Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“I didn’t just come to eat, all right.” Macauley scooped up the remaining gravy with his last roll and shoved the entire lump of bread into his mouth, his cheeks bulging when he mumbled, “You wouldn’t happen to know what Henry’s making tonight, would ya’?”
Taleb gave him a bored stare.
“Seriously. I was hungry, but I was hoping to run into Bell. Has he come over yet?”
“I don’t think so. After what happened last night, I’m sure Wolf will insist on accompanying him wherever he goes today.” Taleb tapped on the keyboard a few times, already distracted by whatever he was reading on the screen. “Until Adres wakes anyway.”
Well, that didn’t last long. Macauley hadn’t thought of Adres for a whole minute. “Can I ask you something?”
Taleb didn’t glance up from his screen. “I don’t know… can you?”
Macauley sucked his teeth. “I’m not one of your students.”
“You’re right. Because my students know proper English.”
Macauley pushed his empty plate away, getting annoyed with his little brother. Ever since Justice had asked Taleb to create a more technically challenging curriculum for their pack’s grade school, he’d been even more irritating, behaving like a snotty Harvard professor.
Those poor pups.
All kids were educated by the pack’s teachers until they reached maturity—or their first shift. It would be disastrous for a shifter or the students in public school to witness that, since the first shift rarely went smoothly. Then if the teen chose to attend public high school or college—Justice was the first Alpha Zenith to encourage that—or any form of higher education, it was always supported.
“So, um. I can’t help but notice that you and Henry have gotten pretty serious lately.” Macauley said casually, though it felt as if wasps were trying to escape his stomach. “He’s beginning to smell like you.”
“Yes.” Taleb’s cheeks tinged a light pink under his neglected beard, but the stern set of his jaw stayed in place. “I’ve come to love him very much.”
Macauley leaned forward, his eyes wide. “Wow. Love. That’s… intense.”
“Correct. It is very intense,” Taleb declared, a low growl emanating under his breath as he lifted his blue eyes to meet his.
“Okay.” Macauley frowned. He didn’t know where the aggression was coming from. But he wasn’t disapproving of his brother’s pairing. He was hoping for some understanding for himself. “Is it… I mean… was it difficult to fall for someone that is not your true mate?”
Taleb steepled his hands together in front of his nose, as if he were contemplating his answer. “No. With Henry… everything just came naturally. Like any other man who falls in love with another. Why would I toss aside the most caring, compassionate person I’ve ever met… in hopes of my true mate finding me soon?”
“I hear what you’re saying, bro. But we’re not just any shifters, Taleb. If I can play devil’s advocate for a moment. What if your true mate comes after you’ve already claimed Henry? How could you refuse them? And wouldn’t doing that have an effect on the prophesy?”
“I’m not concerned about that at all. Because if he or she does come, my true mate… then they will simply join us. The same for Henry. He has a true cherished out there as well. It is destined my mates will care for each other in my absence.” Taleb had to leave on learning sabbaticals for many days at a time; he had probably worried how he’d keep a mate from being lonely.
Macauley gaped. Two mates, maybe three! Why, you greedy little ass… “Keep them both. Just like that. You have to admit that’s not exactly normal, Taleb.”
“Yes, Mac. It’s going to happen just like that. And for future reference, you should try to eliminate that word from your vocabulary. People—especially humans—have a way of redefining what is normal until it suits their particular ideologies. Then, it’s normal.” Taleb gazed at his laptop as if he was mesmerized by something on the screen. “Whomever I choose to love and claim as my mate, however many, will be my normal.”
Macauley exhaled an exasperated breath before his wise brother added, “Maybe you should stop concerning yourself with the status quo, Mac. Stop searching for validation and do what you know feels right to your soul.” Taleb smirked as he stared deep into Macauley’s eyes as if he could see something there no one else could. “Your wolf is never wrong, Mac. You don’t need me or Belleron to tell you what he’s already confirmed.”
After Taleb left, Macauley didn’t linger around Justice and Wick’s office waiting for Belleron. His little brother was correct, as usual. Macauley needed to stop seeking validation to do what he knew felt right. There was only one man he needed to speak to, so Macauley went to his woodwork shop to complete one of his orders and to wait for Adres to wake.