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

He waited on the patio for him, catching stares and curious looks and glared back at anyone who looked too long or met his gaze.

Two minutes passed. Then five.

Unease bit into Mik’s nerves, clamping down on his heart and twisting his gut. What was taking Sam so long?

Eight, maybe ten minutes later, Sam emerged with some wet paper towels. His eyes were red-rimmed and downcast, and he avoided meeting Mik’s as he set to work on mopping up the remaining sticky residue of the treat gone amuck.

“Sam—” Mik began but Sam cut him off.

“We’ll talk later.”

Once Sam was satisfied, he threw out all their trash in a nearby bin and pushed him away from the shop.

They went straight to the car without another word and Sam helped him in before putting the wheelchair in the back and climbing in.

Even when the town was far behind them, Sam didn’t say a word. Didn’t look at him. He kept his eyes on the road and Mik turned his attention to the countryside flying by.

A mixture of emotions whipped around the car but Mik couldn’t make them out as the wind blew in through the open windows. There were moments when he thought he could pick up the smell of salt, but Sam’s face was a firm mask with his jaw clenched and his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

The drive back to the mainland was long and tense. Neither of them uttered a word. Neither one of them made a move to comfort or break the tension that whipped between them through the open windows.

When the valley opened up through the forest, Sam drove the car past the main buildings and into the forest on the other side. A cabin came into view a couple dozen yards from the valley and he pulled up to it. He stared up at the cabin for a few seconds before heaving a sigh.

“This is home… for now,” he told Mik without looking at him.

Mik looked up at the small structure as Sam climbed out of the car. It was an old-fashioned log cabin, the kind he used to imagine as a kid when his grandfather told him stories about witches and monsters lurking in the forest to eat pups. He also noticed the two wooden steps up to the front door.

“Ah shit,” he grumbled as Sam opened his door without the chair at his side.

“It’s only two steps. We can do it if you let me help you,” Sam mumbled.

“What about the infirmary?”

Sam shook his head, his eyes on the ground beneath him. “We need our own space. Come on, give me your hand.”

Grumbling incoherently under his breath, Mik reached out with his good hand and Sam helped to pull him out. They half-hopped, half-hobbled to the door and Sam had to stand behind and help lift him up each step. It must have taken five minutes and once they were inside, Sam helped him sit down in the nearest chair—at the table just off to the side of the door.

It was a one-room cabin with the kitchen area in the front with a little round table for two, a bed at the other end of the cabin with two doors to the side that must have been a closet and bathroom, and a couch separating the two spaces. There was a wood-burning fireplace between the two spaces along one wall but otherwise, the place was simple and small.

Sam brought the wheelchair in before leaving again and telling him that he’d be back later.

Heaving a bored sigh, Mik slouched in the uncomfortable chair thinking about how best to approach Sam when he came back when the door opened and his most hated scent greeted him.

“Hello, Mikwam.” Noodin stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Muscles stiffened as a growl crept up Mik’s throat. His nails extended as his canines descended.

Noodin narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest and flexed his muscles. “You submitted to me, remember.”

With a disgusted snarl, Mik lowered his gaze and looked away. “What do you want?”

“Keeping you company while Sam packs more of his things to bring here. Can I get you a drink? You must be thirsty after spending half an hour at the beach.” Noodin strolled past Mik as he went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

Mik’s throat vibrated with more growls as he watched Noodin move. “No, thank you. I bet you’ll just poison it anyway.”

The bastard stepped to the side cupboard and pulled out two glasses. His face was calm and expressionless as he poured water into them and sucked back the dribble that remained in the bottle before tossing it in a bin under the sink. “The thought never even crossed my mind. Besides, Sam would never forgive me if I did that to you.”

He ambled toward Mik and set one of the glasses on the table next to him and took the chair on the other side of the table where he set the second glass down.

“Don’t pretend like you wouldn’t kill me if you got the chance,” Mik chastised.

“Absolutely. And as I said before, it’s because of Sam that you’re still alive. Cameron would have killed you immediately at the border had Sam not intervened and begged for him to spare you.”

Cameron?

Mik’s lips pulled back to expose his teeth. “You mean to tell me that gray wolf is his best friend?”

“The one and only since Andrew’s death. It’s a good thing your father’s not responsible for his brother’s death, otherwise, I’m not sure Sam could even look at you. Even if Andrew’s blood was in your father’s jaws, what someone did in the past should not be held against the family members of that wolf—unless they played a part in the act. You, however, were not involved in that fight, I know. So I cannot hold the murder of my pups by your father against you, just as the battle your father created in killing Sam’s brother should not be held against you.” He sipped his water. “Not all alphas are as merciful as I, though.”

“Indeed,” Mik spat. “I would not be one to spare a soul.”

“That is why you are not a leader and will never lead a pack,” the asshole asserted.

Bam! Mik slammed his fist on the table and split it in two. It crashed to the floor, the glasses clanging and cracking apart.

His fist throbbed but he ignored it as he jabbed his finger in Noodin’s direction. “Merciful? You are pitiful and weak! You dare to challenge me when I am physically compromised?”

Noodin’s coal dark eyes bore into his, fire burning within their depths as he restrained himself. “If you thought that was a challenge, you are a fool and not fit to lead a pack. Aggression coupled with ruthlessness will never last long. Not in this pack, anyway. My warriors and enforcers will tear you down before my body is cold on the ground. They will not bend their necks to a fool bent on his own self-destruction.”

Rage poured off Mik. Blood dripped from his hands where his extended nails bit into his fleshy palms.

He’d show them. He’d show them all. He just needed time. Time to straighten himself out. Time to build up his strength. Time to find a luna to lead at his side. Time to build a loyal following of his own to turn against this murderous bastard before him.

“Sam is a fool for trusting you,” Mik gritted out.

“Sam deserves a mate better than you,” Noodin stated.

Noodin probably thought that jab would hurt him, but he was grossly mistaken. “For once, we agree on something.”

The cool, calm exterior of the older male faltered with shock for a second before he regained his composure. “Elaborate.”

“Sam is a good male and deserves a better mate than I can be for him.”

Mik could see the wheels turning in Noodin’s head. “Is it because you are both males?”

“Yes,” Mik answered. “I’m not attracted to him and I like pussy. Lots and lots of fucking pussy.”

Noodin was silent for a moment as he contemplated his next course of action. “Even though you are soulmates, you would deny your gift from the Goddess because of his sex?”

“Yes.”

“You truly are despicable.”

Mik shrugged. “He isn’t what I need and I can’t be what he needs. He is better off without me. Isn’t it better we stop denying the truth and trying to force something that wasn’t meant to be? We are both males. If he swings that way, fine, but I don’t and I’m not going to pretend that I will.”

“Wasn’t meant to be? You’re mates. The definition of 'meant to be’.”

Mik shook his head and looked away. What would he know? His mate was female, the sex he was meant to be with and is attracted to. “How would you feel if your mate was male and you were attracted to females?”

“I would try to get to know him and see how we could make it work. A blessing is a blessing, no matter what form it takes.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Noodin pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “And what about Sam? What if he wants to try and make it work?”

“I’ll just have to make him understand that it won’t work.”

Releasing the bridge of his nose, Noodin lowered his hand from his face as his eyes narrowed at Mik. “If you hurt him… I will kill you.”

“That’s why you should release me as soon as I am healed.” Mik glowered. “Let me leave on my own so Sam and I can live our own lives and he won’t get hurt.”

“Is that what you think?”

“Yes.”

Noodin mumbled incoherently to himself for a few seconds as he took in the destroyed table and glasses at their feet. “You’re a fool and an asshole.” He rose from his seat. “And I’m not replacing any furniture and dishes you break. You’ll have to learn to live with the decisions and actions you make.”