“Stellan, there’s a
Mr. Granger on the phone for you,” Neumus said as he stuck his head into the
doorway. “He says it’s important.”
Stellan Mihos
nodded to Neumus, who was also his brother and second in command, and reached
for the phone. “Hello, Mr. Granger, what can I do for you?”
“Stellan Mihos?”
“Yes,” Stellan
replied. His eyebrows drew together in confusion. He didn’t think he knew Mr.
Granger. Why would the man be calling him?
“Mr. Mihos, my name
is Allan Granger. My wife and I live in a small town called Potter’s Creek.
It’s about three hundred miles from you.”
“I know where
Potter’s Creek is.” Stellan leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows
on the top of his desk. The conversation was just getting more confusing.
“There’s a small pride there, right? Just about ten members?”
“Yes, yes, that’s
the place. We’re a very small pride, Mr. Mihos, mostly women and children. My
son and I are the only two males in our pride.”
“Are you having
troubles of some sort, Mr. Granger?” It was the only reason Stellan could
think of for another pride to call him. His was one of the strongest in the
entire state. They often got calls when other prides needed help.
“It’s not my pride
specifically, Mr. Mihos, but a lone shifter in the area.”
“Are there some
sort of attacks going on?”
“Wha—oh, no, the
shifter isn’t attacking anyone. He would never do that. He’s just not the
type.”
“Is he encroaching
on your territory?”
“No, he lives
probably fifty miles outside of town. He’s never tried to take over our
territory or even asked to join our pride.”
“I’m not sure how I
can help you then, Mr. Granger. I have no jurisdiction over rogue shifters.
You know that. As long as he’s not attacking anyone, there isn’t much I can
do.”
“It’s not me that
needs the help, Mr. Mihos, it’s Benji.”
“Benji?” Stellan’s
heart gave an extra beat as he swallowed hard.
“Benjamin Bastet.”
Stellan stiffened.
His hand tightened around the phone. His heart thundered in his chest. He
hadn’t heard that name in nearly three years. He hadn’t thought he’d ever hear
it again and he certainly didn’t like the way it made his stomach clench.
“I’m afraid I have
another phone call, Mr. Granger,” Stellan said through gritted teeth. “I’ll
have to get back to you. Have a good day.”
Stellan sat there
and stared at the phone after hanging it up. Hearing Benji’s name again after
all of this time made the hairs on his arms stand on end. He felt a mixture of
relief that he finally knew where Benji had run off to and anger that Benji
had run at all.
Stellan knew it
wasn’t possible for them to be mated but Benji was still a part of his pride.
Stellan felt a responsibility toward the man for that simple fact. When one of
his pride was in trouble, it was his duty as alpha to help them. And he would
have in this situation if the man had been anyone but Benji.
“What did Mr.
Granger want?” Neumus asked as he walked into the study and shut the door
behind him.
Stellan pressed his
hands together and rested his fingertips against his lips for a moment as he
watched Neumus sit down in the chair across the desk from him. Once Neumus was
settled, Stellan dropped his hands down to the desk and folded his fingers
together.
“He called about
Benji.”
Neumus’s eyebrows
shot up as he sat forward. “Benji?”
Stellan nodded. “It
seems that Benji is in Potter’s Creek.”
“He joined the
Potter Creek Pride?” Neumus asked, frowning. “That’s a pretty small pride,
isn’t it?”
“It is, but no,
Benji is not part of the pride there. He’s a lone shifter right now.”
“Damn!”
Stellan understood
his brother’s alarm. Lone shifters caused problems, not only for humans but
also for other prides. They had a reputation of attacking people
indiscriminately. Many had to be hunted down and eliminated for the good of
everyone.
“Mr. Granger says
Benji is in trouble.”
“Oh?” One of
Neumus’s eyebrows shot up. He settled back in his chair once again. “How so?”
“I didn’t ask.”
Stellan felt his face flush when Neumus’s jaw dropped open.
“You didn’t ask?”
Neumus snapped, anger darkening his features. “Why the hell not? The man is
your mate. He’s been missing for almost three years. You suddenly get a phone
call telling you he’s in trouble and you don’t ask what it is?”
“He is not my
mate,” Stellan growled as his fist slammed down on the desk.
“The hell he’s
not!” Neumus shouted right back. He suddenly jumped to his feet, pointing his
finger at Stellan. “You might think you can bury your head in the sand and
pretend like you’re oblivious but you know Benji is your mate. You’re just too
stupid to claim him.”
“Neumus!”
Neumus stalked to
the door, stopping to turn around and glare across the room. Stellan was
stunned by the anger and pain in Neumus’s eyes. He knew his brother never
agreed with his choice not to claim Benji. He just never thought his brother
was this angry over the situation.
“You’ve found your
mate, Stellan, and you threw him away like he didn’t matter. You discarded the
gift that fate gave you like he was a piece of trash to be thrown out.”
Stellan almost recoiled when his brother looked him up and down, his upper lip
curling back as he sneered. “You don’t deserve him.”
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