Page 6 of His Place in the World (Legendary Shifters #9)

Angela narrowed her eyes at him. “But Angus isn’t your pack member.”

“It doesn’t mean I won’t welcome him for as long as he needs. Clearly, one of them will have to move to be with the other if that’s what they decide they want. I don’t know Angus’s situation with your pack, but I know Del, and I’m sure he’d be more comfortable here, surrounded by his family.”

But Angus couldn’t say the same because he didn’t have a family. He didn’t even have friends in Wakefield.

He needed to say something before Angela told Cam he was looking forward to going home to Wakefield.

“There’s no one waiting for me at home,” he said.

“I have no family in Wakefield, and I’ll be more than happy to accept your offer and stay, at least until Del and I have talked and made decisions,” he said quickly.

Angela looked like he’d betrayed her, and maybe he had. Maybe she felt like he was sleeping with the enemy, so to speak, even though both packs were allies.

But they hadn’t been allies long. The Rosewood pack had always been much smaller, and Angela had never seen a need for them when it came to keeping her pack safe. Things were slowly changing, and Angela never did anything that didn’t benefit the pack.

It had to be exhausting.

Losing Angus wouldn’t benefit the Wakefield pack, but Angus didn’t care. It had never been home, just a place to stay, where people would keep him safe because they were supposed to. He wanted more than that. He wanted emotions and feelings, to make friends and have a family.

And all of that was within his reach.

Cam seemed delighted. “It’s decided, then,” he said, pointedly looking at Angela.

“And, of course, it’s not permanent. It won’t be until they come to us and tell us what they’ve decided.

I’ll keep him safe, though. If that’s what you were worried about, Angela, you shouldn’t be.

I realize my pack is much smaller than yours, but my pack members aren’t any less fierce, and we’ve been doing a good job protecting our rare shifters. We’ll do the same for Angus.”

“You’re a rare shifter?” Del asked.

There was so much they needed to talk about. Angus didn’t even know where to start or if they should do it now. “I’m a Pegasus shifter,” he told his mate.

Del frowned. “That’s a horse, right?”

“With wings. Our cousins, unicorn shifters, are more famous, but we exist, too.”

“Not being famous isn’t a bad thing,” Del murmured.

Angela suddenly grabbed Angus’s arm. “I need to talk to you,” she said. “If you’ll excuse us,” she told Cam and Del before dragging Angus down the hallway.

Angus’s mouth went dry. He already knew what she wanted to tell him, but he wasn’t going back to Wakefield, dammit. It might mean it didn’t have a home, but he suspected that would change soon.

“What are you doing?” Angela asked, keeping her voice soft so Cam and Del wouldn’t hear her.

“This is nothing against you,” Angus told her.

“It sure feels like it is,” she hissed. “What am I supposed to think of this? You didn’t hesitate to accept Cam’s offer to move out of the Wakefield pack and become a Rosewood pack member.”

“That’s not what he offered.”

“But it is what will happen in the end, isn’t it? You’re not coming back to Wakefield, not permanently, anyway. Whatever you’re saying, we both know that’s the truth.”

Angus had to look away. He’d never wanted to hurt her, but he needed to do what was best for him, not for her or the Wakefield pack. “I’ll always be thankful to you and your pack for giving me a safe place to live,” he said.

“But not so thankful that you’ll stay with us and continue protecting us.”

“You have many other people who can help you protect the pack. Besides, it’s not like I did much. I just keep an eye on the security system and fix what needs to be fixed. You can find someone else to do that. You don’t need me, and you never have.”

“But you needed us.”

Angus understood why she was angry and maybe desperate to keep him.

She could find someone else to deal with the security system, but she’d have to train them.

Before Angus had arrived, it had been much more rustic, and he’d implemented many changes because he’d needed to feel safe.

It would be fairly easy to teach someone what to do, though.

It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but it was the truth.

He breathed in and out for a few seconds, trying to stay calm.

“I needed you, yes,” he confirmed. “I was alone, and if you hadn’t taken me in, I’d probably have been captured and auctioned like the people we’re trying to rescue.

I’ll always be grateful for what you did for me, and I’ll never forget it.

I’m not saying I’ll never come back, but you’re right when you say I plan to move to Rosewood permanently if I can.

It’s nothing against you, Angela, but I’ve never felt fully at home with the Wakefield pack. ”

“And you feel at home here?”

Angus looked at Del, who was standing with Cam and staring back, looking worried.

“Not yet, but I believe I could, in time.” As long as Del gave him and their bond a chance, Angus knew Rosewood could become his home.

Even if Del decided this was too much for him, Angus would be fine.

He’d finally found a place where he belonged, something he’d been yearning for his entire life.

He wouldn’t let anyone take that away from him—not Angela, not Del.

No one.

* * * *

Del couldn’t look away from Angus. He wished he could hear what Angus and his alpha were whispering to each other, but he was only human and entirely too far away.

“How are you feeling?” Cam asked.

“Like I was hit by a truck.”

“That’s what meeting your mate will do. I remember when I first met Toby. I didn’t expect it to happen, and I was stunned. Things went okay, though.”

Del chuckled. “Considering the two of you are together and in love, I’d say they did.”

“You and Angus can have that, too.”

It was almost impossible for Del to imagine it.

Before moving in with the pack, he’d never thought much about shifters.

He hadn’t had a reason to, and he’d needed to focus on college and helping his family.

After his family had moved in with shifters, he couldn’t avoid wondering about being a shifter’s mate.

And now, he’d found out he was.

He cleared his throat. “Thanks for offering all of this to Angus,” he said.

“Angus and I talked earlier, and I mentioned to him that he’d always be welcome here. I was surprised to find out he’s a rare shifter, but even if he hadn’t been, I would have offered the same.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t think he’s happy in Wakefield. Knowing he’s a rare shifter makes that more understandable, especially with what I know about the Wakefield pack.”

Del frowned. “Are they not a good pack?”

“That’s not what I said. Angela is a good alpha and does everything she can to keep her pack safe. There are many more Wakefield pack members than there are Rosewood, so her job is harder than mine.”

Del glanced at her. He still wasn’t sure what to think of her, but her behavior and Cam’s were incredibly different.

She was much more rigid, and there was no friendship between her and Angus, although maybe that was because of the situation.

To Del, though, it felt like her relationship with Angus was much more professional, while Cam’s relationship with every single pack member was that of a friend.

Everyone knew he was in charge, but he didn’t need to order people around or raise his voice for them to do what he asked.

“You expect Angus to want to become a Rosewood pack member eventually,” Del said.

“I do, and I expected it even before he realized you’re his mate.

I’ve only met him a few times, but he never seemed happy.

I understood what was happening when he mentioned the pack and how I made it a safe place for everyone.

If he wants to live with us, I’m more than okay with it.

The fact that you’re his mate will make things easier for him when it comes to the Wakefield pack.

Angela will probably still try to stop him, but doing so would mean keeping the two of you apart. ”

And from what Del understood, that was something most shifters wouldn’t do.

They viewed mates as a sign of fate and didn’t separate them. Del was sure that some shifters didn’t care about mates, especially when it came to other people’s mates, but that wasn’t a problem in the Rosewood pack.

Cam would give Del and Angus the time and space they needed to figure things out. He wouldn’t force them to stay apart or to be together. That was all Del could have hoped for, along with Angus moving in with the Rosewood pack, which was apparently happening.

Cam cleared his throat. “Angela, why don’t you come with me back to my office?

We can talk about how we’ll organize this.

I’m sure Angus wants more time with Del, so maybe he could stay here right away, and you could send someone back with his things?

Or I can send someone with you to pack what he needs and bring it back. ”

“I don’t need anything I can’t buy here in town,” Angus quickly said. It was almost as if he was afraid Angela would find a reason for him to go back and stay. “I’ll be fine for a couple of days.”

“You might need more than a couple of days to decide what you want to do,” Cam pointed out.

He moved toward Angus and Angela, and Del quickly went with him. He didn’t want to leave Angus alone with Angela.

“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 what I want. 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?