Chapter Four

The sweet scent of sage filled his senses, hair tickled his nose, breath puffed against his skin. A spike of rosewood emerged as Jude nuzzled closer, his cheek rubbing against Gale’s stomach.

This was new. Nice. Reaffirming what Gale had been considering since he had first caught Jude watching him. They were developing a mate bond, likely lurking within them from the day they were born. Unnoticed…why? Because they hadn’t been ready? Because it hadn’t been safe?

Gale hadn’t been having random affairs with women because he didn’t believe in sharing intimacy with anyone who wasn’t his mate. From his observations, Jude was exclusively attracted to men and probably hadn’t been seeing someone in Vihaan due to the culture there.

Those who experienced the mate bond claimed it was clever, sentient enough to know when to appear and when to hesitate. Had the clever shit been aware they were incompatible? Known to develop a friendship before expecting more?

That would imply they’d been building the bond long before now. Countless nights in the hut by the border, days hunting and tracking prey, a precursor to this bond. The mate bond establishing itself and asserting its dominance in a reminder this was inevitable.

Was that why he wasn’t afraid? Why it didn’t matter Jude was a guy with equipment he’d never thought about handling? Was that why he delved wholeheartedly into exploring what lurked between them? Why he didn’t run or fight, consider walking away and rejecting his male mate? Something had to explain it, to make sense of why Gale had never looked at, thought of, or considered touching another male, but the moment he saw Jude’s attraction, he couldn’t resist.

Inhaling the familiar scent, he buried his nose behind Jude’s ear and let it wash over him: warm, earthy. The scent of home.

A knock on the door made Gale sigh. He didn’t risk waking Jude by calling out but let the ten-count rule apply. After twelve, the door opened and Drew popped his head in.

“I have a lead on another name in the city. We’ll have breakfast, then head out,” he said, explaining his interruption with the only acceptable excuse.

Gale gave a thumbs up and watched him exit, leaving him the unenviable task of waking Jude and discovering whether he regretted the events of the previous day or if he snuggled into Gale’s naked body, showing he accepted the growing bond between them. He had two ways to avoid the inevitable freak out: slip out of bed before Jude woke or wake his fireball with a smile.

No, that wasn’t true. There was no choice.

Nipping at the tender flesh below Jude’s ear, he splayed a hand against Jude’s stomach over the tee he’d worn to bed. As he offered light nips and kisses to the expanse of Jude’s neck, Gale slipped a hand under the fabric and fought the instinct to head south, trailing fingers, stroking bare flesh.

Jude stirred awake, eyelashes fluttering. When he opened hazel eyes, Gale grazed a thumb over a delicate nipple and a smile spread across Jude’s lips like the sunrise. “What are you doing?” he asked, husky with sleep, the sound sending a jolt to his cock.

“Time to wake up,” he whispered, easing the tee to Jude’s chin to latch his mouth to a pert nipple. Sucking his middle finger into his mouth to add a wet, alternating touch.

“I’m sure words exist for that,” Jude said, breathy and soft.

Gale nipped the tender flesh. “Yeah? I’m sure you know exactly what I’m doing, yet you ask every time.” He arched an eyebrow to question whether Jude would continue being difficult. “If you’re done complaining, you can get this ass in the shower, or…” He paused to offer an alternative, licking at the raised nipple and cupping Jude’s fine ass.

“Or?” he asked, breath hitching when Gale parted his ass cheeks and slipped a finger between them. Jude gasped and clutched at his biceps with biting fingers.

Nothing was more gratifying than watching Jude’s lashes flicker in a struggle to keep his eyes open. “Or you can ride my finger until you come, thank me, and join me in the shower to save time,” he replied, easing a finger inside the tight hole until Jude grunted and his eyes closed.

“Thank you?” he repeated, grinning and biting his lip as Gale continued the drag of a finger against his tight asshole.

“Yeah, thank me.”

If Jude asked what for, he’d leave him hard and alone, leaking pre-come in the space between them. Fuck the games and make him figure it out.

Gale pushed his finger deeper, wishing it didn’t turn him on to see how Jude reacted, to watch unguarded pleasure sweep him away from reality.

When he opened his eyes, Jude wrapped his arms around Gale’s neck and leaned in closer. Jude kissed with a hunger Gale couldn’t feed yet, moaning when Gale tugged him closer. Breaking the kiss, Jude panted, eyes glazed with pleasure, mouth wet and kissable. “Thank you.”

*

The verbal thank you was all the gratitude Jude showed for the serious finger-fucking that sent him careening into orgasm. He had joined Gale in the shower, the water cool but Jude so frosty it should have turned ice-cold.

If they’d been confined by the storm, he’d have caused another fight to get Jude to admit he spent 90 percent of his life behind a mask of indifference.

Gale had never seen anything more perfect than Jude falling apart in his arms, flying high on an orgasm he gave. If Jude wouldn’t let it be more, Gale would be better rejecting the bond and finding a mate who could appreciate him. He had more to offer than his body.

By the time they resumed their search for exiles after breakfast, Gale felt like they’d reached an impasse. If Jude didn’t give him a sign that this was a bond worth pursuing he may need to reconsider returning home to take a different mate. It would be better to be wanted by someone he could tolerate than endure this constant push and pull Jude put him through, one minute desperate for him, the next ashamed of whatever they shared.

Drew stopped the car in the parking lot and faced the team. Janet sat beside him, and Isaac had squeezed into the back seat between Gale and Jude, a much needed but oblivious buffer. “With Eliseo injured, I’m putting you in charge, Gale. You’re the eldest, and this guy will respect you more if he recognises or remembers your place in the pack,” he reasoned as he did every time they investigated a new lead.

But in the previous speech they had been told that Eliseo was in charge due to being Simeon’s mate. Officially mated, despite Simeon being dead, he was a less threatening choice to approach the exiles. One poor guy, early on, had scented Isaac approaching and had run, admitting later he thought a Vihaan had come to mate him. While he’d been gay, he was afraid of being dragged to Vihaan by the mate bond. He was one of the few who chose to remain in Dnara.

Not like Gale knew why anyone would stay. His homesickness for Vihaan was almost crippling.

Once Drew had run through the rest of his speech—offering a rundown of this guy’s appearance, name, and place in Dnara—they left the car and walked two streets. While Drew could have driven to the front door, Eliseo insisted on approaching by foot to avoid more mishaps, by letting exiles see them coming and scenting them from a distance.

The new rule was: if they ran, no one would chase. Not unless they posed a threat, or their name was on the list of those with family members in the pack.

Today, their destination was a warehouse with a guard outside. Drew removed a black item from his pocket and flashed it at the guard. “Drew Colley, from Fashion Life magazine. I have an appointment,” he said, natural and comfortable with spouting complete shit.

Gale was impressed, though a lifetime of warrior instincts left him disappointed when the guard gave them access.

Inside, Janet whistled at the bright lights, flurry of action, and rails of clothing. Drew headed towards the tall, imposing man talking on a phone, the only person in the room in a suit.

He returned and ushered them into the corner by the door. “The model goes on break in ten minutes. I’ve agreed to wait,” Drew explained, knowing not to cause a scene or piss anyone off.

Gale leaned against the brick wall of the warehouse and let the constant activity wash over him. The chemical scents made it reckless to risk a smoke, so he dug his hands into his pockets and kicked his feet out to wait.

Jude leaned beside him, not too close but closer than necessary.

Isaac stood on the other side and lay his head against Gale’s arm. He lifted an arm around Isaac’s shoulders, as he hugged Gale’s waist. “If it storms tonight, with the thunder…” he said, eyes so sad Gale realised he should have checked on him last night.

“Sure. You’re little. You’ll fit in the middle,” he promised, nodding towards Jude in a silent admission he wasn’t the only one who didn’t like the storms.

It was sweet that Isaac took comfort from his presence. As the one with the most refined senses, Isaac must have felt claustrophobic in this world, bombarded with scents and sounds he couldn’t block out.

Gale pressed his hands to Isaac’s ears and let him bury his face in his armpit. His scent was unmistakably m’weko, Vihaan, and pack, more comforting than what lingered in this room.

After two steady, deep breaths, Isaac sagged, and the tension in his shoulders evaporated. He tilted his head to rest a cheek on Gale’s chest. “Do you think the pack are safe?”

He blanched at the question, suddenly full of uncertainty and fear. “Why wouldn’t they be?”

“Rylee said when they get storms here, it causes a bad storm in Vihaan.” Isaac had worry etched on every line of his face.

Gale cupped his face and held Isaac’s gaze. “They’ll be fine. Keon’s a good Alpha. He’ll do what is necessary to protect the pack.”

Isaac could trust him to be honest because he’d lived under three Alphas and Keon was the best. While no one had been unhappy with Grier, they hadn’t realised life could be better. Now they did, and he trusted Keon to keep it that way.

Even if the storm had affected the pack, they would be safe. No one could control the Mother, but they could lessen the destruction She wrought.

“Do you think it’s right—what he’s doing?”

Gale tread carefully, not knowing Isaac’s feelings about same-sex matings. Since Yosi first confided in him, he’d done his best to breed honesty and acceptance in the people he spent time with, worked with, and let into his life.

Isaac was like a brother, and it would kill Gale to discover he was as homophobic as the rest of the world.

“Yeah, I do,” he answered honestly, trying not to preach or tell Isaac what to think. “If you felt the true mate bond, wouldn’t you want to claim them? Would it matter if your true mate was a guy?” he asked, putting a finger to Isaac’s lips before he could speak. “I’m not asking you to tell me, but think about the questions. You need to decide and live with your beliefs.”

Isaac watched him, patient and pliant, waiting for his mind to be moulded, eager to learn. The open mind Gale hoped for.

He spared a glance in Jude’s direction, to check he was listening. “What I think, and what I believe,” he said, offering Isaac a supportive squeeze, “is that Keon is right. He’s not telling us the pack will only accept you if you’re gay, nor is he saying that if you can’t be gay or support being gay then you need to leave. He’s asking us to be a family. To love and support one another like a family.

“Families don’t always get along. They don’t always agree or see the world the same, but they stand by you through the hard times, to be there during the good days,” he said, wishing his parents could feel the same. “Keon has made our pack a safer place to live. He was strong enough to stop the cycle and say, ‘We refuse to hurt each other anymore.’ I believe in him and that promise.”

A touch grazed the side of his palm and though he wanted to bask in the look in Jude’s hazel eyes, Gale let Isaac cuddle in, then waited. Jude’s fingers caressed the length of his hand, twining with his. When Isaac wasn’t looking, Jude dipped his head into Gale’s neck and inhaled deeply.

“Gale?” Cocking his head, Isaac gazed up with confusion. “The pack has lived under these rules and laws for generations. Why did we do that if it was wrong?” he asked, voicing the one question no one had been smart enough to ask.

Gale couldn’t find the words to say how proud he was.

Jude answered, gaze firmly on Gale. “Because we never knew it was wrong,” he said, simplifying the truth. Some knew it was wrong and left. “We’ve lived the same way for so long we never knew life could change. The people who came to Dnara for acceptance never returned. It wasn’t wrong but it wasn’t right to abandon the rest of us who were trapped, never telling us there was another way, another life, a safer place to live.”

The hard, painful honesty demanded action. Whether or not anyone was looking, Gale couldn’t resist. He cupped Jude’s head and pulled him into a hard kiss, proud of him for saying ‘us’ and meaning it, for claiming and owning his pain and anger.

Keeping his orientation secret didn’t mean the pain didn’t exist, that Jude hadn’t been hurt, devastated, and oppressed by what had gone on in their pack.

Holding his gaze, Jude swallowed his feelings. “Until Keon came home, we didn’t know Vihaan, our laws, and our hearts, could change.” He squeezed Gale’s hand and whispered, “But we can. We have.”