“Except maybe that one.” Jericho pointed his thumb at Denver, who was bent over and gyrating his butt in circles.
Thank God they didn’t put the wolves on rainbow banners. I couldn’t read Trevor’s expression. He looked like a ghost dressed in black.
He folded his arms and engaged in a staring match with Austin, not something you really want to do with a Packmaster. “Just so you know, I’m gay. So you can turn the disco off.”
Denver whirled around and they all looked at one another.
Trevor laughed and wrapped his arm around me. “I also have no intention of shifting around you. So maybe you need a second to change your mind. Let’s have dinner and forget this ever happened.”
Austin stepped forward and jerked his head to the right, signaling to Reno. A hand gripped my arm and Reno pulled me to the side.
“Hey, what are you doing?” I protested.
Trevor and Austin were nose to nose. “Look, I don’t need to rethink a decision I’ve already made. Gay? Fine. You want to hide your wolf? Not so fine. You know the rule. Your wolf has to be introduced to everyone in the pack before coming in. If something happens down the line and we shift to defend our pack, I don’t need you turning on anyone in this room because your wolf doesn’t know them. After that, if you want to stay in hiding, that’s your choice. But we’re not ashamed of what we are in this family, and we don’t hide. It doesn’t mean our wolves run with each other, and some of them are…”
“Loco is the word you’re searching for,” Jericho blurted out, staring at Denver.
“Shut it,” Denver said with a snap of his fingers.
Austin cupped the side of Trevor’s neck. “I don’t have to know you for ten years to trust you. I’ve seen what I need to see. This is a chance for you to be part of a family—a brotherhood. You’ll have April to keep an eye on, and I’m always looking for input on new members. We need a strong pack, and I’m laying the offer down in front of you. So make a decision. We’re not having dinner for you to go back home, think it over, and * out.” He dropped his hand and quirked a smile. “You in?”
Trevor clenched his jaw and glanced sideways at me. Reno had his arms wrapped around me from behind and I looked at Trevor pleadingly. The idea of having him in the house to be a part of my family elated me. I mouthed please.
“On one condition,” Trevor began. “I don’t listen to disco. I don’t deal with jokes about my lifestyle. I don’t think I need to explain why I’ve left Shifter life behind. I never had a problem with being a Shifter until my pack abused me on a daily basis.”
“What the hell for?” Denver said in low, threatening words.
“Maizy, come help Mommy set the table,” Lynn said.
Maizy set her stuffed wolf down and skipped into the kitchen.
Trevor looked between everyone in the room. “Before I went through the change as a Shifter, I knew who I was. Somehow, so did everyone else. I wasn’t open with it, but let’s just say they made my life a living hell. You know how Shifters feel about being all hetero and continuing the Breed by having more kids. I don’t take shit for it no more. You can stand there and tell me you’re cool with it, but if one person in this house roughs me up…”
“Then we’ll fucking put him out,” Reno said from behind. Everyone glanced in our direction and Reno stepped around me. “We’re brothers. You come into this pack, and you’re our brother. Anyone here got a problem with this?”
All eyes looked between one another in a silent agreement that they didn’t care. Wheeler sat in a leather chair with his legs crossed, watching the scene with mild interest. Ben leaned against the far wall, yawning and rubbing his face. Those two were like night and day.
“There’s your answer,” Reno said.
Austin continued. “How about it? It’s a good offer and we’re a tight pack. You’ll have protection and we need another good man we can trust.”
Trevor blinked a few times and stared at his oxfords. I knew that look. He was on the verge of tears, and Trevor hated crying in front of people. He had never told me about his life or hinted to any history of physical torment. My heart broke at the idea that he’d suffered abuse at the hands of his own family.
“Trial period?” he asked.
Austin stuffed his hands in his pockets, jingling some change around. “All or nothing. I give you my word no one in this pack is going to put his hands on you. I can’t promise they won’t be jackasses and rile you up—that’s daily life around here.”
“They’re men,” Lexi blurted out from the stairs. “It can hardly be helped.”