Everything That You Are (7 page)

“I’ll be right back, okay?”

His mate remained unresponsive, which was starting to worry Michael, but there was nothing he could do at the moment. If the man was simply in shock, that would be the least of Michael’s worries. He crossed to the other side of the barn and grabbed one of the blankets from the shelf, keeping his eye on his mate the entire time. He shook out as much dust and hair as he could and draped it over the other’s crouched body,
then
scooped him up into his arms.

He caught a glimpse of the lost look on his mate’s face before it was pressed against his chest—in an effort to hide from him, no doubt. As Michael slipped through the sliding doors of the barn and began to jog around the main house to the road beyond it, he tried to focus on his emotions.

His mate had acknowledged that he could pick up on Michael’s feelings when they were touching, just as Michael could pick up on his, so he pushed aside all of the turmoil and excitement of the night and concentrated on emanating warmth and confidence. It was a lot easier said than done, but after a few minutes, he felt the slight frame in his arms begin to lose some of its tension. By the time Dennis met them at the side of the road, the younger man was fast asleep.

Michael placed him in the back seat,
then
dressed in the spare set of clothes Dennis kept in his trunk. He climbed into the back and pulled his mate back into his arms, making sure that the blanket covered as much skin as possible as he caught Dennis staring at them in confusion.

“I’ll explain it all as soon as everyone gets back to my place. Meanwhile, I need to get this pup into a warm bed. I think he might have gone into shock but he’s sleeping for now.”

Dennis nodded his head and didn’t waste any more time getting them back to Michael’s house. It took them almost twice as long to get home as it had taken him to reach Henry
Connel’s
farm. There were no roads that cut straight through the countryside, which was one of the many benefits of travelling in wolf form.

For the entire trip, Michael worked to keep his emotions at bay, getting better at focussing on feelings of peace and contentment, but it was a struggle to maintain. The extreme joy he felt at finally having found his mate was tempered by the knowledge that he had claimed him almost against his will.

The smell of his mate’s blood, combined with his mere presence after so many years of abstinence and longing, had robbed Michael of his better judgement. He’d very nearly lost all control, forgoing pleasantries and foreplay in his eagerness to possess him. Even though he knew the man had been aroused, that didn’t justify his actions.

He only hoped that his mate could eventually forgive him.
For everything.

As Dennis pulled into his driveway, he saw his father’s pickup next to his own and assumed that Nick had related the news of Stephen’s death to him. Even though Michael had taken over as Alpha of their clan four years ago after his father had retired, Sam still showed his support and gave advice whenever he thought it was needed.

Dennis parked the car as close as he could get it to the front steps, then jumped out and opened his door for him. Rising gingerly from the backseat, he settled his mate more comfortably in his arms and absently noticed his weight. The little guy couldn’t be more than maybe one hundred and twenty-five pounds soaking wet.

Michael’s protective instincts screamed at him and he was already planning out what he would make his mate for breakfast when he walked through the front door that Dennis held open for him. Once inside, he noticed that his father, Nick and Joseph had stopped talking to wait for him to join them in the living room, but he had to take care of his mate first.

He went straight to the couch, which Joseph was lounging on with his feet propped up on the coffee table, and growled down at the man. Joseph’s eyes widened and he quickly stood up and moved out of the way as Michael proceeded to lay his mate down gently, making sure to keep his small body covered by the blanket.

He knew he should probably put the pup in his bedroom, or at the very least get him some clothes or a clean blanket, but he had things to discuss and he was reluctant to let his mate out of his sight for more than a few seconds. The enormity of finally finding him after years of painful and disappointing searching was still hard to grasp.

Michael knelt down beside the couch and leaned over his mate, tilting his head to the side to get a better look at the bruises on his face. They were healing already, but one looked older than the other, maybe by a day or two, letting him know that the other man had been injured on two separate occasions.

Had someone on the ranch been abusing him? Michael knew Henry personally. He’d given the older man financial advice on more than a few business deals over the years. There had been nothing in his character that caused Michael to think he would stand for abuse in any form, but his integrity didn’t exactly extend to all of his employees.

A cough brought him out of his reverie, and he looked over to see his Betas staring at him with more than a little consternation. His father, however, was wearing a grin so wide that it was a miracle it didn’t split his face in half.

Michael felt heat flush his cheeks as he pivoted his body to sit on the couch next to his mate, pulling the man’s head into his lap.

“Is this the witness you were telling us about?” Nick asked. After Michael nodded, Nick followed with, “Do you know him?”

Michael hesitated at that question, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie. They’d smell it on him anyway.

Taking a deep breath, he said, “Actually, we both know him. We first met him outside of that club you dragged me to four years ago.” Michael watched as Nick took a step towards his mate and peered closer at his face. He knew the moment his friend recognised who his mate was because his expression changed from one of confusion to one of utter disbelief in less than a second.

“The…the whore?”
Nick sputtered. Michael was on his feet and over the coffee table before he knew what he was doing, eyes locked on his friend’s throat, but his father was even faster. Sam swiftly stepped in between the two men and took the brunt of Michael’s forward momentum. Nick wisely backed up several steps while Sam struggled to keep his son in check. Once Michael had stopped snarling and trying to fight his way to his Beta, Sam released him but stood his ground.

“Son, I understand what you’re feeling right now, but I think it’s time for you to come clean.”

Michael slowly let the rage bleed from his body and took in the compassion lining his father’s face. It was time to tell the truth, and surprisingly, the words flowed from his mouth with a lot more ease than he had anticipated over the years. He’d spent so much time lamenting the loss of his mate that finally admitting that his mate was male and that he’d deserted him held no fear for Michael.

“This is my mate. I’ve known he was mine since he first approached me in the parking lot of that club so long ago. I…” Michael had to pause and swallow the surge of self-loathing that threatened to overwhelm him. “I rejected him because I thought that being Alpha of our clan meant that I should mate with a female. I denied him because he was male, and weak. And because I was worried about what everyone might think.”

As much of a relief as it felt to finally confess his greatest mistake to one of the men he trusted most in his life, each excuse that he brought to light for abandoning his mate felt like a sharp knife through his heart.

“Wait, wait. Are you telling me that you let this pup roam around the streets for years, unprotected, because you were too chicken-shit to admit that he was your mate?” Nick exclaimed.

The sudden change of sides caught him by surprise, and this time, it was Nick that Sam had to stop with his body. Nick pushed himself away from Sam’s restraining grasp and glared at his best friend in contempt. “Just tell me that you didn’t wait this long to try to find him.”

“Hell, no!
I realised my mistake almost immediately. Why do you think I had you drive back to the club that night? But he was already gone. I let him down. I know that, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to him. I don’t know…”

A small groan from behind him interrupted his defence, and he whipped around to see his mate stirring on the couch. Instantly, he rushed over to the slight form, concerned that the high emotions in the room might have affected him. He had no idea of the scope of his little mage’s power.

The pup fluttered his eyelids before opening them, giving Michael a full view of that gorgeous, deep blue colouring. Those eyes, framed by thick, blond lashes, began to widen as recognition seeped in. “You,” he whispered.

Michael tried to smile to allay some of the fears he knew must still be plaguing the boy, but it probably came out as more of a grimace. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

Rage suddenly contorted the face of his mate and the man flung the blanket off his body before Michael could react and jumped over the back of the couch, out of reach. His naked form was bared for all to see, but Michael didn’t think that’s what held their attention so much as the scars that were now clearly visible under the bright lights in his living room.

His chest was covered in a latticework of thin, horizontal scars, both pink and silver, that stood out in stark relief against his pale complexion. From the brief glimpse of the man’s backside, which he was sure his father and Betas had also seen, he knew that the scars covering his chest were nothing compared to those that decorated his back and ass.

“Oh, sweet Mother…” Sam breathed.

His mate’s entire body vibrated, though whether it was from fear or anger, Michael couldn’t tell. He suspected both. Once he managed to get over the initial shock of seeing the marks upon his mate’s body, he picked up the discarded blanket and slowly walked around the couch to him.

“Let me put this back on…”

“
Don’t.
Touch. Me,” the man seethed.

Michael’s assessment of his mate’s mood was definitely veering towards anger. He continued to advance and tried not to let his surprise show when he saw that the man was standing his ground.

“I won’t touch you. That causes you pain, doesn’t it?”

The frightened man flicked his nervous gaze away from Michael for a brief second to take in the still forms of Michael’s father and Betas. When his eyes returned to Michael, they were so full of pain and confusion that Michael felt his breath hitch in his throat.

“You left me. You left me and he knew.”

“Who knew, baby?”

His mate swallowed convulsively and looked down at his body, as if just realising that he was naked. The salty scent of tears filled the room and Michael watched a few droplets fall to the floor as the young man tried to cover his groin as much as possible.

“It doesn’t matter. I was ugly when I met you. He’s made me hideous.” The despair in the man’s eyes as he raised his head and looked straight at Michael was more than he could take.

Michael threw the blanket down and dropped all pretence of subtlety, striding forward to take the smaller man in his arms, but a raised hand stilled his advance.

“You’re looking for the murderers of
the were
that was killed earlier, aren’t you?”

Michael was baffled by the sudden change in subject, but stayed where he was. He could tell that his mate was hanging on to his control by a thread, so he let him have it for now, not wanting to tip him past his breaking point.

“Yes. Did you see them?”

The man gave a bark of laughter that sounded a little hysterical, but his lips never curved into a smile. “I saw them. I know them.
Very intimately.”

That last part was said so quietly that none of them would have been able to make out his words if not for their superior hearing. Michael could feel an irrational bout of jealousy rip through his body and freeze his mind. He felt the growl rumble from his chest more than heard it and took an intimidating step forward but the sharp command of his father’s voice pulled him up short.

“Son!”

“And what exactly was your relationship with them?” Michael knew the man had been turning tricks at the club. The possibility that his mate might have willingly given his body to men who were capable of cold-blooded murder had his body coiled in rage.

His mate seemed to forget about his nudity and clenched his fists by his sides, matching Michael’s angry glare with one of his own. “You think I was fucking them? What do you care?”

The urge to claim his mate again took over. He needed to prove that the man was off-limits to all others. Without though, he launched himself at his mate, who tried to turn and run but it was far too late. He locked his hands onto thin upper arms and pushed him back against the wall at the same time Joseph grabbed him from behind, but he wouldn’t release his hold on his mate. They all tumbled to the floor in a heap of arms and legs, but it was the young man’s high-pitched, tortured scream that brought their struggle to a halt.

Chapter Three

Michael felt his jealousy and anger melt as the echoes of his mate’s pained cry reverberated through his head. He shook off Joseph’s hands and leaned over his now unconscious mate. His alarm reached new heights as he saw two thin trails of blood leak from his nostrils.