At Casey's shocked expression, he ruffled the man's hair lightly. "They won't hurt you. I've heard Lark is an excellent doctor and will take great care of you."
"Will you stay here?"
The squeaked question nearly tore his heart out of his chest and Jared couldn't imagine what the man saw in him that made him latch onto him like this. He was a hired killer. The shifter knew that. Why would Casey think he would take care of him?
He flicked his gaze to Grady, who lifted a brow in interest. Jared knew the tiger shifter's thoughts mirrored his own. What the hell does the little shifter see in me?
Jared looked back to Casey's hopeful face and nodded. "Sure. I'll stay for a little bit. I'm in town for my sister's wedding, so I have plans late this evening."
"Okay," he whispered.
Settling Casey back on the pillows, Jared leaned against the headboard as Lark looked the man over. "I'll need to draw blood to see if there's anything we need to treat you for," Lark explained, preparing a needle. They both saw Casey's panicked expression and Jared gently squeezed his shoulder while Lark explained, "We had a friend escape from there with things he needed treatment for. If we hadn't gotten to him, he would have died without help. We don't want the same to happen to you."
Casey nodded jerkily.
"Where are you from?" Jared asked conversationally, trying to take his new friend's mind off what Lark was doing.
"Arizona," Casey replied. "A half hour south of Tucson."
"Yeah? A bunny troupe or something?" he teased.
That earned him an eye roll. "A group of rabbits is called a herd and no. I left my herd when I refused to mate with the female my family arranged for me."
"Not into women?" Jared asked curiously, "Or just not that particular female?"
Casey lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I don't know. I've never been attracted to anyone that way. They kicked me out, so … "
He looked slightly panicked for a moment and Declan stated, "Ye need not worry about me reportin' ye in me territory, Casey. I don't hold with the same values other alphas do. Who ye mate with or don't mate with is yer choice and just because ye've been banished from yer herd for that reason, I certainly won't do the same. Yer safe on me pack land for as long as ye need to stay."
Casey's eyes widened and he looked toward Jared for confirmation. Jared winked. "Declan's a decent guy, for a wolf." At the alpha's un-amused snort, Jared laughed.
By the time Lark was done examining Casey, the small man was struggling to stay awake. And after getting a sandwich and a glass of milk, he was out like a light. Jared sighed and headed out of the room. "Is he going to be okay, Doc?" he asked Lark as he paused in the kitchen.
Lark shrugged. "He seems okay so far. The blood tests will tell if anything serious was tampered with internally. The stitches were kept clean, so at least infection's not an issue."
Jared nodded. "When he wakes tell him I'll swing by tomorrow around noon." He ran a hand through his short hair. Staring out the window, he settled his hands on his hips. "He seems to have developed an instant dependency on me. I'm not sure what to make of that," he admitted.
"I can't tell you how to react to that, Jared." His brows furrowed in thought as he stared up at him. "From what I've heard from Declan, I know you have enough things you need to work out with Carson." He rested a hand on Jared's shoulder and Jared lifted a brow in question. "Carson's a good guy. A little stiff sometimes, but none of us want to see him hurt."
He recognized a warning when he heard one and crossed his arms. "Thank you for the vote of confidence, Lark," he muttered. "I'll see you tomorrow."
With that, he turned and headed out of the house. Pulling open the front door, Grady caught up with him. "Hey, make sure you take a shower, man."
Jared frowned over his shoulder at Grady as the other man followed him to his car. "What the hell does that mean?"
Grady grinned. "You smell like bunny, Jared. If you run into Carson again smelling like Casey, you'll only make your problems worse."
"Damn shifter noses," Jared grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. After a second, he nodded. "I'd planned on getting cleaned up anyway, but I do appreciate the warning."
"Why wasn't he with you?" Grady asked curiously, watching as Jared settled behind the wheel of his car.
Jared shook his head. "We had a fight. He stormed off. I don't know where he went." He had to admit that part bothered him more than just a little bit. He wasn't familiar with the area, so wasn't certain where he should even look for the man if he'd wanted to find him.
Grady tapped the hood of the car. "Don't worry. He won't go far. Fate only gives us one mate," he reminded him. "Now that you're mated, he won't stray." Then he grimaced, "And he's going to be extremely jealous that you're going to a bachelor party."
Confused, Jared frowned. "Huh? Why?"
"Never been to one, huh?" Grady asked, smiling sardonically. "Strippers are a pretty normal occurrence and it wasn't too long ago you claimed to be straight, my friend."
"Oh," Jared murmured. He frowned, not liking that if the situation were reversed, he'd probably be pissed, too. "Well, if you see him, tell him to swing by Spacers. I already told my soon-to-be brother-in-law that my date was a man, so it probably wouldn't surprise him to see that same man show up."
Grady's brows shot up. "You seriously already told your family about him?"
Jared shook his head. "Not all of them. Just the groom." Then a thought occurred to him and he groaned. "Of course, by telling Terry, he'll feel obligated to pass that information on to my sister, who'll very quickly tell everyone. Huh. I didn't see my family last night. After fucking Carson, I kind of hid in my room," he admitted.
"Sex with a man is a big step," Grady acknowledged. "I can see how you'd want to take some time to get your head on straight and panic in private."
Jared grimaced. "Yeah, that was about right. When I'm with him, it's easy to forget everything else. The attraction is … " He shook his head as Grady laughed.
"Yeah, I know, man." He grinned. "I have a mate, remember?"
"So do I," Jared whispered, losing focus of his surroundings as he thought of the man and how it felt to be held by him. His cock started to stir at the memories and he suddenly found it difficult to remember why it was so important to attend that bachelor party instead of hunting down his mate. Shaking his head, he smiled ruefully up at Grady. "And now I have to figure out what to do about it."
Chapter Eight
Carson stepped into Spacers, still marveling over Grady's words. His mate had already told his family about them? What did that mean? Coming out to one's family was a big step. Jared wouldn't do that if he planned on leaving and never seeing Carson again, would he?
Uncertain of his welcome, he remained on the outskirts of the room so he could scope out the place. He appreciated Declan's promise of a couple other wolves there and easily spotted Nick and Trace seated in a corner talking. He had no notion of either man's orientation, but neither seemed particularly interested in the dancer. He traded nods with the other shifters and let his gaze rove over the clusters of men.
It only took him a moment to spot Jared sitting at a table with a half dozen other men. While the others stared at the woman on stage, laughing and cajoling each other, Jared lounged back in his chair, which Carson noted was against a wall, and surveyed the rest of the bar.
Seconds later, their eyes met and a flash of heat lighted Jared's eyes and one side of Jared's lips curved into a small smile. Assured of at least a moderate welcome, Carson started toward them. He noticed a blond man slap Jared's arm, trying to get his attention. Jared broke their gaze and frowned at the man, dropping his eyes to look at where the man touched him, before lifting a brow in question.