"I can't believe you've done this, Thomas."
"And I can't believe you're arguing about it," Tommy said. "He's my mate, Dad, and you know as well as I do that we don't choose our mates. Fate does. It doesn't matter who his father is. Elliot belongs to me."
"His father could destroy us."
"Do you want me to leave the pack, Dad, because I will if that's what I need to do to keep Elliot. Giving him up is not an option."
"Of course I don't want you to leave the pack," Daniel shouted, then quickly lowered his voice. "I just worry what this will mean to us. I did some investigating on Philip Spencer after your brother called me. He's not to be messed with."
"Dad, I don't care. I wouldn't care if he was the pope. Elliot is my mate. I will not give him up and you can't expect me to."
Elliot was elated by Tommy's words, but the rest of the conversation concerned him. Hell, it confused the shit out of him. Tommy and his father were talking about mates and packs and all sorts of stuff he didn't understand.
"Don't you think you'd better explain things to him before you start making decisions for him?" Daniel asked. "He might not want to stay after he discovers what he's getting himself into. Not all humans do."
Humans?
"He'll stay, Dad," Tommy replied. "He's special."
Elliot's heart thumped faster at Tommy's words. Joy filled him. That tall, gorgeous man thought he was special? Elliot Spencer? No one ever thought he was special, not in the way Tommy said it.
"He may be special but, until you're fully bonded and he agrees to stay, he's a liability."
"Elliot will not be a problem."
"Yes, he will. As long as his father is involved and a threat to our pack, Elliot is a problem."
Elliot shook his head. No, he wouldn't be a problem. Well, he hoped he wouldn't be a problem. He didn't plan on being a problem. He couldn't predict what his father would do, however. His father had a cruel, unbending nature and his word was absolute law where Elliot came from. He wouldn't like being thwarted.
But maybe … Elliot stepped out of the bedroom and walked back into the living room. He tried to ignore the glowering look on Daniel's face and concentrated his gaze on Tommy, who was the only one that was important as far as Elliot was concerned.
Tommy thought Elliot was special.
"I don't know what my father will do if I defy him, but I swear I won't cause any problems, Tommy. I'll do whatever you tell me to do and I won't talk." Elliot shrugged nervously. "Well, I try not to talk much. I'll try really hard and you-"
"Elliot, have you been listening in on my conversation with my Dad?"
Elliot felt his face pale when Tommy crossed his arms over his chest and stared at him. He clenched his hands together in front of him and looked away, the stern glint in Tommy's silver grey eyes too much for him.
"No, I wouldn't-well, maybe." Elliot looked back at Tommy. "A little?"
"Eavesdropping is not polite, Elliot."
"I'm sorry, I just-I'm sorry."
"I suppose the damage has already been done," Tommy said as he held out his hand. Elliot quickly crossed the room and grabbed onto the lifeline Tommy held out to him, almost groaning when he was wrapped in Tommy's arms. "So, how much did you hear, pretty baby?"
Elliot frowned and tilted his head back to look up at Tommy. "What's a pack?"
"That's going to take some time to explain to you, Elliot."
"I'm not going anywhere." Elliot frowned. "Well, I hope I'm not going anywhere. But if you really wanted me to I would, but I don't want to. I just … I know what kind of man my father can be and I don't want to cause problems, but I really want to stay, Tommy."
"I want you to stay too, pretty baby, but you need to wait to decide if you want to stay until I tell you what I need to tell you."
Elliot couldn't think of anything Tommy could tell him that would make him want to leave. He really liked Tommy, even if he did have like a gazillion relatives, all of whom thought they needed to stick their noses in Tommy's sex life.
"So, what do you have to tell me then?"
"Why don't you sit down?"
Elliot frowned, feeling very confused and just a bit apprehensive about what Tommy needed to tell him, but he walked over to the couch like the man suggested and sat on the edge. He tried to hide his nervousness by sitting on the edges of his hands. He didn't think he was doing a very good job of hiding it when Tommy sat down on the coffee table facing him and drew in a deep breath.
"Do you ever watch the nature channel, Elliot?"
Elliot blinked and stared. "What?"
"You know, the nature channel on television where they have those shows about wolves and bears and stuff."
"Yeah, I guess."
Elliot cast a quick look at Tommy's father. The man stood by the front window, walking back and forth over a small patch of carpet as he watched. There was sternness to his posture that gave Elliot a chill. The somber look on Daniel's face and the way his arms crossed over his chest didn't help.
"Did you ever watch one of those animal specials on wolves?"
"Wolves?" Elliot asked as he looked back at Tommy. What in the hell did wolves have to do with this conversation? Was Tommy trying to calm him down or something by making casual conversation? "What about them?"
"What did you think of them?"
"They're okay. I never really thought about it." Elliot looked to Daniel for a moment when the man snorted, then back at Tommy. The serious look on Tommy's face concerned Elliot almost as much as the noise his father made. "Why?"
"Did you know wolves mate for life?"
"I guess."
Elliot pulled his hands out from under his legs and started twisting his fingers together in his lap. This conversation was getting stranger by the minute. He liked Tommy, he really did, but maybe the man was just a little odd.
"Tommy, you said you had something you needed to talk to me about and now you want to discuss wolf mating habits? You're not making a lot of sense."
"Yes, I'm sure I sound very confusing, but this is rather hard to explain, pretty baby." Tommy chuckled and looked down at his hands for a moment. When Tommy looked back up, he also reached for Elliot's hands. "I just want you to listen to me, okay?"
Elliot nodded, feeling at a loss for words for the first time in his life. He didn't understand why, but knew whatever Tommy had to tell him was very important. He just wished Tommy would get to the telling part.
"Wolves mate for life, pretty baby. They find that one partner, the perfect mate for them, and they grab on and never let go. Wolves protect their mates, they provide for them, and they stay together until the day they die."
Elliot stared at Tommy, waiting for him to go on. This had to be one of the strangest conversations he could ever remember having. It wasn't that Elliot minded talking about wolves, he really didn't. He just didn't understand why Tommy was talking about them now.
"My family is much the same way, pretty baby. We find that one person, our mate, and we grab on and never let go. We mate for life." Tommy brought Elliot's hands up to his lips and kissed one then the other before staring intently at Elliot. "You're my mate, pretty baby."
Chapter 5
Tommy watched Elliot carefully as his words sank in. In the few hours that Tommy had known the guy, he'd been able to see Elliot's emotions on his face, every nuance. This time, Tommy couldn't and that worried him. Elliot just stared at him.
"Elliot?"
"Does that mean you like me?"
"Uh, yes, pretty baby." Tommy frowned, wondering if Elliot
actually understood what he was talking about. "I like you very much." "Does it mean he has to like me too?" Elliot asked, pointing past Tommy to where Daniel stood.
Tommy glanced over his shoulder just in time to see his father's eyebrow shoot up and a surprised expression cover his face. Tommy chuckled and shook his head as he looked back at Elliot.
"No, he doesn't have to like you, but he does have to accept you."
"Why?"
"He has to accept you because you're my mate. Mates are chosen by fate, not us. It's not something we get a choice in, pretty baby, it's just something that is. My father knows that and once he gets over the surprise, he will accept it, and you."
"That doesn't seem really fair to me. I mean, it's like you're saying he has to like me because you do and I'm just not sure that's fair to your father. I want him to like me, but it's not required that he like me, even if that would be the nice thing to do, and I think once he gets to know me he might like me, but-"