Page 21 of Duke's Baby Deal
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Duke reached for Bram when the young man swayed in his seat, and caught him before he had any chance of falling. Maybe Bram wouldn’t have fainted—though Duke wouldn’t have blamed him, after everything that had happened—but the impulse to reach out and comfort him overrode all other thoughts. The desperation and fear in the young man’s face wrung his heart, and if he hadn’t already been in love and feeling a guilty conscience because Bram’s downfall was giving him what he’d wanted for two years, that would have done it. He held Bram against his chest and shushed him gently until the other shifter stopped shaking so badly and began to push against Duke’s embrace. Duke reluctantly let him go, and tucked away the memories, knowing he’d likely never have this opportunity again. This was such a stupid idea. It was going to be torture on a daily basis, but he wouldn’t turn back now. Bram needed him, and he would be there.
Bram sat back on his chair and propped his elbow on the table, hiding his eyes with that hand. “No, Duke. It’s not fair. I’ll figure out something. Abel will figure out something. Quin, Bax…” His voice trailed off.
Rejection hurt, and this one was like a punch in the gut. But Duke had taken punches before. He could handle it. “Your dad already believes it was me. Would it really be that bad? I’ll put in for mated quarters, you’d have your own place. I won’t bother you if you want me to leave you alone.” That made his chest ache, but he forged on regardless. “It’s not all bad. And if you decide you don’t want the pup, we’ll find a family for it. It’s easier, I think, if you’re mated. To give one away, I mean.” He could feel the heat in his cheeks again. “And after that, well, who knows, right? One day at a time?”
Bram lifted his head and stared into Duke’s eyes as if he was searching for truth there. Duke did his best to remain impassive, serene, despite his heart racing like he was on a hunt.
Though he supposed he was, in a way.
Finally, Bram closed his eyes, moistened his lips, then opened his eyes again. “You’re sure?”
“Of course. Pack sticks together.”
Bram gave him a weak smile. “Yeah, it does.” He looked down at his lap, then looked back up at Duke with an expression so earnest it nearly broke his heart. “I swear, I won’t be a bad mate. I mean, I’ve been training for it all my life. And you won’t have to worry about the pup, I’ll look after it, and you can just go on with your life—” A sob escaped him and Duke felt a moment of pride as Bram caught it and regained control again. “I won’t interfere with your life,” Bram continued. “And if I do, tell me and I won’t do it again.” He pulled himself up straight, though Duke could see the effort it cost him. “I guess, then—how do we do this?”
“I’ll have Garrick draw up the contract. You pick out something nice to wear and maybe invite a few friends?” Here was ground he had to tread lightly over. “The story is, it was always going to be, but things happen, and we’re happy, okay? That’ll settle the old bitches and their wagging tongues.” He loved his pack, but with this many people crammed into such a small space, gossip was one of the main entertainments. And now that Bram was his, the fiercely protective instincts of an alpha came rushing to the fore. He couldn’t fight gossip with tooth and claw, but he could fight it with intelligence, and that was what Bram needed right now. “I’ll go get your parents?”
Bram took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah.”
Duke could almost hear thelet’s get that over withthat went unsaid. He gave Bram’s hand a quick pat and headed for the front door, looking for his soon-to-be inlaws.
He found them where he thought they’d gone, the end of the row of houses, far enough that he’d lost track of their footsteps when they’d first left, even though he’d borrowed from his wolf. It was a good thing, because if they’d been the kind to eavesdrop, this whole conversation would have been a lot harder to have.
“Sir. Ma’am,” he said in greeting. “I’ll get Garrick to work on the papers. It might be a day or two before I can find quarters, but I’ll get something sorted out. I think he’d like to see you again, now that it’s all out in the open. And I’m sorry again that it all went the way it did. I’d wanted him to be older before things got serious, you know? Have a bit of a life before settling down.”
Bram’s dad put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m just glad it was you and not that idiot Montana Border alpha that he’s been mooning over. I’ll admit, I knew he was sweet on you a while ago, but then that rascal moved into the enclave, and it was all up in the air. But I’m glad he has the sense to know a good thing when he sees it too.”
Bram was sweet on him?A tiny flame of hope, like a sickly firefly, lit itself in his chest. “He’s a smart man. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves sometimes.”
“Well,” Bram’s mom said. “He doesn’t do anything to earn it either. He’s a sweet boy, but as silly as the day is long. I hope he won’t be a trial to you.”
And if he’d ever needed it, he’d have had the proof of how they’d caused all their own problems, because this was absolutely not the way to handle Bram. He needed work, and responsibility, and a life.
And someone who saw the man he could be.
“I’m sure we’ll be fine, ma’am. I’m going to head out now, get some sleep so I can set things in motion tomorrow. Good night to you both.”
“Good night,” they said in unison, then turned back toward their door.
Duke walked up the street, headed for the bachelor quarters, and prayed he was right.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Word spread like wildfire. Even before Duke had tracked Garrick down to put together the mating contract, he’d been congratulated by two of the Security team, which meant that they’d heard it from someone else, because as far as he knew, they weren’t particular friends of Bram’s family. His suspicion was proved true, and by the time his next shift started two days later, he was convinced that half the pack had already been told.
So much for a small, quiet mating.
He checked in with Edmund, who was sitting glum-faced in front of the monitors. “Hey, all quiet?”
“Yeah.” Edmund stared at the monitors that kept track of which sensors were working, which weren’t, and sent out the alarm when something set them off. On the other screen, two cameras pointed at the gate showed all was calm. Not that they were expecting much in the way of traffic. The cameras were more for their own protection—if someone coming or going from the pack was given an exceptionally hard time, the pack wanted video evidence, since the human assumption always seemed to be that the shifter involved had started something.
There was tension in the air. Duke could smell it. “Something wrong, Edmund?”
“Nope.”
Dammit. Edmund had been part of Bram’s harem. “This about Bram?”
