Mace looked around the pack house table, pleased to see Trent laughing at something Gabriel had said. Since their talk the week before, Trent was excited about the two of them working for themselves. He’d never fully gotten over the attack by the killer bear, and seemed to think if they were choosy about the jobs they took on, then his working day would be safer. Mace could totally relate. Spending every day with Roan was a dream come true and despite Roan’s assertion that he should think about it more, Mace already tendered his resignation with the force. When Trent found out, he did the same thing.
Roan. Mace glanced at him, sitting by his side as usual, his pretty face alight with excitement. Tonight was going to be Roan’s first chance at running with a pack. An unusual pack admittedly, but he was excited rather than anxious and for Mace that was a good sign. Roan was teasing Kalel about their driving lesson earlier that day. When Roan asked him about it, Mace didn’t see why he couldn’t include Kalel in his lessons. Both men were shifters with quick reflexes, so it wasn’t that difficult. Although Kalel tended to get distracted at times, something that Roan was teasing him about now.
“They shouldn’t put mannequins in the store window if they don’t want people to look,” Kalel said indignantly. “And it wasn’t that bad, I only took my eyes off the road for one tiny second.”
“And came close to hitting that woman in the crosswalk,” Roan laughed. “You’re supposed to pay attention when you’re behind the wheel.”
“I really appreciate you taking the time to do this, Mace,” Peter said over the heads of the two men who were still giggling and teasing each other. “One more week of finals and then I’m done. I tell you, I’m about ready to scream if I have to crack open one more book.”
“What are you planning to do when you graduate?” Mace asked. Peter originally started criminal law with Ben, his best friend. But Ben changed majors, opting for his first love, art, instead; Peter stayed on and stuck it out. Mace assumed he’d join the police force, but Peter surprised him.
“I was kinda hoping you might have a job for me, or some sort of internship,” he said. Mace’d been sure that Peter eventually wanted to work with Dimitri and Shane and habit had him looking over the table at Dimitri who nodded at him. Clearly this was something they’d already discussed.
“It’s not going to be as exciting as police work,” Mace warned. “We’ll be consulting with the police, but a bulk of our work will be watching husbands cheating on their wives and doing insurance assessments.”
“I know,” Peter said, his hand stroking Kalel’s hair. “But I’m like you, mated. I don’t want to be working twelve-hour shifts and getting called out in the middle of the night if I can help it.”
Mace could understand. After spending his whole life virtually on his own he found it hard to remember why he might’ve had a problem with having someone in his life full time. Roan seemed to instinctively know when he wanted some fun, or when he preferred quiet times. His house had never looked so immaculate and with just a few simple touches, Roan had turned it into a home. And that special feeling he had for his mate, that one that neither one of them knew if it was love or not, was growing stronger every day.
“Come on guys,” Dimitri said, “let’s get this table cleared. The park is calling, and I for one could do with a good run.”
Roan already grabbed the plates, so Mace gathered his coat, and a heavy jacket for Roan. Kalel’d been wonderful about buying Roan those delectable tight pants and t-shirts, but had forgot about practicalities like a warm coat and hat. The weather wasn’t too cold, but Mace worried that Roan was still too thin, and had bought him the biggest, thickest coat he could find.
Remembering the wonderful blow job Roan gave him to show his appreciation, Mace thought about the rather uncomfortable conversation he’d had with Dimitri earlier. Knowing he wasn’t going to be able to enjoy the run until he’d had a chance to talk to his mate, he beckoned to Roan and ducked into one of the empty bedrooms.
/~/~/~/~/
Roan hurried down the hallway after Mace. He was happy, he realized. Bone deep, every cell alive with it, happy. He had his mate, a pack who cared about him, not to mention good food and a roof over his head. Such a far cry from the mess he’d been in when Mace first put him in jail hoping he would at least get a meal and somewhere safe for the night.
“What’s up, hon?” He asked hurrying into Mace’s arms. It was his favorite place to be. He took a quick sniff, just because he could, and then leaned back, worried about the frown lines on Mace’s face.
“Dimitri had a talk with me before dinner.”
Roan couldn’t see anything wrong with that. Dimitri and Mace didn’t know each other as well as Shane and Mace did, but they all seemed to get along.
“He said that I…crap, I’m just going to come out and say it. Is your wolf pissed off at me because I won’t let you claim me?”
“What are you talking about?” Roan was stung Dimitri would suggest such a thing. “I have claimed you, fair and square. Didn’t you tell him I bit you? That’s all it takes.”
“Yeah, I did.” Mace rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and Roan noticed his cheeks had a reddish flush. “But he seems to think that because you’re a wolf, that you’d need to…that you’d want to…your wolf would feel put out if you didn’t…”
“What?” Roan’s wolf loved Mace; he at least could be honest with his feelings even if the two men were still coming to terms with what love meant. Roan’s wolf had none of those inhibitions.
“Apparently your wolf wants to top me and bite me at the same time, because that’s how a claiming usually goes; Dimitri’s worried that my dominant nature’s stifling your wolf,” Mace said in a rush.
“He said what?” Roan heard his voice go up, and he pushed out of Mace’s arms, pacing the floor. If he didn’t, he’d probably go after Dimitri and give him a piece of his mind. “He’s got no right saying those things. Dimitri doesn’t know about omega wolves, or how we think differently than others. He can’t say that sort of stuff to you and make it sound like fact.”
“Ben’s wolf had a problem with it, when he first met Sin. Sin didn’t let him top or claim him for six months because he was dominant and Ben was a mess.”
“Ben’s wolf’s not an omega. Okay, he might not be an alpha either, but he’s at least a beta wolf. They think differently than omegas.”
“So you’ve never thought you’d want to…you know.”
“No.” And Roan was being completely honest. “I’ve been raised an omega, lived as an omega and omegas don’t top. That’s all there is to it.” He was still annoyed at Dimitri putting that frown on his mate’s face. Unfortunately, being an omega there wasn’t a lot he could do about it.
“Sweetness,” Mace came close and Roan allowed himself to be held again. “I know your wolf is a huge part of who you are, but you’re a man as well. Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like?”
“To top you?” Roan hadn’t but now Mace mentioned it, he had to admit the idea was appealing. “What about you?” He asked, determined to put his mate’s needs first. “Have you ever thought what it might be like being…you know, on the bottom?”
“Well, yeah, once or twice,” Mace admitted. “You always seem to enjoy it.”
“My body is built for it,” Roan reminded him. “It would be different for you. Look,” he said, catching Mace’s eyes and holding them. “There’re a lot of things we haven’t done together yet. We’ve only been solid a week or two. Before you met me you’d never even considered having sex with a man. So I think we’re doing really well. Let’s not push it, okay. Explore stuff, sure. But remember what we do in our bedroom is nobody’s business but ours. If that’s something you want to try further down the road, then we’ll talk about it, but not all gay men like anal sex. It’s not a prerequisite.”
“I just don’t want you thinking I’m a bad mate,” Mace admitted quietly.
“You’re not.” Roan was very determined about that. “You’ve made huge adjustments in the last month, and don’t let anyone tell you any different. The key thing is that we communicate with each other. If there’re things you want to try, then we’ll do it. If you’re not sure on stuff, we’ll watch porn together to get ideas. But don’t ever, ever, think you’re a bad mate.”
“But you have a say in this too, right? If there’re things you want to do, or try, or whatever.” Bless him. Mace was getting embarrassed and Roan felt a huge surge of affection with his larger than life mate.
“I can always talk to you,” he said. “And that’s the key to any successful relationship or mating. So long as we can talk to each other, we’ll be golden.”
“I’m not that good at the talking side of things.”
“You’re getting a lot better at it.” Roan stretched up on tiptoes and kissed Mace’s chin. It was all he could reach. Fortunately, while Mace might not say much, he could take a hint as well as the next man and Roan lost himself in the wonder of hard lips, a strong body to lean on and those lovely big hands that seemed to know every hot spot Roan had.
If only he had time to enjoy it, or better yet, take things further. Unfortunately, a harsh knock on the door and a yelled, “get your asses our here, we’re ready to go,” put paid to any ideas Roan might have had.
“Later?” He asked, noting Mace’s eyes were full of lust.
“Definitely.”
Keeping hold of Mace’s hand, Roan walked out to the front door where Dimitri was waiting for them; a smirk on his handsome face. Forgetting he should probably show more respect, Roan pointed a finger at him. “Don’t ever assume to know what an omega is thinking, Alpha,” he snarled as he sauntered past.
“What the hell did I do?” Dimitri must’ve been asking Shane, because the Alpha Mate was laughing. Roan didn’t bother to stop and listen to what Shane might’ve said. He got into Mace’s car, and heaved a big sigh. Mace got in beside him and they made their way down the driveway, heading for the park the pack used for their runs.
“Did you mean what you said, back there in the room, about being happy I’m your mate?” Maybe it was the darkness in the car that gave Mace the courage to ask. Roan, who’d been watching the passing scenery, turned in his seat captivated as always by his rugged mate’s profile.
“You are the best mate I could’ve ever wished for,” He said softly. “You’re more than I could ever dream of, and you’re exactly the man I need in my life. Hopefully, one day, you’ll feel the same about me.” Roan’d never been sure humans felt the same mating pull as shifters did. But Mace answered with a ready smile that glowed in the dim light of the car.
“I already do.”
Roan believed him.