Free Luke's Surprise by Lavinia Lewis Page B

big deal, most of the time I just laughed it off.”
    “Most of the time?”
    “Well, one time he did try to kiss me, but I pushed him away and told him I wasn’t interested. I thought he got the message.”
    Mark was shaking with anger. He looked barely able to stop himself running out the door and hunting the wolf down.
    “Mark, sit down,” Kelan ordered. “This isn’t helping any.”
    Mark reluctantly sat back down, glaring at Kelan .
    “I’ve got a right to protect my mate, Kelan .”
    “I know, but Luke’s not in any danger right this minute, is he? We need to think about this, come up with the best solution to proceed. You can’t just go charging over there and challenging the man. I’ve just been to have a little chat with Dan and Lyle. They said they didn’t have anything to do with last night. I might not like them, but I believe them. In light of what you’ve just told me, Luke, seems to me Ethan may well have had something to do with last night’s events, but we still don’t have any proof.”
    “So what do you suggest we do?”
    Kelan pursed his lips. “Let me go make some calls. We’ll discuss it again later when we’ve all had a chance to calm down.”
    Kelan got up and started walking out of the kitchen. He was almost to the door when Luke remembered what else he had to tell him.
    “ Kelan , Marianne came by to see you earlier. She wants you to phone her tonight.”
    “Oh, did she say why?”
    “Yeah, she wanted to tell you that she’s mated and will be leaving the pack soon.”
    “Great,” Kelan said, frowning. “That’s all I need right now.”
    “What do you mean?” Luke asked.
    “She’s my omega, Luke. She comes to pack meetings with me. More often than not she’s the only person that can keep things from turning ugly there too. Fuck.”
    “Oh, oh! Does this mean…?”
    “Yeah, it does. Cody’s the only other omega I’ve got. I’ll get in touch with him, ask him to come home.”
    When Kelan left the kitchen, Luke reached out and held Mark’s hand.
    “Hey, you okay?”
    “I will be. So, your brother’s an omega wolf?”
    “Yeah, I don’t know how happy he’ll be to come home, though. I think he really loves his life in New York.”
    Mark nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, that’s one hell of a responsibility to lay on him if his life is all set someplace else. I don’t think Kelan has much choice, though. Packs can fall apart without an omega present.”
    “Are you talking from experience?”
    “Not first hand. I never knew who the omega was in my own pack. Their identity is usually kept a secret, you know?”
    “Yeah, I don’t think anyone knows about Marianne and Cody apart from us.”
      “When I worked near Fort Worth, the guys there told me about what had happened to the pack before I arrived. Wasn’t pretty. Apparently when the omega left, all hell broke loose. Constant arguments and fighting, four new alphas in the space of three months.”
    Luke frowned. He couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to Kelan . As much as he bitched about the man sometimes, Kelan was his brother and he loved him.
    “I hope Cody will come home,” Luke said, worried.
    “He will, Luke. If your brother’s heart is only half as big as yours, he’ll be on the first plane back here.”
    Luke smiled and reached out to stroke his hand down Mark’s face.
    “Thank you, that means a lot.”
     
    * * * *
     
    That evening after dinner, Luke, Mark and Kelan settled in the living room to watch an action flick Kelan had rented that afternoon. Kelan took the armchair while Luke settled on the couch next to Mark. Luke had no clue what the movie was about, it was difficult to concentrate on anything with his mate sitting in such close proximity, his delicious scent invading his senses.
    Mark’s arm was slung around Luke’s shoulder and Luke was cuddled close against Mark’s chest. It was perfect. Luke yawned, feeling his eyes grow heavy but when Mark started lightly