Lachlan finished washing up then headed to bed. He shucked his clothes before getting under the blankets. As he lay there staring up at the ceiling, he made a promise to himself. If Garrett behaved well and didn’t try and boss him around, he’d reward his mate. It wouldn’t be too much of a hardship being as he wanted Garrett just as badly. They hadn’t made love in over three weeks. Something had to give.
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A few days had passed, and things were going smoothly. Lachlan and Garrett had shared a stolen kiss here and there and held hands every chance they got. The little innocent touches reminded Lachlan of when he was younger and tiptoed his way around his journey of sexual self-discovery. It was new and exciting and a bit frightening.
Lachlan had grown and matured quite a bit since his days as a clueless youth, but age didn’t calm his frazzled nerves whenever in close proximity to his mate. The way Garrett’s eyes would flash to his and the way he smiled drove Lachlan crazy with longing. It took everything he had to not jump the man. But what Garrett said was right. They needed to move slow and get to know one another better so that they could be the mate each other deserved.
“Umf,” Lachlan grunted as he took a hit to the stomach.
“Oh no! Lachlan, are you okay?” Clara asked as she rested a hand on Lachlan’s shoulder where he stood doubled over gasping for air.
After talking to Clara that first night back at the house, Lachlan hadn’t been able to shake the young wolf. She was coming more and more out of her shell and smiled with such ease. He couldn’t believe how much she’d changed. Her smile could light up a room that had been shrouded in darkness.
Clara hadn’t talked about her past and would avoid any reference to it if Lachlan mentioned it. He didn’t want to pry, but he was curious as to what made the young lady so guarded and afraid.
Whenever someone caught Clara off guard she’d flinch as if she was preparing to take a blow to the face. The thought of someone even laying a finger on her angered Lachlan more than anything. Lachlan
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wanted to know her history and what brought her to the Carrington Pack, but he wouldn’t push her. Clara would tell him when she was ready.
Her thirst for combat knowledge was insatiable. That reason right there made Lachlan think the young lady had been abused before she came to live with Garrett and his pack. Her eagerness to learn how to defend herself was typical of abused individuals. They wanted to be stronger than their attackers.
For all Lachlan knew she was looking to get revenge on the one who had hurt her. He couldn’t fault her for that.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Lachlan stood and coughed into his hand.
“I’m so sorry.” Clara’s voice came out high pitched and frantic. “I swear I didn’t mean to do that.” Her hands fell to her sides, and her fingers automatically went to fidget with the hem of her raggedy old T-shirt.
“Clara, sweetie, I’m fine.” Lachlan gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “That was one hell of a punch. I’m proud of you, squirt.” He used the nickname he had started calling her by, and it did the trick.
Clare gifted him with one of her huge smiles.
“Really?”
Lachlan nodded his head. “Really.” He caught her just as she launched herself into his arms. Lachlan held her in a gentle but firm hold. He imagined this was what it felt like to have a sister. While he and Lawson stilled lived with their parents, they hadn’t had any other children. If they had more now, there was no way for Lachlan to have known.
Just then the sound of a buzzing came from the backpack Clara always carried around with her. Her cheeks darkened as she rushed to check her phone. Lachlan watched as she read whatever message she’d received.
“I gotta go.” Clara shouldered her bag and started to walk off.
Lachlan grinned as she walked away, never looking up from her phone. Lately she’d been getting a lot of messages, and Lachlan
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wondered if she’d met someone. “See ya later, squirt,” Lachlan hollered after her, and Clara turned to wave then took off running for the house.
Not ready to go back inside, Lachlan decided to go for a run. He’d been dying to shift and run in his lion form, but he didn’t want to freak out the locals. The locals being the Carrington wolves.
He hadn’t had any issues since the first night he arrived, but that might all change if he turned into a five-hundred-pound lion and started hunting on their grounds. Granted, him being mated to Garrett made Lachlan co-alpha of the pack, but he didn’t want to go splitting hairs or get into a pissing match with any of the wolves. They were being respectful of him, and he’d show them the same in kind.
The path Lachlan followed into the surrounding woods looked well worn. Everyone that lived within a hundred-mile radius was a shifter of some sort and, being true to their second nature, liked to run and hunt.
It made Lachlan feel free and at one with his lion when he ran and hunted. He’d heard the same from his fellow shifter warriors that running was a good release from the pressures of human society.
Lachlan kept at an even pace and trotted along without a care in the world. The sunshine beamed down, chasing away the autumn chill. It made the temperature comfortable and perfect for a midday run.
“Are you queer now, too, boy?”
The sound of shouting in the distance had Lachlan stumbling to a stop. The foul and disgusting word got his attention more than the raised voice did.
“No, Dad. I just like living on my own is all. I swear.”
Lachlan eased closer to the voices and saw Josh talking with another man. From the resemblance, Lachlan took an educated guess this was Josh’s father. Wes had been right. The man was a bastard.
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“On your own, huh?” The man snickered. “With all those fags over there, I’m starting to think I raised a fairy. You like their company more than your own family, boy?”
From what Lachlan was witnessing he’d say, yes, the company at Garrett’s house was ten times better than anything at Josh’s house.
His home life must have been terrible.
“No, Dad. I just…”
Josh never finished his sentence. His father hauled back his hand and smacked Josh across the face. The sound echoed in the quiet afternoon. Before Lachlan could stop himself, he took off running toward the men.
Josh might be an ass, but he was a member of Garrett’s pack and by circumstances Lachlan’s, too. Josh’s dad may be a member as well, but to treat another with such cruelty wasn’t okay in Lachlan’s opinion. The guy deserved to be bitch slapped right back.
Just as Josh’s dad was pushing his hand back in the opposite direction, knuckles out toward Josh’s face, Lachlan let loose a loud roar. Both men jumped, but it was the older man who cowered in fear.
“What’s going on here?” Lachlan asked as he brought his hand up to Josh’s chin to look at the red mark flaming at the side of his face.
“Are you okay?”
Josh met his eyes, and for a brief moment Lachlan saw the vulnerability in the young man’s eyes. The usual hard gray softened and glistened with what only Lachlan could assume were unshed tears.
“Get your hands off my son, you…”
Josh jerked out of Lachlan’s hold and Lachlan let him go without taking offense. It was hard to show weakness in the presence of a man he considered an enemy, even if Lachlan truly wasn’t his enemy.
Lachlan swung around, strategically putting himself between Josh and his father. “If I were you, I’d be very careful of the next word that comes out of your mouth.” Lachlan kept his voice low and eyes hard as he eyed Josh’s father. He wanted to make the man feel small and
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worthless like he’d just done to his own child not more than five minutes ago.
“Why? What are you going to do to me, cat man?”
Cat man?
Lachlan wanted to laugh. The name sounded like a moniker a superhero would use. But if he cracked even a smile, it’d take away from the seriousness of the situation, and it was serious.
Lachlan wouldn’t stand for any member of his pack to be treated like shit, not even Josh.
My pack? Where did that come from?
Lachlan shoved that thought to the back burner for the time being. He had an out-of-line parent to deal with.
“This.” Lachlan brought his fist up and bestowed upon Josh’s dad the same gift he gave Josh a few nights prior. The man’s eyes went wide then he stumbled backward, clutching his nose. Blood oozed out around his clenched fingers, dripping dark crimson to the ground.
A smug smile creased Lachlan’s face. If anyone deserved a beat down it was this prick standing in front over him. Lachlan glanced over his shoulder and caught sight of a small smile on Josh’s face. But in the blink of an eye it disappeared. Back were the hard edges that made the young man seem older than his twenty-two years.
“Go home, Dad.” Josh came to stand beside Lachlan.
“Go home? He hit me.” The man climbed to his feet. “I’m going to report him to the alpha.”
“He is the alpha!” Josh shouted. “You just insulted the alpha’s mate, who by proxy is your new alpha, too. You’ll be lucky if Garrett doesn’t shun you.”
A semblance of clarity ghosted through the man’s eyes, but hate clouded the pupils once again. “You know what? I don’t need this pack or a queer-loving son.” Josh’s father spat on the ground near Lachlan’s feet. “This pack has gone to shit since Garrett’s daddy left anyways. I’m out of here.” He turned to leave but stopped to look back to Josh. “You coming, boy?”
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Lachlan couldn’t believe it, but he prayed Josh said no. He may have his differences where the young wolf was concerned, but not even Josh deserved to live with an asshole like that.
“No. I choose allegiance with the Carrington Pack, and I’m not leaving.” Josh straightened his shoulders, lifted his chin, and stared down his nose at his father. “If you leave it’s on your own.”
“That’s fine with me.” Josh’s father stare turned ice cold. “Your mama should have let those hunters kill you when you were a child, then maybe she’d be alive and I wouldn’t have a disappointment for a son.”
Lachlan flinched as if the harsh words were directed at him.
Memories of his own father filled his mind. Clamping down on his emotions, Lachlan cleared his throat. “I think you should leave.
You’ve made it quite clear you don’t want to be here, and quite frankly you just wore out your welcome.”
It looked like Josh’s dad was gearing up for another argument, and Lachlan held up his hand and shouted, “Go!” The man left but not before throwing another hateful looked toward his son. Lachlan stood by Josh’s side as his father left the woods, the pack, and his son’s life forever.
“He was out of line, Josh. This wasn’t your fault.” Lachlan rested his large hand over Josh’s smooth slender neck. He could feel the muscle bunch up and clench as Josh’s body trembled.
“What do you know?” Josh shrugged off Lachlan’s touch and stormed away.
“I know more than you think,” Lachlan shouted as he ran to catch up with Josh.
“He wasn’t always like that, you know.” Josh’s hand darted up to wipe away the wetness that escaped from his eyes. “After she died, he just hasn’t been the same.”
“I can understand a person hurting from the loss of a loved one, but it’s no excuse to treat the only family you have left like crap. You can’t blame yourself for his cruelty or his inability to deal with shit. I
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know what it’s like to love someone who turns you away at the first chance they get. To toss you aside like a piece of trash you’d find on the street. People like that don’t deserve our love or respect.” Lachlan hadn’t expected to discuss his family’s torrid history. It just slipped out.
“Our?” Josh asked.
Lachlan explained to Josh about his brother, Lawson, and the affair Lawson had with a human man and how those actions led to his brother being shunned from the pride. It still hurt to talk about, but if his experience could in any way help Josh, Lachlan would be more than happy to do whatever was necessary. Even if it drudged up the past.
“So what did you do?”
“I did what anyone else would have done. I left with my brother.
No one should ever be forced to set out in the world all alone like that. It’s cruel.” Lachlan never regretted that decision even for a minute.
“How old were you guys?” Josh shoulders slumped, and Lachlan could see the fight leaving him.
Lachlan pursed his lips in thought. It took him a moment to remember. “We were seventeen.”
“That’s so young.” Josh’s eyes widened in disbelief. “And all for being gay?”
“Yeah, that was over a hundred years ago though. It was a different time back then.”
“Still doesn’t make it right,” Josh whispered. “Why can’t they just love us for who we are and not hate us for what we aren’t?”
Lachlan wasn’t sure if Josh wanted him to answer. And truth be told he didn’t have an easy answer to give. Parents should love their children no matter what and stand by them through good times and bad. But after his experience and what he just witnessed between Josh and his father, those family ties didn’t always exist no matter the day and age they were in.
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“I think they do in their own way.” Lachlan tried to explain. “But other people’s expectations and approval cloud their judgment.”
“That’s bullshit. They’re just weak.” Josh’s skin became flushed with anger. “It shouldn’t matter who we’re friends with, where we live, or if we’re gay. A parent’s love should be unconditional.”
Lachlan wholeheartedly agreed with that statement, and if one day he was blessed with kids of his own, he’d be a supportive parent no matter what. “You’re right, Josh. It should be, but you can’t let the faults of your father bring you down.” Lachlan wrapped an arm around Josh’s shoulders and walked with the man toward the entrance of the woods where he had entered.