by Jana Downs
A low chuckle rumbled through Logan’s chest. “You’re going to protect me? All five four of you?”
Jude smiled, rubbing his face against Logan’s pecs. “Yeah well, I’m feisty.”
“No arguments there, sweet.” Logan kissed the top of his head. “Okay. Let’s get washed up and then go cuddle for a little bit before I have to leave.”
The thought of Logan leaving didn’t sit well with Jude despite the fact that he understood exactly why he needed to. He would’ve given a lot to lie next to the man all night, but that was okay. There would be plenty of time for them to do that in the future. If he knew nothing else, he knew that he wasn’t giving Logan up anytime soon.
* * * *
“You got that moonstruck heifer look again,” Orion drawled as Logan sent yet another text message to Jude. “Damn, man, you got it bad.” They’d been seeing one another every few days for the past two weeks. Logan had half expected some bump in the road, some realization that there were problems about their relationship. But they hadn’t come up. Their dates were great, the sex was phenomenal, and the few times they’d had arguments had always resolved in kisses and the best makeup sex any two people had had in the history of the planet. He was happy.
“Shut up,” Logan said, not looking up from his phone. “When you find your mate, you won’t be so keen to run that mouth.”
Orion rolled his eyes and took a swig out of his orange juice. “Yeah well, I hope I don’t get fucking a mate.”
“Language,” Logan rumbled. He was going to force him to go to a speech therapist if he didn’t knock off that wannabe gangster crap. “I want you to be nice tonight. He is nervous to meet you.”
“I’ll be nice to your beau, bro,” Orion promised. “He’s your mate.” Even Orion seemed to understand the all-consuming importance of maintaining a mate bond. Even if he didn’t want a mate of his own. “Hey, Logan?”
“Yeah?”
Orion’s teeth sank into his bottom lip. “You’re not gonna love him more than me, right?”
Logan’s head snapped up. Orion was a tough kid and had been reasonably levelheaded in the months since he’d lost everything and been uprooted. It was easy to forget that he was still sixteen. “No way, Orion. You’re my family, and nothing, not even mating, is going to change that.” It was a promise he could easily keep. Orion was his number one priority followed by his mate and his friends.
“Well, what if he doesn’t like me?” The whispered question was small and so very frail.
Logan circled the island of the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his little brother where he sat on the stool. “He’s going to love you, Oreo, and if he doesn’t, we were never meant to be.” Jude had asked him a few times now when Logan thought they’d be ready to take the next step. Logan had put off answering until after Jude met Orion. It was funny how Logan’s instincts and Jude’s desires were perfectly in tune, so much so that it had been up to Logan to make sure they both made the slow, logical decisions. Thank God he was a fox. His kind tended to think situations out. If he’d been a cat or something else impulsive, they would have already been mated long before now.
“Thanks, Logan,” Orion muttered. “Now enough of the Hallmark shit. I got tutoring.” The cocky look returned to his face, and Logan knew the world had righted itself once more. Orion had started going to math tutoring at the youth center down the road a week ago when his Algebra II tests had started sliding into “C” territory. Despite his cavalier attitude, he wanted to go to college and had been taking all the right classes. He just had issues focusing due to his animal nature. Human schools weren’t meant for shifters who worked better with regular exercise and a good view of the outdoors.
Logan patted him on the head. “Okay, get out of here. But don’t forget to duck out about ten minutes early. Jude will be here at seven.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” He hopped off the stool before heading in the direction of his front door. He snatched up his backpack and disappeared around the corner.
Logan listened until he heard the front door shut before he got out his cell phone again. His heart turned over as he saw the message waiting for him there.
Can’t wait to see you. <3
Oh yeah. He had it bad. He smiled. He wasn’t admitting it to Orion though.
* * * *
Jude should’ve really learned to check the caller ID before picking up his phone. He’d thought it might have been Logan calling to check in but no, not even close. “Nick, this is really none of your damn business.”
“None of my business!” Nick shouted on the other line. “You’re whoring yourself out to a bunch of animals and I’m supposed to sit back and let it happen?”
Annoyance flickered. “In case you missed the last six months worth of memos, we’re over. And it’s none of your business who I do and do not ‘whore’ out to.” He gripped the phone hard as anger started circulating in his gut. How dare he try and make him feel bad over this. Jude was happier now than he’d ever been. “How did you find out I was dating Logan anyway?”
Nick snorted. “You’re not the only one who has friends who can hack computers. I just want you to know that if you keep this up, you’re going to regret it. Their kind is unclean, a perversion on God’s plan for humanity. Anyone who lies down with animals is an abomination.”
“Since when are you educated on bigoted ideology?” Jude asked, incredulous at the amount of verbal sewage that had just erupted from his mouth. No wonder we didn’t work out, jackass. “You know what, I don’t care. Don’t call me again.” He hung up the phone and breathed out from between clenched teeth.
“You okay?” Collin asked, popping his head into his office. “You sounded pissed on the phone.”
Jude sat back on his office chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Nick got my damn number and is harassing me for my choice of date. The freaking moron actually had the gall to tell me that sleeping with my incredible boyfriend is an abomination.”
Collin blinked. “Isn’t he a little gay to be homophobic?”
“Not homophobic. Different bigotry.”
“Oh, he thinks being a shape-shifter is an abomination? What an idiot.” He and Evan had been on a few dates over the past few weeks with shifters themselves but hadn’t been as lucky as Jude had been on the first try. “I actually think they make better dates than regular guys. I mean, they don’t play games at least. If we’re not their mates, they just chalk it up as a good time and move on. No will-they, won’t-they call. He’s an idiot. Ignore him.”
“I’m planning on it.”
Collin leaned against the door frame. “Shouldn’t you leave to get ready for your date?” He nodded to the clock on Jude’s wall. “It’s almost six thirty.”
Jude sighed. “I know. I was trying to finish up this design, but it’ll keep ’til tomorrow. You’ve got a date tonight, too, right?”
“Yeah. Michael something. We’re meeting at Eclipse.” They’d taken to hanging out there whenever they wanted to get out and unwind. The atmosphere was great, the drinks were good, and the company was choice.
“Cool. Good luck.” Jude pushed himself away from his desk after hitting the save button. “Logan is supposed to show me his animal tonight. I’m a little nervous about it.” He chuckled, and Collin joined in.
“Why would you be nervous? It’s not like he’s going to bite you.” He winked. “Not that you’re not dying for him to.”
Jude sighed again. “Thanks for that reminder.”
“Sorry. I forgot you were annoyed about it.” He shrugged. “Maybe it’ll happen tonight.”
Jude hoped so. He knew it didn’t make any sense for him to crave that final connection, but he did. The idea of being able to connect with Logan in the most intimate way a shifter and human could be connected appealed on every level. He wanted to be able to share everything with Logan.
“Maybe,” he allowed, not really committing either way. “He thinks I don’t know what I’m getting into,
like he’s protecting me or something.”
Collin shrugged. “Well, he is in a way. Some people can get downright nasty about humans willingly joining their mates as shifters. Your idiot ex demonstrated the principle pretty damn well. But if it’s going to work with you guys as a mated couple, he’s going to have to let his instincts claim you. Otherwise both of you are going to be miserable in the long run.”
“He’s just being cautious. I love him for that, but sometimes it drives me absolutely insane.” He started as he admitted what he’d known from day one.
“Oh shit,” Collin whispered. “You love him. No wonder you’re so pissed at him being cautious.” He laughed. “Well, if anyone can convince him, it’s you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jude asked, smiling.
“Are you kidding? How many times do you hear of a shifter having to convince the human to accept the mate bond? Ever hear about the reverse? Yeah, me either.” He laughed. “Now get outta here. You need to pick out something cute to wear and get the hell out of the office.”
“Can’t agree more.” He stood and walked around his desk, slapping Collin on his shoulder as he passed. “See you.”
* * * *
Ribs barbecuing on the grill, corn and baked beans boiling on the stove, and a cold beer in hand, Logan waited on his lover to arrive. He’d texted Orion a minute ago to make sure he was on his way home, and now he just had to wait for the two most important people in his life to meet. He knew that by human standards this relationship was on warp speed, but other shifters totally got it. Life was good. Between his job, his brother, and his mate, he was a happy, happy man.
If everything went as planned tonight, he would have even better news to share with the two of them. Since his bosses had approved him for a lower rate in the new development they were working on, they could very well be moving into a nice, new neighborhood. And he hoped all three of them would be going.
The front door opened. “Logan?” The note of panic in Orion’s voice made every muscle in his body tense.
“What is it? Orion?” He put his beer down on the counter and jogged toward the front of the house. “Orion?”
“Logan, come here.” He’d never heard such raw fear in his little brother’s voice, not even the day their parents had died. He stood just in the doorway, clutching his black cat, Gemini, in his arms with his backpack still on.
“What is it, Orion?”
Orion’s face was pale, his dirty-blond hair falling into his face. “Someone spray-painted the garage.”
Logan frowned. “What do you mean?”
“It’s hateful, Logan,” Orion said.
The bottom of his stomach fell to his feet. “Get into the house, lock all the doors, keep your cell phone near you. If I’m not back in five minutes, call 911.”
“Logan?”
“Do as I say, Orion,” Logan snapped. In a softer voice, he continued. “Please, just get inside. I want to make sure you’re safe.”
“Okay.” Orion kissed the top of his cat’s head. “Come on, Gemini, I’ve gotta keep you safe, too.” There was his little brother.
Steeling himself against something awful, he went out the front door. He sucked in a breath as the setting sun showed exactly what Orion been talking about. Half-breeds Go To Hell. The bold red letters in dripping spray paint took up the entirety of the garage door. It would have to be repainted. More profanity covered the driveway and his work truck. Shifter Faggot was a nice touch. Thank God he’d parked his good truck in the garage. He noticed the back window of his truck had been broken out and the tires had all been slashed.
He cursed softly. “Motherfucker.” This was not what he wanted Orion or Jude to see when he arrived. He took out his cell phone and walked back toward the front door. Whoever had been here was long gone. He dialed 911.
“911 dispatch, what is your emergency?”
“Hi, I need someone to come out to my house. Someone has spray-painted racial slurs all over my property, damaged my vehicles, and scared the hell out of my younger brother. They don’t appear to have stuck around, but I would feel better if someone came out.”
“Of course, sir. We’ll have someone right out to you,” the dispatcher said, her voice calm and measured. Logan gave her his address and hung up the phone just as he walked into the foyer.
“Orion? Everything is okay. I called the police.”
Orion came out of the living room, cat still in hand. “Yeah? Will they catch them?”
Logan shrugged. “That’s their job, baby bro.” His cell rang, and he knew without a doubt that it was Jude.
“Hey,” he greeted. “Where you at?”
“I’m about five minutes out,” Jude said, sounding tired. “I stopped by the store and picked up your favorite beer though. I thought we’d share.”
“That’s great, sweet. Um, we had a little trouble here. I don’t want you to be alarmed if you pull up and there are cops here.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. “What happened?”
Logan relayed what had happened, skipping some of the gorier details. He would see the rest of them soon enough. As soon as the cops were done, he was going to squeeze his work truck into the garage as well.
“I’m going to turn the ribs over,” Orion announced, finally putting Gemini down on the floor. The cat hissed at Logan for good measure before flouncing off in a flurry of black fur.
“Okay. Add some BBQ sauce to them when you do. It’s on the grill stand,” he said as Orion slid the back door open.
“Huh?”
“Not you, babe. I was talking to Orion.”
“Oh.” Another pause. “We both had a hell of a day. Do you think, I mean, is it too soon to ask to spend the night?”
“It’s not too soon. I want you to stay.” Truth be told, he was more than a little riled about this whole situation. He wanted his brother and his mate under his roof tonight, needed it. His animal was snapping at the edge of his leash, wanting out in the worse way as his instincts said to hunt the bastards who had done this down. “I don’t want you to ever leave. Do you have clothes? Some of Orion’s might fit you.” His brother was actually quite a bit bigger than Jude, but he was sure he had some old Sunday clothes in the back of his closet that were several years old.
“We’ll figure it out. It’s not like I have to be in business wear to be at the office,” Jude said. “I’m turning into your subdivision now. I’ll see you in a minute.”
“Okay. See you soon.”
They hung up and as if on cue, a knock on the front door sounded. He tensed for a split second before heading toward the foyer once again.
Chapter Four
Jude was unnerved by the sight of his lover’s property smeared with hate speech. He parked on the curb and made his way up to Logan, who stood beside two cops, scribbling down his story. Logan immediately reached out and drew him to his side. He paused long enough to kiss Jude’s forehead.
“That’s pretty much everything,” he finished, looking down at Jude. “Why don’t you go inside while I finish up, sweet? Make sure Jude doesn’t burn my backyard to cinders with my grill.”
Jude nodded, wanting to be useful despite the fact that he knew nothing about grilling. He went on his tiptoes to kiss Logan’s cheek before heading up the path to the front door. He tried to relax, but it just wasn’t happening. After Nick’s call and all the graffiti in Logan’s driveway, all hope of a pleasant evening had gone out the window. He’d been anticipating having nerves meeting Logan’s brother under normal circumstances. These just weren’t ideal.
“Hello?” he called as he came through the door. Logan had a nice home, neat and tidy. He didn’t live in the nicest neighborhood, solid middle class, but his property had looked immaculate under the stains of paint. The foyer and connecting hallway weren’t too narrow, and were painting a shade of pale blue that reminded Jude of Easter.
A blond head so like Logan’s popped around the corner. “Oh, yo
u must be Jude. I’m Orion.”
Jude forced himself to smile despite his nervousness. “Nice to meet you, Orion. Your brother said to check on your grilling, but since I know nothing about it, you want to show me what you’re doing and pretend I know what I’m talking about?”
Orion’s somber face broke out into a grin. “Sounds like a plan.” He gave Jude a once-over that shocked Jude to his core. “You’re pretty hot. Damn, my brother has all the luck.” He came the rest of the way around the corner. “Follow me.”
They made their way through the house, all of it just as neat and tidy as the outside was immaculately trimmed. When Jude commented on it, Orion had complained about his brother’s OCD and had joked about him being the most anal retentive person on the planet. After a few minutes, Jude relaxed a bit, enjoying the teenager’s perky personality as he waited for Logan to finish up with the cops.
They managed to get all the food on plates and put on the dining room table before Logan walked in the front door.
“I’m going to install security cameras and have a home security company come out tomorrow,” he called. “They are filing my report and doing an investigation. They already took some pictures.”
“Good,” Orion said from his position on the couch. He was sprawled out, feet propped up, his black cat sitting on his chest. “I hope they arrest the bastards.”
“Language,” Logan hissed, leveling a glare that lacked heat at his brother. “Is the food done?”
“Yep. I’m starving.” Orion all but threw Gemini on the floor before rolling to his feet. “I like your mate, Logan. He’s hot, and he’s smarter than you.”
Jude cracked up at the incredulous look that crossed Logan’s face. “Uh-huh. I hear you. Wash your hands, brat.” He offered a hand to Jude where he sat on the recliner. “I knew your wiles were great, but you’ve won over the biggest snob I know. I demand to know your secrets.”
