Page 37 of Legally Mated
Laine thought about that for a moment. Was it sad that this semi-revelation didn’t evoke even the tiniest bit of surprise in him, or just something he needed to accept andgetpast?
Holland glanced around, then stole the chair from the next bed over. “We can put it back,” he said defensively when Laine covered his grin with one hand under the guise of resting his chininit.
“I don’t care. Let them steal from the next guy. I’m a lawyer, not a cop.” Laine took the spare chair and sank down into it. “He was awake for a few minutes this morning, had a little to drink. Seemed lucid, but he tiredquickly.”
“Awake is good,” Holland said, and leaned forward to do that scenting thing over Garrick’s body a couple of times. He sighed and shook his head. “Too much hospital smell.” Then he frowned and brushed a hand over the wound in Garrick’s side, frowned harder and shook his head. Laine thought he heard him mutter, “It sounded easier when Cosimo did it.” He brushed his hand over the same spot again, made a small noise of not-quite-satisfaction, then came to sit down beside Laine. “And how are you?” He soundedsincere.
Laine jerked in surprise, and repressed a frown at Holland’s smile. “Tired. Worried for him—this hospital isn’t really set up to follow the laws around shifters.” And in a lower voice, careful that Garrick wouldn’t be able to hear him even in his sleep, he added, “Scared.”
It was hard to admit it, but it seemed to have been the right thing to do, because Holland’s answering smile softened and he reached out to gently touch Laine’s arm. “It’ll be okay. He’s tough.” Holland sat back, his body relaxed, but his brow still furrowed. “I wish I knew why he hadn’ttoldus.”
“Told you he was shot? He was unconscious.” What a strange thing to wonderabout.
Holland shook his head. “No, not that. That he was omega.” The baby made a noise and Holland glanced down fondly. “You awake again? Want to come out and see some of the world?” Carefully, he extracted the baby from the sling, the tiny dark head now stable on his neck. Holland sat him on one thigh, one hand splayed over the baby’s upper back and neck to support him while the little guy looked around with startledappreciation.
“To be so young again,” Laine said quietly, “And for everything to be so new and wonderful.” On impulse, he reached out to stroke the soft cheek with one finger, warmed by memories of April, new home from the hospital, so impossibly strong and frighteningly fragile at thesametime.
“Pups are a reminder that life should be enjoyed,” Holland said softly, and wiped a bit of drool from the baby’s chin with a clean rag, then watched as the little boy tried to shove his entire fist into his mouth and shook his head. Holland glanced up at Garrick, then sighed. “No, I guess I understand why he hid it, though.” He looked up at Laine, his gaze not quite accusatory, but Laine would have been fooling himself to think there was none of that in Holland’s expression. “I suppose you’ve known for a while. About Garrick. That he wasn’t the gamma wolf he saidhewas.”
Was that sadness in Holland’s voice? Laine cleared his throat and glanced toward the bed. Garrick was still dead to the world, looking so firmly asleep he could have played in the gay version of Sleeping Beauty. “I only found out last month. He, uh, likes the light off.” Laine shifted uncomfortably on the chair and shot Holland a guilty look, uncertain how this conversation would play out and well aware that he was nowhere near prepared to even have it. “He doesn’t know I figured it out. I thought he’d tell me when he was ready, or never if that’s how it went. I wasn’t going to drag his secret into the light without his permission, even just in frontofhim.”
Holland’s brows rose. “That was very kindofyou.”
“Could hardly blame him. I imagine he was afraid he’d lose his position as the pack lawyer,” Laine said dryly, a small, possibly below-the-belt jab at shifter culture. It was unprofessional, or at least, clumsier than he’d been since he’d first started practicing. But a hammer could be as useful a tool as a scalpel in the right situation. It would take back some of his power in this conversation, and let him assess just what the pack thought of thisrevelation.
“Hardly,” Holland said back, just as dry as Laine. “Though if he’d been in another pack, it might have been an issue, yes. But I wouldn’t take that away from him.” The subtext of his words came through loud and clear—he wouldn’t allow anyone else to do it either. “He’s far too valuable anyway. And we’re trying, as much as we can, to make sure that our packmembers are free to be what they want, without any artificial barriers to slow orstopthem.”
Well, it seemed Holland could play the barbed comment game too. It was almost like being in court, except that Laine had no interest in demolishing this opponent. “Good. I’m glad. I don’t know how he hides it, though I’ve caught him taking pills—that might have something to dowithit.”
“Likely.” Holland opened his mouth as if to say more, then paused and shut it again. The baby made one of those funny laughing buzzing noises they tended to make at this age and traded out one fist for the other. This time, it was Laine who grabbed the rag and dried off thetinyhand.
“You look like you’ve done that before,” Hollandobserved.
Laine paused, then folded the cloth and put it back in Holland’s bag. “I have a daughter. Her mother and I broke up just before Garrick approached me aboutJason’scase.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up badmemories.”
The look Holland gave him seemed to see deeper than the surface, though Laine couldn’t have guessed what Holland was trying to figure out.Ask, damn you. I’m not a closed book, unlike your people.Which was some of the problem here, and part and parcel of things that needed to change to see the packs reintegrated with society. But then again, Holland was doing a damn good job of integrating with human society, with his modeling and interviews and charming the socks off everyone whomethim.
And Abel and Quin, trying to find candidates to go for schooling outside the pack, and refusing to allow themselves to be segregated into small shifter-only classes. Which required a whole lot of political savvy, and packmembers who had balls of brass and the kind of determination that would let them live in a world that wanted them kept in what basically amounted to wild animalpreserves.
“No bad memories. It was, for a divorce, pretty amicable. I still see April as much as our schedules allow.” He thought for a second, then added, “Thank you,though.”
Holland nodded and turned to watch Garrick. “I’m going to have to broach the subject with him, sometime, when he’s stronger. This is awkward, especially when dealing with the other packs.” Holland signed and leaned against the chairback. “And I’ve set Bax to tracing his ancestry, to make sure he isn’t related to myself or Bax through the side inquestion.”
Laine opened his mouth with the intention of demanding an explanation for that cryptic comment, then realization hit him. “You think if it turns out he’s a True Omega that it will cause more troubleforhim.”
Holland nodded, his eyes never straying from the still figure in the bed. “Though the whole omega thing looks to be more complicated than we’d ever considered.” He glanced over at Laine. “The Mutch chest has been veryenlightening.”
“How?”
The baby fussed and Holland bounced him gently on his knee, wiggling him back and forth while the baby laughed. “Go home and get some sleep first. Bram is going to come sit with him after his shift is over.” He hesitated and then, slowly, as if he wasn’t certain this was truly the right course to take, he said, “Come to the pack house for supper. I’d prefer to have this discussion someplace lesspublic.”
“All right.” Laine tamped down the burning curiosity, and stood creakily from hischair. “Five?”
Holland shook his head. “Make it six. Give me time to put food together and make sure Bram has eaten.” He held out a hand to Laine, who took it in surprise. “I know I haven’t been easy on you. Or on Garrick about this. And I know in my head that this wasn’t an action against him alone, but it could have been. He could so easily have been targeted, not because of anything he’s done, but because he’s the one who is seen, and can be reached.” He pressed Laine’s fingers quickly, then took his hand back. “I don’t travel with security just to look important. And I don’t know what the best choice is here. Every choice I’m offered is dangerous, it’s just a choice of danger.” He looked down at the baby, then back up at Laine, and something in his gaze reminded Laine that Holland was still only what? Twenty-one years old? Trying to carry the weight of thousands of other shifters without the years of experience that his mate Quin had. “I don’t want to fuck up your relationship because you’re good for him, but I don’t know how to protect himinthis.”
Laine crouched down beside him and let the baby grab his index finger with one soggy hand. He smiled at the little guy and then glanced up at Holland. “I know. I can see how hard you’re trying. Maybe you’re right, that I should keep Garrick out of the limelight, spend less time with him.” His heart contracted just thinking about it and something must have shown on his face, because Holland sent him a sadsmile.
