brought Nolan back in the upstairs living room. It was smaller than the downstairs, one but it still could accomodate about nine people on its couches. Derick, Jamie, Ward and Keenan were already waiting for them, bowls of popcorn and drinks ready for the movie. Unfortunately it was Keenan’s turn to choose, so it meant they would have to watch an animation movie. Casey would never admit that he actually liked most of the movies Keenan chose. They were perfect for a few carefree hours and a good laugh.
Nolan snuggled in Casey’s side, his head on Casey’s shoulder and his heat both reassuring and challenging. He was happy to have his mate with him, but he wasn’t sure he could resist the man. Keeping his cock under control, he turned his attention to the screen after kissing Nolan’s hair.
They were about halfway through it when Dominic came in the room. Casey looked away from the birds flying on the screen to look at the frown on his Alpha’s face.
“What’s wrong?” Keenan asked, grabbing the remote and pausing the film.
“Casey, can I talk to you for a minute?” the lion asked, and everyone turned to look at Casey. He had no idea what was wrong, but he wanted to find out, so he rose from the couch where he had been snuggled with Nolan. Nolan tugged on his hand, trying to get his attention.
“What’s wrong, love?”
“Can I come with you?” Nolan asked hesitantly, and Casey couldn’t refuse. He wouldn’t have anyway. He didn’t have secrets he wanted to hide from the most important man in his life.
The two of them followed the Alpha outside. Dominic hadn’t gone back to his office, so maybe it wasn’t as bad as it seemed after all.
“Do you know a man called Gregory Howard?”
Casey froze. He would have never thought to hear that name again, especially after all the years that had passed. He couldn’t help but gaped at his Alpha. “Where did you hear that name?”
Dominic gestured in his office’s direction, and they followed him. This wasn’t something Casey could discuss in the hallway where everyone could hear them. His past wasn’t known to everyone in the pride. In fact, only Dominic and Nate knew what had happened to Casey, and Gregory Howard was a part of that past.
Casey felt Nolan squeeze his hand as they walked, worry marring his handsome face. He brought their joined hands to his mouth, placing a kiss on Nolan’s knuckles in an attempt to reassure his mate. Casey didn’t know how much it could work, especially since he was the first one to be anxious to know why Gregory had suddenly reappeared in his life, right when everything seemed to be going well.
Casey sat in one of the chairs opposite Dominic’s. Nolan made to go for the other one, but Casey reached for him, pulling him onto his lap. He needed his mate’s warmth to deal with this, because he just knew it was going to be bad. Nolan didn’t say anything, he just settled his head on Casey’s shoulder and waited for Dominic to talk.
“I was contacted by a certain Gregory Howard today. He asked me if Casey Dillon was a part of this pride and if I could give him a phone number or any other way to reach him.”
“Did he say why?”
“No. He just said you grew up together and that you disappeared over thirty years ago. He also presented himself as the Alpha of the Orston pride.”
Casey straightened in the chair. “What happened? Did he challenge his father?” He hadn’t wanted to know anything about his birth pride after they had killed his parents. He didn’t care what happened to them, but Gregory had been a childhood friend and Casey’s first crush and kiss.
�
��I don’t have any details, since he called as a friend of yours and not as the Alpha.”
“Did you give him my number?”
“No, since I wasn’t sure it was something you wanted. However, I did get his phone number, so you can call him if you want to.” Dominic reached for a piece of paper that was sitting on the desk and gave it to Casey. “Let me know what you decide and if you think that this man might be a danger for us.”
“I…I don’t think so.” Casey couldn’t take his eyes away from the number on the paper. “He was only fourteen at the time, and the only reason the Alpha didn’t try to kill him was because he was his son.”
Nolan was looking at Casey, obviously wanting to ask him what this was all about, and Casey knew it was time to tell his mate what had happened to him thirty years ago. Dominic’s office wasn’t the right place to do that, though, so he stood up and thanked his Alpha before walking back to his room, his hand never leaving Nolan’s.
* * * *
Nolan was nervous. He didn’t know what was going on or who that guy was, but he could tell it was something serious. He just hoped it wouldn’t jeopardize his budding relationship with Casey.
Casey sat on the couch in his suite, his eyes still on the piece of paper that held the phone number. Nolan didn’t know if he should go away or if he should stay there and try to comfort his mate. His instinct told him to stay with Casey, but what did he know about relationships? Or about Casey, for that matter?
Feeling powerless, Nolan started backing away, intent on leaving his mate alone. If he wanted to talk, he would tell him when he felt like it.
“Where are you going?”
“I, uh, I was going to leave you alone. I’m sure you want some time to think about all this.”
Casey smiled. “Come here, love.” Nolan neared his mate, sitting on the couch next to him. “Gregory was my first crush.”
Nolan’s stomach sank. Was Casey going to tell him that now that his old lover was looking for him he was going to leave Nolan? No, no, that was stupid. Nolan just had to wait to see what Casey was going to tell him. He looked down at his hands. He hadn’t even been aware that he was fingering the cushion’s fabric, tearing at the small loose strings that peeked from the seam.
“It happened thirty years ago. Gregory and I grew up together. When I was about thirteen I started noticing him in a way that didn’t only speak of friendship. I never told him anything but then one day we were alone in his house, goofing around, and we ended up kissing. His father, our Alpha, walked in on us.” Nolan couldn’t help it. He slowly reached for Casey’s hand, unable to bear the sadness in his mate’s eyes. When Casey didn’t say anything, he squeezed his hand, just to let him know that he wasn’t alone.
“Alpha Howard wanted to kill me—I mean, not only I was gay, but I was perverting his only son. I managed to escape when Gregory’s mother came in and distracted him. I ran to my parents and told them what had happened. They knew the Alpha was going to come after me.” Casey chuckled, the sound sad. “We all knew what Alpha Howard thought about gays. They decided we needed to run, but after only a few hours the pride’s enforcers caught up with us. The Alpha was with them. My parents shifted and fought them to give me a chance to escape, but they lost their life doing it. I…I was a coward. I let them die for me. I didn’t try to stop them or to fight at their side, I just ran.” A tear escaped Casey’s eye.
“Baby, you were only fourteen.” Nolan’s heart was breaking for his mate. “You couldn’t have done anything against the Alpha, and you would have died with your parents. That’s why they sent you away. They didn’t want their son to die. They did it to give you a life. Staying there with them…it would have been against their wishes.” Nolan climbed in Casey’s lap. It wasn’t a sexual gesture, but one to comfort the man he was starting to care for far too much than should be possible after only a few days.
Hugging tightly to Casey, Nolan crooned reassuring words in his ear, his heart bleeding for what his mate had had to go through. Nolan couldn’t even imagine his life without his parents, and to lose them like Casey had…
They stayed silent for a while, Nolan still holding Casey, even though he was the one on Casey’s lap. Casey didn’t cry, he didn’t sob, but he clung to Nolan in a way that said Nolan was needed. That was when he decided that if Casey wanted him, he would stay. He wanted to bring joy into his mate’s life, to push away the bad memories, even if they wouldn’t be forgotten.
“After I ran away, I stayed on my own in the forest for sixteen years, mostly in cheetah form. I was nearly feral. I travelled down the border from Canada to the States and I ended up in Wyoming. Dominic found me after having heard of some big cat sightings. I don’t really remember anything about those years. The first thing I do remember is Dominic trying to talk me into shifting back to my human form so that he could bring me here. It took him three nights of camping in the middle of the woods before I decided I could trust him.”
“You’ve lived here since then?”
“Yes.” Casey finally smiled a real smile, warming Nolan’s heart. “The pride adopted me. I never heard from my birth pride again until today.”
“So you don’t know what that man wants?”
“No.” Casey buried his face in Nolan’s neck and Nolan could feel him taking a deep breath, breathing in Nolan’s scent.
“Do you…do you want to find out?”
“I don’t know, Nolan. That part of my life is definitely over, but I still have family there. My mother had two younger siblings, a sister and a brother. Even if I haven’t seen them for all those years, I want to know if they’re okay. They probably think I’m dead.”
“Do you want me to leave while you call?” Nolan asked timidly.
“No, I want you to stay with me.” Casey cupped Nolan’s cheek and Nolan couldn’t help but nuzzling it. “But I’m not going to call right now.”
“No?”
“No. It’s been thirty years, it can wait another hour or two. Right now I want to be with you.”
Nolan’s breath hitched. Was Casey saying what Nolan thought? “With me?”
“I know you may not be ready for me to claim you, or even to have sex, but I need you. I need your warmth, your touch, to anchor me and remind me who I am. I don’t want to slip into my memories, especially now that I have you.”
“I…okay.” This was it.
“Okay?”
“I want you to claim me.”
Casey’s eyes widened. “What? Are you sure?”
“Yes.” When Casey didn’t answer, Nolan got nervous. He started rising from Casey’s lap, thinking that maybe his mate didn’t want him. Maybe now that he had the chance to be with his first love, he didn’t really want Nolan.
“Where are you going?” Casey asked, confused.
“I…I’m going to my room.” Nolan felt a blush rising on his cheek. “It obvious you need more time, so I’m giving it to you.”
“Wait, love. I didn’t say I don’t want you. In fact, there’s nothing I want more than to make love to you right now. I just want you to be sure. We’ve known each other for only a few days and we haven’t talked about what we’ll do when we mate. I just want to make sure you’ve thought about it. I don’t want you to do this just because I told you my pathetic story and you feel sorry for me.”
Nolan pushed Casey, hard, but the man stayed right where he was. Nolan would have had better results pushing a rock. “I’m perfectly capable of thinking on my own, thank you very much! I don’t want to mate you because I feel sorry for you, I want to mate you because it’s been only two days and yet I have feelings for you that are already way stronger than those I had for any of my old boyfriends! And I’m not talking about sex, because god knows I want to jump your bones, but I’m talking about real feelings. I’m even ready to leave my family and move here with you!”
Casey’s eyes widened in shock.
Okay, so Nolan hadn’t really been himself
since he had found out about the sex thing, but he’d had enough! He was going to claim his mate, and he was doing it now!
Grabbing Casey’s shirt, Nolan pulled apart the lapels, buttons flying everywhere. He then slid his hands onto Casey’s chest, enjoying the feeling of the hard muscles and smooth skin under his palms. The shocked expression on Casey’s face was comical, and he would have laughed in any other situation. But right now, he wanted to kiss his mate, and that was what he did. He dove on Casey’s lips, nipping the lower one to coax his lover into opening his mouth. His mate’s citrusy taste assaulted him when Casey finally gave in and Nolan felt his tongue slipping in his mouth. Moaning, he met Casey’s tongue halfway and made himself a promise that he would help his mate to forget, even if only for an hour.
* * * *
The spitfire Casey liked so much was back. Nolan was anything but shy as he plunged his tongue in Casey’s mouth while his hands explored Casey’s chest. He had gone from zero to a hundred in a matter of minutes and Casey couldn’t help but worry a little, no matter what Nolan had said. What if Nolan regretted everything after the claiming?
“Nolan, stop.” Casey tried to speak between kisses, to pry Nolan’s hands from where they were now working at his belt. “Nolan!”
“What?” Nolan hissed, his expression both fierce and lusty, shocking the hell out of Casey. “Did you change your mind?”
As angry as Nolan seemed to be, Casey could see uncertainty in his eyes. “No, I very much want to claim you. I just want to be sure it’s what you want, too.”
“Christ, I already told you! I want to claim you, now!” Nolan dove back onto Casey’s lips, and this time Casey surrendered.
He had wanted to claim the man in his lap since the first time he had seen him, naked in Dominic’s office, so if Nolan was sure…who was he to tell him that he didn’t know what he was doing?
As Nolan literally assaulted Casey’s lips and chest, tweaking his nipples and playing with the blond hair that formed Casey’s treasure trail, Casey decided to do a little exploring of his own. Nolan might be aggressive right now, but this was their first time together and their claiming, so Casey wanted to do things right. He wanted to discover Nolan, to find out what made him moan and what made him yell, not to fuck him on the couch with his pants still around his thighs. Well, maybe the couch wasn’t a bad idea, but Casey still wanted to slow things down a little.
Nolan Page 5