Nuallan

by Catherine Lievens

  He looked so vulnerable, nothing like the man who’d tried to pound Titus into the floor, and Ethan’s heart squeezed painfully. He wanted to protect Nuallan, but he wasn’t sure he could. This wasn’t his world, and he didn’t even know where to begin.

  He sat next to Nuallan and pulled him close, relieved when Nuallan came without protesting. He seemed to trust Ethan, and Ethan was glad. Nuallan looked like he needed someone he could trust.

  Kameron came in just then, Neriah and Alex behind him. Alex looked at Nuallan and Ethan wondered if he was going to try to get Nuallan away from Ethan. They were best friends, and from what Nuallan had told him, Ethan understood they were very close.

  Alex seemed to understand Nuallan was exactly where he needed to be, though, and he nodded at Ethan before going to sit in one of the chairs by Kameron’s desk.

  Neriah hovered by the couch, looking uncertain about where he should go. He finally opted for the chair next to Alex and kept glancing at Nuallan every so often. Kameron sat behind his desk and gestured at Titus and Jarah to take the remaining free chairs. Once everyone had settled down, he was the one who spoke first

  “I’d like to know what happened in more detail. I only know what Nuallan told me, and he obviously didn’t know the entire story.”

  Everyone looked at Titus except Nuallan. He buried his face against the crook of Ethan’s neck, and Ethan held him close. He stroked Nuallan’s long hair as Titus finally started to explain what the fuck was going on.

  “My father died a little over a year ago,” Titus said. “He did his best to teach me how to guide the tribe, but he didn’t know about Tom and his council. The tribe is small even by Nix standard, and we don’t have warriors, merely a few people who patrol the edges of the village. We never needed more, not until Tom walked into the picture. I didn’t have a choice when he contacted me. He could easily have made the tribe disappear, killed all the members. I did what I had to do to protect them.”

  “By sending Nuallan to kill Kameron?” Alex asked. “My colony followed Tom too, but the alpha never thought of sending someone who wouldn’t even hurt a fly to kill Kameron. It was stupid.”

  Titus nodded. “I know. It was on purpose. When Tom approached me, he said I had to prove myself. He said I needed to send someone to kill one of the council members. None of my people would have been able to do it, but I thought it was a good idea to send someone I knew wouldn’t be able to finish the task. That way the tribe would be safe because we’d tried, and Kameron would have been safe too.”

  “And you didn’t think telling Nuallan about your plan was a good idea?” Alex’s voice rose. “Do you know what happened to him? What he did to himself to protect his brother? Why didn’t you just explain what you wanted from him instead of telling him you’d kill his brother if he didn’t succeed?”

  “I thought that the less people knew about it the better it would be. I didn’t even tell my second in command.”

  Kameron held a hand up when Alex opened his mouth to speak again. Alex snapped it shut and shook his head. He still looked like he wanted to strangle Titus, and Ethan was ready to help him if he did. The guy might have thought he was doing the right thing, but he was an asshole anyway.

  “You could have contacted me instead of keeping everything to yourself,” Kameron said. To Ethan’s surprise, he looked angry too, although he was better at hiding it. “You knew Tom was gone. Why didn’t you try to contact me, or Nuallan?”

  “Neriah told me Nuallan wasn’t answering. I thought he was dead.”

  “And you didn’t think checking was important? Your second came to me because he thought you’d gone crazy. He wanted to save Neriah.”

  Titus shook his head. “I’d never have hurt him. He knew that.”

  “But Nuallan didn’t.” Kameron looked at Nuallan. “Show him your wrists, Nuallan. Please.”

  Nuallan didn’t even move his face away from Ethan’s neck. He looked like he was shutting down, and Ethan wanted to take him away. He would as soon as they had more answers.

  Nuallan raised both hands, and with his face still hidden, he pushed up his sleeves to his elbows.

  Ethan had to bite his lower lip not to say anything when he saw the scars. God, what had happened to his mate?

  * * * *

  Nuallan heard a few gasps and tried to ignore them. He didn’t want to see the pity in their eyes, the horror. He’d already seen more than enough of those in the eyes of the people who’d saved him and had stuck with him since he’d tried to kill himself.

  He jerked when soft hands wrapped around his and pulled, but it was only Neriah. Neriah, who was kneeling in front of him, his eyes full of unshed tears as he examined the scars. Neriah, who healed the cuts on Nuallan’s knuckles and tried to do the same with the scars, without results.

  They were ugly. Nuallan had cut himself deeply, from the base of his hands to almost halfway up his inner arms. No matter how much both Clea and Sei had tried, they hadn’t been able to completely heal them. Sei was still trying, healing Nuallan about once a week, and it was helping. It just wasn’t enough to erase the scars. Nuallan hadn’t minded, not when the scars had been a sign of what he was ready to do for his brother. Now, they only reminded him how stupid he’d been.

  “What happened?” Neriah asked.

  Nuallan didn’t want to answer, but he knew his brother would hound him until he did. Neriah was stubborn when he wanted something.

  He pulled his face away from Ethan, but that was all the distance he was ready to put between himself and his mate. “Titus said he’d kill you if I came back without having completed my task. I couldn’t do it. They stopped me before I could, and I thought if I shimmered back to the tribe, you’d be dead. I wasn’t sure me being locked up in a cell would be good enough for Titus to stay away from you. I thought maybe he’d get his revenge on you to show me what happened if one didn’t obey.”

  Neriah ran a finger along one of the scars after giving up trying to heal them. Nuallan wanted to pull his hand away, but he stayed still. “You tried to kill yourself.”

  “Yes. I thought if I was gone, if Titus didn’t have to show me anything, then he’d leave you alone.”

  Neriah shook his head. “You’re an idiot, you know that? I wouldn’t have cared if Titus or anyone had tortured me or killed me, as long as you were all right. Don’t ever do something like that again, Nu. I’ll kill you myself.”

  Nuallan laughed. He was starting to choke up too, and tears prickled his eyes. Neriah was fine, and he himself would be all right. Everyone was safe. It wasn’t something Nuallan had thought would ever happen.

  Neriah finally let Nuallan’s hands drop. He launched himself at Nuallan, and the air oomphed out of Nuallan’s lungs. He wouldn’t have let go for anything, though. He wrapped his arms around his brother and hugged him tightly, smiling when he felt another pair of arms around his own shoulders. Whatever had happened, whatever Titus had done, Nuallan wouldn’t have met Ethan if he hadn’t been in Gillham. He had to give Titus at least that.

  “I won’t do it again,” Nuallan promised. He’d already promised the same thing to Alex, and he had every intention of keeping those promises. “I did only because I thought it would keep you safe. I don’t want to die, especially not now that you’re with me and that I met my mate.”

  Neriah jerked away. “Your mate?” His gaze went to Ethan and he smiled widely. “Oh, of course. I’m an idiot. I should have realized the big guy was yours by the way you were hanging onto him when I got here.” He offered Ethan his hand. “I’m Neriah, Nuallan’s brother. Your brand new brother-in-law, I guess.”

  Nuallan looked at Ethan too. He hadn’t seemed to have a problem with Neriah, but one could never know. Ethan was smiling, though, and he shook Neriah’s hand. “I’m glad to have a brother. I’ve always wanted one.”

  Nuallan snorted. “Trust me, you won’t be glad once you get to know him.”

  Someone cleared th
eir throat, and Nuallan looked at Alex. Alex arched a brow. Nuallan shrugged. He knew Alex wouldn’t let him bask in his happiness forever, not when there were questions to answer and hopefully a tribe leader’s ass to kick.

  Kameron nodded at Nuallan and looked back at Titus. “You saw what your lies did.”

  Titus was pale, and Nuallan really felt like an idiot. He wasn’t sure how he hadn’t realized Titus wouldn’t hurt anyone. He’d grown up with the guy, for fuck’s sake. Why had he thought Titus had changed just because he’d become the tribe leader? Why hadn’t he tried to talk to him after he’d given the order to kill Kameron? He should have tried harder, been smarter.

  “I’m sorry,” Titus said. “I never meant to hurt anyone, but I needed to keep the tribe safe. I didn’t know I had other options, or that I could reach out to you. We’ve always kept to ourselves, and I was stupid enough to believe Tom when he said you needed to be killed because you wanted to expose us to the humans.”

  Kameron sighed heavily enough that Nuallan heard him from the couch. “I never wanted to expose us to humans, but Tom didn’t leave me any choice. You might not know this since you’ve been isolated, but Tom shifted on video. I had to talk to the town, explain about us and our world, and it’s going to become common knowledge over the next few days.”

  Titus gasped. Nuallan would have done the same if he hadn’t been there to watch Kameron explain about shifters. He knew it was necessary, though. He’d spent enough time with the pack to know it for sure.

  “You outed us to the humans.” Titus looked panicked. “We need to go back to the tribe and make sure everyone is all right.”

  Kameron raised a hand, stopping Titus in his tracks. “Relax. I already talked about this with Jarah. I know he’s not the tribe leader, but he thinks the only way to keep what remains of your tribe safe is to move here to Gillham. He’s probably right. I can’t know how soon the rest of the world will find out about us, but it’s probably best if we stick together. A small group without warriors will be too vulnerable to attacks.”

  “We can defend ourselves against humans.”

  “I can’t force you to accept, but I still think you should give your tribe members the choice.” Kameron looked at Nuallan and Neriah. “Nuallan, you obviously aren’t going anywhere. What about you, Neriah? Do you want to stay here with your brother or to go back?”

  Neriah was still kneeling in front of Nuallan, as if he was afraid to put more distance between them. Nuallan understood the feeling. He was scared Neriah might disappear if he looked away. They’d only been away from each other for a little over two months, yet it had felt like an eternity after spending the past seven years together.

  Titus looked at Jarah, and not for the first time Nuallan wondered if there was something between them. Titus looked betrayed, but he slowly nodded. “All right. I’ll talk to the tribe members and see what they want to do. I can’t say I ever wanted to be a leader, but I’m not sure I can relinquish the control over the tribe. It’s... it’s the only thing my father left me.”

  “I’m not trying to take your tribe away from you, Titus.”

  “But it’s what will happen if we move here. We’ll have to follow your lead, and that will make you our leader.”

  “I’m sure we can find a solution. Pack territory is big, and as someone recently pointed out, there is no way I can control all of it. I don’t know how many tribe members you have exactly, but it should be possible to assign you part of pack territory to build yourself houses. You’d still answer to me when it comes to big decisions, but you’d be the everyday leader, and you’d have the council’s protection. In exchange, you’ll make sure no one enters pack territory. Would that be something you can accept?”

  Nuallan nibbled his lower lip. Neriah would stay in Gillham whatever Titus said, but Nuallan had a few friends in the tribe. Besides, he knew all the members, had known them since he was a child. He didn’t want any of them to die because Titus didn’t want to lose his leadership. He obviously wasn’t that good at being a leader anyway.

  Titus nodded, and Nuallan breathed easier.

  * * * *

  Ethan was still confused about what was happening. Nuallan was with him, though, and that was what mattered. He really wanted some time to think about that day’s events, but there was no way he was leaving Nuallan there on his own. He wasn’t sure inviting Nuallan to sleep over would be a good idea, considering what was between them.

  “How are you holding up?”

  Ethan looked away from Nuallan and Neriah and at Kameron. “I’ve been better.”

  Kameron nodded. “I can see why. What do you think about everything?”

  “I always knew there was something weird about you and the other guys who live here,” Ethan said with a grin. “I wouldn’t have expected that weird thing to be an animal half, or whatever it is that gives you the capacity to shift, but I guess it could have been worse.”

  Kameron arched a brow. “Worse?”

  Ethan shrugged. “Demon possession, little gray guys. Take your pick. At least none of you have hurt anyone in town, and you look like you won’t.”

  “I look like I won’t?”

  “Look, you could have kept this a secret even after the video. Sure, some people might have come looking for you, but really, without any proof that you were able to become a wolf, what could they have done? You could have kept to yourself for a while longer and everyone would have forgotten about you eventually. But instead, you decided to explain to us what you are and what we can expect.”

  Kameron sighed. “I’m still not sure it was good idea, but it was the best we could come up with that didn’t include me becoming a hermit.”

  Ethan chuckled. “You got a lot of support just because you came out instead of staying in the shadows. Not everyone is going to be happy, of course, but then isn’t it like that for everything? If it’s not because you’re a shifter, then people will hate you for being gay, or being tall, or muscled.”

  “You’re saying I can’t please everyone.”

  “Nope, you can’t. Honestly, I can tell you it’s a little overwhelming, but not in a bad way. It’s kind of weird to look at people you’ve known for years and wonder if they’re shifters or not, but it also makes me feel safe.”

  “Safe?”

  “Yeah. Like, I was never attacked by any of you, so it means you guys are safe. I have a few friends I think might be shifters, and I’d definitely want them on my side if I’m ever attacked or something. I mean, a wolf against a guy with a knife? You can bet your ass I feel safe.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “I don’t think you could have. You’re not human.”

  “Which ones of your friends do you suspect of being shifters?”

  “Well, a few of them live close to this house, like, very close, so I’m pretty sure I got it right. Andy and Nick, for example.”

  Kameron’s smile widened. “You got them right. Actually, Nick’s my beta.”

  Ethan had to think about that one. “Is it like in a normal wolf pack? You’re the alpha, then there’s the beta, the omega.”

  “Kind of. I am the alpha, and I have a beta, Nick, who helps me dealing with the pack business mostly. There are the patrols to set up, the pack members to make happy, things like that. I should be the one taking care of all that, but I’m also a council member, and I dedicate a lot of my time to that.”

  “I have no idea what the council is. I mean, I’ve heard you guys talk about it, but no one actually explained much.”

  Kameron shook his head. “Sometimes it’s weird to think not everyone knows about it. You just found out about us today, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “And you were thrust right in the middle of things, what with Nuallan being your mate.”

  Ethan let his gaze slide to Nuallan again. He was talking with his brother, and he looked happy, happier than Ethan had ever seen him. Not that he’d
known Nuallan for more than a few hours, but with what he knew of Nuallan’s past, Ethan couldn’t imagine Nuallan had had a lot of opportunities to smile lately.

  Now he was smiling and laughing and gesturing as he talked. He was beautiful, and Ethan couldn’t wait to have him in his arms again.

  “I had no idea shifters existed, let alone soul mates. I like the idea, though. Zach’s your mate, right?”

  Kameron nodded. “Yes, so if you need anything you can go to him. Like I said, I’m often away or busy because of the council.”

  “Care to explain?”

  Kameron gulped down half of his beer before answering. “Shifters might be able to become animals, but it doesn’t mean we’re invincible. We’ve always been scattered in smaller groups, like the pack, and until recently, we kept to ourselves. Shifters tend to be very traditional, or at least they did, before. That means a wolf shifter could only mate with another wolf shifter, of the opposite sex and with the same skin color.”

  Ethan frowned. He’d have thought that since shifters knew what being different meant, they’d have been more open-minded. He’d obviously been wrong. “Is it still this way? Because I noticed an awful lot of gay couples around here.”

  Kameron grinned. “No, it’s not like that anymore, at least not here. I became the pack’s alpha a few years ago, and I don’t care what or who you do in your bed. I don’t intervene in matings.”

  “And the council...”

  “Well, since shifters were isolated, it was easy for anyone to take advantage of that. We started getting together after we found out about a company founded by a human. They kidnapped humans and shifters alike, although mostly shifters, and experimented on them. They didn’t care what one could shift into, and it brought us together. Dominic, one of my friends, thought we needed someone to go to if something like this happened again, someone who would rescue the shifters involved without caring about who or what they were and who would then administer justice.”

  “Makes sense.”