Her Grey Men

One Step Back

Brian

I watched my wife retreat to the bathroom, obviously flustered. This has to be really uncomfortable for her, but I could feel her being drawn to Dave. strangely this didn’t bother me. I could see the bands of our bond tangled and wrapped around her, myself and him. It was thrilling to watch the man take a step towards her, driven by his animal side. He may say that he is an unranked wolf in his pack, but I could tell that there was something more about him. Some strength that would only add and augment my wife, and in turn me. 

I didn’t want to call this greed, because I would be ‘sharing’ my wife with another man, but at the same time I knew that this would only bring more to all of us. The feel that I got from him was companionship. He wasn’t a threat to my position. And he was clearly in a difficult situation. He professed that he didn’t want to step in where he has no right. He was wrong though. He has a right to his mate, a gods given right. 

I heard the water of the shower turn on. “Why don’t we go find another room, she isn’t going to give in tonight.” Dave looked at me like I was crazy.

“What are you getting out of this? Why didn’t you stop us?” the man asked  “My wolf was pushing me and I had no control.”

I shrugged. “You’re her mate. She’s going to want you. She shouldn’t have to choose between us.”

“I don’t get it man. If she was mine first I would have killed you before letting her have a second mate.” He grunted in admission. 

I laughed and held the door open for him to leave. “That is exactly why she got a fairy mate first.”

We walked down the hall looking for a pack member so that we could get at least one more guest room. We found a she-wolf in the kitchen rummaging through the refrigerator. “Um, excuse me, miss.” I got her attention. 

The woman turned to us and flashed us a warm smile. Her red hair draped around her shoulders and accented her freckles. “Oh hey, you guys came with Maggie right?”

“Uh, yeah, but um, Ms Kayliegh only set up one room for us.” I stated.

The woman frowned. “That’s weird, Mom’s always really good at setting up the guest accommodations.” She closed the refrigerator with a pre wrapped sandwich in hand. “Okay we have a few more guest rooms available. I’m assuming the woman with you is one of your mates?” I nodded absently, not wanting to get into specifics right now. “You get into a fight? Why are both of you looking for a room?”

“Kinda, she has a lot to think about, we, uh, I don’t want to overwhelm her.” I stammered out.

The red head smiled and led us down the same hallway. She opened a room with two college twin beds a few doors down from my wife. “You guys want to share this room or should I get a third?” 

Dave and I shook our heads. “No this is fine, thank you.” I said walking into the room. She nodded and closed the door behind herself before leaving. I sat on the bed closest to the door and pulled my shoes off.

“There is something really strange about this pack.” I heard Dave mutter while he shrugged out of his jacket. 

I frowned. “Yeah. I can’t quite figure it out.”

“The wolves here are way overpowered, but stupid nice, it doesn’t make any sense. Their humbleness is completely counterintuitive to their auras. And that energy.” That got my attention.

“What energy?” I didn’t feel any energy. I can see energy and the ribbons of power that create mate bonds but I didn’t see any energy.

“I don’t know, but when I went running through the woods today my wolf was charged with it, like a power pack. I felt like I could fly.” he softly said. 

“Hmm, that is weird. Maybe it’s a wolf thing.” I commented and settled into the bed.

“No this isn’t a wolf thing, or I would have felt it before. You don’t know how many packs I have visited in my career.” he denied. 

I huffed, “That’s not what I meant, I mean that because I can’t feel it, maybe it’s a wolf energy.”

“Oh, yeah I guess.” Dave flipped the light off and headed to the joined bathroom. A few moments later he came back out and crawled into his bead. We laid in silence but I knew neither of us were asleep yet. Dave spoke up once more. “How do you feel about all of this?”

“Strangely comfortable.” I admitted. 

He grunted. “Why? Aren’t I a threat?”

I thought for a moment. “Tell me first. Do you want to take her from me?”

Dave was silent. He didn’t say anything for so long that I thought he may have actually fallen asleep. “No.” He propped himself up on an elbow to look at me. “Why don’t I want to kill you and take her?”

I breathed out in a loud whoosh. “Because there are more bonds than a mate bond. And you have a bond wrapping around me too.”

Dave sat up with his feet on the floor. “What do you mean? Are you saying that you and I are supposed to be together too?”

“Not in a s*x way you weirdo, I’m not bi. In a family way. Like a relative or close friend.” I explained. 

Dave grunted and laid back down. “So what are you like my brother-husband or something?”

I couldn’t help but belt out a belly laugh, “Oh man that is perfect.” I wiped the tears that sprang to my eyes in mirth. “You know what I’m going to call you that in front of Jenny tomorrow just to see her reaction.”

The man groaned. “You do that I have a feeling she will kick both our asses.”

“Not wrong, but how worth it?” Dave grunted and turned over to catch some sleep. 

Eventually sleep claimed me. And man those dreams were wild. I must be a perv or something, because I dreamed about my wife with another man, and it didn’t bother me. Maybe some sort of coping mechanism to accept this arrangement. I woke up confused, and horny, but refreshed. I nudged Dave before letting him know that I was heading back to the room that Jenny was in to get a shower since my clothes were still in there.

Dave rubbed his face and acknowledged me. “Yeah man, see you at breakfast.”

After I walked in the room I found Jenny dressed and sitting on the bed. “Hey doll you okay?”

My wife looked up at me. “I don’t know.”

I sat next to her and hugged her to my chest. “I’m here, I’m not leaving, and I will support you in whatever way that you need.”

She sardonically laughed at me. “You would support me in having two mates?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I would, because I know that you love me, and won’t do anything to hurt me.”

“What if I have a kid with him?” she whispered.

I smiled. “As long as having a baby is your decision I think they would be adorable.”

Jenny pushed me arms length away. “Are we really doing this? Are we really agreeing to me having a second mate?”

I shrugged, and headed to the bathroom. “Yes, as long as you think that you can handle it. I already told you that rejecting him is going to cause problems with the bond between you and me, so your options are to keep him as a mate, and send him away pseudo rejecting him, severing the bond with both of us, or accepting him. Only one of those options makes us all happy.”

I heard her muttering something, but didn’t quite catch it because I don’t have the advantage of her wolf hearing, so I ignored it and went to take my shower. She popped her head in the door after I stepped under the water. “I’m heading to breakfast. I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay.” I hollered back and scrubbed my face. I quickly finished my shower and dressed then headed to the dinning room to join my wife and her mate. I think the rest of the day is going to be interesting to say the least.

They were sitting at the table quietly eating breakfast, I sat on Jenny’s opposite side and playfully placed my hand on her thigh. I saw that Dave noticed and he smirked. I raised my eyebrow hoping he would get the hint. He didn’t fail me. Jenny’s gasp was priceless. I left her alone after that and began eating, but Dave left his hand in place enjoying the contact, and Jenny made no move to remove it. 

Our host looked at us and asked. “So you three figure this out yet?”

I shrugged and continued munching on a pastry leaving the answer to my wife. “Uh, not quite yet.” 

“Shame, looks like fun.” Minerva flashed a smokey look at Jenny's direction, then turned to her cousin. “You taking these three back today? My grandfather is coming in for a visit.”

Maggie groaned. “Damn it man! Your mom told me to keep them here for one more night. Why is he coming in now?”

“Oh he’s bringing Justine and the kids too.”

“I’ll take them to the council then. I don’t need any spawn of the dark princess interfering with my research.” the mage responded.

Dave looked up. “Research?” his eyes flashed like he was angry.

“Yeah research, I’m looking for gods that would have a reason to be so careless.” she shot back. Dave dropped his head chastised. I have to admit, that if she was thinking that the three of us were some pet project I would be livid as well. “Just get your bags ready, I don’t need to be interrupted by them.”

I had to ask the burning question. “Um who are they and why are they a problem?” 

Minerva turned to answer. “My great grandfather is the former Dragon emperor, and his wife is the wolf queen. Also my aunt, but not in a gross way.”

Dave, Jenny, and myself were all speechless. I no longer had an appetite. I felt an itch at the back of my head. Is this the reason that Dave felt a strange energy? The queen of the wolves. That would explain Minerva’s extreme aura, if she is so closely related to the queen of the wolves she would have to be very powerful herself. 

“So um, how is the Dragon emperor your grandfather?” My wife quietly asked. 

A tall blond man that looked like a replica of Minerva’s father walked into the dining room flanked by a stunning woman. “Because her father used to be half dragon.” 

The mage hurried to rush us out of the dining room and away from the newcomers. “Welp that is our cue to leave, let’s get your things and head back to headquarters.”

 As we were leaving I passed the dragon emperor and he grabbed my bicep. “Why didn’t you tell me the Fairy King was here?”

Minerva paled and looked at me. “Because I didn’t know.”

Shit. This is not good. Only Jenny and my siblings know, and they are ruling in my absence. I jerked my arm from the Dragon’s hand and said. “Because I’m not, yet.” Dave looked at me like I had grown a second head with this revelation. He was going to find out after we had settled into this. 

Having Dave around was going to make it easier to take my throne, If I needed to be in the Vale for months on end then I knew that Jenny was going to be protected and cared for. Hell maybe Dave could hold the Alpha position to let Jenny come with me for visits. But being outed by the Dragon like this was not a good thing. 

The Wolf queen looked at me like she was searching for my soul under my skin. This woman is dangerous, I don’t feel like I can fully trust her. Her melodic voice was barely audible but she simply said. “Interesting.”

Our tense encounter was suddenly disrupted by a charging child that barreled into my leg. The kid’s eyes swirled with color as they looked up at me in question. I felt uneasy with the serious look that this little one was giving me. She looked like she was only my son’s age, yet her eyes told me that she held vast knowledge. The Dragon bent down to pick her up. Once she was aloft she declared. “I like this one. He’s going to be important.”

“Oh really?” the Dragon asked.

“Yes, I need to meet Sammy.” My Jaw dropped when she said my son’s name. 

“Uh.” I had no words, my wife had a panicked look on her face, but didn’t make any move to leave the situation. I looked at the mage pleading to leave now. 

Maggie came to my rescue. “Well we need to go now. We can talk later, Ahearn.”

The dragon nodded. “I will want a formal meeting soon.” clearly he wasn’t going to forget this encounter. 

The mage shuffled us down the hall back to Minerva’s office. I found our bags were already in place on the table that dominated the room. I was shaken after that encounter. But the mage looked furious. After she closed the door behind us she demanded. “You are the freaking fairy king?!?”

I shook my head exacerbated. “No, not yet.” 

“This would have been great news to know as soon as my father said you were one of Minerva’s children!” the mage began pacing. “It’s okay, this isn’t the worst. I can deal with this.” then she abruptly stopped and pointed at me. “You need to go to the next council summit!”

I threw my hands up and shot back with. “How does me being the King have anything to do with Jenny having two mates? We aren’t here for politics, we are here for family issues!”

Maggie looked like I just smacked her. “Oh, oh yeah.” she strode to the door flinging it open in Jenny’s office. “I’ll talk to you later about coming to the council for formal introductions. Dave, you are due some time off, I’ll call you when I need you.”

The three of us were shoved into our pack house with the door closed behind us. We all looked at each other completely stupefied. Luckily the office was empty so no one was shocked to see us randomly appear. But now Dave was stranded in our office effectively ordered by his boss to take some time, I’m assuming with his mate. This was awkward, extremely awkward. 

Jenny broke the silence. “I um, just going to let my dad know we are back.” She took a seat at her desk and sent a mind link. She had this confused look on her face once she was done talking. “Um that’s weird.”

I took a seat across from her. “What’s up doll?”

“He said he will let us know after the pack meeting.” she shook her head.

“They had a meeting while we were gone?” I asked.

She chewed her thumb and looked up at me. “Yeah, the mayor and investigator showed up for some questions, they wanted to interview everyone.”

I looked at Dave questioningly. He shrugged. “I didn’t see anything weird, I don’t know why they have a problem now.”

We waited in the office until my father inlaw walked in. His eyes narrowed when he saw that Dave came back with us. “Still haven’t figured it out yet?” he shook his head. 

I spoke up. “If she rejects him, it will reject me too.”

He grunted. “Maybe it’s for the best, since you got lucky twice, our wolves are finding their mates.”

“What?” Jenny asked in awe.

“At the meeting this morning, about twenty percent of our pack found their mates. And the few that decided to settle down without waiting, found that their chosen mate is their blessed mate.” the old wolf said.

“Gods and planets, Dean! This is amazing!” I exclaimed. I looked at my wife, she had tears streaming down her face. “Baby Doll, why are you upset?” I walked around her desk to hold her.

“I’m not! I’m so relieved! I thought that if I came home with a second mate that the pack would resent me! But if they are all finding their mates maybe they will believe that this is a blessing!” she told me.

Dean snorted. “So you are going to keep that stray?” Jenny nodded against my chest. I saw that Dave’s eyes lit up in joy. Dean snorted again. “Well don’t expect me to remember your anniversaries anymore, too much work after mine and your mom’s.”

I laughed at my father in law’s reaction, that was really unexpected, and I’m sure that he was one of the people that Jenny was most worried about. She respects him immensely and his opinion matters a lot to her. His gruff sarcastic statement was basically a blessing. Now my love can relax. I smirked at Dave before saying. “I guess I have a brother-husband now.” Dave turned red and Jenny smacked me. 

“I’m telling your momma that one!” Dean guffawed deeply, shaking his head. “Tinker Bell I knew there was a reason I liked you. But I’m glad Jenny Bean has a wolf mate too, the pack needs a proper Luna and Alpha.”

“I’m not giving up my Alpha title.” Jenny said. “I have been Alpha for three years with no problems, I didn’t have to hand my position over to my first mate, and I’ll be damned if I just hand it over to my second mate. Clearly if some rogue gods blessed me twice, they must feel that I can handle the challenge.”

I sat back in the chair across from her, Dean sat in a lounge chair against the wall, and gently told her. “Jenny Bean, you have two mates for a reason, and I know that the fairy is important to his kind, I know you have been hiding the full extent of it, but maybe you need to become the Luna because your responsibilities to the fairies are going to grow. I know that you are a very capable Alpha, you managed to run this pack better than me and bring us back from the brink of falling. Taking a step back isn’t going to hurt the pack, it will let you relax.”

I could see my wife holding back tears. I leaned forward and carefully said. “Now that the council knows that I am supposed to be… in charge of the vale, I am going to have to present my partner to my people.”

Jenny sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Dave, can you even quit the council?”

My new brother-husband thought for a moment. “I need to talk to my boss.”

“Fine, while you are taking your time off my dad is going to train you to be an Alpha.” Jenny declared ending our discussion.