Shane mumbled.
“Aye. I’m sure it probably has something to do with the mate-pull.” Shaking his head, Declan licked his lips, glanced around the place, and seemed to switch gears, for he asked, “What’s the name of the human?”
“Uh, Kiernan. Kiernan Wabinaw,” he replied. “You’re not going to hurt him or anything, are you?”
“Of course not,” Declan immediately responded.
Shane snickered and rolled his eyes.
Carson finally looked at him. He smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. “You need to spend more time with pack-members,” he murmured. “Learn more about how we actually handle things.”
He blushed, unable to help it. “Yeah, it’s hard to get away. My parents don’t like, um…shit.”
Declan’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t like what?”
Swallowing hard, Demitri shivered. “Shifters,” he whispered. “They don’t like shifters. My mom might be one, but she hates it. That’s why she avoids pack runs.”
Declan, Carson, and Shane exchanged looks he couldn’t decipher. Declan and Shane rose from their chairs. “Come with us,” Declan ordered.
Demitri rose, confused, but there was no way he or his wolf would think of disobeying their alpha. He followed them into the small bathroom of the diner.
“Show us your back,” Shane ordered.
He untied his half apron and set it aside, then lifted his shirt.
“Son of a bitch,” Shane snapped while Declan growled low in his throat. Demitri shivered and released his shirt, but someone else’s hand, he wasn’t certain which man’s, replaced his hold. Another hand traced over some of the healing marks.
“Do ye have a place to stay tonight?” Declan asked.
“We’ll swing by yer parent’s place and pack a bag for ye. I don’t want ye going back there.”
“Um, okay, yeah.” Demitri knew from Declan’s grave tone that his parents were in trouble, big trouble. He wasn’t certain how he felt about that. They were his parents after all. “I know Frankie will let me stay at his place.” That was if Demitri’s mate didn’t invite him over again. They hadn’t really discussed it.
They lowered his shirt and smoothed it back into place. A dark brown hand on his shoulder spun him around and Declan stared at Demitri gravely. “This is by no means yer fault. I’m glad ye told me what happened.” He’s brows drew down further and his jaw clenched for a second before he said, “I wished ye would’ve told me sooner about yer parent’s growing lack of acceptance, but what’s done is done. No matter what happens with yer parents, you are always welcome in me pack. I want to make that clear.”
Relief flooded Demitri. Somewhere in the back of his mind, that had been a concern, that he’d be booted out of the pack along with his parents. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Declan nodded. “And keep me posted about yer mate. Let me know if ye need help with…acclimating him, when the time comes,” he ordered.
A few minutes later, Demitri was back working his table and the other shifters were enjoying their meal. For the first time in a long time, Demitri felt like he had a place in the pack. He, as an individual, was accepted. Now, if he could just figure out how to tell his mate that he could turn into a wolf.
Picking up a plate of food, he smiled. “One step at a time,” he mumbled under his breath.
Chapter Seven
So, is Demitri really not even twenty?”
“Kiernan paused in preparing the deviled eggs and glanced at Valerie. He frowned. “What? You think he lied to you?”
She lifted her hands in surrender. “Geez, I didn’t mean any offence,” she said, her tone sounding as if she was trying to soothe him.
Kiernan realized his question did come out a bit more sharply than he’d originally thought, but the idea that someone would question his lover’s word rubbed him the wrong way.
“You gotta admit, he acts a lot older than he looks,”
Valerie pointed out.
Thinking about what his young lover had been through, Kiernan knew he had to grow up quick.
Evidently, something in his expression gave his thoughts away, for Valerie placed her hand on his arm and squeezed.
“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it. I know how he feels about you, so please tell me he’s really not your midlife crises. He seems like a nice guy and doesn’t deserve that unless he knows the score.”
“Knows the score?” Kiernan muttered, taken aback. He stared at his daughter hard, and she had the decency to blush. It was somewhat heartwarming that she was now defending Demitri. Shaking his head, Kiernan stated, “He hasn’t had a good home life. That’s—” He frowned, hesitating, but then realized Valerie wasn’t likely to say anything to anyone. “That’s why he was here last night. His father took a bat to him when he found out he went on a date with me.” Ignoring his daughter’s gasp, he plunged ahead, focusing on the repetition of filling the egg halves to keep his hands busy. “I want to take care of him, protect him, and, god, the feeling I get when I hold him.”
“Whoa! TMI, Dad. I get it. You really like this guy, and he’s not a midlife crisis. That’s good.” She leaned on the counter, trying to catch his eyes. “So, his parents are assholes. Is he pressing charges? I mean, I’m all for parents spanking their kids if they’ve done something wrong, but beating them with a bat is not something you do out of love.”
“You got that right, and, no. I can’t seem to talk him into pressing charges,” he muttered.
“What?” she squeaked, obviously outraged.
He grimaced. Geez, how did he end up talking about this with his daughter? “I can’t force him to. That’s not how a partnership works. I can just be there to support him as he moves on from the experience.”
“Partnership. Holy shit, Dad! Isn’t that moving a little fast?”
Kiernan paused in his actions, realizing what he’d said.
“Well, damn.” Did he really feel that strongly toward Demitri already? Even thoughts of the
