Pretty Baby(17)

"Well, aren't you just the sweetest thing," Maryann said as she pet  Elliot's tummy. Everything seemed to be going fine, the relief in the  room almost palatable, until Ben stepped into the kitchen.

Elliot stiffened and rolled over so fast that Tommy barely had time to  reach over and catch his mother, preventing her from falling to the  floor. Elliot's claws scraped across the floor as he rushed over to  stand between Tommy and Maryann, and the new threat that came into the  room.

"Elliot, no!" Tommy sank his fingers into Elliot's fur and tried to pull him back.

"Thomas, you'd better control him," Daniel snapped.

"What in the hell do you think I'm trying to do?" Tommy wrapped his arms  around Elliot's neck and pulled until the wolf relented and stepped  back into the apex of Tommy's thighs. He was still snarling, but it had  lessened to a low rumble.

"Um, did I miss something?" Ben asked from his position across the room.

"This is Elliot, my mate."

"And he wants to tear my head off because?"

"He doesn't know you."

"That doesn't explain why he tries to go after everyone else, Thomas,"  Daniel added. "With the exception of your mother, and maybe Nate, Elliot  has tried to attack everyone else in this room."

"Actually," Nate said, "that right there might explain it."

"Would you care to explain that statement, babe?" Joe asked. "None of us  have made a single threatening move towards Elliot and yet he continues  to growl at us if we step anywhere close to him or Tommy."

"And every single one of you that he goes after have accused Elliot of  being trouble or a problem. You won't accept Elliot's right to be with  Tommy."

Tommy felt his mouth drop open as he looked across the room at Nate. The  man was absolutely correct. Elliot wasn't going after Nate or his  mother because they accepted him as Tommy's mate. Joe and Daniel didn't.

"You won't accept my mating of Elliot," Tommy whispered in wonder.  "That's why he keeps trying to attack you. You're threatening our bond."

"I think it's more than that, Tommy," Nate said as he pushed away from  Joe. "Elliot, in human form, didn't fully accept the mating either. In  wolf form, he's attacking anyone he sees as a threat to you and him  being together."

"I just said that, Nate," Tommy insisted.

Nate jerked away from Joe when the man tried to hold him back then  walked across the room to kneel down in front of the white wolf. Elliot  didn't growl or snarl. He didn't even bare his teeth, just cocked his  head to one side, his ears perking up as if confused.

Nate moved slowly, reaching out to touch Elliot. "Hey, Elliot, I just want to feel you, okay? I'm not going to hurt you."

"Nate," Joe whispered harshly.

Tommy could understand his brother's concern, considering Elliot's  actions to date, but he was pretty sure Elliot wasn't going to make a  move towards Nate when he just sat there. Nate ignored Joe and stroked  his hands through Elliot's fur, sinking them in deep as he closed his  eyes.                       
       
           



       

Tommy tensed when Nate inhaled sharply. His eyes were filled with worry when he opened them. "What?"

Nate shook his head. "Elliot's not here."

"What do you mean he's not here?" Tommy snapped.

"I can't feel him. Elliot's human side is gone."





Chapter 8


Tommy felt heavy breathing on his face before he opened his eyes. Dark  blue eyes stared back at him from a white-furred wolf face. The stare  was intense, searching in a way, as if the wolf needed to know  something. Tommy just didn't know what.

He reached over and sank his fingers into the fur around Elliot's neck  and breathed deeply. "Hey, pretty baby, did you sleep okay?" Tommy asked  the question even though he didn't expect an answer.

The wolf just continued to stare at him and Tommy's heart felt like it  was going to tear in two. This was his mate, for better or worse. As  happy as he was at finding Elliot, the thought of never being with the  gorgeous little man again made Tommy want to rant at the world at large.

This wasn't the way a mating was supposed to go. They were supposed to  have forever together, to build a life together, both in human form and  wolf form. He wasn't supposed to spend the rest of his life with just  the wolf.

"Even like this, I can't give you up," Tommy whispered as he stroked his  fingers through Elliot's soft fur. His heart cried out for the human  side of Elliot, but gloried in the fact that he still had the wolf side  of his mate. "I just wish you'd come back to me."

The wolf whimpered. Tommy chuckled when Elliot leaned forward and swiped  a long wet tongue across his cheek. He buried his face in Elliot's fur,  inhaling the sweet scent that was unique to his mate no matter what  form he was in.

"Where are you, Elliot? Where did you go?" Tommy felt like crying. He  squeezed his eyes shut to keep his tears at bay. Even after laying there  staring at the wolf that was his mate for most of the night, Tommy was  still reeling from Nate's announcement that Elliot was gone. Tommy just  couldn't understand how that happened. It didn't make sense.

None of this made sense.

Elliot wasn't even supposed to be able to shift. He was human, and yet  there he lay, white fur and teeth, just staring at Tommy with his deep  blue eyes. Tommy just didn't understand how it could have happened or  how he could have missed it. His mate was a wolf.

"Thomas?"

Tommy lifted his head and looked toward the bedroom door when he heard  his mother's voice and a soft knock. Elliot growled. Tommy patted him  gently and sat up. "It's just Mom, Elliot."

"Thomas?" his mother called again. "Are you awake?"

Tommy chuckled. It wouldn't have mattered if he had been awake or not.  Once his mother knocked on the door, he was up. "I'm up, Mom," Tommy  called out. He swung his legs over the side of the bed just as the door  opened and his mother walked in.

"Good morning," Maryann said. Her eyes went from Tommy to Elliot then back. "How are you?"

Tommy shrugged.

Maryann clasped her hands together as she looked back over at Elliot. "And how is your mate today?"

"Missing." Tommy snorted.

"I'm not sure I believe that, Thomas."

"Meaning what?"

"Elliot couldn't have just left, Thomas." Maryann waved her hand at Elliot. "He has to be in there somewhere."

"Nate said he was gone."

"Nate could be wrong, you know." Maryann walked over and sat on the side  of the bed next to Tommy. Elliot crawled over and butted at her hand as  if asking for a pet, making Maryann laugh. "No, he's in here somewhere,  Thomas. You just need to find him."

"How, Mom?" Tommy grimaced. "I don't even know where he's gone."

"Then it's up to you to find him, isn't it?"

Tommy gaped at his mother. His mind reeled with confusion. How was he  supposed to find Elliot when he didn't even know how to look for him? He  knew, logically, that the wolf and the human sides coexisted with each  other. But what happened when one side went away?

Tommy had heard stories when he was growing up of wolves that buried  their human side when great tragedy struck. The loss of a mate, the  death of a child, even the aftermath of a battle, all of these things  could be attributed to the stories he'd heard. Tommy just didn't  understand how any of these events pertained to Elliot.

"Any suggestions, Mom?"

"Well, you could start by getting your mate some breakfast," Maryann  said as she stood to her feet and walked to the door. She paused and  glanced over her shoulder, a smile on her face. "I imagine he's pretty  hungry right about now. You both missed dinner last night."                       
       
           



       

Tommy nodded. His Mom was right. After hearing Nate's news, Tommy just  wanted to get away from everyone and think. Taking Elliot with him to  the guest room seemed like the only thing to do under the circumstances.  Leaving him with anyone else wasn't an option.

For better or worse, human or wolf, Elliot was still Tommy's mate, and  he'd do anything to protect him. Tommy reached back and sank his fingers  into Elliot's fur again, needing the connection to his mate.

"We'll be right down, Mom."

"Breakfast should be on the table by the time you get there. Nate's making French toast."

Tommy waited until the door shut behind his mother before standing up  and walking into the bathroom. He used the facilities then went to wash  his face. Tommy was staring at himself in the mirror, noting the dark  circles under his eyes when he heard click of claws on the floor. He  looked down to see Elliot walking into the bathroom.