When Lachlan got closer and still neither Lachlan or Aaron turned to acknowledge him, Garrett cleared his throat.
36
AJ Jarrett
The sound of a throat clearing interrupted his and Aaron’s conversation. He turned to see Garrett standing behind him. Lachlan eyed him warily. The man looked like he was covered in sweat and about ready to puke on the floor.
“Lachlan, I see you made it over okay.”
Lachlan watched as Garrett closed his eyes and cursed under his breath.
Very odd.
“What I meant to say is, I’m happy to see you.”
“Thanks,” Lachlan drew the word out real slow. Garrett looked jumpy and he couldn’t put his finger on why.
“Aaron, thank you for greeting my mate.”
“My pleasure.” Aaron reached over and pinched Lachlan’s side.
Lachlan jumped then giggled at the faint tickle sensation it gave him.
The sound of a deep growl echoed in the entryway, and he and Aaron both jumped.
“Could you please refrain from groping my mate while you’re standing right in front of me?” Garrett’s voice was low and menacing.
The blue of Garrett’s irises swirled like a thunderstorm had erupted in the man’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, Alpha. I meant no disrespect.” Aaron made to grab Lachlan’s arm again and quickly let it fall to his side. “Lachlan, I’ll talk to you later. I’m really glad you moved back in.”
Lachlan pulled Aaron into a final hug. He met Garrett’s eyes over Aaron’s shoulder. Part of Lachlan wanted to smile at his mate.
Lachlan thought it’d be a good punishment for Garrett to watch him be close with another person. But in the end he thought better of it.
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Lachlan didn’t want things to get tough on Aaron because he was acting childish.
“We’ll talk later.” He gave one more pat to Aaron’s back then took a step back. Before he knew what he was doing, he shouted Toby’s name. The kid looked back at him with wide eyes.
“Remember what I said. If you ever want to talk to Astrid, just let me know.”
Toby nodded his head and started to walk back up the steps.
Aaron shrugged his shoulders in defeat and followed after his kid brother. Lachlan really hoped Toby took him up on his offer. If anyone knew what he was going through it would be Astrid.
“I never thought about that,” Garrett said softly. “Astrid would be the ideal person for Toby to talk with about what happened.”
“You know?” Aaron didn’t tell Lachlan that Garrett was aware of what happened to Toby. He assumed Aaron kept it secret from his alpha as well.
“When Aaron brought Toby home, I was awake. I helped him care for Toby. The kid was a mess and didn’t want anyone to know. So when he asked me to not say anything, I didn’t.” Lachlan watched as Garrett’s hands balled up into fists. “After we got Toby calmed down and into bed, I went hunting for Lucian.”
“Why?” He felt silly for asking the obvious, but Lachlan wanted to hear what Garrett would say.
“Because Toby deserved justice for what happened to him. Plus, no one hurts one of mine and gets away from it. Fuck, Toby’s just a kid for god’s sake. No one that young should ever know that kind of pain.”
Lachlan watched as emotions flooded across Garrett’s face. The man was passionate about what he said. Lachlan could feel his heart thawing just a little bit toward his mate.
With a quick nod of understanding, Lachlan picked his bag up off the floor. “So, can you show me to my room?”
38
AJ Jarrett
Garrett started up the stairs. Lachlan remembered this path from when he lived here that one short week with Garrett. If Garrett thought Lachlan was going to share a room with him, he had another think coming.
“Here’s where you’ll be staying.” Garrett stopped in front of the door right before his. “I had Wes move down the hall so you could have this one. I didn’t expect you’d want to share a room with me, but I didn’t want it to catch wind that you were in a room down the hall either. Since we’re still not sure if anyone in this house is a traitor, I thought it best to err on the side of caution.”
“Makes sense.” Lachlan stepped into the room and threw his bag on the bed.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it then.” Garrett stood at the door, unmoving. “I’ll see you at dinner?”
“Sure. A man’s got to eat,” Lachlan said jokingly, trying to break up the tension.
Garrett smiled one last time and shut the door on his way out.
Lachlan wanted to run after Garrett to hug the man good-bye. The longing for touch was cutting into him deep. Lachlan felt for sure he’d crumble to the floor.
Lachlan took one unsteady step toward the door but threw himself back on the bed instead. He just got here and already he was ready to crack. Fishing out his phone Lachlan cued up Lawson’s number. It rang twice before his brother answered.
“What’s shakin’, bacon?” Lawson’s happy voice came through loud and clear, and it was just what Lachlan needed.
“Oh not much.” A smiled tugged at Lachlan’s upper lip.
“Really? A little birdy told me otherwise.”
Damn the good word traveled fast at the warriors’ compound. His mind started to race to who the culprit might be.
“Don’t strain yourself. It was Trevor. He’s like an old lady with the gossip.” Lawson snickered. “But I like it. He keeps me updated on the goings-on at the compound.”
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Lawson was on the team Ben put together to follow leads on their fellow warrior, Sayer. As of yet they had no luck in finding the other man. Lachlan had been pissed when Ben wouldn’t let him go out on the mission with his brother. Ben said that he was needed here. Now Lachlan knew why that was.
“I miss you, too, Lawson.” Lawson didn’t have to say it for Lachlan to know.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if we could just catch a lead, but we haven’t gotten squat.”
“Be patient. I’m sure you’ll find something soon. Even the evilest masterminds make mistakes.”
“Yeah, I know.” Shuffling noises came over the line. “Not to change the subject, but how’s it going between you and my brother-in-law?”
Lachlan cringed at the term brother-in-law. Lawson started using that to refer to Garrett, and it really drove Lachlan crazy. “It’s going. I just got here so I don’t have any gossip for you, bro.”
“You’re no fun.” Lachlan could practically see the pout on his brother’s face. “Oh shit, hang on a sec.” After a brief pause Lawson came back on the line. “I gotta go, Lachlan. Got a call on the other line. It’s the council, so I have to take it.”
“I understand. Work takes priority.”
“Not always, but unfortunately this time it does. Love you, Lachlan. Call if you need anything.”
Lachlan said the same and was about to disconnect the call when he heard Lawson’s shout. “Yeah?”
“I wanted to tell you to relax. Give Garrett a chance. You never know. He just might surprise you.”
Before Lachlan could respond, the line went dead. Lachlan climbed up from the bed and headed to the bathroom to wash up for dinner. He wasn’t closed off to the idea of giving Garrett another chance, but he wanted it to be on his terms.
40
AJ Jarrett
Fifteen minutes later Lachlan stepped out of his room and started down the hallway that led to the stairs. The sun had started to set, and through the windows lining the wall, Lachlan could see the pinks and golds painting the sky.
So caught up in the beautiful scenery, he never heard the click of another door shutting.
“Oh lookie here, it’s the wittle pussy cat out without his master.”
Lachlan instantly recognized the whiny little voice coming from behind him. He turned so quickly he took the men following him by surprise. Without a second thought, Lachlan swung and landed a solid punch to Josh’s nose. The little fucker was a pain in his ass. The other wolves who didn’t agree with a lion shifter mating a wolf kept their opinions to themselves and just sneered in disgust. But Josh? This kid kept on him like a dog with a fucking bone.
“Fuck, man!” Josh’s shadow, Victor, shouted as he knelt down next to Josh.
“I barely tapped him.” Lachlan fought not to smile. He’d let Josh get his jabs in before without reacting, but now he didn’t care. So what if these wolves didn’t like him? He was Garrett’s mate, and it only mattered if Garrett wanted him here, not that Lachlan cared about that either.
“What’s going on out here?” Wes asked as he hustled toward where Lachlan stood. “Lachlan, are you okay?”
He was just about to answer when Josh piped up. “Is he okay?”
Josh’s voice was nasal from having a broken nose. “He attacked me.”
At that, Lachlan couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah, right,” Wes said as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. “I highly doubt it.”
“Thank you, Wes.” Lachlan always liked Wes. The man came off as scary, with his shaved head, mocha-colored skin, and his heavily muscled body that constantly seemed to be flexing. Wes liked to give off the impression he’d rather punch a person than talk to them, but it was all for show. Wes’s enchanting green eyes always gave him
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41
away. Behind his rough exterior was a gentle man that had treated Lachlan with nothing but respect since the day they had met.
“But it’s true,” Victor spoke up. “He came out of nowhere and hit Josh.”
“How do you like my cat reflexes now, son?” Lachlan couldn’t help but tease the two wolves. The old saying
You mess with fire,
you’re going to get burned
must have gone unheard by these jokesters.
“Okay, Tweedledee and Tweedledum.” Lachlan could see Wes was fighting back his laughter. His chin trembled in between his words. “Go get cleaned up, then come down for supper.”
As Victor helped Josh to his feet, Lachlan made like he was going to take a step toward them, and Josh flinched back. At that he and Wes looked at one another and let loose with their merriment.
They made their way down the stairs and headed toward the dining hall. He looked over when Wes nudged his shoulder with his own.
“That little shit had it coming. I’m glad you finally gave it to him.”
“Ah it was nothing.” Lachlan brushed off Wes’s praise.
“No, it was, and I’m glad you finally put that little prick in his place. I don’t know if you’ve met Josh’s dad, but that guy is ten times worse than his kid.”
Lachlan thought back and tried to remember if Josh’s dad was one of the wolves he’d helped Garrett question. “I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure.”
“Good, then don’t. You think his kid’s a prejudiced little fuck, daddy’s got a doctorate in assholism.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
When he and Wes entered the dining room, most of the wolves that lived in the alpha’s house were already seated. Lachlan glanced around looking for an open seat that wasn’t directly next to someone.
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AJ Jarrett
“Lachlan, over here,” Wes said as he guided Lachlan toward the head of the table where Garrett sat.
“Hey, you two.” Garrett stood to greet them. “Everything okay?”
Just then Josh came barreling into the room. The swelling in his nose had already started to go down. “He hit me,” Josh accused as he came to a stop on the other side of Garrett.
“Did he now?” Garrett looked at Josh then looked toward Lachlan. “What did he say?” The question was directed to Lachlan.
Everyone in the room had their eyes on Lachlan. He felt a little silly repeating what Josh had said. Plus it was degrading to Lachlan as a person and as a lion shifter.
Lachlan darted his eyes down the length of the table. “He called me a wittle kitty and asked why I was out without my master.” A few muffled laughs echoed in the quiet room, and Lachlan cringed with a pinch of embarrassment and a pinch of anger that anyone would laugh at such an insult.
Right before his and everyone else’s eyes, Garrett smacked Josh upside the back of his head. Josh yelped in pain, and the whole room went quiet. Lachlan looked from Garrett to Wes, who looked pleased with Garrett’s reaction.
“Let this be a warning to any and all wolves who treat my mate with disrespect. It will not be tolerated. If you don’t like it, by all means pack up and move on.” Garrett ran his narrow-eyed stare down one length of the table and up the other side. Lachlan followed his stare, gauging the reaction of the wolves sitting around the table.
“Feel free to spread the word.”
Garrett gave one last final stare, daring anyone to say a word.
“Please, Lachlan, have a seat.” With that Garrett sat down and pulled his napkin into his lap.
Lachlan stood there gaping at what his mate had just done. Garrett had never stood up for him like that in front of the other wolves before. A little more of the brick wall surrounding his heart began to crumble to dust.
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43
After dinner Lachlan said his good-nights and headed out of the dining room. Garrett had stayed back to talk with Josh for all the good it would do. Josh was young and thought he knew it all. Lachlan pitied the young man his ignorance. Karma was a bitch, and it always came back tenfold.
Lachlan couldn’t begrudge Josh too much though. From what Wes said earlier, Josh might have a rough home life. It didn’t take much to build a foundation for hatred, and maybe Josh was just misguided youth. But either way Lachlan wouldn’t stand for such blatant disrespect from the young pup.
“Excuse me, Lachlan?” a soft-as-cotton voice whispered.
Lachlan turned to see Clara standing behind him, twirling her thumbs round and round. The petite brunette looked frightened of her own shadow. Lachlan instantly wanted to wrap her in a hug and shield her from the evils of the world. With the Warriors of the Dark uprising in their forces, it was people like Clara that Lachlan worried about. It was always the innocents that got caught in the crossfire and wound up dead.
“What can I do for you, Clara?” Lachlan gentled his tone.