“Okay. But I don’t understand what you want from me, honey.”
“I found my mate.” Nolan knew he wasn’t very clear, but he hoped his mom would understand.
“That’s wonderful! What is he? I assume it’s a he, right?” God, how he loved his parents! They hadn’t batted an eyelash when he told them he was gay all those years ago, and now they had no problems with Casey being a man.
“Yes, he’s a man. He’s a cheetah. But what I wanted to ask you is…why was I never interested in sex? What if he doesn’t want me because of that?” Nolan waited, hoping his parents had an answer to this question. It had somehow become the most important thing in his life right now, even after all he had been through. He needed to know he could be what Casey needed him to be, and the bigger problem about that was the physical aspect for now.
“Well, now that you met your mate you won’t have that problem anymore.”
“What? Okay, mom, why don’t you start from the beginning? Because it seems to me that I’m missing something important.”
“I guess you don’t know, since we live apart from other cat shifters and you never asked, but now I feel guilty for not telling you.” Nolan’s mom sighed. “You see, cat shifters are very…prolific.”
Nolan couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped him. “Mom, I have twelve siblings, I know you’re prolific!”
He could hear the smile in his mom’s voice when she answered, “Yes, well, all cat shifters are that way, so I guess Mother Nature found a way to limit the number of kittens we have. That’s why cat shifters are not interested in sex until they meet their mates. I guess the mate in question activates the production of hormones that remained dormant until he came along.”
“You mean I didn’t have testosterone until I met Casey?” That explained why he had little to no body hair and no muscles to speak of.
“No, you had it, but the quantity was highly reduced, just enough for your growth to be normal and to have a little sex drive. Then you met your Casey and the production increased and it will continue to increase until it reaches a normal level.”
Nolan didn’t know what to think. “How could I not know this?”
His dad sighed. “I’m sorry, son. Maybe we should have told you, but it didn’t seem important at the time. We thought we would be there for you when you met your mate.”
“No, it’s okay, I guess. I just…I would have preferred to know it. I always thought I wasn’t normal. I even told Casey I didn’t want to mate with him because of that!”
“Oh, honey! How did he take it?”
“Surprisingly fine. He kissed me to show me that things would be different with him, and I guess he was right.” Nolan blushed. He was so not going to give his mom details!
“So, where is this pride of yours?”
“I’m not sure, actually, but I know I’m in Whitedell.”
“Ah, the Whitedell pride. That’s in southern Wyoming. I know of their Alpha. I’m going to call him and check with him if we can come and see you. It’s been too long, Nolan.”
“I know dad, I missed you too. I’m sure Dominic will have no problems with you coming here—he seems like a good Alpha. He asked me to stay here for a while to see if I can remember where that lab is. He told me I’m not the only shifter they know who has been captured.”
“We’ll see you in a few days, then. Just give us the time to check with your siblings.”
Nolan groaned. “Please, don’t bring the whole family! This house is already full of shifters.”
Nolan’s mom chuckled. “We’ll see, but I think at least Austin, Glenn and Billy will want to come.”
“Okay, but just them. I’ll see everyone else when I come home.”
“Nolan…where are you going to live from now on?” his mom asked.
“I don’t know, mom. I haven’t really talked to Casey about it, or about anything else, actually. I was too concentrated on the sex problem. Now that I know I’ll be fine, I look forward to getting to know him. I’ll tell you as soon as I can.”
“Don’t worry about us, honey. Whitedell is not that far away from here, and if you decide to stay there we can always come and visit and you can do the same. Everything will turn out all right.”
Nolan said goodbye to his parents, his heart finally free of all his fears. His life was taking a good turn. He was free, and he had a mate. Now, where was that mate, though?
* * * *
Casey was still in the kitchen talking with Derick when he heard Nolan yelling for him.
“Casey? Casey!”
Derick smirked at him. “Is that him?”
“Yeah.”
“Marco!”
Who the fuck was Marco now? Casey growled at the idea of his mate calling another man, but he quickly stopped himself. Damn, he had never been this growly and close to his cat before.
“Marco!” Nolan’s voice was nearer now.
“Who is Marco? Is that a pride member?” Casey asked Derick. The man outright laughed at him.
“No, I think he’s playing Marco Polo.”
“Huh?”
“He’s looking for you.” Then Derick started yelling, “Polo!” and Casey wondered if everyone had gone crazy. Well, he didn’t know his mate that well, so maybe for him it was normal. It sure was for Derick.
Nolan’s head appeared at the door as he peeked inside, his smile widening when he saw Casey sitting there. He literally bounced to Casey, plopping down on his lap. Casey didn’t know what Nolan’s parents had told him, but he had made a complete change in the way he behaved.
“Nolan, what happened?” Casey asked cautiously, not sure if he liked this cheerful Nolan. No, wait. Casey liked this Nolan, but he wanted to know why he was behaving like everything was right in the world.
“I talked with my mom and she explained my little sex problem to me.”
A laugh escaped Derick’s mouth. “Sex problem?”
“Oh, hi, I’m Nolan, Casey’s mate.” Nolan leaned in before jerking back and plastering himself to Casey. “You’re a wolf!”
Derick chuckled. “Yeah, I know. Don’t worry, I already had the cats and dogs conversation with my mate. He’s not exactly a cat, but it’s a near match.”
“You’re mated with a cat?”
“Nate is a jaguar.”
The two men started chatting as if they were best friends, leaving a stunned Casey with more questions than answers. He really wanted to know what Nolan’s mother had told him, damn it! Would it be considered rude if he threw Nolan over his shoulder and hauled him up to his room? Casey’s cheetah liked that plan, and Casey had about decided to get on with it when Nate appeared at the door. There goes the plan.
“Casey? Dominic told me about your mate.” Nate turned to Nolan. “Hello, I’m Nate, Beta of this pride.”
Nolan looked from Derick to Nate before answering the question. “I’m Nolan. Do I talk with you about my parents coming to visit?”
Nate looked a little stunned, but he went with the flow.
Mating Derick had been good for the Beta, Casey thought. He was more relaxed than before, while still being very professional. “I don’t think there will be any problems, just tell me how many people are coming and their names.”
“Do you have a pen?”
“A pen? Why?”
“Because if my siblings are all coming you will need to write their names down.”
“All?” Casey was nearly scared to ask. “Just how many siblings do you have?”
“Well, I have three litter mates.” Okay, that wasn’t so bad. “Then there’s the older litter. That’s another four, and the younger litter, they’re five. And I’m not sure if my sisters will bring their mates and kids,” Nolan answered, tapping his chin with his finger. “I told them not to all come, but I’m not sure if they’ll listen to me.”
Nate and Derick looked at Casey, their eyes wide, and Derick murmured, “Better you than me, Casey.”
“How many…how many people are there in your immediate family, Nolan?”
“Let’s see…counting me, twenty five.” Nolan looked at Casey, clearly not understanding what the problem was. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“Uh, no, I just…shifter families are usually a lot smaller.” Nolan’s smile fell a bit and a twinge of guilt pierced Casey’s heart. “But that’s great, love. You have enough family for the both of us. I’m glad since I don’t have one, except for the pride.” The endearment slipped past Casey’s lips, but it was too late to stop it. Luckily Nolan focused on the other part of Casey’s speech.
“What happened to your family?”
Nate cleared his throat beside them. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Dominic was wondering if you’re feeling well enough to come in his office and talk about what happened to you. The nearest pack’s Alpha arrived a little while ago.”
“Oh, sure. I’m fine. But I don’t know how much I can help them.”
“We just need you to try.”
Casey and Nolan followed Nate and Derick. The couple ahead of them was talking about Derick’s wolf friends, giving a little time for Casey to ask the question that had been bothering him.
“So, what did your mom say?” he whispered to his mate. Nolan answered with a blinding smile that made Casey’s knees go weak.
“She said all cat shifters are like that until they find their mates. We’ll be fine.”
Before Casey could ask more questions they entered Dominic’ office. The lion was waiting for them together with two wolves. Casey didn’t know the bigger one. He assumed it was Kameron, since they were expecting the Alpha, but he recognized Zach. The small wolf had taken part in the attack against the pride, but it turned out he had been forced to do it and lied to, so Dominic had forgiven him.
Everyone exchanged the usual greetings and Dominic turned to Nolan. “Tell us what you remember.”
“Like I told you before, I don’t know much. I was captured in Colorado Springs. The person who took me trapped me in a dark sack so I couldn’t see anything, and they released me only once we were already in the lab. We did travel for a bit, but I couldn’t tell you how long since they drugged me. Once I was in the lab, they experimented to see how fast I healed and how my body reacted to certain situations. I was actually one of the lucky ones.” Nolan’s head hung down, his gaze on his hands. “They amputated body parts from some of the others to see if they grew back.”
Casey couldn’t help but reach for his mate’s hand. He wanted to comfort Nolan, but he didn’t know how. What more could he do? Nolan seemed to be okay with the simple touch, though, because he squeezed back and gave Casey a sad smile before continuing, “They didn’t care whether we were in human or shifter form, although I think for some of the guards it was easier to see us as animals. That’s how they treated us, anyway.” Nolan chuckled, but it was not a happy sound. “One of the corners of my cage was covered in newspapers and when they fed me it was in a bowl.”
All the men in the room stayed silent. If they were like Casey, they didn’t know what to do. He wanted to follow his cat’s instinct and lash out at the men who had done this, but it wasn’t an option right now, and he had to stay calm for his mate.
“One day one of the guards came to me. He was one of those who tried to never hurt us, one of the kindest. He told me he would take me with him when he went home that day, and that’s what he did. He took me from my cage and put me in his car, under the seat, so I didn’t see where we were, but the trip in to town took about an hour, I think. He told me he wished he could do more, but that the scientists suspected someone was helping shifters, so he just dumped me in an alley. That’s where the lady found me. You know the rest.”
Casey couldn’t help it. He knew they weren’t that close yet, but the hopeless look on Nolan’s face and his haunted expression crushed him. He wanted to comfort his mate so he grabbed him and hauled him up, pulling him on his lap and circling his waist with his arm. Nolan stiffened at first but he soon settled against Casey’s chest, his nose in Casey’s neck. Casey rubbed his back as he laid his head on Nolan’s dark hair and looked at Dominic.
“Thank you for telling us, Nolan,” the lion said softly. “Why don’t you go and rest now. We’ll see you later.” He nodded at Casey to take Nolan away. Gripping Nolan, Casey stood up and exited the room.
Chapter Three
“You don’t have to buy me so many things! I’m sure my parents are bringing me my stuff.” As much as it embarrassed Nolan, though, he actually liked being taken care of, but it didn’t mean he wanted Casey to go bankrupt just to buy him clothes.
“I told you I can afford it, so don’t worry.” They were in the small Whitedell mall. Casey had insisted that Nolan come to buy some clothes and other necessities he needed right now, but Nolan hadn’t realized he was going to go overboard. By now he had enough clothes to last him at least two weeks, way more than he really needed. To be honest, this shopping spree was making him a little uncomfortable. He still hadn’t talked to Casey about their mating. Were they going to mate, now that they knew that Nolan’s problem wasn’t a problem anymore? And if they did mate, where were they going to live? Nolan knew Casey had said that he was willing to move, but was that really the case? It surely looked like he wanted Nolan to move here instead.
“Yeah, but if you buy me too much stuff, it will be a problem when I have to take it back home.”
Nolan knew it had been the wrong thing to say when Casey went from smiling to frowning. He hadn’t meant to push, but he needed to know if he was going to go back with his parents tomorrow.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Casey. I—”
“Like what? Like you’ve already decided to go back home?” Casey’s tone was hard.
“Yeah. What I meant is that if you decide you don’t want me—”
Casey grabbed Nolan’s arm and dragged him toward the bathroom. Once there he checked whether all the stalls were empty before turning back to Nolan. “Why do you think I don’t want you? I told you I would do anything to make you feel comfortable, even if I have to move for that. What more do I have to do to convince you of it?” Casey raked his hand in his hair, clearly frustrated.
Nolan hesitated, but then he decided that even if this wasn’t the most ideal place to talk about this, he had to be honest. “But why have you stopped touching me, then?” he asked softly, afraid to hear the answer. He wasn’t used to all this relationship stuff!
Casey’s eyes widened. “I thought you needed time. I didn’t want to push you to do things you didn’t want to, and I know you’re new to relationships. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or make it seem like I’m pushing you to do things you’re not ready for yet.”
Nolan’s heart melted a little bit more—the man really looked hurt that Nolan could have thought he was going to leave him. “Okay. I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m new at relationships, but I don’t want you to hold back, either.” He sighed. “I think we both need to agree we want this and take it one step at a time.”
“I know I want you, Nolan.” Nolan looked up from his hands and saw that Casey had come nearer. “If you’re saying you’re okay with me touching you, then I won’t hold back anymore.” He raised his hand and cupped Nolan’s cheek.
Nolan blushed. “I…I don’t want you to stop, but I’m not sure how far I can go for now.” Nolan was scared that his body would betray him and stop reacting to Casey’s touch, maybe just in the middle of their lovemaking. He knew his mom had told him that it wouldn’t happen with his mate, but still.
“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything you don’t want.” Casey leaned down and feathered his lips on Nolan’s, softly and gently. Casey licked Nolan’s lips until he finally opened them, then he dove in, slowly stroking Nolan’s tongue with his own.
Suddenly Nolan got over whatever was holding him back. With a grunt, he pushed Casey against the tiled wall. He didn’t know what
possessed him to make him so aggressive, but he did know he wanted Casey like he had never wanted anyone before. Deepening the kiss, Nolan slid his hands under Casey’s shirt, seeking hot flesh. Yes! The feeling of Casey’s skin under his fingertips made Nolan’s cock twitch in his pants. He had been hard from the beginning, since Casey’s lips had touched his, and he couldn’t seem to find a good reason to wait right now. Besides, Casey wasn’t complaining. Casey had his hands on Nolan’s ass, kneading each cheek as Nolan moved his hands to Casey’s back and plastered their bodies together, hissing when their hard cocks came together.
He explored with his hands, as he tried to get even closer to Casey, tried to crawl into the man, their tongues dueling as they both pushed for control. Just as Nolan instinctively decided to give Casey the lead, a door slammed in the distance, making them both jump and come back to reality. Nolan tried to step away and put some distance between them, but Casey was having none of that. He kept his arms firmly around Nolan’s waist, hugging him tightly and giving him one last peck on the lips.
“We’ll continue this at home, okay, love?”
Nolan nodded in response and Casey guided him out of the bathroom. He kept their hands together and Nolan couldn’t help but look down at them. He had never been one for PDAs, but it felt so damn good. Not everyone in his previous relationships had had the guts to let everybody see that they were boyfriends, and Nolan saw the looks they got as they continued to shop. Not all of them were bad, though. One of the clerks in the next shop they went in didn’t seem to have problems with them being together.
“You two are hot together!” she whispered to Nolan.
But most of the looks made him feel self-conscious, so he tried to get his hand away from Casey’s, but the man didn’t let go.
“I don’t care what everybody thinks. If they don’t like it, then they shouldn’t be looking. I don’t check them out when they make out with their girlfriends, so why should holding your hand be a problem?”
Nolan Page 4
