Frankie grinned. "Yes, please." Carson extended his arm and Frankie happily took the mug full of dark brown liquid. Taking a large gulp of the hot, bittersweet liquid, he hummed his pleasure.
Walking into the room, Jared chuckled at his reaction. "Like that shit a lot, huh?"
Frankie nodded, watching over the rim of the cup as Demetri followed Jared into the room. Carson looked at him as well and said, "You'll begin tracker training tomorrow. Sound good?"
Demetri looked and smelled surprised. "Rachel will let me after … well … " He glanced away, not finishing the thought.
Jared's grin didn't hold any warmth and actually looked a little creepy. "Oh, there won't be any issues there, Demetri. Carson just reminded her that you are of age to make your own decisions regarding learning a position in the pack."
"Okay," Demetri's whispered word, combined with the scent of trepidation, convinced Frankie that the young wolf wasn't completely certain it'd be that easy.
Wait, a tracker? He'd need to shift a lot better for that. "Do you always shift that slowly?" Frankie asked.
Demetri flushed and looked at the floor. "Yeah. Mom doesn't like to come to the pack runs, so I don't get as much practice as I'd like."
"You can come to the pack runs without her," Frankie pointed out.
His gaze still fixed on the ground, Demetri just shrugged.
Frankie wondered at that, but then returned to his earlier thoughts. "Well, you'll really need to be quicker if you want to be a decent tracker. I've helped cubs learn for years. Do you want to get together and I'll give you some pointers?"
Finally, Demetri lifted his head and met his gaze. He looked almost hopeful. "That'd be great!"
"Cool. When do you start tracker training tomorrow? And who with?"
Demetri looked at Carson for the answer.
"You're to be at Nick's at two in the afternoon," Carson told him.
Frankie thought about his schedule, then remembered Reb had given him tomorrow off. He worked part time at his brother's tattoo shop, cleaning utensils and preparing ink. It was a lot of fun to watch his brother work and see what kind of designs the clients chose.
"How about we meet over there at one instead, and we'll see if we can't speed up your change some, okay?" Frankie suggested.
Grinning, Demetri nodded eagerly. "Thanks. I'd sure appreciate it."
After Demetri had left, Frankie settled in the living room on a sofa, his feet tucked under him, with a fresh cup of hot cocoa. "So, Reb said you wanted to tell me something about Dobs?" he asked, clutching his mug. He had worked very hard to avoid thinking about his mate.
Jared blew on his steaming mug of coffee and lifted a brow while looking at Carson. Grimacing, Carson leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. "We only know the bare bones. Hopefully, if you ask Dobs about it, he'll be willing to explain more." The mated pair exchanged another look, then Carson continued, "Dobs' mother and a number of other vampires in his coven were killed when he was young, I'm not sure how old, by rogue shifters. His father was human, and because his parents mated for pleasure, he lived on, but he held a hateful grudge against all shifters until the day he died. He passed that grudge on to Dobs."
"According to Caspian," Jared added, "Dobs has become more tolerant since he's mated Casey, forcing Dobs to spend time with a shifter, but I can't imagine he liked the idea of finding out his beloved is a wolf shifter."
Frankie's grip tightened on his cup. His wolf whined mentally, and he had to agree. "My mate doesn't want me, does he?"
Carson glared at his mate. "Subtle, Jared," he growled.
Jared rolled his eyes and scowled at Carson. "Should I sugar coat this? Dobs is opinionated, hard-headed, and conditioned to dislike shifters." He returned his focus to Frankie. "You have your work cut out for you. I'm not saying it won't be worth it, Frankie, but you have to understand, this might be very difficult on you and your wolf."
Frankie nodded slowly. "Okay." He nibbled his lip, then took a sip of his cocoa, trying to process everything the men had dumped on him. He knew he was slow, but he could understand this. He just needed a minute. Finally, he said, "So, I need to decide if it's worth trying to change my mate's mind about … um … all the stuff he grew up with?"
"Afraid so," Carson replied softly.
He frowned and stared at the brown liquid in his cup. The marshmallows had melted and now created pools of white across the surface. He stuck his finger into it and whirled his finger around, creating swirls.
"Frankie." Carson's gentle tone broke into his thoughts.
He sighed. He didn't know what to do. "What happens if he never accepts my wolf?"
Carson stood, crossed the room, and settled next to him. "You have a great support system here, Frankie. Yes, you'll end up depressed, but you have your brother and your pack, and we would help you through it."
Frankie took a sip of his cocoa, then nodded. "Thanks." He figured that was the only thing he could say. He wanted a mate. His wolf wanted a mate. Frankie just didn't know if he wanted a surly bigoted vampire as his mate. Had Fate screwed up?
He really didn't know what to do.
Chapter Five
Dobs prowled the room. "Why hasn't he called," he snarled.
Lex smirked, actually smirked at him! "Maybe because you insulted him and he's pissed off at you," he stated.
Pausing in the middle of the hotel room suite's sitting room, Dobs growled at his friend. "Ass."
"No, that'd be you," Lex told him glibly.
Sneering, he started pacing again. He could still feel his beloved's blood singing through his veins. He'd never tasted a shifter before and didn't know if the strength and power he felt was due to that or the fact Frankie was his other half. He hated waiting at the best of times, but with more energy running through his body than he'd had in months, his cock was hard and all he could think about was tracking the shifter down and fucking him into submission.
"You know, you could swallow your pride and call him," Lex pointed out.
Dobs scowled at his friend. "Reb said he'd give my number to Frankie. You don't think he did?"
Lex rolled his eyes. "Gods above, you're dense. Of course, Reb gave Frankie your number. My question is, why would he call you when you've already made it clear you think he's an animal?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "I did hear what happened you know."
Grimacing, Dobs ran a hand through his hair and muttered, "He turned into a wolf right in front of me with no warning. I wasn't ready to face that, yet."
"Damn it, man," Lex snapped, leaping to his feet. He stalked forward and smacked Dobs upside the head as he said, "He defended you from his own brother. He's willing to accept you, no questions asked, and that's how you repay his open-mindedness? With insults?"
Dobs glared and strode to a chair. He flopped back onto the cushion and crossed his arms over his chest. Leaning his head back against the rest, he let his eyelids close and struggled to control his increased heartbeat. He felt shame at his behavior, his treatment of his beloved. The problem was, even if he'd known Frankie was about to shift, he wasn't certain he'd have acted any differently.
It'd been ingrained so deeply in his mind to think shifters were inferior, no more than animals while in that form. Dobs knew in his head that they were rational, attentive beings while in animal form, but to have one pressed up against his leg, growling, even if not at him, triggered every alarm in his body. If any of the shifters had bothered to smell him instead of listening to his cold, cruel words, Dobs knew what they'd have scented. Fear. He'd known it, and that knowledge had caused him to lash out at all of them.
Damn it all. Could he admit this to his friend? He saw the way Lex looked at him, with frustration and disgust. Screwing up his courage, he mumbled, "It freaked me out, okay? I reacted poorly."
"It … freaked … you … out?" Lex repeated. After several heartbeats of silence, where Dobs refused to confirm or deny the statement, Lex demanded, "What the hell does that mean?"