John put his backpack on the armchair next to the window and looked at Josh. “So, what am I supposed to do now?”
“You’re coming downstairs to have lunch with me and the others.”
“Oh, joy. I’ll have to face thirty shifters all at once.”
Joshua laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re still scared of us.”
“Nah, just of some of you.” John had been terrified by shifters before he’d actually met them. The company had oriented him, told him everything about them, but he’d never seen one before Bryce had shifted in front of him after sinking his teeth into his throat. John reached up and touched the scars Bryce had left there.
Joshua noticed the movement and asked, “Are you scared of Bryce?”
John let his hand fall to his side as he followed Joshua along the hallway and down the stairs. “No. He actually apologized for scarring me.”
Joshua turned to their left into another hallway, then to their left again. John followed him through a door only to freeze when all the heads in the room turned to look at him. He swallowed and waited to see if he was about to get mauled or if he’d escape lunch intact.
* * * *
Isaiah kept his eyes on his plate and ignored the two men who’d just entered the dining room.
“Look, it’s the guy who kidnapped Jamie,” Jayden whispered from his side.
“I know.”
“Why do you think Dominic wants him here? Is it really just to keep an eye on him?”
Isaiah shrugged and speared a piece of pasta with his fork. He didn’t look up, but he did listen to what the others had to say.
“John, welcome to the pride,” Dominic said.
A growl answered him, and the fact that it came from Ward didn’t surprise anyone. “Welcome to the pride? Does that mean he’s a member now?”
“No, but he’s going to live here with us for a while. I know you don’t like it, but he paid the price for what he did, and he helped us save other shifters,” Dominic answered calmly.
Isaiah looked up when he heard a chair scrape on the parquet. Ward was standing up, his claws out. He looked angry as fuck, and even though Dominic was up and moving too, Isaiah couldn’t stop himself from reacting at the threat. His fox spurred him to act and he let his fork fall as he rose from his chair and moved in front of John.
If he’d still had any doubts John was his mate, he didn’t anymore. His fox was growling in his mind and trying to make him shift to protect their mate.
Isaiah placed himself between John and Ward, uncaring of the fact that Ward was trained and quite a bit bigger than he was. Ward could probably press Isaiah into the floor without problems, but Isaiah wouldn’t back down.
Only he didn’t need to fight. Everyone froze and looked at him, and he knew he’d just basically revealed to everyone in the room that John meant something to him. It wouldn’t take long for the smartest of them to add the clues together and guess why Isaiah was protective of a man he’d never even met before.
Isaiah groaned and relaxed his stance while avoiding actually looking at anyone. At least Keenan wasn’t there. He’d have understood what was happening right away, and knowing Keenan, he wouldn’t have been discreet about it.
“Umm, Isaiah?” Dominic asked.
Isaiah didn’t look at his alpha, because he didn’t want to see the questions in the man’s eyes, or worse, the understanding. “Sorry. I’m... going to sit back down again.”
He quickly took his seat and grabbed his fork again. An elbow in the ribs jolted him from his avoidance of any type of contact with everyone else.
“Isa!” Jayden hissed.
“What?”
“What happened?”
“I didn’t want Ward to hurt him. You know, it wouldn’t look good for Dominic, as head of the council.” That was a good reason, right?
“Uh huh, right. I wonder why no one else reacted like you did?” Jayden asked with sarcasm obvious in his tone.
Isaiah just shrugged. “Don’t know.”
Isaiah finished eating as fast as possible without choking and got up. “I’m going back to my office.”
He didn’t wait for anyone to stop him and almost ran to the kitchen, where he put his dirty plate, his silverware, and his glass into the dishwasher. Then he ran.
He stopped only once he was inside his office, his refuge, and slammed the door behind himself. And of course, that’s when his cell phone rang.
Isaiah sighed and took it out from his pocket, then sighed again once he saw who it was. “Hi, mom.”
“Isaiah. How are you?”
Isaiah sat in his chair and turned the screen in front of him on again. “I’m fine. What about you and the girls?”
“We’re making do. Everything would be so much easier if you’d just came back, sweetheart.”
Isaiah wanted to hit his head on his desk. “Mom...”
“I know, I know.”
“I don’t want to move back. I’m happy here.”
His mother sighed. “I know. I just... I need help. I was never meant to be the alpha.”
“I know, but I’m not alpha material either, mom. I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“Rubbish. You’ve been brought up to be one.”
“It doesn’t mean I’d be good at it.” Especially since he wasn’t about to have kids, and for most skulks that was indispensable, since it was a hereditary position.
“I’m trying, Isaiah, but I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You’re doing good, mom, and if you really need help, maybe you could contact the council.”
Isaiah’s father had been their skulk’s alpha for thirty years, until he’d died the year before. It was true that in theory Isaiah should’ve succeeded him, but he’d been long gone from home by then.
“I’m not sure my circle would approve.”
“Who cares about them? You’re the alpha.”
“You know it doesn’t work that way.”
“I know.”
“Isaiah...”
“I can’t. I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
“I know you don’t like women that way, but you’d only really need to have one child. We could find a surrogate, or maybe someone who wouldn’t mind you having lovers on the side.”
Isaiah wanted to say no, but the heartbreak and the strain in his mother’s voice was almost enough to make him capitulate and pack his bags. “I’ll think about it, okay?”
“That would be great, sweetheart. I don’t know how long I can stay the alpha. The pack south of us is getting more aggressive, and if they want our land...”
They’d just have to kill Isaiah’s mom and take it. They were foxes, they wouldn’t stand a chance against wolves. “Why don’t you call the council?”
“And say what? That the wolves are rude? They haven’t hurt anyone in the skulk.”
Isaiah heard the yet, even if his mother hadn’t said it. “I’ll talk to Dominic.”
“Fine. But... think about it, okay? Your sisters miss you.”
Isaiah bit on his lower lip. He knew his mom wasn’t doing it on purpose, but using his sisters to make him go home... it hurt more than he’d thought it would.
“I will.”
“All right. I’ll call you again next week, unless you have news before then.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll call if I do.” He wouldn’t. He’d been saying he’d think about it for months, but he didn’t really have to. He knew he didn’t want to move back home and become his birth skulk’s alpha. He knew he didn’t want to have children. He knew he didn’t want to leave the pride, because it was his home. He had friends here, and he could be who he wanted to be. Then there was his mate.
But he knew he’d probably cave in and say yes in the end.
Isaiah had managed to avoid thinking about it too much while John was still locked up, but he knew he couldn’t go on that way. He’d have to make a decision sooner or later.
Should he tell John he was his mate? Did he want John to know? Or should he renounce his mate and keep quiet?
He hung up the phone and lost himself in his thoughts. He didn’t know what he wanted. His life had been so much easier until last year. No one expected anything from him that he wasn’t ready to give, then. He’d worked for the pride and used his computer skills. Then his father had died and his mother had expected Isaiah to take his place. He hadn’t.
And now there was John. John Smith. Orphan, soldier, mercenary, prisoner. Isaiah’s mate. Human. John had been locked away for a year, and Isaiah had watched him for almost the entire time. He knew his mate’s habits more than anyone else. He knew how John took his coffee. He knew he liked his toast almost burned. He knew what John’s face looked like when he orgasmed, and when he woke up in the morning.
What he didn’t know was what John wanted. Would he even be open to being a shifter’s mate? He’d worked for the Glass Research Company, after all. He’d been told shifters were monsters, and even if he was now friends with some of them, it didn’t mean he wanted to spend the rest of his life with the pride.
God, he had so many questions, and no answers. What was he going to do?
* * * *
John wasn’t sure what had happened, but the tension in the room was almost completely gone. Almost. He could still feel Ward’s eyes digging a hole in his forehead, and quite a few people were looking from him to the guy who’d tried to protect him, but it was slightly better.
He’d known not everyone would be happy with having him there, and he’d known Ward and Jamie would be in that group. He’d actually expected Ward to try to beat him into the ground or tear his throat out. What he hadn’t expected was the guy who’d thrown himself between John and Ward as if he was trying to protect John. They didn’t even know each other, so why had he done that?
John followed Joshua and sat down next to him. He smiled at Adrian, Joshua’s mate, and was relieved to see the man smile back. Maybe not everyone in the house hated him. He let Joshua fill his plate and sneaked a peek at the guy who’d defended him.
He was cute. More than cute, even, and exactly John’s type. Tall but still smaller than John’s six-foot-three height, not bulky, blond with dark eyes. John didn’t usually go for long hair, but it looked good on his protector. The guy was pretty in an almost feminine way, but not quite. His jaw was too square, too strong to be feminine, but his lips were full and the rest of his features were soft.
“Found something you like?”
John turned to look at Joshua. “Maybe. Who’s that?” John gave a nod in his protector’s direction.
Joshua looked his way, but he probably already knew who John was talking about if the smirk on his lips was any indication. “That’s Isaiah. He’s our resident computer genius.”
John ate some pasta and looked at Isaiah again. “Why did he do it?”
“What?”
“Why did he put himself in front of me like that?”
“Well, I guess there could be more than one reason. You should ask him.”
“Yeah, I’m sure I can just go up to him and say hi, I’m John, the guy who kidnapped Jamie, remember? Anyway, I wanted to know why you tried to protect me. That will go well.”
“No need to be sarcastic. How would I know why he did it?”
“You have to have an idea. You know him, you’re a shifter like him. Wait, he is a shifter, right?”
“Yeah. That doesn’t mean I know what happens in his head. Isaiah’s nice, but we’re not exactly friends. If you want to know more about him, you should ask Jayden.”
“Jayden?”
“The guy sitting next to him.”
John looked Isaiah’s way again just as the man stood up. The guy next to him looked up, but Isaiah ignored him and left the dining room with his plate and glass in hand.
“Why do you think he did it?”
“Maybe he didn’t feel like seeing guts spread all over the table.”
John grimaced and went back to his pasta while Joshua turned to talk with his mate. John carefully looked around the table and observed. He knew he wasn’t the only human there, but he really couldn’t tell who was.
Jamie was human, of course, but he was the only one John was sure of. He did recognize several shifters, the ones who often stood guard while he was locked away, but he had no clue about the other ones.
Ward and Jamie were whispering loudly, maybe fighting over something. The guy Joshua had said was Jayden was playing with his food even as the guy next to him tried to talk to him. Dominic was talking to a long-haired guy who was obviously his mate, since he was almost sitting in the alpha’s lap. John counted another fifteen people around the table, and he didn’t know half of them.
Once he was done eating he hesitated. Should he go back to his room or wait for someone to say something? Joshua was still talking with Adrian and didn’t look like he was going to stop anytime soon, and while John did know some of the other guys around the table, he wasn’t as comfortable with them as he was with Joshua.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
John’s head snapped sideways. He recognized that voice, and sure enough, when he looked behind himself, Jamie was there. John looked at Jamie’s mate, and Ward was glowering at both of them. If looks could kill, John would already be buried in his grave.
“Uh, sure.”
“Outside?”
John looked at Jamie. The man didn’t look afraid of him, but he couldn’t be that comfortable either. “Okay. We can stay close to the door.”
Jamie rolled his eyes. “I don’t think you’re going to try to kidnap me again.”
“Ah, no, I’m not.” John rose from his chair and gave the room one last glance before following Jamie outside. Everyone was looking at them, of course, but he ignored them, even the growling Ward.
He stopped in front of Jamie, who was waiting for him in the hallway. The man had crossed his arms on his chest and was leaning against the wall. John waited for Jamie to talk since he’d been the one to ask.
“Why did you do it?”
John didn’t need to ask what Jamie was talking about. “For the money.”
“So what, you wanted to become rich or something?”
John hadn’t told anyone why he needed the money. He’d let all of them think he was a greedy bastard, but Jamie was the one person John thought should know the truth. “No.”
“Then why? What could be so important for you to kidnap people?”
“You’re the only one I ever kidnapped.”
“Oh, I feel so special.”
John snorted. “So, do you want to know why?”
“Yeah.”
John leaned against the wall next to Jamie. “Are they all going to hear this? You, know, with their magical shifter hearing?”
Jamie chuckled. “Just keep your voice down and you’ll be fine.”
John closed his eyes and leaned the back of his head against the wall. “I grew up in an orphanage. My parents died when I was nine. Car accident. I had no other family and I was too old to be adopted. So I stayed there. I did live with a few foster families, but I never stayed long. Anyway, the woman at the head of the orphanage basically became a mother figure for me, so when she started having health problems a few years ago...”
“You needed money to help her.”
“Yeah. It was cancer. Joshua told me he’s been helping her for the year I wasn’t able to, and that she’s better now. But it was touch and go for a while.”
John opened his eyes and looked at the man next to him. Jamie didn’t look angry, which was a good thing.
“Okay.”
“Okay what?” John asked.
“I can forgive you.”
“For taking you?”
“Yeah. It’s not like you were the one to experiment on me while I was in the lab, and I’d have done the same thing if it had been my brother who’d been sick. I can u
nderstand why you did what you did.”
“I...” John didn’t know what to say. Could it really be so easy?
“I’ve had a year to think about it. I talked with Joshua about you. I’m not saying we’re suddenly friends, but I can tolerate you living here. I’d stay away from Ward if I were you, though. He’s not as forgiving as I am.”
Jamie smiled and left John in the hallway. John’s head was spinning. So many things had changed for him in the past few hours, and he needed time to wrap his head around them. And for some reason, the only thing he could think about was Isaiah.
Chapter Two
Isaiah did his best to avoid John after that, and he stopped answering his phone when his mother called. He knew he had to make a decision, but instead he just ignored both situations and worked. He worked too much, too many hours, and people were starting to notice. Of course, Isaiah should’ve known Dominic wouldn’t let him do it for long.
He was working—still working since it was already ten PM—when someone knocked on his office door. “Come in.”
Of course it had to be Dominic. “Isaiah.”
“Hey, Dom. What can I do for you?”
“You can turn your computer off and go to sleep.”
“Ah, I’ll do it as soon as I finish this.”
Dominic sighed and grabbed the chair standing in front of one of the other desks. He pulled it closer and sat next to Isaiah. He crossed his arms on his chest and just watched, and it made Isaiah damn nervous.
“Really, is there something I can do for you?”
“What are you working on?”
“Still on the network you asked me to create.”
“You do know it doesn’t have to be ready tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, but the sooner the better.”
Isaiah Page 2