“Jonah, I already told you that you didn’t need to knock.”
Jonah looked at Kameron. “I know—it just doesn’t feel right. I’m not a pack member anymore.”
Kameron shrugged before waving him in. “Dominic and Derick aren’t pack members either, yet they come in without knocking.”
“Yeah, well, Dominic is another Alpha.”
Kameron smirked. “But Derick’s not. He’s in the same position as you. He was a pack member, but he mated into the pride. Anyway, I know nothing I tell you will change it, so never mind. How are things going with Keenan? We all saw how fast you got out of here yesterday.”
“We’re fine. We, uh, we mated.” It wasn’t like Jonah had to inform Kameron, but they had been friends once—hopefully still were—and while he liked the cats as much as he could without really knowing them, he missed his old friends. Kameron, Andy, Nicholas and he had been inseparable when they were kids. They had grown apart a bit as they grew up, but they had always been there for each other. He wanted that back.
He knew he had done the right thing when Kameron’s whole face was illuminated by his bright smile. “Really? Congrats, man! You two are perfect for each other!”
Jonah was pulled into a bear hug and Kameron patted his shoulder. It felt... nice, a bit like coming home. “What about you?” Jonah asked once they separated. Kameron’s smile fell.
“You want to know if I found my mate?”
Jonah hesitated. “To be honest I always thought Zach would be perfect for you, but you never told me if he was your mate.” The two were made for each other, as Kameron said about Jonah and Keenan, and it was obvious from the way they looked at each other that deep feelings ran in both of them. Jonah had observed them for a while, but Zach was so very young that he could understand why Kameron hadn’t tried to get closer to him. Of course, the fact that Keenan was only a year older than Zach put everything in a different perspective now.
Kameron raked his hand through his hair, and Jonah could see the tension in him. It made him regret he had mentioned anything, but since he had, maybe it would be good for Kameron if he talked about it to someone.
“I’ve always felt a... pull toward Zach. I never really got to know him until six months ago, though, because I thought he was too young. Still is, of course. After the failed attack Erskine launched on the pride, he came to me and told me that the cats wanted me to challenge Erskine.” Kameron slumped on the couch, and Jonah knew this was going to be bad. The Alpha was usually able to maintain a cool façade, but it had crumbled.
“After that we became really close, especially once Erskine died. I actually thought about asking him if he wanted to be my mate, even though he doesn’t smell like mate to me. It didn’t stop me from falling in love with him, though.” Kameron smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile.
“I thought he felt the same for me, but one day he just... disappeared. He moved in with his sister and stopped talking to me and to anyone else. I tried to talk to him, but he hides in the house, and, well, you’ve seen him.”
Jonah nodded. “Someone is hurting him.”
“Yeah. I’m not sure what I can do about it, though. If he doesn’t want to tell anyone, it’s not like I can barge in the house and get him out of there. I’m the Alpha, I should be able to help him, but because I’m the Alpha, I can’t do it.”
“You can’t, but what about Andy and Nick?”
Kameron grimaced. “Nick can’t do anything. He just accepted the Beta position. Andy could, but I don’t want him to do this alone. Erskine still has too many followers in the pack, and Zach’s sister is mated to one of them. I can’t risk Andy getting hurt, not now that he has found his mate and that Nathan lives with them.”
Jonah could understand that. Not only did Xavier look like a sweet guy, but Nathan was one of the kids they had rescued from the last lab. He needed a safe life, a life where he could be a normal kid, and he had attached himself to Andy. They couldn’t take that away from Nathan.
“I’ll do it. I know I’m not a pack member so it could be a problem, but if you give me the authorization... ”
Kameron slapped Jonah on the arm. “Will you stop with the pack thing? You might be moving into the pride, but you’ll always be a friend and you’ll always be welcome here, at least by those who count.” He looked at Jonah. “If you really want to do this... ”
“I do. I saw Zach, and he’s not doing well. I also think it’s weird that you feel the pull toward him but that he doesn’t smell of mate.” It should be impossible, but Jonah had seen what scientists could do in the labs, so he knew they could have made it possible. “I’ll help him.”
Kameron nodded, and Jonah was happy to see he was relieved. “So, tell me what happened. I want the exact details.”
Chapter Five
The day had been tiring. Jonah had left that morning, and Keenan gotten to work, which meant he had done his normal work for Dominic—answering the phone and emails, scheduling the Alpha’s next week—and on top of that he had checked on the people they had rescued the night before. He hadn’t needed to do that, but he wanted to, especially the kids.
They were all situated, though, and already playing with the pride’s kids. Jared would examine them one at the time, but they seemed to be fine for now. Jared was more worried about the three fox shifters who refused to shift back to their human form. They didn’t feel safe enough to do it for now. Since it wasn’t the first time it had happened, the pride had rooms designed to accommodate them, so they were comfortable, but they couldn’t do much more right now. It was up to them.
Keenan flopped down on the couch in his suite, exhausted. Maybe he should tell Jamie he didn’t want to go dancing. They could reschedule their night out. He didn’t want to, though, no matter how tired he felt. He wanted to go out, have fun and forget about labs and tortured kids for a while. He just wasn’t sure he had the energy to do it.
Someone knocked on the door and Jamie’s head popped in. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be showering?”
Keenan waved his brother in. “I’m tired.”
Jamie threw something at him and Keenan smiled when he saw it was a can of his favorite energy drink. He didn’t like coffee, so he drank those, and he needed one right now. He opened it and drank about half before resting his head on the back of the couch. “So, how angry are you?”
Jamie scowled, but it lasted only a few seconds. “I’m not angry, not really. I told you, I’m just worried you went too fast, but Ward is right. You’re twenty-two, you know what mating entails, and you’re the most stubborn person I know. I just feel like I should protect you, you know?”
Keenan smiled at his brother and got up from the couch, sitting next to Jamie on the other one and hugging him tightly. “I know, and I’m grateful for that, but I do know what I’m doing this time.”
Jamie snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure. I wish this were the first time you told me that, but I can remember when you decided to dye your hair blue. You told me the exact same thing. I know what I’m—”
Keenan slapped his hand on Jamie’s mouth. “Shut up. I knew what I was doing then, too.”
Jamie laughed and tried to talk, but Keenan didn’t move his hand, at least not until he felt a wet tongue sliding on his palm. “Eww, Jamie! You licked me!”
Jamie stuck his tongue out. “You cried the entire night when you saw the result of that dye!”
“Did not!”
“Did, too!”
They both started laughing, and Keenan knew that anyone looking at them would have thought they were crazy. This was them though, and knowing that he would have the possibility to be with his brother for the next hundred years made him happy. “Okay, so I did cry, but I was fourteen!”
“I still remember mom’s face when she saw you the next morning. I thought she would strangle you,” Jamie said between laughs.
“I would have preferred that,” Keenan grumbled. “She made me go
to school with turquoise hair!”
It felt good. Both their lives were so busy lately that they barely had time to talk to each other. That was why Keenan couldn’t back out on their dancing date. He wanted to spend more time with his brother and their friends. “Okay, I’m going to go shower.”
One hour later, Keenan was dressed in his best party clothes—tight jeans and a green T-shirt that mirrored the color of his eyes. He could already feel the beat of music in his limbs, and they weren’t even in the club yet. He looked at their group, a smile on his face. Oliver was there with a grumbling Sebastian. Jamie was with Ward, then there was Jayden, Derick, Darin, Casey and Nolan.
Keenan bounced into the club, his smile never leaving his face. He grabbed Oliver’s hand and pulled him onto the dance floor right away, sticking his tongue out at Sebastian. Sebastian growled a bit, but they both knew it was only a game. Oliver loved his mate, and Keenan would never try anything with him, and not only because of Sebastian. Oliver was like a brother, and it made him shiver in disgust just to think about him in a sexual way.
The beat of the music went straight to Keenan’s core as he pushed through the throng of people dancing, sweating, and kissing. Once they were in the middle of the ocean of bodies, he turned around and moved against Oliver, smiling at him as Oliver grabbed him by the hips. They started dancing together, their bodies touching, but not in a sexual way.
After what felt like hours but had to be only a handful of minutes, Keenan saw Sebastian break through the crowd. He moved away from Oliver, more than happy to let the lovers dance together. He got closer to Jayden, but they didn’t have the same type of close friendship he had with Oliver, so they stayed close, but not too close. Still, it was just fun to let go and dance, and soon he was sweating and panting, but oh-so-happy.
Then Keenan felt a hand land on his ass and squeeze before hot breath bathed his ear. “Want to go to the bathroom?”
Keenan moved, enough to out some distance between his ass and the wandering hand. “No, thank you.” The guy who had asked was cute enough that he would probably have said yes, once upon a time. As he had told Jonah, he had been quite a slut, but meeting Bryce had changed him.
“You sure?” the guy asked again, his gaze roving over Keenan’s body while he licked his upper lip. Keenan shivered, and not in a good way. He didn’t know what it was, but even with the muscles and long hair, the light stubble and the tattoos, there was something that warned him to stay away from that guy.
“Sorry, I’m already taken.” Keenan wished Ward or Sebastian were close to him, but only Jayden was there, and the man was so much smaller that even being a shifter wouldn’t do him any good with this guy.
The man’s eyes hardened a bit, but he turned and walked away. Keenan sighed in relief and turned back to Jayden. He tried to dance again, but his mood was broken. He didn’t know if it was the guy who had touched him or the fact that he was envious at the sight of Jamie and Ward dancing together, so close that a breath of air couldn’t have passed between them, but the result was that he didn’t feel like dancing anymore.
Seeing his brother and his mate made Keenan long for Jonah. He knew he would see him soon, but he still missed him. He smiled to Jayden and pointed in the bar’s direction. He needed to take a break anyway, and maybe he would be able to forget about Jonah and just have fun once he had had a drink or two. He wasn’t planning to get drunk, just a bit tipsy.
Keenan leaned against the bar and waited for the bartender to get to him. He asked for a beer—yeah, the fact that he got tipsy with just a beer or two was ironic given the fact that he had been a bartender himself—and turned around, only to find the guy who had felt him up right behind him. With friends.
Keenan scowled at him and tried to push through the group of four too-tall men, but his suitor was having none of it, and Keenan felt a spark of fear. He knew he was in a public place and that they wouldn’t do anything, but still. He searched the club for Sebastian or Ward, or any of his friends, really, and when he finally saw Casey dancing not far from him, he moved toward him. He didn’t get far.
His suitor grabbed his arm and tried to pull him toward the door. Keenan opened his mouth to scream, but the guy whispered, “You see your friend over there? You wouldn’t want him to get hurt, right?”
Keenan looked over and felt his heart turn to lead when he saw Jayden, his eyes wide and scared, in the arms of one of the men he had seen with his suitor only seconds ago. Jayden’s back was against the man’s chest and the man had a hand close to Jayden’s throat. Even from the distance, Keenan could see the claw glistening in the club’s light, threatening to cut into Jayden’s soft neck.
Putting his beer down on the bar, Keenan nodded. “I’ll come, but leave him alone.”
“Don’t worry about him. We don’t like shifter’s flesh.”
* * * *
Jonah leaned back in his armchair, a beer in his hand and a frown on his face. He had passed most of the day with Elliott, Merle and a Simon still in his wolf form. The guys were doing good, and he was hoping it wouldn’t take too long for Simon to decide to shift.
He had thought about driving back to Whitedell to surprise Keenan, but his mate had gone dancing, and Kameron needed him there. They had set up a meeting with Andy, Nick and Duncan, Derick’s brother, to find a solution to help Zach and to talk about the people they had rescued from the lab. The pregnant women had been sent directly to the council’s hospital, and some of the others had gone to the pride, but Kameron had decided to take in the other wolf shifter, the three kids Andy had found, a raccoon shifter and two humans. The other shifters had been sent to an elk herd somewhere.
Jonah wasn’t part of the pack anymore, but the other guys didn’t seem to have problems with him listening to their conversation.
“Any progress in making the other wolf shift back?” Kameron asked.
Nick shook his head. “No. We still don’t know who he is, but he doesn’t seem to be dangerous. He followed me home without any problems and, well, he settled nicely.” They all could see that Nick was hesitating, and it was weird. The man was a detective. He radiated authority and confidence, and seeing him hesitant didn’t happen often.
“Come on, Nick. Spill it,” Kameron asked.
“I can’t be sure, because he still smells like the lab, but I feel a pull toward him.”
Jonah looked at the other men gathered around Kameron’s coffee table. They all knew what that meant, even if Nick couldn’t be certain without scenting the wolf properly. It was what Kameron felt toward Zach, what Jonah felt toward Keenan.
“He’s your mate?” Kameron asked.
“I think so.” Nick didn’t look overly happy about it. He looked more worried and hesitant.
“Is that a problem?” Jonah asked.
Nick narrowed his eyes at him. “It’s not. I’m just not sure what to do about it. We have to convince him to shift.”
“I thought you had something going on with Nysys,” Andy said.
“God, no. That guy is just... weird. He looks nice enough, but he’s just too much.”
“Things might be easier once Dominic lets us know the wolf’s name and where he comes from,” Jonah said. All the lab’s records were in Isaiah’s hands. He was the pride’s computer genius, and since the pack didn’t have anyone as good as him, he was the one taking care of everything. “I don’t think there’s much you can do for now except give him a safe home where he can rest and heal. Talk to him, be there for him, and he’ll shift back once he’s ready.”
Sure, Jonah wasn’t an expert, but he was old enough to have seen other situations like that. It took a lot for a shifter to refuse to get back to his human form, but it happened, and it was possible to help the wolf and get him to shift back. No one could know how long it would take, though.
The other men talked about the other survivors, but Jonah’s mind was set on Zach and the bruises on his body. “Who does Zach live with?”<
br />
Everyone stopped talking and looked at him. “Stanford. Zach’s sister mated Stan a little while before I challenged Erskine. Zach moved in with them in March,” Kameron answered.
“Stan was part of Erskine’s inner circle. Why would Zach move in with him?”
“He never actually told anyone. He was actually living here with me, then one day he was gone and I found out he had moved in with Stan. He never talked about it with anyone, and we hardly see him anymore.”
Jonah drank his beer, his mind trying to figure out what the problem was. There was no way Zach would have moved in with Stan or any member of Erskine’s inner circle. They were all cruel bastards, and Jonah wished Kameron could kick them out, but even being Alpha didn’t give him that power. The men had to do something to hurt the pack or another pack member to be booted out, and Jonah knew Kameron still hadn’t figured out how to find out what they were up to.
He’d never had much contact with Zach or with his sister, mostly due to the age difference, but he remembered the girl. Ellie couldn’t be more than nineteen years old, which meant she had been barely legal when Stan had mated with her. Matings were a private affair, but in the pack they’d had to have Erskine’s approval, so the man had known what Stan had done. It didn’t surprise Jonah that he had given Stan the permission to mate the girl, but he couldn’t help but wonder about Zach and Ellie’s parents.
They weren’t close to Erskine, and they had always been more interested in keeping their children safe than truly following the old Alpha. Jonah thought it was weird that they’d given permission for their daughter to mate with Stan. “Are they really mates?”
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