Tucker was Richard’s only son, and Richard was beyond protective of him. They’d been kept apart for many years, since Richard’s in-laws had kidnapped the baby after their daughter’s death and taken him away. Richard had never stopped searching for him, but his efforts failed again and again. Gavin, the pack alpha, discovered Tucker coincidentally when he went to Florida to investigate a rash of killings there instigated by their enemy, the Hunters. They had taken a natural pet and cruelly changed him into a monstrous killing machine, targeting humans. During the investigation and attempt to intervene, Gavin realized Tucker was his bloodmatch and convinced Tucker to come back to Tennessee with him. They’d had their mating ceremony only a couple of weeks later. Now this person from Tucker’s past was here to talk Tucker into leaving again and to make trouble for them all.
When news reached the pack that a detective from Florida was in the nearby town of Sylva, North Carolina, asking questions, both Richard and Gavin had been incensed. Gavin, in particular, was fuming.
“Why would he come here, Tucker?” Gavin asked. “What is this man to you?”
“Kevin Bryson was my partner, you know that, and he’s my best friend. As to what he’s doing here, I don’t know. He’s just very…protective, I guess.”
“But why, Tucker?” Gavin asked his mate. “Why so protective and why would this man come all the way up here from Florida to find you? You said you called him and told him everything was fine.”
“I did,” Tucker said, flopping down on the sofa and looking up at his mate and his father with that mulish look he got when he didn’t want to discuss something. Richard continued to regard his son with determination. His stubbornness wasn’t going to do him any good this time.
Richard sat down in an armchair across from his son and tried not to let his irritation show. He knew Tucker well enough by now to know it would only make him worse. Gavin was a good alpha and a good mate to his son, but he’d neglected to give Tucker the loving discipline every pet needed, in Richard’s opinion. Richard may have been a little old-fashioned in his thinking in that regard, but the old ways worked. Why change them?
Richard saw Tucker glance up nervously at him, and knew he was hiding something. Gavin glanced over uneasily too. Though Gavin outranked Richard, he probably knew his beta father-in-law thought he spoiled Tucker outrageously. Richard had told him so often enough. Richard loved Tucker more than his own life, but he wanted him to be a good alpha’s pet, and in his mind, at least, keeping secrets from your mate only caused problems. If Tucker had been his mate, he’d already be over his knee.
Richard pressed his lips together, though, and let his alpha handle things. He, at least, knew his place in the pack hierarchy. Gavin sat down beside Tucker and put an arm around his shoulders. “Honey, please. This is important. How did he know where to find you? He came directly to the closest town to the lodge, and you said you only told him you were somewhere in Tennessee. He shows up in North Carolina, just across the state line from us. How did he manage that?”
“He’s smart. And a detective.”
“Tucker,” Richard said in a warning voice.
“Okay,” Tucker said, his shoulders sagging. “I called him just before our mating ceremony on my cell phone. I guess he got the cell phone records and found the nearest tower.”
“But how could he…” Gavin flushed and fell silent when Tucker raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, right. Police officer.”
Tucker snorted. “Well, yeah, and he has a key to my apartment. All he had to do was look through my phone bills. He knows where I keep everything.”
He sat back on the sofa for a couple of seconds before leaning toward Tucker again. “That still doesn’t answer the question of why. What in the hell did you say to him? He was telling everyone in town that you were a missing person, and he feared for your safety.”
“Well, I didn’t tell him that. Like I said, he’s just protective…”
“Yes, about that, Tucker. Why would he be so protective of you?” Richard leaned forward. “Is there more going on than what you’ve been telling us?”
Tucker gave his father a startled glance and then sighed. “I guess he’s kind of…in love with me…”
“What?” Gavin said with a growl. “What the hell, Tucker, you told me your partner was straight, married and had a baby on the way. Did you lie to me?”
Tucker shrugged and would have gotten up if Gavin hadn’t gripped his arm. “Yes, okay, so I lied. I’m sorry, but you were jealous, especially when you found me in his parents’ condo, and I didn’t want you to think there was anything between us, because there’s not. I mean, he wanted a relationship, but I told him it wouldn’t be a good idea. We were partners, after all, and I know what would have happened if things hadn’t worked out between us. They probably wouldn’t have, either, because he’s not my type.”
Gavin glared at his mate. “Bullshit, Tucker. I’ve seen your partner when we did surveillance on you and at the crime scenes in Florida. The guy is good-looking.”
Tucker slanted him a smoldering look and leaned over until he was inches from Gavin’s face. “Yeah, if you like the blond, Brad Pitt look. I’m more into tall, dark and incredibly sexy myself.”
Gavin looked unconvinced, but dropped a kiss on his lips as if he couldn’t help himself when Tucker was that close. Richard leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. “You should have told us everything, Tucker, so we could have taken precautions.”
“C’mon, Dad, I had no idea he would do something like follow me up here. I told him I wasn’t in a cult, and I was perfectly happy, and that maybe Gavin would let me come back to Florida for a visit soon.”
Richard shook his head. “Gavin would let you, huh? That was like waving a red flag, Tucker, especially if he was concerned that you were being held against your will.”
“Ah, hell, I didn’t think about that. Look, let me just go talk to him and send him on his way.”
“Out of the question,” Gavin said firmly.
Tucker whipped his head around to argue, and Richard broke in. “He’s right, Tucker. Best case scenario, he won’t believe you. He’ll think you’ve been brainwashed and keep digging until he learns too much, and we’ve been compromised. Worst case, he’d throw you over his shoulder and haul ass with you tied up in his trunk and put you in some kind of therapy for cult members. I won’t lose you again.”
Tucker blew out a frustrated breath. “Oh for God’s sake. Okay, then what are we going to do about it? He won’t stop, you know. He’s like a bulldog when he’s after something like this, and he’s very good at what he does. He’ll just keep investigating until he finds out everything he can. He might even go to the state police and try to flush me out that way.”
Richard looked at Gavin and met his steady, implacable gaze. Tucker glanced from one to the other. “What? What did I say?” A light dawned on his face, and he jumped angrily to his feet. “Oh no! Oh, hell no, you’re not going to hurt him.” He grabbed Gavin by the shirt front. “I will not stand for you hurting him. I’d go to the state police myself before I let you touch one hair on his head, do I make myself clear?”
Gavin gripped his wrists and pushed him gently away, still keeping hold of him. “Calm yourself, Tucker. Nobody’s going to hurt him.”
“Tucker, I’m surprised at you,” Richard said. “You know we don’t deliberately hurt humans unless they attack us first. And even then, we’d try not to injure them. Even the Hunters were given a chance to assimilate into our pack last year when we destroyed their compound. Those that gave up were taken care of and found mates within the three branches of the pack.”
“So then…wait…you want to assimilate him? Is that what you’re trying to say? What the hell does that even mean? You’d force him to become a part of the pack?”
“Oh for God’s sake, Tucker,” Richard said. “It’s not like it’s a fate worse than death…you seem to be pretty happy.”
“Yes, but I chose this life for myself, damn it. I wasn’t forced into it.”
“There would be no question of forcing,” Gavin said in a soothing tone. “If he received a mating bite, he’ll be eager, as a matter of fact.”
“Oh yeah, that makes it so much better.” Tucker shook his head. “No, I can’t agree to something like that.”
“We’re a long way from a decision like that anyway,” Gavin said. “Too many factors are involved.”
“Like what?”
“Like whether or not he’s already told a lot of people where he was going, or if he has close family members who would come looking for him…that kind of thing. His personality too, would have to be considered. If he became the mate of a wolf, he’d have to have a somewhat submissive nature, and not be resistant to being dominated, especially during…uh…” he cast a glance over at his father-in-law and blushed. “You know.”
“You mean sex? Good Lord, Gavin, my dad knows we have sex.”
“Tucker,” Richard said reprovingly.
“Well, you do.”
“Yes, well, what I may know, and what I like to think about are two different things, son. And this conversation is becoming uncomfortable. What Gavin is trying to tell you is that we do have different methods, depending on the individual. What works for some might not work for others. We’ve been in this area for a long, long time, Tucker, and of course your friend, the detective, is not the first human to get a little too curious about us. When that has happened over the years we’ve had to take steps to mitigate the damage. Not just for ourselves, but for everyone in our pack.
“Like what? Besides assimilation.”
“We used to keep prisoners inside the compound years ago.” He held up a hand at the look on Tucker’s face. “But not anymore. It’s cruel, and we’re not interested in becoming jailers. In recent years, some mild brainwashing techniques have been used, though we don’t like that either…too unpredictable and too much chance of the person losing all their memories.”