Purring with His Mate (Miracle Book 1)

by Shea Malik

  Edrick’s body shook with laughter as he held Nole. “I don’t suppose that went over too well.”

  Nole had to admit to loving the look on the man’s face when he described taking away his manhood. “No. It pissed Abdiel enough that I became a target. Within twelve months he caught me with another man and had me beaten to death. Fortunately, his idiot guards didn’t understand to check for a pulse.”

  As hard as it had been to be on the run for the last few years, Nole had never been so glad as to be free of his colony. “Anyway, I guess, with how miserable my parents were with each other, not to mention most of the other couples in the colony, I had decided I would never allow myself to be in that situation.”

  “But we’re mates.” His mate’s matter of fact tone told him so much. Clearly, Edrick hadn’t grown up with the kind of animosity Nole had.

  Propping his chin on Edrick’s chest so he could look at his mate. “That’s just it. The only mates I’ve ever seen were the ones I met running from my colony, and they were hiding or on the run themselves for being gay. Until I met you, I had no idea just how strong that connection was. Hell, it wasn’t until I was walking away from you that I started to realize how lonely I had been all my life.”

  He was saying this all wrong. “What I mean is…” What did he mean? Nole wasn’t quite sure. He just knew he felt something for Edrick that he couldn’t ignore. Hell, he didn’t even want to. Not anymore. “This is where I belong. With you. I feel it deep inside. I don’t know where it will lead, or if it’s love, but for the first time in my life, I want to be with someone - with you. If you’ll have me.”

  Nole found himself holding his breath as he waited for Edrick’s answer. Thankfully, his mate didn’t make him wait long.

  “Of course, I’ll have you.” Once more Edrick rolled them, so Nole was on his back. “We belong together.”

  Impossibly soft lips took his in a searing kiss that curled Nole’s toes. He may not know what being a mate meant, but already Nole liked the possibilities.

  CHAPTER 12

  “How can you not like cheese? You’re a mouse.”

  Edrick was instantly on alert as he heard the tone in Chadwick’s voice as he spoke to Nole. Or, at least, he assumed it was Nole since he was the only mouse shifter there.

  “Shifter. Mouse shifter.” Nole’s voice was raised in frustration, but he wasn’t yelling, which considering the heated argument he’d stopped the previous day, Edrick considered that a good sign.

  Thoughts of what happened right after he interrupted Nole and Chadwick had his dick thickening in anticipation of a repeat. He’d taken his mate over and over the night before. It was as if he couldn’t get enough of Nole. The fact that his prick could even get hard at this point was impressive.

  Determined to find his mate and drag him back to bed, Edrick slipped on a pair of sweatpants and opened the door to the bedroom. The moment he stepped into the hallway was when he smelled it. Another mouse shifter. Concerned there was someone there he didn’t know, he rushed down the stairs.

  It was an easy matter of following his mate and Chadwick’s loud voices to the kitchen to find his friends and his mate eating breakfast. Just like yesterday, Nole and Chadwick faced off, both wearing expressions of belligerence and amusement as they continued their argument. At least they were sitting.

  “What’s the difference?” Chadwick asked with a casual shrug. But it was the gleam in his friend’s eyes that spelled trouble. “A mouse is a mouse, and everyone knows mice love cheese. Why do you think we bait our mouse traps with it?”

  Ready to step in and stop the stupid fight, Edrick held back when he saw his mate’s face. His flushed cheeks, along with the light in his eyes, said his mate was having a great time. Jealousy tore through Edrick that it wasn’t him to have put that expression on Nole’s face. At the same time, he was enthralled and refused to do anything that would destroy his mate’s happiness.

  “It’s as insulting to assume mouse shifters like cheese as it would be if I tossed you a ball of string to play with,” Nole challenged Chadwick.

  His friend lifted his lips in a broad smile. “String? Sounds like fun.”

  Hudson and Kellach choked on their food, spraying it everywhere. Lucca on the other hand just kept eating as if Nole and Chadwick weren’t saying a word. How his friend could remain oblivious to the chaos around them, Edrick wasn’t sure, but he had to admit to finding himself amused at the pair’s antics.

  It was the first time in nearly forty years that he’d seen Chadwick be anything other than the aloof man he’d turned into when he had to hide who he was. Maybe allowing the two to continue their bickering wasn’t so bad. At least it was keeping everyone entertained.

  “Bullshit,” Nole fired back. “But let’s test that, shall we?”

  Nole got up from the table and went to the fridge Edrick and Chadwick had bought the day he’d discovered his mate. After buying the truck from the farmer, who thankfully was also selling a trailer with it, they had gone to the nearest town and bought a generator. It would only be a temporary fix until they could come up with a more permanent energy solution, and a fridge, along with all the other building supplies they had needed.

  Edrick had just pulled out of the hardware store when Lucca had called him to warn him Nole was being tracked by a group of mouse shifters. How Lucca had missed the wolves, Edrick didn’t know, but it was something he planned to ask his friend the first chance he got.

  Edrick felt his eyes widen as he watched Nole pour some milk into a small bowl and put it in front of Chadwick, who stared at it like it was an alien concept.

  “Here you go, kitty,” Nole said smugly. “Lap it up.”

  Chadwick looked from the bowl to Noel, then back to the bowl before he finally understood what Nole was doing. That shit-eating grin was back on Chadwick’s face as he leaned down and did exactly as Nole suggested by licking up the milk with his tongue. To add to his teasing, he even shifted his tongue into his cat’s, to get more of the milk into his mouth.

  Every single one of Chadwick’s friends looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. When he finished the bowl of milk, he looked up to see them staring at him with their jaws dropped, and he said, “What?”

  It was Hudson, who finally answered. “I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen you joke around like this, much less smile and mean it.”

  Chadwick raised his middle finger. “That’s because you all don’t have a sense of humor.”

  “You’re an idiot,” Lucca mumbled as he pushed his chair back from the table, the legs scraping against the concrete floor that had been stripped of the broken tile that had been there before when they’d first arrived. Apparently, his friends had been busy while he’d recovered from his injuries.

  Washing his plate and fork in the sink, Lucca said, “I’m going to go check on Jari.”

  Not knowing who Jari was, Edrick stopped Lucca. “Who’s Jari?”

  Was Lucca blushing? Edrick was sure his friend’s cheeks had pinked at his question. When Lucca glanced at Nole as if silently pleading for help, Edrick went on alert.

  Since when did the man, who was every bit the warrior Edrick was, blush like a school girl and ask for help explaining himself? Nothing about this added up and Edrick had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what Lucca or Nole had to say.

  “Jari was one of the ones who set me up to be killed by the group of wolves.” Apparently, Nole wasn’t going to help Lucca like his friend thought he would. “He used to be a friend, until I was discovered fucking Alpha Abdiel’s brother, Harper.”

  White hot rage flowed through Edrick at the image of Nole in someone else’s arms. A growl rumbled through him as he lifted Nole right out of his chair and slammed his mouth down on Nole’s. He understood they both had pasts, but at the same time, Edrick didn’t want to hear about his mate with anyone else. Now that he had, Edrick wanted nothing more than to mark his mate as his once more.

  “Please tell me we’re not go
ing to have to watch the live show,” Kellach whined. “I mean, I love porn as much as the next guy, but Edrick is like a brother and that’s just...” Out of the corner of his eye, Edrick saw Kellach give a whole-body shudder. “...gross.”

  “Yeah,” Hudson chimed in. “The audio was bad enough last night. I had to go sleep in town so that I wouldn’t have to hear you two fucking like bunnies.”

  Both Nole and Edrick laughed, breaking the kiss. Brown eyes sparkled like the brightest star as Nole glanced over at Kellach and Hudson. “Just wait until you find your mates, and we’ll see how quiet you are.”

  Chadwick harrumphed. “I’ve heard Kellach. I don’t know which is louder, the moans or the dirty mouth on him.”

  Kellach blushed furiously even as he glared at Chadwick. “If I remember right, your grunts and groans weren’t exactly quiet.”

  One of Chadwick’s shoulders lifted in a half shrug. “If I want my bed partner to continue doing what I like, then a little vocal encouragement is required.” A mischievous grin curved his lips upward. “Well, that and my cock fucking him senseless.”

  Nole laughed when Kellach covered his ears and started singing, “La la la la,” as he walked out of the kitchen.

  The next thing they heard was the front door slamming.

  Chadwick’s grin grew even broader. “Was it something I said?”

  Edrick did his best not to laugh, but he just couldn’t keep it contained, especially when his mate had his forehead pressed to Edrick’s chest as he laughed himself silly.

  The only person in the room not laughing was Lucca. Reminded of what started this whole line of conversation, Edrick sobered up very quickly as he faced the man who was to be his second. “If Jari did set Nole up to be killed by those wolves, why is he alive, and here in our home?” He didn’t bother to keep the irritation at his best friend out of his voice, or the anger at having the enemy living so close to his mate when Edrick had been unconscious.

  Lucca’s gray eyes darkened in anger. “Because he’s my mate,” his friend bit out.

  Nole gasped in his arms.

  Edrick was glad he held his mate. Not just for Nole’s sake, but for his own. If this Jari really was Lucca’s mate, and he didn’t think his best friend would lie about something like that, then their lives had just gotten a lot more complicated. He would need to meet this Jari person. Best friend or not, Edrick wasn’t about to let an enemy, who had already tried to get Nole killed, anywhere near his mate.

  CHAPTER 13

  Consumed with worry over Edrick as he’d fought to keep him alive, figuring out what was going on with Jari hadn’t been Nole’s top priority. Hell, it hadn’t even been on his radar for the most part.

  Sure, Nole had known his old friend had been there, but it had been easy not to think about him or what he’d been willing to do as Nole took care of his mate. Now that Edrick had healed and they had mated, he supposed it was time to get his head out of his ass and deal with the problems at hand.

  Like, Alpha Abdiel wasn’t going to stop sending someone to kill him. Edrick’s pack was also searching for them. There were hunters a little too close for Nole’s peace of mind. Oh, yeah, and his best friend who not only turned his back on Nole when his alpha tried to beat Nole to death but went out of his way to set Nole up to be killed by a pack of wolves, was the mate to Edrick’s best friend and second.

  How fucked up did life need to get before things got better? Nole snorted. Apparently, the answer was never.

  “What?” Edrick asked as they worked outside to help Chadwick with the front porch. The house might not be ready to fall over, but there were places it just wasn’t safe to walk unless he wanted to end up with his foot punching a hole through the rotten wood. The front porch was by far the worst as it had been exposed to the elements for all these years.

  Ignoring his mate’s question since he wasn’t quite ready to talk about Jari or more pointedly, that he was Lucca’s mate and would be required to live there, Nole asked, “Exactly how long was this town abandoned anyway?”

  Hoping Edrick would allow the change of subject, Nole had to admit to being relieved when his mate started telling him more about Miracle. “I bought it five years ago when I had come out west for a programming job for the government in Portland.”

  The saw whirled to life as they worked to cut the next five boards that Chadwick had given them the measurements for. As Edrick cut, Nole carried the boards to where Chadwick was hammering them into place. By the end of the day, they should have a brand-new wrap around porch.

  When Edrick finished and turned the saw off, he continued with his story even as they carried more of the lumber to the next section to be nailed in. “According to the real estate agent, the town had been abandoned in the 1940’s when several people were killed, and they couldn’t find the murderer. The town had been very small, less than a hundred people, and had been struggling to survive.

  “When the murders occurred, the already dying town collapsed. Everyone moved, even the farmers, although most of the farms were bought up by nearby towns. But the town?” Edrick shrugged. “It remained abandoned after reports of strange occurrences started to get around.”

  Hudson, who had been helping Chadwick with nailing the boards, stopped and looked at Edrick with horror. “You bought a fucking haunted town? Are you out of your mind?”

  Nole didn’t believe in ghosts or something being haunted. But he had to admit to finding it fascinating that Hudson did.

  There was amusement in Edrick’s blue eyes, making them shine as he asked, “Who said anything about it being haunted?”

  The look of horror didn’t lessen on Hudson’s face. If anything, it just kept getting worse. “People were murdered,” Hudson said as if that explained everything. When everyone around him didn’t seem to feel the same way as Hudson, he tried again. “There were weird things happening after the murders. It’s common knowledge when someone is murdered; they often hang around to seek revenge. Did you even ask the realtor if there were ghosts?”

  Edrick’s jaw dropped comically as he clearly fought not to laugh outright. “It didn’t come up,” Edrick finally managed to get out.

  Hudson stood and started walking off the porch to where his motorcycle was parked. Nole, Edrick, and Chadwick just stared at the man as he climbed onto his Harley. It wasn’t until it started that they came out of their daze.

  Edrick shouted above the rumble of the engine. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Hudson shook his head at Edrick as if it should be completely obvious. “To get an EMF meter, digital infrared camera, a dowsing rod, and a Geiger counter. All the things I stupidly left behind at home. We’re going to need them.”

  Before Edrick could stop him, Hudson roared away.

  All three men stood there watching Hudson head down the road.

  “You know, I always knew that man had a screw loose.” Chadwick’s voice was laced with disbelief as he continued to watch the last spot they’d seen Hudson before he’d disappeared around the corner.

  “Where did Hudson go?” Lucca asked as he stepped out of the house and onto the part of the porch that was finished.

  Edrick slowly moved his head back and forth as he too continued to stare after Hudson. “You don’t want to know.”

  Lucca shrugged. “Okay. If you have some time, I was hoping we could discuss Jari.”

  Lucca’s words had Nole stiffening. He still wasn’t prepared to deal with facing what his former friend had done to him. They had grown up together, played together, even cried together when Jari’s mom had died. That Jari not only turned his back on Nole but was willing to set him up to die, stung. No. It fucking hurt.

  As if sensing his discomfort, Edrick wrapped an arm around Nole and pulled him against his body. It shouldn’t have helped. Nole had always been independent, especially since being beaten nearly to death and left to die. Yet, he had to admit, being in his mate’s arms soothed something within him. Breathing Edrick’s musky s
cent into his lungs left him feeling much more relaxed and able to handle whatever was thrown his way.

  Maybe being mated really was a good thing. Nole wished he hadn’t fought it. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have run into Jari to be betrayed. More importantly, Edrick wouldn’t have been hurt.

  The air in his lungs caught as he thought about how close he had been to losing his mate before ever getting the chance to know him. Needing to be even closer, Nole tucked himself tighter to Edrick. The smile that Edrick gave him at his move made Nole all warm inside.

  “I know what Jari did was wrong, and he needs to be punished, but I’m begging you not to kill him.” The slight tremble in Lucca’s voice as he talked about his mate dying gave Nole a pang of guilt.

  Having Edrick so close to death had been one of the hardest things he’d ever had to deal with. Even having to run from his colony in agony after being beaten was preferable to seeing his mate struggle to survive. He could only imagine what Lucca was going through.

  “We’re not going to kill him,” Nole told Lucca.

  “We aren’t?” Edrick asked. The tempered rage in his mate’s voice said he wasn’t so sure that was true.

  But Nole wasn’t about to let one of Edrick’s best friends suffer, even if Jari deserved his fate. Staring up into Edrick’s blue eyes, made darker by the anger of what Jari had done, Nole said, “No, we aren’t.”

  A calloused hand came up to cup Nole’s face. “Are you sure, my little mouse?”

  The depth of emotion in Edrick’s voice caused tears to prick at Nole’s eyes. “He almost got you killed. What if he brings your colony to our doorstep? I don’t think I could survive if anything happened to you.”

  Since the day he’d crawled from his colony, Nole hadn’t shed one tear. He refused to give anyone the satisfaction of making him cry and see him weak. Yet, here in Edrick’s arms, he didn’t care who saw him or what they thought of the tears that spilled onto his cheeks.