Getting Close to the Omega (8 page)

were still at the talking stage. So he sat down in the nearest

chair and Dean sat down next to him.

“We’ve known each other about five years, haven’t we Dean?”

Kane started. Matthew saw Dean nod his head, but the man

didn’t say anything. “I’ve come to care for you a lot over that

time, Dean, you know that. Finding you in that state when we

first met, helping you with the problems you had when you first

came to live here. Seeing how you are now with other shifters

and any group of people. You can’t blame me for wanting to be

sure that you think you are doing the right thing by taking

Matthew as a mate.”

Matthew could see Dean biting his lower lip, and he looked

worried, but he still stayed silent. Kane must have been waiting

for Dean to say something and when he didn’t, Kane went on.

“Matthew’s an Alpha, and you’ve always had problems with the

Alpha power. How can you be sure that this is what you want,

and that you’re not being coerced? And that’s without the sex

angle. Shit Dean, you don’t even like shifting in front of others

in the pack, how the hell are you going to cope with Matthew

seeing you naked?”

Matthew desperately wanted to say something, anything to

stop Kane attacking Dean the way he was doing. But he could

see that Dean wasn’t just blindly taking what Kane was

throwing at him – he was thinking, and Matthew trusted his

instincts that were telling him that right now was a good time

to keep quiet.

“What have you got against other people’s mating, Kane?”

Dean asked quietly. Kane looked confused and looked to

Shawn, who was also sitting silently, but Shawn was looking at

Dean and Matthew.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Kane said. “Having a

mate is a joyous thing, and something to be celebrated in the

pack. I’ve always believed that even when I didn’t think that

gays could have mates.”

“Then why,” Dean said with a bit more bite in his voice. “Why

did you attack Diablo when you found out that he and Griff

were mated? And why did you support Troy when he was going

to complain to the Council about Damien biting Scott without

permission? Then when Troy had to go and find Anton you

tried to tell everyone in the pack they didn’t have to go with

him, even though he was going up against the US Army. And

now you are attacking me, without thinking that maybe this is

something that Matthew and I have to work out together.”

Dean stood up and was pacing the floor, looking at Kane, his

face red with anger. “You speak about matings that should be

celebrated, but you know nothing about it. When you met

Shawn and you didn’t know what to do because we didn’t know

that Shawn was a Shifter Guardian at the time, we all stood by

you. We all tried to bring the two of you together and when we

all heard how different Shawn was, we still stood by you and

gave you complete unconditional support because we wanted

you to be happy. And yet not once, not with any of the

matings that has happened since, have you given any of us the

same consideration. Now how is that fair?”

Shawn stood up and started clapping his hands. “Well done,

Dean,” he said. “Thank you for being able to put into a few

sentences something I have been trying to get Kane to

understand for months. Good for you standing your ground and

speaking your mind.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kane said glaring at

Shawn, who just smirked at him as he sat down again. Then

Kane glared at Dean. “Please remember you are the Omega in

this pack and you don’t have the right to speak to me like

that.”

Dean stared at Kane as though the man had suddenly grown

an extra head. Matthew could see that his little mate was

upset, but the man was holding himself together with sheer

force of will, and despite the tenseness in the room, Matthew

was seriously impressed. When Dean spoke again, his voice

was quiet and firm. “I am trying to stick up for my right to

accept my mate, which I thought I had the right to do. I know

I have problems and I know that you are worried about me,

but you have crossed the line. I have stayed in this pack

because you have all become the family I had always dreamed

of having AND because you personally have never pulled rank

on me before. That is what makes this pack strong. The fact

that we are a family, not like the other packs. But if you are

telling me that I don’t have the right to fight for my right to

take a mate, then you are no different than the Alpha from my

home pack.”

Dean looked across at Matthew, and Matthew got to his feet

and went and stood by his side. He had never been so proud

of his mate, as he was in that moment. Dean searched his

face as though looking for something, and Matthew hoped that

all the support he could muster was clear on his own features.

Whatever Dean decided to do, Matthew would support him.

Dean must have seen that because he gave Matthew a little

smile and then turned back to Kane, his face grim. “I love you

all, don’t ever doubt that,” he said. “But I deserve to be trusted

in making my mating decision the same as anybody else here.

I’m taking Matthew back to my house. We are going to discuss

how our mating is going to work between the two of us,

despite my problems and then if he still wants me, I am going

to ask him to claim me. If you think this is going against your

Alpha position, then banish me and Matthew from the pack. I

won’t live like I did before – being disrespected just because I

am an Omega.
You
taught me that I deserve better than that.”

Then turning to Matthew, he said in a softer voice, “Come

home with me?” Matthew looked down and smiled, his heart

so full of love for the man in front of him, he couldn’t speak.

No matter what horrors Dean might have gone through in his

past, his years at the Cloverleah pack had taught him to stand

up for himself when it counted, and that gave Matthew such a

wonderful feeling, he felt as though he would burst with it. Not

trusting himself to speak, he nodded and after giving a small

bow to Kane and Shawn, who were still sitting on the couch,

Matthew followed Dean out of the house.

Walking around to the garage, Dean cast a longing look at the

bikes that were lined up against one wall of the large space.

“I’ll get Troy to bring mine over later,” he said to Matthew, as

he got into the same SUV the two men had used to go into

town. “Did you want to bring your bike now, or can you trust

one of the other pack members to ride it to mine later?”

Matthew didn’t think Dean needed to be left alone for a second,

not after all the things he had gone through in just one day, so

he just hopped into the passenger seat of the SUV and said

with a smile, “We’ll worry about the bikes later. I just want to

see the place you call home.”

By the time Dean pulled into his driveway, just five minutes

away from the pack house, he felt completely drained. For the

first time since he had met him, Dean was really angry at

Kane. He was the first to admit that when Kane had taken him

in, he was in a dire situation and he’d even considered taking

his own life. Kane and Griff, and then later Troy and Scott, had

been awesome sources of comfort and support. Under their

loving guidance Dean had overcome many of his problems and

finally felt like he had found his place in the world. In one

short outburst, Kane had robbed him of that and instead of

upsetting him, like he thought it would, Dean got angry.

Matthew had been a solid mountain of support at his side, and

for that Dean was extremely grateful. He didn’t know anything

about the man beside him, and apart from his discussion about

art, Matthew didn’t know him either. When Kane had started

getting antsy with Dean and making him feel bad, Dean

expected Matthew to intervene. It would be what any typical

Alpha, especially a mate, would have done. But somehow

Matthew had known Dean needed to deal with Kane by himself

and stayed quiet.

Smiling up at Matthew as he parked the car, Dean said, “Well,

this is it. It’s small, but it’s mine, and its home.”

“It looks lovely,” Matthew assured him, taking a good look

around. Dean’s house was small. Just two bedrooms and a

small study, a living area, large kitchen and two and a half

bathrooms. Dean bought it because it was made out of solid

wood, with a tile roof, and he kept the exterior color scheme as

neutral as possible so that the house blended with the trees

around it. Like all of the houses owned by pack members,

Dean’s place backed onto the forest and although he knew

Matthew couldn’t see it from the driveway, the back of the

house sported a huge porch and big windows to make the most

of the view.

Walking Matthew into the house, Dean refused to be nervous

despite knowing that a lot of his art graced the walls of his

home. He had pictures of all of the cars he had painted on the

walls in his hallway, a couple of large painting of wolves

gracing the area above his fireplace in the living room and

some private romantic nudes he had painted enhancing his

bedroom.

Ignoring it, although super aware that Matthew was looking

around with interest, Dean headed to the kitchen where he felt

the most comfortable. “Did you want a coffee or a cold drink?”

He asked, turning to see Matthew looking at a painting he had

done of Kane and Shawn in their wolf form.

“Yes, er, coffee if it’s not too much trouble, please,” Matthew

said, coming over to sit at the kitchen counter. “That painting,

is that Kane and Shawn?”

“Yes,” said Dean, fiddling with his coffee machine. “How did

you know? I didn’t think you had seen any of the pack in wolf

form.”

“You captured the eyes beautifully,” Matthew said with a gentle

smile. “I am stunned at how good an artist you are. Are there

more around the house?”

Nodding, blushing, feeling both happy and nervous, Dean

figured the best thing to do was let Matthew see all he had on

public display at least. His art books, portfolios and tattoo

designs he could always share on another day. “Take a tour

around the house. The coffee will be about five minutes,” he

said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. If

Matthew didn’t like his work, or appeared disinterested, then

Dean thought he would break inside. He couldn’t be mated to

a man who didn’t like the way he expressed his creativity.

Hunting through his cupboards for something that he could

serve as a snack with coffee, Dean remembered he had some

frozen plum and coconut muffins in the freezer, which would

only take ten minutes to warm up in the oven. He bustled

about, lost in his task, and almost yelled out loud as big hands

came up behind him and wrapped around his waist. He did

jump and turned, looking up into the smiling face of his mate,

who was sniffing the air appreciatively.

“You are an amazing artist, and you bake muffins. How did I

get so lucky,” Matthew said, holding him for just a moment and

then sitting down at the kitchen counter again. Dean’s body

missed him the second the big man moved away and he

quickly set things out so he could take the seat next to his

mate.

Matthew took over serving the coffee, adding milk and sugar to

his. Dean didn’t believe in using sweeteners or creamers,

preferring plain milk, sugar and fresh cream for his recipes. He

guessed that Matthew must have a sweet tooth if the four

sugars in his coffee was the normal way he took it.

Then he was lost in Matthew’s eyes as the man gave him the

full force of his attention. “How are you feeling now?” Matthew

asked. “You’ve had quite a day.”

“I am feeling pretty tired,” Dean admitted. “I could’ve done

without that scene with Kane. I don’t know what the man was

thinking.”

“I think he was worried about you, and the rest of the pack,