Haven 4: Back Roads (2 page)

“Talk to me, Galen. Tell me what has ya so upset then.” That had apparently been the wrong thing to say because Galen snorted and marched to the door where he flung it open and pointed out into the hall. “Please, Bannon. I’m asking you to leave. I need five freakin’ minutes. So…” He trailed off, his eyes pleading for Bannon to give him the space he needed.

Not knowing what else to do, Bannon nodded numbly, rose to his feet, and padded out of the room with his head hung like a whipped dog.

He’d be back, though. Galen was his mate, and he couldn’t run from the truth forever.

* * * *

“Galen. Can ya hear me, darlin’?”

Groaning in his sleep, Galen rolled to his side and pulled his pillow over his head. The voice sounded like Bannon, but the man was gone, several states away, and certainly couldn’t be inside his bedroom.

“Galen. I’m needin’ your help. Can ya talk to me then?”
Help.
It was the only word that penetrated the fog of sleep. Galen would do anything in his power to help Bannon. In the six months or so since they’d met, the big, Irish shifter had become his entire world.

He’d freaked and completely lost his mind when Bannon uttered the
M
word, but that didn’t diminish his feelings for the man.

Blinking open his eyes, Galen frowned when he found himself standing in the middle of a cemetery, the moon shining overhead and thick, white fog rolling around his ankles. Scanning his surroundings, his scowl deepened when he found Bannon tied to one of the tombstones. His head lolled on his shoulder, and his eyes were glassy, but there was a tiny smile on his face as he looked up at Galen.

“I knew ya would hear me,” he croaked.

Hurry across the distance between them, Galen fell to his knees and began tugging at the braided ropes securing Bannon to the big, decaying piece of rock. “What happened to you? Where are we?” Panic welled up in his chest when he couldn’t so much as budge the restraints. “I can’t get them off,” he all but sobbed.

“Hush now,
a ghrá
. Don’t go gettin’ yourself all worked up. I’m goin’ to be just fine, but I need you to do somethin’ for me.”

“Anything,” Galen promised, wiping at his eyes. “Tell me what to do, Bannon.”

“The others are comin’ for us, but they’re not knowin’ where to look. Ya tell Stavion what ya see here. Remember it all, Galen, and tell them. Bad things are goin’ to happen if they don’t find us. Do ya understand, sweetheart?”

Galen understood “bad things” more than almost anyone, and he wanted nothing like that to happen to Bannon. “I’ll tell them. Are you going to be okay?”

“Don’t worry yourself about me. Ya need to be wakin’ up now, Galen. I’m countin’ on ya.”

Bending forward, Galen brushed his lips over Bannon’s cheek and nodded firmly. “I won’t let you down. Just hang in there. Help’s coming for you.”

Willing himself awake, Galen didn’t bother to stop and consider how strange it was for him to share a dream with Bannon. All he knew was that the man he cared about needed his help. Struggling out of the blankets, an ear-piercing scream had him hurrying to pull on a pair of pajama bottoms before he bolted out of the room. The minute he was through the door, he almost fell back on his ass when he ran smack into Aslan just on the other side.

“I saw a ghost,” Aslan blurted breathlessly.

“Well, I saw Bannon.”

“They’re in trouble,” they both said simultaneously.

Then they eyed each other for a few seconds, nodded once, and took off down the hall in search of the coven leader. Galen assumed it was Torren that Aslan had seen. The last he’d heard, Bannon was on his way to meet the witch, along with Raven, and some cursed vampire and his mate.

He didn’t know what it meant that he’d shared a dream with Bannon, or that Torren had appeared to Aslan as a specter. He doubted it was anything good, though. They needed to hurry.

Grabbing Aslan by the hand, Galen picked up his pace, practically dragging his friend along behind him. They needed help and fast.

“Stavion!”

“Galen, we’re needin’ a talk, little one.” Bannon Murphy knocked on Galen’s door softly, using his voice to coax his mate out. It didn’t matter that Galen refused to acknowledge that they belonged together. Bannon knew the truth.

The door eased open, and Galen stood there in the crack, his eyes red and his brown curls bouncing around his face. “Bannon, I can’t do this anymore. You know how I feel about you, but I can’t.”

“Let me in.”

“You’re not going away, are you?”

“No. Not until ya let me in that room.” Bannon rested his palm on the doorframe and leaned closer to the smaller man. “Are ya wantin’ to have this talk here?” He didn’t want to air their issues where anyone could hear them, but he intended to have a talk with Galen one way or another.

With a defeated sigh, Galen stepped away from the door and opened it wider for Bannon to enter. “I don’t know what you want to talk about. I don’t really see that there is anything left to say.”

“Ya be the stubbornest man I’ve ever met.” Bannon wouldn’t admit it in case it encouraged the little shit, but he found his mate’s stubbornness kind of endearing.

“That’s not even a word.” Galen turned away quickly, but not before Bannon saw the corners of his lips twitch.

“Is so.”

Galen lost the battle, and his lips stretched into a wide grin.

“You’re an idiot.”

“Aye, but you’re smilin’ now, aren’t ya?”

“What do you want, Bannon?”

“I might have died. Are ya not even happy to see me alive?” Bannon was not a stranger to witches and other Magiks, but after the shit he’d been through in Nevada, he was well shot of the lot of them.

“You know I am,” Galen answered softly as he crossed the room to flop down in the armchair near the closet. “What do you want?” Bannon threw his hands up in frustration and began pacing the room. “Now, that’s a bloody fine way to be greetin’ me, don’t ya think?”

“Look, I know what you’re here to say, and you’re wrong. I don’t know how many times we have to travel down this road. You are the most amazing man I’ve ever met, but I can’t be your mate. I’m not a shifter, Bannon. I’m not going to fall for you just so you can meet your real mate later down the road and forget all about me.”

It was the most the man had said to him at one time in weeks. He was wrong, though. “You’re not makin’ a lick of sense, darlin’. Ya tell me how I sent ya that message from Nevada, if we’re not mates.” Galen shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m glad you did and I was able to help, but that doesn’t change what I am. Shifters only mate other shifters—you said so yourself. They don’t mate humans, witches, vampires, or whatever. I’m not a shifter, so therefore I’m not your mate.”

“How are ya knowin’ you’re not a shifter? Just because ya don’t change into an animal doesn’t mean you’re not a shifter. Aye, we are only matin’ other shifters, but ya don’t have to be full-blooded now, do ya? Even just a little bit will do. Take Malakai for example. He’s mated to my brother, Flynn, but he’s not changin’ into a beasty. I know what my instincts are tellin’ me, and they’re sayin’ ya belong to me.”

“I don’t belong to anyone!” Galen screamed. He jumped to his feet and pointed a finger in Bannon’s face. “I
belonged
to someone for half my damn life, and I won’t do it again. I make my own decisions now. I won’t let someone tell me what to do, when to do it, and how I need to do it better.” When he finally wound down, his entire frame was shaking, and his chest heaved as though he’d run a marathon.

“Calm yaself, Galen. That’s not what I’m meanin’.” Bannon took a step toward his mate but stopped when Galen snarled at him. “What is all this now?”

Like letting the helium out of a balloon, Galen deflated and sagged back into his chair. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m already half in love with you, and I’m not willing to fall the entire way.” That was exactly what Bannon wanted, though. He’d known Galen was his mate from the first time he’d caught a whiff of the man’s intriguing scent. Knowing the harsh life Galen had led as a slave, he’d taken things slowly, only befriending him and easing him into the idea of being mated.

While Galen had seemed eager for the friendship, his stance never changed on the mating part. For months, he’d steadfastly refused to accept the truth. Bannon doubted it was so much that he didn’t believe it, and more that he was trying to protect himself. There were painful secrets lurking in his mate’s past, something beyond even being kept as a slave for years.

“What are ya not tellin’ me, Galen?”

“If I pour my heart out will you leave me alone?”

“No.” There was no sense in lying to the guy. Bannon had no intentions of walking away from his
sienota
—his fated mate. What kind of man did Galen think he was?

“I’m begging you. Please, just leave me alone. I thought I could be your friend without wanting more, but I can’t.” Bannon opened his mouth to respond, but his cell phone chose that moment to begin vibrating in his pocket. With a growl of frustration, he retrieved the offending object and answered without checking the ID. “What?”

“Torren is asking for you,” Raven said on the other end of the line. “I guess The Council has a witch they want you to track down.”

“Can’t it wait?” Bannon wasn’t conceited, but he knew his skills as a Tracker were unmatched by most in the country. Usually, he didn’t mind being sent out on assignments, but that was before he had a mate who was hiding shit from him.

“I don’t think so, man. Torren is doing his best to get things settled and ease into his position as elder so he can see his kids. I know I wasn’t too big on the idea at first, but he’s a good guy. He’s not going to take them away from Raina and Teegan.” Maybe it made him an asshole, but Bannon didn’t really care.

He’d met the females a few times, but he had no real emotional attachment to them or their adopted cubs. He’d only met Torren once, and most of that time had been spent unconscious because of Leader McCarthy’s psychotic brother. The trio’s parental issues were none of his concern.

“Where’s he stayin’?” Bannon finally asked with a sigh.

“He’s in Casper right now. You want me to drive?” Bannon gave Galen a lingering look and sighed again. “Aye, I’ll meet ya in five minutes.” He disconnected and turned to Galen once more. “I—”

“I heard,” Galen cut him off. “Be careful, Bannon.” Then he rose from the chair, went into his private bathroom, and closed the door.

Unsure if he should go after him or not, Bannon hesitated for a full minute before he finally pushed up from his seat and walked out of the room. Something had to give soon, or he was going to lose his mind. Maybe by the time he returned from Casper, he’d have a new plan to woo his reluctant mate.

He briefly considered asking for Raven’s advice, but the man was a complete jackass. Oh, he had a lot of respect for the Enforcer, and liked the hell out of him, but Raven had a tendency to leap into a situation without thinking ahead to the consequences. Asking the man for advice on how to handle the situation with Galen would be murder-suicide for his muddled relationship.

Then again, he seemed to be doing a pretty good job of screwing it up all on his own.

* * * *

Galen sat on the edge of the tub and fisted his hands in his lap, waiting for the snick of the door that would signal Bannon’s departure. He didn’t have to wait long, but he didn’t know if he felt relief or disappointment at the fact. Part of him wanted Bannon to come after him and demand that Galen…well, something. Everything was so confusing, and he really didn’t know what the hell he wanted.

“I hate this,” he whispered to the empty room. He hated how his feelings were all twisted up in knots—right along with his stomach a lot of the time.

Bannon Murphy was without a doubt the sweetest, kindest, not to mention the sexiest, man he had ever met. No matter that Galen continuously pushed him away, Bannon never stayed gone for long.

He was a persistent bastard, but it was just one more thing Galen loved about the guy.

“Galen?” A soft knock sounded on the bathroom door, followed by Kendall’s voice. “Honey, are you in there?” Leaping up, Galen hurried to the door, jerked it open, and threw himself into Kendall’s arms with enough force that he knocked his friend back several steps. Now that Bannon was gone, he was free to fall apart, and that was exactly what he did. He sobbed and shuddered, holding on to Kendall for dear life as he soaked his friend’s shirt with his tears.

So lost in his meltdown, he didn’t immediately notice that Kendall wasn’t the only one in the room until two more sets of arms wound around both of them. “Shh, Galen,” Jory whispered. “It’s going to be okay.”

“We’re all here for you,” Aslan added. “Please don’t cry.”

Pulling himself together, Galen eased out of the group embrace and wiped roughly at his eyes. “I’m fine, guys. Thank you.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Kendall asked, concern written all over his face. “Bannon is your mate, isn’t he?”

“No,” Galen answered immediately, shaking his head defensively. “I can’t be his mate.”

“I know it’s scary.” Jory took his hand and led him over to the bed where he urged Galen to sit. Then they all climbed up on the mattress with him, surrounding him in comfort and support. “I didn’t want to admit that Stavion was my mate at first, either.”

“I almost pissed myself every time Cassius walked in a room,” Kendall added with a light chuckle.

They were sweet for trying to cheer him up, but it wasn’t the same situation at all. “I love him,” Galen confessed with another sniffle. “I can’t be his mate, though.”

His friends exchanged looks of confusion, each sporting identical frowns on their faces. “You can’t or you won’t?” Jory finally asked.

“I can’t. He’s a shifter.”

“I still don’t get it,” Aslan said with a shrug. The poor guy rarely understood anything, but Galen loved him all the same. What Aslan lacked in worldly knowledge, he made up for in enthusiasm.

“Shifters have to mate other shifters. That’s what Bannon told me anyway. I don’t understand why that is.” He shook his head as his brow furrowed. “Everyone else can mate whoever they want. Fate doesn’t discriminate for them. Why are shifters different?”