"Guess you need to go to, huh?"
Elliot's ear perked as he tilted his head.
"Yeah, yeah, come on, I'll take you outside."
Much to Tommy's surprise, Elliot let out a small yip and went to the bedroom door. He paused and looked over his shoulder as if to ask what was taking Tommy so long. Tommy grabbed his shirt and pulled it on as he walked to the door and opened it.
Tommy followed Elliot down the hallway, chuckling to himself every time Elliot stopped and waited for him to catch up. The wolf seemed to be in a hurry to get downstairs, but he wouldn't leave Tommy behind.
Tommy followed Elliot down the stairs and through the kitchen to the backdoor, waving at the confused looks he passed along the way. He let Elliot outside into the backyard and walked out to lean against the side of the house while Elliot did his business.
As he watched his mate sniff around the bushes in the backyard, Tommy had to wonder if this was a picture of what his future would be like. Was he destined to walk his wolf every morning for the rest of his life, or would he be able to find his mate and bring him back from wherever he went?
Tommy tensed when Elliot suddenly growled and bounded across the yard. For a moment, he was afraid his father or brother had come out of the house and Elliot was going after them. Then he heard a car pull into the driveway.
Elliot was growling and snarling at the back gate, his claws digging into the dirt. The fur on his back stood straight up. Tommy ran over and grabbed at Elliot, pulling him away from the gate.
Once he pushed Elliot back, Tommy looked over the top of the wooden gate. He almost growled himself when he spotted Carl walking up the path from the side of the driveway to the front door. This was not someone he wanted to deal with at this particular moment, if ever.
When Elliot started growling again, pushing his way between Tommy and the gate, Tommy leaned down and wrapped his arms around the wolf's neck. "Elliot," he whispered, "you need to be quiet, pretty baby. We can't let Carl see you right now, not like this."
Elliot growled again, but it was lower this time, coming more from his chest than his throat. Tommy kept his hand clenched in Elliot's fur as he stood to his feet, tugging gently. "Come on, Elliot, let's get you into the house."
Tommy was surprised by the way that Elliot seemed to understand him, hurrying along beside him as they walked back into the house. They stepped inside and closed the door just as a knock could be heard coming from the front of the house.
"It's Carl, the guy who tried to have me arrested for accosting him at the bar last night when I met Elliot," Tommy stated when Joe frowned and stood to his feet. "He can't see Elliot, not like this."
"No, that wouldn't be a good idea. You all stay in here. I'll go see what he wants." Joe started for the kitchen doorway when Nate jumped up and hurried after him. Joe stopped and swung around, grabbing Nate's arms. "No, baby, you need to stay in here with Tommy where it's safe. I don't know what to expect from this guy."
"But, Joe-"
"No, Nate," Joe said. "Please, just stay in here where I know you'll be safe."
Nate grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring up at his mate. "I don't have to like it."
"No." Joe chuckled as he leaned over and kissed Nate's forehead. "You don't have to like it, but you do need to do it. This is one of those safety things that you just have to learn to deal with, baby." "Fine!"
Tommy's eyebrows shot up when Nate stomped over to sit back down at the dining table. He looked peeved. And Joe seemed to find it amusing, if the soft chuckle coming from the man was anything to go by. Nate just cocked an eyebrow and somehow, Tommy got the impression Joe might be sleeping on the couch tonight.
Tommy squatted down and looped an arm around Elliot's neck. Even with his superior hearing, he could only make out the murmur of words coming from the living room. Not knowing what was being said was driving him nuts. He patted Elliot's side then jumped to his feet.
"Stay here and guard Nate and Mom, Elliot, keep them safe. I'm going to make sure Carl isn't causing any problems." Elliot growled. His face looked menacing as if he didn't like that idea. Tommy held up his hand. "I'll be right back, promise."
"Hey wait, you can't leave me in here," Nate snapped as he jumped to his feet.
"Elliot, keep them safe," Tommy said as he backed out of the kitchen. Tommy turned and walked to the entrance to the living room. He pressed himself against the wall and listened for several moments before he figured out that Joe hadn't let Carl into the house. They were out on the front porch.
Tommy kept to the left side of the room, the side away from the front windows, as he made his way toward the door. He could just make out the shadows of Joe and Carl through the tinted glass on the front door.
"Look, I'm telling you, he did something to Elliot."
Tommy frowned. This wasn't good.
"Mr. Douglas, I'm sure that Elliot is fine."
"You're just saying that because he's your brother."
"No, I'm not," Joe replied. "I can promise you, as sure as I'm standing here, Tommy would never do anything to hurt Elliot."
"Then why didn't Elliot come back to the motel last night?"
"I believe Elliot and Tommy planned to spend the evening together."
"Elliot would have called if he planned to stay the night."
"Maybe, maybe not, but Elliot is a grown man. If he didn't check in with you, that is within his rights."
"Something has happened to him, I know it. It's not like Elliot not to stay in contact. I want to file a missing person's report. I want you to find Elliot."
"Look, Mr. Douglas, Elliot hasn't even been missing for twenty four hours, so by law, I can't file a report. But I will keep an eye for him. The moment I talk to him, I will have him call you. Will that be sufficient?"
"No, damn it!"
Tommy cringed. This wasn't good. Carl was going to cause problems they didn't need right now. If Elliot was in human form, Tommy would have had him just come out and talk to Carl. However, that wasn't an option right now.
"There's nothing more I can do until Elliot's been missing twenty four hours, Mr. Douglas."
"Philip Spencer is going to hear about this and when he does, you're going to wish you were directing traffic in Siberia!"
Tommy heard someone storm off. A moment later, a car started up and spun out of the driveway. When Joe opened the door and walked back, the frown he had on his face told Tommy they were in a lot of shit.
"That didn't go so well, did it?"
"Seriously, Tommy?" Joe snapped and pointed his finger at Tommy. "I told you this guy was going to be trouble. Dad is going to have a fit."
Tommy rolled his eyes and pushed himself away from the wall he'd been leaning back against. "You need to get over this bias you have against Elliot. He didn't do this. He didn't do any of this."
"Carl Douglas is probably on the phone with Elliot's father as we speak. That man is going to come in here and do everything in his power to destroy our pack. Doesn't that worry you? Are you so caught up in your little fling that you can't see what's happening here?"
Something inside of Tommy snapped. He swung around, grabbed his brother by his throat, and slammed the man into the wall. Leaning real close, Tommy bared his teeth as he glared at Joe.
"Don't ever refer to my mate as some little fling," Tommy growled. "Elliot is my mate, for better or for worse. He has as much right to be here as your Nate does, and it's about damn time you accepted that."
Tommy slammed Joe into the wall again then let him go, turning away without another word. He stormed back to the kitchen, skidding to a stop when he reached the entrance. He could only stand there and stare in shock. Nate lay on his stomach on the floor, his head resting on his hand as he glared over his shoulder at the wolf sitting on his back.
"Um, Joe, you might want to come see this." Tommy scooted to one side of the kitchen entrance when he heard his brother come up behind him. He glanced over to see Joe's mouth hanging open.
"Tommy, what is Elliot doing?"
"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Nate tried to leave the kitchen." Tommy turned to look at Nate when he heard the man snort. "Am I right, Nate?"
Nate tapped his fingers on the floor. "Would you kindly get your mate off my fucking back?" Nate was yelling by the time he was done speaking.