Page 5 of His Place in the World (Legendary Shifters #9)

But Angus didn’t leave. Instead, he continued staring at Del until Del was uncomfortable. Something was happening, but what?

“Angus?” the Wakefield pack alpha asked, making both Del and Angus turn.

Angus’s cheeks flushed. With his pale skin, it was very obvious, and Del found it endearing.

He’d noticed Angus right away in the office.

How could he not have? Angus was adorable, and his blue eyes had pulled Del in.

He had to be several years older than Del, but that wouldn’t stop Del.

Of course, the meeting wasn’t the best situation to get to know someone, which was why he’d stayed away from Angus.

He’d thought he’d have more time, but he’d been distracted by his brother, and now, it looked like Angus and his alpha were about to leave.

Angus turned his attention to her. “Yes?”

“We should head out. It’ll take us a few hours to get home, and the meeting is over.”

Del expected Angus to nod and go along, but instead, he stayed where he was. He looked around, seemingly searching for someone, although Del couldn’t have said who.

“Everything okay?” Cam asked as he stepped in from the side.

Angus looked relieved to see him. “I was thinking about what you said to me earlier,” he told Cam. “That offer is still open?”

Del felt he shouldn’t be part of this conversation, but there was nowhere for him to go. He supposed he could step out of the office entirely, but Toby was behind him, listening in. He’d get everyone’s attention if he tried leaving, which wasn’t something he wanted to happen.

“What are you talking about?” Angela demanded to know.

Angus didn’t even look at her. He was still staring at Cam, and his expression had turned slightly desperate. “I need to talk to you and Del,” he said.

Del frowned. He didn’t know Angus. Today was the first time they’d met, and he had no idea what the shifter would want to talk to him about.

“Angus?” Angela asked.

“To you, too, but to Del first. Please.”

“We need to go home. We don’t have a reason to stick around any longer,” Angela said. Her voice was harsh, as if she suspected something was happening.

Del kind of wished she’d say what it was, because he was still confused as hell.

To his surprise, Angus grabbed his hand and pulled him to the side. Del didn’t resist and was glad when Cam stepped in to stop Angela, who’d moved forward as if to stop Angus.

“Sorry about this,” Angus murmured.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, although I have to admit I’m a bit confused. I feel like something’s happening, but I have no idea what,” Del told him.

They didn’t go far, just outside the office.

Doyle was still there, and he stared at Del until Del nodded.

Then he winked and slipped into the office, leaving Del and Angus alone in the hallway.

People were just a few steps away, and Del could hear their voices, but at the same time, being so close to Angus made him feel like they were the only people in the world.

Angus let go of Del’s hand as if it had burned him and rubbed his palms on his thighs. He cleared his throat, swallowed, then cleared his throat again.

Why was he so nervous?

Del hoped he was about to get answers because he felt like he needed them soon. It was almost as if something was trying to jump out of his skin and reach for Angus, and he didn’t have an explanation for that—or anything else happening.

“Are you a shifter?” Angus suddenly asked. “Because you don’t smell like a shifter, and you’d already have reacted if you were one.”

“I’m human,” Del told him. “Can you please tell me what’s going on?”

“You’re my mate,” Angus blurted out.

Del’s brain froze. He felt like he couldn’t make sense of the words, even though he understood them perfectly.

He was Angus’s mate.

He’d seen Doyle with Marcus. He knew what being mates meant, and he’d even wondered if maybe a shifter out there would find him and tell him those words one day.

But not now. Not when he was only twenty and had just moved in with the Rosewood pack.

Dozens of reasons why this was a bad idea crossed Del’s mind. Dozens of reasons why this was the best thing in the world immediately followed. Del didn’t know where to start, but maybe he should say something, because Angus looked spooked enough to start running if Del didn’t.

Del opened his mouth, and while he had no idea what he was about to say, he didn’t have to think about it because Angela burst out of the office.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Her voice sounded like she was ordering Angus to explain, and she probably was. This was confusing for Del, but it had to be even more confusing for the people watching them. After all, Angus had dragged him out of the office even though they didn’t know each other.

Angus was still staring at Del. Del had no idea how to feel about his revelation, but he could tell he needed to tell Angus something.

So, he did. “I honestly don’t know how to feel about this, but I’m open to the possibility.

” This way, Angus would understand he’d need time to wrap his mind around the revelation but wasn’t rejecting him right off.

Or at least, Del hoped so.

Angus’s shoulders relaxed. “As long as you’re not rejecting me, I can deal with anything,” he murmured.

“Angus?” Cam asked. Unlike Angela, he sounded worried rather than angry. “Can you tell us what’s going on?”

Angus straightened his shoulders and turned to face the alpha. “I apologize for my behavior, but I was overwhelmed when I bumped into Del and realized he’s my mate.”

Cam’s frown turned into a wide smile, while Angela looked horrified.

“That’s not possible,” she said.

“Why not?” Angus asked. “I didn’t make a mistake. I was close enough to him to smell him, and I’m sure he’s my mate.”

Angela’s expression smoothed out. She seemed to have a lot of experience dealing with things she wasn’t happy with and acting as if she didn’t have feelings.

She stared at Del as if trying to read him. “Well, Angus is a member of the Wakefield pack. You’re welcome to move in with us so the two of you can be together,” she said.

Del’s first instinct was to tell her fuck no , but he kept the words in. He didn’t want to offend her, even though he didn’t like her much.

“Or Angus could move in with the Rosewood pack,” Cam said smoothly. “After all, Del just moved in with us, and this is where his entire family is. I’m sure you wouldn’t ask him to move again so soon and to leave his family behind. Besides, he’s going to college nearby. Rosewood is his home.”

“Wakefield could become his home. If he’s just moved here, he doesn’t have a lot holding him back.”

“As I explained, his entire family lives here.”

Del was glad Cam had his back, because there was no way he was moving to Wakefield.

He’d have said no even if he’d liked Angela, and that wasn’t true, although he wasn’t sure why.

He just knew that his place was in Rosewood, and he wasn’t going anywhere.

What that meant for him and Angus, he didn’t know, but he wouldn’t change his mind.

* * * *

Del hadn’t rejected Angus. That was the only thing Angus could focus on until Angela asked Del to move in with the Wakefield pack.

He’d half expected Del to say yes, and he could have kissed Cam when he’d intervened.

Apparently, Cam wanted Del to stay in Rosewood, which meant he expected Angus to move there.

Angus was more than happy to do that.

But Angela wasn’t happy. She was glaring at him as if he’d done this on purpose, and while he hadn’t, he had to admit that he might have if he’d had the opportunity.

As it was, he didn’t have to come up with an excuse to move out of the Wakefield pack and in with the Rosewood pack.

Del would be his excuse, or at least, he hoped so.

Angus had no idea what to think of any of this, and he could tell Del felt the same way.

They were both confused, and with Del being human, things would be harder for him.

Angus had always known that someday he might meet his mate.

He’d been prepared for that to happen since he was a teenager.

On the other hand, Del had probably imagined a future with a partner and children, all of them as human as he was.

And now, he’d been saddled with Angus.

Angus didn’t even know if Del was attracted to guys, for fuck’s sake.

Yet even if Del wasn’t, that wouldn’t be enough for Angus to change his mind.

Even if Del didn’t want to be with him, Angus would use him as an excuse to move.

They didn’t have to be together if it wasn’t something Del could deal with, although the thought broke Angus’s heart.

But whatever happened between them, Angus’s future was with the Rosewood pack. He was convinced of that.

He liked Angela, and he thought she liked him, too.

She’d given him everything he could have hoped for when he’d needed it, but he’d never fooled himself into thinking she truly cared about him.

His importance was in the skills he had as a hacker and what he could do for the pack, nothing more, nothing less.

Here in Rosewood, he’d be cherished as a pack member, a friend, maybe even family.

That was what he wanted—what he’d wanted all along.

“Angus’s home is with the Wakefield pack,” Angela said. “Where we should head back. I understand you’re overwhelmed, Angus, but surely you need some time to wrap your mind around this? Wouldn’t it be better for you to come home and give yourself some breathing room?”

Angus didn’t want to make her angry. He didn’t want her to hate him, and he suspected she knew he had no intention of ever living in Wakefield again. She sounded slightly desperate, although Angus was pretty sure he was the only one who could see that. He knew her much better than anyone else here.

Cam cleared his throat. “It’s understandable that both Angus and Del need time to deal with the situation, but maybe they could both do it here.”