by Jane Perky
He looked at his reflection in the mirror, surprised his uniform no longer seemed baggy on him. Then again, a week had passed since Colton and he started seeing each other, and Colton took every chance to get him to eat. Nicer to cuddle that way, Colton said.
Still, Jerry was stalling. Colton kept suggesting they tell Magnus and Lee about their relationship, but he told his mate to wait. What was he waiting for? Lee and Magnus’ wrath. He let out a huff. Jerry was an adult, capable of making his own decisions, and Colton was the best thing that ever happened to him.
“Tonight, I’ll tell Lee and Magnus,” he whispered.
His phone beeped when he got out of the apartment, a text from Colton. An emoticon of a grinning wolf. He groaned. Ever since he’d taught Colton how to use those, Colton kept spamming them. Since Colton hadn’t pushed about revealing their relationship to his friends that recently, Jerry decided to text Colton about his decision.
Jerry: Good morning. Can I discuss something with you later?
He knew Colton was at work by now, so he didn’t want to disturb his mate. His mate. Sometimes, Jerry still wasn’t used to swinging around that label, although they still kept their relationship under wraps. Colton had been so patient, so good to him.
Unlike Lee, Colton never pushed him, always told him to take his time. It was time. Jerry wasn’t ashamed of their relationship. He still held on to his old fear that Colton would decide one day he’d had enough, that Jerry wasn’t the one for him after all. If that happened, Jerry would crumble to pieces. Right now, he woke up each day looking forward to spending time with Colton.
Since his rescue, Jerry felt like he’d been living someone’s life. He’d hung back on the fringes of reality, unsure of what to do next. Sometimes, being back in that cell felt better. That was the chilling thought that sometimes crossed his mind when real life got too tough. Then he’d remembered he had so many things to be thankful for.
His phone rang and seeing Colton’s number, he picked up.
“Oh hey, it was no rush. I could have called during your lunch break,” he said.
Colton snarled. “You’re important to me, little Omega. What’s up?”
“I was thinking I had enough of hiding. I’m ready to tell Magnus and Lee about us.”
Silence on the other end.
“Are you sure? You’re ready?” Colton asked carefully.
“Yeah. There’s no point hiding.”
“Fuck, little Omega. I’m glad to hear those words. How about tomorrow night? Everyone’s getting together, meeting at King’s.”
King’s was the bar Lee and his friends frequented. Jerry had been invited numerous times, by Lee and even by Colton, but he’d always found excuses.
“Will the whole gang be there?” he had to ask.
Aside from Lee and Magnus, the other Alphas and their mates would also be there. It might be too much for him, an overload, given his aversion to people, but Jerry promised his mate he would try.
“Pretty much.”
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
“I’m so proud of you, baby. Shit, boss is here. I’ll see you tonight?”
“Looking forward to it,” he said weakly.
Colton ended the call, and he stared at his phone, wondering if he made the right decision. Questions plagued him. What if Colton’s friends didn’t like him? What if Lee didn’t approve of their relationship? Colton and the other Alphas were a tight-knit group, a force to be reckoned with in Emerald Valley. If Jerry entered the equation, would he mess up their group dynamics?
“Get ahold of yourself,” he whispered.
A passerby gave him an odd glance, probably because he was talking to himself, so Jerry hurried onto his workplace. Since Bacon and Burgers was only a couple of blocks away, he usually preferred to walk. Jerry needed the exercise, although Colton asked if he wanted to start accompanying Colton for nightly jogs.
He did look skinny. Maybe he’d agree, both for his fitness’ sake and to spend time with his man. Smiling to himself, he reached Bacon and Burgers. His wolf paced inside him, restless, needy, yearning for Colton.
Down, boy.
His wolf sulked inside of him, not appeased completely. Jerry sighed. He had a job to do. What was with his animal lately?
“Jerry, you’re early,” Mr. Gibson said when he entered the employee’s room to punch in.
“Am I?” Jerry glanced at the time. “Only ten minutes.”
“You’ve been different lately,” Mr. Gibson said. “You look good. Better.”
He blushed. “Thanks.”
“It is because of your new boyfriend?”
Jerry paused, noticing the odd inflection in Mr. Gibson’s voice. There was an emotion there he couldn’t identify. He had a feeling Mr. Gibson didn’t quite like Colton, maybe because of their misunderstanding before, when Mr. Gibson had thought Colton was one of Blake’s wolves.
“Yeah, Colton’s been really good to me.”
“Well, you better watch yourself around men like him.”
Anger unfurled inside his chest. “What do you mean by ‘men like him’?”
Mr. Gibson looked pained. “Well, big rough guys like that, they sometimes take advantage of others.”
“Colton has never taken advantage of me! He’s the best thing that ever happened to me, and you have no right to judge him.” Jerry’s outburst surprised the hell out of both of them. He cleared his throat, glad there was no one else there to witness this. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Mr. Gibson gave him a curt nod and mumbled excuses to leave the room.
Shaken by the encounter, Jerry headed to the kitchen. He was on fryer duty today, which was a relief. The hours crawled by, and for some reason, his wolf wanted out of his skin. Fast. It wanted to prowl in the wild, in search of their mate.
He fantasied about Colton and him playing catch, except that wasn’t really possible, given Jerry had trouble shifting, but this was a daydream. Colton and he would end up in the deep neck of the woods, with Colton pouncing over him. It was all play though, and Colton and he would shift back to human. Colton’s eyes would burn gold with desire, and he’d offer himself fully to his mate, begging Colton to ride him all night long.
Jerry blew out a breath, realizing he’d been sweating, and embarrassingly, his dick poked though his pants. Thank God, he was at the fryer.
“Jerry, you okay? You’ve gone a little pale,” Cherry said from the cash register.
“I’m good.” Jerry tried to think of other things to distract him. Everyday stuff. Nothing worked until he remembered tomorrow night. Thinking about Colton and him confronting Lee was enough for his dick to soften.
Good. Jerry just needed to get through this day and everything would be okay.
He was relieved to see the clock telling him his shift was over. Jerry changed out of his work clothes and headed out. The cool air felt nice on his face. His phone beeped, and he saw it was a text from Colton, telling Jerry he would be about ten minutes late.
Jerry: I’ll wait for you outside your workplace.
Colton responded with an animated heart emoticon. He rolled his eyes but secretly liked it. He couldn’t wait to have dinner with his mate, and once that was done, he was in sore need of some sexy times, to be at the mercy of his rough but sometimes tender Alpha.
Jerry shoved his hands in his pockets and walked the few blocks to the building where Colton worked. He shivered, realizing he’d forgotten his jacket, then froze. He was halfway to Colton’s place, and only just realized his arms were bare. His wolf felt uneasy inside of him again but he ignored it. Just nerves.
Jerry didn’t like going anywhere without covering up. Feeling more self-conscious, he quickened his pace. Sometimes, Patricia, the receptionist at Claws for Hire, the firm Colton worked for, let him sit in the waiting room.
Thankfully, everyone else was busy minding their own business and he didn’t brush up against any nearby shifters. On the doorstep of Claws for Fire, his skin prickled an
d he looked up, stomach sinking at the sight of the full moon.
No wonder he’d felt aroused all day. It was mating season. Boy, he was glad he was spending the entire night with Colton. If he was stuck back at his own place, the need to mate would probably lead him to committing some bad decisions.
He pushed his way into the firm and saw Patricia was talking to two other men. His wolf whined inside of him. A chill went down his spine as his wolf identified these two strangers as being part of Blake’s pack. Not the two who had harassed him several night ago, but he didn’t like the aggression coming off them.
Jerry debated whether he should make a hasty exit before they noticed him, but too late. One of them turned, looked straight at him, and knowledge filled the werewolf’s eyes. The werewolf sneered and nudged the second.
“It’s the vampire bait,” said the first loud enough for Patricia to hear.
Patricia looked frightened, but Jerry couldn’t blame her. Patricia was human, unable to do anything about these two dominant wolves.
The two strolled toward him, identical leers on their faces.
“You in heat, Omega? I don’t mind fucking the brains out of used goods, but only if I shove a brown paper bag over your face.” The werewolf laughed at his own joke, joined by the second.
Jerry had endured his share of verbal abuse in one lifetime. Usually, he’d back away and run when confronted by meaner, bigger wolves, but not tonight. He no longer wanted to be the victim, or be used by someone else ever again. Jerry was no longer nothing. He had family in Lee and Magnus, and now, he even had Colton, who saw him as someone worthy to love and cherish.
“As if I’d been interested in scum like you.” Jerry couldn’t believe he just uttered those words, and apparently neither did Patricia, because she gasped.
“What did you say to us, you dirty little hole?” one yelled, shoving him by the shoulder.
His back hit the wall. His wolf went wild inside of him. Jerry tried to call it out, to shift. That way, these assholes would leave Patricia alone, but like always, he couldn’t shift. When the vampires had taken him, his wolf had hidden so deep inside of him it refused to come out again. For the longest time, he was angry at his animal, angry at himself for being so weak. No. Running wasn’t the answer.
“You two should leave. The meeting’s about to end, and our best employees won’t show mercy,” Patricia said, voice quivering, but the fact she stood up to these bullies made Jerry think of her in better terms.
“Shut up, bitch,” the second hissed.
The one who shoved him spat at him, but Jerry dodged in time, so it landed on the wall. “I’m going to show you your place, hole.”
Then a terrifying howl full of rage filled the space, practically making the other furniture vibrate. The guy in front of him turned his head, which gave Jerry the opportunity to execute one of the self-defense moves Colton had taught him. He brought his elbow hard on the werewolf’s dick. He howled. Jerry ran, but the guy recovered and grabbed the collar of his shirt.
“You’re not going anywhere,” the werewolf opened, but the next thing Jerry saw was an enormous black flash. He felt the spray of blood, and suddenly the werewolf was thrashing on the ground, screaming about his missing arm. Said arm lay a few feet from Jerry. He stumbled only to see the enormous black wolf take on the second wolf.
His heart raced. Was this Colton? Would Colton kill for him? He racked at his brains. No. If Colton killed Blake’s wolves, there would be severe repercussions. Jerry couldn’t have that. What if Cotton ended up behind bars, simply for his sake? Worse still, what if Blake’s entire pack hunted his mate down?
“Colton! Please. Stop!”
But the terrifying beast that was his mate wasn’t listening.
Chapter Nine
Scenting Jerry’s fear in the air, Colton reacted by pure instinct. His wolf tore out of him, fast and savage, the change painful, but he didn’t care.
“Colton!” yelled Johnson, a powerful grizzly shifter and his occasional partner in a job, but Colton was past reason.
Once on all four paws, he ran, knocking chairs and paperwork, but he didn’t care. His mate needed him and the scent of two strange wolves only fueled his anger. Reaching the reception area, he spotted Patricia, trying to make herself invisible against the wall, but she’d been the one who reached out to him via the intercom. He would have eventually sensed the intruders, but if it weren’t for her, Jerry might have been seriously hurt.
A red haze clouded his mind. Colton wasn’t discharged from his duties at the army because there was something wrong with his performance. In fact, he’d only become more deadly, but he’d wanted a change of pace. Violence was easy, too easy for him. He did in the fool who had Jerry pinned against the wall.
Colton sunk his canines, not caring where. Skin split and bones cracked. The fucker began to scream, but that sound was music to his ears. He went for the second, who was wisely backing away from him.
Too late.
Jerry begged him to forget about the wolves who’d harassed him during his shift days ago. Once was fine, but twice? Colton couldn’t forget, much less forgive. He was going to shred these fools into pieces until Blake would barely recognize them. Blake was all right, weak in some ways, but they had no quarrel—until now that was.
He didn’t remember rushing after the fleeing wolf, but Colton was on top of him now. The man shifted, but he was too slow. He drove claws into fabric and eventually skin.
Jerry was shouting at him, but he couldn’t make out the words. A brown-furred, muscled paw shoved him violently backward, and Johnson growled at him. He snarled back, baring teeth. Part of Colton recognized Johnson was a friend, but he didn’t care at the moment. The bear got between him and his prey and was, therefore, a threat.
“Colton, stop!”
Jerry’s voice stopped him now, and he felt the Omega’s skinny arms around his neck a moment later, hugging him. It was dangerous for an Omega to embrace him when he was this out of control, but this was Jerry.
“What’s going on?” demanded another familiar voice.
His boss, Steve Emerson, appeared in the reception area. The immortal paranormal—he couldn’t quite figure out what Emerson was—glanced calmly at Patricia and Johnson, still in grizzly form, then to Colton and the two screaming wolves on the floor.
That was the scary thing about Steve. Steve looked at the world in terms of problems and solutions, and if Steve considered Colton a threat to the firm, Colton would disappear. Colton didn’t fear a lot of monsters, because he was on top of the food chain himself, but Steve was a predator he didn’t want to tangle with.
“It’s not Colton’s fault,” Jerry blurted. “Please. These two started it. Colton was defending me.”
“Patricia, is this true?” Steve asked in the same voice.
“Yes, the two wolves are from the local pack. They wanted to ask about our fees, but when Jerry walked in, they started on him.”
Steve studied Jerry carefully, gaze lingering on one visible fading vampire bite on Jerry’s left wrist. “I can see why. Shifters become testy when other species show interest in their own kind.”
Colton snarled in his throat. He’d rip Steve, too, even if that meant his death. Jerry seemed to sense Steve was no ordinary paranormal, because Jerry clung to him harder.
“And who are you, Omega wolf, to one of my best employees?” Steve asked.
Best? His wolf liked that, but Colton didn’t let his guard down. Since he had a feeling Steve could end him without much effort, the fact that Steve didn’t meant something. His boss was giving them a chance to explain. He shook off Jerry, who gave him a worried look, but he only shifted back to human.
“Jerry’s my mate. It’s my right to defend him, and this isn’t the first time Blake’s wolves harassed him,” Colton explained.
For the first time, Steve looked surprised. Then he laughed. “Your…mate?”
“What’s so funny?” he demanded.
&nb
sp; “I never pictured you being interested in a mate, Colton. No offense. I don’t see a mate mark though.”
Jerry rose to his feet but wisely kept to Colton’s side.
“I’m waiting for Jerry to be ready. Vampires hurt him before, took away his ability to choose. I don’t want to rush things,” he explained.
The room dropped several degrees at his words, and he knew he’d hit the right buttons. Steve had started this business to provide protection to shifters who couldn’t defend themselves.
“I see.” Steve glanced at the wolf who began to crawl out of there, but stepped on him instead, preventing movement. “Call your Alpha, wolf. Tell him to pick up his trash out of my building.”
The werewolf growled at him. “All of you will pay.”
Steve laughed. “You wolves still think this town is yours, don’t you? Don’t be delusional. If Blake keeps going down this path, unable to control his wolves, then the vampires will take over and Magnus is much more pleasant to deal with. There are other bigger monsters living here, wolf.”
The werewolf fell silent, but Colton felt the whisper of power in the room.
Colton looked at his boss. “I’ll pay for the damages, the furniture I’ve knocked over.”
“I’ll take it out of your pay.”
“Will the police be involved?” Jerry asked beside him, worried. “Because I don’t want Colton to be arrested. I started this mess.”
Steve looked at Jerry almost fondly, and Colton snarled in his throat in warning.
“Not to worry, Colton. I have no designs on your mate. As for your question, Jerry, no. This stays between us paranormals.” Steve looked at Blake’s wolves when he said that. “Johnson will stay here until Blake or one of his enforcers cleans up the mess. You two enjoy the night.”
Then Steve walked back to his office. He glanced at Johnson.
“You okay with this?”
Johnson sat in front of the wolves in response.
