Heaven's Hell [Brac Pack 13] (2 page)

“Heaven?” His father called out, but Heaven ignored him. His heart was breaking, and he didn’t want to talk about it.

“What’s wrong, son?” His father intruded on his privacy like he always did when something was bothering Heaven.

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“N–nothing.” He cried as he balled his body up and stared at the wall. The image of his mate fucking that little bastard was burned into his brain. Heaven wanted to scrub his mind with a scouring pad. The bed dipped, his father’s hand gently touched his arm, soothingly rubbing it as Heaven’s heart broke into a thousand tiny pieces.

“Talk to me, Heaven.” His father’s deep voice softly begged.

Heaven rolled over, climbing into his father’s sheltering arms. It hurt so damn bad. “I met my mate tonight.”

“But that’s a good thing, right?” His father sounded baffled.

“Not when you walk in on him having sex with another man.” Heaven felt another piece of his heart break off. It was too much to bear. He wanted to crawl under the covers and never come out again.

“He
what
?” his father asked in a venomous tone, his jaw clenched tight. “Who is he, Heaven?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t stick around to have a conversation while his cock was shoved up…” Heaven began to cry again, the sob racking his chest. His father held him close, a soothing hand caressing his hair.

“It’s okay, son. I got you.” His father rocked him back and forth, rubbing his hand up and down Heaven’s back. “We’ll fix this.” Heaven shook his head. “I don’t want a mate. I’d rather be alone for the rest of my life.”

“But, son, that’s a thousand years. Think about what you’re saying.”

“No, I can’t get that image out of my head. I would never be able to forgive him.”

His father held on to him tightly. “Why don’t you go visit your cousin, Tangee? Get away for a while and possibly get him out of your head.”

“Okay. I don’t want to be here right now, not in the room where I spent hours dreaming of the perfect mate.” Heaven wiped at his eyes, sniffled, and pulled himself up into a sitting position.

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Lynn Hagen

His father looked at him lovingly. “You know I love you, Heaven.

I only want to see you happy.”

Heaven nodded. “I know. I love you, too.”

“Go meet your cousin, spend some time with the Brac Pack. Tell him I said hello, okay?” His father brushed his hair from off of his forehead, laid a kiss there then left Heaven to his thoughts.

He packed a few things, threw his toiletry bag on top of everything, and then tossed it in the trunk. It would take a few hours to get to Brac territory, but it would give him time to clear his head.

He had been excited when his father told him he had a cousin, but he had been too busy working to make it out there. Now that winter was arriving, the seasonal job had ended. His father encouraged him to take time off and enjoy being a young wolf.

Getting into his car after kissing his father good-bye, Heaven made the long journey.

It was the middle of the night when he arrived in Brac Village.

Too late, or too early, depending how you looked at it, to show up at someone’s residence. Heaven used the time to drive around the town.

It was quaint, a nice homey feeling. There was a coffee shop, an auto shop, a post office, a small diner, and a bookstore on this end of town. Heaven spotted a park with a gazebo and decided to wait it out there. He parked his car and walked over to the circular structure. It had a bench that Heaven sat down on.

He stared over the town. It wouldn’t be a bad place to live. There seemed to be a lot of forested area surrounding the town, making it feel as though it were isolated.

Heaven had passed quite a few farms on his way in, even a recreation center that sat just inside the town limits.

“You okay?”

Heaven looked up to see a man with multicolored hair standing just below the two steps leading up into the gazebo. He leaned further back, wary of strangers.

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“Just seen you sitting here like you lost your best friend. I’m Cody.” The man reached over the railing and shook Heaven’s hand.

“I’m opening up the diner for breakfast. Come on over and have something to eat.”

Heaven was hungry after that long drive. Standing, Heaven followed him over to the small diner, where a young Asian man was waiting at the door.

“This is Keata.” Cody introduced the young man.

“Hi, Keata. I’m Heaven.” He shook the shorter man’s hand.

“Wouldn’t happen to be related to Tangee, would you?” Cody asked as he reached for the diner keys in his front pocket.

Heaven looked up at the larger man. “He’s my cousin. I came to visit him but arrived here too early.”

“Come on in, breakfast is on the house. I’ll call him and let him know you’re here.” Cody unlocked the door and stepped aside for Keata to enter first.

“You know him?” Heaven followed them in, taking a seat at the counter with Keata.

“Yeah, I’m one of the Sentries that lives with Alpha Maverick.” Cody got the coffeepot going.

“My father, Windstorm, sent me to visit him. Is he nice?” Heaven asked, but his mind wasn’t really on the conversation. He was trying his best to forget how he was going to spend the next nine or ten centuries alone. Heaven pushed the morose thoughts aside.

“Tangee? Nicest kid you could meet. He works here at the diner, waits tables.” Cody poured a cup of coffee for Heaven, laying it in front of him. He picked up a spoon, adding a little sugar to his coffee as he stirred. Heaven fought the urge to cry. He was here to get away from that, not become a big, blubbering baby in front of his cousin’s pack.

“So I’ll meet him this morning?” Heaven felt himself relax slightly as the brew slid down his throat. It was good coffee. He added a little cream, giving it a sweeter taste.

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Lynn Hagen

“Yep, should be here in about an hour. Breakfast rush will start then. I’ll have his mate bring him a little early so you two can meet.” The tears began to well up again when Cody mentioned Tangee’s mate. It brought home the fact that he would never have his.

His stomach clenched at the hollowness he felt inside. Images of the night before played out in front of him, as if his mate were right there fucking that little bitch. He scrubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands, begging his mind to stop taunting him.

“Hey, did I say something wrong?”

It didn’t matter because the tears wouldn’t stop falling. Heaven dabbed his eyes with a napkin Keata handed him. “Sorry, no. I met my mate last night. Found out he’s a cheating bastard.” Heaven glanced down at Keata. “Sorry for my language.”

“That’s rough. Sorry to hear that. Did you demand retribution?”

“No, I didn’t even catch his name, just ran like a scared chicken.” Heaven laughed a little as he tried to dry his eyes.

“Not a scared chicken, a hurting heart. Wish I knew who he was.

I’d tear him apart for you.” Cody filled another cup and gave it to him, smiling sadly at Heaven.

“Thanks. I’ll probably never see him again in my life. He probably has someone in his bed right now.” Heaven sighed, tired of the subject. He took a sip of his coffee, trying to rid the images in his head. It wouldn’t do to keep dwelling on them.

“Well, you’re always welcome here,” Cody stated firmly.

“Thank you, Cody.” The kindness went a long way when the pain hurt so much. Heaven really didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to be anywhere right now. Where do you go to escape the pain that’s inside of you?

“No problem. Let me go call the house.” Cody left him to go make his call. A small hand touched his arm. He turned. Keata was smiling at him.

“And who do we have here?” A tall, blond man came through chrome double doors from the kitchen. The man was nice-looking. He
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had soft blond hair, pretty blue eyes, and a goatee around his mouth.

His eyes smiled when he did.

“I’m Heaven.” He stuck out his hand.

“George.” The man shook his hand. “Wouldn’t be related to Tangee, would ya?”

“Cousin,” Heaven admitted. Was this guy a wolf?

“Then let me get you some breakfast, Heaven.” George sauntered back through the doors.

“He nice.” Keata commented as Heaven played with the napkin dispenser.

Twenty minutes later, Heaven was staring down at a plate full of food. He didn’t have much of an appetite but ate a little so he wouldn’t offend the people who were being so hospitable to him.

Keata kept him company until his cousin and his mate arrived.

He and Tangee stood there for a moment, checking each other out.

His Uncle Sky’s son sure had a lot of tattoos. The guy was handsome, though, and the family traits came out strong in Tangee. Heaven took after his mother. That was great except he hated how his blue eyes seemed to dominate his face.

“It feels awkward meeting another family member from my father’s side,” Tangee admitted.

Well, at least his cousin was honest. “Same here.” They stood there for a moment struggling for things to say. What did you say to a cousin you never met before?

“Are you going to stay awhile?” Tangee asked as he clocked in.

“If it’s okay with you.” Heaven sat back down, picking at his breakfast. Still a bit awkward but the tension seemed to dissipate.

“It’s cool. At least we don’t have to hide the secret from you like we do when Mark’s son visits.” Tangee refilled Heaven’s coffee mug.

He was going to be jittery for hours if they kept it up.

“Mark?”

“One of the mates, or is he a warrior? Not sure, but he’s human.” Tangee shrugged as he set the carafe back down.

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Lynn Hagen

“Okay.” The statement confused Heaven but he decided to leave it alone. He had enough on his mind already.

“Loco will take you up to the house, get you settled in. When my shift ends, I’ll meet you up there.” Tangee strung his half apron around his waist as he spoke.

“I’ll see you there.” Heaven waved good-bye to everyone before following Loco from the diner. “I drove, so I’ll just follow you.”

“Okay, see you at the house.” Loco climbed into his truck.

His cousin hadn’t done badly at all with his mate. The man was stunning with his long silver hair, and he was large, like a warrior should be.

His mate had been large, from what Heaven had seen before he ran. His mate had been built like a warrior with nice chiseled muscles, dishwater blond hair, and stormy gray eyes. He was tall, too, from what he could tell, around six three. Heaven felt the tears welling up again. Too bad the memory of what he looked like included some fucking twink he had bent over.

Heaven’s car swerved a little, the moisture in his eyes blurring the road momentarily. Shit, he needed to pull himself together. Loco slowed down, looking in his rearview. All he needed was a car accident.

Heaven waved his arm out of the window, telling his cousin’s mate he was fine. Not really, but fine enough to finish the drive.

They pulled up to a large estate, just like the one his Alpha lived in. Well, the houses looked totally different, but the enormity was the same. Parking his car, Heaven got out and pulled his travel bag from the trunk.

“Let me get that for you.” Loco grabbed Heaven’s things.

“Thank you.” He followed the warrior up the front steps and through the front door.

Well, this was where he would call home for awhile. He didn’t want to return to too many bad memories, to a room that once held
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hopes and dreams of a long and happy life he thought he should have shared with his mate.

Heaven sighed. He might as well start working on forgetting his mate. Start a whole new life. Maybe the Alpha would let him stay here.

One could only hope.

He followed Loco upstairs, thanked the wolf, and got his things settled in. There was a cushioned window seat in his room. Laying on it, Heaven stared out into the expansive backyard. He saw a small garden and a swing set. He wondered if there were children here. That would be nice. Heaven loved little ones. Maybe he should go for a run, clear his head.

Deciding to take a nap instead, Heaven closed his eyes as images of his mate haunted him again with big gray eyes staring at him, mocking him. Heaven growled, punched the cushion below him, and then closed his eyes again.

18

Lynn Hagen

Chapter Two

Murdock swung his truck into Mark’s Garage. Since Nero, the warrior Gunnar’s mate, hadn’t approved his truck loan, he had to go see the resident mechanic for the tapping noise he was hearing.

Mark walked over and shook his hand. “What seems to be the problem?”

“Don’t know, just started making funny noises.” Murdock followed Mark over to his truck, watched the man pop his hood then check his fluids.

“Well, for one, you need more oil. I’ll pull it in for an oil change.” Murdock nodded. Hell if he knew what was wrong with it, and he probably still wouldn’t know if Mark started explaining it to him.

Mechanically inclined wasn’t something Murdock was.

“You can use the shop truck if you need to be somewhere,” Mark offered.

Murdock looked over at the sweet vintage Ford. It was a thing of beauty, but he was afraid he’d do something wrong to it. Murdock did have a lead foot. “That’s okay. I’ll just go over to the diner and grab a bite to eat. Call me when you’re done.”

“No problem.” Mark pulled his truck in, got it onto the rack, and began to lift it.

Murdock left the mechanic to fix whatever was wrong with it as he strolled a few doors down to the diner. Once he was done eating, he wandered over to the bookstore.

“Hey, Murphy.”

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The owner stood up from behind the counter where he was arranging a display of bookmarks. “Hello, Murdock. What can I help you with?”

“Oliver asked me to check if the next book in his series came in and if anymore mangas arrived for Keata.” Keata was the mate at the diner, mated to the warrior Cody. He and his cousin Kyoshi had been kidnapped from Japan and brought over to America to be sex slaves.