Available [Marked 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (18 page)

“Just the check when you get a chance.” The man reached out and grabbed Bradley’s wrist, pulling him closer. A shot of adrenaline went through him along with a healthy dose of fear. “You know, the current administration might not be in power much longer. You might want to consider finding another Dominant to take shelter with when he’s gone. Not me, I’m straight. But I know some guys in another pack that would be more than happy to take on a pretty sub like you.”

Bradley yanked his hand back, rubbing his wrist against his jeans and resisting the urge to crack the wolf over the head with the coffeepot. “I’ll take my chances. What do you mean there might be a change in the pack? Like someone is going to challenge Mustang?”

The customer shrugged and smiled like he had a secret. “Who knows? Anything could happen.”

The tone made Ryan shudder. “I’ll be right back with your bill.” He turned and took off toward the front to print out his bill for the table. He had a bad feeling about all this.

* * * *

Mustang jostled the papers on the podium as he checked off the last on their discussion list for the evening, and Ryan checked his phone for the hundredth time. It was close to midnight, and Bradley still hadn’t texted him.

Regan elbowed him in the ribs. “
Yo, pay attention. Mustang is going to put your balls on a spit if you keep being so twitchy
.”

“
I can’t help it. Bradley should be home by now
.” He checked his phone again. Fuck. Why was he so on edge? His sub should get a proper vehicle and drive around like a normal person. Walking everywhere was ridiculous, and his motorcycle was dangerous. Not that Ryan would give his up, but still.

Regan’s laughter filled his mind as his brother struggled to keep it from manifesting in Mustang’s crowded meeting house. The converted, whitewashed barn was not the place to start rolling on the floor over Ryan’s newfound mother-hen attitude. “
Oh boy, you got it bad
.”

“
Shut up. I can’t wait for you to find your mate, bro. It’s going to be a trip watching you get all gooey over a male
.” He would take particular pride in his torture. Caring about another person was hell after all this time avoiding it. And he did care about Bradley. The submissive was more than he’d ever hoped for, and the way he let Ryan take their relationship slow was much appreciated. It didn’t matter that his instincts demanded that he move the sub into his space ASAP, Bradley let Ryan take his own sweet time about it. It would happen soon though. Very soon. He didn’t know how many more nights he could take without Bradley in his bed. It was lonely without him. However, until he explained to him what he’d learned from Mustang about Bradley’s heritage, he wasn’t going to move on it.

Regan grinned. “
Never gonna happen. I’m a free spirit and all that
.”

“
Oh it’ll happen, Re. When you least expect it, a mouthy sub is going to walk up to you and be like ‘here I am, take me home’ and I want to see how you deny him
.”

Mustang interrupted Regan before he could reply. “If that is all from my betas as well”—Mustang glared—“then we can call an end to the meeting.”

Ryan shifted uncomfortably.
Fuck
. They were going to get a lecture about paying attention again.

A lone voice rang out from the back of the room. “We still want to discuss the situation with the human admissions into the pack.”

Ryan tilted his head to see who was speaking. Alder had gotten to the meeting late as per usual and then waited to the end to kick up a fuss. Irritation flickered through him as a few of his buddies seconded the petition. It was the same group of six men that it had been for weeks now. They were really getting on his nerves.

Mustang’s eyes narrowed. “For the millionth time, Alder, we are not discussing this again. The pack put it to a vote. The vote was in the affirmative and I approved. We’re done discussing it.”

Alder huffed. “Well we should discuss it. Alpha Daines is threatening to challenge us for territory if we don’t deal with the issues at hand.”

Mustang growled. “And I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I will not be instructed on how to run my pack by a man who has kidnapped one of its members and nearly killed me in the process. Now, if you think Alpha Daines has it so right, Alder, you are welcome to go join his pack and leave mine. The meeting is adjourned.” A grumble went up from the interjectors but they eventually moved toward the exit.

The rest of the pack started dispersing, leaving Mustang, Ryan, Regan, and Mustang’s mate, Grayson, at the front of the room. Ryan made a mental note to check into Alder and his cronies later. He didn’t like how uppity he was getting. The man’s disagreement was fine but he was getting less accepting of Alpha’s decisions not more. They’d have to watch him.

“So when are you bringing your mate to the house for supper and the official meet and greet, Ryan?” Grayson asked. Ryan always found it a little disconcerting to have to look up to Mustang’s mate. The man may have been a submissive, but he towered over most of them.

Ryan shrugged. “After I tell him he’s actually one of us, I imagine. I’m supposed to talk to him about it over breakfast tomorrow. He’ll probably have a million questions he’ll need answered, and I’ll need your help to do it.”

“So plan on bringing him by on Sunday,” Mustang said, wrapping his arms around Grayson’s muscled waist. “We’ll make a nice grilled supper and show him around the grounds. I’ve already contacted the Circle, and they’re going to send out a specialist to see why he’s not shifting. The suppression had to have been painful as hell to make his wolf completely unnoticeable.”

Ryan nodded. “Yeah. If you’ll excuse me, I have to call Bradley. He should be home by now.”

“Oh before you run off, I meant to tell you. David called today to check in,” Mustang said as Ryan turned to leave.

Ryan frowned. “Why would he call to check in?”

Mustang shrugged. “He apparently saw your new mated status on the Circle’s site and thought to check up on you. He didn’t have your number anymore but wanted to call. He expressed some concern over rushing into a mating but I assured him that you are doing just fine. I found it a little suspicious.”

“Yeah, I can see why, especially given everything that has been going on lately. I’ll keep an eye out.”

Mustang waved him on. “See that you do.”

The group nodded, and he turned from them, walking toward the back paddock where the younger wolves were kept during a full moon. He dialed Bradley’s number from memory and listened to it ring.
Pick up your phone, boy. I hate worrying
.

“Hello?”

“Thank fuck. Why didn’t you text me when you got in?” Ryan snapped as a combination of irritation and relief filled him.

Bradley’s laugh on the other end said he wasn’t fazed by his growling. “I’m not home yet. I stayed a little longer at work than I expected. I’m almost to my place now.” He told him in quick succession about the incident with the customer and his veiled threat. Ryan frowned as he listened to it, the fear from earlier coming back to gnaw at his gut.

“You were probably talking to the man who tore up your apartment, sweet. Go there and stay there. I’m coming over.” Could it be David? Would he go so far as to harass his mate? It didn’t seem like something he would do but they hadn’t seen one another in years. Last he heard, David was happily mated. It didn’t make sense that he would be here in any capacity.
I don’t even know if it’s him. Don’t get worked up over nothing. It could be anyone
.

There was a pause and the sound of jangling keys on the other line. “Are you sure? I understand if you’re tired.”

“Better yet, let me come pick you up. I didn’t relish the prospect of sleeping alone anyway.” Ryan wanted to have his lover and his brother under the same roof, his lover because he worried and his brother so that he could have an extra set of senses to guard his mate.

“Okay. I can do that. To be honest, he really creeped me out.” The sound of a door closing was magic to Ryan’s ears. “I’ll pack what I need for school and work tomorrow and wait on you to call to come downstairs. It’s really cold tonight. You going to bring the car?” The car that Ryan and Regan shared wasn’t their preferred form of transportation, but they used it especially when it was near freezing like it was now.

“We drove it to Mustang’s. We’ll leave from here and swing by to pick you up. It’ll be about thirty or forty minutes. You call me if you see anything suspicious, all right?”

Bradley’s voice sounded warm when he spoke. “Yes, Sir. I’ll call you. Love you, Ry.”

His heart tripped over itself at the simple expression. He was a coward for not saying it back, but he couldn’t yet. It was too big, and he was too afraid of what it would mean if he said it so soon. He was just beginning to come to peace with the fact that he and Bradley were in a permanent relationship and really didn’t want to jump the gun. He still felt unworthy of Bradley’s love, and that was a big problem.

“Get a hold of him?” Grayson asked from behind him.

He half-turned, nodded. “Yeah I did.”

“Who is that?” Bradley asked.

“Grayson. I was a little worried, so he was checking to see if I found you.” He pulled the phone away from his mouth. “Can you tell Regan to meet me at the car?”

“Will do, Ryan,” Grayson said, patting him on the shoulder before turning from him and walking back over to the group of men who were quietly talking.

“I’ll let you go, Ry,” Bradley said, the sound of rustling came over the line like he was moving about his apartment. There couldn’t be a lot he had to grab. He didn’t have much left. He was still sleeping on a blowup mattress that Ryan had bought him, and the new clothes and things were still at Ryan’s house. “Call me when you pull onto my road.”

“Okay. See you in a bit. Bye.” They hung up, and Ryan stuck the phone in his pocket. He looked up and met the amused gaze of his brother. “Not a word.”

“Wasn’t gonna say a word,” Regan drawled.

* * * *

Ryan had never been more relieved to see home. Mustang was going in person to Denny’s to try and scent which wolves had been there most recently, and Regan was going to compile the list of people who hadn’t attended tonight’s meeting. He just hoped that the person following him around was found quickly. The man was getting bolder, and he didn’t want to risk Bradley. He was tempted to lock him in a tower or something.

“You two have fun. I’ll probably patrol the neighborhood before I crash, so I’ll see you two for breakfast in the morning,” Regan said as Ryan put the car in park.

Ryan raised his eyebrows. “Inviting yourself to breakfast, bro?”

“Hell yeah.” Regan smirked, not missing a beat. “Angry hoards couldn’t keep me away from your chocolate waffles, Ry.”

“Re…”

Regan opened his door and ducked out. “Tell him when you get him inside. Don’t wait till morning. You have all night.”

“Your brother is something else,” Bradley said from the backseat, a smile in his voice.

“He’s a pain in the ass,” Ryan rumbled. “Let’s get you inside, sweet. I don’t want you out in the cold too long.”

Bradley laughed at him. “I doubt I’m going to catch my death in the car that’s still warm. It’s a ten-minute walk from campus to work and another fifteen from work to home. I’m fine. What did you need to tell me?”

“Let’s go up to my room first.” Ryan opened his door and rolled out into the cold air. He opened the back door of the car and grabbed Bradley’s bag from the floorboards. He felt exposed outside and was itching to get his lover back where he would be safe.

“You know, I’m more concerned about you than me,” Bradley said, following him out. For the first time in Ryan’s memory, he locked the car and set the alarm. They never really had been scared that someone would break into the Mazda before.

Ryan took his lover’s arm with his free hand and dragged him up the sidewalk to the porch. “That’s a foolish assumption to make. It would be too easy to use a man’s mate against him in a hostile situation. It’s been done before, and it will be done again, I’m sure.”

Bradley swallowed visibly. “I didn’t think of that. It seemed to me he was just delivering a warning or something.”

“Could be,” Ryan allowed. He unlocked the door and beckoned his lover in. He really needed to get an alarm system installed. It was something he’d discuss with Regan when he got back from his jaunt around the neighborhood. Bradley pulled off his jacket and started unbuttoning his white work shirt. Or he could wait until morning. He closed the door behind them and locked it.

“What are you doing, sweet?” Ryan asked.

Bradley threw him a mischievous smile. “Getting naked, Sir. I did have a project in my performance art class that I want your help with.”

“I didn’t know you were taking performance art,” Ryan murmured, watching as Bradley unbuttoned another button on the stark white shirt. He needed to make this stop. He had to tell Bradley about his heritage, what it might mean to them.

“It’s an elective.” He gave him that mysterious smile again. “I really need the help with the research I’m doing. We’re not actually doing an in-class performance but I have to write a paper about what my performance would be and why.”