With Caution

knife at him. “Don’t make me beat your ass, dickhead. Get a knife out of the drawer and help me.”

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    Going to the silverware drawer, Remi rummaged through it. “Don’t you have a potato peeler?”
    “A what?”
    “You know it’s like a knife with a slit in the middle of the blade.” He rifled through the drawer, not finding one.
    “Why the fuck would we have that?” Keaton blinked and blew a curl off his forehead. “Quit stalling and get over here and talk to me. Are you sure you’re okay?”
    Taking out a paring knife, Remi went to the sink and grabbed a potato. He turned on the water and began helping Keaton. “I’m fine. What are you making?”
    “French fries. I’m trying to learn to cook. I’m sick of pizza and hamburgers.” Keaton stopped peeling for a second and looked over at Remi. “Chay says you seem okay with Jake. You finally accept it?”
    “What, the mate part or the new pack leader part?”
    Snorting, Keaton went back to peeling.
    Remi started cutting off the skin on the spud. “Yeah, I’m okay with it. Not like I got much of a choice, is there?”
    “No, but…well, I’ve been worried about how you’d react when you found out your mate was a guy. Made me wonder if saving your ass was a good idea.”
    “Gee, thanks a lot, Bit.” Remi nudged the shorter man with his shoulder.
    Keaton grinned and nudged back. “You know damn well I don’t want you dead, asshole. It pains me to admit it, but if I’d have known you then as well as I do now, I’d have probably beat Jake to the punch when he changed you. I only meant I wondered if it was like a fate worse than death for you.”
    Remi froze, staring at Keaton. Jake changed him? Remi had thought Chay had turned him into a werewolf.
    “What?” Keaton’s big blue eyes widened. “What’d I say?”
    “Jake changed me? But why? He didn’t even know—” Jake had realized even then that Remi was his mate. “Why didn’t y’all tell me Jake was my mate from the beginning?”
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    “Jake thought it’d be better off if we let you discover it on your own. You had a lot to take in, in a short time.” Sighing, Keaton went back to peeling. “I’m sorry, Remi. We should have told you, but…”
    “There was the whole gay thing and how I reacted to you?”
    “Well yeah. After your shouting match with Chay, we all felt like Jake had a good idea.”
    In a way Remi was glad they’d given him time to get used to some of the weirder werewolf crap, but it would have been nice to know why he was attracted to Jake. He might not have fought it so hard if he’d known. Then it occurred to him, Jake had cared for him from the very beginning.
    “What about the omega thing?” Keaton finished, set the knife down and turned and pointed past Remi. There was a bowl on the counter.
    “It’s weird. The whole werewolf thing is strange, but I like my pack, they’re good men. I still don’t understand it though. I feel like I’ve known all of them forever, but I’ve only known most of them a couple of days. I don’t get it. There isn’t anything special about me.”
    Keaton lifted one light brown eyebrow, then the little demon got an evil smirk on his face. “Just remember you said it, not me.”
    Remi narrowed his eyes at Keaton.
    “There is something special, you just haven’t figured out what it is yet. Aside from uniting their packs, omegas usually have some sort of talent that also strengthens a pack.
    It’s part of the reason it’s kept a secret. I doubt most people realize what omegas do. I guess I’m only sensitive to it ’cause of my third form. I know one who has this inner calm thing. Being around him makes the pack less aggressive when things go bad, like last night. All omegas have that to some extent, but his is way more powerful.”
    “What about the pack you came from? What did your omega do?”
    Keaton shook his head. “We didn’t have an omega. They are rare, which is why everyone started running at you. If allowed, they would have tried to force you to submit.
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    realize it or they think they can change an omega’s mind. Their hormones get the better of them when they catch scent of an omega. You are going to have to be on your guard from now on.”
    Lifting his arm, Remi sniffed. “Do I