"Declan is a pastry chef."
"Is that so?" the Alpha asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Please, call me, Ben. I don't stand on formality in my own home."
"Thank you, Ben." Declan didn't think he had met another Alpha quite like Ben Taylor. "My mother always taught me never to show up at someone's house empty handed, so I made a couple of desserts."
"I can't wait to taste them."
Declan blushed again.
"Now back to my original question. How did the two of you meet?" Ben asked
"Would you believe he showed up on my doorstep last night naked?" Liam said casually.
"No, I wouldn't." Ben laughed.
Heat rose once again to Declan's cheeks.
"Seriously?" Ben asked, looking a little astounded.
"Yeah. I was in the middle of cooking dinner and I turned around and there he stood, on my back porch, naked as the day he came into the world and freezing his very sexy ass off," Liam answered.
Ben seemed to think over what Liam had just said before he turned in Declan's direction and asked the one question he had been dreading.
"What brought you to Atherton in your shifted form, Declan?"
Declan took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. He hadn't done anything wrong, but the sound of the gun being discharged still haunted him. He had done everything possible today to keep himself busy so he didn't have time to stop and think about what he'd witnessed.
Liam reached over and took his hand, squeezing it gently.
"Please, honey, we can't help if you don't tell us
what's happened."
Declan nodded. Liam spoke the truth. Ben needed to be told about what had happened, but it didn't stop him from being scared.
Declan looked down at this hands, marvelling at the difference between his and his mate's. His hands were white, almost porcelain as he spent so much of his day indoors, whereas Liam's were a nice rich olive colour, the black of his tattoo standing out even against his darker skin tone. A distraction from having to talk about what came next, Declan knew. He also knew he couldn't avoid it no matter how much he might want to.
"I witnessed my Alpha kill a pack member," he finally answered, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Ben took a moment before he spoke. "There's nothing new in that. Challenges for the Alpha position sometimes end in death. As much as I hate to admit that, it's a way of life for wolves."
Declan completely got the survival of the fittest concept. His old pack Alpha had gotten the position in a fight to the death. If he'd witnessed the ritual there wouldn't be a problem. But that wasn't the case.
"It wasn't a challenge for Alpha." Declan paused for a moment before ploughing on. "Kegan Wallis, Alpha of the Cairns pack, murdered my pack mate, Nigel Cummings, in cold blood over drugs."
Liam whistled beside him. Declan finally raised his eyes from their joint hands and looked first at his mate then towards Ben. Ben sat back in his chair and scrubbed his hands down his face. The man looked tired all of a sudden.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Ben looked at him. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. I would like to hear the complete story though, please."
Declan nodded.
Not sure where to start, Declan figured right at the beginning would probably be better than skipping a whole lot and not giving the Alpha all the information.
Declan told how he and his brother had come to live in Cairns. He also mentioned not having many friends within the pack, and how few meetings he actually attended.
"The meetings I did attend, I didn't like very much and Alpha Kegan Wallis, in my opinion, is an asshole and a sleaze. Three quarters of the pack are scared of him and the others seem to love him and even cheer him on.
Unfortunately no member of their pack is anywhere near strong enough to challenge him for the job.
"Saturday night I was feeling a little sorry for myself after an exhausting day at work. As usual, I found myself alone with nothing to do and nowhere to go, so I decided to go for a run. It had been a while since I had been able to shift and let my wolf roam free so I headed out to our pack lands and changed."
Declan looked around to make sure he hadn't lost his listeners so far. They nodded at him to continue, so he settled back, leaning against Liam's side and drew strength from his mate. Liam wrapped his arm around his shoulders and pulled him in tight.
"I was in the middle of a nice juicy rabbit when I heard angry voices coming through the trees. I reluctantly abandoned my late dinner and went to investigate." Declan paused again to gather himself.
'No please, it wasn't me, you have to believe m—'
Nigel's voice echoed through Declan's head right before being cut off permanently.
Declan flinched when the sound of the gun
reverberated in his mind over and over. Before he knew what had happened, Declan found himself in his mate's lap.
It should have been awkward given his size, but instead he fit perfectly. Liam's arms were wrapped around him, the man making gentle shushing noises in his ear as Declan shook.
Declan held onto his mate as tight as he could, burying his face in Liam's neck, not wanting to lose the connection they had.
"Shhh, honey, everything is okay. Calm down.
Breathe for me."
Declan nodded but he didn't let go of Liam.
"Declan. Breathe!"
Liam's sharp tone cut through his mind.
Declan exhaled in a rush and sucked air back into his aching lungs. He had no idea he'd been holding his breath.
When his body finally calmed down, Declan pulled back slightly and looked in to the beautiful silver eyes of his man. "I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry about, honey.
Everyone deals with things differently and I think things just caught up with you."
Declan nodded. He had been wondering why he had been so calm about everything. Declan laid his head back down against Liam's chest and settled in, closing his eyes while Liam rubbed soothing circles along his back.
Declan told them in a quiet, shaky voice about what he had witnessed—the beating, the argument about the drugs, and finally the murder of his pack mate. "Oh God.
There was so much blood. Nigel's head went back with the force of the bullet then he collapsed between the two Betas who just dropped his body like he was nothing but a piece of garbage."
Liam's arms tightened, pulling Declan even closer.
Gentle kisses were placed on the top of his head.
"Jesus H Christ." Ben exploded behind them.
Declan opened his eyes. The Alpha got up and started pacing his office.
"I didn't want to hang around so I tried to back away and leave, but I stepped on a branch and it snapped under my paw, drawing their attention directly to me. I wasn't going to stay and find out what they would do to me, so I bolted. They gave chase.
"If it wasn't for my speed, I think I'd probably be dead now. Even with my speed, I ran for hours on end."
Nothing like a good dose of fear to push him to his limits.
"It took a while until the sounds of chase died away, but I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't just turn around and go home like nothing had happened, so I kept going in the direction I had been chased and eventually ended up here."
Even with what had led him here, Declan couldn't be upset with the outcome so far. "Once I spotted the town, I kept mainly to the outskirts until I smelt the most alluring scent.
I followed it and it led me to you," Declan finished as he looked at his mate.
"Thank God for that," Liam said and his hands came up to cup Declan's cheeks.
Liam bent down slightly and took Declan's mouth in the sweetest, gentlest kiss.
When Liam finally broke the embrace he leaned back and looked Declan in the eyes. "I hate what you went through to get here; if I could take it away, I would do it in a heartbeat. I can't be sorry though that you found me. I've been looking for a very long time for you and I'm not going to give you up for anything. Not even a deranged, drug dealing Alpha, you hear me?"
Declan nodded and his eyes filled with tears. He buried his head once again in Liam's chest and listened to Ben pace behind him swearing repeatedly.
Speaking about the murder brought all his concerns once again to the surface, highlighting just how vulnerable his brother could be if the Alpha decided to go after him.
Ben's constant back and forth didn't do anything to help Declan's wild thoughts. "I need to get Tommy. I don't know how safe he is and I have no idea if Alpha Wallis will try and use him to get to me or not. But I need my brother.
He's the only family I have left."
Liam wanted to shout Declan had more than his brother now. He had Liam and Liam's entire family. He knew, however, now wouldn't be a good time; instead he held his mate tight and kissed the top of his head. Liam didn't think he'd even been so angry in his life at what Declan had been through. He couldn't begin to imagine how scared Declan must have been to be chased for so long through unfamiliar territory after witnessing what he had.
Liam couldn't get his head around how strong his feelings towards his mate were already. They'd only known each other for twenty-four hours. It felt like a lifetime.
Before Liam, or anyone else, could say anything, the sound of knocking came from the direction of the front door, followed by the loud voices of Liam and Ben's friends.
"Yo, assholes, hope you're ready to have your asses handed to you," Corey yelled out.
"As if, you couldn't win if your life depended on it."
Sam snickered behind him.
"Like you could," Brad started in.
"Everyone knows it's me who goes home with the pot every week." Kieran's soft voice carried into the room with them.
Liam smiled. They were all full of shit, but they were the best friends a guy could have. He looked at Ben for a moment and saw the man fighting a smile of his own.
"There's nothing we can do tonight, Declan. Trust me to handle this and make your brother safe. First thing tomorrow we'll start sorting this mess out," Ben said gently Declan nodded against Liam's chest.
"Take a couple of minutes. I'll get the guys settled.
Come out when you're ready." Ben left the office, closing the door behind him. It didn't stop the sound of his voice from being heard clearly through the wood. "All right you bunch of idiots, settle down. Are we gonna play poker or stand around gasbagging like a bunch of old ladies in the CWA?"
Declan snickered.
"Where's Liam?" Brad asked.
"He'll be out in a minute."
Thankfully Ben didn't tell them about Declan; Liam really wanted to see their faces when he introduced his mate.
"You okay, honey?" Liam asked softly.
"Not sure, your friends seem, umm… nice?"
Liam laughed. "Is that a question or a statement?"
he asked still chuckling.
"Ah, both?" Declan looked so uncertain.
Liam smiled and kissed his mate. Declan was incredible and Liam really started to look forward to the life they would have together.
"The guys are great, you'll love them. Corey, Kieran, and I grew up together. Ben, Brad and Sam are all just ringins." Declan laughed, just as Liam had hoped.
"I would love to see you tell the Alpha to his face that he's just a ring-in."
"So not happening. I might love the guy like a brother, but I'm not completely stupid. The only reason Corey gets away with it is because we can't stop him. The man has no brain-to-mouth filter. He says exactly what he thinks.
The only time he shows a modicum of decorum is when other pack members are in attendance, and even then it's touch-and-go. Unless he's on official Beta business, then he becomes the most focused individual you'll ever meet. Bradley on the other hand is a more relaxed Beta, like me."
Liam smoothed his hands down his mate's body, glad the trembling had completely stopped. "Come on, beautiful, I want to introduce you to my friends."
Declan nodded slowly before crawling off Liam's lap to stand. As much as Liam wanted to go see his friends, he wished Declan didn't have to get up to do it. The man felt wonderful in his arms and Liam wanted him back there as soon as possible.
Liam cupped Declan's cheek before leaning in and kissing him senseless. Declan moaned when Liam's tongue invaded his mouth. Liam pulled Declan against his body; Declan's cock responded to his touch. Liam's dick came to life as if in answer. Reluctantly, he broke the wonderful embrace. The glazed look in Declan's eyes when he blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision, made Liam smile with happiness.
"Just a little something to think about until I can get you home and naked again." Liam whispered in Declan's ear, before taking the lobe between his teeth and biting down gently.
Declan moaned loudly and thrust his groin into Liam's. "Can't we go now?" He panted.
"Nope, you're not getting out of this, no matter how much I want to strip you naked and lick you from top to bottom," Liam rasped, sliding his hand down between their bodies and cupped Declan's hard cock through his jeans.
"Jesus. Can you stop please?" Declan whimpered, but continued to push into Liam's hand. "It's bad enough I'm about to meet your friends with a raging hard-on, but if you don't stop talking like that I'll be meeting them with a wet patch as well."
Liam laughed. He loved the effect he had on his mate. Stepping back, Liam grabbed Declan's hand and headed for the door to the office before Declan's brain could catch up to what they were doing.
Dragging his mate behind him, Liam walked
through Ben's house until they came to the dining room where his friends were all settled around the table, poker chips separated into six equal piles. Kieran shuffled the deck of playing cards and beers sat in front of each player with one currently placed by his customary seat as well.
There were small bowls of snacks on the table at each end.
Nothing large, just something to nibble on while they played. They would order pizza or Chinese later, depending on what everyone felt like.