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I know, but I had other things on my mind last night. Nate squirmed in his seat. What
the hell had he gone and said that for?
Yeah, and I m betting it had a lot to do with a certain Deputy Ambrose.
Nate s head swivelled in Kelan s direction. How did you& ?
Kelan met Nate s gaze and held it with ease. I was there, remember? Right next to you
when you realised. So, Jared s your mate?
Yep, but it doesn t matter. Neither one of us are in a position to do anything about
that.
Kelan sighed. Timing might not be right, but don t say it doesn t matter because it
does. It matters.
What the hell was he supposed to say to that? This conversation was going down a road
Nate didn t want to travel, so he decided to put an end to it. I don t want to talk about this,
Kelan. Is there something else you wanted me for?
Kelan narrowed his eyes and Nate had a feeling he hadn t heard the last on this topic,
but for now the alpha seemed content to let it drop.
Yeah, but I don t think you re going to like what I have to ask any better.
Try me.
I d like you to consider becoming my beta.
Nate shook his head. I don t think that would be a good idea.
Please, hear me out before you decide anything, Kelan said. I ve always had three
betas. As you know, your brother Rick was my second in command. When Rick was killed, I
was left with two. That would normally be enough to manage a pack this size, but Eric, who
took over Rick s position, has mated with a girl from out of state. Turns out she won t even
consider leaving her current pack so that means I m losing Eric, too. And Pete& well, Pete
does what he can, but he s got his own interests and I know he was never that keen on taking
the position in the first place. I m short, Nate. Need help.
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NATE S DEPUTY Lavinia Lewis
43
What about Stefan? Nate enquired. Wasn t he the alpha of his last pack?
Kelan nodded. He was. Stefan was never meant to be alpha the position should have
been his brother s, but he was killed in an accident when they were young. I do know Stefan
would make a good beta and he s already agreed to step in, albeit reluctantly. Stefan was
tired of the politics in his last pack, so I m grateful to him for the help, but the problem is,
two or three betas aren t enough anymore. In the last few years the number of shifters in
town has all but doubled, and I hate to say it, but these past couple of months have been hell.
There has been more trouble than ever before. I m constantly being called on to break up
fights and mediate when a couple o hot heads can t see eye to eye, and now I ve got the
damn wolf council looking over my shoulder, too. They re just waiting for me to screw up. I
need the extra help.
Nate sighed. He didn t want the position. He knew what an involved job a beta had
essentially being the enforcers of the pack and he didn t feel up to the task. Hell, he didn t
even know if he was going to stick around town. Now that he knew of Jared s existence, the
best thing for both of them would be for Nate to disappear. It would be hard to have to keep
running into the man, knowing he could never be with him.
Trouble was, Nate felt partly responsible for Kelan s predicament. If he d been there for
his brother when he d needed him then maybe Rick wouldn t have done what he did and
Kelan wouldn t have a beta position to fill at all. Now that he came to think of it, he was
surprised Kelan was even asking him. How could Kelan trust him after everything his
brother had done to his family?
Why me? Nate asked. Why would you ask this of me?
What you really want to know is, why would I trust you after what your brother did,
isn t it?
Damn it, but Kelan was sharp. Nate gave a quick nod of his head. Yeah, guess that s
what I was asking.
Kelan let out a slow, deep breath and turned once again to study the corral. Nate
thought the alpha wasn t going to answer the question but after several long moments Kelan
started to speak.
You know that Rick was my best friend.
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NATE S DEPUTY Lavinia Lewis
44
Sure. I remember the scrapes you used to get in when you were kids, too& drove Pop
mad.
Kelan chuckled. Yeah, Rick and I had a lot of history together. Did you know we were
lovers?
Nate stared at Kelan, unsure he d heard the man right. Say what?
Kelan smiled sadly. Oh, it was never anything serious, we both knew that. Just killing
time, I guess, until we met our mates.
I didn t know, Nate whispered.
Don t suppose anyone did.
Why are you telling me this now?
Kelan turned and met Nate s gaze. Because it s something you need to hear. Because I
can see the same guilt in you that I had in me for the first few months after Rick was
killed& but I had to let it go, and so do you.
Nate frowned. What would Kelan have to feel guilty about?
I thought I knew everything about Rick, Kelan continued. Thought we had no
secrets from each other, but I guess I was wrong.
Nate wasn t sure he wanted to hear any more, but he couldn t stop the questions that
came spilling from his lips. What do you mean? What secrets?
You know, I had no idea you and Rick had fallen out. Not a damn clue. When I heard
the ranch was in trouble, I felt bad for Rick, but I didn t have the money to help him out. All
my money was tied up in this place and a few business interests in town. And through it all,
Rick kept talking about how he couldn t lose the ranch, how he couldn t do that to his
family& to you. All the while he wasn t even talking to you, and I should have known that,
you see? He should have fucking told me that. Why didn t he tell me?
I even asked him why he didn t ask you for the money because I knew you had it. He
told me how much inheritance you both got when your mom died and I kept thinking, why
don t you ask Nate for the money? He d give it to you in a heartbeat.
Nate tried to wrap his head around what Kelan had just told him but it didn t make any
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