Homecoming by Cooper West Page B

live under the thumb of another pack, although neither of them ever talked about it. Their stay in Hartsville was looking to be permanent, though, which brought out the fish wife in Tony, as far as Cal was concerned.
    “Wake up! Lazy head. C'mon, I got the lease signed with MacBride. Let's get cleaning.”
    Tony kicked the leg of the chair Cal was dozing in. When Tony left to go set things up for renting the cabin, Cal and Daniel had retreated to the back porch of the cabin, which was screened in but not locked. Tony had mysterious reserves of money which Cal didn't ask about, and Tony did not often discuss. It was obviously not a bottomless bucket, because Tony hated spending money they did not earn or hustle, but it was there when they needed it. Another reason Cal knew that Tony was the best Alpha ever.
    “No problems?” Daniel asked sleepily as he stretched.
    “You think I mentioned that we're werewolves?” Tony snorted in amusement as he unlocked the back door with his new set of keys. “We'll register later, and by then it'll be too late. Papers are signed and I have copies. Meanwhile, we need to—oh hell, this place is a dump.”
    Cal groaned. If Tony called it a dump, it meant that they would all be up to their elbows in bleach and dust for hours with no breakfast in sight. Cal had never met a more fastidious werewolf than Tony, other than maybe Daniel. He wondered how in the hell he managed to hook up with a couple of neat freaks as he walked into the main room of the cabin.
    Which was, he grudgingly admitted, a dump. “Aw, man.”
    “Stop whining, Cal.” Tony growled, toeing at the ragged rug that was in the middle of the room.
    “I think I agree with Cal, for once. This requires whining,” Daniel said without an ounce of sarcasm in his voice.
    “We knew we weren't sleeping today anyway. I'm not touching anything here until it's all been cleaned, and by that I mean: boiled,” Tony announced.
    “The space under the porch is a basic utility room, has an old washer and dryer which might work. But I think we are on the hook for cleaning supplies.” Daniel stood his hands on his hips, eying the place critically.
    It was three rooms, the main living/kitchen area and two bedrooms, one on each end. The bathroom was cut out of one of the bedrooms, making it the smaller of the two, while the bathroom itself was minuscule and contained a lot of rust. The place was something in between a hunting cabin and a lodge, with just enough amenities to make a person realize what they were missing.
    “No, we've got supplies. I stopped at the little gas market and picked up the basics. Pinesol, bleach, broom, mop, sponges. And gloves, lots and lots of gloves.” Tony waved a hand at Cal. “Go get 'em, boy.”
    Daniel laughed as Cal growled in annoyance. Tony grinned at him. “Oh, come on, get a sense of humor. We're stuck here, until we figure out where Lisbeth wants to be.”
    That stopped Cal in his tracks. He glanced at Daniel before he looked back at Tony, who was actually blushing. It was Daniel who broke the silence.
    “So this is it, then? We've found our home?”
    Tony gave a jerking nod of his head. “Yeah, guys, it is. This is it, for me. This is going to be my territory, and Lisbeth is my girl. We've talked about it. She likes you guys, and she's okay with our…ah, unconventional ways.” Tony folded his arms over his chest and looked at them in turn. “Being with her means I won't be sleeping with either of you, though. I love you both, and you're my pack, but Lisbeth and I are already talking about bonding and marriage.”
    Cal sucked in his breath. He'd miss Tony as a lover, although it did not hit too hard because Daniel was the one Cal was in love with. He understood Tony's motivations there. What shocked him was the idea of bonding and weddings. Wolves mated for life, in general, so it meant that Tony was planning on staying forever. With them, and with Lisbeth. They would have puppies. It would be