The Defiant Claim - The Claim: Book 2 [LGBTQ+]

Mik’s approval of Sam trying out for the nursing position after being so brutish and rough before, along with running into his family, lifted a weight from his shoulders. Maybe Mik would come around?

They ate lunch in silence, Sam smiling to himself and thinking of the possibilities of his future now. Becoming the only male nurse in the pack might have some benefits. And now he had a mate. Mik won’t depend on him much longer, he knew, and then he’d have to find something to do with his time as he was sure he’d drive Mik crazy with his constant hovering. Mik had been living as a rogue for a long time. Sam didn’t know how long exactly but he was confident in his assumptions that Mik was an independent male and liked it that way.

To pass the time, Sam suggested they play some card games and Mik shrugged. Little did Sam know that Mik had never played any card games before and the first and easiest one he could think of to teach Mik was War—which was a bad idea. It brought out Mik’s aggression and competitiveness and he hurtled threats when he won the war matches and raged when he lost to the point where Eloise came running in to check if everything was okay. After the third time, she strolled and peeked in without a word, though Sam could see in her quirked brows the question, ‘Again?’

When Sam suggested they play something else, Mik growled dismissively. Mik wanted to keep playing long after Sam grew bored with both the game and Mik’s aggressive outbursts.

“Again!” Mik roared, for the umpteenth time when his card beat Sam’s. “I will slaughter you with my might and scatter your entrails across the floor!”

Sam no longer flinched at his rage. It was startling at first, then funny, now it was predictable and trite. Eloise even stopped coming in, equally annoyed with Mik’s eruptions.

Heaving a sigh, Sam flipped up another card from the top of his dwindling deck. “Uh-huh.”

“Tired of losing, huh?” Mik sneered.

“More like bored of your redundant temper tantrums.”

Mik’s eyes bulged before they narrowed and his lips curled in a snarl. “Fine.” He threw his cards across the room. “I’m done. You’re a bore to play with.”

“Hey! Come on, man!” Jumping up from his chair, Sam looked around the room at all the cards in exasperation before his eyes fell on Mik and the smug smirk on his face. Glaring at him, Sam pointed in the direction that had the most cards. “Pick them up.”

The smirk on Mik’s face widened. “Sorry, mate. No can do. Arm and leg are busted, remember?”

As much as Sam didn’t want to give in, Mik had a point, and Sam was too non-confrontational to argue.

Sucking in what little pride he had, he got up to fetch the cards that splayed all over the other side of the room. “Don’t do that again. I’m not going to pick them up next time, casts or not.”

“So what do you want to do now?” Mik asked, looking at the dirt under his nails as Sam collected all the cards and put them back in their case.

He shrugged. “I could grab my laptop and watch a movie?”

Mik looked indifferent. “Sure, whatever you want.”

Running out of options to keep his mate happy and entertained, Sam ran to his room and found a stack of empty boxes. His eyes widened, remembering Alpha’s promise of preparing a guest house for him and Mik. He forgot that he’d have to pack his things before moving in.

The guest house would be a trial run before getting a place of their own. Normally, mates would get their own house early in the courtship phase, but given Sam’s mate, he suspected he’d have to wait longer than most mates before they’d get their own place. Mik had to be trusted before anything would be given to him.

Deciding to pack later, he grabbed his laptop and charging cable and returned to the infirmary.

When he arrived, he helped Mik back into his bed, adjusted his pillow and sitting position before setting up the laptop on the table and pulling up a chair.

He settled on an action flick, hoping Mik would like it. He wasn’t helpful in choosing a movie since he hasn’t watched one since he was really little. It seemed like the safest option until he got to know Mik better.

When the movie was over, it was dinnertime and Sam ran out to the cafeteria to bring back food. It didn’t bother him too much. He was as bored as Mik being all cooped up and liked pretending to be the provider in their relationship.

After dinner, Sam left to return their dishes and ran into Cameron in the kitchen.

Cameron smiled wide and looked him up and down. “Hey, Sam. You’re looking good. Mate must be awake now, huh?”

He was coated in sweat and reeked like a dirty shoe but Sam was happy to see him regardless.

He gave Cameron a generous smile. “Yeah, he’s awake. Grumpy as a bear, but hopefully he’ll perk up once the casts are off and he can move around on his own. He doesn’t like being dependent on me.”

Cameron nodded in agreement. “I agree with him there. Do you need anything? I got a bit of free time between now and Chloe’s bedtime stories.”

Sam shook his head. “Nah, I’m good.”

“Alright. You know where to find me if you need me.”

He gave Cameron a side hug and fist-bump before leaving and returning to Mik’s side.

Before he could even step foot into the back room of the infirmary, a snarl pierced through the silence. He flinched as he stepped in and met Mik’s furious molten-chocolate eyes.

“What?” Sam asked as he closed the door behind him.

“That was quick.”

Confusion tugged on Sam’s brows. “What do you mean?”

Mik’s throat rumbled ferociously again. “I hope you enjoyed it because you’re not getting anything from me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I can smell him on you,” Mik sneered. “Got a little dick on the side, huh?”

Realization smacked Sam in the face. “What! No! I would never cheat on you!”

“Don’t lie to me. You reek of his sweat.”

“Holy shit!” Sam threw up his arms. “I would never cheat on you! Never! I ran into my friend! He just got back from patrol and training!”

“Why is it that I don’t believe you?” Mik’s glare deepened.

“He’s got a mate and a pup! He would never cheat on her either! Believe me! I would never do something like that to hurt you! I swear to the Goddess that I will never ever hurt you like that!”

Mik’s jaw clenched as he looked away. Rage continued to pour off him.

He didn’t believe him.

Sam’s heart pounded in his chest. How could he convince his mate that he was telling the truth?

Going to Mik’s side, he clasped Mik’s good hand in his to explain but Mik pulled away with a snarl.

“Don’t touch me!”

“I mean it,” Sam asserted, even though his voice wavered. “Please, believe me.”

“Go away! You stink! You disgust me!”

“Listen to me,” Sam begged. “Do I smell like sex?”

Mik growled, avoiding his eyes.

Sam knew Mik could tell the difference and didn’t want to admit he was wrong in his accusation of cheating. He tried to smooth out Mik’s feelings and hostility.

“I don’t smell like sex, only a trace amount of sweat from my friend after a hard day. I know you can tell the difference. It’s okay. I don’t blame you for misjudging and jumping to conclusions. It’s the effect of the matebond, right?” He smiled weakly to convince Mik that that was all it was. “It’s okay. I understand. I’ll be more careful next time. You don’t ever have to worry about me cheating on you, okay?”

A faint rumble vibrated Mik’s throat. One of discontentment.

Sam touched Mik’s shoulder reassuringly but Mik pulled away. “Just go wash the stink from you.”

Heaving a sigh, Sam relented. He went back to his room to grab a change of clothes and quickly rinsed himself off, hoping that would suffice his mate’s sensitive nose.

When he returned, Mik was still in a foul mood. The room reeked of his guilt. He sniffed the air as Sam approached and said nothing. He turned away as if to settle down for the night.

Heaving another sigh, Sam crawled into his bed and played on his phone until he fell asleep.

In the morning, he got up, fetch breakfast for themselves, and took Mik outside to the gazebo for a couple of hours.

Mik was relatively silent, uttering a few words here and there, seeming to be deep in thought. When Sam ventured to ask what he was thinking about, Mik muttered a few words that revealed nothing of his thoughts.

After bringing Mik back inside, Sam went up to his room to pack until lunchtime.

During all this silence, Sam reflected on everything he had learned about Mik so far in all of his subtle gestures and words. Did someone hurt him before? Was that why he lashed out and accused Sam of cheating?

“What’s it like to be rogue?” he had wondered aloud as they ate their lunch.

“Haven’t been part of a pack long enough to compare the two,” Mik said with his mouth full. “Father and I left before my first shift. That was hard. I nearly froze to death that first winter. Second winter was a little easier as we had traveled far enough south that the temperature was always well above freezing. It was too crowded there for our tastes so we headed back north in the spring. Once I had shifted, we settled for a bit in the Midwest where the winters weren’t too bad.”

He paused and stared at the wall. Stopped eating, even.

“Then what happened?” Sam’s curiosity was piqued.

“We came back,” Mik returned to eating his food. “After my father’s girlfriend threw herself off a cliff.”

Sam almost choked on a piece of potato. “What!”

“She had injured her front leg while hunting a year before or something. We tried to set it but it never healed quite right. She limped a lot, slowed us down, could hardly hunt, and it hurt both her pride and to put weight on it.” Mik continued to eat, focusing his attention on his meal. “After her daughter found her mate and joined his pack, my father’s girlfriend threw herself off a cliff.”

“Th-That’s horrible!”

Mik shrugged. “Being rogue is survival of the fittest. Since we’re werewolves, we can heal ourselves—within reason. We have no access to medicine or proper medical care unless we tried to enter the human’s world. But without money or insurance, we were denied service.

“Besides, she was a terrible bitch. We were better off without her. Father found another fuck-buddy a hundred miles away, anyway.”

Sam gaped at him with food still in his mouth as Mik continued to eat nonchalantly.

“Another thing about being rogue is to never trust other rogues. They use each other for whatever needs they need to be met. Whether it’s sex or food. You get what you need and leave.”