Torem(Zeus’s Pack 4)(2)

“Sure it was.” Torem moved around the table very slowly, not wanting to seem obvious that he was checking out Dino’s ass again. He watched with saliva building up in his mouth as Dino stretched over to take another shot, his arms flexing and his sculpted back twisting as his right arm came back.

“I have next game.” Two of Dino’s workers joined them at the table.

“I’m not sure if I’ll be playing another round, Mickey.” Dino glanced at Torem and then back at the pool table.

Torem wasn’t sure if that was a signal or not. He leaned against the wall and watched Dino take his next shot. He wanted to ask his mate, but he wasn’t too sure about the men standing there joking with each other. Would Dino talk in front of them?

He grinned and tilted his bottle at Dino when he missed his shot and growled, looking up at Torem as if he somehow made it happen. “Guess your lucky streak is gone.”

“I hope not,” Dino teased, and Torem knew this time it was a come-on. What had happened to change Dino’s mind?

Torem grabbed his pool stick that he had laid against the wall and took his shot, sinking the nine ball.

“Fuck, that was your first shot,” Dino said in amazement.

“You invited me over here, so you can’t say I was hustling you.” Torem chuckled at the slack-jawed Dino.

He laid his stick on the table and took a step toward Dino. If his mate was being receptive, then maybe… “Fuck.” He groaned. Torem spotted Zeus coming through the door. That could only mean one thing, pack business. Why did fate show him Dino and then do everything in its powers to keep them apart?

Zeus jerked his head, telling Torem without words to get his ass over there. “Excuse me,” he told his mate and then sidestepped around the people in the tavern to see what Zeus wanted.

“I got a letter for you.” Zeus handed him a plain white envelope.

Who the hell would be writing him? There was no address on it, and that made Torem very suspicious. He took a seat on one of the empty bar stools and tore the end off, fishing out the single piece of notebook paper.

The letter was handwritten. Torem read through it, and his chest tightened with disbelief. It couldn’t be. Not after all these years. He was just a baby. How could he remember Torem?

“Bad news?” Zeus asked.

Torem turned his head up and to his left, staring at his Alpha. “This letter says my younger brother is trying to find me. He’s in serious trouble and needs me to come get him.” How did he even know where to find Torem?

“You know we’ll do whatever it takes to get him here.”

Torem dropped his head and reread the letter. He folded the piece of paper and shoved it into his front pocket, tossing the envelope onto the bar. “This is my responsibility. I’ll go get him.”

Zeus nodded. “I’ll send Bryck with you.”

“I don’t need—”

Zeus’s fist pounded the bar, glasses and bottles jumping at the action. “Damn it, Torem. I know you have this thing about not needing anyone’s help, but you said it yourself, you haven’t seen him since he was a baby. You have no idea what you’re walking into. Take backup.”

Torem knew it wasn’t a request but an order from his Alpha. “Tell him I’m leaving right away.”

“You can tell him. He’s sitting right over there.” Zeus pointed to the right of the horseshoe-shaped bar. “Call if you need more help.”

Torem watched his Alpha walked out of the tavern. He stood there for a moment, hands on hips, thoughts in a whirl. The last time he saw Cheyenne was in the crib.

He had thought his entire family was wiped out when Jackson came and took him from his home. To hear his brother had survived was shocking to say the least. Torem walked over to Bryck in a daze, tapping him on his shoulder. “Come on, man, you gotta ride with me.”

Bryck dusted the salt from his hands and turned with a smile. “And where, might I ask, are we going? I’m always up for fun and adventure.”

“I’m afraid this trip is nothing fun or adventurous. It’s a rescue mission. Are you with me?” Torem turned and walked toward the door, not waiting for an answer. He pushed from the tavern and headed for his truck, digging his keys from his pocket. His fingers touched the letter, and Torem had an overwhelming need to find his brother, the last of his family.

Bryck joined him and slid into the passenger side. Torem pulled from the spot and headed out of town with the small map drawn on the piece of paper as the only clue to where he was going.



* * * *



Torem’s eyes burned from driving for so long as the sign ahead read “Welcome to Fisher Valley.” This was the town Cheyenne had written on the map as his location.