Page 25

“Yeah. Liam is on his way up, and he’ll take you back down. That’s one of Rory’s brothers. He’s a good guy, so just trust him to get you down the mountain a ways.”

Fen walked with Jameson to the center of the village. “Can you tell me about where his brothers live? I hate going into civilization blind.”

Jameson snorted. “Civilization is sort of a strong word. They have a trading post. It’s at this bend in the river, and it’s pretty much where the human roads turn away from this side of the mountain. They’ve owned that land for ages, and they keep us safe from anyone who might want to build out this way. They’re surrounded by national forest and reserves, too.”

“Perfect.” That meant he could bring Rory back home on foot if he could handle it physically. Take him on his first run.

“So I guess this means that the mating bond is going well.”

Fen’s cheeks heated, but he nodded. “Very well, thank you, alpha.”

In fact, most everything seemed to be going well. Except that Rory was having trouble with the shifting.

Even that was more trouble with the believing that he could shift, that his wolf was more than spiritual.

Also, his mate was just determined that he had more things. It bothered Rory so much that he’d lost his home and things that were precious to him.

That, of course, made Fen adore Rory even more, but he did wish that his sweet lover would just relax and enjoy the mating process and the whole situation they were building together.

“Good. Good. I mean, all of a sudden, his wolf has popped out, so you’ve made more progress in a month or so than we’ve made in years.” Jameson gave him a glinting grin and clapped him on the back. “If you need help with him and his wolf, talk to Keegan. His mate, John, thought he was human when he came to us too.”

“Yes. Rory told me about that. He seems to have settled.”

“John?” Jameson’s smile went fond. “He did. But it was hard going to begin with.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” He settled in to wait, nodding when Jameson left and Tate, one of the alpha’s seconds came to wait with him. He supposed someone wanted to introduce him to Rory’s brother to make things easier.

It didn’t take long before an old truck came trundling up filled with supplies. A handsome man who was the spitting image of Rory hopped out, eyes just a little wide.

“Liam,” Tate started, standing to meet the man. Fen stood as well, brushing wood chips off his pants.

He wasn’t in any condition to meet Rory’s family. None at all.

“Hey. Hey, I guess you know I called Jameson? I have a bunch of stuff in the back of the truck. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I should load it now, unload it up here, just take it back down and then take it back up. I just didn’t know what to do.” The man’s eyes were wild, wide, and worried. “My brother—he’s turned into a wolf, and he is in the bed in my guest room, locked in, and I need to know what the fuck to do about it. I do not approve. What if he hurts himself?”

Someone was worried, but for Rory, not about Rory, and it made Fen smile. This was a brother, and Rory was loved.

“No problem. It won’t take us ten seconds to unload everything,” Tate said. “And then you can head back down there, and Fen won’t need anything when he’s on his way back with the Rory. They’ll run.”

“Run. Okay, well. So you’re Fen. You’re the one—” Liam pierced him with a glare. “This is all your fault.” Then about the time he was sure Liam was going to beat him to death, the man held out one hand. “I’m Liam. I’m Rory’s brother. I don’t approve of all of this nonsense. I need your help. I also think ninety percent of this stuff is for you.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Fen shook and grinned. “And I’m sure, on your list, there’s even more.”

Fen, Tate, and a few others unpacked. They could all stay in the common area until Rory got there and divvied it out however it needed to be divided.

He was chafing at the delay by the time they were done, but it heartened him to see Liam was too. He jerked his head at Fen. “Time to go.”

“Yes, please.” He slid into the truck, a weird feeling of unreality passing through him. Had it been that long since he’d ridden in a vehicle? He supposed it had. He almost offered to just shift and run along behind it.

They rode in silence for a while, then Liam glanced at him. “So Rory says you got shot?”

“I did. I was trying to avoid the pack… I could smell it, so I went high, up toward the tree line. And—” He shrugged. “I never saw it coming.”

“I’m surprised you weren’t drawn to the healer halfway between where you were shot and the pack. Niall is very strong.”

He blinked. “I just followed my gut. I suppose I was looking for my mate.”

“I guess, yeah.” Liam sighed. “No offense, man, but this is weird.”