"Well." Tommy chuckled lightly. "I'd say the first is that you can shift. That's pretty big. The second situation is dealing with your father. Now that we know you can shift, that changes things a bit."
"Why?"
"You're a shifter, Elliot. You had to come from somewhere. Shifters don't just appear out of thin air. We're born. Granted, we don't have to have two shifter parents, only one needs to be a shifter, but which one of yours was the shifter? That could change things a bit."
"How?"
Tommy squeezed Elliot's hand when he heard the tremble in the man's voice. "Not how you are thinking, pretty baby. Nothing changes between us, ever. We're mates and that means forever." "Then what do you mean?" Elliot asked, tilting his face up.
"Knowing that one of your parents was a shifter means that we have to go at this whole situation with your father in a different way. I would think he knows about you, which he knows about us. We have to be more cautious."
"Oh, your family is sure to hate me now," Elliot groaned.
"Oh no, Elliot, not at all, I promise." Tommy paused at the bottom of the stairs to tilt Elliot's head back. "No, pretty baby, they don't hate you. In fact, they are thrilled for us. We just need to go about things differently now."
Tommy's heart went out to his little mate when he felt the man's head fall against his chest. He couldn't wait for a time when there wasn't any drama in their lives. Elliot deserved to be happy, and Tommy hoped he could provide that for him.
"It'll be okay, pretty baby," Tommy whispered against the top of Elliot's head. "I promise."
"You've said that before, Tommy." The small sniffle that came from Elliot stabbed at Tommy's heart. "And you've been wrong. Everything is not okay."
"Okay, everything may not be okay … at the moment. But that doesn't mean it won't be in the future." Tommy grabbed Elliot's head and tilted it back again. "And this time, we're together. We're not trying to do this alone, pretty baby. We have each other. That has to make a difference."
"It does." Elliot laughed nervously. His hand fisted and tapped against Tommy's chest. "I just wish that we didn't have to go through all this crap. I just want us to go away somewhere safe where no one can bother us."
"I'll start making plans right away." Tommy chuckled. "Do you want sandy beaches or mountain streams?"
Elliot snorted and turned to walk toward the kitchen. "How about somewhere on a deserted island where no one can find us?"
"Done." Although Tommy didn't have a clue where to start looking for that deserted island. But if that's what his baby wanted, he wouldn't stop until he found one.
Just as they walked past the archway to the living room, Tommy heard the front door open. He glanced over to see his brother, Jim, walking in with his mate, Donovan. Right behind Donovan was his brother, Chase.
"Hey, Elliot, there's a couple of people I'd like to introduce you to. Hold up a minute."
Elliot stopped and glanced over his shoulder. Tommy could see the man's anxiety in the paleness of his face, the tight pinch in his features. Still, Elliot turned and stepped closer, his body practically pushing into Tommy's.
Tommy wrapped an arm around Elliot's shoulder and pulled him into the living room. The people in the room turned as one wave and looked at the both of them. Tommy tightened his grip on Elliot when he felt the man cringe and press closer to him.
"Jim, Donovan, Chase, I'd like to introduce you to my mate, Elliot."
Jim stepped forward, his hand held out to Elliot, a welcoming smile on his face. "Elliot, it's nice to finally meet you. I didn't think my brother would ever find anyone that could put up with him."
Elliot shrank back, edging slightly behind Tommy. When Elliot's hands gripped his shirt, Tommy thought the fabric might rip. Elliot was shaking. Tommy reached back and grabbed Elliot, smiling in apology to his brother at the confused frown on Jim's face.
"Elliot, baby, Jim's not going to hurt you," Tommy said as he pulled his mate out from behind him. Elliot was still hesitant but he didn't fight Tommy. "This is my brother, Jim. He's okay for an older brother."
"Hey!"
Tommy chuckled at Jim's pretend outrage. He felt the tension start to loosen from Elliot's body and pulled the man closer to his chest. "This is Donovan, Jim's mate, and his brother, Chase."
Jim smiled and stepped back as Donovan and Chase stepped forward. Donovan started to hold out his hand then paused, a quizzical expression coming over his face as he suddenly started sniffing the air.
"Chase, do you-" Donovan started only to be interrupted by a low menacing growl from Chase. Before Tommy could stop him, Chase reached over and grabbed Elliot. He swung around and pinned Elliot to the wall by his throat.
"Why do you smell like my mother?" Donovan snapped, his face inches from Elliot's. Elliot looked petrified, his eyes as huge as saucers. He grabbed at the hand around his throat, his face turning paler with each passing moment.
"Chase, what the hell do you think you're doing? Let go of my mate," Tommy shouted. He tried to jump at the man, pull him away from Elliot, but another set of strong arms held him back. Tommy turned, snarling at Donovan. "Let me go, damn it!"
"No!" Donovan shouted right back. "I want to know why your mate smells like my mother."
Tommy ignored the question and started to struggle against the hold Donovan had on him. He could see the panic in Elliot's eyes and knew they had just taken a step back in their progress together. He didn't know what was going on with Chase and Donovan, but he damn well wasn't about to answer any questions while Donovan had his mate pinned to the wall.
Tommy started growling, snapping at Donovan with his teeth. He felt a smack hit him in the side of the head and shook his head to clear the sudden stars that sparkled in his eyes. He turned to shout at Donovan when a sudden low growl filled the room. It was so ominous that it made the hairs on his arms stand on end.
Tommy turned just in time to see Elliot shift almost instantaneously and pull away from Chase right before he lunged at the man. Chase snarled and jumped back. He started to shift, his transformation slower than Elliot's. A loud shout from the side of the room stopped him.
"That's enough!"
Elliot was the only one in the room that didn't freeze in his spot at Daniel's loud words. He pulled away from Chase and ran over to snap and growl at Donovan, who quickly let go of Tommy and backed away to stand next to his mate.
Elliot growled low in his throat, standing between Tommy and everyone else in the room. The hairs on his back stood up, his tail bristling. Tommy was pretty sure that his white wolf would attack anyone that came near them.
"Thomas, restrain your mate," Daniel snapped.
Thomas dropped down to his knees and wrapped his arms around Elliot's neck. He could feel Elliot's chest moving with each heavy breath he took in. Elliot was terrified, angered. Tommy pulled back on him.
"Elliot, you have to calm down." Elliot whimpered, his muscles bunching. "Please, pretty baby, we'll figure this out, but you have to calm down and shift back."
Elliot's shift back to human was just as fast as his shift to wolf form, so fast that even Daniel blinked in surprise. "I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone shift that fast, Elliot."
Elliot turned his face away from those in the room and buried it in Tommy's chest as he pressed himself into Tommy's arms. Tommy thought he might have been embarrassed with the way he seemed to try and burrow in. He didn't care why though, as long as Elliot was turning to him for comfort.
"Would you like to tell me why you attacked my mate, Chase?" Tommy said as he looked up to glare at the man.
"I want to know why in the hell your mate smells like my mother," Chase snapped. Donovan stood behind Chase, nodding his head in agreement.
"What are you talking about? Elliot smells like Elliot."
"He smells like our mother!" Donovan shouted, taking a step forward. "Our mother has been dead for over twenty years."
Chapter 12
Elliot turned in Tommy's arms to look over at the two men that had threatened his mate. He felt another snarl building up in his throat at the angered glares sent in his direction. He didn't know who these men were, but if they stepped toward his mate again, he'd go for their throats. No one threatened his mate.
"Who are you?" Elliot asked, not that he really cared all that much. He could have cared less what they wanted. He just wanted to know who threatened his mate. "By what right do you threaten my mate?"