Skye’s Limits (8 page)

“Oh, what? Are you going to storm out now? Can’t you take the truth?” Branson asked.

Skye turned around and looked at his brother. “No, I’m leaving before you say something else that you’ll regret later on.”

With those parting words, Skye slammed the door and left. He stormed down the hallway and made it out to the main common room before he realized he had nowhere to go. He could phone Logan, but part of him didn’t feel comfortable calling his commander. Not when Skye was this emotional.

“Hey, are you okay?” a soft voice asked.

Looking over, Skye saw it was Baxley, a small Spider shifter Skye was only acquainted with. As always, Baxley was dressed slightly Goth with black pants and a matching shirt. He had a small group of friends with him, most of whom Skye only knew by name.

“No, not really. I just had a big fight with my brother,” Skye admitted.

“Do you need to let off some steam? We’re going out for pizza, and we’d love for you to join us,” Baxley offered.

“Are you sure?” Skye asked. “I wouldn’t want to be a downer and crash your fun.”

Baxley waved a dismissive hand. “Not at all. We love us some good drama.”

Skye thought it over for a moment. He did need some new friends since his old ones had ditched him, and he didn’t have anywhere to go. “Sure, why not.”

Baxley put an arm around Skye’s shoulders. “Great. Before the night is over, you’ll forget all about that stupid fight.”

Somehow Skye doubted it, but at least he could get his mind off of it for a while.

The next day as Alden went into the cafeteria, he was delighted when he saw Skye sitting at a table with Baxley, Xavier, Riley, and the others in their group. It was nice to see Skye had made a new, somewhat stable, group of friends.

He knew that Skye had a rough night before. Logan had brought Skye in the first thing that morning and had a talk with him. As soon as he got the whole story, Logan had called Alden and told him. To say Alden was pissed at Branson would be a vast understatement.

While Alden knew Branson was a great guy and probably had said those things in the heat of the moment and hadn’t meant them, it still didn’t excuse him from hurting Skye the way he had. As soon as Alden had the chance, he was going to sit down with Branson and have a long conversation with the Lion shifter.

Skye chose that moment to look up, and he and Alden locked gazes. While Alden knew he should glance away, he found himself powerless. Skye licked his lips, and damned if it didn’t turn Alden on like nothing else. He would do anything at that moment to have Skye in a room with nobody else around. The things he would love to do to Skye’s toned body.

“I told you! They’re doing it right now,” Gage said loudly.

Alden turned and saw Branson and Gage standing right next to him. Neither one of them looked pleased. Which was fine with Alden since he wasn’t exactly happy with them either at the moment.

“What exactly are we doing?” Alden asked.

“Screwing each other with your eyes,” Gage said.

“Maybe you should be paying more attention to your own business instead of worrying about me and Skye,” Alden suggested.

“Since Skye is family, he is my business,” Gage snapped.

“Gage is right. Skye is our business, and we have every right to worry about him,” Branson added.

“Last time I checked, Skye was an adult who was capable of making his own decisions,” Alden reminded them.

“And we all know that Skye’s not known for making the best decisions in the past. So why should this be any different?” Branson challenged.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Skye has changed. Or are you too busy judging him to notice that?” Alden asked.

“Of course, I’ve noticed he’s changed,” Branson defended.

“Then why did you treat him like shit last night? You really hurt him bad.” Alden knew he was being rough, but he didn’t care.

He glanced over at Skye who was watching the exchange with wide eyes. He looked like he was getting ready to get up, but Baxley grabbed him by the hand and held him back. Smart of the Spider. Let Alden handle this, he was doing a fine job.

“You do realize that once it gets out that you and Skye are in a relationship, it’s going to hurt your reputation?” Branson asked.

All of the sudden Alden didn’t give a damn about his reputation. If it meant Skye was going to get the brunt in the process of protecting Alden, it wasn’t worth it.

“Fuck you and your high morals,” Alden said.

He then walked over to Skye and pulled him up by his shirt collar. Skye looked at him in shock. Never before had he looked so cute. His blue eyes were as wide as saucers, and his mouth was in the shape of an
O
, just in the perfect shape for kissing.

“What are you doing?” Skye asked. “Everybody is going to know that we’re an item if you do this.”

“I suddenly don’t care anymore. You’re my mate, and I want the whole world to know.”

“I’m your what?” Skye demanded.

“Come on, Skye, you have to admit you know it as much as I do. You feel the pull, too, try to deny it.”

Alden held his breath while he waited to see if Skye was going to deny it. By now, the whole cafeteria had grown silent, so if Skye were to refute him it would be in front of a huge audience. Talk about a huge letdown.

“Yes, I feel it, too,” Skye finally said. “You’re my mate. I’ve known it for a long time.”

Alden pulled Skye in closer and gave him a hard kiss. It wasn’t a gentle one but rather one of ownership. Alden wanted everyone who was watching to know that the Lion shifter was his and nobody else better touch him.

Skye went pliant, letting Alden take charge. He even opened his mouth so Alden could slide his tongue inside. Alden grew hard the moment he tasted Skye. Skye’s flavor was so sweet and savory that Alden would never get tired of it. He knew that he could go his entire life sampling it and never tire of it.

Alden pulled away and said loudly, “Mine.”

“Yours,” Skye replied.

“Come to my room tonight,” Alden ordered in a tone that left no room for argument.

“I will,” Skye said.

There were several catcalls and whistles from the room, but Alden ignored them. He was too focused on Skye at the moment. Branson could have fired off a gun at him and Alden wouldn’t have noticed, he was so caught up in Skye.

“You do realize what you’ve just done,” Skye said. “Everybody knows about us now, and the shit is going to hit the fan.”

“I don’t care. You’re more important.”

“What brought this on?”

“I heard about what your brother said to you last night, and I realized it wasn’t fair for you to take all the heat on this.”

Skye shook his head. “It was okay. I could have handled it.”

“But you shouldn’t have to. We’re mates so from now on, we face stuff like this together.”

“You’re amazing. You know that, right?” Skye said.

“Yeah, tell that to Mitchell when he rips me a new one.”

“I will if you want me to.”

Alden let out a small laugh. He could just imagine Skye facing off against Mitchell. Knowing Skye, he would win Mitchell over with his sparky attitude. But this was a battle Alden had to face on his own.

Alden put his arms around Skye and embraced him. “I appreciate the offer, but this is something I have to do on my own.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind,” Skye said.

“Yes, I’m positive. I better go now. With the way the gossip mill goes here, he’s probably already heard about what went down. I better go explain things to him.”

It wasn’t a conversation Alden looked forward to, but he knew he had to have it. He needed to make sure Mitchell knew he and Skye weren’t messing around while Alden was mentoring him. Sure, they might have admitted that they had feelings for each other, and there had been the one kiss, but that had been the extent of it.

Giving Skye one last kiss, Alden left and made his way to Mitchell’s office. As soon as he knocked on the door and Mitchell told him to enter, Alden knew the leader had already heard about the incident in the cafeteria. Shit, did somebody go running to tell on Alden? Probably, knowing this place.

Alden went in and took a seat. All the while, Mitchell glowered at him. Alden knew he was in trouble and in for an ass ripping. Not that he expected anything less. Of course Mitchell was going to assume the worse. Had Alden been in his place, he would have done the same thing.

Alden sighed as he sized up the leader. A Jaguar shifter, Mitchell was large with a body that was muscular. His hair was cut short and a speckled brown color. His amber-colored eyes were dark with anger, and his left temple was ticking, which was never a good sign.

“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not what it seems,” Alden said.

“So you didn’t just grab your trainee and claim him in the middle of the cafeteria?” Mitchell asked.

“Yes, I did, but Skye isn’t my trainee anymore. He’s moved on and is now under Logan’s control,” Alden reminded him.

“But you used to mentor Skye. Did anything happen while he was under you’re tutelage?”

“Nothing like you’re thinking. We were never intimate. We did admit we had feelings for each other, but we both agreed we would not act upon them until Skye was no longer my student. I told him it wouldn’t be right, and he agreed,” Alden said.

“You know how this looks?” Mitchell asked.

Alden let out a sigh. “Yes, I do, but I can’t help it. He’s my mate. There’s no denying it. I’ll do anything to have him.”

“Nobody is going to trust you to mentor their problem kids anymore.”

Alden shrugged. “I was getting tired of that gig anyway. I can stick with the Cheetah team and just focus on that.”

Mitchell sighed. “I’m sorry to hear that. You were the best mentor I had.”

“I’m honored to hear that, but Skye is more important than anything.”

“He really means that much to you?”

“Like I said, I’ll do anything to have him.”

“Even with his sordid past?” Mitchell asked with a raised brow.

“That’s the past. This is now, and things are different. Skye is different. He’s changed. Just ask Logan. He’s doing great as a soldier. He’s more than keeping up with the others. Logan says he should be able to go out in the field soon.”

Alden didn’t add how nervous that made him. Just the thought of Skye out there fighting in real-life battles made Alden sick to his stomach. But Alden knew that he had to let Skye go and live out his dream. If he didn’t, then he was no better than Branson.

“I don’t need to ask Logan. He’s already told me. You may not know it, but I’ve been keeping a close eye on Skye for a while. I’ve been worried about him,” Mitchell said.

That was news to Alden. “You have?”

“Yeah, he seemed like such a good kid. I hated to see him ruin his life the way he was. Plus, I have a soft spot for Branson. He’s an important part of this coalition. I would hate to see his family self-destruct.”

“Yeah, well right now, Branson and I aren’t exactly on the best terms,” Alden spit out angrily.

It was going to take a while before Alden could get over what Branson had done to Skye. After all Skye had done to make his brother proud of him, for Branson to throw it all back at him was a slap in Skye’s face. Since it had hurt Skye so much, it had made Alden mad.

“I would give Branson some leeway, he’s had it tough with Skye,” Mitchell said. “I’m sure Branson said some things in anger that he wishes he could take back.”

“He hurt Skye bad. I hope he knows that,” Alden replied.

“I’m sure Branson is kicking himself over that. Trust me, Branson is a good man. He loves Skye just as much as you do.”

“Yeah, well, he didn’t show it last night.”

“Give him another chance. I’m sure he’s going to be doing some serious groveling.”

“Well, if he doesn’t, then I’m having Skye move in with me. I won’t have him live in that kind of environment. It’s not good for him,” Alden said angrily.

Come to think of it, Alden was going to ask Skye to live with him regardless. He wanted his mate where he belonged, by his side at all times. Well, at all times when they weren’t working.

“I’m thinking that will be Skye’s decision,” Mitchell said.

“He’ll want to be with me,” Alden said with confidence.

“If you say so. I’m sure it’ll be an interesting conversation nonetheless,” Mitchell said.

“Are we finished here, sir?” Alden said.

He wanted to go back to his place, take a shower, and get things ready for when Skye showed up. Alden wanted everything to be prefect for his mate.

Mitchell stood, and Alden did the same. “Yes. I just hope you’re ready for the fallout that’s going to happen from all this. Even though you waited until after you were done training Skye to start your relationship, people are still going to talk.”

“Let them. I can handle a little gossip. So long as they keep away from Skye, things will be fine.”

Mitchell shook his head. “You must really be his mate. You sure are protective of him.”

“I would die for him, and I’m not just saying that.”

“I feel the same way about my mate, so I know what you’re talking about. Good luck to you.”

Mitchell shook Alden’s hand and let him go. As Alden left the office, he released his pent up breath. Well, that went better than he thought it would. Mitchell hadn’t yelled at him. Sure, he had been stern at times, but overall, he had actually been supportive.

Alden went back to his place and quickly cleaned up. He put fresh sheets on the bed and made sure the lube was within arm’s reach. He didn’t want any fumbling around when the time of claiming came. This was his first time with Skye, and Alden wanted everything to be perfect.

Next, Alden lit some candles. Maybe it was a bit of overkill, but he wanted to impress Skye. If he could have, he would’ve spread rose petals on the bed, but there were none handy.

He went to his stereo and put on some soft music then he got out some sparkling grape juice and some wine flutes. No real booze, given Skye’s past. Even though human alcohol wouldn’t have any effect on Skye, Alden wasn’t taking any chances.

He had just gotten everything ready when there was a timid knock. When Alden opened the door, Skye stood on the other side. He still had his uniform on, showing that he had come straight from his training. Good boy, he hadn’t wasted any time at all.