“Why don't you?”
Dex shook his head and stuck his hands in his back pockets, lifting his chin in defiance. “The first time my mate sees someone change, it’s not going to be me. That’s not something I want him remembering.”
Micah turned and looked at Reese.
“No—” Reese shook his head.
“I have to stay here in case he makes a run for it,” Micah said.
Reese sighed. He glared at Micah then at Rhian. Rhian shrugged. “I'm not a werewolf and I don't think he cares that I can create a thunderstorm out of nothing.”
Maddock ground his back teeth together. They were all nuts. Rhian might not share the same delusion, but she seemed to be buying into their crazed fantasy.
The bartender walked around to the end of the bar and started unbuttoning his shirt.
“Naturally, this involves getting naked,” Maddock drawled.
“You try to get out of clothes when you don't have fingers.” Reese whipped off his shirt. “It's a bitch.”
He undid his jeans and shoved them down to his ankles. Maddock couldn't help but notice he wasn't wearing shorts of any kind, leaving him naked as he stepped out of the denim.
“Going commando, huh?” Dex asked. His voice hummed with teasing and a bit of flirtation. Reese looked up and smiled in Dex's direction. Maddock could swear there was a connection between them. Damn, had Dex fucked all his friends?
Rhian scoffed. “I just don't understand the no panties things.”
As if controlled by one string, all four men stood up to their full heights and faced her.
“They aren't panties!” they cried, four male voices rising in unison.
“Whatever. You know what I mean.”
Reese shook his head and turned to Maddock. They shared a visual connection of masculine disgust and for a moment, Maddock forgot what was supposed to be happening. Then Reese took a breath and drilled those sightless eyes into his. The blank stare captured his, holding him in place as Reese’s face stretched.
Maddock blinked, breaking away from the spellbinding stare. The logical portion of his brain tried to tell him this was a gimmick, but Reese's body twisted and shrunk. It was like something out of a movie—only with the sickening sounds of bones popping and skin tearing.
In moments, it was over…and a wolf stood in the middle of the bar.
The edges of his vision started to sparkle.
“Maddock?”
Dex's call came from really far away. He blinked and looked around, trying to find his lover, but all he could see was that wolf. Reese.
“Holy fuck,” he whispered…and the world turned black.
* * * * *
“Here.”
The whiskey fumes burnt his nose hairs and Maddock jerked back, trying to escape.
“Seriously, here.”
It took him a moment to recognize the voice…Micah. He sounded irritated, but then every time he'd heard Micah speak, he'd sounded irritated. Maddock lifted his head, opened his eyes and stared at polished wood. Groaning, he straightened up. The strain in his back told him he'd been hunched over the bar for some time.
When had he…?
Memories slammed into his brain. Fucking Dex, then watching Reese turn into a wolf. What the fuck? He shook his head. He'd never hallucinated just from alcohol before. A few pills in college had put him down, but even then he'd seen swirling lights, not a human turning into a wolf. The sound of the bones creaking returned and his stomach rolled.
He blinked and looked at the whiskey glass sitting beside his hand.
“Shit, I think I've had enough.” He pushed it away with the backs of his fingers.
Micah chuckled though the noise didn't come across as friendly.
“This is your first.”
“But—”
“It was all real. Welcome to our world.”
Micah tapped the counter next to the glass then backed away, heading to the other end of the bar.
The breath left Maddock's lungs. He looked around. The bar was filling up. It had been empty, closed when he'd arrived.
How long had he been out? He glanced at his watch. Six o'clock. Fuck. He'd arrived at four. Of course, he had spent part of that time with his cock buried in Dex's ass but still, he'd probably been passed out for an hour.
Fuck, he'd seen Reese turn into a wolf.
And they thought he could turn into a wolf.
No way. No way.
He tossed the whiskey back, telling himself it had to be a dream. Had to be. Things like this didn’t happen in real life.
“You okay?” The quiet male voice burrowed deep in his chest, silent fingers wrapping around his heart. Dex slid onto the barstool next to him.
He nodded, but the movement turned into a slow shake of his head. “It can't be true.” He dropped his voice. These guys might be crazy and think he was a werewolf but—
He shook his head again. No way. Couldn't be.
“Well, we don't know for sure.” Dex leaned in, keep his voice low as well. “You smell like a wolf and my wolf certainly thinks you belong to him.”
Maddock had been blocking out that portion of the conversation. Micah had said Dex was Maddock's “mate,” whatever the hell that meant. It seemed to have something to do with why he couldn't keep his hands off Dex. But he couldn't have a boyfriend, not in his world. Not now.
“Listen—”
Dex stood up. The sad look in his eyes tugged at Maddock's heart. “No. I know this is all a shock to you and finding out you have a mate is an even bigger blow. Plus, I’m a man and I’m pretty sure you weren’t expecting that.”
Maddock shook his head.
“You have enough to deal with. Let's just let it sit.”
“But what happens now?” He grabbed Dex's arm and pulled him close. “If I'm what you think I am—and I'm not saying I believe it—why didn't I know? Isn't this something I should have known?”
“Reese has a theory about you living away from a pack and that's why you haven't made the change.”
“And now?”
“You've been around us and it's possible your wolf has been drawn to the surface.”
“So because I met you I'm going to turn furry?”
“Maybe. We'll find out in three days.”
“Three days?”
“Full moon. We have a hunting ground nearby where we'll all make the change. You'll come there and we'll see what happens. I'll send you a text with the address.”
“Wait!” The sudden feeling of being abandoned overcame him. Dex was the only one he knew, and really, he only knew what it was like to fuck him.
Dex shook his head. “We really shouldn’t spend any more time together. It might already be too late.”
Dex stepped away before Maddock could react. Too late for what?
Maddock tried not to watch him leave, but he couldn't. Only this time, his gaze didn't fall to that tight ass. It tracked the tension in Dex's shoulders.
A noise tickled the inside of his throat. Not the warning sound he'd grown used to around Dex. This was more subtle, almost a whimper. The ache in his chest swelled.
“He'll be okay,” Micah said placing another whiskey in front of him.
Maddock straightened, but didn't say anything. He didn't know how he felt about Dex. He sure as hell didn't want someone else guessing how he felt.
“But, if you're not going to be his mate, it's best if you stay away from him.”
The warning in Micah’s voice set Maddock's nerves on edge. “He told me to be here for the full moon,” Maddock protested.
“Yes. But stay away from him until then. His wolf is imprinting on you and once that’s done, it’s permanent. If you don't want him, stay away from him.”
Maddock wanted to protest—to say none of this was his fault—but Micah walked away, leaving his warning hanging in the air.
Maddock threw back the whiskey, deciding he deserved it. Having your world flipped on its ear definitely called for whiskey
. He almost called for another shot but stopped. He needed to be able to drive home.
And he needed a clear mind. Needed to be able to think about what he'd seen and everything they'd said.
He sat there staring at the mirror behind the bar for another few minutes then decided he needed some time alone.
Unable to stop himself, he glanced at Dex as he walked toward the door. Dex raised his chin in farewell, then turned away.
Maddock found himself standing next to his car though he didn’t remember the walk outside.
Maybe I’ve just gone crazy.
Somehow that seemed preferable to the reality he was facing.
A werewolf? It was something out of the late night movie. Couldn’t be real.
Except the noises in his brain, the strange energy coursing through his body, that seemed real.
He drove home, forcing his mind to concentrate on the road. His phone rang a half a dozen times but he ignored it. It was Monica, calling to find out what the hell had happened.
Right. I’ll tell her I saw a guy turn into a wolf and in three days time, it might happen to me.
None of the guys from the bar had said anything, but he knew enough to keep this little secret to himself. He didn’t precisely believe it, but part of him couldn’t shake the image of Reese changing.
Or the way the noises in his head seemed different now, calmer.
Once inside his house, he opened a fresh bottle of whiskey and did a few shots. Besides burning the inside of his throat, they seemed to have no effect. He tried a couple more, but found himself sitting there as sober as before.
He sat in his living room for hours, staring at nothing. Finally, he went up to bed, but it was a no-go.
Sleep was out. And being awake seemed a waste of time. He just kept going over it in his mind. Reese turning into a wolf. Dex’s soft eyes, supporting Maddock.
Fuck, he needed to talk to someone about this.
He grabbed his phone and hit the return call beside Dex’s number. It rang once, then Dex picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hey.”
“Maddock?”
“Yeah.”
“You okay?”
“Not really.”
Silence reached through the phone. “I guess I can see that,” Dex said. “I mean, that couldn’t have been what you were expecting.”
“It wasn’t even something I could have imagined.”
“Yeah,” Dex said with a soft chuckle.
The sound crept through the phone line and somehow eased the brittle edges of Maddock’s nerves. He sank down beneath his blankets and pressed the phone to his ear, needing more. Needing some sort of connection.
“What’s it like?”
“Shifting?” The slither of material against material whispered down the line and Maddock was sure Dex was getting comfortable, maybe laying down, naked.
He gave himself a shake and tried to focus on Dex’s words.
“It’s cool. Kind of scary the first dozen times.”
“Does it happen every month?”
“Yeah. I mean, you can stop it, but it’s not comfortable. It’s best just to let the wolf out.”
Something in Dex’s voice made Maddock smile.
“Sounds like there’s a story there.”
Dex chuckled and sighed. “Well, I was young…”
* * * * *
Maddock pulled his car alongside the farmhouse. Another car and a couple of motorcycles sat in the open barn.
The twilight-ish light didn’t allow him to see much, but that was okay. He wasn’t there to sightsee. He was there to see if he turned into a wolf or not.
The idea didn’t seem as foreign as it had three days ago. Obviously, he’d had three days to get used to it and the hours spent on the phone with Dex had helped. The kid had talked to him about how it felt, what to expect. They’d talked about other things as well.
Hell, they’d talked until his battery had died, then he’d called back on the landline. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d used his landline, but at least he didn’t risk losing the call.
Dex had refused to see him even when Maddock suggested they meet in a public place. Dex had said the phone calls were bad enough, that his wolf was “imprinting” deeply on Maddock and they needed to stay away from each other until this was sorted out.
Maddock accepted that—he didn’t have much choice. He didn’t need to see Dex, he told himself, but being on the phone was just uncomfortable. Sitting across a table talking would have been easier. It didn’t have to be sexual.
He told himself that over and over again, but each night found himself stroking off to the memory of fucking Dex, then dreaming about fucking Dex.
If what they thought was true, the biting dreams made a hell of a lot more sense now.
A wolf howl echoed in the distance and a shiver ran down Maddock’s spine. The thing inside his brain came awake and mirrored the noise in Maddock’s head.
The sound shook his body and he put his hand on the roof of his car to steady his knees.
The presence—wolf, voices, psychotic break, whatever you wanted to call it—had been manic the last three days. Explosive energy that Maddock couldn’t control, that required him running full speed for hours, combined with lazy, satisfied bouts of just wanting to lay around and indulge in all his senses.
Those moments usually came while speaking with Dex or jacking off, which usually took place immediately after speaking with Dex.
He took a breath and looked up at the old house. Funny, how fate had gotten him here. He and Monica had come out this far to look at the property next door and it brought him together with this group.
He walked up to the front door and rapped his knuckles against the wood frame. Paint was peeling in the corners. It was clear no one here liked to do home repair.
He glanced up at the sky. The sun had set and moonrise couldn’t be far away. A faint rush of energy eased through his veins, not the full power of the wolf, but enough to make him twitchy.
Damn, he needed this night to be over.
The door popped open and Rhian smiled at him.
“Welcome.” She stepped back and waved for him to come in. “The boys are in the kitchen.”
He dropped his keys and cell phone on the hall table—didn’t think he’d need them to turn into a wolf—and followed her down the short hall into the brightly lit room. Reese stood near the back door. Dex leaned against the counter but straightened as soon as Maddock entered.
“Hi.”
The urge to walk across the room and press up against Dex almost overwhelmed him, but Maddock kept tight control on the desire. Everything about this night was going to be insane so he needed to keep control no matter what.
“You’re late,” Reese snapped. “Let’s go.” He pushed open the screen door and stepped out.
“Don’t mind him,” Dex whispered as he walked by, following Reese outside. “He’s always cranky on full moons.”
The delicious scent Maddock now associated with Dex swirled around him as the younger man walked by. He licked his lips and trotted after him.
Reese took two steps into the backyard and stopped.
Maddock paused behind him.
It was the first time he'd ever seen Reese hesitate. He moved so well there were moments Maddock would swear he wasn’t blind. Dex had assured him that Reese could only see heat given off living bodies, so he saw shapes but no features.
When Dex first told him Maddock didn’t believe it. It was something out of science fiction…but then so was turning into a wolf so, what the hell.
Dex nudged Reese with his elbow and Reese grabbed the offered arm. They started to walk carefully through the backyard, toward a bank of trees.
Logically, Maddock understood what was happening—that Dex was assisting his friend—but the thing in his head snarled. It did not like his man touching another guy.
The door closed behind them.
“Isn't Rhian comin
g with us?”
“She's not a wolf.” Dex shook his head. “She's a witch.”
“Of course, she is,” Maddock muttered as he followed the other two down a path off the side of the house. The trail moved through the trees and opened into a small clearing. They hadn't gone far, but the trees were so thick he couldn't see the lights from the house any longer.
“About time you got here.”
Micah, once again, sounded irritated.
“Let's do this.”
Reese let go of Dex's arm. The three men spread out and started stripping. Maddock froze. What had he gotten himself into?
A strange tingling began at the base of his spine and worked up his vertebrae to his shoulders.
“You need to get ready,” Dex said, his voice soft, supportive.
“Yeah, don't worry, Maddock, we're all boys here.” Micah flashed him a smug smile. “You don't have to be embarrassed. We won't laugh.”
Dex straightened and stepped between him and Micah. “No, you won't,” he challenged the bigger man.
Pride reared in Maddock’s chest, that Dex would defend him.
Maddock couldn’t stop himself. He smirked and fluttered his eyelashes at Micah.
Micah huffed out a breath of air and pulled his jeans open.
Maddock dropped his gaze. Locker room rules. Don't stare at another guy's junk.
“Come on, Maddock, you need to get those clothes off. The wolf's going to freak out if you change and you're still wearing clothes.”
Reality of what might happen pressed on his brain. He'd thought about this a lot—constantly—for the past three days trying to find something in his past to indicate he was a werewolf. He'd even tried to find his birth father, but he'd had no luck. Still, he would have known he was a werewolf, right? Something had to give it away.
But there was enough doubt in his brain that he reached over his back and tugged off his t-shirt. He undid his fly and shoved down his jeans, stepping out of the denim and his shoes in one movement.
He straightened and looked around, making sure the rest of them were naked as well and he wasn't being punked.
Dex met his gaze and Maddock couldn't stop his eyes from wandering the length of the sleek body. They'd fucked, but he'd never seen Dex naked. The kid was in shape, defined muscles on his chest and abs. Not too big. Just enough strength that he could put up a good fight.
Welsh Wolves 1: Let Sleeping Wolves Lie Page 10
