Page 2 of Scar Bonds: The Scars That Bind Us

“Yes, well, you’ll have to get the shivers for both of us.” Senan looked at his screen, finding Brennan’s contact details. Ashirtless Maximus Khan, a notable paranormal movie star, was enough to make anyone’s body shiver and their knees go weak. It was tempting to join Gabby on her couch and drool over shirtless paranormals from afar, but Senan had responsibilities. “Come on Brennan, answer your darn phone.”

Chapter Two

“What are you doing here?” Finlay groaned as he spotted his brother, Morgan, who appeared at his bedroom door completely unexpectedly. “I’ve been away a week. I’m tired, grubby, and all I want to do is head out for a shift.” He checked that his rifle was unloaded, set it carefully in its case, flicked the double locks, and stowed the locked case into his gun safe. He yawned as he glanced at his brother again.

“I sometimes wish I’d never given you a key,” he added as he unclipped the holster for the knife on his thigh, took two more blades out of his boots, and laid them on his bedside cabinet. Finlay glanced at his brother. “Yes, I have noticed you’re all dressed up. Don’t tell me, you’ve finally landed yourself a date for the night. That would make a change from you burying your nose in profit and loss statements, policy documents, and spreadsheets.”

“I stopped by to pick you up,” Morgan said tersely. “It’s good I came early because as per normal, you’re not ready.”

“Pick me up for what? The last time we double-dated we almost came to blows, and our dates left, leaving both of us with hard dicks and nowhere to put them. I don’t know about you, but I have no desire to repeat that scenario even if it was ten years ago. And it’s not like you need me to hold your hand or give you bullet points on how to conduct yourself in public.” Finlay pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it in the general direction of his laundry hamper.

“In case you didn’t hear me the first time,” he added as he stretched. “I’m tired, dirty, and stressed to the max. My wolf needs to stretch his legs, I have a desperate need to eat something that doesn’t come wrapped in plastic, and then I planto sleep for at least two days. I have confidence in you. Anything you have to attend you can do without me.”

“It’s the annual Paranormal Collective dinner – the event our pack…”

“Your pack,” Finlay corrected automatically. “You’re the Alpha of the Luna Pack, not me. Never me.”

“Don’t be too sure. Regardless.” If Morgan’s jaw tightened any further, he’d have wicked dentist bills. “You promised me you would attend if I couldn’t find a suitable plus one. As I couldn’t find a suitable plus one, and as you’re the only person I trust to watch my back…”

Finlay’s shoulders slumped. “You seriously don’t fight fair, did you know that? And I’ll bet you a steak dinner you didn’t even look for a date. You spend far too much time at your desk or fielding complaints from your pack members.” Resigning himself the inevitable, Finley sat on the bed, unlaced his boots, and kicked them off before standing and unbuttoning his pants, shoving them down his legs.

“Give me five minutes. I’ll have to clean up, or I’ll be doing nothing but offending a dozen important noses at this event of yours. Grab a drink from the bar in the living room if you want a head start on what promises to be a boring evening.”

Not looking to see if his brother followed his suggestion or not, Finlay stalked into his ensuite bathroom, turning the shower on with such a wrench the handle almost came off in his hand. As he stepped under the water, not even waiting for it to heat up, he took deep breaths, trying to calm both himself and his wolf. He was genuinely running on fumes, and the last thing he felt like doing was being sociable.

It wasn’t Morgan’s fault. Finlay knew that. He and his brother had been born five minutes apart, and Morgan, who hadappeared first, had the good luck – or bad depending on who was talking about it – to be named the Alpha-heir when he was only twelve and shifted for the first time. Finlay was always the “spare”. He knew it, the pack knew it, and honestly, Finlay wouldn’t want Morgan’s job for anything.

No one expected their father - the Luna Pack Alpha Morgan was named after - to die in a freak lightning strike. One of their father’s quirks was to run in wolf form in a thunderstorm. Finlay remembered him saying years before how running with the wind gave their father an adrenaline rush that nothing else could rival. Until he didn’t run fast enough.

When she heard the news of her mate’s death, their mother - the Alpha mate - patted Morgan on his shoulder and kissed Finlay on his cheek, before disappearing into her bedroom where she was found dead three days later. The fated mate bond could be both a blessing and a curse.

Morgan became Alpha of the Luna Pack – his life changing in just one day. Finlay stuck around the pack for a couple of months, helping his brother adjust as much as he could before a couple of pack members started making rumblings that the pack had two Alphas, and it was causing dissent. After a brief chat with his brother, where they both agreed it was necessary, Finlay packed his bags, left the pack house and hadn’t looked back.

But it’s never that easy to let go,Finlay thought as he washed himself off. Finlay was the only family Morgan had left, and until Morgan found himself a mate and had a few pups of his own, Finlay was also the pack Alpha-heir. Even though Finlay had built a life of his own that had nothing to do with the pack, Morgan clearly meant it when he said Finlay was the only one he could trust to watch his back. Finlay was so worried that he’d end up as the Alpha of their family pack, he’d take a bullet for his brother.

I’d rather take a fucking bullet now than have to schmooze and talk nice to a bunch of clan, coven, and pride leaders.Leaving the bathroom well before he was ready, Finlay barely dried himself completely before he was back in the bedroom.

He quickly pulled out his suit, thankful he must’ve taken the time to get it cleaned at some point since he’d worn it last. His shirt collar was too tight, and Finlay gave up trying to get the top button closed, and left it open, quickly knotting a tie loosely over it. Shrugging on his jacket, Finlay left that unbuttoned as well and sat on the bed so he could put his boots back on.

“I’ll do,” he muttered as he checked his reflection in the mirror. Tired, dark eyes stared back at him as he flicked a comb through his shoulder-length blond hair.

Striding into the living room, Finlay frowned when he noticed the half-empty bottle of whiskey on the bar counter. He was sure it’d been unopened before Morgan had gotten to it. “Is everything all right?”

“Yep.” Morgan chucked back the rest of the drink in his glass and set it carefully on the counter. He met Finlay’s eyes and Finlay realized his brother was as tired and stressed as he was feeling. “I swear if one more person says, ‘We didn’t do things like that in your father’s day’ I’ll slash their throat and to hell with the consequences.”

“You need to get laid,” Finlay said quickly. “Come on, you can drive me. Are there going to be any potential bond mates for you at this event of yours?”

“If you hear the elders speak, there are three possibilities that they consider suitable. If you’re asking me, not a one.”

“You can tell me about them on the way, not that I can offer much in the way of an opinion,” Finlay said, taking his brother’s arm that seemed to be reaching for the whiskey bottle again.“However, the sooner we get there, the sooner it will be over, and you can go back to your desk, and I can get some wolf time.”

Finlay wasn’t sure what to think when Morgan didn’t reply –he must be in a real funk. But at least he let Finlay tug him from the room as they headed out to the car.

Chapter Three

“You’re doing great Aisha, just get those last two plates out to the table and then there’s just clean up to do. Wyatt, if you and Alex can roll out the dessert carts, and leave them for the guests to help themselves, that would be excellent. Brennan and Fern I’ll leave you two to organize the coffee table – just make sure there is plenty of everything any of the guests might need. Thank you all.”

Two hours into the event, Senan was quietly confident things had been going as well as they could be considering he was flinching with every strange noise or the moment anyone came close to the door of the prep area. His magic was acutely tuned to the fact he was less than a hundred yards from predators – predators who didn’t like or appreciate people like him. It made for a nervous time, even though the other servers were doing a great job at the tables, so it wasn’t as though any of the guests were looking for someone to complain to.

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