Page 24 of Baby and the Beast

He didn’t want to be forced into a damn mating as well, but he had to do something or he might get challenged. One of his dad’s old betas was after him to mate some nephew of his wife. At leasthe didn’t have a problem with him being gay like some of them, but Kyle wanted the decision to be his.

He hadn’t heard Armstrong had died though. Mike was certainly keeping that quiet, and he didn’t know what to think of Cyrus. He certainly hadn’t meant to offer to mate him. And to sweeten it with twenty thousand dollars? Because he didn’t like bullies? It had been obvious Cyrus was being used as a punching bag and his first instinct had been to show Mike exactly what it felt like to take a hit from someone bigger and meaner than him. But now that he had time to think, what if Cyrus was too timid to take on the bullies in his new pack? Just because they didn’t use their fists didn’t mean they couldn’t throw a verbal punch. He didn’t have time to babysit someone. He had enough trouble trying to figure out the business, and why it seemed to be making less money than it used to, without being interrupted every five minutes because this cabin needed repair or that pup had gotten into a fight with a human, or the million other endless trivialities that everyone seemed to think was his responsibility. Mates, especially alpha-mates, were supposed to help with all that. But what if Cyrus simply wasn’t strong enough?

“Penny for ’em?”

Kyle looked up at Don who was going through some coupons on the counter and grinned. “You could have them for free, but I reckon you’d be giving them straight back.”

The old guy’s brown eyes crinkled in humor. Don was human. He didn’t know officially about the existence of wolf shifters—any shifters—but he’d been friends with his dad back in the day, so Kyle wouldn’t be surprised if he’d seen things he probably shouldn’t have.

“New friend, huh?” Don glanced towards the restroom where Cyrus had gone.

“I hope so,” Kyle replied carefully. He didn’t usually discuss his sexual orientation with anyone, and he definitely hadn’tbeen openly gay in the Marines. Wolves in general didn’t care, but some of the traditionalists still balked at an alpha-mate not being female. They were the same ones who wouldn’t accept a female alpha. Not that there were many of them, but he’d met one once just outside of Kabul when her unit was just leaving. She was a Navy medic and as surprised to see him as he was her. In the five years since he’d enlisted, he’d never met another shifter. They’d had a brief conversation and he found out she’d joined up because her brother was going to be named alpha even though she was older and would have made a much better job of it. All her pack wanted her for was as a baby-making machine and she wasn’t interested. He’d wished her good luck. Now that he was back to being in an actual pack, he regretted he hadn’t kept in touch and he had no idea where she was.

Not that Kyle was interested in mating her. But he would definitely welcome a competent beta if she ever wanted to join a pack that valued ability over what internal or external organs a wolf had ordidn’t.

He looked around as he heard the restroom door open and studied Cyrus for a few long seconds before Cyrus realized he was being watched. He liked that he was older for starters. He wanted someone with the maturity to help him sort out the pack, but according to Mike he was dramatic, unreliable even. That seemed all wrong to Kyle as soon as Mike had said it, even though he didn’t know Cyrus. Not that he was impressed with what he’d seen of Mike either. Cyrus looked weary which didn’t surprise Kyle if he’d basically been looking after his mom and then his brother. He was too thin, but that was the alpha in Kyle wanting to make sure his pack was fed. From what he’d seen of the few minutes he’d been in the pack house, Mike treated Cyrus like a servant and the bruise on his cheek he’d tried to hide had looked painful. Was that why he’d been so impulsive? Kyle didn’t used to do impulsive. He liked planning, although split-second decisions had saved his life a few times, and he trusted his instincts. The same ones that had told him to leave the pack years ago had also told him to stay this time.

And you couldn’t get more impulsive than an alpha challenge and then mating someone you just met,he thought.

He hadn’t just offered to mate Cyrus because of the Armstrong name though, even if he didn’t like bullies. He’d offered for another reason, but he’d be damned if he could work out exactly what that was. He’d been drawn to Cyrus the second they had met. Most wolves had brown eyes like Cyrus but not many had blond hair. That was very unusual. Cyrus clutched at the rack for a couple of seconds as he walked past and Kyle’s eyes narrowed. Maybe he was one of those guys who needed a while to come around after a heavy sleep. They’d trained that out of him in the Marines. You had to be prepared to go from dead asleep to instantly alert or you might be dead for real.

Cyrus picked that moment to look up and for a few seconds they just stared at each other. He didn’t know Cyrus, but there was something about him that seemed almost comforting to Kyle. And there was an awful lot about him that felt so familiar, but Kyle had never been to Jacksonville before and he doubted Cyrus had ever traveled. “Okay?” he asked somewhat inanely, even though they had an audience.

Cyrus lowered his eyes, but not quite quick enough for Kyle to miss the tiny spark of something in them. He could understand nerves, anxiety even, but that had seemed a lot more. Fear of him? Cyrus didn’t know him obviously, but that had seemed more than nerves. It had almost seemed like he wanted to bolt. But that didn’t make sense. He hadn’t had to come. Or maybe Mike gave him no choice. Maybe his injuries were a good indication of how little choice Cyrus had. “Let’s get going then. Breakfast will be ready when we get there.”

Cyrus didn’t reply, just followed him back to the truck and whispered a shy thank you when Kyle opened his door for him.

He drove away from the gas station. The silence felt awkward and he wondered what to fill it with. “Would you like to know more about the pack? I told you the bare bones, but is there anything you’re especially interested in?”

Cyrus seemed surprised at the question, but surely he would be curious about his new home? “Do you have just one large pack house or does your pack live in their own places?”

Kyle nodded in approval. That was a sensible question. “We have a main pack house that has a separate wing for single wolves or the ones who don’t want their own place. The alpha’s accommodations are on the other side. My dad’s—I, I mean.” Kyle stumbled over his words. When would he actually start to view the alpha’s accommodations as his now? “I meanmywing has a separate living room, small kitchen and four bedrooms. The main bedroom has its own bathroom and there are another two bathrooms upstairs and one down. There’s a small private office—or den, I guess—if I want to use it, but I’ve been working in the main one. That’s a huge three-room office that handles the logging business.” He blew out a breath. “I’m thinking of getting someone to look at that side of things. One of my dad’s old betas stepped in to help my uncle when he took over because he was running that into the ground as well, but it’s a lot of work for one person. We have a couple of betas trying to figure it out, but it isn’t any of our strong suits.” And Martin needed help. Kyle hated relying on him so much.

Cyrus seemed to swallow nervously and Kyle wished he knew what to say to make him feel better. “Did you say you have one pack house?”

Kyle glanced at him just as he started down the track that eventually led to the pack house. They’d just had that exact conversation. A nasty suspicion coiled in his gut. Mike had calledhim dramatic. He’d never seen a shifter take recreational drugs, but he’d seen humans do so. “Are you okay?”

Cyrus flashed him a bright smile, his pupils were slightly dilated. Kyle swore to himself. He must have taken something while he was in the bathroom. Human drugs didn’t affect shifters so much but as an omega Cyrus couldn’t shift so his metabolism wasn’t as fast.Shit.This must have been what Mike was so guarded about. Anger and impatience nearly made him turn the truck around right the fuck now.

Cyrus went back to gazing out of the window. Kyle tried to think of something else to say, then wondered if he should even bother. Maybe he should just send the guy back. But if Mike was responsible for the bruise on his cheek, Kyle didn’t want to take the risk he might be responsible for putting another one there. Maybe he ought to give him a decent chance, but he wasn’t having some addict near his family. “I have three betas. Liam, Josh, and Pepper.”

“Pepper?” Cyrus asked after a few seconds.

Kyle forced himself to act normally. “She’s the only wolf I’ve ever known to suffer hay fever in her human form. It went away after her first shift, but she used to sneeze all the time when she was a kid. The nickname stuck.”

“You have a female beta?” Cyrus said slowly.

“Yep, and she’s tougher than both the other two put together.”

He tried to glance over unobtrusively. Cyrus didn’t look any paler than he had been, but there was something definitely wrong. His breathing seemed quicker and he kept jiggling his left knee as if he was struggling to stay still. They were silent for the last few miles because Kyle couldn’t work out what to say. Eventually, he swung around the last bend and the pack house came into view. He looked over at Cyrus who was staring in open amazement and tried to imagine what it would be like to see the pack house for the first time.

It was big for sure. Including the gamma wing it had over forty bedrooms and that didn’t include the huge lower ground floor. They’d used that for the pups when he’d been little. Somewhere to meet up safely when the adults went on runs and it was lousy weather outside. Not that there were a lot of pups at the moment. The decrease in shifter births was affecting them just as much, but with over four hundred wolves in his pack there were still pups being born.

“Where are we?”

“The pack house,” Kyle said slowly, carefully, and concern made him glance over at Cyrus again. He still looked pale, but there was a high spot of color on each of his cheekbones. As he watched, a small shiver made Cyrus’s arms tremble. Did omegas get sick? He didn’t think so, but he could be wrong.

“It’s beautiful,” Cyrus murmured. Kyle agreed. Technically it was a log cabin made from their own mix of oak and walnut, and it had been expanded as they needed to for the last two centuries give or take.

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