“Oh? I-I hadn’t noticed. ” He caught Marco’s skeptical gaze and dropped his own. “Um, sorry, sir. ”
Marco raised one eyebrow. “Sir? Why do I get the impression that you’ve never called me sir before in your life?”
Nicky looked surprised. “I…uh…”
“Do you even recognize me as your alpha?’
“Um, what do you mean?”
“Do you think I have the right to ask you to submit to my authority?”
Nicky looked uncertain for a moment. “Uh, well…of course, I recognize you as the alpha of the pack…”
“And are you a member of my pack?”
“Well, in a way…”
“In a way? Has someone made you feel not a part of our family? Have I ever made you feel you weren’t?”
“Well, no…?
?
“And when we mated, I assume it was in the usual manner. I gave you a mating bite? You had the knot?”
Nicky blushed and nodded his head slowly.
“So then when you said, ‘in a way,’ what exactly did you mean?”
“I-I just meant I’m not a wolf. ”
“Oh, I see. So you don’t think any of the pets are in the wolf family? They’re not a part of my pack?”
“No! I mean, yes, of course they are. ” Nicky was getting flustered. His face was now a deep red, and he was avoiding Marco’s steady gaze.
“And do you consider yourself to be a pet?”
“Well, sort of…”
“Sort of?”
“Marco, I’ve never liked that word. It sounds so S&M. No, I don’t identify with that word at all. I’m your mate, yes. I’m here because I love you, and I want to be with you, but a pet—no, most definitely not. I’m not your damn pet. ”
Marco gazed at him steadily. “’Pet’ is a just a word the pack has used for as long as anyone remembers, Nicky. A term we use to mean our non-shifting family members—our mates, and our children who don’t turn out to be shifters. In the past they were our dependents, but many of our grown pets have very good jobs on the outside now, yet they still consider themselves to be members of our pack. And they’re also still our pets. As my mate, you would have to also agree to be my pet. The alpha’s pet. It’s an important position and an important title. You know in the wolf clans we follow pack hierarchy. Each member has a rank. Nicky, don’t you want to be my mate anymore?”
“You know I do—don’t try to blackmail me!” Nicky glared at him, his eyes full of hurt.
“No blackmail. It’s a simple fact. If you’re my mate, then you’re also my pet. Do you agree?”
Nicky jumped to his feet and crossed to the window, his hands fisted by his side. Staring outside, he mumbled something vicious-sounding under his breath.
“Calling me names doesn’t change anything, Nicky. ” Marco sat back on the sofa, waiting him out.
“Damn it! Marco, please promise me things won’t go back to the way it used to be around here. If it does, I swear I’ll…”
Marco walked up behind him and ran a finger down his back, making him shiver. He’d been longing to touch this back since he’d first noticed it downstairs. This was his, damn it. “You’ll do what?”
Nicky slumped in defeat and turned around to face him. “I hate this, Marco. ”