by A J Jarrett
Garrett’s jaw started to tick as his teeth clinched tight. He didn’t need another fucking reminder that he messed up. “Did you know everything about Miles before you mated him?” He couldn’t hide the anger in his voice.
The harsh look on Ben’s face slowly dissipated to be replaced by an understanding glow in his eyes. Ben shook his head. “No, I didn’t.
I’m sorry, Garrett, that wasn’t fair to say. I know how this mating thing can go. We don’t always think with our big heads first.”
“No we don’t, and apparently I didn’t think at all.” Garrett leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees, and dropped his head in his hands. He dug his fingernails into his scalp, letting his claws extend.
The sharp bite of pain he inflicted on himself wasn’t enough to ease the guilt he felt. “Can you tell me anything about Lachlan’s past?
Give me a hint of what I’m dealing with so I can make it better?” he asked then slowly looked back up and was met by Ben’s pity-filled eyes.
“I’m sorry, Garrett, it’s not my tale to tell. Like I said just give him time. I know with you being an alpha it will be hard when Lachlan refuses your requests, but you have to let him be the man he always has been. Don’t try and change him.”
Garrett let out a harsh laugh. “That is going to be hard. No offense to the council and the Warriors of the Light, but being a warrior is a dangerous job. I can’t help but want to keep him safe.”
“I can relate, but you need to let him be him. Lachlan has been in charge of his own life for quite a while now, and he can’t just submit 26
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to your every whim no matter how much you want him to.” Ben shrugged a shoulder. “Being mated is one of the best things that can happen to you, but it’s also a lot of work. You’re going to disagree on things, but you have to learn to trust in each other. Lachlan needs to learn that as well. You’re not the only one to blame for this separation between you two.”
Ben’s words helped relieve some of the guilt he felt but not all of it. He didn’t want to blame Lachlan for anything, but the man never gave Garrett a chance to apologize or to explain.
“Thank you, Ben.” Garrett stood and so did Ben. He shook the offered hand then turned to leave.
A lot of work needed to be done to prepare for Lachlan’s arrival.
A part of him wanted to demand Lachlan stay in his room. They were mates after all, but that would be met with a fight. Lachlan needed space, and Garrett was going to give it to him.
The room next to his was currently occupied by his next in command, Wes. He’d have him move down the hall and give Lachlan that room. Lachlan would have his own space but also be close enough to Garrett that he could keep an eye on him. It made Garrett feel better knowing his mate would be close. Lachlan may not desire his touch right now, but that could change if Garrett played his cards right.
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Chapter Three
Lachlan pulled up outside of Garrett’s house and stared at the large home that looked like an oversized log cabin. It was beautiful. It looked warm and inviting to any person passing by, but all it held for Lachlan were bad memories of what should have been.
“Please, god, give me the strength to do this,” Lachlan mumbled to himself as he pushed himself up and out of the car. He shut the door quietly, not wanting to tip off any of the wolves on the property that he had arrived.
In the four short weeks he’d known his mate, the bad memories far outweighed the good. Some of Garrett’s pack, not all but some, didn’t care much for Lachlan. They felt a lion shifter was beneath the wolf species and treated Lachlan like he was something nasty one would find on the bottom of their shoe.
Lachlan wasn’t the easiest person to get to know, but he tried with Garrett’s pack. When they’d ignore him or refuse to run with him, Lachlan would just nod his head and not say anything. Lions and wolves were different. Lachlan could respect their need to get used to him, but how long would it have to take? He’d only given it a week, and it was more due to Garrett than the other wolves that he didn’t stay longer. Garrett wanted Lachlan’s total submission. To do as he said without hesitation, and Lachlan just couldn’t bring himself to do that.
It wasn’t that Garrett was a bad mate, just a controlling one. And Lachlan had a feeling that Garrett couldn’t control his domineering ways, but it didn’t make it okay. One mate couldn’t micromanage everything the other one did. It wasn’t fair or right and would 28
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inadvertently push the other mate away. It was sad but true, and this is what had happened to Lachlan and Garrett.
Lachlan could feel the heat infuse in his cheeks, and his pulse started to rise with his frustration. Wanting to protect one’s mate was one thing, but to demand they give up all they’d ever known was another. Lachlan could understand the fear Garrett must feel when he would go out on missions, but Lachlan couldn’t just shut off who he was to appease his mate. The Warriors of the Light took him and his brother, Lawson, in when their family tossed them away. To leave his fellow warriors now would be a slap in the face to the family he’d created with the other men.
Lachlan was a lion shifter, and typically all lions belonged to a pride, which is similar to a wolf pack, a large extended family that lived and hunted together. The stronger and more stable the pride, the less risk of being overtaken by another pride or another class of shifters. The paranormal world had its good and bad elements just like human society. They also had prejudice.
His brother, Lawson, had been caught in a compromising position with another man, a human man. If it wasn’t bad enough that he was gay, he got caught floundering around with a human. The pride they belonged to didn’t like humans, thought them a mistake amongst nature.
Lawson was immediately exiled from the pride and Lachlan followed along beside his brother. He wouldn’t allow his twin to be sent away on his own. Lachlan and Lawson were identical, but beyond that Lawson was more than just his brother. He was the other part of Lachlan’s soul. He could not and would not live without Lawson’s love and understanding and wouldn’t bestow that fate upon Lawson. They were family, and family stuck together. At least in his book they did, but obviously not his in his folks’.
Lachlan and Lawson left that day never to return. Their mother had been saddened as he and his brother set off into the great unknown, but their father wasn’t. His father looked relieved watching Garrett’s Choice
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them go. To have not one but two gay sons had been an embarrassment to his father. His father couldn’t even look at them as they walked away from the only home they had ever known.
An unwanted tear escaped Lachlan’s eye, and he quickly swiped it away. Whenever he thought about the past, the emotions he didn’t want to feel bubbled to the surface and weighed him down.
“Lachlan, is that you?”
Lachlan turned around to see Aaron coming toward him. Aaron had been a member of the wolf pack that bordered alongside his family’s pride. Even with the prejudice from Lachlan’s pride and Aaron’s pack, they’d become good friends. When Lachlan and Lawson left that day, Aaron wanted to come with them but Lachlan told him to stay. They were young and none of them knew how to survive without family. It wasn’t until years later when Aaron’s parents died that he moved away. He didn’t want his little brother growing up with the constant reminder their parents were never coming back. He wanted Toby to have a fresh start.
Over the years they’d stayed in contact. Aaron was the only other person besides Lawson who really knew him. There were times that Lachlan wished he and Aaron had been destined mates. But nothing ever came from wishing, and Lachlan decided friendship was better than nothing.
“Aaron.” Lachlan slapped Aaron’s hand then pulled him into a one-arm hug. “How’s it going?”
“Oh you know.” Aaron nodded his chin to his left. “Hanging out with my brother. He still won’t go out alone ever sin
ce Lucian attacked him.” Aaron turned concern-filled eyes back toward Lachlan.
“I’m worried about him, Lachlan.”
“Fuck,” Lachlan said as he pulled Aaron in for a tight hug. “I wish that could have been prevented. I vow we will catch that sick bastard and make him pay for what he’s done.”
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“I know.” Aaron stepped out of Lachlan’s embrace but held onto his hand. “I never got the chance to thank you for not telling the council or Ben the whole story involving Toby.”
Lachlan nodded his understanding. Lucian had lured Aaron’s little brother Toby into the woods where he brutally raped and beat the poor kid. When Aaron finally found Toby, Lucian was gearing up for round two.
From what Aaron told Lachlan, he fought with Lucian and was about to tear out his throat when one of Lucian’s goons intervened and escorted an angry Lucian away, shouting out his warnings of revenge. Aaron didn’t give chase because his brother needed him.
Toby hadn’t been the same since the attack, and Lachlan couldn’t blame the poor kid.
Lachlan often wondered if anyone ever could truly recover from such a terrible thing. Astrid had overcome his past, but Astrid had Klaus to get him through the hard times. Lachlan started to think it might do Toby some good to talk with Astrid. Maybe the young witch could help Toby find the tools he needed to heal.
“Some things even the council doesn’t need to know.” Lachlan looked over in Toby’s direction and saw the young wolf shuffling his feet in the dirt, a faraway look in his eyes. “Don’t lose hope, Aaron.
It’s only been a month. Toby just needs some time.”
“Yeah, I just wish he’d talk to me. I think that’s what makes this so hard. Part of me thinks he blames me for not being there.” Aaron let go of Lachlan’s hand to ball up both his fists. “Fuck, I blame myself for not being there. I promised to always watch out for him.”
“Come on, Aaron, you can’t think that way. There was no way for you to know what was going to happen. You told me how Toby had been acting out since the death of your parents. You and I both know when you go looking for trouble, you’re bound to find it. It’s no excuse, but you couldn’t have prevented this.”
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Lachlan gave Aaron a moment to collect himself. After a few deep breaths, Aaron rested his hands on his hips, and the pain etched into his face subsided. “I know, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”
“I know, man. That’s what we big brothers do. Stand up for the little guys in our life,” Lachlan teased.
Aaron chuckled. “Since when do you have a little brother? Last I checked you and Lawson were twins.”
“That’s what Lawson says, but I was the first one to breathe actual oxygen, therefore I’m older.” Lachlan cracked a smile. “Even if only by thirty seconds.”
Garrett stood by the window watching his mate and another wolf outside talking. He grabbed ahold of the windowsill, his fingernails digging into the hard wood. Jealousy like he never felt before swam in his gut. He recognized the wolf to be Lachlan’s childhood friend Aaron. Friends or not, it didn’t give Aaron the right to be touching his mate. Especially when Garrett wasn’t allowed to touch him.
“Hmm. I see the kitty has come home.”
At the teasing, unkind words, Garrett swung around. A young wolf by the name of Josh stood behind him glaring out the window.
The look of disgust was apparent on his youthful face.
Before thinking better of it, Garrett grabbed Josh by the throat and backed him into the wall. “Watch what you say.” Garrett sneered down into Josh’s face. “That man out there is my mate. You know what that makes him?” He didn’t give the man a chance to respond.
“Co-alpha of this pack. So I suggest you get used to it or find another wolf pack to call home.”
Garrett gave Josh one more hard shove against the wall then released him. Josh didn’t utter a single word as Garrett walked away.
The days of him working to please the pack were over, and Josh and 32
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whoever else had an issue with him being mated to a lion shifter could go fuck themselves.
“Everything okay?” Wes asked as Garrett stomped past him.
“Peachy,” Garrett muttered.
“So is it standard practice to toss around fellow pack members now or some shit?”
Garrett turned to look at his next in command. “He insulted my mate.”
“Oh.” Wes’s mouth rounded. “Well that’s a different story.”
“Yeah, it is.” Garrett walked down the hallway that led to his office. He needed to cool off before Lachlan came inside.
“So what’s the game plan, chief?” Wes plopped down on to the couch in Garrett’s office.
“First off we need to make sure the wolves not on board with my mating keep their mouths shut. No more meowing when he walks by, and those fucking cat remarks need to stop. He’s my mate and needs to be treated as such. To insult Lachlan is like insulting me.”
Wes lounged back on the couch and propped his feet up on the armrest. “So you finally figured it out, I see.”
“Huh?” Garrett looked at his oldest friend, confused by his comment. “Figured what out?”
“Do you really want to know?” Garrett nodded yes. “Okay.” Wes sat up. “I understand you’re caught between a rock and hard spot and that your mind has been on other things since we found out about this witch, but you kind of pushed Lachlan to the back burner.” Wes held up his hand when Garrett went to protest the accusation. “I’m not saying you meant to, but you did. You’ve been working around the clock trying to pinpoint where this witch is and that left little time for listening to your mate.”
Garrett scrubbed his hand down his face. Wes was right, but that was only part of the problem. “Yeah I know, some of the wolves have been nasty toward him, but I think I’m more to blame for something I said.” He didn’t want to see the judgment on his friend’s face, but he Garrett’s Choice
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had to talk this thing out. Maybe Wes could help him or offer some sort of advice. Wes was his second-in-command after all.
“Dear god.” Wes cupped his hands around his face. “What did you say?”
“I asked, no, I demanded he leave the Warriors of the Light.”
Garrett’s head fell forward, and his chin rested against his chest.
Saying it out loud made him feel like shit. Asking that of Lachlan was the equivalent of him asking Garrett to give up being alpha.
“Fuck, man,” Wes whispered under his breath. “That had to take some balls.”
“Give me a break, would ya? I’m a freaking alpha. I demand shit all the time.” He did, but somehow that excuse didn’t feel that solid of a defense.
“Yes, you are, but that doesn’t mean you can demand things like that from your mate. I don’t know Lachlan that well, but he doesn’t look like a passive sort of guy, living to make you happy. I think you’re going to have to do a lot of ass kissing to get back into that man’s good graces.”
Garrett gave up trying to hold his head up and let it fall forward, to bang hard on the desktop, but Garrett didn’t flinch. He deserved to feel the pain. “Once again, I know,” Garrett mumbled into the hard, flat surface.
“Acceptance is the first step, my friend.” Wes started to laugh.
“Fuck you,” Garrett said as he simultaneously gave Wes the bird.
“Hey don’t be hating on me because you fucked up. You just got to woo your boy now. Get him to fall in love with you all over again.”
“You think he doesn’t love me?” Garrett looked up at Wes. The feeling of dread filled his stomach. He never considered that before.
“Oh I’m sure he loves you, very much so, but he probably doesn’t want to. So you have to show him you’ve changed. Set the few wolves straight who keep giving Lachlan shit, and you need to let him do what he wants, not what you want.”
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Garrett thought about it, and it made sense. “When did you get so insightful?”
“From watching you make so many mistakes.” Wes smiled so wide all Garrett could see were his pearly-white teeth.
“Asshole,” Garrett teasingly growled.
Wes stood and headed for the door. He glanced over his shoulder as he turned the knob. “Still right though.”
Garrett tossed a pen in Wes’s direction only to hit the door as it shut behind him.
Alone with his thoughts, Garrett started to draw up a mental plan of action. From here on out he was going to make decisions for him, not the pack as a whole. He’d still take care and protect the pack, but he needed to focus on getting his mate back. Because if he didn’t Garrett would go insane, and then what good would he be to his pack?
A light tapping had him looking toward his office door. “Your mate is wanting to see you,” a nice female wolf by the name of Clara said around the edge of the door. She was terribly shy but very kind.
Clara came from another pack a few years ago and was one of the wolves that resided within his home.
“Thank you, Clara. Tell him I’ll be right out.”
“Sure thing, Garrett.” Clara dipped her head then eased the door closed behind him.
Garrett took a few deep breaths to help calm his racing heart, but it wasn’t helping. Nerves pricked at his skin as he rose to his feet and headed out the door. He had to keep his temper reined in. If he blew up on Lachlan, the man might actually take Benedict up on his offer and move to Alaska.
As he came around the corner, Lachlan’s back was to him. He was talking to Aaron and trying to talk with Aaron’s brother, Toby. But it was pointless. Toby was still dealing with the trauma of his attack a few weeks prior. Toby had been lured away into a situation he couldn’t get out of, and now he was paying the price.