Chapter Five

Gale was drowning in the sweet scent of sage when the model took a break. Even when Jude joined Drew, he wasn’t bereft. The scent lingered, the mate bond intensified, and Isaac released him with a smile that eased the ache Jude left behind, letting him pretend everything was fine.

“Leo?” Drew approached a tall man with blue hair.

The model paused, gaze narrowing, drifting over Drew and evaluating the team. Leo took a discreet sniff and a smile blossomed. “Come with me,” he said, slipping off a fashionable jacket that barely touched his hips to hand to a young woman. She hung it on a rail as Leo continued towards a sofa not far from the door.

Without care, he undid his jeans and stepped out, handing them to a young man who took the clothing and left.

Gale eyed Leo with curiosity. The description they’d been given didn’t tally but he guessed a lot had changed in the last nine years. If this was the right man, he’d gone from sixteen to twenty-five in Dnara. Far from home. Alone.

He looked good, tall enough to match Gale’s six foot, with hair shorn close at the sides and back, long hair at the top dyed bright blue. Freckles drifted across his cheeks and nose, his physique well-toned, and scent clean, like morning dew and camomile.

When Leo turned, in nothing more than black boxers, he didn’t hesitate to step close to Jude. He dipped his head into his neck and breathed deeply. “Holy Mother. You guys smell amazing.”

Gale pulled a fottai from his pocket, lighting it in this safe corner, with no scent except a faint residue of cleaning solution. Someone had been keeping this area scent-free.

“Oh!” Leo groaned and took a whiff of the smoke. He visibly shuddered and cracked a grin. “Can I roll in your scent?”

“Um, Leo?” Drew sputtered in shock.

Janet leaned her elbow on his shoulder to shush him.

Gale shook his head and pointed to Isaac. “Rub on him. He’s little and unattached,” he said, as it would make this easier. Now they knew Leo was Vihaan, it was likely he was the right man.

Without embarrassment, Isaac stepped closer. “Hi, Leo.” He hugged the stranger, and they both glowed in contentment.

“Hi.” Leo rubbed his cheek over Isaac’s hair, inhaling deeply.

A finger hooked onto Gale’s back pocket, and he found Jude standing by his side, jaw tight. He was no doubt thinking about how Isaac, innocent and someone he couldn’t be mad at, had been basking in Gale’s scent, and realising Leo was getting a heady mix of Isaac’s scent mingled with Gale’s.

The jealous, possessive tug delighted him as he took a drag and handed over his cigarette. Jude’s eyes flashed a warning, but he took the cigarette, sharing saliva, sharing breath.

If they’d been anywhere else, Gale would have shoved him against the wall and shared more than Jude could handle. Maybe later.

Drew flushed as the hug extended beyond the comfort of most humans.

Gale shook his head and winked at the lynx. “It’s a m’weko instinct. The ‘Holy Mother’ gave it away. We’ve got the right man. He’s m’weko and homesick,” he confessed, knowing the feeling. He’d been gone two weeks and missed the pack like crazy. He couldn’t imagine how it felt for a guy who had been gone for years. From a sixteen-year-old kid to an adult in Dnara, without his mate, without seeing or scenting him. The thought made him twitchy, so he grabbed Jude by the belt loop to bury his nose in his hair, and Jude relaxed against him.

Leo broke the hug, pressed his forehead to Isaac’s, and whispered his thanks. Both had tears in their eyes when they parted, Isaac stepping into Janet’s orbit to take her hand, all three equally homesick and alone. “I haven’t scented another m’weko in forever. The Vihaan I know are mostly kalou,” Leo confessed, glancing at Drew to nod in acknowledgement. “Like you.”

“Oh, I’m not from Vihaan.”

Cocking his head, it took Leo a second for the confusion to clear. “You were turned,” he said, staring at Drew in wonder. “I’m sorry. Turning is unpleasant and distressing for both parties. It must have been awful,” he said, with the compassion of someone who had seen a forced turning of a human.

Interesting.

Leo raked a hand through his hair. “Why are you here?”

“Jude?” Gale passed responsibility by encouraging him to accept his place in this.

Jude blanched but cleared his throat. “There’s a new Alpha.”

Leo snorted, folding his arms over his chest. “Simeon Linwood. Who did he kill to manage that?”

“Grier.”

Leo blinked and backed onto the sofa. Isaac sat beside him, as Janet perched on the other end, looking bored and disinterested.

Drew crouched by Leo’s side. “How did you hear about the change of leadership? Does gossip make it this far?”

“Sure. Gossip is as bad in this world as a village. Foame have a network online where we share information.” Leo scrubbed his face as the shock of Simeon’s actions sank home. “If someone visits Vihaan, they share what they’ve found out in a group chat. We check on our families, our loved ones. I saw the notice that Simeon took over but no one explained how. The specifics get lost in what matters: family, friends.”

Gale filed that information for later. “There’s a group chat?” He thought he knew what that meant but Drew’s sharp glance confirmed it. If they had an insider, they could share the message of Keon’s leadership, the message of what he was doing, and what he offered.

Always quick to acknowledge a strategy, Jude regained Leo’s attention. “Simeon died a year ago,” he explained, and Leo’s eyes widened. “He left the Alphaship to his brother, Keon.”

“Yeah, a weedy kid, but sweet,” Leo recalled, exactly how Gale would have described Keon. A boy had left the pack, but a man had returned.

“He’s Alpha, and he’s changed everything,” Jude said around the cigarette still dangling from his lips, while letting Leo come to terms with what he was told.

Which was fine, except they were running out of time and had a new lead to follow. Gale slipped the cigarette from Jude’s lips, took another drag and exhaled. “We’ve been sent to bring you home,” he cut in, intrigued when Leo frowned and shook his head. “You have a Beta waiting to mate with you.”

Leo stood and took the cigarette from Gale’s hand to take a long drag. “What do you know about my Beta?” he asked, proving the mate bond remained strong. In this world or Vihaan, Leo had the confidence to step toe-to-toe with Gale over his true mate, Beta Weston.

Grinning approval, he retrieved his cigarette and dropped it to the floor, never breaking eye contact. Letting Leo know he wouldn’t be swapping saliva, letting him know Gale wasn’t scared. Letting Jude see he wasn’t about to put another man’s spit in his mouth.

“I know he’s waiting,” Gale replied, answering the question. “I know Keon rejected his true mate, a male—”

“Vega.”

Drew slid onto the sofa, sending Gale a concerned glance.

Leo must have seen Gale’s caution because he shrugged. “Keon’s known from when he was young. Everyone could scent it, and we’re not far in age.”

Gale was happy to tell the rest. “He plans to take a chosen mate soon, but it’ll be another male. He’s set new laws.” He pulled the papers from his pocket. “If you look them over and decide to go home to your Beta, you can find us at the address on the back. We’re gathering as many exiled or banished foame as we can find,” he explained, warning Leo he didn’t have time to hesitate. “If you can live by the rules, you’re welcome to take sanctuary in our pack.”

Leo raised an eyebrow and shifted his attention to the papers.

“Don’t wait too long.” Gale nodded to Isaac, who stood and followed Jude out the door. Janet huffed and followed.

Drew was last to leave, following them outside, only to stop a few steps from the guard. “Why are we leaving?”

Gale nodded to where Jude waited at the end of the building, nearer the main street. “Give him three minutes to get to the part about same-sex matings, and he’ll come running,” he promised, giving Drew a nudge towards the others.

They would wait and give Leo time to read the laws. If he didn’t appear within twenty minutes, they would return to the fraternity.

Janet lamented the ‘waste’ of beautiful clothes as Jude lit a fresh smoke. He took one puff, then handed it to Gale, the twinkle in his eye seeming to approve of his display with the last smoke.

Gale managed one deep inhale and handed it back, before a door slammed and footsteps emerged. He tried not to gloat when Drew shook his head and extracted the car keys from his pocket.

By the time Leo approached, they were ready to leave. “You waited?” Dressed in jeans and a hoodie, he stopped to shrug a bag over his shoulder.

Gale admitted the stark, if rude, truth. “If my mate was at home, free to be claimed, I wouldn’t waste time.”

“I left because he was safe and I wasn’t,” Leo said without anger or judgement. “He always knew I’d claim him. One way or another, our mating was inevitable.”

Isaac sidled next to Leo and peppered him with questions, as Drew led the way to the car. With two streets between them and the car, Gale let the rest of the team walk ahead.

Hovering to enjoy his smoke, Jude tapped his finger against the cigarette to drop the ash to the ground. He cast a curious glance at Gale every few seconds, uncertain and silent, pheromones screaming to close the distance.

Stepping close, he stole the cigarette from Jude’s hand and took a long drag, dropping it to the ground and stomping it out. Pressing his hands to the wall, he caged Jude and nipped at the curve of his jaw. “You make me damned hungry when you’re jealous.”

Eyes full of defiance, Jude couldn’t restrain his hands. A delicate fingertip touched the hem of Gale’s T-shirt and slipped beneath the fabric. “You’ll get fed when you learn to behave.”

Oh, he was begging for another fight, and Gale was tempted to start one. “I already fucked you today. What more do you want?” Gale dropped his hands to his ass and squeezed. Jude’s lips parted, inviting him closer. “Is my finger not good enough, baby?” He smiled, nipping at the full bottom lip, teasing fingers over the crease of Jude’s ass, disappointed at the layer of denim in his way.

When he nipped a second time, Jude’s breath hitched, and he swayed closer. Gale was positive it wasn’t deliberate, but it didn’t matter. He claimed Jude’s mouth in a kiss and groaned when Jude grasped at his T-shirt, rocking his hips, making the bulge in his jeans evident when it brushed his.

Breathing hard, Gale broke the kiss. He couldn’t let Jude keep dragging him close and backing off once he got what he wanted. “You want my cock, you’ve got to earn it.” He offered a last nip at Jude’s neck that made him gasp.

He backed away, angry Jude was resisting the bond, despite craving contact. His sensible side reminded Gale this world wasn’t safe for Vihaans, especially not for Jude. If he walked away and Jude got hurt, he would never forgive himself, and he’d have proven he wasn’t a worthy mate.

Though it grated, he grabbed Jude’s hand and tugged. Jude fell into step with a brief stumble, eyes never leaving him, hand settled comfortably in his.

Whatever Jude was thinking had him in a tailspin. He’d better figure it out soon because Gale couldn’t take this constant confusion of being accepted one minute and rejected the next. The uncertainty was screwing with his head.