by Shea Balik
His mate tried to hide the attraction he felt, even going so far as to turn his lower half away from him so the bulge in his groin wasn’t visible, but Trygg had noticed. “Like I would stoop to compliment a mangy dog,” Kellach shot back. “Did you just roll out of bed and figure what was the point of brushing your hair, or shaving?”
That Kellach tried to insult him didn’t even matter. Trygg wasn’t vain, but he knew he looked good in a rough sort of way. He kept his hair short in an unkempt military style, mostly because he couldn’t be bothered to get his hair cut, so he had the barber give him a buzz cut and then let it grow out for about two or three months before taking the time to repeat the process.
His facial hair was scruffy since he hated shaving. The most he would do was run an electric shaver over it every couple of weeks. Right now, it had been about a week so he was just getting to the point of having an actual beard.
As far as his body went, Trygg kept in shape. If he wasn’t on a job, he worked out to the point of exhaustion. It was the only way the nightmares that plagued him for his sins stayed at bay long enough for him to get a few hours of sleep each night.
“Are you interested in seeing what I look like as I roll out of bed, pretty kitty?” Trygg dropped his voice an octave. “Because I have to say, I’d love to see what you look like all stretched out naked in my bed in the morning.”
The shiver that shook Kellach’s body had Trygg’s grin widening. Kellach could try and act like he wasn’t affected by meeting his mate, but Trygg wasn’t about to let him get away with it.
Lust flared to life in those lavender eyes but instead of acknowledging it, Kellach turned fully back to the counter. “You might want to consider a no dog policy for the diner, Jari. They tend to bring in fleas,” he said to the man in the kitchen boxing up the burger and fries Trygg had ordered to go.
The man sitting next to Kellach on one of the stools at the counter snorted in derision. “They’re better than cats and we allow you in here.”
Jari walked out of the kitchen with bag in hand, laughing. “Hey, my mate’s a cat. You better watch what you say Iniko or you’re liable to be forced to face Lucca in the ring for insulting him.”
Iniko shrugged. “I’m not worried. You have him wrapped around your finger and you’d never let him hurt one of your friends.”
Jari handed Trygg his to-go bag. “That would be true but when you insult my mate, I’m willing to let him knock you around a little.”
“Please,” Kellach said. “It would only take one punch for Lucca to knock Iniko on his ass. I should know,” Kellach said as he showed off a bruise to his upper arm that looked fresh. “I faced him this morning in the ring.”
Trygg growled low and menacingly. His hands gripped the bag tightly as he imagined it was Lucca’s neck. He may not know the man, other than what he read in the files he had on these men, but Trygg was more than willing to show the man what he thought about picking on those smaller and weaker.
All eyes widened at him, except for Kellach’s. Those lavender eyes glared at him in warning. “Shut it dog. No one wants your opinion.”
The problem with that was Trygg wasn’t one to take warnings well. He tended to think of them as more of a challenge. Clearly Kellach didn’t want the others to know they were mates. Trygg issued his own warning by grinning at his mate and giving him a wink. “Not in this lifetime, mate.” He made sure to emphasize the last word so that the others clearly heard him.
Fire blazed in Kellach’s gaze but Trygg ignored it as he stepped right up to his mate and leaned down until he could feel Kellach’s breath upon his face. “As much as I want to continue this little battle of wills, I have somewhere to be, but don’t worry, my pretty kitty, I’ll find you later so we can discuss our mating.”
Trygg had planned on walking away at that point but the temptation of those lush lips were just too much to ignore. He closed the small distance and took Kellach’s mouth in a heated kiss that had him rethinking his original plan of giving his mate the space he so clearly needed and claiming him right there in the diner.
It was a close call, but somehow Trygg managed to back away from the softest, sweetest lips he’d ever tasted. The small whimper of dismay that Kellach gave when Trygg stood up gave him hope that he was doing the right thing. It was obvious Kellach wanted him. Now all Trygg had to do was knock down whatever walls his mate had put up regarding mates, or dogs, or whatever else that was stopping him from accepting Trygg as his mate.
“I’ll be seeing you, my pretty kitty,” he whispered. With far more effort than he ever thought he’d need, Trygg turned his back on his mate and walked out of the diner to his cherished Ducati Globetrotter.
If he was going to leave the Council as one of their trackers, which, now that he’d found his mate who happened to be the man he was tracking, Trygg most certainly was, he’d need to make plans. There was zero doubt in his mind when he didn’t report back to the Council they would either assume he’d died or run. Either way, they would send another tracker in his place to go after the five men Trygg had been sent to kill.
Five men Trygg had no intention of letting anyone get close enough to kill, as one of them was his mate. It wouldn’t be easy to stop, but Trygg was up to the challenge of keeping Kellach safe from harm. He hadn’t trained most of his life under the corruption of the Council without learning all of their tricks.
Swinging his leg over his bike, Trygg started the motor, loving the feel of the thrumming engine between his legs. With one last look at the diner where his mate was, Trygg turned his bike toward the homes he knew housed the Alpha, Edrick Rapp. If he had any hope of keeping Kellach alive, he was going to need to come clean to Edrick. He just hoped the Alpha didn’t try to kill him for his role in the Council’s treachery.
CHAPTER 3
“Did he just say mate?” Jari asked.
A beeping from Harper’s phone stopped Kellach from having to answer the question he didn’t want to talk about. In fact, he’d like to kill his mate for saying a word.
“Damn it,” Harper cursed. “I have to go meet Nole and Hudson to look for our ghost.” Harper swung around to the cooler he’d been loading the pies into earlier and made sure everything was in order before turning back to Kellach. “I can’t believe you’ve found your mate and I can’t even stay around to hear about it.” Harper shoved a finger his way. “But promise me you will tell me all about it later.”
Kellach wasn’t about to promise any such thing. “Since there is nothing to tell, you aren’t going to miss anything,” he said instead.
“Wait a minute.” Iniko held his hand up as if that would stop everything in its tracks. “Are you telling me you actually are going to go chase ghosts instead of staying to talk about Kellach finding his mate?”
Harper appeared torn. “I promised to be there and Hudson is depending on me to help him find that ghost again.”
Iniko shook his head. “I thought you were just humoring Hudson with his crazy hunt.”
Harper scowled at his friend. “Hudson isn’t crazy.”
“There’s also no such thing as ghosts, but apparently that doesn’t stop any of you from acting that way,” Kellach said. “You know you really shouldn’t encourage Hudson in his search for something that doesn’t exist.”
“But we found a ghost,” Harper insisted.
Kellach had already heard everything about it when Harper and Nole had discussed it in great length at dinner the night they had supposedly caught the ghost on the infrared camera. “Did you actually see the ghost, or just a bunch of colors that Hudson has convinced you means it is something otherworldly?”
For a moment Harper appeared ready to argue, then his face fell. “But…I mean I saw…” Harper didn’t finish. His gaze darted from Kellach, to Iniko, then to Jari, who apparently took pity on him.
“Just because Kellach and Iniko are too jaded to believe in things like ghosts doesn’t mean Hudson isn’t right about what you saw.” Jari glared
at Kellach. “Go ahead and meet Nole and Hudson, I’ll fill you in on Kellach’s mate later.”
Harper gave Jari a grateful smile before running out of the diner and across the one paved road the town had to where Kellach could see Hudson and Nole setting up the equipment near the two buildings that had yet to either collapse, or been knocked down by Chadwick’s crew.
When Kellach had first arrived in Miracle with his friends Edrick, Lucca, Chadwick, and Hudson they’d been afraid if they so much as breathed on the buildings they’d fall over. Since then, improvements were being made, mainly by knocking down the few buildings that had been standing and building new.
Since they had started on this side of the road, it had been decided to wait to knock down the two buildings on the other side of the road that hadn’t fallen down already until they were done with the diner and grocery store.
“Was it really necessary to say that to Harper?” Jari chastised both Kellach and Iniko. “Hasn’t he been through enough in his life that you really need to dash his dream of seeing a ghost?”
“But they aren’t real,” Iniko said, clearly perplexed with Jari’s statement. “Why would letting him believe in something imaginary help him?”
Jari gave a sigh and shook his head sadly. “Because, moron, it makes him happy.”
Kellach wasn’t sure why that should matter. Nothing that had made him happy was ever allowed. Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d done anything that had made him even smile, much less happy. Still, one thing he’d learned in the short time Jari had been with them. The mouse shifter may jump at just about everything after having been tortured by his former Alpha, but Jari wasn’t one to back down, especially when it came to defending someone he felt needed it.
“Whatever,” Kellach said. “Now, can we get back to my problem.”
“You mean that you’ve found your mate and practically rejected him?” Jari said before grinning wickedly. “At least you did before he gave you that toe curling kiss, then you practically threw yourself at him.”
Kellach groaned. “Toe curling? Really?” Kellach wasn’t about to admit his toes curled hard enough to give him a cramp. “And no. I was talking about what I’m supposed to do around here that doesn’t involve construction.”
“Yeah, riiiggghtt,” Iniko drawled out. “Let’s talk about that instead of the sinfully sexy wolf shifter that practically claimed you right here at this counter with us watching.”
Kellach stood up, but Iniko put a hand on his arm to stop him. “Wait, I was just joking,” he said laughing. “I’ll be good, promise.” When Iniko made a cross over his heart, Kellach knew he couldn’t trust him, but he was desperate to not have to continue doing construction.
“Fine,” Kellach said as he sat back down. “But no talking about the dog.”
Iniko pretended to lock his lips and throw away the key. Too bad Jari didn’t do the same. “His name is Trygg,” Jari said.
Kellach stilled. Trygg. Damn it, why did it matter? And why did his insides melt as he said the name in his head?
Both Iniko and Jari burst out laughing. “If you want me to keep my promise you need to stop saying stuff like that,” Iniko warned him, alerting Kellach that he once again was unable to keep his thoughts from spilling out. “But seriously. What about what Trygg suggested? A tavern with some games to keep us occupied during our down time.”
It was actually a good idea. In order to meet men, Kellach often went to human bars. His only criteria in picking a bar was that it had to be gay friendly and as far from home as he could manage. If only he’d remembered that fact the last time he’d gone out to get laid.
Then again, he hadn’t actually meant to allow himself to be picked up by the handsome stranger when he’d stopped for gas on his way to hook up at a bar another two hours from home. If Kellach hadn’t of waited so long between hook ups he probably wouldn’t have succumbed to the sexy human who had hit on him at the gas station.
He still wasn’t sure who had seen him and ratted him out to his father, but then again, it didn’t really matter. Kellach had been stupid and allowed himself to get caught. If Edrick and Lucca hadn’t of shown up when they did, Kellach would have paid the ultimate price for that mistake. As it was, his father had made sure to make every blow as painful as possible by wearing spiked brass knuckles when he’d started hitting him.
“What kind of entertainment?” Jari asked. “I mean, a pool table makes sense, but there’s not a whole let else to do in a bar is there?”
Forcing himself to push thoughts of his father out of his head, Kellach answered. “Depends on the type of bar. We can have TV’s set up to watch sports.”
“Or have Walking Dead marathons,” Jari said excitedly. “I have missed that show since…” Jari’s voice faded away, most likely as he thought about all he’d been through due to his former alpha.
“That sounds fun,” Iniko said. “I love that show. There’s also darts and cards.”
The more they talked, the more Kellach started to become excited about opening up a bar. “There is one problem guys.” Kellach’s gaze went first to Iniko, then Jari. “Alcohol doesn’t exactly affect shifters. What am I supposed to serve?”
Iniko waved a hand at him and gave a pfft. “Please. I’ve been with Kirill’s men most nights and trust me, they drink. It may not exactly get shifters drunk, but apparently that doesn’t stop them from trying.” His friend’s eyes lit up. “In fact, with the way they drink, you should make a boatload of money.”
Kellach wasn’t sure owning a bar was exactly his dream, but he had to admit, providing a place for everyone to relax and have a good time sounded interesting. “Okay.” He slapped his hand on the counter. “I’ll talk to Edrick and see if he’ll agree to this.”
Not that he doubted one of his best friends since they were in diapers would say no, but still, Edrick was their Alpha and as such needed to approve his plan. “Wish me luck, boys,” Kellach said as he slid off his chair and headed for home. As he walked toward the house they had somewhat restored for the five friends and their mates to live when they first moved to Miracle, Kellach realized he was smiling.
A real, honest, happy smile.
CHAPTER 4
“Edrick,” Kellach called as he entered the front door of their house. “I need a favor and you can’t say no.” Well, he could, but Kellach wasn’t going to accept anything but a yes, even if he had to cry to get his way.
That was something his friends had never been good at dealing with. Seeing someone cry was like their version of kryptonite. Not that Kellach used it – often. But he had found it came in handy from time to time. He just had to be sure his father wouldn’t catch him doing something so weak. Again, his father’s words, not Kellach’s.
He strode down the hall to Edrick’s office and slammed to a halt when he stepped through the door to find Trygg sitting across the desk from Edrick. Those firm lips Kellach hadn’t been able to stop thinking of since that kiss were curved up into a smirk. Somehow he managed to move his gaze up to Trygg’s golden brown eyes, which were staring at him knowingly.
Damn the man.
“Hello, pretty kitty.” Trygg’s deep voice sent shivers down Kellach’s spine.
Pissed that he couldn’t stop acting like some lovesick fool around his mate, Kellach glared at Trygg. “Stop calling me that.” He refused to admit how much he liked it when Trygg used the endearment.
Trygg’s lips lifted up even further and Edrick stared at Kellach as if he’d lost his mind. “Then maybe you shouldn’t say it out loud, especially in front of him,” Edrick said.
Kellach closed his eyes and prayed he’d wake up from the nightmare he’d found himself in. There was no way he had said that out loud. Could this day get any worse?
When Trygg chuckled and Edrick practically choked trying to stop himself from laughing, Kellach knew he’d done it again. Not about to face either man, he turned on his heel and headed right back out of the door.
St
rong arms wrapped around him from behind and Kellach didn’t think, he just reacted. Pivoting his hips, he tossed whoever had dared come up from behind onto him ass. A glance down had Kellach’s day suddenly looking up. There on the ground, looking up at him in disbelief was Trygg.
“As I already tried to tell you,” Edrick said as he leaned against the doorframe of his office with his arms crossed over his chest. “Kellach can take care of himself.”
Kellach narrowed his gaze on Trygg. “You talked to Edrick about me?” He didn’t need to wait for Trygg’s answer, he could see the guilt in those golden brown eyes for himself. “You had no right.”
In one swift motion that defied all laws of physics, Trygg rose to his feet until he was towering over Kellach. “I have every right. Whether you want to admit it or not, I’m your mate.” There was a touch of anger in Trygg’s tone that indicated the man wasn’t happy about Kellach rejecting him.
Not that Kellach could exactly blame him. Mates were supposed to be sacred, something a shifter couldn’t just deny. Which was why Kellach had never understood why the Council insisted mates deny each other if they were the same sex. It was a death sentence either way. To deny one’s mate would cause a shifter to become more animal than human and the Council would have no choice but to order that shifter’s death before someone got hurt.
Yet, even knowing that, Kellach denied his mate. “I don’t care what you seem to think. I am not about to be mated to you, so get the fuck out of Miracle before I’m forced to put you on your ass, again.”
Trygg leaned just a little bit closer, as if boxing Kellach in. “You might have been able to best me once, my pretty kitty, but it won’t happen again.” As if to prove himself, Trygg moved forward, forcing Kellach to back up until his back was to the wall. With a hand on the wall of either side of Kellach’s head, Trygg pressed his body into Kellach’s.
The heat pouring off that hard muscled body had Kellach biting his cheek to stop himself from moaning. Yet Trygg didn’t stop there. He leaned further in until their lips were just touching. “I will give you the time you seem to need to come to grips with our mating, but mark my words, pretty kitty. We are mates and one day soon I will sink my cock into that tight pert ass of yours.”
