Blue Mountain (Pack 1)

After a couple of minutes of silence, Frederick said, “You have a problem.”

Mitch knew that tone. It reminded him of Frederick’s reaction when he didn’t get his way as a child. His brother was gearing up for some sort of tantrum.

When Mitch didn’t respond, Frederick continued. “You’re my brother and I worry about you. How is that a problem?”

Refusing to engage in the annoying conversation, Mitch refocused on the report he’d been reviewing.

“He’s taking advantage of you. I don’t understand how you can’t see it.”

Slowly, Mitch turned his chair to the side, stopping when he faced Frederick. “Are you talking about my mate?”

“I don’t know, Mitch. Am I? Is he really your mate?”

“You scented him too,” Mitch growled, his muscles bunching in preparation for a fight in response to anyone questioning his claim to Simon.

“I scented his blood on someone else and I scented his belongings, but no, I haven’t scented him. To do that, I’d have to meet him and I haven’t.” Frederick glared at him. “Even though he’s on my territory.”

“Freddy, I’m warning you.”

“What are you warning me about? He should have asked for permission to come onto Blue Mountain territory to begin with. I let that go because he’s your mate, but it’s been three weeks, and he still hasn’t introduced himself. I’m his Alpha, which means he—”

“You’re not his Alpha,” Mitch snapped, shoving his chair away from the computer.

“It’s my pack, Mitch.”

“Simon is mine.”

“Is he? Because from what you’ve told me, he won’t let you near him.”

“He lives with me. I’m near him every day.” Mitch’s teeth hurt from the force he used to grind them. “You need to stop talking now before you say something you’ll regret.”

“Does that mean you’re sleeping in your own bed?”

“Back off.”

Ignoring that directive, Frederick raised his voice and said, “Tell me your muscles are sore because you finally fucked your mate and not because you spent the night on your couch again.”

“What happens between me and my mate is not your business.” Mitch jumped to his feet and began pacing across the room. “Stay out of it.”

“He’s playing you for a fool, and I’m supposed to stay out it?”

Simon wasn’t playing anyone. He was healing. “You’re talking about something you don’t understand.” Mitch looked his brother in the eyes. “Stop.”

“I understand that he lives off you but does nothing a mate is supposed to do. I understand that he hasn’t come to the Alpha house or pack gatherings.”

“It’s Friday. I came over here because you said you wanted me to analyze how the pack’s investments are going. Doing this with you now means putting off my own work, which means I’ll have to work later.” Mitch stomped over to the desk and flipped his laptop shut. “If we’re arguing instead of working, I’m going home to do the job that pays me so I can finish at a decent hour and enjoy my weekend with my mate.” He slid his computer into his bag and began walking to the front door.

“Bring him to meet me,” Frederick demanded. “I’ll give you until tomorrow.”

“Watch yourself,” Mitch warned.

“Or what? Are you threatening me? I’m his Alpha and I haven’t met him. That’s not right and you know it.”

Mitch looked back over his shoulder. “I already told you, you’re not his Alpha. I am.” Fury oozed from every word. “Simon is mine.”

“Fine.” Frederick gulped. “But this is Blue Mountain territory, and I’m the Blue Mountain Alpha. People are supposed to ask the Alpha to come onto pack territory. It’s a simple rule. He needs to follow it.”

Worn down by the stress of caring for a man who insisted he needed nothing when in actuality he needed everything, the fear that he’d say or do the wrong thing and find himself hunting down his mate again, and the worry that he wasn’t equipped with the right personality or social skills to give Simon what he required to move past his history, Mitch didn’t have the energy to fight with the person he’d expected to always have his back. He rubbed his fingers over his eyes and kept walking toward the door.

“Mitch!” Frederick barked. “Don’t ignore me. I’m serious.”

“I’m going home to check on my mate and do my work. Text me by tonight telling me you pulled your head out of your ass. Otherwise, I’m taking Simon and whatever I can fit in my truck and leaving in the morning.”

“Leaving?” Frederick gasped. “To where?”

With a sigh, Mitch flipped around to face his brother. “You think I wanted this, Freddy?” He raised his hand and pointed it in a circle. “You think I wanted to come to a pack in the middle of nowhere?”

“I—”

“I didn’t want this. I manage investment funds for a living. I would have been happier living closer to New York or San Francisco. City packs are smaller, easier to manage, and they never have enough Alphas because most of our kind don’t like highly populated areas with no wide open spaces to run. I could have moved there, found a pack, and still had time to work.”