Luke's Surprise (9 page)

Ethan’s eyes fell on Luke. His mouth curled up into a smile but the look was anything but warm or friendly.

“This is your last chance, Luke. You can still come with me. I won’t hold this against you.” He gestured to Mark.

“Never,” Luke said, with firm resolve.

“You mean you’d choose this mutt over me?
Bad choice, Luke.
You’re
gonna
live to regret this, you both will. That’s a promise.”

Ethan put the truck in drive and screeched away from the kerb. Mark was still shaking with fury when Luke moved in front of him and wrapped his arms around his body.

“Hey, calm down. He’s gone now,” Luke soothed. “The man’s an asshole,
Mark,
don’t let him get to you.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down. The man just threatened you. I feel like going after him and ripping his goddamn throat out.”

“Look, he might be a dick but I don’t think he’s dangerous. He wouldn’t hurt me. He’s all talk.”

“I hope you’re right, because if he touches one hair on your head, I swear he won’t live to see another day.”

Chapter Six

When Mark and Luke reached the garage, Bob was just sliding out from under a rusty old truck. He wiped his hands on a rag and shook both Luke’s and Mark’s hands in turn.

“I heard you boys had a run in with Joe yesterday,” he said, his mouth turned up in a slight grin.

“Wow, news sure travels fast in this place, don’t it?” Mark noted.

Bob chuckled. “Had me a few drinks in town last night when Joe’s hands came in. They were bragging about the fact Joe threw you off his ranch.”

“Dan and Lyle?”
Mark asked.

“Yeah, those are the two. Nasty pieces of work if you ask me. I wouldn’t pay any mind to what those two say.”

Mark could feel his fury rising to the surface once again. When Luke stepped forward and took hold of Mark’s hand, Mark could feel the tension leave his body. Bob’s eyes widened when he noticed the action.

“So it’s true. You boys have mated.”

Luke straightened his back and looked Bob straight in the eyes.

“Yes sir, we have.”

Bob’s smile broadened. “Well, that certainly gives an old man like me hope. Come on, your truck is ready.”

Mark and Luke were both shocked by Bob’s statement. Seemed they had more support in town than they’d realised.

* * * *

They called back to
Marnie’s
to collect what was left of Mark’s belongings and then made their way back to the ranch.
Kelan’s
truck was gone from the yard when they pulled in but a dusty old Chevy sat in its place.

When they got out of the truck, Luke noticed a small, female wolf walking down the steps of the porch.

“Marianne?”

“Luke! Hey, I didn’t know you were home.
How’s things
?”

“Good, very good.
Marianne, I’d like you to meet Mark, my mate. Mark, this is Marianne, an old friend of ours.”

“Your mate!”
Marianne squealed. “Wow, congratulations. Pleased to meet you, Mark.”

Marianne shook Mark’s hand enthusiastically. Mark was surprised she didn’t even raise an eyebrow at the fact he was a man.

“Good to meet you too,” he said with feeling.

“There must be something in the water,” she said, giggling. “I’ve met my mate too.”

“You have? Well hell.
Congratulations to you too.”

Marianne blushed. “Thanks, Luke. Actually that’s why I came here. My mate, John, is beta of his pack in New Mexico, so I’m
gonna
be moving there with him. I wanted to tell
Kelan
myself that I’ll be leaving the pack.”

“Oh well,
Kelan
just had some errands to run so he shouldn’t be long if you’d like to come in and wait.”

“I can’t, I was just on my way to work at the hospital. Could you get
Kelan
to call me this evening?”

“Of course.
Say, have you told Cody your news?”

“No, not yet.
It’s all happened so fast, I haven’t had the chance.”

“Marianne and Cody were best friends growing up,” Luke clarified to Mark. “They used to get in a whole heap of trouble together.
Made Pop insane.”

Mark chuckled.

“We didn’t get in
that
much trouble, Luke,” Marianne said, her blush deepening. “Have you spoken to Cody recently?”

“No, not for a while.
I’ll definitely have to call him now, though. Catch him up on all the news.”

“Yeah, me too.
Well I’d better be going or I’ll be late for work. Tell
Kelan
I’m sorry I missed him.”

“Will do.”

Mark and Luke waved Marianne off then got Mark’s belongings out of the truck and took them into the house. They deposited everything in Luke’s bedroom then went down to the kitchen to make some lunch.

Mark insisted that Luke not go to any trouble so Luke took some cold cuts out of the fridge and set about making a salad to go with them.

“
Mmm
, this is good Luke,” Mark said, practically inhaling his food. “I didn’t realise I was so hungry.”

“Well you did miss breakfast,” Luke said, making short work of his own plate.

When they were finished eating, Luke carried their plates to the sink. He had just started the water when Mark snaked his arms around Luke’s waist. He turned around in Mark’s embrace and placed a tender kiss on his lips.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Luke said.

“Yeah me too, Luke.
There isn’t anywhere I’d rather be right now.”

Luke kissed Mark
again,
opening his mouth wider when Mark licked at the seam of his lips then slipped his tongue inside. Luke slid a hand down and palmed Mark’s erection through his jeans. Mark grunted and thrust his hips into Luke’s hand.

“Christ, I’d tell you two to get a room but you already have one here,”
Kelan
said, striding into the kitchen.

Luke pulled away from the kiss, his face instantly filling with heat.
Kelan
raised an amused eyebrow, his gaze dropping down to Luke’s hand. Luke’s face grew hotter when he realised he was still groping Mark’s hard cock. He jerked his hand away quickly.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

Kelan
waved away his apology, grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and took a seat at the kitchen table.

“So you find out anything at the guesthouse?” he asked.

Luke and Mark filled
Kelan
in on everything that had happened since they left the house that morning, including their run in with Ethan.
Kelan
whistled when they finished talking and leant back in his chair.

“Ethan Walker,”
Kelan
said, shaking his head. “I had no idea the man was gay.”

“Yeah, I bet his daddy doesn’t either,” Mark said. “Maybe then he wouldn’t be so quick to throw stones.”

“Is this the first time he’s said anything to you Luke?”
Kelan
asked.

Luke hung his head afraid to meet either his brother’s or his mate’s eyes.

“No,” he said, quietly.

“What the hell do you mean no?” Mark fumed. “Has he threatened you before?”

“No, he’s never threatened me but he’s been coming on to me for years, since I was about fifteen.”

Mark growled, nearly toppling his chair over as he jumped to his feet.

“I’m going to kill him,” he spat.

“Calm down,”
Kelan
said, his voice full of authority.
“Luke, why didn’t you say anything before?”

Luke shrugged. “It was no big deal, most of the time I just laughed it off.”

“Most of the time?”

“Well, one time he did try to kiss me, but I pushed him away and told him I wasn’t interested. I thought he got the message.”

Mark was shaking with anger. He looked barely able to stop himself running out the door and hunting the wolf down.

“Mark, sit down,”
Kelan
ordered. “This isn’t helping any.”

Mark reluctantly sat back down, glaring at
Kelan
.

“I’ve got a right to protect my mate,
Kelan
.”

“I know, but Luke’s not in any danger right this minute, is he? We need to think about this, come up with the best solution to proceed. You can’t just go charging over there and challenging the man. I’ve just been to have a little chat with Dan and Lyle. They said they didn’t have anything to do with last night. I might not like them, but I believe them. In light of what you’ve just told me, Luke, seems to me Ethan may well have had something to do with last night’s events, but we still don’t have any proof.”

“So what do you suggest we do?”

Kelan
pursed his lips. “Let me go make some calls. We’ll discuss it again later when we’ve all had a chance to calm down.”

Kelan
got up and started walking out of the kitchen. He was almost to the door when Luke remembered what else he had to tell him.

“
Kelan
, Marianne came by to see you earlier. She wants you to phone her tonight.”

“Oh, did she say why?”

“Yeah, she wanted to tell you that she’s mated and will be leaving the pack soon.”

“Great,”
Kelan
said, frowning. “That’s all I need right now.”

“What do you mean?” Luke asked.

“She’s my omega, Luke. She comes to pack meetings with me. More often than not she’s the only person that can keep things from turning ugly there too. Fuck.”

“Oh, oh!
Does this mean…?”

“Yeah, it does. Cody’s the only other omega I’ve got. I’ll get in touch with him, ask him to come home.”

When
Kelan
left the kitchen, Luke reached out and held Mark’s hand.

“Hey, you okay?”

“I will be. So, your brother’s an omega wolf?”

“Yeah, I don’t know how happy he’ll be to come home, though. I think he really loves his life in New York.”

Mark nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, that’s one hell of a responsibility to lay on him if his life is all set someplace else. I don’t think
Kelan
has much choice, though. Packs can fall apart without an omega present.”

“Are you talking from experience?”

“Not first hand. I never knew who the omega was in my own pack. Their identity is usually kept a secret, you know?”

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone knows about Marianne and Cody apart from us.”

 
“When I worked near Fort Worth, the guys there told me about what had happened to the pack before I arrived.
Wasn’t pretty.
Apparently when the omega left, all hell broke loose.
Constant arguments and fighting, four new alphas in the space of three months.”

Luke frowned. He couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to
Kelan
. As much as he bitched about the man sometimes,
Kelan
was his brother and he loved him.

“I hope Cody will come home,” Luke said, worried.

“He will, Luke. If your brother’s heart is only half as big as yours, he’ll be on the first plane back here.”

Luke smiled and reached out to stroke his hand down Mark’s face.

“Thank you, that means a lot.”

* * * *

That evening after dinner, Luke, Mark and
Kelan
settled in the living room to watch an action flick
Kelan
had rented that afternoon.
Kelan
took the armchair while Luke settled on the couch next to Mark. Luke had no clue what the movie was about, it was difficult to concentrate on anything with his mate sitting in such close proximity, his delicious scent invading his senses.

Mark’s arm was slung around Luke’s shoulder and Luke was cuddled close against Mark’s chest. It was perfect. Luke yawned, feeling his eyes grow heavy but when Mark started lightly trailing his fingers up and down Luke’s arm, causing tingling sensations to rush through his body, Luke suddenly found
himself
wide awake and horny as hell.

Mark must have noticed Luke’s sudden excitement because he sucked in a sharp breath and Luke was struck with the smell of his arousal. He looked down, his eyes widening at the sight of the bulge in Mark’s jeans.

Luke stretched out and yawned again loudly for effect.

“Oh, I’m so tired. You ready for bed, Mark?”

Mark didn’t answer him aloud, just nodded quickly, his eyes dark and filled with lust. Luke practically leapt off the sofa dragging Mark up with him.