Page 12 of Stalk of the Town

Drew suddenly grew visibly upset, tears dripping down his cheeks. It washed through me so fast that I tightened my hold on him. Shit, had I projected my thought?I’m sorry.

What for?he sobbed, his gaze not moving from what was happening in front of us.It’s not your fault that Leonidis doesn’t want a mate.

He doesn’t?

No.

Maximus kneeled down next to the couple and reached out a hand. His voice was low, and I wasn’t sure what he was saying, except the snarling stopped when he ran a hand over Leonidis’ mane.

Butch didn’t so much as move a muscle. His eyes locked on the lion pinning him to the floor. He wasn’t frightened. Shocked. But most definitely not frightened.

The tension in the room made all my fuzzies stand to attention. I stayed put, knowing Drew needed to be here, despite how anxious it made me feel. I wasn’t good with this kind of conflict.

I didn’t know how long we all stood there watching, waiting for Leonidis to shift back. When it finally happened, Drew wriggled in my arms, and I reluctantly let him down.

He rushed to Leonidis, tugging off his sweater to wrap it around the man’s shoulders. Leonidis sat shivering violently on the floor, not looking at anyone.

He looked so defeated that my heart ached for him. Then I noticed the scars, and my blood ran cold. Butch slowly rose and looked a little lost when he turned his gaze to where Leonidis was. The lion didn’t so much as glance in Butch’s direction.

Everyone else was watching Leonidis, so I went to Butch when the color left his cheeks. “Come on, let’s step outside.”

Initially, he didn’t appear to have heard me, then he nodded and spun around, walking with obvious reluctance out of the room.

Outside in the sunlight, I could see he was unharmed, bar a minor scratch on his neck, which let my heart settle. After what I’d witnessed, it seemed Leonidis had more control than what I’d first considered.

I mean, I hadn’t picked up any bad vibes from Leonidis the day before, although that didn’t mean I couldn’t have missed them. I wasn’t always clued in, the way everyone else was.

Butch lost the remaining color going a pale gray, a color no stalk should ever be, and staggered over to the patch of flowers, visibly shaking. I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t my way, so I stood next to him offering silent support while he bent over and puked up in the flower beds.

Not a fan of anyone vomiting, I had to look away, doing my best not to breathe too deeply through my nose at the sounds of plants getting splattered.

“What a fucking mess,” he muttered after he stopped retching, and I looked at Butch as he stood and swiped a hand over the back of his mouth. His color was a little better when his attention drifted to me. “My mate. Fuck, I’ve an alpha as my mate. How the fuck does that work?”

The way he spoke suggested he was more talking to himself than to me, so I didn’t answer. How did one answer that, anyway? As far as I knew, alpha stalks always mated to a beta or an omega.Never an alpha.

What’s ‘never an alpha’?

I wasn’t aware that I had projected so loudly, and I hoped to Great Rhu I’d not sent that thought to the whole parcel.Butch is, and so is Leonidis.

Ohhh. How is that going to work?Drew’s uneasiness grew.

Exactly, how?

It’s not going to be a problem,Drew carried on,Leonidis doesn’t want a mate.

“We’ll see about that,” Butch muttered and stomped off toward his car, clearly having heard what Drew had said.

I sighed, remembering what Crimson had said once in the store about how Tim had heard Maximus in his thoughts when they met. They had started the mating bond when they’d clapped eyes on each other. It had to be the same thing here. Fate, I believed, would not be thwarted despite what Leonidis thought, or that both of them were alphas.

I watched the car disappear down the street before I turned and headed back into the house. In the kitchen, I noticed that both Drew and Leonidis were missing.

Tartie gave me a reassuring smile and handed me a coffee cup just the way I liked it, black and strong. “They’ve gone upstairs, so Leonidis can put on some clothes and get his shit back together. How was Butch?”

I shrugged and sipped at the coffee, swallowing it, before I met Tartie’s worried gaze. “Stressed.”

Maximus growled. “Where’s he gone?”

“I don’t know, he left.”

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