by Lynn Hagen
Jason stepped out and gazed at the house. Matt’s home made Jason’s apartment look like a run-down shoe box. He followed Matt through the front door.
Men filtered into the living room from various parts of the house. Some seemed familiar and he definitely recognized Nick and Colton.
"These are the men I work with," Matt said.
Jason swallowed as each and every man looked his way. They looked like a collection of polished thugs. "They’re all wolves?" he whispered.
When Matt nodded, Jason nearly passed out.
* * * *
After making Jason comfortable in the kitchen, Matt returned to his men. They stared at him curiously as he moved behind the bar on the far wall and poured himself a drink.
"Isn’t he the waiter at Grizzly’s?" Pearce Caldwell asked. Like all of Matt’s men, he was well over six feet tall. He looked like the All-American guy next door. Blond, blue eyes, with a boyish grin that fooled those who weren’t aware of what he was or just how lethal he could be.
"I suggested you date him, not bring him home to meet the family," Nick said as he lounged in one of the overstuffed chairs, a leg thrown over the side.
"Why would you bring him here?" Rio asked. His beta had an easy smile and could carry on a conversation that made you feel like old friends. All the while, behind those brown eyes, he would be contemplating fifty different ways to kill you.
"What did you mean someone let Bael loose?" Colton asked as he leaned against the wall.
Matt held up a hand and everyone went silent. "Two things happened last night." He turned his attention to Colton. "We had a run-in with the vampires, and I think Magnus summoned the demon in retaliation."
Colton quickly glanced away.
"You got to be fuckin’ kiddin’ me," Rio said as his gaze shot to Colton. He started speaking in Spanish and Matt had a feeling Rio was cursing up a storm in his native tongue.
"You talkin’ shit to me?" Colton asked Rio as he pushed from the wall.
"Speak English so we can all know what you’re sayin’, Rio,’" Rhys said from across the room with a shit-eating grin.
"And if I am?" Rio said to Colton as he took a step forward, but his brother, Landon, grabbed him and pulled him back. Rio jabbed a finger at Colton. "Everyone knows you got trouble on your back. Now you drag our alpha into your shit?"
"Fuck off," Colton grumbled as he gave Rio his back.
"Just say the fuckin word and it’s you and me," Rio threatened.
"What’s the second issue?" Landon asked as he jerked his brother away from Colton.
God, it was like being a wrangler to juveniles. Matt wiped a hand over his face. "I discovered that Jason is my mate."
The room grew as quiet as a tomb. No one moved or said anything. All eleven men stared at Matt in shock. Matt rolled his eyes skyward as he shook his head. "Will you stop looking like the apocalypse is upon us?"
"I take it he knows about us," Rio said.
"He knows we’re wolves," Matt said. "He also saw Bael flash into his apartment."
"Hell of a way to find out about our world," Landon said. "You think he’ll end up like Miles?"
Although Jason had given his word not to say anything, a part of Matt had wondered the same thing. He could only hope their mating bond was stronger than any need to expose them. "I don’t think so."
"I take it he’ll be staying here until Bael is leashed again." Rhys was built like a bull, with auburn hair—the same color as Jason’s—and light brown eyes and a jagged scar under his right eye. Matt remembered when Rhys had gotten it. The brother used to belong to a biker gang that resided on the south side. Life had been hard for him, and Matt had to pull a lot of strings to get the male out of the Grizzly Bastards.
"Jason will be staying with us for the time being. For now, I want all of you to watch your backs. I don’t know if Magnus’s deal includes just me or all of you. I also want at least one man at the agency at all times. I don’t need Bael going after Stuart," Matt said.
Matt ignored Nick’s low growl. He left the living room and went to the kitchen. His mate was seated at the table, looking around as though he had no clue what to do with himself.
Matt took Jason’s hand and led him upstairs. "Feeling any better?"
"Still trying to keep an open mind," Jason admitted as they entered Matt’s bedroom. "I still can’t believe your world existed right under my nose." He rubbed his temples. "And I’m still trying to adjust to the fact that the men I’ve worked with for two months aren’t human."
"The bears are a good bunch." Matt opened the balcony door, allowing fresh air to sweep through the room. The breeze carried in the fragrances from the garden. "Couldn’t ask for better friends."
"Your men or the bears?"
"Both," Matt said. "My wolves take some getting used to, but you’re one of us now and every last one of them will protect you."
"How am I one of you if I’m human?" Jason cocked his head, confusion in his green eyes.
Matt strode back to Jason and brushed his fingers over the mating mark. Jason’s eyelids fluttered closed as a soft moan escaped. His expression was playing havoc on Matt’s body.
Dipping his head, Matt nipped the shell of Jason’s ear and growled softly, "You’re one of us because you belong to me, mate."
Jason slid his tongue along his bottom lip, his breathing shallow. "You keep using that word. What does it mean?"
"It means fate tied our life threads together. We’re bonded." Matt brushed his fingers over Jason’s soft cheek. "It means my search for the person who feels like home is finally over."
Jason’s eyes flew open as he took a step back. Matt could see the deep pulse in his mate’s neck, along with fear in his green eyes. "Dating is one thing. What you’re talking about is a lifetime commitment that I didn’t agree to."
His mood veered sharply to irritation, but Matt reminded himself Jason was human and knew nothing of his world or how mating worked. This whole situation had been thrust on him, so Matt needed to be more understanding.
"What I’m talking about is someone who will never cheat on you or leave you. Someone who will put your happiness first and protect you with his life."
"And what if this Mr. Nice act wears off?" Jason asked. "What if you’re really an asshole?"
Matt gave him a wry smile. "Oh, I’m an asshole, all right. Ask anyone who knows me. But the way I’ve been treating you isn’t an act. I would rather chew my own arm off than hurt you."
Jason’s lips twisted to the side as he eyed Matt suspiciously. "Your agency doesn’t really look for missing people, do they?"
The male was smart, Matt would give him that. "We hunt down violent preternatural who have a capture or kill warrant against them."
Jason staggered backward and dropped onto the club chair by the balcony doors. He looked up at Matt incredulously. "So you guys are basically, what?"
"Bounty hunters. Each warrant has a price tag on it. We execute the warrant, we get paid."
"From the looks of your house, I’d say business was good." Jason gave a nervous laugh.
"That’s never a good thing," Matt said as he knelt in front of Jason and took his hands. "I don’t like the fact that I have to kill my own kind, but I also can’t let them roam free so they can kill innocent people."
Jason nodded. "I get it. What you do is probably the only thing that makes sense to me right now. I understand taking criminals off the streets." He paused, then asked, "Who issues the warrants?"
"The Consiglio. An elder from each species."
"I take it humans aren't represented," Jason said.
"No, they’re not. The Consiglio is comprised of preternatural beings. Keeping our existence a secret is their number-one priority."
Matt laid a gentle hand on Jason’s jaw and drew him close for a slow, passionate kiss.
When someone knocked on his door, Matt growled. He pulled back and gazed into Jason’s eyes. "Tell me I can kill whoever is standing on the other side."
Something settled inside him when he saw Jason fighting not to smile. "Maybe not kill, but you can make him walk away with a limp."
Matt winked at him before he stood and crossed his room. He yanked open the door to see Rio standing there. "This better be important."
"Stuart called," Rio said, seeming unfazed by Matt’s temper. "A kill warrant was just issued for Colton’s brother."
Matt furrowed his brows as he slowly shook his head. "Did you just say Anthony Francisco has a kill warrant against him?"
"Worse," Rio said. "Colton just took off. I think that fight last night at Black Dragon had something to do with Anthony."
Matt had always known that Anthony was trouble, but he never thought the guy was stupid enough to kill anyone. That would be the only reason for a kill warrant.
This was bad. Real bad.
Matt turned to his mate. "I’ll be back."
He followed Rio downstairs, hoping like hell he found Colton before the wolf did something he couldn’t undo.
Chapter Six
When Matt didn’t return after an hour, Jason checked downstairs. Everyone seemed to have vanished. He wasn’t about to sit around and dwell on the craziness he’d fallen into. He needed to work a full shift to sort things out in his head.
He let himself out the front door. It took him a full hour to walk from Matt’s to Grizzly’s. His legs ached and his feet felt like they were going to fall off by the time he arrived. It hadn’t helped that he’d trotted most of the way for fear that Bael would appear and try to kidnap him in broad daylight.
"Hey, Bo," he said to the resident alligator that wasn’t twenty feet from the tavern door. The dang thing was at least seven feet long and had the biggest mouth Jason had ever seen on one—not that he’d seen a lot of alligators in the two months he’d been in Mercury. But Jason swore it was the biggest nonetheless.
On his very first day at Grizzly’s, his boss, Devin LaSalle, had assured him Bo was harmless. Yeah, harmless with a mouth full of sharp teeth and capable of a death roll. He didn’t care what anyone said. Jason kept a good distance from the creature every time he saw the thing.
Jason glanced around as soon as he stepped into the tavern. He spotted Devin and tried to imagine his boss shifting into a bear. He couldn’t. It was like waiting for a drop of water to turn into Neptune, totally impossible. Still, he had every reason to believe what Matt had told him, though Jason wasn’t sure if he really wanted Darius to prove what he was.
Definitely not.
As soon as Devin spotted Jason, he barrelled his way. He looked like a man on a mission, and Jason was half tempted to turn around and run out the door. He hadn’t done anything wrong, but the look on Devin’s face scared the crap out of him.
"Mind telling me why you’re here?"
Now that Jason knew the truth, the guy did kinda remind him of a bear. He was a big, burly man with tattoos and a head full of auburn hair. He looked as gruff as a grizzly and as badass as a biker.
"I thought I worked here," Jason said.
"You know exactly what I mean." Devin pointed toward the kitchen and Jason went without argument. As soon as they cleared the doorway, Devin rounded on him. "If Matt finds out you left the house, he’s gonna shit kittens."
Now that was an image Jason could have done without. "So what, you're firing me?"
"I’m not firing you." Looking exasperated, Devin wiped a hand down his chin. "No one knows who Bael is after. It isn’t safe for you to be here."
"And it’s safe for me to be in an empty house?" Jason shot back. "The guy can appear out of thin air. What’s stopping him from popping into Matt’s?"
Devin opened his mouth and then closed it. He growled at Jason. "Fine, but you stay glued to Darius’s side. Just because mostly everyone in the tavern is a shifter doesn’t mean you’re one hundred percent safe."
Jason poked Devin in the chest. "Can you really change into a bear?"
The kitchen staff glanced their way, but since Devin had been the one who mentioned Bael by name, Jason had a feeling the kitchen staff were either shifters or knew about them.
"Don’t tempt me, son." Devin slammed his beefy palm into the door as he exited the kitchen. Jason clocked in and followed. He slipped behind the bar, where Darius was talking with a few of the customers. He winked at Jason when he noticed him.
"You smell like you’ve been dipped in a vat of Matt’s scent. Told you to try a bear." Darius sauntered his way. "You just had to go and hook up with a wolf." He wiggled his brows. "Bears are better lovers, cher."
Jason wrinkled his nose. "Do you use that line on everyone?"
The bear gave him a wide, playful grin. "And it works every time."
Having familiarity around him made Jason feel a bit better, like he could handle the truth without freaking out. "Is that why you were acting all weird last night?"
"I heard you talking with Benjamin. If you were going to have rebound sex, I was volunteering my services." He gave a whimsical sigh. "But you went and mated Matt, so I’ll have to find someone else who wants a bear."
"Wait," Jason said. "I was all the way across the room. How did you hear my conversation?"
Darius tapped one of his ears. "Shifter hearing. It’s superior to yours."
Jason thought of all the conversations he’d had with Benjamin over the past two months. He needed the floor to open up so it could swallow him.
Darius’s wide grin said he knew exactly what Jason was thinking. Jason punched him in the arm. It was like hitting a brick wall. "You could have warned me."
Darius rubbed his arm like Jason had hurt him. "You weren’t allowed to know."
"Fine," Jason said. "The next person to ask me if you’re single, I’ll tell them you’re a eunuch."
"That’s just cold." Darius left Jason to take orders.
"What’s cold?"
He turned to see Dustin right behind him, a curious smile on his face. Jason liked the guy. Dustin had been there longer than he had and had made Jason feel right at home when he’d started at Grizzly’s. Dustin was Jason’s height and build, but his eyes were the color of chocolate and his hair red as fire. Looking Dustin over, Jason wondered if he was shifter or human.
"Darius’s heart," Jason answered.
Dustin snickered. "Good one."
They bumped fists before Jason grabbed his apron and order pad. He looked at every person he took an order from, wondering the same thing he had about Dustin. Jason eyeballed Mr. McCray who worked in the lumberyard, Mr. Bennett who owned the Gas and Go station and yelled at teenagers when three or more came in at once. Ms. Lafayette who worked at the cleaners—who had a drinking problem that nobody talked about but everyone knew about—and everyone else who came to Grizzly’s fell under his scrutiny, not to mention the staff.
"Will you stop it?" Dustin said as he stopped Jason behind the bar. "You’re gonna give yourself a migraine."
"Stop what?" Jason wasn’t sure if Dustin knew about shifters and he wasn’t going to break his promise to Matt.
"You’ve been looking at everyone like they’re a murder suspect. You’re making them uncomfortable." Dustin dropped a hand onto his hip as he lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "This is Mercury. It’s a small town, and our shifter population isn’t as big as other places. Word spreads like wildfire round these parts. I know Matt’s your mate, that he and his men are out looking for Colton right now, and that Mrs. Tansy who works at Quick Pick isn’t a natural blonde."
Jason shook his head in utter disbelief. "I’ve been in this town for two months and I don’t know any of the gossip."
Dustin gave him a bright smile. "All you gotta do is ask me and I can tell you what’s what."
"What kind of shifter are you?"
"Leopard," Dustin said proudly. "I didn’t care for working at a lounge where every time I turned around my butt was patted. Devin talked to my alpha, who allowed me to work here."
Jason had passed by Leopard Lounge hundreds of times and h
ad never suspected anything.
"He also has an uncle who thinks we’re still in the sixties," Darius said as he joined them.
"Just because Leo dresses like a hippie doesn’t mean he’s touched in the head," Dustin argued.
Leo the leopard. Jason tried not to smile. He knew coming to work would lift his spirits and help him to cope with his situation. Although his eyes had been opened wide, his friends still acted like themselves, and that helped him accept what he'd just learned.
"He still drives that damn VW van that’s painted with peace signs," Darius said with a shudder. "That thing is so rusted that it’s held together by duct tape. Every time I see him I’m tempted to stop the Mystery Machine and give him a Scooby snack."
"How’d we get on the subject of my uncle when me and Jason were talking about—" Dustin frowned as he looked at Jason. "What were we talking about?"
"About making ourselves scarce," Darius said. His gaze shot to the door, making Jason turn.
Matt, Nick, and Rio stepped into the tavern. Matt’s eyes glowed with fury. Jason was caught off guard by the fact his body craved to get close to Matt. He wanted to be wrapped in Matt’s arm, to be caressed and kissed.
Maybe I’m the one touched in the head.
"You’re on your own." Dustin spun and was gone as Darius moved to the farthest end of the bar to take orders.
Nick and Rio sat at one of the wooden tables, and Matt’s eyes never left Jason’s as he stalked to the bar. The men who’d been sitting on the stools grabbed their drinks and scattered, leaving Jason to deal with a pissed-off wolf by himself. Not that they would have helped anyway.
Matt slammed both hands onto the counter as he leaned in close, his face a mask of anger. "You have five seconds to tell me why you left the house."
Jason squared his shoulders, though he was quivering on the inside. "I do have a job," he said, proud his voice had held firm. "Besides, I’m not your prisoner, and you didn’t tell me I couldn’t leave."
"Outside. Now." Matt turned and walked out.
Jason glanced at the customers, who quickly looked away, as if they hadn’t been listening the entire time.
