Breaking the Bonds

  The three men sat enjoying the sun and cool breeze until the children abruptly stopped their game and announced they were hungry.

  “Okay.” Josiah stood and brushed off his pants. “Let’s heat up the casserole from last night.”

  Sadie wrinkled her nose. “It had meat in it.”

  “You can pick out the chicken,” Josiah said.

  “Let’s race!” Sophie yelled, and they all took off for the plantation house, the triplets shifting mid-run.

  “Hey, no fair!” Sadie shouted, but she kept running.

  “Go in the back way and wash your hands in the bathroom!” Josiah called, and the children obediently veered off in that direction.

  “Is Jaime around?” Mark asked as Sam strapped Jimmy and Jarrod-Grant in a stroller. The two little boys were drooping, ready for their afternoon naps.

  “I think he’s in the omega den,” Josiah said.

  The sound of the screen door repeatedly slapping shut announced the children entering the house, and Josiah and Sam set off in that direction while Mark went in the other.

  “See you later this week,” Mark called, and Josiah lifted his hand in acknowledgment.

  David appeared from out of the barn, shirt off and torso covered in sweat and bits of hay. His light blond hair had whitened from the sun, and Josiah thought the alpha looked like Apollo from mythology might have.

  “Lunch time already?” David asked as Josiah and Sam passed.

  “How’d you guess?” Sam asked.

  “Must have been the whirling dervish of kids that just blew by.” David began splashing water from the pump over his face and shoulders as Josiah and Sam continued on their way.

  When the two omegas walked in the front door, Brooks looked up from his laptop. Angela had recruited his help researching.

  “I thought you’d be in soon, so I put the casserole in the oven. It should be warm by now. Oh, and Sid just called. He’s on his way over.”

  Josiah exchanged glances with Sam. Since Sid had moved out, the beta’s visits had become more and more rare. Josiah headed into the bathroom to wash his hands. The older children had finished their task and abandoned the young ones. Jarrod-Grant and Jimmy had revived from their cat naps in the stroller and stood together on the stepping stool with what had to be half the bottle of pump soap covering their hands and arms. Jimmy’s attempts to turn on the tap with slick fingers were proving futile, and the little boy’s face was scrunched in frustration.

  “Here, let me help.” Josiah reached over the kids’ heads and turned on the water. It took several rinses to get the soap off, and Josiah got his own hands clean in the process.

  After he’d dried them, the first omega led the toddlers into the kitchen.

  “Sadie. Sophie. What have I told you girls about cleaning up your messes?” he scolded his girls. “And you left the little ones to fend for themselves.”

  Sam placed a plate of warmed casserole in front of each child, and the girls immediately began picking out bits of chicken and placing them on a napkin.

  “Sorry, Da,” they said in unison.

  “Sorry doesn’t cut it. After you eat, go in there and clean up the bathroom.”

  “Why don’t the boys have to help?” Sophie asked. “They were messier than we were.”

  “If they do, there will be a bigger mess than there was to begin with. They can help with the dishes.” Josiah smiled at Sam as the other omega handed him a plate of food.

  Sid appeared in the doorway.

  “Hi,” Sam greeted the beta. “I fixed you a plate.”

  Sid sat down. “Thanks. Nice to get a home-cooked meal.”

  “How’s school?” Josiah asked. “And work?”

  Sid had gotten a job at a coffee shop close to the nursing school.

  “Good. Exams were tough, but I passed everything,” Sid said around a mouthful of food. “Before I forget, I wanted to let you know my boyfriend’s started working at the Congress.”

  Josiah met Sid’s eyes over the table. “I didn’t know you were dating someone.”

  “I met him at the LGBTQ mixer a few months ago, and we started talking. Made it official on social media recently. His name’s Grier. He said he’d look you up, Josiah.”

  “I probably won’t be there until after the weekend,” Josiah said. He hoped his heat would hold off until the next day, so it wouldn’t keep him and River from running that night. He was looking forward to getting out under the moon.

  “Is Grier a werewolf?” Sam asked.

  Sid shook his head. “Human.”

  “How’s that working out?”

  “Good. He’s always been interested in lycanthropes, and after we got together, he decided to help out at the Congress.”

  Josiah didn’t know what to think about Sid’s attempts to meld into human society or a human interested in werewolves. He’d wanted Sid to move on, partly for selfish reasons, as River had felt a responsibility toward the beta ever since Sid’s mate, Patrick, had been killed by the Turned. But Josiah couldn’t help worrying about Sid, who might be too trusting of humans.

  “Are you sure you’re safe?” he asked.

  Sid rolled his eyes. “You really ought to try to get out more. I know you were raised here, but things are changing. There are quite a few weres at the university, and there are guidance counselors there to help us adjust. But I haven’t needed any of that. Everyone’s been super nice. My roommate’s great.”

  Sam smiled at Sid. “I’m glad you’re happy.”

  “Da, may I be excused?” Sophie asked.

  Seeing she’d eaten most of her meal, Josiah nodded.

  “Okay, but take that,” he pointed to the tower of chicken on the napkin, “out to the barn cats.”

  Sadie shoved a large bite of casserole into her mouth. “Me, too?”

  Josiah hid a smile. “Yes, but chew that up before you swallow it.”

  Jarrod-Grant was busy making a road between two hills of casserole, and Josiah urged him to eat a few bites.

  Sawyer walked in, sweaty and with knees caked with dirt.

  “Gardening, or something more interesting?” Sid asked.

  Sawyer rolled his eyes. “Gardening. And nice to see you. It’s been a while.” He greeted his boys, listened to their chatter about playing outside, and told them to eat up.

  “I got the peas planted,” he said as he washed his hands at the sink.

  Josiah was about to reply when Sid said, “You’re living in the past out here. River should have you all working in the city. Going to the supermarket to get your food, not toiling in the dirt like Amish people.”

  “What are Amish people?” Sam asked.

  “I’ll explain later,” Josiah said before turning back to Sid, annoyed. “Some of us do work in the city, and we go to the supermarket for some things. Why shouldn’t we grow our own vegetables? Every time you come here, you criticize the way we live like you were never a part of it.”

  Sid shook his head and took a drink of water from his glass. “It’s just so obvious when you get away from this place. Grow vegetables if you want; my point is, if you really want humans and werewolves to get along, all of you should be out there, mingling with the humans. How else are they going to learn we’re not savage?”

  Josiah stood and took his and the children’s plates to the sink. “You seem to forget I grew up human. Be careful. I’m sure they’re more open-minded at the university than elsewhere.”

  “We do all right,” Sam said to Sid.

  “Yeah, and that’s good. But the rest of you should be getting out there. I bet you haven’t gone out since we went to Walmart ages ago, Sam.”

  Sid was referring to when he, Josiah, and Sam had gone shopping, but Sam hadn’t enjoyed the crowd, and they’d cut the trip short.

  “I don’t see the point,” Sam mumbled.

  “The point is getting you around humans, so they can get used to you and you to them.”

  “Leave him alone,” Sawyer said. “Why have
you gotten so pushy?”

  Josiah turned back to the table and was glad to see a chagrined look on Sid’s face.

  “Sorry. I just feel really strongly about this.”

  Sam smiled. “That’s okay. I probably should get out more.”

  Sid brightened. “Why don’t you come visit me at my apartment? You’d love it.”

  “I guess I could do that.” Sam looked at Josiah. “Maybe next week. You could drop me off when you go to the Congress?”

  Josiah agreed, and was relieved when Sid moved the subject away from werewolves and humans. A distant buzzing had taken up in his ears, and he knew what that meant; his heat was coming on. There would be no moon run for him.

  Chapter 10: Sam

  “You have the cell phone in case you need me to pick you up,” Josiah said. “Otherwise, Sid will take you home later.”

  “I know, I’ll be fine,” Sam said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. Josiah was only trying to help, but sometimes Sam got tired of being treated like spun glass. He’d always been timid, and Jimmy had taken care of him, then Foster, and then Leo. The other omegas often did, too. Lately, Sam felt silly and kind of like a burden. It was one thing for his alpha to coddle him, but he felt ridiculous when other omegas did it.

  Josiah seemed to pick up on Sam’s mood and simply nodded before driving off.

  Sid lived in one of the school’s apartment complexes with a fellow nursing student named Jeb. It was easy to find the right door, as they were marked with big silver numbers. Sam knocked on number twelve. Seconds later, the door flew open and a smiling Sid pulled Sam inside and gave him a warm hug as though they hadn’t seen each other just a few days earlier. If it made Sid that happy for one of them to visit him, Sam thought he should have done it ages ago.

  “This is nice.” Sam looked around the comfortable living room. A guy with shoulder-length dark hair, a big nose, and dark-rimmed glasses sat on a navy couch facing the largest television Sam had ever seen. He looked at Sam with interest.

  Sid introduced him as his roommate, Jeb.

  “Welcome,” he said before turning back to the television.

  “Come on,” Sid said, tugging on Sam’s hand, “let’s go in my room.”

  Sam followed the beta down a short hall to the right that was sparsely furnished with a single bed, nightstand, and bureau.

  Sid closed the door behind him and gestured for Sam to sit on the bed. Sid turned to the closet and began going through his clothes. He had a lot of them.

  “Help me decide what to wear to the club tonight.”

  “Okay.”

  Sid pulled out several shirts.

  “Um, you look nice in black,” Sam said, pointing to one of them. The shirt was made of some sheer material that was see-through.

  Sid grinned. “You think so? Grier likes me in black, too. He may meet me at the club.” The beta’s eyes grew wide. “You should come with me! It’s only a block from where Leo works, so you could meet him when he gets off and ride home with him instead of having Josiah pick you up here.”

  A rush of nervousness washed over Sam. “I don’t know.”

  “Come on. You’ve got to have some kind of a life outside the compound.” Sid turned and rustled in the closet. “You could wear this.”

  “What’s wrong with what I’ve got on?”

  “Nothing. Just not dressy enough.” Sid tossed a white T-shirt and jean jacket on the bed. “You’d look really good in that. Try them on.”

  Curious, Sam pulled off the shirt he was wearing and slipped the T-shirt over his head. It was tight. He stood and looked in the mirror. The soft material clung to every muscle of his chest.

  Sid handed Sam the jacket, which matched Sam’s jeans, and the omega slipped it over his arms.

  “Perfect,” Sid said, smiling over Sam’s shoulder. “Come on. It’ll be fun. We can dance. I’ll teach you.”

  “I don’t know if I should,” Sam hedged.

  “Call Leo and get permission if you want.”

  The way Sid said it made the idea sound stupid. Leo was his mate and alpha, but Sam didn’t need permission to go where he wanted. “No, I don’t have to do that.”

  Sid smiled wider. “Great.” He moved to the nightstand where his phone sat. I’ve got some tunes on here.” He plugged something into the phone, pressed a button, and music came from a small speaker, making Sam jump.

  Sid laughed. “You’ll get used to stuff.” He started to gyrate to the music while Sam watched, eyes wide.

  “I don’t know,” Sam finally said. He’d met some humans, but he wasn’t sure about going to a place full of them. “Will there be other shifters there?”

  Sid turned off the music. “Some. You don’t have to decide about the club right now. Why don’t we go for a walk around campus?”

  Sam smiled and stood up. A walk sounded good. He’d been feeling a lot stronger lately, thank goodness. He hated to worry everyone. He followed Sid back through the apartment and out the door, heading in the opposite direction from which Josiah had dropped him off. They traversed a sidewalk that led through a dense copse of trees and came out between two stately brick buildings. On the other side of those, many more buildings spread out in a long oval. People walked here and there in small groups, and some sat on benches, books open in their laps. A huge clock at the top of a building with a pointed steeple clanged the hour.

  Fascinated, Sam looked around.

  “Cool, isn’t it?” Sid asked. “Come on. Let’s walk over there and sit by the fountain.”

  The sun was hot and the air thick with humidity, and Sam was glad he’d left the jean jacket behind. As the two werewolves strolled along the sidewalk, a few people greeted Sid and smiled at Sam. After a while, the omega lost his shyness and smiled and nodded back to them.

  The fountain was a large concrete basin with a statue of a woman holding a pot that poured a never-ending stream of water. Coins glittered at the bottom of the basin. Sid perched on the edge of the fountain and indicated for Sam to do the same.

  “Why is there money on the bottom?” Sam asked, looking into the fountain’s depths, his brown hair rustling in the breeze.

  “People make a wish and throw in a coin.”

  Sam frowned, wondering why anyone would do something like that, but he didn’t want to appear stupid and didn’t question more. He looked up to see a couple of young women approaching and tensed.

  “Hi, Sid,” the blond girl said, smiling. She had a gap between her front teeth. “Who’s your friend?”

  “Lydia, Amber, this is Sam.”

  Lydia was the blond. She had big, blue eyes that might have been irritated, because she kept batting her lashes at Sam. Amber was shorter with dark hair she wore in a pony tail and glasses with greenish-blue frames. They both wore short skirts that showed most of their bare legs and sandals on their feet. Their toenails were painted. Amber’s had flowers on them.

  Sam was fairly accustomed to females since they’d had visitors to River Wolf compound, but he still couldn’t help but stare a little.

  “Hi, Sam,” Lydia said. “Are you going here?”

  Sam looked questioningly at Sid, who answered for him.

  “He’s just visiting. We were talking about going to Bar None tonight.”

  “I was just telling Amber we should go. We need some fun after that awful chemistry exam.”

  The girls continued to chat. It didn’t even seem to matter if Sid or Sam said anything at all; they just kept talking. After a while, Sam relaxed. Lydia and Amber didn’t seem scary. In fact, they were nice. Amber sat down next to Sam and asked him a few questions. Sam was surprised she knew Sid was a werewolf. When Sam admitted he was, too, she seemed interested.

  “Do you live in a pack?”

  Sam nodded. “I have an alpha mate. His name’s Leo.”

  Amber’s eyes widened. “Wow. That’s so cool.” She put a hand on his knee. “Please say you’ll be at the club tonight. I hate crowds, but Lydia always make
s me go. At least I’ll have you to talk to. You could bring Leo.”

  Sam was curious, and having Amber there would make things more comfortable for him. And for once lately, his body buzzed with energy instead of wanting to wilt. “He’s working, but I guess I’ll go.”

  Amber smiled. “Great! Lydia, Sam’s in about the club, so I am, too.”

  Lydia’s blue eyes brightened. “Good, now you’ll have someone to talk to while I dance.” She looked at Sid. “Will Grier be there?”

  Sam had forgotten about Sid’s boyfriend.

  “He has plans but might join us later,” Sid said.

  They sat and talked a while more until Amber suggested they go to a nearby coffee shop. It turned out to be the one where Sid worked, and Sid got their coffees for free. They sat at a table in the center of the room, and Sam watched people come and go. No one paid any attention to the group, but Sam knew humans really couldn’t tell he and Sid were shifters. The girls knew, of course, and Sam was glad they treated them like anyone else.

  After the girls said goodbye, and Sid and Sam returned to Sid’s apartment, Sid began dragging out more clothes for Sam to try on. At first, Sam felt silly, but when Sid enthusiastically complimented him on every outfit, and Sam saw what he looked like in the full-length mirror, he began to feel more confident and to even enjoy modeling the clothes. He let Sid dress him in what the beta thought was the best choice—torn, faded blue jeans and a white button-down shirt Sid said would “pop” under the lights of the club, and then Sid got ready himself.

  When they headed out, Sam’s nerves began to jangle. He reminded himself he had the cell phone and could call Leo or someone in the pack anytime he needed to. He’d already texted Josiah to let the first omega know he’d be getting a ride home with Leo instead of with Josiah.

  He tried to relax as he and Sid walked five streets over from the campus to a street of restaurants and bars. The street lights were just coming on, casting halos of light onto the sidewalk. Sam spotted Lydia and Amber farther down the street and waved. The girls were practically bouncing with excitement as various young people streamed past them down a few steps and through a doorway.