Page 31

Two weeks later

“What are you busy looking at?” Giorgio asked Faron as he wandered into the kitchen to find another cup of coffee. Faron’s and Patrick’s house in Australia was the perfect place to bring his little bird. Enda and Patrick had bonded instantly. Patrick was absolutely fascinated that Enda was a phoenix. But more than that, the two smaller men teased the bigger ones about their fear of spiders, and they spent an awful lot of time out in the garden looking for those darn kangaroos.

“They’ve finally found one.” Faron pointed out of the window. “You missed seeing Enda’s face when he saw that kangaroo for the first time. Classic shock, I tell you. I thought his eyes were going to pop out.” Faron frowned. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, though. I think they’re trying to coax it toward them.”

“What?” Giorgio hurried across to the window. “Do either of them know how badly those kangaroos can kick if they get upset?”

“You forget, my Patrick’s an empath,” Faron said. “He’ll know if that animal gets upset. Besides, could you imagine a kangaroo’s face if he caught a load of your Enda in fiery fury?”

“Good point.” Giorgio wasn’t sure he could watch that, though. He was doing his best to ensure Enda could explore the world at his own pace, but seeing Enda face off with a kangaroo that was bigger than him could seriously test his resolve. Turning away from the window, he rested his butt on the counter. “Life’s good for you here, I take it?”

Faron nodded. “Yeah. This place is remote enough to soothe my soul, but the township is not that far away, which satisfies Patrick. I had to completely renovate this kitchen, but the food Patrick cooks up makes that worth it. And the guest cabin you and Enda are staying in is new as well. Another plus point is that there are no wolf packs anywhere near here, which is great for times like the other night when most of us were here enjoying a barbecue. No neighborly fur to get ruffled. It’s a win-win in my book.”

“There’s something else, though, isn’t there?” Giorgio sensed that through their pack ties. Faron was hiding something. “Are you keeping secrets from your mate?”

“Not something that he won’t find out about sooner or later,” Faron whispered, looking around as if he was worried he’d be overheard. “Look, keep it to yourself, will you? I’m waiting for Patrick to tell me, but I think he’s pregnant.”

“Hey, that’s freaking great news.” Giorgio gave his packmate a huge hug before slapping him on the back because packmates don’t tend to get mushy with each other. But Giorgio had known Faron had been hoping for a child since Beau and Blue had theirs.

“Shh! Keep it down,” Faron said. “I don’t think Patrick’s realized it yet. I thought people who got pregnant spent all their time throwing up in the mornings. I know that’s what happened to Lord Hades, and Cain had the same problem as well. But Patrick, he’s not got any symptoms of anything.”

“Are you sure you’re right then?" Giorgio asked. “Maybe your hound’s got his wires crossed.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Faron said quickly. “I know that’s what’s happening with my little mate. He’s getting himself a little potbelly. It’s cute.”

“Are you sure it’s not just because he’s eating more of his own cooking?” Enda had filled out in the few weeks since they’d been together and had started traveling. He was looking healthy and happy and was letting his hair grow, which Giorgio loved.

“No, I know for a fact my Patrick is pregnant. I think he’s just waiting for the perfect time to tell me.”

“Hey, Enda and I can leave if you think Patrick’s going to set up a special romantic celebration or something like that. You know we wouldn’t want to get in the way of anything important.”

“No, you know my Patrick’s not like that,” Faron said. “If he wanted to say something, he would. Maybe he’s waiting for me to tell him. Oh, shoot, I hadn’t thought of that! What if he’s waiting for me to tell him – he knows my hound doesn’t miss much.”

Giorgio laughed. “For goodness’ sake, Faron. Are you still second-guessing yourself about what your mate wants after all this time?”

“You’ll be doing it yourself the first time you put your foot in it with your mate, and don’t go telling me you won’t because all of us hounds seem to do something silly at least once,” Faron said crossly. “We think we know what’s best for our mates. We think we do the right things for our mates, but sometimes…”

Giorgio wasn’t going to think about all the ways a hound could fuck up their mating. He and Enda were very happy together, and Giorgio was hopeful he’d bypassed the innate gene that seemed to cause his fellow packmates to do something ridiculous regarding their mates. “Maybe you should make him a ‘we’re pregnant’ cake,” he suggested. “Isn’t that what people do when they are celebrating something?”

“Patrick’s the one that does the cooking,” Faron said firmly. “I couldn’t frickin make a cake to save myself.”

“No, I probably couldn’t either,” Giorgio agreed. “But you could do this.” He clicked up a cake on a cake stand, and then he clicked up a pot of coffee because he was well aware that Faron wouldn’t be caught dead drinking tea, but then he added a plate full of biscuits as well.

“You can learn a lot from the British,” he said. “Admittedly, their teas are all not like this, but there are a number of little traditions they enjoy that I do, too. Why don’t we take this out and we can encourage our mates to come and sit with us before they get a hell of a kick from a kangaroo?”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” Faron peered at the icing on the cake. “Are you sure that you’re not making that for your own mate?”

“Nope.” Giorgio shook his head. “I’m extremely happy for you, but Enda’s still got a long way to go before that’ll happen. We’ve talked about it, he knows it’s a possibility, but for now...You know, he really didn’t have a childhood of his own, and while I’m not suggesting for a second he behaves like a child now, I do want to show him that life can be fun before we settle down with a little one.”

“That’s what Patrick and I did,” Faron said. “We traveled for over six months before we found this place, and Patrick said he wanted to live here full time.”

“That’s what Enda wants, too,” Giorgio admitted. “He figures that he’ll know when a place feels right and that will be our home. Maybe then, like your Patrick, Enda might consider increasing our family. But it’s not just Enda holding back.” He met his friend’s eyes. “I’m not in a rush, my friend. I saw a hell of a lot of shit when I was working before Enda came along. Having fun is a bit of a novelty, but I think he and I can enjoy it for a while, don’t you?”

“Yeah, you both deserve some fun times in your future.” Faron rubbed his hands together and then picked up the cake stand. “Let’s go and feed our mates, and maybe then he’ll tell us. I’m not sure about the wording on that cake though.”

“What do you mean?” Giorgio said. “That’s a perfectly lovely cake.”

“You’ve written on it, ‘we’re having a boy.’ How do you know the baby’s a boy?”

Giorgio had a look at the cake again. “I don’t know. You just said he was pregnant. Does your hound know?”

Faron shook his head. “Couldn’t the cake say something like ‘we’re having an it’?”

“That doesn’t sound like the sort of thing people put on a cake,” Giorgio said. “It sounds a bit…off-putting? The ‘it’ you’re referring to is a baby.”

“Oh, yes.” Faron mock shuddered. “I can hear Patrick’s lecture over something like that now. He’s learned a lot from Blue.”

They both laughed. Blue was another mate with very definite ideas, but Beau adored him and their child. The feeling was mutual.

“How about we put ‘we’re having a baby’? No gender implied.”

“That’ll work.” Giorgio zapped the cake again. “How’s that?”

“It looks good.” But Faron frowned again. “Are you sure this is the right idea?”

“How would I know? I’ve barely been mated five minutes. You know your Patrick better than I do. Does he like cake?”

“He loves cake.” Faron seemed to dither again for a moment and then said, “We’ll take it out there. Maybe he won’t even read the icing. I’ve never noticed him reading a cake before.”

“Well, there you go. A cake and tea afternoon. No reading required unless Patrick wants to.” Giorgio was keen to get outside and see his mate. “Are you happy now? Can we go and eat this cake?”

/~/~/~/~/

“Why haven’t you told him yet?” Enda had so much fun with his new friend Patrick, but he could never imagine keeping anything from his mate. They were outside, watching a kangaroo, who Enda thought was a fascinating animal – definitely different from anything he’d seen before. But he was more concerned about Patrick. “Isn’t that what partners do when they’re expecting?”

“Normally, yes.” Patrick nudged him with his shoulder. “I promise you I’m not being mean. Faron is the best mate I could ever hope for, and I love him with all that I am.”

Frowning, Enda asked, “Isn’t that all the more reason to tell him?”

“I would, but you see, when Faron and I first got together, he had this idea in his head about how matings were meant to go and all that sort of thing. It caused us a few problems at the beginning there, but we worked it out. I mean, I told you about the wendigo story, didn’t I?”

“Yes,” Enda said quickly. “I don’t need to hear about that again. My Giorgio was out there helping fight that thing, too. Gives me the shivers just thinking about it.”

“Sorry, you’re right. But see, in that instance, the hounds were all so competent, and confident, and strong. They are really good at what they do, but in some ways…” Patrick trailed off and then added, “Faron already knows I’m having a baby. His hound knew within a few days of me realizing I was pregnant. He’s waiting for me to tell him.”

Tilting his head sideways, Enda looked at his friend. “I don’t understand. Are you saying that you know you’re pregnant, and Faron knows you’re pregnant, but neither of you has said anything about it to the other one?”

“Yes.” Patrick nodded eagerly. “See, you get it. It sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? But to be honest, at the moment, Faron is so much fun to tease. He’s waiting for me to throw up in the morning, or wanting to rest every five minutes. Did you know, the other morning he brought me toast with honey in bed for breakfast?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Well, for one thing, I’m the one who always cooks him breakfast. But here’s the thing. When I asked him why he did it, Faron just said that sometimes certain people enjoy toast with honey for breakfast.”

“Certain people? Who’s certain people?” Sometimes, the English language sounded strange to Enda’s ears.

“Exactly.” Patrick roared with laughter. “He meant pregnant people, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. That’s what I mean, this is just so silly. Why doesn’t he say anything? He’s the one with the super senses.”

“Perhaps he doesn’t know how to?” Enda glanced over his shoulder and saw Faron and Giorgio coming out of the back door of the house. “Ooh, maybe Faron’s going to tell you now. He’s got a cake. Does he usually bring you cake?”

“No.” Patrick risked a quick look over his shoulder. “Oh, my goodness. He’s going to tell me. I can feel his nervous energy through our bond.”

“Tell him first,” Enda urged. “Don’t put him through that if he’s nervous about it.”

“You’re right.” Patrick patted his arm. “Thank you.” He turned and yelled across the yard. “Hey, Faron. I think I’m pregnant. Did you know anything about that?”

Enda watched in amazement as the cake stand Faron had been carrying went flying into the air. “Yes! Yes! Yes! I love you so much.” It was like a scene in a movie – Patrick running toward Faron and Faron running toward him. They came together, Faron picking Patrick up and kissing him with enough heat, Enda felt the need to turn his head.

He waited by the fence as Giorgio came over to him, his bulk blocking Enda’s view. “Did you tell Patrick to tell him?” he murmured.

Enda nodded. “I thought they were being silly, and I was worried about them. Patrick already knew that Faron knew, but neither of them said anything.” Looking up into his mate’s dark eyes, he said, “I’d hate it if you and I were like that, especially about something so important.”

“Please don’t ever worry about them, or about you and me.” Giorgio’s hand was warm on his cheek. “Patrick and Faron are already at a point where they can tease each other or act a bit silly and it doesn’t matter in the end. You saw how happy Faron is now Patrick has said something.”

“Was that happy or horny?” Enda giggled.

“Probably both. Just remember, babe, nobody ever gets things right a hundred percent of the time. That’s impossible. But the wonderful thing about having a mate is that you have that certainty deep inside that no matter what happens, the two of you will always be together. I know it’ll take a while for you to trust in that, but it will happen.”

“I trust you.” Enda made sure he was still meeting Giorgio’s eyes. “I trusted you from the first moment I saw you in the warehouse. I know deep in here” - he put his hand on Giorgio’s chest - “that’ll never change.”

“That’s my heart,” Giorgio teased as he rested his hand on Enda’s chest. “This one is yours.”

“No, they are ours together, just like you and me. Can’t you feel it?”

“Oh, babe, you know I do.” And later, Enda decided that Giorgio was definitely the hotter hellhound when it came to kissing under the Australian sun. Although, he wasn’t sure the kangaroo was impressed. It was difficult to tell with kangaroos.

The End