"Oh, don't stop on my account."
Michel jerked around and found Jason standing on the back porch. The young man glared frigidly as he took in the scene.
At least that explained his suddenly randy state, Michel decided. "Jason," he cried in shock, pleasure and confusion filling him in equal measure. What was his mate doing here? And why did he appear so upset?
"Typical," Jason mumbled.
Only Michel's heightened hearing allowed him to make out his mate's words.
"I need a few days to wrap my head around shifters and mating and everything else you fucking dumped on me … " His voice rose in anger and hurt with each word he spoke.
Michel found his jaw sagging open in shock. What the hell?
"Well, fuck you, Michel! I don't need you either!"
Still dumbfounded, Michel watched Jason whirl around and disappear around the front of the porch. Hands shoving him from behind jerked him out of his stupor. "Go after him, ye idiot," Preall hissed.
Right!
Michel sprinted to the front of the house, spurred on by the sound of a truck engine turning over. He didn't know how he'd missed the loud sound while wrestling, but evidently he had. Unfortunately, when he rounded the bend, he arrived in time only to see the vehicle's taillights disappear through the trees.
"Shite!"
Michel ran his hand through his hair and over his beard, frustration and despair filling him. His mate had finally come to speak with him, and he'd found him wrestling, buck-arse nude, with his friends. It wasn't that much of a leap to jump to the wrong assumption, especially since Jason was human.
Slender arms wrapped around him from behind and, although Michel recognized Jamie's scent, he didn't turn to look at the shorter, smaller shifter. "I'm sorry," Jamie whispered.
Michel grimaced. "It's not yer fault."
"We'll help ye fix this, Michel," Preall assured, joining them in the group hug just as Laramie did.
"Aye," Laramie agreed. "Ye'll be wooing him again in no time."
Michel allowed his eyelids to slide shut and inhaled slowly, catching a trace of his mate's scent lingering on the breeze. His heart ached in his chest, making it hard to breathe. After what had happened, he wasn't so certain.
Chapter Nine
Jason lounged on the back deck, staring across the darkened expanse of lawn at the even darker forest. Having been sitting with the lights off for the last half hour, his eyes had adjusted, allowing him to make out the individual trunks and even the leaves.
The squeak of the back door's hinge caught his attention. He turned his head and watched Sean step through the darkened doorway and join him on the porch. "Ah, there you are."
"Here I am," Jason responded. He returned his focus to his study of the forest as he took a drink of his beer.
He imagined he could see several pairs of eyes glowing amidst the trees. It made him think of Michel in wolf form, his eyes gleaming with feral intelligence. Waking to the pain of the wolf's bite had shocked Jason, but he'd figured out pretty quickly the beast had felt remorse. It was odd, being able to sort of understand the creature's mood and actions … freaky really.
Jason bit back a sigh and took another swig of beer. After he'd left Michel's-and didn't the fact that the man hadn't bothered to come after him say it all-he'd needed a drink, and some alone time to decompress. He'd zipped into town, picked up beer, pizza, hot wings, and ice cream-all the best comfort foods-and returned home to figure out his next step.
He'd heard from Antonio's Pizzeria that morning. The mom and pop owned Italian restaurant had offered him the waiter job he'd wanted. At the time, he'd taken it as a sign that he should stay and try to figure out how to make a relationship with a certain reclusive wolf shifter work. He'd found his lover rolling around with not one but three other men.
Jason had just about died right then and there. He still didn't know how he'd managed to confront the man. He almost felt as though someone else had taken over his body, but damn had it felt good to tell the guy off.
From the corner of his eye, Jason watched Sean slowly sweep his gaze over first him, then the forest. Sean pointed at the beer and asked, "You old enough to drink that?"
"Yeah. Wanna see my license?" Jason responded sardonically.
"Nope," Sean replied, dropping into the chair next to him. He turned and grinned at him. "You gonna offer me one?"
Jason couldn't help it. He snorted, amusement filling him against his will. "Here." Jason grabbed a bottle from the case of twelve sitting next to his gliding rocker's base and handed it to Sean. Besides, Jason reasoned, if he actually drank all of them, he'd end up so sick. The couple friends he'd left behind at college hadn't called him a lightweight for nothing.
"Thanks." Sean popped the cap and took several healthy swallows. Letting out a contended sigh, he set the bottle on his thigh and asked, "Are you gonna tell me what happened?"
"Nothing happened."
When his uncle and Sean had bundled Lily into their SUV and left the house hours earlier, Jason had been watching a movie. As soon as they'd gone, he'd borrowed his uncle's truck and headed to Michel's. He sure as shit didn't want to admit how that had turned out.
They drank in silence for a moment. Jason finished his beer and started another.
"Did you know," Sean started conversationally. "That a shifter can tell when someone is lying?"
Jason almost spewed the sip of beer he'd taken. "What?"
"You're lying, Jason," Sean stated, not at all repentant about his accusation. "You know, we can't help if you won't talk to us."
Not wanting to explain, Jason remained stubbornly silent.
Sean wasn't so inclined. "Well, let me guess then. You finally decided to get off your mopey ass and seek Michel out." He pointed the neck of his beer bottle at the cell phone Jason balanced on his thigh.
Much to Jason's consternation, the device had also remained stubbornly silent … except for one call from his mom, which he'd sent to voicemail. He had no intention of dealing with her right then. He didn't even want to bother checking the message.
"I know you've been receiving texts from him." Sean smirked at Jason. "The average shifter's eyesight is quite good. When your screen lights up, I could often make out the name and number."
Jason rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. "So you've mentioned. Quicker healing, more agile, better eyesight, stronger, faster. Ya'll are just so dandy."
Sean laughed for a moment, before he took in Jason's scowl. "For our mates, that's a bonus. Some of those perks transfer to our human mates when we bond with them," he explained. "You'll have a higher resistance to illness as well as heal faster from injuries. Not as quick as us," he added with a wink, "but still … " Sean paused for a second and leaned close. "Just think of Michel's exceptional stamina and recuperative abilities," he quipped, waggling his brows comically.
Anger and hurt stabbed through Jason. Unable to keep his mouth shut, he snarled, "Well, he seems to be sharing those things with someone other than me." He rubbed his neck, feeling the mark Michel had left on his nape. "Several someones. He was rolling around on the ground with three other men." He fought back tears of betrayal and added, "He was hard … hard for them."
"Wait a minute," Sean said, holding up his empty hand. "He was getting it on with some other guys? But-" He snapped his mouth shut while his eyes narrowed at where Jason rubbed his neck.
Sean switched his beer to his other hand, then reached out and grabbed Jason's shirt.
"Hey," Jason tried to pull away, but Sean held fast.
"Hold still," Sean growled.
Shocked at the man's aggressive tone, Jason froze.
Sean tugged down the back of Jason's shirt and traced one finger over Michel's mark. Jason just held back a shiver at the touch to the sensitive skin. Just as suddenly, Sean's hold disappeared.
Jason turned and frowned at his uncle's lover. "What the hell?" he snapped.
Licking his lips, Sean's eyes narrowed. He took a sip of beer, then pointed out, "That's a mating mark, Jason. I know you said you had sex. Is the bond complete?"