Page 17 of In Plain Sight

Thomas put his arm around Ruby as she leaned into him. The gesture set my wolf on edge and I bit back a growl. He hadn’t reacted that way with Gage, but now did with her brother?

Thomas laughed as I started to apologize. “Don’t worry about it. My wolf is very dominant and has that effect on others. That’s the number one reason my father stepped down so soon to hand the reigns over to me.”

I had never considered that as a reason before. As news had travelled to Bulgaria regarding the situation in Collier Pack, it had been assumed that Zach Collier, the previous Alpha, had been ill or injured to step down and give it over to a pup. If what Thomas was saying was true, then that wasn’t the case at all. He’d stepped down knowing that his son was stronger and wouldn’t submit for much longer.

That also meant that the assumptions that Collier Pack was weak and would be easily infiltrated was very wrong. If anything, the only weakness I saw in the man before me was his love of family. It gutted me that I was inadvertently capitalizing on that fact, but Ruby was my one true mate. We were bonded now and there was nothing I could do to change that.

“What pack are you from anyway?” Thomas asked as he motioned for me to sit and the girls headed off to the kitchen.

“It’s hardly what you’d call a pack anymore. I’m from a small pack in Indiana,” I said, using my cover story.

“That one that aligned with the Bulgarians against the Westins? I thought they were all but wiped out.”

I pursed my lips at the mention of the battle that had killed my father. “Like I said, a pretty small pack now. I hope that doesn’t bother you. I wasn’t involved in that battle and you can’t help who your family is,” I said truthfully, thinking of my older brother and how if he had only stepped up and avenged our father’s death, it wouldn’t have fallen to me to do it.

But then, I wouldn’t be here right now, and I wouldn’t have met Ruby. That thought felt like a sword slicing through my chest. I couldn’t afford to let myself feel anything more than the bond for her. I’d be leaving eventually, and I couldn’t risk her coming along. I was already ashamed for how she would feel when the truth came out.

“That’s true. I’m sure that must have been hard. I honestly hadn’t realized anyone had survived.”

I shrugged. I didn’t think anyone had either which made for an easy cover story and no way to validate it. “The few of us that did, dispersed. I’ve been travelling for a while now, on my own. Ran into some shifters around Boise and they told me about this place and that I may be able to find work.”

“Well, I’m glad they did,” Thomas said. “I heard Ruby was returning to work in the morning, so I’ll come by tomorrow and we can talk in detail.”

I didn’t get why he was being so nice to me. I hadn’t been certain how he would take me claiming to be from the Indiana Pack after the mess that went down with the Westins and the fact that they had aligned with us to fight them. It had been a gamble and I thought I would have to spend time proving myself to be trustworthy, but it was the only Pack I could think of that wouldn’t cause him to immediately validate my claim. Instead, was that compassion I saw in his eyes? Maybe a little sympathy? Did he really feel sorry for me and my made-up situation?

“Tomorrow sounds good,” I said. Nothing with Thomas was going as I had envisioned.

“You really bonded with my sister?” he finally asked.

I pulled back the collar of my shirt to show him my mating mark.

Thomas gave a low whistle and shook his head. "I know I'm the baby of the family, but it's crazy watching all my sisters pair off with mates. That's four now. Only two more to go."

"I'm sure they thought it just as odd to watch you bond with Lily."

He grinned. "Yeah, that one shocked us all. I wasn't exactly her favorite person. At least it doesn't seem that Ruby fought your bond. That's uncharacteristic of these Collier girls. I think you two have had the easiest mating I've ever heard of. How's it going?"

I looked at Ruby and my brow wrinkled.

"That good?" Thomas asked.

I laughed. "Everything is fine, great even. Ruby is wonderful, but sometimes she can be a little opinionated, stubborn—or perhaps pigheaded would be the correct word."

Thomas burst out laughing. "Well at least you caught on to that quickly. She's also very territorial and likes things a certain way."

I rolled my eyes. I had already learned that lesson, too. God forbid so much as one little sock missed the hamper.

Ruby and Lily came back into the living room. Ruby took the last spot on the couch next to me while Lily sat on a chair across from us.

"You playing nice, little brother?" she warned.

Thomas gave her an innocent look. "What? We were just getting to know each other."

"We should probably go and give these two some alone time. Ruby's back to the grind tomorrow and the real world will come crashing in quickly," Lily reminded us.

I couldn't bring myself to admit I was happy for it. Ruby was great, but we'd spent the last three days doing nothing but talking and making love. We hadn't left the apartment since the first night I arrived and my wolf and I were both getting a little stir crazy. I needed some space, and a break from my mate. I wished I had someone to ask if that was normal or a sign of trouble. In all my adult life I had lived alone, so this was a definite learning curve for me.

We said goodbye to Thomas and Lily. As soon as the door shut, Ruby rounded on me.

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