by Kat Keppeler
“Oh, fuck off, Chance, jeez.” Rory grumped, turning again to stare out at the forest again looking broody. He was frowning but after a few seconds Chance could see Rory looking at him from his periphery. A slow smile spread across his face, it was hard not to smile when Chance was being a pain in the ass. “I don’t know, I mean… You’ve always been my bitch, Chance.”
When the beta flipped him the inevitable bird, that he deserved, Rory laughed out loud.
“I’m kidding. Fuck,” Rory turned and reached out to tuck the hair that was over Chance’s eye away, unsuccessfully.
“I had a hard time sharing any of you, if I am to be honest. Sharing you? I don’t know... We’ve just been us for so long.” Rory dropped his hand to his side. “When Lee came along and I saw how enamored he was with you I can’t deny a little jealousy. But… Finn? He’s... So strong.”
Chance made a rude noise at that summary.
“He’s also convinced he’s always right and still uses a flip phone,” he pointed out dryly. Chance shoved away from the railing and slipped his good arm around Rory’s waist. They were close enough in height that they stood nose to nose roughly and it was easy for Chance to pull the other man close even with just one arm, “We are always still us, Rory. If you really need this maudlin touchy feely moment to know that then I’ll do it for you but only because I love you.”
Rory could still feel the slight stiffness in Chance’s stance from the healing injuries. He’d been pulled into embraces with this man for over two hundred years. Rory knew every nuance, every facet of Chance’s body language better than his own and felt the breath that Chance heaved before he relaxed.
“You know, Lee doesn’t realize how much you love him. Honestly, I don’t think even Skye fully realizes just how much the people you claim become your whole world. You don’t need to be able to lift a bigger rock than Finn to be the person we need and we do need you, Rory. Hell, yeah, you’re strong and your wolf is strong. You’re an alpha but that’s not why any of us love you or why we follow you. We do it because when you let someone in, they’re yours. You’ll kill for them, you’ll die for them. The only thing you’re really scared of with Finn is that his barriers are going to keep you from keeping him safe because he’ll do something asinine like bolt in the middle of the night ‘for the greater good’ and so you grumble and grouse and stomp around.” Chance pulled back and gave him an amused look, his smile turning wry once more, “Do you want me to help hold him down so you can pee on his head? Will that make you feel better?”
Rory couldn’t help but start to snicker at Chance, a bright smile on his handsome face. “I mean… Yeah. Peeing on his head would probably make me feel better but it wouldn’t be about marking my territory. Could you imagine?”
In his best Finn voice, Rory tried very hard to mimic him. “Knock it off youngin’! Back in my day we didn’t just pee on heads…”
It was kind of true, Finn was quick to point out what they had done back in his heyday.
“He’s such a dickhead.” The laugh was welcome, Rory couldn’t help but wrap his arms around Chance while he was still chuckling. “Jesus. fuck, I needed that. Don’t anyone ever let them tell you that you’re not good for anything Chance. You always bring the comic relief.”
Rory held on longer than a simple hug, the stressors of what to come were heavy on him and hanging on to Chance felt right for the moment.
“I love you, too. Asshole.” He muttered quietly before he began to pull away but not before he caught Chance in a kiss. One that Skye would have blushed over.
Chance nipped Rory’s lower lip when he went to pull back, keeping his good hand on Rory’s waist.
“Stop fretting. It doesn’t all have to happen overnight. I spent a half a million bucks on legs for Finn and he’s only starting to think I maybe don’t hate him entirely,” Chance drawled, his grey eyes bright with amusement. “I did point out that he was one of my mates so of course I was going to be nice but-” Chance shrugged, “-He’ll get it eventually. Or not.”
Would that mean that it might take a couple of centuries for Finn to realize where Chance put him in his mental relationships? Maybe. Chance was really a pain in the ass when it came to being honest about his feelings. He and Rory had been involved for a good couple of decades before Rory had fully realized that it wasn’t just casual sex for the dark haired man.
“It’s not about whether or not you can arm wrestle Finn, Rory, it’s about not letting him just set the boundaries because he’s just going to drop down walls and hunker down behind them. He’s too damaged and too hurt to reach out so it’s going to have to be on us to make him figure out what a family can look like. It’s why he’s closest to Skye and then Lee, that comes easier to them than it does to us.”
Rory nodded, it was weird for sure that the older man had become a part of their little circle. Finn really did set his boundaries and hide behind them, happy to move around behind those clear markers he had set. It was one of those things that if left alone would drive all of them absolutely nuts.
The door opened behind them and Lee stuck his head out of the door.
“Awwwwww, what’s going on here?” Asked the pale omega male, smiling brightly at his two mates and making it immediately weird. Lee was good at that, whenever Rory and Chance had their very few moments of tenderness he always found a way to make the both of them roll their eyes.
“Goddamnit, Lee.” Said Rory with a huff, giving their mate a flat look. “Every goddamned time. Do you have, like, cameras set up or something?”
Lee just snickered and came out to slide between them. Lee was always down to be in a Rory/Chance sandwich and it showed.
“I was just telling Rory about the new mark you’re sporting on that pretty skin,” Chance said with pure deviltry in his eyes. Normally, he could only huff and grump when Lee pointed out his moments of open affection with Rory but right now Lee had something he wasn’t entirely comfortable talking about which meant that Chance had a good hundred years worth of payback that he could enact.
Reaching out with quick fingers, he went to pull down Lee’s collar to show the full set of silver marks on his shoulders. They were just little silver lines once they healed, upraised like the marcas denotations and with the overlapping marks that Lee sported, it looked more like some sort of body modification or special tattoo he had a long one shoulder than a series of teeth marks. “See.”
Lee was frozen on the spot, a serious blush on his cheeks that only deepened when Rory made a big to do about it.
“Ooooooh…” Rory said, exaggerating his tone greatly. “What’s this? Lee has a boyfriend, Lee has a boyfriend…”
And that made Lee squirm out from between them in a huff.
“Assholes.” Said their smaller mate, his face red enough that Rory swore they could fry eggs on it.
“Oh wow, I haven’t seen him like this in a looooong time.” He snorted, smiling too large in the direction of Lee. “Oh come on, Clarence Lee, get back over here. No one gives a shit if you’re all about that Finn life.”
Lee just growled at them both and went to go back inside, opening the door to see a subdued Skye. That brought the three of them back to reality.
“Hey baby, you feeling better now that you’ve had a nap?” Lee asked, putting an arm around her shoulders. Rory sighed then, it was getting time for his little shindig in town and he still hadn’t worked out how they all were going to get there
“A little,” Skye admitted as she wrapped herself into Lee’s arms first and then the two other men. Being tucked in the middle of their strong and solid bodies was reassuring in a way that nothing else could touch. “I just want things to settle down for a little while; I want to be able to focus on all the stupid little parts of life, like getting the medical billing training course done that Finn wants to take and figuring out how to tell my parents we’re having babies. Plural. We haven’t even managed to set up the ultrasound machine in the clinic yet.”
S
he leaned up then, stretching to press a kiss on Rory’s lips that lingered.
“You taste like Chance too,” she murmured before she nipped his lower lip, her hands tightening on belt and there was no mistaking the way her gaze slanted towards the bedroom she’d just left. Behind her Chance groaned and reached out to pluck her away from Rory.
“We definitely don’t have time for that, princess, and we need Rory to be able to put more than two words together at town hall tonight.”
“But everyone’s been fighting and cranky or gone…” Skye coaxed as she wrapped her arms around Chance’s shoulders. Despite his words, Chance had stopped moving and stood there with Skye cradled in his arms as she turned to nuzzle his neck instead, “We can be quick…”
No, they wouldn't be. They’d show up late and disheveled if Skye had her way right now.
Rory had felt himself start to stiffen in his jeans the moment she cast that gaze at him, and the way she had kissed him. He wanted nothing more to suddenly curl up into bed with his mates.
“Chance is right, baby,” Rory said gently, taking her back from Chance to wrap his arms around her in an almost constricting manner. “None of us know the meaning of the word quick. And you’re right, everyone’s been fighting or cranky or gone. But it looks like we’re all working toward not being any of these things.”
About the time Rory got done talking a very sweaty, very happy looking Finn jogged up, stopping to bend with his hands on his knees.
“Six miles, I could go six miles on this one before it started feeling pinchy…” Finn panted at all three of them.
He was slick with sweat, the tank top he had been running in was drenched with it. “We got this thing we gotta do? S’goin’ on?”
Rory blinked at the very sweaty man and then sighed. “Go get cleaned up, Finn, you have about twenty minutes of gathering everyone up before we leave without you.”
“ ‘Kay,” Finn said, starting for his room with nary a limp it would seem and a much happier stride.
“Well would you look at that. First time I’ve seen him not walk like he had a giant stick up his ass.” Rory commented.
Finn flipped him the bird as he walked away and hollered “Wait til you see me and my hipster leg.”
“You got him a new leg! Oh, Chance, thank you. The old one was making him so sore by the end of the day,” Skye told Chance, turning her beaming smile up towards him before she stole another kiss from his lips, “Thank you.”
Chance sighed, “Of course, I got him a new leg. I don’t know why that’s so surprising to everyone. You heard the alpha, let’s all get dressed and figure out how we’re all getting down the hill. We’re going to need a couple more cars eventually. Maybe Dave wouldn’t mind giving a ride to some of the pack, Rory?”
“On it,” Rory announced as he moved to make a phone call. It didn’t take Dave long to get to their house. This was his second time out that day and the old boar was grumbling when he pulled up. It took a bit of time to pile everyone into the cars. Rory put the two pregnant women into the truck to keep them close while the rest piled into the bed of the truck or Skye’s little car. There were definitely tons of complaints as they drove away. New cars were a definite necessity.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Town hall was a little building on main street that boasted a capacity of two hundred people. By the time the wolf pack got there it was literally bursting at the seams. The entire pack filed in to the sounds of speaking echoing off the walls. When everyone got in Rory walked Betty and Skye to the front where none other than Bryan Westmore stood up and made his two sons do the same to make room for the expecting women. He nestled them in next to Brittany who was holding her daughter in her arms. A friendly smile was offered from the Westmore girl to Skye and Betty as they inquired quietly after her newborn.
Finn was told to sit next to them but he insisted that it was Chance who should be taking a seat and there was a minuscule argument about that before Chance reluctantly sat down and Finn had an opportunity to stand around on his new leg. Rory then got onto the stage and took the microphone from Ruby who’d hooked it up for him.
He looked out of place in a red t-shirt and jeans, standing there in a room full of people staring at him. Rory swallowed, the feeling of nervousness deep in his gut. The racket started to quiet down and Rory started to talk.
“Hey y’all…” He said into the mic and there was a squeal of feedback that made the entire room wince.
“Ouch, my thoughts exactly.” He said and then turned to their expectant faces.
“My name is Rory Abbott, I like long walks in the woods and a nice rare steak. Buy me a drink and I’ll pretty much be the easiest date of the evening…” He tested and got a snicker out of everyone. “I am pretty sure everyone knows me, knows my people and we all pretty much know you as well. I’m up here tonight not because I’m getting ready to kick Dave’s ass in the sheriff election but because I have some really… bad news to share with all of you.”
Rory paused for a few minutes and the murmuring began as everyone speculated what Rory was going to say. “I’m sorry… I don’t mean to leave you all in suspense. There’s a lot to say and I really don’t know where to start.”
“We’ve had a string of bad luck here in Belcrest the last few months. One of our own was some sort of…” His voice trailed off for a moment as everyone knew he was talking about Halliday. She had been a monster that none of them expected, “We failed each other, in times where we needed to be together we failed one another. We failed the fifteen people that were pulled out of that basement but at the same time it began the start of something great. I know it’s been tense between us all, I know we’ve all been so shaken as a community that it’s taken a lot of time to pick up the pieces. We lost some good people, but those losses have brought us back even stronger.”
Rory felt the loss of Seamus particularly deeply at that exact moment and paused. “My grandfather came to Belcrest over sixty years ago and I followed not too long after. My mates and I have always felt like this sleepy little town was our home. We’ve gotten to know a good deal of you and consider you family.”
He smiled at Ruby who was nodding at him, the friendly faces that stared back at him. “It’s with a heavy heart that I have to get on stage today and really bring you all into this. Personally, I feel responsible, but in the end I think that if I keep it to myself then I will have failed all of you in the worst way possible.”
He held a hand out towards Skye and Betty. “You all know us, know my mates, know my pack. You know the kind of bullshit we all get subjected to by our own bylaws. And you all know that we, as a species, are becoming a dying breed. I don’t just mean the wolves, but all of us. Some of us have the blessing of having children, Dave’s got enough kids to start his own football team let’s be real…” Another snicker was drawn from the crowd. “But it’s tough. And when we do happen to conceive a lot of times the council comes down on us.”
Rory jumped down from the front, walking amongst the people there. “Guys, there’s too much for me to tell you in just a half hour meeting. There’s so many things that have begun unravelling here in Belcrest. I’m afraid, I’m afraid for all of us. And I’m tired of always having to wonder what we’re doing, will it bring the council snooping? This time I know the answer, and it’s yes.”
There was a gasp from the many here, and Rory flinched. “Listen, I know they’re coming. They’re coming for me, they’re coming for my pups, and they’re coming for anyone who knows anything about me. In a pack of fifteen we have two fertile females and that doesn’t go unnoticed for long especially when even the big pack up north hasn’t had two fertile females in almost a hundred years. I’m here today not just to warn you, but to ask for your help. We’re small… Fifteen wolves and two litters on the way means if the council comes then we’re toast but they will not stop at just us. We could leave, you know… We could peel out of Belcrest but that wouldn’t stop them. They’ll come, they’ll
kill who they think they need to - they’ll call it ‘quelling’ - and then they’ll go back to looking. I don’t want that for any of you, for any of my family.”
The noise began to rise again, half the town hollering that they should leave and the other half sounding desperate.
“Listen, no STOP!” Rory said, demanding silence again and getting it. “I’m done living by the laws of those who would kill us for just living. Aren’t you? Are you going to sit there and let them come to town, ruin your lives and bring death to your community without lifting a finger?”
He stared into that sea of faces. “I’m asking you, my family, for help.”
There were murmurings, mutterings and no one knew how the crowd would swing. Chance’s expression was studiously neutral but Skye could feel the way his hand fisted on the back of her chair.
Skye watched Rory’s face from her seat, her hands folded in her lap and she ached to go join him and give him all the support he was asking for and more, but he didn’t need that. He already had their support.
Finally, Ruby stood up from where she sat next to Rita even as her partner tried to get her to sit back down in her chair. The normally jovial ginger haired woman was grim faced and Rory couldn’t help but remember the fear that had her begging him to leave her bar just a few months ago.
“We’re with you, Rory.” She said, as if she - too - remembered those moments. She remembered and was deeply ashamed of them. She spread her hands wide when the naysayers started to get louder, “No, listen, y’all. Rory’s pack has only ever put good into this town. The pack members he sends out to us for jobs are all hard workers and they’re damn loyal. Now, we all came to Belcrest because we wanted someplace that was just ours and we’ve all put a lot of hard work into making it what it is now. As far as I can see, the pack’s only ever brought us good people and good money and they do their damndest to keep this place safe. Don’t y’all pretend like you don’t know the new developments going up aren’t because Chance has decided to stick around more than a couple of days each month. They ain’t asking us for nothing that they ain’t willing to put in themselves.”