Page 34 of Baby and the Beast

“I wondered if you might do something else for me. If you have time that is?” Kyle flushed a little.

Cyrus nodded again. “Of course.” His voice came out scratchy. He just hoped he didn’t sound too needy.

“I was thinking of holding the pack run on Saturday, but arranging things like we used to do when my mom and dad ran it. A large cookout and all the pack. Games for the kids. The wolves capable of shifting going for a run afterwards. So, I need a schedule of the adults available to watch the kids.” Pleasure rushed through Cyrus so quickly it almost made him lightheaded. This was what the alpha-mate did. Surely Kyle wouldn’t be asking him to do this unless he intended on Cyrus staying here? He practically hugged himself.

“It’s a lot of work,” Kyle added apologetically.

“I can ask Marnie and Amanda for the names, and I know Liam would help me. And I can’t do any more on the accounts until I get the statements.”

Clara walked back into the office as Martin finished his call. “Oh good,” Martin said when he saw her. “We have a superstar here who can handle the prep for the accountant.”

Clara turned to Cyrus and smiled. “Really?” She sounded relieved.

“Maybe if you have time you two can get together and make a list of what statements he needs?” Martin asked hopefully.

Kyle turned to Cyrus and their eyes met in shared humor. Kyle leaned forward and for a second Cyrus thought he was going to kiss him in front of the others. Kyle cleared his throat. “I’ll leave you to it.” He headed for the door and Martin stepped out after him.

“Actually, Kyle, I need your signature.” Their voices faded and then Cyrus felt awkward. He hadn’t spoken to Clara since she had outed him as a mar-wolf. He felt a hand on his arm and turned.

“I wanted to apologize,” she said softly. “We’re all a little overprotective of Kyle after the mess his uncle made, and what he came back to.”

“I can’t blame you for that,” Cyrus said honestly. “I did intend to tell him as soon as he got me far enough away from my old pack.”

“But it didn’t quite work out like that?” She nudged his shoulder and smiled.

“I didn’t even know—” Then he realized who he was talking to and blushed furiously. He was not about to talk about his heat with her.

Clara tried and failed to smother another smile. “I’m a pack mother,” she said. “There’s nothing you can say that I won’t have already heard, and mar-wolves can definitely go into heat.”

“They can?”

She nodded. “It’s odd if that was your first one unless you’d never met another alpha before.”

Cyrus considered that. She said alpha, not mate. He tried to think back. “To be honest I don’t think I ever did. I looked after my mom for a very long time, then dad had an accident, and after that my brother wouldn’t let me go anywhere.”

“It explains why you were so late in starting your first heat.”

“Isn’t that the same with omegas though?” Cyrus asked cautiously. He knew that meeting their mate often triggered a heat in an omega, but not necessarily a first one. He’d thought that was why he’d gone into heat. Meeting Kyle.

“It’s very similar certainly,” Clara agreed. “The only difference is that a mar-wolf’s heat can be triggered by any powerful alpha, not just a mate. It also has the same affect on an alpha.” Sheshrugged. “A little like a false positive if you like. Because the pheromones are there, but not the bonding.”

Cyrus seemed to go endless seconds without the need to inflate his lungs. Clara patted his shoulder. “I think that’s why mar-wolves got such an unjust reputation in the beginning. Because the mating bond didn’t exist, they could have sex with as many people as they wanted.” She flushed a little. “That is…I didn’t mean to imply—” But Cyrus made his lips form a smile even if his heart wasn’t behind it.

“That’s okay. To be honest I’m glad someone knows all this. I haven’t had anyone to ask.”

“The scar will fade as well. It will take a few weeks, but you won’t be stuck with it forever,” she added gently.

“That’s good,” he said, quietly managing to force the words out.

“Now,” Clara said brightly. “Can we go through the documents you need?” Cyrus quickly listed the dates he’d jotted down and Clara went to work. He excused himself and fled to his bedroom.

What did he do?

They weren’t bonded?

That was the opposite of what Kyle assumed. Why he said even if Cyrus couldn’t give him the pups he wanted they would still have to stay together, but now he wasn’t forced into that. Kyle could take a proper omega, a whole one, someone who could help him build this pack into the family he was intending. At least Cyrus didn’t have to hang around and watch it happen. He let a couple of tears fall because it would have been exactly the sort of family he wanted.

He took a deep breath. He was going to finish the downstairs room. He was going to make sure the pack run on Saturday was amazing, and he was going to ask Marnie for the number for the Shifter Rescue people.

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