Pretty Baby [Wolf Creek Pack 7] (12 page)

“You’re just saying that because he’s your brother.”

“No, I’m not,” Joe replied. “I can promise you, as sure as I’m standing here, Tommy would never do anything to hurt Elliot.”

“Then why didn’t Elliot come back to the motel last night?”

“I believe Elliot and Tommy planned to spend the evening together.”

“Elliot would have called if he planned to stay the night.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but Elliot is a grown man. If he didn’t check in with you, that is within his rights.”

“Something has happened to him, I know it. It’s not like Elliot not to stay in contact. I want to file a missing person’s report. I want you to find Elliot.”

“Look, Mr. Douglas, Elliot hasn’t even been missing for twenty four hours, so by law, I can’t file a report. But I will keep an eye for him. The moment I talk to him, I will have him call you. Will that be sufficient?”

“No, damn it!”

Tommy cringed. This wasn’t good. Carl was going to cause problems they didn’t need right now. If Elliot was in human form, Tommy would have had him just come out and talk to Carl. However, that wasn’t an option right now.

“There’s nothing more I can do until Elliot’s been missing twenty four hours, Mr. Douglas.”

“Philip Spencer is going to hear about this and when he does, you’re going to wish you were directing traffic in Siberia!”

Tommy heard someone storm off. A moment later, a car started up and spun out of the driveway. When Joe opened the door and walked back, the frown he had on his face told Tommy they were in a lot of shit.

“That didn’t go so well, did it?”

“Seriously, Tommy?” Joe snapped and pointed his finger at Tommy. “I told you this guy was going to be trouble. Dad is going to have a fit.”

Tommy rolled his eyes and pushed himself away from the wall he’d been leaning back against. “You need to get over this bias you have against Elliot. He didn’t do this. He didn’t do any of this.”

“Carl Douglas is probably on the phone with Elliot’s father as we speak. That man is going to come in here and do everything in his power to destroy our pack. Doesn’t that worry you? Are you so caught up in your little fling that you can’t see what’s happening here?”

Something inside of Tommy snapped. He swung around, grabbed his brother by his throat, and slammed the man into the wall. Leaning real close, Tommy bared his teeth as he glared at Joe.

“Don’t ever refer to my mate as some little fling,” Tommy growled. “Elliot is my mate, for better or for worse. He has as much right to be here as your Nate does, and it’s about damn time you accepted that.”

Tommy slammed Joe into the wall again then let him go, turning away without another word. He stormed back to the kitchen, skidding to a stop when he reached the entrance. He could only stand there and stare in shock. Nate lay on his stomach on the floor, his head resting on his hand as he glared over his shoulder at the wolf sitting on his back.

“Um, Joe, you might want to come see this.” Tommy scooted to one side of the kitchen entrance when he heard his brother come up behind him. He glanced over to see Joe’s mouth hanging open.

“Tommy, what is Elliot doing?”

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Nate tried to leave the kitchen.” Tommy turned to look at Nate when he heard the man snort. “Am I right, Nate?”

Nate tapped his fingers on the floor. “Would you kindly get your mate off my fucking back?” Nate was yelling by the time he was done speaking.

Tommy grinned and squatted down, holding out his hands to his mate. “Come here, pretty baby.”

Elliot hopped up and walked across the floor to sit in front of Tommy. Nate sat up and shot glares of anger at Elliot. Tommy chuckled and sat down, drawing Elliot into the crook of his legs. He pet Elliot’s fur and planted little kisses along the top of his head.

“Is this true, Nate?” Joe asked as he helped Nate to his feet. “Did you try and leave the kitchen after I asked you to stay here?”

“Oh please, like you ever ask anything.”

“You did!”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Nate waved his hand, gesturing to Elliot. “And he had to go all wolfy on me.”

“You mean he kept you here in the kitchen where you were safe,” Tommy said more as a statement instead of a question, “where your mate told you to stay.”

Tommy started laughing when Nate rolled his eyes. He stroked his hands through Elliot’s fur. “You did good, pretty baby.” Elliot huffed softly as if to say he knew he did well. Tommy grinned and continued to rub his hands through Elliot’s fur.

“I agree.”

Tommy looked up at his brother in stunned amazement. He never thought to hear those words out of his brother’s mouth toward his mate. Joe hadn’t tried in the least to hide his dislike of Elliot. It was surprising to hear the man give Elliot praise.

Tommy was even more shocked when Joe walked over and squatted down on the floor in front of Elliot, holding out his hand, palm side up. “Thank you, Elliot,” Joe said. “Nate is my world, and despite what he likes to believe, there are times he needs to be protected. Thank you for keeping him safe for me.”

Tommy froze, his heart in his throat as he waited to see what Elliot would do. Elliot had no reason to accept Joe’s words, not after all of the hostility he’d received from Joe. Tommy wouldn’t have blamed his mate in the least if Elliot growled or even snapped at Joe.

Still, he fell a little more in love with Elliot when he proved he was the better man by hunkering down on the floor and laying his head on his paws. He didn’t exactly accept Joe’s words, but he didn’t lunge at the man either. That was something.

It was a start.

* * * *

Tommy hurried down the street toward work. He needed to check in at the bar before he lost his job and then maybe ask his boss for some time off. Luckily, the man was pack. Tommy just hoped the boss understood that Tommy needed time with his mate. Being separated right after mating was hard on every mate. Considering their strange situation, it seemed even harder on him and Elliot.

Even leaving Elliot behind at Joe’s house was hard for Tommy, but he didn’t think it would be a good idea for his mate to be roaming the streets of Wolf Creek until he had a little more control of himself. Or was human again.

Tommy was beginning to wonder if his mate would ever resume his human shape. Elliot seemed perfectly happy remaining in his wolf form. Tommy didn’t know if that came from his belief that no one would accept him or because his human side was really gone like Nate said.

And he didn’t know what he would do if Elliot decided to remain in wolf form. Tommy knew there had to be a way to bring Elliot’s human side back. He felt it deep down in his soul. He and Elliot were meant to be together. Tommy just didn’t know how to do it. Still, he refused to give up. He’d find a way to communicate with Elliot and bring him back if it was the last thing he did.

Feeling more determined, Tommy quickened his steps. He wanted to talk to his boss then get back to Elliot as fast as he could. He was almost jogging by the time he reached the bar and walked inside. The place was pretty empty, just a few customers here and there. Tommy knew it wouldn’t start getting crowded until later in the evening.

He spotted his boss, Bishop Kane, standing behind the bar cleaning glasses. He stood talking with another man that Tommy vaguely remembered as being one of Nate’s friends. Bishop looked up and arched an eyebrow as Tommy walked up.

“Hey, Bishop, do you have a minute?”

“I do.”

Tommy glanced at the man sitting at the bar when Bishop made no move to step away. “In private?” he asked as he looked back at his boss. “It’s important.”

“You’re not quitting on me, are you?”

“No, no, not at all, I love working here. I just need a little time off, a few days, maybe a week.”

“A few days, huh?”

Tommy couldn’t keep his grin off his face. “I met someone and we…uh…need a little time together.”

“You found your mate?”

Tommy’s eyebrows shot up when the man on the barstool spoke. He looked over at him cautiously. “Uh, you could say that.”

“Well, did you or didn’t you?” Bishop snapped. “Make up your mind, Tommy.”

“Bishop!”

Bishop rolled his eyes as he balled up the towel in his hand and tossed it down on the bar top. “Oh please, Levi is a friend of Nate’s. He knows all about us. There’s no reason you can’t speak in front of him.”

“You’re Levi?”

When Tommy heard about the man that had helped Keeley and Reece when they were attacked by the vampire princess, Adrianna, somehow he expected the man to look more like Nate and Keeley, both of whom were smaller men. He hadn’t expected Levi to be almost as large as him.

The man grinned and held out a hand. “I see my reputation precedes me.”

“Keeley may have mentioned you,” Tommy said as he shook the man’s hand. “It’s nice to finally put a face with the name.”

“Same here,” Levi said. “Nate has told me a lot about you, too.”

“So, did you or didn’t you find your mate?”

Tommy glanced back at Bishop and nodded. “Yeah, I found him, but we’re having some issues and I need some time to work them all out.”

“Issues?” Bishop frowned. “He accepts you, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, he accepts me, well, at least his wolf does.”

“His wolf?”

“I thought Elliot was human, but it turns out I was wrong. He can shift like we can.”

“Lucky bastard.” Bishop grinned and reached over the bar top to slap Tommy on the arm. “I couldn’t be happier for you.”

“I’m pretty happy about it, too, except Elliot has shifted into his wolf form and refuses to shift back. Nate thinks that the wolf and human sides have separated and that Elliot is gone.”

“Gone?”

Tommy nodded. “I still think Elliot is in there somewhere and I refuse to give up on him. Something is keeping him from shifting back. I just have to figure out what it is and fix it.”

“Have you thought about dream walking with him?”

“Dream what?” Confusion filled Tommy as he turned to look at Levi.

“Dream walking.”

“What the hell is that?”

“If what you say is true, and you believe your Elliot is still inside the wolf, you can dream walk and try to contact him that way.” Levi waved his hand in a rolling gesture. “You know, walk through his dreams?”

“You can do that?”

“Well.” Levi shrugged. “Not me personally, but there are a few of us that can. My specialty lies in other areas.”

“Like teleportation or something, right?”

Levi chuckled. “Something like that.”

“So, who can help me dream walk with Elliot?”

“Your best bet would be Roane. There are a couple of others that can dream walk, but Roane’s the best.”

“Roane?” Tommy frowned. “I don’t believe I’ve met him yet.”

“Yeah, Roane is kind of a loner. He doesn’t like people very much. But if it’s important enough, I can probably track him down for you.”

“Please.” Tommy swallowed past the lump that formed in his throat at the thought that someone might be able to help him reach Elliot. “I would very much appreciate it. I know there has to be some way to reach Elliot and bring him back.”

“I’ll talk to Roane, see if he’s willing to help.”

“Do you think he might refuse?”

“You can never tell with Roane.” Levi shrugged. “Like I said, he doesn’t like people much. It comes from his time with the Teacher. It was pretty hard on him and he prefers to stay away from people as much as possible.”

“I don’t want to do anything that might upset the guy.”

Levi chuckled. “And that right there might get you the help you need.”

Tommy was confused but decided not to question Levi too much. He just needed someone that could help him get through to Elliot and give him back his mate. He wasn’t too particular how it happened.

“Okay, well, I’d really appreciate any help you or Roane could give me. We’re staying at Nate’s house at the moment so you can reach us there if you find your friend.”

“Sounds good.”

Tommy nodded, although he wasn’t sure he was agreeing to anything exactly. More like nodding because that seemed like the thing to do. He needed to get home, not only to see Elliot but to talk to Nate about his friend Roane. Tommy needed to make sure that the man was on the up and up. He needed to know that Nate trusted Roane.

“So, Bishop…”

Bishop rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you can have the week off, but I expect to meet this mate of yours the minute you get things worked out.”

“It’s a promise.” Tommy grinned. “I need to go, need to get back to Elliot. In his present state he seems to only listen to me and I don’t want him hurting anyone.” He glanced at Levi again. “You know where you can find us.”

Levi nodded.

Tommy said his goodbyes and headed for the door. He tried to act casual as he hurried. He tried to not act like he was walking faster and faster, but the sudden need he felt to get back to Elliot was overwhelming.