Read Online Lone Wolf Pack 06 - A Future for His Werewolf Warrior by Anya Byrne - Free Book Online
Authors: Anya Byrne
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something very important, and I've known him and his son for many years."
"Wait, back up." Ward lifted his hands and took a deep breath. "Are you telling me my great-uncle Will is still alive, and here, in Willow Cove? How is that possible? And... He has a son? Grandad told me his brother was gay."
"It's... complicated." Mathias licked his lips, unsure how to proceed. "I'm not sure how much your grandfather ever knew about what happened then, but my guess is that it probably wasn't much. The truth is that some fifty years ago, your great-uncle fell in love with a werewolf."
Ward gaped at him. "You're joking."
Mathias shook his head. "They met and fell in love. It was a difficult time for gay couples, as I'm sure you know. They had to hide." And how remarkable it was that Mathias could actually say all this while only feeling regret that his friend had to suffer so much. "It's a long story, but eventually, they made plans to run away together."
"Why do I get the feeling it didn't work out?" Ward asked in a trembling voice.
"Because it didn't. Dean's father... Your great-uncle's mate—Dean—had a very strict family. His father was the Alpha of their pack, and well... Imagine that period's homophobia, coupled with werewolf nature. Unpleasant result."
Ward's breath caught. "Did they kill him?"
"They forced him to marry someone else, threatening Will's life. It was quite horrible. They were separated before Dean could even explain, and for decades, Will thought his mate had abandoned him. And then... There was Jessie."
"Jessie? Is that his wife?"
Mathias blinked in confusion, before realizing the unisex name and his earlier mentioning of Will having a son had made Ward draw the wrong conclusion. "No. His son. You see, when Will left Willow Cove, he was pregnant. Turns out werewolf men can impregnate humans even in homosexual intercourse."
"Okay, I know that has to be some sort of joke." Ward shook his head adamantly. "It's just not possible. I can accept magic and you shape-shifting, but humans are humans. Pregnancy doesn't work like that."
"Believe me, he was just as surprised. It's how he and I met. He was confused and on the run. I found him trembling and afraid, masquerading as a pregnant woman and trying to cross the border into Canada. I ended up helping him throughout the rest of his pregnancy and then, for a while, with raising Jessie."
Something in his tone must have given Ward a hint regarding Mathias's past with Will. "You were in love with him, weren't you?"
This was what Mathias had feared, and it was far too soon in their relationship to deal with it. "I suppose I was, in a way," he nonetheless admitted. "He's very much like you."
It was completely the wrong thing to say, and Mathias knew it that very same moment. Ward was on his feet and stalking away before Mathias's brain could even process the full extent of his "fuck, you're an idiot" train of thought.
Mathias scrambled after his mate, hating himself for hurting Ward like this. "Wait, Ward, please."
"I think not," Ward snapped at him, continuing to walk. "I should have known better than to fall into your little fairytale. I'm done, Mathias. I won't be a replacement for my great-uncle."
"No, that's not it!" Mathias caught his mate's arm and forcibly turned him around. "Please just let me finish."
At this point, it was completely counterproductive to be vague, so Mathias told his mate everything. He explained how his long life had affected him, leaving him aching for his other half. He told Ward about Will, about the feelings that had slowly built inside him as he got to know the human. He spoke of the resentment he experienced because Will still loved Dean, and how it had eventually led to Will leaving him—and their argument decades later. Ward listened, just like Mathias had asked. He became increasingly pale when Mathias told him about what had happened at the Gathering, but he didn't try to move away.
Finally, when Mathias finished his
"Wait, back up." Ward lifted his hands and took a deep breath. "Are you telling me my great-uncle Will is still alive, and here, in Willow Cove? How is that possible? And... He has a son? Grandad told me his brother was gay."
"It's... complicated." Mathias licked his lips, unsure how to proceed. "I'm not sure how much your grandfather ever knew about what happened then, but my guess is that it probably wasn't much. The truth is that some fifty years ago, your great-uncle fell in love with a werewolf."
Ward gaped at him. "You're joking."
Mathias shook his head. "They met and fell in love. It was a difficult time for gay couples, as I'm sure you know. They had to hide." And how remarkable it was that Mathias could actually say all this while only feeling regret that his friend had to suffer so much. "It's a long story, but eventually, they made plans to run away together."
"Why do I get the feeling it didn't work out?" Ward asked in a trembling voice.
"Because it didn't. Dean's father... Your great-uncle's mate—Dean—had a very strict family. His father was the Alpha of their pack, and well... Imagine that period's homophobia, coupled with werewolf nature. Unpleasant result."
Ward's breath caught. "Did they kill him?"
"They forced him to marry someone else, threatening Will's life. It was quite horrible. They were separated before Dean could even explain, and for decades, Will thought his mate had abandoned him. And then... There was Jessie."
"Jessie? Is that his wife?"
Mathias blinked in confusion, before realizing the unisex name and his earlier mentioning of Will having a son had made Ward draw the wrong conclusion. "No. His son. You see, when Will left Willow Cove, he was pregnant. Turns out werewolf men can impregnate humans even in homosexual intercourse."
"Okay, I know that has to be some sort of joke." Ward shook his head adamantly. "It's just not possible. I can accept magic and you shape-shifting, but humans are humans. Pregnancy doesn't work like that."
"Believe me, he was just as surprised. It's how he and I met. He was confused and on the run. I found him trembling and afraid, masquerading as a pregnant woman and trying to cross the border into Canada. I ended up helping him throughout the rest of his pregnancy and then, for a while, with raising Jessie."
Something in his tone must have given Ward a hint regarding Mathias's past with Will. "You were in love with him, weren't you?"
This was what Mathias had feared, and it was far too soon in their relationship to deal with it. "I suppose I was, in a way," he nonetheless admitted. "He's very much like you."
It was completely the wrong thing to say, and Mathias knew it that very same moment. Ward was on his feet and stalking away before Mathias's brain could even process the full extent of his "fuck, you're an idiot" train of thought.
Mathias scrambled after his mate, hating himself for hurting Ward like this. "Wait, Ward, please."
"I think not," Ward snapped at him, continuing to walk. "I should have known better than to fall into your little fairytale. I'm done, Mathias. I won't be a replacement for my great-uncle."
"No, that's not it!" Mathias caught his mate's arm and forcibly turned him around. "Please just let me finish."
At this point, it was completely counterproductive to be vague, so Mathias told his mate everything. He explained how his long life had affected him, leaving him aching for his other half. He told Ward about Will, about the feelings that had slowly built inside him as he got to know the human. He spoke of the resentment he experienced because Will still loved Dean, and how it had eventually led to Will leaving him—and their argument decades later. Ward listened, just like Mathias had asked. He became increasingly pale when Mathias told him about what had happened at the Gathering, but he didn't try to move away.
Finally, when Mathias finished his
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