Page 2 of Lost Mate

“Duncan,” Dylan whispered.

“Call me Ross, everyone does.”

“Okay, I don’t care who you are, Dylan.” Cal, the omega wolf of the alpha pair, interrupted their conversation. “Right now, you’re tired and shaking. You need food. Bring him to the table, Ross. Budge up, Milo. There’s two of them now.”

Cal’s mission in life was to feed his pack and Ross, even as an unmated human, had always been part of the pack, so his mate was too. Milo obligingly shifted closer to Eli.

Dylan was shaking. Ross was embarrassed that he’d been so overwhelmed at the idea of finding his mate that he hadn’t noticed. For a wolf to be this exhausted, he had to have been on the road for a long while. Ross put an arm around Dylan’s thin shoulders and led him to the table. He eased Dylan into his seat and sat down next to him, taking his trembling hand.

“Are you sure you want me here?” Dylan glanced around the table. He caught Eli’s scowl and pushed closer to Ross who put his arm around him again.

“No,” Eli growled. “I’m not fucking sure.”

“He’s not going anywhere,” Ross insisted.

“Eli, back the fuck down,” Joe, the alpha of the pack, ordered. “We take care of our mates, you know that. Let him eat and decompress. You can question him later.”

Ross smiled gratefully at Joe, but his boss wasn’t finished.

“What if he brings the hunters here?” Eli barked.

“Then we deal with it,” Cal said, “but no mate of our pack goes hungry.”

“What hunters?” Dylan asked, looking confused. “I don’t know about any hunters.”

They all stared at him.

“You don’t know who the hunters are?” Ross asked gently.

Dylan shook his head. “I don’t remember anything except waking up four days ago with this address imprinted in my head. I had to get here.”

Ross took Dylan’s hand and held it tight. He watched Eli bristle, but Milo was clearly talking to him through their link, because he sighed and nodded. He caught Dylan’s bemused expression as he watched the dynamics around the table.

“I know this is confusing and not like any pack you’ve encountered before. We’re humans and wolves, and we’re all gay.” He nodded as the two older men coughed. “Bisexual too.”

“All gay?” Dylan asked.

“Sapphire Ranch pack is run by Joe, that’s him, and his mate, Cal.”

Dylan stared at Joe. “But you’re human.”

“What gave it away?” Joe said dryly. He rolled his eyes as his mate shot him a scowl. “Ask all your questions now and we’ll try to answer them.”

Dylan turned to the older men. “You’re the strongest wolves. Why aren’t you the alpha pair? You’re an alpha,” he said to Peter. “My wolf wants to submit to you. And why are you a wolf and he isn’t?” That was aimed at Joe Senior.

“I’m Joe’s dad, but I’ve only just become a wolf.” Joe Senior counted the points off his fingers. “I’m getting used to the wolf thing. This is Peter, my mate. We were friends as kids, and we’ve just met again.”

Peter smiled at him fondly. “I have to remind him not to broadcast his power to everyone.”

Joe Senior shrugged. “It’s complicated. I was dying and they found my mate. He saved me.”

“Joey is mine.” Peter held him close. “I know I’m the strongest alpha, but I was thrown out of my family’s pack as a teenager. Since then, I’ve never wanted to be an alpha or even part of a pack. This…” he waved around the table, “is all new to me. My mate and I need us time, not dealing with pack politics.”

Joe snorted. “Like the rest of us got a minute to ourselves the second we mated. I met Cal when he came into my yard as a wolf, and I shot him.” He grinned at Dylan’s gasp. “Then my friend, Eli, met the sheriff, who’s hidden his wolfy side for years, and Zeke met Owen, who was exiled from Cal’s former pack.”

“I get the feeling you’re missing a lot out.”

“You have no idea,” Joe said with feeling. “I want to welcome you with open arms, Dylan, but Eli has been my friend for years and came when I asked him. I trust him with my life. If he needs to know what happened to you before he trusts you, I agree with that too.”

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