Stevens-Journey [Brac Pack 20] (5 page)

“I wouldn’t worry too much about him. We have a whole community to keep an eye on your cousin.”

“I’ll kick his ass myself if he starts any shit.” Roman shook his head. “I can’t understand how someone so irresponsible carries our family name.”

Maverick grew serious. “You know my pack as well your family will protect you and your mate. You may not be Timber wolf, but we have your back.”

“I appreciate that.” Packs were important in the shifter world.

They helped protect a shifter and his mate. Roman had his family and Dommy, but he had a feeling Dommy wasn’t much help. His brothers would kill anyone who came near Steven, of that he had no doubt. But Dommy was an instigator and a shit-starter. Half the time Roman wanted to walk away and leave his cousin in the trouble he had gotten himself into. But he was family. That’s why he hired him for this job.

Roman just hoped he hadn’t made a huge mistake.

“Just remember that you have shifters all around you that will help if you need it.” Maverick stood and stretched. “I have to head over to the Eastern Pack. My daughter needs to see her mother.”
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“Your daughter? I thought this whole pack was gay?” Roman stood as he stared at the Alpha.

“We are. It’s a long story. She pretty much adopted me and my mate, Cecil, as her fathers, although her brother and his mate live here. Her mom was in a car accident seven years ago, but even with her therapy, she hasn’t fully recovered. They don’t think Olivia ever will. She asked me if Melonee could live here. How could I say no?

The little brat has me and the entire pack wrapped around her pinky.” Roman smiled at the Alpha. Although most shifters craved cubs, he wasn’t one of them. He would spoil his mate rotten instead.

Maverick’s offering of his pack meant a lot to Roman. He felt better knowing a whole community had the Lakelands’ back.

“Speaking of the brat.” Maverick chuckled as a brown-haired doll came running out of the kitchen door. Maverick stooped down as Melonee jumped on his back. “Are you ready to go see your mom?” Melonee nodded. “Cecil is waiting in the truck.”

“Call me if you have any questions.” Maverick turned to Roman.

“And if you have any problems as well.”

“I’m Melonee.” The girl held her hand out. “I think my dad has forgotten his manners in his old age.”

“Roman.” He chuckled as he shook her small hand.

“I’ll give you old.” Maverick huffed as he walked around the side of the house. Roman walked next to them as they made their way to the driveway.

“Let me know when you get the blueprints. I can have my crew out here to get things started.” Roman waved to Maverick and Melonee as he climbed into his truck. He watched Melonee jump down from Maverick’s back as she got into the backseat. The Alpha leaned into the passenger side window and kissed his mate before walking around to the driver’s side.

Roman was dying to get back to Steven. He wanted to tell Steven they were mates and claim him. Steven deserved to be loved. He was so short, with stunning green eyes. His shiny black hair lay on his thin
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shoulders, making his face light up every time he looked at Roman.

His cock stayed hard around the little imp. He thought he was going to throw Steven over the bench seat this morning when he smelled his mate’s arousal in the truck. It took everything in him to keep his hands on the steering wheel.

Maverick had warned him and his family about rogue vampires and wolves. Roman knew about vampires. Christian’s coven was close to the city. Dommy had gotten into beefs with a few of the vampires. Roman swore his cousin had a death wish. He turned the air conditioner on as he drove back to town. It was supposed to be a scorcher today.

Roman wondered how Steven’s counseling appointment was going. He didn’t like the fact that his mate was confiding in someone else, but he wasn’t a professional to help Steven make sense of what had happened to him. He itched to go to the city and beat the hell out of David. To show the man what it felt like to be helpless.

Roman parked his truck in front of the bike shop and shut the motor off. He decided to get lunch for him and Steven. His mate should be done with his appointment soon. Roman wasn’t sure what his mate liked to eat.

He crossed the street and grabbed the diner door, stepping into the air-conditioned diner. It was half full with customers who were eating and chatting away. Roman stepped up to the counter and took a seat.

“Hey, Keata.” He smiled at the man behind the counter working the smoothie machine.

“Hi, Roman.” He smiled back as he made a vanilla smoothie.

Keata handed the drink over to the waiter, Tangee, who had a tattoo of flames around his neck, before he walked over to Roman.

“What can I get you?”

Roman was always taken aback at Keata’s feminine beauty. The only thing was, Keata was a man. “I need two lunch specials to go.”
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“Roger that.” Keata smiled as he walked over to the window and called out Roman’s order to the cook. Keata never wrote anything down. The man had an amazing memory.

“Where’s Cody?” Roman asked as he accepted a glass of iced tea from Keata.

“He and Frank are in office ordering more food.” The cook, George, brought his and Steven’s lunch out in Styrofoam containers. “Two lunch orders to go.” He placed them on the counter. “How’s it hangin’, Roman?” the cowboy asked as he leaned against the counter.

“Limp and left.” He chuckled.

“Sounds personal.” He smiled. “Ordering for two now, I see.

Who’s the lucky person?”

Roman grabbed his wallet and pulled out what he owed.

“Someone special.” He thanked George and Keata as he walked out of the diner. It was a beautiful and sunny day. The heat index was rising from this morning. Roman wiped his forehead off with the back of his hand as he walked over to the resource center.

The central air hadn’t been set up yet, but it was a few degrees cooler in there. “Has Steven made it back yet?” Roman asked Taylor as he set the lunches on the makeshift desk.

“Thomas called and said Steven was ready to be picked up. Your cousin was over here, so he volunteered to go get him,” Taylor said as he stocked information pamphlets into clear holders on a table by the large window.

Fuck!

After what happened this morning, he didn’t want Dommy anywhere near Steven. Roman quickly walked from the center to his truck, pissed off beyond words that his cousin was anywhere near Steven.

He jumped into his truck and drove to the recreation center that sat on the edge of town. Roman snarled when he saw Steven standing in the parking lot, backing away from Dommy as he shook his head.

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Roman slammed on the brakes and jumped out, stalking toward his cousin. “What the fuck is going on here?” he demanded.

Dommy spun around, smiling at Roman. He knew that damn smile. It never led to anything he wanted to hear. “I was just trying to give Steven a ride back to the resource center.” Roman glanced over at his mate. Steven looked scared as hell and ready to bolt. He would deal with Dommy later. “Come on, Steven, I’ll take you back.”

Steven shot across the parking lot, his feet moving quickly as he reached Roman’s truck and jumped into the passenger side.

Roman turned back to his cousin, his lip pulled back into a snarl.

“Stay the fuck away from him.”

Dommy’s eyes were flat, cold, and passionless as he continued to smile. “Why? He gave himself so freely to me before. I know him from the city. David used to share Steven. He didn’t complain at the time. I don’t know why he’s acting so stuck—” Roman wrapped a hand around Dommy’s throat, cutting off anything else his cousin might say to him. “I don’t give a fuck what happened before. Stay the hell away from him. Are we clear?” Dommy nodded, narrowing his eyes at Roman as his hand left his cousins throat. “What the hell is wrong with you? I’m your fucking family and you are choosing some whore over me?” Roman had to get away from Dommy before he really did kill him. “Watch your mouth.” He pointed at the man before he walked toward his truck. “Or I’ll forget we’re related and kill you.” Roman slammed his truck door closed, staring at the rec center for a moment as he tried to calm himself down. There was no way Steven slept with Dommy, was there? It tore at his heart to think of Steven lying underneath his cousin. The image sickened him.

Roman tore out of the driveway, getting back onto the main road, as he headed back to the resource center. It ate at him what Dommy had said. Truthfully, Roman really didn’t know Steven that well.

Could it be true?

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“Thank you for coming to get me.” Steven worried his hands in his lap. Roman could feel Steven stealing glances at him.

“Did you and Dommy sleep together?” He ground the words out between his teeth.

“No!” Steven threw his hands up at Roman. “I never slept with him. I swear.”

Roman could hear the fear and tears in Steven’s voice. Was it an act? Roman wasn’t sure what he should believe. He decided to trust his mate. Steven was, after all, the man he was going to spend the rest of his life with. He hoped Steven wasn’t bullshitting him. It would kill him if he was.

Roman blew out a heavy breath. “I’m sorry. Dommy said you two slept together, and it made me lose my mind.”

“But why? We’re just friends, I think. Why would it bother you?

It’s not true, but I don’t understand why you care so much.” Steven slouched down in his seat, looking, for all the world, defeated.

How did he tell this human that they were mates without sounding like he needed a rubber room? “I can explain it to you when we get home. I’ll need more than five minutes,” Roman said as he pulled in front of the resource center. He wanted to kill Dommy for putting doubts in his head about Steven. One look at the black-haired beauty would tell anyone that Steven wasn’t worldly. Sure, he had gotten into a bit of a mess with his ex-boyfriend, but that didn’t make him a whore.

The word echoed in his brain, making him pissed all over again.

Why couldn’t Dommy grow up?

“Thank you for the ride.” Steven reached for the door. Roman unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over the center console, stopping Steven from jumping out.

“Wait.” He gently curled his fingers around Steven’s arm. “Are we cool?”

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Steven turned his gorgeous green eyes up at Roman, a look of longing reflecting in the depth of them. “I’m confused as hell. I don’t know what to think right now.”

Roman could understand that. It must be frightening as hell to run from an abuser to people you didn’t even know. Now he was asking Steven to deal with his confession without any explanation. Roman didn’t want to start their relationship off with tension between them.

“I never asked. How did your appointment go today?” Steven sat back slowly, his face changed from hesitation to a smile. Roman’s cock perked right up at such a beautiful sight.

“Better than I expected. I thought I would have to look at ink blots or something. I like Thomas.”

Roman chuckled. “It’s just counseling. They save the ink blots for the really insane.” He could see Steven relaxing. “Did it help?”

“The counseling? Yeah, I think it did. Although David has only struck me twice, I—” Steven’s eyes widened as he curled his lips in and looked out of the truck window.

“You can talk to me, Steven. I promise not to repeat anything or judge you.” He wanted to pull Steven into his lap and comfort him, but he knew Steven wouldn’t welcome that right now.

Steven bit his bottom lip, glancing down at the seat. ”I’d like to, Roman. But I’ve been burned once.”

Roman could fully understand where Steven was coming from.

“Just remember the offer is always open.” He patted Steven’s arm.

“Come on, I bought us some lunch.”

Steven jumped down from the truck, closing the door as he met Roman on the other side. “I can’t take it from you. I don’t have any money to pay you back.” Steven lowered his head as he shoved his hands into his pockets and kicked the toe of his shoe on the sidewalk.

Roman tugged at Steven’s arm until his mate removed his hand from his pocket. He grabbed Steven’s hand, pulling him toward the resource center. “I don’t want to have any more talks about money. If
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I buy or do something for you, it’s because I want to, not because I’m looking to get paid back. Now wait right here.”

“I don’t feel right letting you do stuff for me,” Steven grumbled as Roman walked into the resource center and grabbed their Styrofoam lunches.

“Is Steven with you?” Taylor asked.

“Yeah, I’m talking him over to the gazebo for lunch.” Roman shot back out of the door, seeing that Steven had stayed put. He held the plastic bag up. “Hungry?”

“Starved,” Steven said, rubbing his flat belly.

Roman laughed, pointing over to the gazebo. “Then let’s go eat.” He grabbed Steven’s hand again as they walked over to the park. The humidity was high, but there was a nice breeze blowing by that helped.

Roman sat the containers on the bench and then pulled them out of the bag. “I wasn’t sure what you ate, so I got two specials. I think it was burgers and fries.” Roman cursed when he realized they didn’t have anything to drink. “I’m going to run over to the diner for sodas.

What would you like?”

Steven sat on the bench, looking at the lunches with hunger in his eyes. “Anything is fine.”

Roman ran across the street, making quick work of getting the drinks before crossing back over to join Steven. “Coke’s okay?”

“Yep.” Steven held his hand out, Roman handing him his drink and a straw. Steven had set everything up, including opening the ketchup packets and giving Roman a large pile of ketchup to dip his fries in.

“Thanks.” He nodded at his food as he took a seat on the wooden bench. He took a sip of his soda, watching his mate closely.

“Thanks for buying.” Steven held his burger up before taking a seat on the gazebo floor. He crossed his legs, setting the container of food next to him on the floor. Roman slid down as well, popping his straw into the top of his drink.