Trent shrugged. "I guess I got sick of not having a pack of some sort. I knew, once I had gotten bigger and stronger, that most wolf packs wouldn't accept me. They would see me as a threat to their Alpha. Humans seemed to be an easier thing to deal with. They didn't know about my wolf side. Clive and I became friends and I had to prove myself to get to where I am today. The only thing I had to give up was fucking men, and any hole in the dark would do at a pinch if I got horny enough."
Marly wasn't sure why but he positively winced at Trent's confession. Sure, now he understood why Trent didn't claim him immediately, but the way his mate described his past just sounded so dark and bleak. Marly had enjoyed several human partners in the past. He was hardly a virgin but he at least tried to have a conversation with the person first, and was always open to second or third dates if they were offered.
The only reason why Marly hadn't even thought about going into a long term relationship with any of the humans he came across was because he had dreamed for years of finding his mate. Clive's example of being in a relationship with a shifter for five years was a classic example of what could happen. Once a shifter found their mate, no one else would do because the pull to be with their fated one was so strong and absolute. Marly never wanted to put any human he could have been with through that type of heartache.
But now his dream of having the loving mate he'd always dreamed of seemed about as realistic as creating fire in ice cream. Marly knew that Trent would never leave him, would never be unfaithful and that he would protect him, as far as he was able to, as much as he could. But the love that Marly had held out so much hope for wasn't going to happen and Marly felt his wolf whine in his head at the thought.
"Hey, where did you go?" Trent asked, gently stroking his hair.
Pulling himself together, Marly smiled up at his mate. "So is there any chance the culture at the Epitaphs can be changed enough to accept us both, in theory at least?"
"I don't know little mate," Trent said. "I guess we could go to the meeting and see what happens. I like my job there, and I know you want to stay at yours. But," Trent warned, tugging Marly up so they were eye to eye.
"If any one of them hurts you too badly, or they fail to accept us as a couple, then we are going to have to leave town permanently. Otherwise we will always have a target on our backs, and I am not going to have you in danger all of the time. Can you live with that?"
Marly nodded and snuggled back into Trent's arms, his mind racing overtime. How in the hell could he convince a gang of homophobic humans to accept that his relationship with Trent wasn't a threat to them, so that Trent could hang onto the one pack he'd found who made him feel accepted? Because it was clear that his mate needed the Epitaphs, probably almost as much as Marly needed his mate.
Chapter Eighteen
Trent pulled out his phone, looking at the name on the screen. Levi. One of the two other men he would class as close friends at the Epitaphs. Lifting his head to check that Marly was still in the shower, Trent swiped the screen and accepted the call.
"Trent, you old homo, why didn't you tell me?" Levi's cheery voice came across the line, and Trent breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wasn't anything to tell you up until a few weeks ago. I would have told you before I left the club." Okay, that was a lie, but Levi wouldn't know that.
"Shit, it's that serious, with this bloke I mean?"
"As a bullet to the brain," Trent agreed, struggling to find the words to explain to a human what Marly meant to him.
"And you and this fella of yours are coming to the meeting tonight?"
Trent frowned at the phone. Clive had said he wasn't going to tell anyone that he and Marly were even coming, so that Marly got as good a chance as anyone in the upcoming fights.
"How'd you know about that?"
"Relax, Sarge," Levi's voice sounded light and easy, and Trent couldn't get a hint of any deceit, but a wolf shifter's senses couldn't work over the phone. "Clive called me and Saul and told us what was going on. The club is all in a buzz over Stephanie's gossip and Clive thought you and your new bloke could use a bit of back up. Him having to be impartial and all."
That did make sense. As President, Clive couldn't show Trent or Marly any favoritism or it could cause dissent with the others.
"So what's the buzz?"
Levi laughed. "The normal, you know. That fuckwit Bob is going around telling anyone who'd listen that was why you gave him a hiding, because you were protecting your pretty boy. You are going to have to watch him because he's got a real hard on for your friend. Steph feels vindicated because apparently the only reason you wouldn't go with her is because you're gay. There's a couple of guys you might want to watch for a bit, but the general word is you're too big to mess with, and they don't care who you have in your bed."
Trent was stunned, and he realized that had happened a lot since he'd met Marly. But maybe Clive was right, and times were changing. For the first time Trent let himself feel a sliver of hope that he could have his mate and his club too.
"So anyway big fella, you want to meet me and Saul at the old firehouse in about thirty minutes, and we'll ride in with you?"
"Yeah, thanks," Trent managed to say, as he clicked off the call. He looked up to see Marly watching him from the bedroom door. Clearly going for the conservative look, Marly just had on a black muscle shirt, and a black pair of tight jeans with his boots. He was carrying the leather jacket that Trent had bought him over his arm. His long blond hair was the only contrast to the dark look – something Trent found incredibly sexy.
"Not going for pink tonight, lover," he teased.
"Thought about it, but didn't want to shock the Epitaphs with my wicked fashion sense to soon," Marly said coming into the room. Trent noticed a leather strap and a soft brush in his hand, and guessed that his mate wanted help braiding his hair. He waved his hand indicating he wanted Marly to hand the items over, which Marly did, turning and sitting on the floor so that Trent could get to his hair.
Working quickly and silently, Trent plaited Marly's hair, securing it with the black leather tie that Marly had given him. Marly smiled his thanks but didn't say anything, simply leaning into Trent's leg for a long minute.
"Nervous little mate?"
"No," Marly scoffed. "I mean I'm off to fight six men just so that I can join a motorcycle gang, who do all sorts of illegal activities, just so that my mate and I can stay in town. My mother would be so proud if she knew."
"Only gun running and protection services," Trent said. "We don't do drugs, prostitutes or anything like that, so it's not strictly illegal."
"Oh yes," Marly quipped. "And all the guns come with receipts and a money back guarantee, right?"
"You know they don't," Trent grinned at him as he tugged Marly towards the door. "But then there wouldn't be as much money in it for me, if there were."
"Yeah, because receipt books are so damned expensive."
Trent was still laughing when he got on the bike.
/~/~/~/~/
Marly wasn't sure why Trent pulled his bike up at the old fire station just on the outskirts of town, but his nerves weren't helped any by the sight of two larger men both leaning against their bikes, their Epitaph patches just visible on their backs.
"They're friends, here to show support," Trent said quietly as he turned his bike off.
Are you sure about that, Marly thought as he took in the two men who had come forward and were greeting Trent warmly. Both men were around six foot two, and had short dark hair, a lot like Trent's. But that's where the similarity ended.
"So this is the man that caused you to jump over to the dark side," one of the men said, giving Marly a once over. "Got to say, for a mouth like that, I'd be tempted."
Trent's growl appeased Marly slightly, but not much. "You're assuming I'd be interested," he said with a sly grin. "Gay men have standards too, you know."
To his relief, the man laughed, and Trent thumped his friend on the arm.
"Keep it in your pants, Levi," Trent said. "Marly's mine, no sharing, so hands off."
"Fuck, exclusive already," the other man said. "I thought this had only been going on a few weeks, or have you been holding out on us more than we thought."