by E. M. Leya
"To meet with Will. He's drawn up a press release to announce our engagement and arranged for us to sit down with someone he trusts for an interview. We decided that if we make the announcement, answer questions now instead of putting it off, it will be easier on us both. There will still be people trying to dig into our personal lives, but hopefully, this blows over quickly and we can get on with our lives."
"What if they dig into my past?"
"Do you have secrets you don't want out?"
Mark shrugged. "Not really, but if they find out I ran away from home…" Mark bit his lip.
"You had reason to run. It wasn't as if we met when you were fourteen and I kept you from your family. You're a grown man, able to make your own choices now. I doubt anyone is going to dig into your past, they are too consumed with mine, but if they do, we'll handle it. You have nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, you can tell them why you ran. Put the blame where it belongs, on your abusive father."
Mark sighed, dropping his head back against my shoulder. "This lifestyle is so unreal. I don't know how you do it."
"You get used to it. We take a lot of breaks, make sure to get home as often as we can. If it gets too much, I'll cut back even more, and if I can't get out of something and you've just had enough, you can go home and wait for me. I hate the thought of us being apart, but I'll never ask you to stay and go through all of this if you're not comfortable." I hoped it never came to that, but Mark's happiness came first. I would do whatever it took to make sure he was never unhappy.
"I think I'll be okay. I'd rather be here with you than back with Justice." Mark shrugged. "I know he had to be an ass to keep me under control at first, but I still feel like a child around him. It's like I'm waiting for him to yell at me for something I didn't even realize I did."
"Hopefully, that will fade in time. The stronger you get, the more control you have over your wolf, the less he will tug on that connection the two of you share. In a way, as much as I hate the fact he bit you, I'm glad that it wasn't me. I would have hated to have you cower to me. I know I still scare you, but it's not the same as it is with Justice."
"You don't scare me really. What scares me is that instant connection I felt with you. The way I need you around me. I hoped to be able to hide away and be on my own…" He held up a hand to stop me from saying anything. "I want to be with you now, not hide, but I'd convinced myself I'd let Justice change me, then I'd just slink into the background. I knew I'd have to stay around the pack and let Kurt be my alpha, but I really thought I could find some job I'd work during the day, then go to some simple apartment or something and forget the outside world for a change."
"You can get alone time when you want it. I'm sure we'll both need it at times."
"I know that, and I don't mean to say I don't want to be around you, it's just different from what I thought would happen when I agreed to this. Don't get me wrong, I would have still chosen to live, but you kind of caught me by surprise."
"Yeah, it caught me by surprise too. I honestly never dreamed I'd find my mate."
"And you end up with a fucked-up one."
"I don't see you that way. Do I wish you weren't nervous? Of course, I do. But I won't rush you into anything. Hell, I can't rush you. This is a mating. You have to want it. You have to be the one to say the word when you're ready. I'm here until then." I kissed him. "We're here."
He glanced out the window at the large house. "Where is here?"
"This is Will's home. He figured we'd be more comfortable giving an interview here." I took his hand. "Are you okay?" I could smell the nervousness on him.
"I don't know what to say in an interview." Mark swallowed hard. "What if they ask things I can't answer? I mean, I can't tell them how we met."
I smiled. "Yes, you can. We just don't tell all of it. We met when I came home from the last tour and found you hanging out with my brother. We hit it off instantly. It's better to keep things as truthful as we can."
"And if they want to know how you proposed?"
Proposing was a human thing, but I still probably should have thought about doing it right and not just dragging Mark along for the ride. "I guess I should have asked properly, but it's not something a wolf thinks about. I'm sorry. I should have realized it was a human custom you'd expect."
"No, I don't mean it that way. I'm okay with how things happened. I'm fine with how things went, but the media is going to expect us to have a story, aren't they?"
"Probably." I ignored the driver who now stood outside the back door of the car waiting for us to exit. "How about we tell them that we went for a hike and ended up at a lake where we had lunch and I proposed there? Is that simple enough to remember?" I vowed that next time we were running in the forest and ended up by the lake that I'd do something memorable to make him smile when he had to tell the story.
"Yeah, that works." Mark grinned. "I like that story."
"Me too. Now, let's go inside and meet with Will. He wanted to talk to us before the reporter shows up. If you get uncomfortable at any point or don't know how to answer something, just give my hand a squeeze."
He nodded.
I tapped on the window to let the driver know that we were ready to exit. He opened the door a second later and we both climbed out.
Will's home was huge, much more house than I could ever want. For Will, it was all about show. He loved showing off his wealth. For a man who lived alone, his place was large enough to house a football team, including the coaches and other staff. Most wolves, even rich ones, usually liked to live simple, but not Will. He went all out.
"This place is amazing." Mark's gaze traveled over the front of the house.
"Will thinks so." I rolled my eyes.
"You said you had a house here too, right?"
"I do, but nothing like this. I have a nice three-bedroom beach house. It's nice, but not crazy like this. I just wanted a safe place to sleep. Someplace to let the media think I live so they leave me alone when I'm in Montana. I bet Will never goes into half the rooms in the place. It's a waste." I wondered if he would be happier in a place like this than in Montana.
"The house is nice, but the city is too busy for me. I like smaller towns."
"Me too." I linked our hands as we walked up the steps to Will's front porch.
The door opened before we rang the bell and Will grinned at us. "Welcome. Now let me see your rings." He gestured to our hands.
I smiled, appreciating that Will was making a big deal out of them for Mark's sake. "Mark picked them out."
"I wanted to keep it simple." Mark held his hand out beside mine.
"Perfect. I'm so excited for you two. I've had to write a lot of press releases over the years, but this one announcing your engagement was one I enjoyed the most. Now we'll just have to work on finding the rest of the band their mates so I can do it again." He stepped back. "Come on inside."
We followed Will into his living room and I tugged Mark down on the couch beside me, making myself at home. His furnishings showed off his wealth just as much as the house did. Expensive art hung on the walls, and I bet that Will had no idea who painted it or why it was of value, he'd gotten it just because of the price tag. "How did you like the new music?" I wanted to focus on something other than Mark and me for a moment and let Mark relax.
"It could be your best work yet. I can't wait to see what the fans think of it. You keep writing like that and you'll be breaking your own records. It's amazing stuff, seriously. I'd ask what your inspiration is, but I have a pretty good idea." He eyed Mark and smiled.
"Finding your mate changes everything. It's like I can't even remember the man I was before I climbed out of my truck and scented him. I hope you get to find yours someday. It's just amazing how complete I feel now." I couldn't put into words how whole my life was just having Mark with me.
"You haven't completed the ceremony yet." Will raised a brow.
"Not yet." I wasn't going to give him any information. That was somethin
g that was between Mark and me.
"It's my fault. Tavish wants to, but I'm hesitant."
"Why? You don't want to get inside his head, know his thoughts?" Will teased.
"It's a dangerous place." I shrugged.
"In his head. You mean that really happens, it's not just feelings?"
"I don't know for sure what it's like. I've heard that you can feel each other's feelings, catch each other's thoughts, communicate with each other at distances. I know with the alpha link Kurt can call out to any one of us at any time. That contact might just be a rush of energy that we understand as pack members, but I've heard it's stronger for mates. I've also heard that when you're having sex, you can feel what the other feels." Will grinned.
"What? What do you mean?" Mark sat forward. Josh had mentioned something about that too if he remembered right
I smiled. I'd have to buy Will a bottle of whiskey to thank him for helping me nudge Mark in the direction of completing the ceremony.
"Well, I've heard that you feel what he feels, so if you were to run your fingers over his chest, you'd feel your own touch on your chest. If you pinch his thigh, you'd feel the pinch. I've heard that sex as mates is better than anything." Will waggled his eyebrows.
"You didn't tell me this." Mark turned to me.
"I don't know if it's true. I've only heard talk. It's not as if there are a lot of mated wolves out there willing to spill the beans about their sex lives. Besides, I want you to want me as your mate, not want me for the sex we could be having." Though I wanted to find out if the rumors about sex were true. I prayed they were.
"Anyway, enough about all this. We've got an interview in ten minutes and I wanted you both to see the press release before they show up." Will handed each of us a paper.
As we talked through what would be said and how much information we'd give, I tried not to think about the media shitstorm that was about to hit us. It would die down fast, but the next few days Mark and I would find ourselves followed everywhere we went. We'd be on TV, we'd be in magazines, we'd be talked about on the radio. It was going to be a nightmare. Yet, as I stared at Mark, I knew it would be worth it. He made me happy, and no matter what the media put us through, I had him by my side, and nothing would change that.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Mark
"Wake up, sleepyhead." Tavish's voice was soft by my ear.
I moaned and curled closer to his warm body. "Don't want to."
He nipped my earlobe and kissed my cheek. "You don't have to go with me today."
I grunted and rolled to my back, slowly opening my eyes to look at him. "I want to, but does it have to be now?" I was so comfortable with him beside me. "You're the boss, right?"
"No, the record company is, and they're the ones who booked our recording time. I promise it won't always be like this, but the sooner we get this album done, the sooner we can get more alone time." He kissed me softly before scooting away. "We have time for a shower and breakfast. Do you want room service or are we going to go get something?"
I wasn't really hungry, but I knew we both needed to eat. "Up to you." I sat up, stretching as I took in the naked ass that was walking away from the bed.
"Room service it is." He tossed me a menu. "Oh, and I thought you'd want to see this." He set a folded copy of a newspaper beside me.
"People still read actual newspapers?" I raised a brow as I picked it up, then gasped when I saw my own face staring back at me from the entertainment sections front page. It was a fantastic picture of Tavish and me sitting beside Will's pool. We were holding hands, showing off our new rings. I swallowed hard, then cleared my throat. "That was fast."
"We knew it would be. I'm sure if we got online, we'd find we're trending on most social media platforms. It's going to be crazy for a while, but it will calm down as soon as someone else does something to steal the media's attention."
Fully awake, I started to read the article below the photo.
"What do you want to eat?" Tavish interrupted.
"Bacon, eggs, scrambled, and coffee." I went back to reading. It amazed me how the reporter took what we said and switched it around just enough to make it seem like more than it was. It wasn't all-out lies, but he had made the romance seem much more than it had been. He also put a huge focus on us being gay, which bothered me. That wasn't something we'd talked about in the interview at all. It shouldn't have been even mentioned. I wasn't ashamed of it, but I didn't want that to be what our engagement was about.
"You want the shower first?" Tavish crawled onto the bed, linking his arms around me.
"Yeah." I tossed the paper aside and turned into his arms. "Did you read that?"
"Yep, and it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I'm sure there will be a million rumors by tonight. It's best not to read more and just let Will deal with any fallout or lies that get printed. We're going to focus on the music and hope things settle fast." He sucked gently on my neck.
"I thought you said I couldn't stay in bed." I moaned the words as his lips moved over my skin.
"You can't. We don't have time." Tavish's hand slid up my stomach.
"You're not helping me decide to get out of bed." I stopped his hand as he pinched a nipple.
"I just always want you."
"You had me last night. Twice, if I remember right."
"That was hours ago."
"You're the one who has to work." I kissed him softly. "Let me up. I'll go shower and you can wait for the food."
"We should have showered together first." Tavish sighed as he released me.
"We'd never get to the studio on time if we did that." I slid from the bed. "I'll hurry." I grabbed some clean clothes and rushed to the bathroom.
As the hot water flowed over me, I thought about everything that had happened since we'd gotten to California. Things were moving so fast. I understood the need for the band to announce our engagement. Tavish needed it known that he was off the market, and if I was honest, I wanted the world to know he was mine. The issue was, it added to my guilt for not taking that final step with him. I was in love with him, even though I hadn't told him yet. I trusted him, which meant I should be willing to commit myself to him, but it all seemed so fast. No matter how I tried to understand wolf life, I couldn't wrap my head around this instant attraction and love that seemed to have happened. Honestly, I was finding it hard to understand why Tavish would love me. I had nothing to offer him. Just because we were wolves shouldn't mean he would be forced to settle with someone who had nothing. He needed an equal, someone to show off. I was hardly anything to be proud of.
I forced the thoughts from my mind as I dried off and got dressed. I needed to get over this. It wasn't as if I could change anything, and I was already too involved, too in love to think about leaving Tavish. My wolf would fight me if I even tried.
As if agreeing with me, my wolf stirred in my mind. He was ready to complete this mating and angry that it hadn't happened. I'd spent a lot of time while Tavish was in the studio focusing on communicating with my wolf. Slowly, I was understanding the differences between us. I was learning how he thought and how different it was from the way I thought about things.
As I walked out of the bathroom, Tavish was sitting at the table, the food set out for us. He had his phone to his ear and frowned as he looked up at me.
"Let me call you back once I talk to him. For now, just keep an eye on things. Let me know if anything else happens." Tavish ended the call.
"What is it?" I could smell a wave of worry coming off Tavish.
"Come eat and we'll talk." He gestured to the table.
"Did something happen? Is Justice okay?" I sat down across from him.
"Justice is fine. No one is hurt." Tavish ran his fingers over his beard and sighed. "That was Kurt. He said that someone showed up in town, asking questions about you yesterday. No one told him anything, but he said he'd been searching for you for months and he had information that your last known location was Terrin Pass."
"Who? My dad?" My chest tightened at the thought of my father finding me.
"Easy, it wasn't him, but Kurt thinks it was someone hired by him. The guy is a private investigator. He probably got a hit on your name when you got your driver's license, but the address on the license is to an address for a small house in town. All the wolves use that address on any government paperwork. It keeps people from surprising us at our homes and risking finding us in wolf form. If this guy went to the house, he'd find Albert. He's one of the older pack members who likes the quiet and keeps to himself most of the time. He would have simply told this P.I. that you weren't there and left it at that. Still, it's something you need to be aware of now that your face is all over the entertainment sites online." Tavish reached across the table for my hand. "You have nothing to worry about. We haven't needed security much since we've been here, but after the interview yesterday, Will's set it up that we'll have guards with us anytime we are in public. No one is going to get close to you unless you allow it."
"Why would my dad be still searching for me? I could see it years ago, but now, I'm old enough to be on my own. It's not as if he can drag me back to live under his roof." I pulled my hand from Tavish's and sat back. "This can't be happening."
"Whatever is going on, we'll find out. No one is going to bother you. I promise you that. Kurt's looking into things. Once he knows more, he'll get hold of me, but he wanted to give us a heads up. He also suggested you join the pack as soon as we get back to Montana. It will give you more protection should anything happen. We should have done it before we left, but I didn't want to push you."
I sighed. "It was part of my deal with Kurt. If he let me live, I'd join his pack. I was shocked he didn't make me do it the day after I shifted for the first time."
"Kurt doesn't like forcing anyone. Even if he said you had to, he would still try to let you come to him on your own, without being forced to join. Kurt's good that way. He doesn't like to use his power unless he has to. Even though you aren't a pack member yet, you're under Justice's control and that is enough for the pack to back you. If anyone asks more about you, no one will talk. We'll figure out why he's looking for you. Have you heard from your father at all since you left home?"