***
“He’s his mate, Troy,” Philip said gently.
“What?” Troy turned to look at Philip. “How do you know?”
“I asked A. G. on our link when I saw what was going on.”
“I don’t believe him,” Troy growled. “He’s just saying that to save his skin.”
Philip had to stop himself from bursting into laughter. He didn’t want to add to Troy’s anger by telling him that Agyemang didn’t need to lie to save his skin at all because he could fuck anyone he wanted once the person gave his or her consent.
“You know werewolves sometimes find their mates amongst humans, right?” Philip asked.
“Yes but…” Troy relaxed back into the swing and stared ahead. “Did your friend even bother to tell Paul he was his mate before getting into his pants?”
“I didn’t ask him,” Philip murmured. “We will know soon enough. But please don’t make Paul feel bad about this.” Philip said softly. “They both clearly got carried away. It happens.” He shrugged. In fact, that was rather the norm but Philip refrained from telling his shaken mate that.
“So he’s marked him too?”
“Oh, no.” Philip chuckled. “That’s not how it works. Agyemang needs to turn Paul into a werewolf first before he can give him the mating mark.”
“Oh, my god.” Troy groaned.
“Bright side, your friend is going to be a werewolf too,” Philip murmured. “Shouldn’t that make you happy? I now see the wisdom in what your mother said.” Philip gave a burst of short laughter. “She said there’s always a reason for everything. And that Paul was here for a reason.”
“Aren’t you happy you didn’t kill him now?” Troy couldn’t stop his sneer.
“I’m happy I didn’t.” The alpha said quietly.
“Lip?” Agyemang called out as he stepped onto the balcony after a while. His eyes went to Troy. “Hello, Troy. I’m Agyemang.” He extended a hand towards Troy but Troy didn’t move a muscle. He stared at the extended hand as if he didn’t know why it was there.
“Troy…” Philip growled as Agyemang allowed his hand to fall beside him.
“It’s okay, Lip,” Agyemang said quietly. “Why don’t you go inside and speak to Paul, Troy? He’s in the living area.” The alpha watched as Troy stood and turned towards the entrance. “Troy?” Agyemang called out softly when Troy opened the door to go inside. Troy stopped but didn’t turn around. “Don’t be hard on him.” There was a subtle warning in the alpha’s voice. “Please.” Troy went inside and closed the door behind him.
The two alphas looked at each other for a brief moment. Then a brilliant smile broke out on each alpha’s face. Then they hugged as they laughed with delight. Finding a mate was a good thing.
“Thanks for not killing him.” Agyemang groaned.
“Thank Troy.”
“Why do you think his attitude a moment ago didn’t bother me?” Agyemang chuckled. “He’s very protective of Paul from what Paul has told me so far. I’m forever in his debt. That’s one hell of a mate you’ve got there, bruh.” The two alphas bumped fists and then sat down to talk.
*
Inside the suite, Troy sat down on the couch beside a shamefaced Paul. He wouldn’t even meet Troy’s eye. They sat quietly for a while before Troy cleared his throat and reached out to lightly tap Paul on the back.
“Are you okay?” Troy asked softly.
“Yes.” Paul nodded. “I hate that you had to see that.” He groaned.
“I’m sorry I barged in.” Troy sighed. “But that was damn shocking.” He drawled, drawing a peal of soft laughter from Paul. “Sure you’re okay? You’re not in pain or…”
“No pain, Troy. On the contrary, it was so good I’m still shaking.” Paul muttered, bringing up a trembling hand for Troy to see.
Troy stared at Paul with surprised eyes. “Philip was expecting him to join the pack for the run in the morning. Have you two been together since…”
“Since morning, yes,” Paul murmured.
“And since morning you’ve been going at it?” Troy’s eyes widened with incredulity. “You’re such a slut.” He gasped, making Paul laugh.
“We didn’t only fuck.” Paul threw his head back against the headrest. “We talked. And we ate. And then we fucked some more. I’ve never been fucked this good.” He moaned. “He’s something else.”
“So…did he tell you what all this is about?” Troy asked.
“You mean the fact that he’s my mate?” Paul crossed his legs. “Yes, he told me. And he explained what he needed to do to…” He shrugged. “That scared me but if that’s what it’s going to take to be with him, then I’ll allow it. I like him very much, Troy.”
“You’ve known him for what…ten hours? And you like him already?” Troy raised an eyebrow.
“Yes.” Paul sighed as he sat up straight and turned to look at his friend. “How about you? The way Philip had his arms around you in the kitchen…” Paul wriggled his eyebrow, drawing a snort from Troy.
“He was only trying to pull me out of there. Probably to give you two some privacy.”
“Still angry at him?” Paul asked quietly.
“He led the annihilation of an entire clan, Paul. And he marked me without my consent. Yes, I’m still angry at him.” Troy said, intentionally omitting the part about Philip threatening to kill Paul. He really didn’t want to remind Paul. “But I…” He stopped talking and frowned.
“You what?” Paul asked encouragingly.
“I…I have all these feelings inside for him.” Troy groaned low in his throat. “Sexual.” He whispered.
“From what I learnt from your mother and Cami, that’s only to be expected, Troy,” Paul said.
“I know…” Troy leaned back and covered his eyes with an arm. “But it scares me.” He groaned. “It’s as if I’ve ingested this poison into my system. And it’s taking over every cell inside my body. Do you get me?”
“Err… poison?”
Troy uncovered his eyes and sat forward. “Let me put it this way. When you inhale carbon monoxide, it enters your lungs and locks into your red blood cells. Eventually, those red blood cells get polluted and cannot carry any oxygen. At that point, all of the cells in your body suffocate from lack of oxygen, and you die.”
“Dude…” Paul gasped. “I know you said you were homeschooled and all but…how the fuck are you able to remember all that shit?”
“All I’m saying is, the need is taking over my very being, Paul.” Troy breathed. “And I don’t know for how long I can control it.”
“But what’s stopping you from demanding what you want?”
“Well, I don’t think he wants me with the same ferocity with which I want him.”
“What makes you say that?” Paul looked incredulous.
“He sorta always holds back. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want to do anything with me.” Troy muttered. “Maybe it’s because my mother and I went off on him when he gave me the mark but…it could be anything. It’s a bit disconcerting to know that someone can easily dismiss something that you just can’t ignore.”
“Maybe you need to tell him how much you want him.”