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As Richard stared at Kevin Bryson, talking quietly with his son, he felt a strange stirring in his chest. What the hell was the smell emanating from him? It was delicious, and seriously driving him crazy. He hadn’t meant to overreact as he had, but being so close to him, he couldn’t think straight. When he’d touched him the first time, he felt something like a jolt of electricity shoot up his arm.
It had been a long time since he’d been so immediately attracted to anyone like this. Not since he’d met his bloodmate more than twenty-five years ago. Richard thought about the incensed glare the man had fixed on him when Richard had his hand around his throat, and he was laid out on the bed beneath him. Just before he gave in and lowered his eyes, he’d given Richard a smoldering, passionate stare. Kevin would have to be assimilated into the pack and become a mate to one of the wolves, it was clear to him now. The man would never give up. But damn, he was going to be a handful for somebody.
He’d be a handful for somebody, but not him. Richard put the attraction he felt for the man firmly aside. He would never mate again, no matter what. The last time he’d felt so much for someone so quickly was when he’d met Tucker’s mother, his one true bloodmate and the woman who would become his wife. He had taken one look at her and knew she was destined for him. Luckily the feeling was mutual, and they’d been married only a week later. He hadn’t regretted it, even though she had lost her life in an accident not even a year after that. Losing her had left him so heartbroken and devastated, no one thought he would recover at first. Wolves mated for life, and the loss of their bloodmate was usually enough to kill a wolf. Richard came close, but the thing that brought him back was his love for his infant son.
Tucker was Richard’s only son, and Richard was beyond protective of him. They’d been kept apart for many years, since Richard’s in-laws had kidnapped the baby after their daughter’s death and taken him away. Richard had never stopped searching for him, but his efforts failed again and again. Gavin, the pack alpha, discovered Tucker coincidentally when he went to Florida to investigate a rash of killings there instigated by their enemy, the Hunters. They had taken a natural pet and cruelly changed him into a monstrous killing machine, targeting humans. During the investigation and attempt to intervene, Gavin realized Tucker was his bloodmatch and convinced Tucker to come back to Tennessee with him. They’d had their mating ceremony only a couple of weeks later. Now this person from Tucker’s past was here to talk Tucker into leaving again and to make trouble for them all.
When news reached the pack that a detective from Florida was in the nearby town of Sylva, North Carolina, asking questions, both Richard and Gavin had been incensed. Gavin, in particular, was fuming.
“Why would he come here, Tucker?” Gavin asked. “What is this man to you?”
“Kevin Bryson was my partner, you know that, and he’s my best friend. As to what he’s doing here, I don’t know. He’s just very…protective, I guess. ”
“But why, Tucker?” Gavin asked his mate. “Why so protective and why would this man come all the way up here from Florida to find you? You said you called him and told him everything was fine. ”
“I did,” Tucker said, flopping down on the sofa and looking up at his mate and his father with that mulish look he got when he didn’t want to discuss something. Richard continued to regard his son with determination. His stubbornness wasn’t going to do him any good this time.
Richard sat down in an armchair across from his son and tried not to let his irritation show. He knew Tucker well enough by now to know it would only make him worse. Gavin was a good alpha and a good mate to his son, but he’d neglected to give Tucker the loving discipline every pet needed, in Richard’s opinion. Richard may have been a little old-fashioned in his thinking in that regard, but the old ways worked. Why change them?
Richard saw Tucker glance up nervously at him, and knew he was hiding something. Gavin glanced over uneasily too. Though Gavin outranked Richard, he probably knew his beta father-in-law thought he spoiled Tucker outrageously. Richard had told him so often enough. Richard loved Tucker more than his own life, but he wanted him to be a good alpha’s pet, and in his mind, at least, keeping secrets from your mate only caused problems. If Tucker had been his mate, he’d already be over his knee.
Richard pressed his lips together, though, and let his alpha handle things. He, at least, knew his place in the pack hierarchy. Gavin sat down beside Tucker and put an arm around his shoulders. “Honey, please. This is important. How did he know where to find you? He came directly to the closest town to the lodge, and you said you only told him you were somewhere in Tennessee. He shows up in North Carolina, just across the state line from us. How did he manage that?”
“He’s smart. And a detective. ”
“Tucker,” Richard said in a warning voice.
“Okay,” Tucker said, his shoulders sagging. “I called him just before our mating ceremony on my cell phone. I guess he got the cell phone records and found the nearest tower. ”
“But how could he…” Gavin flushed and fell silent when Tucker raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, right. Police officer. ”
Tucker snorted. “Well, yeah, and he has a key to my apartment. All he had to do was look through my phone bills. He knows where I keep everything. ”
He sat back on the sofa for a couple of seconds before leaning toward Tucker again. “That still doesn’t answer the question of why. What in the hell did you say to him? He was telling everyone in town that you were a missing person, and he feared for your safety. ”
“Well, I didn’t tell him that. Like I said, he’s just protective…”
“Yes, about that, Tucker. Why would he be so protective of you?” Richard leaned forward. “Is there more going on than what you’ve been telling us?”
Tucker gave his father a startled glance and then sighed. “I guess he’s kind of…in love with me…”
“What?” Gavin said with a growl. “What the hell, Tucker, you told me your partner was straight, married and had a baby on the way. Did you lie to me?”
Tucker shrugged and would have gotten up if Gavin hadn’t gripped his arm. “Yes, okay, so I lied. I’m sorry, but you were jealous, especially when you found me in his parents’ condo, and I didn’t want you to think there was anything between us, because there’s not. I mean, he wanted a relationship, but I told him it wouldn’t be a good idea. We were partners, after all, and I know what would have happened if things hadn’t worked out between us. They probably wouldn’t have, either, because he’s not my type. ”
Gavin glared at his mate. “Bullshit, Tucker. I’ve seen your partner when we did surveillance on you and at the crime scenes in Florida. The guy is good-looking. ”
Tucker slanted him a smoldering look and leaned over until he was inches from Gavin’s face. “Yeah, if you like the blond, Brad Pitt look. I’m more into tall, dark and incredibly sexy myself. ”
Gavin looked unconvinced, but dropped a kiss on his lips as if he couldn’t help himself when Tucker was that close. Richard leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. “You should have told us everything, Tucker, so we could have taken precautions. ”
“C’mon, Dad, I had no idea he would do something like follow me up here. I told him I wasn’t in a cult, and I was perfectly happy, and that maybe Gavin would let me come back to Florida for a visit soon. ”
Richard shook his head. “Gavin would let you, huh? That was like waving a red flag, Tucker, especially if he was concerned that you were being held against your will. ”
“Ah, hell, I didn’t think about that. Look, let me just go talk to him and send him on his way. ”
