Chapter 7
Sons of Rogues
~West
I watched the alpha walked to a side door.
He stopped. “They stole my pack, I’m just taking it back.” His eyes went to his son. “You have your orders, go.” He slipped into the room and closed the door.
“9 o’clock tomorrow, Keith,” said Adam as he led the rest of the men out of the room.
My fiancee nodded and grabbed my shoulder. “He might like you, West, but never do that again.”
Not replying, I picked up my clothes and followed him out of the room. We went back to the elevator and got off two floors up. Keith pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. Opening it for me, he waved me through.
Walking down a small hallway, I stepped into a large open room. I ran my hand along the bar as Keith flopped down on one of the couches arranged around the TV.
With a sigh, he rubbed his forehead. “Finally, a moment to relax.”
I wandered around the kitchen, peeking into a couple cupboards. This apartment was very nice.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
I snatched my hand back, and the wooden door swung shut. “No, just looking.”
“Guess, I should show you around.” He stood with a groan and stretched out his arms. “Over here is the bathroom.”
I followed him over to a set of doors. He opened one, and I glanced inside.
Keith touched the handled to the one across from it. “This is my office.” He pushed open the door.
Stepping inside, I scanned the room. It smelt like wood, very fine earthy wood.
“I’d prefer if you didn’t go in here when I’m not around.”
Nodding, I exited the room and followed him across the apartment to the last door.
“This is our bedroom.”
The door slowly swung open, and I entered. It was nice, and the bed was big. I glanced at him and took note of my own size. There was plenty of room for us both, and I won’t have to worry about touching.
“There’s a balcony over there,” he pointed, before leading me into the bathroom. “Closet, shower, and tub. Pretty basic stuff.”
I touched the smooth countertops. It wasn’t basic to me. I was used to public bathrooms. “You have a really nice home.” I looked into the closet to see an entire side filled with suits. The along the wall had more casual clothes. The section on the far wall stood out. They were clearly new and not Keith’s size.
“Well,” breathed Keith. “I’m starving, so why don’t you take a shower, while I cook us something to eat.”
“‘kay.”
Keith opened the cabinet under the sink. “Towels are in there, along with some different soaps and stuff. I didn’t know which one you’d like, so I just picked out some random ones.” He poked his head into the closet and motioned. “There should be something that fits you in there somewhere. Just dig around until you find something you like.” He took the bundle from my arms. “I’ll throw these away for you.”
I nodded and waited until he left, before closing the door. I flipped the lock into place and sat down on the toilet. There was no getting out of this. I brushed back my fur. At least, Keith wasn’t some domineering dominant like some of the others I had met.
Muffled music slipped into the room. I could hear pots and pans being banged around on the other side of the wall. He knew how a cook. I’d label that as a positive.
I started to fill the tub. Going to the mirror, I examined my scar. It was a light pink color. A few more days and it would fade like all my others. I glanced over my arms and torso. When we mated all these would be gone.
“Damn it.” I gripped the edge. “Just,” I exhaled sharply. I’d figure this out, so staying calm was important right now.
After grabbing all the different bottles from under the sink, I slipped into the tub and sunk down into the water. Well, if I had to be mated to Keith, then I should be happy I had somewhere nice to live. This was a very clear upgrade from anywhere I’d ever stayed.
I opened up the first bottle and was blasted with a fruity scent. Snapping the lid shut, I tossed it in the trash. No one should be rubbing that into their fur. I tested out a couple more. Some were okay, other worse than the first with overpowering flower scents. I poked a hole through the seal of a blue bottle. A cool scent filtered out. I held it for my nose for a while. This one smelled really good. It gave off a fresh and clean scent.
Squirting some in my hand, I started working it into my fur. It had been so long since I had washed it properly. It had a constant feeling of heaviness whenever I couldn’t do a simple rub down of my fur every couple of weeks or so. Standing, I pulled the curtain over and scrubbed down the rest of my body. I flicked the shower head on and stood under it as the hot water pounded my back.
I did a quick rinse, before shifting back to human. “Oh god,” I breathed. Hot water, it was so nice.
Finishing, I opened the drain and dried off. With a towel around my waist, I went to the closet. The place smelt clearly of Keith. I went to my stacks of clothes and shuffled through them. I found some sweatpants and pulled them out.
“West?” Keith knocked.
“Give me a second.” I pulled the pants and went to unlock the door.
Keith stepped inside and smiled at me. “Mmmmm… You smell good.”
“Yeah, well I stunk before.”
“Feel better?”
Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “It’s a lot to take in.”
He glanced at the trash can and chuckled. “Those were no, then?”
“To be honest, some of those were awful.” I stooped down and grabbed the wet towel. “What should I do with this?”
“Towel in the hamper in the closet, and the foods ready.”
He took them from me as I tossed the towel in the tall woven basket. I followed Keith into the kitchen and sat down at the bar. He set a plate in front of me.
“What is it?”
“Spaghetti.” He sat down beside me. “Nothing special though. The sauce came from a can.”
“I’ve never had it.”
“Well then have a taste.”
He watched me as I took a bite. Tangy, but really good. I ate a few more bites and Keith started to eat as well. He swirled his fork through the noodles. It worked a lot better than my attempted to tame the long noodles. I spun my fork until it formed one giant mass on the end. Keith laughed as I tried to fit it in my mouth.
“Traditionals,” he chuckled. “You’re very entertaining.”
“So are civils,” I retorted. “when you take them to the woods.”
“Nope,” he said with a smile. “My mom’s pack is traditional. I can handle myself in both worlds.”
I used my fingers to get the tangled mass of noodles off my fork. “That sub I saw isn’t your parent then?”
“Lette,” laughed Keith. “Oh no, that boy is just my dad’s lover. He’s only been around for a year or two.”
“Oh,” I stared at my plate and tried to sort out the pieces of meat. “So did your, well is your…”
“My mother is alive and well,” he said with a smirk. “They weren’t mates. Just lovers.”
“Why didn’t he mate with her?” I peeked over at him.
Keith sighed and swirled his fork. “He had a mate, and even after all these years, my dad still not over it. Plenty of lovers, but he’s never been able to commit to one. Reason my mom left. She wanted a mate, and he wouldn’t do it.” He looked over me and smile. “She found a great guy though. He treats her like a queen, so I can’t be mad about it.”
I propped my elbow on the counter and laid my head on my hand. “My parents didn’t stick together either. They were even mates, but my mom still left.”
“Heard some things from August about Hidden Peak.”
“My dad was an ass,” I muttered. “I don’t blame anyone for hating him.”
“Northern Ridge took it more out on you, though.”
I pushed the remaining noodles around my plate. “I’m the son of a rogue that slaughtered a pack. Any alpha would be afraid of that. Hell, my own mother didn’t even want me.”
“Try being the son of a rogue alpha.” He grabbed my plate and walked around the counter to the sink. “More?”
I shook my head. “No, it was good, though. Thanks.”
Keith put the rest of the spaghetti on his place and returned to his seat. “I can’t say my mother didn’t want me. My father just refused to let her have me after the final split.”
“Final split?” I raised any eyebrow.
“Those two,” he laughed. “Off and on for years. They get in a fight, and she’d go back to her pack, and then they’d see each other at some business event, and it would start all over again. That was years ago,” he breathed. “My dad’s been pretty closed off, until we found Lette. Something about the red and white, and he had to have the sub. Never knew my old man was bi,” he laughed. “Most just be a color thing, because my mom’s fur was red.”
“He’s originally Bloodhound, though?”
Keith nodded and finished chewing. “My dad was supposed to be alpha.”
“Darius kicked him out?” I scoffed. “Northern Ridge, they’re just as power hunger as everyone else.”
Keith laughed, trying not to choke. “I thought you were pro Northern Ridge. Every pack I know kiss Darius’s ass with every chance they get.”
“The man wanted to kill me,” I muttered. “Ranger and Shiloh are the only wolves I cared about.” I glanced down at my hands in my lap. “It my fault too. I’m the one that got caught in their territory.” I clenched my jaw. “Who sends their future alpha to do border control. I mean really. Every traditional pack I know, lets the higher up sit around and get fat. Northern Ridge just had to be the one to mess it up.”
“So you met my brother?” Keith peered over at me.
“Brother? I didn’t know you had one.”
“Three, and one is younger along with my sisters.” He took out his phone and started flipping through it. “Come here. I don’t have a picture of all of us. But here’s Kindra, my full sister. She lives with my mom.”
I glanced at the screen. Two women with dark red hair and the same skin tone as Keith smiled back. “They’re both really pretty.”
He flipped through some more photos. “This is my baby sister, Lexy, haven’t seen her in years. Her mom doesn’t let her come near my dad. There’s some really bad blood there.”
A white girl with long black hair had her arms around my fiancee’s neck in the photo.
“Hard to believe you’re related,” I laughed.
Keith nodded. “We’re very diverse. Oh, here’s one of Kutsuo. He just older than me.”
I looked at the screen and back to Keith.
He just grinned. “He’s half Japanese. After the fall out at Bloodhound, my dad went over there for a couple years to hideout.”
“Really diverse.”
“Like I said.” He scrolled over and show a woman with the same red hair. “It’s a color thing,” chuckled Keith. “And then there’s Ace, he’s between me and Kindra. That was one of the bigger fights.”
The man looked like a younger version of the alpha. He reminded me of someone else too.
“Never saw him growing up much.” He turned off his phone and put it away. “He plays on a werewolf football team. I went to a few of his games, and we got to know each other that way.”
I nodded. “The guards would put it on in the break room. But I’ve never met any of those people?”
“The oldest,” said Keith with a grin, “is Jagger. Sorry, I’ve never met him, so I don’t have a picture, but I don’t think you need one.”
“No, I don’t,” I stated. I shook my head. “Jagger is your brother.” I thought about on the picture of Ace and without the scar, the alpha. I sucked in my lips. “Well you’re family is a little out there, so I guess Jagger would fit right in.”
Keith laughed and went to put his plate in the sink. “I won’t bring him up either. Boss has thrown people across the room for mentioning his eldest son.” Leaning against the counter, he folded his arm. “The bastard even went and mated Darius’s son.” Keith shook his head. “My dad destroyed his office when he found out. If Northern Ridge had gotten that deal with Midfield, he would have dragged the whole pack down there.”
Groaning, I rubbed my forehead. “I thought my dad had issues. Yours is just… wow.” I laid my chin on the counter. “How did you turn out somewhat descents.”
“Thanks, for the compliment.” Keith shrugged. “Growing up, I hated it, but it was also all I had ever known. I did want him to love my mom and mate with her, but when I got older, I was glad they never did. That relationship would have been bad for everyone. She never would have been happy with him. Lette was the best thing to ever happen. He calmed my dad down, and I don’t have to worry about the awkward, hey you have a new siblings talk either.”
I raised my hand. “Only child, and after tonight, I’m very happy I am.”
“I did learn that I wanted a proper mate. Having a different lover for every continent wasn’t for me. My dad taught me that very well.” Smiling, he walked over and stood behind me. “It’s getting late.” He gripped my shoulder and massaged them.
“Are we?” I said softly.
Keith leaned down and kissed my cheek. “I think I’ll fight my dad off for a couple days to let you settle in more, but very soon, I’m going to.” His arm wrapped around me. “If you want to do it tonight we can.”
I shook my head. “Give me a day to mentally prepare for this,” I breathed. “I’m not exactly gay.”
Keith chuckled. “I’ll take bi. Just don’t let your eyes wander too far,” he teased before stepping back and walking to the bedroom.
Taking a deep breath, I stood. I wasn’t going to be the scared sub. I’d face him, I’d let him know that yes, I might be on the bottom, but I am still a man. My shoulder dropped. “Damn it,” I hissed.
Awkward, this whole thing was awkward. I shuffled into the bedroom and went to the far side of the bed.
Keith was lounging on the other side watching TV.
I yanked up the covers, climbed in and curled into a ball, facing away from him. I could hear him chuckling at me. “Stop it.” I hit him with a pillow, before putting it over my head. “You’re worse than Ranger.”
The pillow was pulled off. Keith propped his head up on his hand. “You walked in here with your tail so far between your legs I couldn’t help it.”
I glared at him. “I don’t have a tail,” I snapped.
“In any other form, it would have been, right up in there.”
My mouth fell open. “Not funny.”
He just smirked at me. Turning off the TV, he rolled off the bed. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”
“‘kay.”
The door closed, and I tossed the blankets off me.
“Such an idiot.” I bounced my fist against my forehead. I need to show him I was a strong man, and just because I was a middle rank, I could still… “Damn it.”
I rolled over and stared out the window. This really was not going how I wanted.
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I won't be around tomorrow much, so early update! Enjoy :)