He wouldn’t mind seeing it on Terry, however.
Either way, the belts kept them decent.
Nick sensed there was something off in Morgan’s mood, but because he couldn’t see the jeans, he could only cock his head and return to what he was doing.
“I got the water boiling and in a couple of minutes the rice will be ready to go in. I’ll just need you to watch it for me.”
Morgan decided that now was not the time to poke fun at Nick for his hatred of cooking. Sometimes he couldn’t tell whether Nick just couldn’t do it because of his blindness or because of a real lack of
talent in a kitchen. He knew Adam, Nick’s mate, made him take turns
with him, but that was about it.
Maybe the guy only hated cooking when his mate wasn’t around to enjoy it with him.
“Sure thing.”
Because they now had the rice, on top of the cereal that they’d found earlier for snacking, Morgan made sure that Terry ate what was left of his soup after he’d heated it up in the microwave. The first floor of the cabin was really starting to warm up thanks to the stove, and the goose bumps on Nick’s arms soon vanished.
The rice wasn’t exactly instant, so they had to wait twenty minutes before it was ready. Morgan knew how to cook, but rice wasn’t his thing either. It was ready, but the texture was a little too soggy to have been done properly.
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Still, he was starving, and it was the best damn rice he’d had in his
life.
Terry certainly made no complaints as he scarfed down what was on his plate. Morgan quickly scooped more for him to eat, occasionally reminding him to slow down, but otherwise, they had a good meal.
It had gone dark outside, but because of their fear of using too much power and somehow being found out by the owner, they searched out some candles and lit them for the night. Terry actually found a children’s board game for them to play with.
Something to do with catching mice in some strange elaborate trap with all sorts of pieces and parts. Morgan had no clue how a child was supposed to put the stupid thing together. The strange thing was how the three of them seemed to have the most fun just trying to figure out how to assemble it.
They tired themselves out after enough attempts and jokes at themselves, but it had been definitely more than an hour before they gave up and just sat down to talk.
Morgan and Nick kept the conversations light and on safe topics, both fully aware that the omega currently sitting in Morgan’s lap was still fighting to keep control of his inner wolf.
Even Nick’s extrasensitive senses would be able to tell him that
Terry had almost lost it a couple of times while Nick was downstairs.
He would have heard it.
When Terry fell asleep in Morgan’s lap, only then did they start getting serious.
Nick kept his voice down, lest he pull Terry out of the dream he’d just slipped into.
“I think those men were hunters, and they weren’t hunting for Bambi.”
Morgan kept his grip on Terry light as Nick said those words, forcing himself not to clutch at the younger man protectively.
“We killed most of the hunters who got to Phillip’s pack. Could
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the rest have regrouped by now?”
“If they have, then they’re determined motherfuckers.”
Motherfucker was the correct term to use as well, considering the things those men had done to the wolves of Phillip’s pack, and the poor man’s mate. Morgan had seen the corpse. It hadn’t been pretty. The only good news was that by some act of God, they had decided to spare Phillip’s pup. A baby boy only a few months old.
Currently, the pup was in James’s personal care. He and his mate were keeping the child close to them for protection until the real father returned. If he ever did.
“Terry was part of Phillip’s pack, so we can cross him off the list of the missing.”
Nick’s sightless eyes widened. “I thought he was a wild omega.”
“He is, almost,” Morgan said. “I guess he saw some serious shit happen before he managed to get away. I don’t think he figured out that the hunters were scared off. Otherwise he might’ve come to James’s pack sooner and turned himself over. He’s been taking care of himself all this time, and that, coupled with what those hunters might’ve done to him brought the wolf out to the forefront.”
Nick nodded. “Yeah. I guess that’s a natural reaction when we’re trying to survive.”
“Because of that,” Morgan said, getting back to the point, “I don’t want him knowing about Isaac, just yet.”
“Why not?” One of Nick’s brows lifted in an expression that Morgan thought was annoying.
Isaac was probably the only hunter in existence to be made welcome within a pack of werewolves. Probably because he’d mated with one of the omegas, Tristan, and even took a silver bullet for the guy after he’d helped the pack to bag a couple of hunters before they could attack the pack.
He was pretty much welcomed with open arms by one and all after that. Then the knowledge came that he was loaded, and as a gift to his mate, he wanted to build a cabin just for the two of them to live
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in, and put the money in to repair the cabins on James’s land that were falling apart.
Werewolves weren’t like vampires. Their packs weren’t loaded to their eyeballs with cash. A werewolf earned money wherever they could, and though it was getting easier in today’s day and age, there were still the nights were firewood was required because the heat had to be shut off or when the alphas had to go out hunting for meat because there wasn’t enough money to completely fill their fridges.
Though the alphas still hunted and the omegas still worked, both sides of the pack also grabbing the odd job here and there to bring some money in, ever since Isaac had showed up, things had definitely been better.
Morgan once asked him why he kept spending his money on them. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful. He’d just been curious to know how a hunter could constantly spend the money, which he’d inherited after his family had been devoured by wild werewolves, on a pack of werewolves.
Isaac hadn’t looked him in the eyes when he’d explained that it was part of his atonement. Atonement for being a hunter and for all the things he’d done when he carried that title.
Morgan’s face had gone red, and he’d promptly walked away. Of course Isaac would have killed his fair share of werewolves. He had
been a hunter, after all, but Morgan believed that the man was on his
side, so he’d let it slide.
But now Morgan had Terry to think about. Isaac hadn’t been responsible in any way for what had happened at Phillip’s pack. Hell, Isaac had been trying to help, but that might not matter to a fearful werewolf who was on the brink of becoming wild again. Morgan didn’t want to risk some kind of episode over it. He would bring Terry to back to his pack, and after enough time had passed, he would tell him about the former hunter who lived with them. Gently.
Morgan explained this to Nick, and the other man nodded. “Right. Sorry, I hadn’t thought of that.”
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“It’s all right. I’m sure he’ll be at ease around Isaac after they get to know one another, and being around some of the other members of his pack that we rescued will probably help to keep his mind grounded.”
“Yeah, we just have to get back home, first.”
The thought of home…Morgan always liked going out on whatever little missions he could, especially as of late. There was something about seeing all the newly mated pairs in his pack that had made him jealous. Even though he’d started to think it wasn’t going to happen, and had told himself he no longer minded it, he’d been jealous. He hadn’t wanted to be around the others, but now that he had his mate, safely snuggled against his chest, he couldn’t wait to get back.
His room was in one of the larger cabins, and he wouldn’t mind sharing it with the others, but maybe he could convince Isaac to pay for the soundproofing.
“I’m going to take him back upstairs,” Morgan said, getting to his feet.
Apparently, Nick had noticed there was something off with his choice of clothing after all.
“What are you wearing? It sounds baggy. Like a skirt.”
Goddamn Nick’s weird sonar hearing. He should’ve been a bat shifter or something, not a werewolf. “It’s just a big pair of jeans.”
“You’re both wearing them.”
“The owner of this place is a big guy. Good night,” Morgan said.
“I guess that means I’ve got first watch?”
“I’ll come back down to take you off in four hours, and we’ll rotate from there.”
Thank God he didn’t want to argue about it. “See you then.”
* * * *
Morgan had just gotten upstairs and tucked Terry under the covers
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when he decided he had to get out of these ridiculous-looking pants. He wanted to wear clothes, but not at the expense of his dignity.
He’d just let them drop from his hips and stepped out of them when he noticed that Terry was looking at him.
Morgan smiled but still approached with some measure of caution. “How’re you feeling?”
Terry blinked and waited a few seconds before he said anything.
“I don’t hear anything outside.”
That was good. It would allow him to rest easier for the night knowing that the house wasn’t being surrounded by hunters.
“Yeah, we’re safe here.” For the moment.
“Can we try going to your pack now?”
Morgan looked out the window. It was pitch dark, but the snow was still coming down pretty hard, and the wind howled.
Terry looked at where Morgan looked, and he sank back under the covers. “Never mind.”
“First thing in the morning,” Morgan promised. “I swear. The storm won’t last that long.” He was pretty sure it wouldn’t, anyway. “And the second the sun rises, we’ll go.”
“I don’t think I can sleep.”
“Nick’s downstairs. He has first watch. He has the most sensitive
sense of smell and hearing of any wolf I’ve ever met. If anything tries to come this way, he’ll know it, and we’ll have more than enough time to get out of here.”
He hoped they would anyway. Nick certainly had trouble finding his way earlier today when the storm hit.
Morgan took one more look out the window. He couldn’t exactly see because of the darkness, but he still got the feeling that things outside weren’t as bad as they’d been earlier today. It was still too dangerous to travel in, but he was sure that if those men were still out in that, and the only reason why anyone would brave that kind of weather was because they thought they were on some holy mission, Nick would have a fair amount of warning.
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“After Nick’s time is done, then I’m going on rotation so he can sleep a little, then him again, and then me, until the sun rises and we can leave. You’ll always be protected, so you can sleep easy tonight.”
Terry frowned at him. “I’ve been taking care of myself for weeks now. I can stand watch, too.”
Morgan wasn’t sure he liked the idea of an untrained omega having his back. “I think you should sleep. I doubt you’ve had a good night’s sleep since your attack, and it’ll be better if you’re at a hundred percent for the trip tomorrow. With the snow to hinder us, we’re looking at a three- or four-hour journey.”
Terry kept right on frowning at him, and Morgan braced himself for another argument, but then the other man turned over in bed and pulled one of the pillows close.
Morgan was too new to being in a relationship. That was what being mated was, right? He was officially…well, married, as far as other werewolves were concerned.
That didn’t mean their status as being together, well, in a relationship, was bulletproof. Morgan could still fuck up in such a way that could cause the other man to decide he just didn’t want to be with him.
Morgan didn’t want that.
He wasn’t sure what sort of reaction he expected when he climbed into bed with Terry. Aside from being new to this mating thing, he was new to relationships in general. It had always been sex before. He never had to worry if his partner was angry with him for something. And if his current fling had been giving him the cold shoulder for whatever reason, well, it had been a simple matter of moving on.
He reached out and touched Terry’s shoulder. At first the smaller man didn’t move, and Morgan’s heart lurched.
No. He wanted this to work, damn it.
He exhaled long and deep when Terry turned around, his hands reaching and wrapping around Morgan’s waist, and they came together easily.
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