Page 15 of The Night Wolf
“Because I’m… I’m a guy.”
“Yes, I did notice that when you were naked in Dr. Franklin’s office, and the evidence is still pretty plain to see.”
Sean gasped and grabbed something off the bed to cover himself. He turned to Dani, his eyes wide. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
She looked at Gareth and snorted. “I see this one naked all the time. What kind of pack were you in that nudity is a bad thing?”
Being naked wasn’t the problem. Having Ryker ogling, touching….
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Gareth was talking so breezily. “You don’t mind that I’m….”God. “Gay?” He whispered the words, hoping no one heard them.
“Caleb is gay,” Dani said, not looking up from sliding the fitted sheet onto the bed. “Do you think that means I love him any less? What kind of parent would that make me? If you can so easily stop loving someone for who they love, then you never truly cared for them at all.”
Gareth hitched a thumb in Dani’s direction. “What she said.” He took a step closer. “Many of Lydon’s wolves are… disenfranchised, for lack of a better word. We don’t discriminate here. LGBTQI, unwed mothers, single fathers. We welcome everyone.” He blew out a breath. “And now that I’ve gotten my head out of my ass, we’re going to be more welcoming.”
“What do you mean?”
“How about you take a shower, because—and I mean no offense—you’re pretty rank. Once that’s done, you’ll let Dani feed you, and then you and I will take a tour around Lydon. You’ll let me tell you about the town, and then you can decide if you think you’d like to be part of our pack.”
Dani, still not looking up, cleared her throat.
“Of ourfamily,” Gareth corrected.
Pack? Family. God, Sean wanted that so desperately. Wolves didn’t do well on their own, and Sean had been by himself for far too long.
“I… I’d like that…. Alpha.”
It was a shock when bile didn’t rise in Sean’s throat at the word.
“Good. Shower, eat, and then we’ll go. You’ll find toothpaste and deodorant in the cabinet to the right of the sink. Towels—assuming Dani did her job—will be in the chest right outside the door.”
This time Dani looked up. “No soup for you.”
Gareth’s lower lip jutted out. “I’m sorry. Really.”
She waved him off and put fresh forest-green cases on the four pillows that stretched across the king-size bed. Gareth laughed, and Sean found it to be a nice sound. Full, rich, vibrant. Not evil or skanky or anything like Ryker’s.
The thought of Ryker had Sean shivering.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Fine. Just a little cold. The shower will warm me up, though.”
“All right. I have some calls to make, but I should be done before you’re ready to go. Dani, would you please make sure he eats all his food? He missed too many meals already.”
“Yes, Alpha.” She looked up and gave him a smile. “And I’ll have some food for you as well.” The grin turned positively evil. “I’m thinking tofu.”
He narrowed his gaze and stuck out his tongue. “Fine. I quite like tofu.”
The two of them played with each other? Hell, Garethspoketo his housekeeper, not just barked orders at her? He recalled Ryker and someone who worked at his place. Every time she’d walk by, Ryker would leer. At times he’d make some comment, laden with innuendo that Sean hadn’t understood yet, and she would hurry from the room. One night when he was twelve, as Sean was heading home from a friend’s house, he heard Lottie scream. He ran for the Alpha’s house and found Ryker holding her against the wall. He licked her face, and she whimpered. Sean, seeing the woman who had been so kind to him in danger, rushed forward and threw himself at Ryker, but it was like hitting a brick wall, and Sean fell to the floor.
Ryker had glared down at Sean. “You wanna take her place, pup?”
“No, leave him alone.”
Ryker drew a hand back and slapped her across the face. “Don’t tell me what to do.” His dark gaze returned to Sean. “I asked you a question. Do you want to take her place?”
