"Don't know. There's a young man here to see you," the blond answered.
He couldn't help himself. Jason's eyes widened and his jaw sagged open in shock. Was this dude and his uncle … No, Uncle Raul would have told me! Wouldn't he?
Jason watched his uncle stroll into the room. To his relief, when the man spotted him, his green eyes lit up and a grin split his features. "Jason! What the hell? I didn't know you were coming!"
To Jason's pleasure, his uncle wrapped him in his arms and gave him a tight hug, just as he'd always done. A low growl sounded behind Uncle Raul and the man eased back, chuckling. Keeping one hand on Jason's shoulder, his uncle turned toward the blond and said, "Down boy. This is Jason Truollo. My nephew."
The blond shrugged, his smile apologetic even though he said, "I'm a jealous bastard. You know that."
Uncle Raul nodded. "Indeed you are, but I love you, and wouldn't change anything about you."
The guy seemed incredibly pleased by that response for he grinned.
"Uh, Uncle?" Jason mumbled, uncertain how to ask what he so desperately wanted to know.
His uncle must have caught on anyway. "This is Sean Garcia, my partner, and the sweet girl in his arms is his niece, Lily. We're her legal guardians," Uncle Raul explained.
"Your partner?" Jason squeaked.
Raul shrugged. "Sometimes Fate has a way of stepping in." Once again, he looked at Sean. "She made a great choice," he stated, something obviously unspoken in his words if the heated looks passing between the men was any indicator.
"I didn't even know you were gay," Jason said softly. "Does mom know?"
"If Brianna were to ask, I'd tell her the truth," Raul stated. "But she's a bit … self-absorbed." Grimacing, he added, "You know that."
Jason nodded. He did know that.
"So, have a seat and tell me what the hell you're doing here," his uncle ordered. He steered Jason toward a couch, pausing to press a quick kiss to Sean's lips as they passed, asking quietly, "How about some coffee, babe?"
"Sure. Be right back," Sean replied. He looked toward Jason, "It's nice to meet you. Raul speaks highly of you." Then he strode from the room, heading toward the back of the house.
Raul flopped onto the couch, his back toward the corner so he half-faced Jason, who mirrored his uncle on the other end of the piece of furniture. "You should have told me you were coming," Raul scolded, smiling. "I'd have picked you up. Do you have a car now? Did you drive out?"
"No, I took a Greyhound," Jason told him. "Arthur started getting pretty vocal about my lifestyle." He couldn't hide the sneer in his tone, nor could he bring himself to care. "He says the college fund he put aside wasn't for a fag and refused to pay for me anymore."
"Bastard," Raul growled. "And Brianna was okay with that?"
Jason's own frustration eased in the face of his uncle's rising ire on his behalf. He shrugged. "Like you said. Mom's a little self-absorbed. She told me to get a job and go to the community college instead." Seeing Raul scowl, Jason held up his hand. "Don't get me wrong, I'd planned to do just that, but … " He touched his jaw, knowing the bruises had faded, but the memory was still fresh.
A man spoke, his tone chilly, "Did Arthur hit you, Jason?"
Whipping his head right, Jason saw Raul's friend Jared had joined them and was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, a scowl on his face, and a frigidness in his hazel eyes. He'd met the man a couple of times and had never seen anything but warmth in his gaze. For a second, Jason just stared at the lean man.
"Yeah," Jason finally admitted quietly. "I refused to stay after that." He'd kept living with his folks while going to college because he hadn't wanted to be cut off from his sisters and he knew Arthur would try to keep them apart. He loved his younger sisters and enjoyed spending time with them. Unlike him, who Arthur had all but ignored even before Jason had come out to his family, Arthur tried to be a father figure to the girls, doting on them.
Now Alisha was nineteen and getting set to leave for college, so it wasn't like Arthur had the same control. Even Trina, being seventeen, got away with a hell of a lot more than Jason ever did. The sun rose and set on the girls.
"I see," Jared hissed.
Jason's heart tripped in his chest. Raul's friend had always been nice to him, so seeing the oddly cold look in Jared's eyes disconcerted him. Raul scowled at Jared. "Jar … red." Raul drew the man's name out, a clear warning in just the single word.
When Jared smiled, it didn't do a whole lot to ease Jason's concern. "Come now, Raul," Jared said. "You know I'm an eye-for-an-eye type of guy. I'll just make certain he thinks twice about hitting someone under his care again," Jared said, trying to sound innocent and not quite pulling it off.
"Here's the coffee," Sean said, walking into the room. He glanced between them, then rolled his eyes. "Geez, you threatening someone again, Jared?"
"I don't threaten," Jared replied.
Sean shook his head and set the tray he carried on the end table. "Maybe I ought to go get Carson," he muttered.
"Tattletale," Jared immediately quipped, grinning unabashedly.
Suddenly, a big Native American man appeared and slipped an arm around Jared's waist. "Did I hear my name?"
Jason's eyes widened. "You're gay, too?" He didn't know if he could handle any more surprises.
"Only for him," Jared replied, thrusting a thumb at the man holding him. "Carson, meet Raul's nephew, Jason Truollo." He grinned at Jason. "This is Carson Angeni, my partner."
"Nice to meet you," Jason said on autopilot.
Carson nodded. "And you."
"So, are you staying?" Sean asked, handing him a cup of coffee. "Cream or sugar?"
Jason looked around at the four men, his mouth working, but no sound coming out.
Raul chuckled and took the mug away from him. "Come on," he said, urging Jason to his feet with a hand on his arm. "I think you need some rest. You've been traveling and were just handed several shocks. You could use some time to decompress."
Jason followed docilely, his uncle leading him into a small bedroom. He wasn't certain how he should be feeling, and at the moment, could only distinguish relief in the flood of emotion swamping him. His uncle had welcomed him. He'd worry about the rest later. Right now, he was finally safe, with family.
"Thanks, Uncle Raul," he stated gratefully, sitting on the bed.
Raul crouched down in front him and smiled encouragingly. "Do you want me to call your mom and let her know you're here?"
Jason nodded. "Thanks. I may not agree with her choice of parenting style … or even husband, but I don't want her to worry."
Nodding, Raul stood and headed toward the door. "Get some rest."
After kicking off his shoes, Jason lay down on the bed. He grabbed the pillow and clutched it to his chest as he curled up on his side. He blew out a long sigh, feeling safe and happy for the first time in months.
Chapter Two
"Thanks for the update, Michel," Declan McIntire said, rising from his chair. "Let me know if anything else strikes ye as odd."
Thankful the meeting had come to an end, Michel McDover rose and nodded. "Aye, Alpha." When he'd left his mountain home to report finding traps in the national park while out running in wolf form, Michel hadn't expected his alpha to immediately call the beta and an enforcer. Since the enforcer had been at Sean and Raul's home, which was located about halfway between the alpha and beta's homes, they'd piled into their vehicles and headed there to hold an impromptu meeting.
Michel hoped his leader's suspicion-that it was the scientists again-was wrong. Of course, with the shit the arsehole humans had pulled already, he figured his alpha was probably right.
He ran a hand over his thick beard, hiding a shudder at some of the stories he'd just heard. Living alone in the woods for the last three years, Michel had been mostly removed from the pack's dealings. Except the damage the traps could do to a wolf's limb probably wasn't a coincidence, and they sure as shite couldn't be ignored. Someone wanted to injure what they caught.