rumbled, annoyance flickering through him for the millionth time tonight. His brother just laughed again.
“He’s harmless, and you know it. He wants to be a part of the pack. Have fun with him, train him, and then let him go. Let another Dom take the adoration if you can’t handle it,” Regan said, a smirk in his voice. Most people couldn’t hear the smile Regan was sporting, but Ryan knew that tone.
He snorted. “I could just assign him a trainer and be done with it.”
“But you didn’t. You assigned yourself, prick. I already looked at his info. You and your wolf are jonesing for the boy. So take him. It’s not against pack law anymore to mate a human. And he is your mate by the way. I can feel it through our bond.” Now that was news. Could Regan really feel their mate connection?
“You’re lying.”
“Am not. You’re in my head, Ryan. You know better. I wouldn’t lie. Not about something like this. He’s yours. He must be a pretty aware human, too. He seemed to sense your connection before you pulled your head out of your ass,” Regan said. “Of course, if you’re still denying the pull, you have your head farther up your own ass than I thought you did.”
Ryan frowned. “That’s the thing, Re. He talks like he’s got a wolf. When we were at the shop, he picked out the symbol for ‘wolf son,’ too.”
“You think he might be an unregistered mixed breed?” Regan asked, the amusement gone from his voice. “If he’s a latent wolf, then he’s probably getting close to an awakening.”
“Maybe.” It was really too little information to speculate on, but it was a possibility. A human and wolf mix was an unpredictable combination. There were no guarantees that the wolf would ever fully form and attach to the soul of the human body. But just as often a latent would spontaneously manifest and go from human to wolf in a blink of an eye. Shifters called it an awakening because it was just like that. One minute the wolf was dormant, and the next it was fully formed and wide awake. Latents usually had the most control issues because unlike born wolves, they weren’t used to compromising with their instincts. A lot of accidents happened with them for that very reason. They were as bad as weres.
“Your mate bond could’ve triggered it. He’s the one you saved in that car crash right?” Regan asked.
“Yeah.” It had been Ryan’s fault. He’d swerved in front of Bradley to avoid a pothole in the pavement and caused the younger man to hit the curb and send his car careening into the tree beyond. He’d ditched his bike and gone to see what he could do to help out. Bradley had been unconscious with his face pressed against the airbag when he’d gotten to the driver’s side door. Ryan had all but ripped the door off to get him out of there. He’d dialed 911 and had waited for the cops and ambulance to come, keeping Bradley company until then. The boy had a concussion and had talked out of his head so much that Ryan had been ninety percent sure he wouldn’t remember him when he got back straight. Ryan had paid all the damages, the hospital bills, and the cost of a replacement car but had pretty much forgotten about it until Bradley walked into the shop a month later.
“Well, that explains a bit. Wolves know their mates by sight and scent alone. He probably started the process then, which would explain why he can’t seem to stay away from you and why the full awakening keeps getting put off.”
Ryan frowned. “How the hell does that explain why he hasn’t shifted yet?”
“Duh, bro. Think. Every time he comes into the shop, you mark him. You claim him in a way. That probably kept his wolf content for the time being.”
“No,” Ryan denied. “We don’t even know if he’s a latent yet. I have to talk to Alpha.”
“I’ll leave a message for Dean to start a background check on your boy and start the process.” Dean was a private investigator who was a member of the pack. He