The Defiant Claim (The Claim: Book 2) LGBT

Chapter 10 - Sam (Part 1)

Mik's approval of Sam trying out for the nursing position after being so brutish and rough before, along with running into his family, lifted a weight from his shoulders. Maybe Mik would come around?

They ate lunch in silence, Sam smiling to himself and thinking of the possibilities of his future now. Becoming the only male nurse in the pack might have some benefits. And now he had a mate. Mik won't depend on him much longer, he knew, and then he'd have to find something to do with his time as he was sure he'd drive Mik crazy with his constant hovering. Mik had been living as a rogue for a long time. Sam didn't know how long exactly but he was confident in his assumptions that Mik was an independent male and liked it that way.

To pass the time, Sam suggested they play some card games and Mik shrugged. Little did Sam know that Mik had never played any card games before and the first and easiest one he could think of to teach Mik was War—which was a bad idea. It brought out Mik's aggression and competitiveness and he hurtled threats when he won the war matches and raged when he lost to the point where Eloise came running in to check if everything was okay. After the third time, she strolled and peeked in without a word, though Sam could see in her quirked brows the question, 'Again?'

When Sam suggested they play something else, Mik growled dismissively. Mik wanted to keep playing long after Sam grew bored with both the game and Mik's aggressive outbursts.

"Again!" Mik roared, for the umpteenth time when his card beat Sam's. "I will slaughter you with my might and scatter your entrails across the floor!"

Sam no longer flinched at his rage. It was startling at first, then funny, now it was predictable and trite. Eloise even stopped coming in, equally annoyed with Mik's eruptions.

Heaving a sigh, Sam flipped up another card from the top of his dwindling deck. "Uh-huh."

"Tired of losing, huh?" Mik sneered.

"More like bored of your redundant temper tantrums."

Mik's eyes bulged before they narrowed and his lips curled in a snarl. "Fine." He threw his cards across the room. "I'm done. You're a bore to play with."

"Hey! Come on, man!" Jumping up from his chair, Sam looked around the room at all the cards in exasperation before his eyes fell on Mik and the smug smirk on his face. Glaring at him, Sam pointed in the direction that had the most cards. "Pick them up."

The smirk on Mik's face widened. "Sorry, mate. No can do. Arm and leg are busted, remember?"

As much as Sam didn't want to give in, Mik had a point, and Sam was too non-confrontational to argue.

Sucking in what little pride he had, he got up to fetch the cards that splayed all over the other side of the room. "Don't do that again. I'm not going to pick them up next time, casts or not."

"So what do you want to do now?" Mik asked, looking at the dirt under his nails as Sam collected all the cards and put them back in their case.

He shrugged. "I could grab my laptop and watch a movie?"

Mik looked indifferent. "Sure, whatever you want."

Running out of options to keep his mate happy and entertained, Sam ran to his room and found a stack of empty boxes. His eyes widened, remembering Alpha's promise of preparing a guest house for him and Mik. He forgot that he'd have to pack his things before moving in.

The guest house would be a trial run before getting a place of their own. Normally, mates would get their own house early in the courtship phase, but given Sam's mate, he suspected he'd have to wait longer than most mates before they'd get their own place. Mik had to be trusted before anything would be given to him.