Page 13 of His Place in the World
“We’ll see what happens in a few days, then.”Angus’s smile was tense.“But I’ll be fine with a pair of jeans and a few t-shirts.I’m not here on vacation, after all.I’m here to talk things out with Del and continue working on the auctions and our plan.I can do that from here as well as I can from Wakefield, since I have my computer with me.”He looked at Angela.“I can also keep an eye on the security system and even train someone else from here.You’ll have to choose that person, but once you do, have them contact me.”
Angela opened her mouth, no doubt to protest, but Cam hooked his arm around hers and pulled her back toward his office.“See?He’s already thought of everything.The Wakefield pack will be fine, at least for a few days.Once they decide what they want to do, we can fix the rest.”
Del had no doubt Cam was leaving him and Angus alone on purpose.He was nervous, but he needed answers, and he was glad to have the opportunity to get them.
“It seemed like me being your mate is complicating your life,” he murmured, looking at Angus.
Angus beamed at him.“Are you kidding me?You being my mate is everything I could have hoped for.”
Angus’s answer startled a chuckle out of Del.“But you don’t know me.Maybe I’ll leave the toothpaste open on the sink the entire night.Maybe I don’t put my dirty socks in the wash.”Del did all those things, and he was pretty sure Angus would find them annoying.
To Del’s surprise, Angus leaned closer and kissed his cheek.“I have no doubt we can drive each other nuts and that we will eventually.But I was thinking about a way to move out of the Wakefield pack and possibly in with the Rosewood pack, and you dropped in my lap.It doesn’t matter how nuts you drive me.I’ll always be grateful for that.”
“Why did you want to move away from Wakefield?”Del was terrified that someone was hurting Angus, even though they’d just met each other.He shouldn’t care about this man as much as he did already, but knowing what he did about mates, he understood why he felt that way.
Angus shrugged.“It’s never been a home.Angela took me in, and I’ll always be grateful for that, but I want more in my life than just surviving and helping the Wakefield pack.I want a real home, friends, and a family eventually.That never happened in the years I was with the Wakefield pack, but maybe it will now.”
The thought of having a family with Angus made Del panic, but he could tell Angus wasn’t saying they needed to do it now.He was slightly older, so maybe he was more ready than Del to start a family, but Del suspected he wouldn’t push.That didn’t seem to be the kind of person Angus was, and besides, they had many things to sort out before they could talk about children or whatever having a family meant to Angus.
Del cleared his throat and offered Angus his hand.“I guess I should introduce myself.My name is Del, and I’m twenty.As I told you before, I’m human, and I just moved in with the Rosewood pack because my brother found his mate here.”Del felt slightly stupid introducing himself like this, but Angus appeared delighted and shook his hand.
“I’m Angus, and I’m twenty-six.I’m a Pegasus shifter, one of the rare shifters I’m sure you’ve heard about.I’ve been with the Wakefield pack for close to five years now, and it’s time for me to move on, hopefully with you.”
Del’s mouth was dry.“Maybe.I’m going to need time, though.Moving in with shifters was confusing enough, and I’ll admit I have no idea what to do with you.”
Angus was still holding Del’s hand, and he squeezed Del’s fingers.“That’s perfectly fine with me.I don’t expect you to know what you want right away.I don’t even know whatIwant.We’ll take things slow and see where they lead us.”
That was all Del could have hoped for, and he was glad Angus was giving it to him.Knowing he had a mate was confusing, but Del didn’t have to deal with the knowledge on his own.He could talk to his father, to Doyle, who would understand it better, and of course, to Angus.They’d find a way to make it work.
And didn’t that mean that Del was ready to give Angus a chance already?
Chapter Three
“Good morning.”
Angus looked up from his computer screen, blinking at Toby.It took him a second to understand what the alpha mate had said, and when he did, he grinned.Toby didn’t seem offended that he hadn’t saidgood morningback yet.If anything, he appeared amused as he sipped from his cup of coffee while leaning against the kitchen counter.
“Good morning,” Angus said.
Toby smiled over his cup of coffee.“I wasn’t sure you’d heard me.I’ve been in the kitchen for several minutes, and you haven’t noticed.I even got myself coffee.”
“Sorry about that.I was in the middle of something.”
“You’re always in the middle of something.”
That much was true.Angus had moved in with Cam and Toby and was currently living in one of their guestrooms.When he’d decided to stay with the Rosewood pack for a while to get to know his mate, he hadn’t been sure where he would be staying.He didn’t think staying with Del was a good idea, especially after discovering Del lived with his father and his younger sister.He wanted to get to know his mate, but immediately sharing a home with him hadn’t felt like the best idea.They’d do so eventually, but it was way too soon, especially since Angus wasn’t used to living with the Rosewood pack.
Thankfully, Cam had thought of everything.As soon as Angela had agreed that Angus could stay, he’d offered one of his guestrooms, pointing out that this was why he had them and that Angus would be able to come and go as he pleased as long as he didn’t bother him and Toby too much.
Angus had no intention of bothering them.Between Del and his job, he had more than enough things keeping him busy.He’d barely even seen Cam and Toby since he’d moved in with them, and he’d been here several days.
Toby pushed away from the counter and came to stand behind Angus.He leaned forward and peered at the screen, and Angus let him.Toby might as well be an extension of Cam.He knew everything there was to know about what they were working on, and, like Angus, he was a rare shifter.He’d been taken from his home when he was young, kept as a healer by a gang, and had only been rescued after the Rosewood pack had found his brother.Angus had heard all about Toby’s story during his first dinner with him and Cam, and he was still in awe.
Most rare shifters shared stories of pain and fear.Toby’s story wasn’t any different, and it made Angus feel close to him.Maybe he shouldn’t feel like that, but to him, it was one more reason he should move in with the Rosewood pack permanently.
But that wasn’t something he could afford to think about right now.
Angus already knew it was what he wanted.Things with Del still felt awkward and unsteady, but that was only because they barely knew each other.One of the conditions Angela had given Angus to stay with the Rosewood pack was that he wouldn’t stop working, and he didn’t want her to call him home, so that was what he’d been doing.He was with Del every second Del wasn’t involved with college or his family.The rest of the time, Angus was on his computer, trying to find out more about the auctions.
