Chapter Four
Frankie rubbed his hands over his thighs, struggling against the urge to pull at the loose threads. The desire he'd felt for Dobs, not only for his touch and his cock in his ass but the vampire's bite, really concerned him. He didn't know if that was normal. He wished Casey would come back so he could ask him.
He realized his mate was talking and he'd missed half of what was said. Damn it! My brother's biggest complaint is I don't focus when I need to!
"Frankie?"
He blinked and looked at Dobs. "What'd you say?"
Dobs narrowed his eyes as he swept his gaze over him. "Are you all right? You seem a little … " he paused, his brows furrowed, obviously searching for the right word.
Probably a word that wouldn't offend him, Frankie decided. "Slow," Frankie supplied. "I'm a little slow."
"No, that's not what I meant," Dobs replied, shaking his head quickly and glancing away.
Oh, wasn't that sweet? His vampire didn't want to insult him. Frankie hoped that indicated Dobs wouldn't be mad when he found out his mate was, indeed, slow. He opened his mouth, intending to explain, but Dobs laughed roughly.
"It's probably my fault," Dobs claimed. "I got a little excited and took a little bit too much blood, hmm?" He glanced away and muttered, "Don't ever remember tasting anything as good as you."
That admission flattered Frankie, but he couldn't leave his mate in the dark. It wasn't fair for either of them. He understood that. Explaining it was a bit harder. He frowned and shook his head. "That's how it should be," he said. "But that's not the answer to your question," he added.
"I'm sorry. It's not?"
Frankie shook his head again and gave in to the urge to pick at his jeans, his nerves getting the better of him. "I'm always like this. It wasn't because you bit me, which I really liked, by the way," he added. "Never came so hard in my life." Realizing he was losing his train of thought, Frankie forced his hands to flatten on his thighs and he looked up at Dobs. His mate's expression seemed to be a cross between confused and concerned. Licking his lips, he prepared to tell the man about the problems with his brain. "I'm-"
The door slammed open. "You fucker!" Reb snarled. "You bit Frankie without anyone else here to monitor?" His brother stalked into the room, anger and aggression radiating from every pour.
Frankie sat frozen as Reb grabbed Dobs and slammed him against the wall. The thud of his mate's body against the wall seemed to snap Frankie out of his shocked stupor. Instinct, the driving need to protect his mate, took over. He shifted to wolf, ignoring the tear of fabric as his clothes fell away.
Some part of his mind registered that it was his brother holding Dobs, which was the only reason he didn't sink his teeth into Reb's thigh and yank him away from his mate. Instead, he slammed his massive form into Reb, knocking him sideways into the wall. A growl rolled through him, vibrating his chest and throat as he pressed his back into Dobs' legs, positioning himself between his mate and his brother.
Reb straightened and glared at Frankie. "What the fuck, Frankie?" he yelled.
Snapping his jaws in warning, Frankie showed off his teeth, warning Reb away.
Declan, striding closer, actually chuckled. "If ye weren't his brother, Reb, ye'd have been seriously mauled. What the hell were ye thinkin'?"
Reb looked acceptably chagrined.
Frankie sniffed in his direction, his ears lifting as he calmed.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Declan narrowed his eyes at Dobs. "And you, shouldn't there have been talkin' before ye started the bonding process?"
Turning his head, Frankie looked up at his mate. In wolf form, he knew he just topped three hundred pounds. He'd been told he was as big as his alpha, but Frankie somehow knew that even if he hadn't been injured at the age of two, he still wouldn't have wanted to lead. Frankie was a natural born follower.
While sitting, his head just topped the abs of Dobs' lean, six foot two body. He rubbed against Dobs and felt him stiffen. Frankie's ears went back in concern as he cocked his head and whined softly, trying to reassure the vampire.
I'll protect you.
Declan frowned at them. "Ye're mate just came to yer defense, Dobs," he said, his quiet tone grave. "It's customary to assure him that ye're fine."
"And how do I reassure an animal that I'm fine?" Dobs asked through gritted teeth.
He couldn't help it. Frankie cringed. That comment hurt. His mate thought he was an animal? Jerk! Frankie curled his lip away from his canine and snarled. He took several steps toward the door then shifted. It didn't take long. He trained other pack members to streamline their shift. He knew his transition was fast.
Once back in human form, he glared at Dobs and snapped, "Fuck you."
Turning away, Frankie stalked out of the room. Through the open door, he heard Reb growl, "You bastard."
At about the same time, Declan stated coldly, "I open me home to help ye find yer beloved and that is how ye treat him? It'd serve ye right if … "
"Frankie?" Lark called his name from the kitchen, drawing his attention away from whatever else his alpha might have said.
He realized he'd made it to the dining room. Looking around, Frankie took in the surprised expressions on not only Lark, but the three vampires, including Caspian and Casey.
Casey gave him a worried look. "I'm not sure running around naked is the best thing right now," he said softly. "Vampires can be-"
"What? They can be what, Casey?" Frankie snapped, interrupting him. "Bigoted assholes?" As soon as he said the words, he felt bad. It wasn't the bunny shifter's fault that his mate was an asshole. "Sorry," he mumbled, looking out the window.
Caspian frowned and opened his mouth to say … something, but Casey rested a couple fingers over his lips and, giving him a kind look, asked, "What happened, Frankie?"
Frankie didn't want to talk about it. Instead, he focused on Caspian and said, "Let Dobs know he won't have to worry about having an animal for a beloved. I don't want him, either." Turning away, he said, "I'm going for a run."
He knew his alpha's land was safe. Declan owned over a hundred acres that backed up to a national forest where his alpha and several other pack-members worked as rangers. Needing to get away, Frankie relaxed his hold on his wolf and returned to his furred form. He ignored the questions from those behind him, wanting only to feel the wind in his fur and pine needles beneath his paws.
If only that would make everything that had happened in the last hour, go away.
For a while, it did. After an initial fight with his wolf, who wanted to return to their mate, Frankie bounded through the snow-covered drifts, under heavily laden tree branches, and even scared up some game to chase. Frankie had no actual desire to catch the hare, but the chase was fun.
He crouched next to a nearly frozen stream and lapped up some water. Although it felt icy cold going down his throat, Frankie found it refreshing. He sat up and looked around the forest, trying to get his bearings. He'd run farther than he'd thought. Looking up, Frankie tried to remember what Reb had told him about telling time and direction by the position of the sun.
Right. It rises in the east and sets in the west. Because it was early spring, it set at around six-thirty, so with how low it hung in the sky, Frankie figured he'd been out running for at least an hour and a half. He was kinda surprised that his brother hadn't come after him.
Realizing he was closer to their pack enforcer, Carson's home than Declan's, Frankie headed off in that direction. Even with his thick coat, he was getting cold. As he neared the structure, he heard shouting coming from inside the home. It wasn't a voice he recognized. Cocking his head, Frankie took a moment to sit and listen.
The voice belonged to a woman, and she sounded pissed about a guy named Demetri claiming to be gay. She blamed Carson for being a bad example by taking a male mate. Frankie thought that was ridiculous, since their alpha took a male mate long before Carson did. Of course, even Frankie realized that calling your alpha a bad example was beyond stupid. He just didn't think saying it to Carson was any smarter.