by Lynn Hagen
Aiden wasn’t about to leave his mate out here. He wasn’t sure how long Rudy had used that makeshift tent as his home, but he was surprised his mate hadn’t frozen before now.
“I’m sorry,” Aiden said. “But you leave me no choice.”
He shifted back into his bear and padded toward his mate. Rudy’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. Aiden shifted back in time to catch the human and scoop Rudy into his arms.
“I hope you forgive me for doing that.” Aiden walked through the woods, wishing he had some clothes on. At the very least, some shoes. The ground wasn’t hard enough yet to hurt his feet, but the twigs, rocks, and roots sure as hell hurt.
He was glad when he made it to his cabin. He’d left a fire going last night before he’d gone for a walk. The fireplace was now cold, but the furnace was on, and Aiden sighed at the blessed heat.
As carefully as he could, he laid Rudy on the couch and went to his bedroom to put on some clothes. Aiden returned and sat on the love seat, staring at his mate.
He debated all of five seconds before he called his best friend.
“What’s up?” Reese asked when he answered.
Aiden rubbed a hand along his jaw. “I may or may not have just kidnapped someone and brought him to my lair.”
“Tell me you’re joking,” Reese snarled.
“Yeah, sure. I’m just kidding around.” Aiden couldn’t rip his eyes away from Rudy’s sleeping form. “Just out of curiosity, what’s the best way to calm down a human?”
Because Aiden would need to know. When Rudy woke up, he would hit the roof. It wasn’t as though Aiden had a lot of experience with humans. He pretty much stayed to himself when he wasn’t at Reese’s house.
“You really kidnapped someone?” Reese sounded astonished. “Who? Do I need to bring rope and a shovel?”
Aiden grinned. He’d offered almost the same thing when Reese had walked into his own house with a blanket in the shape of a body. Turned out it had been his vampire mate rolled inside, and all Reese had been doing was protecting Jude from the sun.
“Not unless you plan on killing my mate.”
Reese choked for a second. “You could have led with that information,” he snapped. “Who is it?”
“His name is Rudy.”
Reese choked again, louder this time. It also sounded as though he’d dropped his phone. “Did you just say Rudy?”
“Do you know anyone by that name?”
“Short shit, blond hair that always looks like it needs to be washed, blue eyes?”
“That’s the one.” Aiden told him what had happened last night and this morning. “I wouldn’t have been forced to kidnap him if he’d agreed to come home with me. It was too damn cold to leave him, and he didn’t even have a coat on.”
Reese cursed. “I knew he was homeless, but he denied it when I asked. He tried to rob me three months ago. I talked Mike into hiring him instead of having him arrested.”
“He works at Tilted?”
“He was sleeping in a sheet tent?”
Aiden scrubbed a hand over his face. It seemed his mate was down on his luck, and Aiden would do whatever he had to in order to help.
“I gotta go,” Aiden said when he saw Rudy stir. “Make sure you answer your phone. I just might need bail money.”
“If he freaks out too badly, have him call me.” Reese hung up.
Aiden set his phone aside and waited to see what his mate would do.
Chapter Two
The couch was a tad scratchy, and there was something in the air that made Rudy’s nose itch. He wiped at his face and carded his hand through his hair.
Then froze.
Couch? There was no couch in his tent. He kept his breathing even as he tried to sense where he was without opening his eyes. He heard a clock ticking, a fire crackling, and…someone was breathing a bit loudly.
Someone was near him.
Aiden? Had the naked guy from the woods kidnapped him?
“I know you’re awake.”
Rudy’s stomach quivered as he remembered the stranger turning into a bear. The same bear that had spent the night with him. How was that even possible?
“Open your eyes.”
With a hard swallow and a lick of his lips, Rudy cracked his eyes open. The first thing he saw was the flames in the fireplace. The warm crackling somewhat soothed him. It gave him a false sense of comfort.
The second thing he noticed was Aiden, who was seated on a dark gray love seat that was situated to the left of the fireplace.
“How do you feel?” Aiden had his elbows resting on his knees, his hands dangling between his legs. His dark brown hair fell softly around his face, accentuating his pale green eyes. He had an aquiline nose and full kissable lips.
He also had a large, muscled body that Rudy’s gaze slid over. There was no denying Aiden could put fire in anyone’s blood. He was a damn good-looking man.
“How did I get here?” Rudy pushed from the cushions and sat up, knocking away the blanket that had been covering him. He tilted his head and stared at Aiden. “Did you really kidnap me?”
Aiden bounced his leg as he clasped his hands together. He looked down at the floor then turned his gaze to Rudy. “You would’ve frozen out there. What choice did you leave me?”
Okay. Rudy was just gonna leave and hope the sexy nutjob didn’t follow him.
Sure. Leave the warmth and go back to the woods. That was exactly what Rudy would do. He wasn’t sticking around here for one more second. Aiden had changed into a bear and taken him.
God that sounded so insane.
Rudy had started to ease off the couch when Aiden said, “Please don’t leave.” He slid to the edge of the love seat. “I don’t like being alone.”
“You do realize that you’re freaking me out, right?” Rudy asked. “You dragged me to some cabin in the woods. You seem agitated, and now you’re telling me you don’t like to be alone. Dude, I don’t even know who the hell you are.”
“Call Reese.” Aiden got up and walked into the kitchen then returned to the archway. The guy looked as though he was trying to pull himself together. “You know what? You’re right. I shouldn’t have brought you here.”
Aiden closed his eyes for a brief second and slowly shook his head.
“You know Reese?”
“He’s my best friend.” Aiden waved toward the front door. “You’re free to go. We’re not that far from town, so the walk shouldn’t be so bad.”
Rudy got up and eased toward the door. When he looked back, he saw Aiden pressing his forehead against the wall. His eyes were closed, and he was taking deep breaths.
As soon as Rudy was outside, he called Reese. The guy had given him his number the night Rudy was hired.
“Hello?”
“Reese?” Rudy looked back toward the closed front door.
“Rudy?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I need to ask you a question.”
“Anything,” Reese said.
Rudy took a deep breath. “Is Aiden a serial killer or deranged in any kind of way?”
Why did he have an urge to go back inside? This was his chance to get out of there, but he lingered on the front step as if he wanted to get gutted or put the lotion in the basket.
Reese cleared his throat. That couldn’t be a good sign.
“No, he’s not insane, Rudy. Aiden has issues, but murder isn’t one of them.”
“What kind of issues?”
“You’ll have to talk to him about them, but I can assure you that, of all the people on the planet, you’re the one person who’s safest with him.”
Well, that wasn’t reassuring. What did that even mean? “Thanks for not clearing that up.”
“Are you still at his house?”
“No.” Rudy moved down the stone path that led to a dirt driveway. Why did he have to have so many trees around his house? Normally trees didn’t bother him, but now Rudy was freaking out and wishing he was in the middle of a busy street.
It was
too damn quiet, except for the sound of crickets and an occasional bird. Rudy felt isolated, and that made him feel even more afraid.
He was also getting cold. He curled an arm around his midsection, and he started to shiver.
“Then where are you?”
“Close to town.” He looked up when he heard a car. The dark blue sedan pulled into the dirt driveway, and Reese waved from the open window.
Shit.
Reese hung up and got out, slamming his car door closed. “Yep, close to town.”
The guy was dressed in jeans, had on a thin tan coat with white fur around the collar, and on his feet were a pair of wheat-colored boots. Strands of his dark hair hung over his forehead, and there was humor in his green eyes. His handsome features were perfect as he stood there staring down at Rudy.
Rudy tucked his phone into his back pocket. “Well, I was on my way, so I wasn’t technically lying.”
He started past Reese, but the guy pulled Rudy to a stop. “Why don’t we go inside? It’s freezing out here.”
“Oh no.” Rudy shook his head. “I’m not going back in there. He kidnapped me, Reese.”
Rudy hated the fact that Reese was right. It was cold outside, and without a coat, Rudy was shivering.
“Where you gonna go?” Reese crossed his arms over his chest. “Back to your tent that Aiden accidently destroyed?”
Rudy stared wide-eyed at Reese. How did he know about the bear? Rudy was really hoping he’d dreamt all that.
“Aiden has a lot of explaining to do, and I want you to listen before you decide to take off.”
“I told you, I’m not going back in there.” Rudy took a few steps away, but every fiber of his being wanted him to do as Reese asked. It was as if an unseen hand was trying to turn him around.
“Hot cocoa, some warmth, and a conversation, Rudy. What harm could come of that?” He nudged Rudy’s shoulder with his hand. “What do you say?”
Rudy glared at Reese and shoved a finger at the guy. “If he kills me, I’m gonna be really pissed.”
Reese rolled his eyes. “He’s not going to hurt you. I give you my word.”
Gritting his teeth, Rudy nodded. “I’ll give him one hour, and then I’m out of here.”
It was the promise of warmth that tempted Rudy, not the idea of seeing Aiden again. Nope. That wasn’t it at all.
* * * *
Aiden stood in the kitchen, hating the fact that he was alone. Being by himself gave him too much time to think, to dwell on what he’d lost and, now, the mate who’d walked away from him.
“No, you’re not gonna crawl inside your head.” He grabbed a pot and filled it with milk. Aiden loved hot cocoa, and it always soothed him. Even in the summertime he drank it when he wasn’t feeling so great.
And right now he wasn’t feeling so great.
For a while he’d thought about getting a pet, but what animal wanted to be around his depressing ass? Aiden wouldn’t do that to another living creature. He wasn’t that cruel.
It was too quiet as he poured the milk into the pot. Why did the sound of silence have to be so deafening sometimes? But there was one noise disrupting things. The sound of the clock made him want to throw the contraption out the back door. It just kept ticking, and it was driving him crazy.
Don’t focus on the clock. Focus on your hot cocoa. It doesn’t matter that your attempt at saving Rudy failed. You’ll just build him a better tent and stock it with supplies.
Right. Because that was the solution to Rudy’s homeless problem. God, already Aiden missed him. Nope, you’re not going to dwell on that. Just make your hot cocoa and shut your brain down.
If only that were possible.
The front door opened. Aiden heard the click of the lock. There was only one person who had a key to his place, and he felt relief knowing Reese was there.
The silence wasn’t so loud anymore.
“In here,” Aiden shouted. He grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and set them on the counter.
“Make that three cups,” Reese said when he entered the kitchen.
Aiden’s heart jumped, and he was instantly looking over Reese’s big shoulder, hope flaring inside him that Rudy had come back.
But no one was there.
Disappointment filled Aiden as he turned back around.
“Extra chocolate in mine please.”
A jolt of excitement shot through Aiden at the sound of Rudy’s voice. “Coming right up.”
Play it cool. Don’t scare your mate away.
Reese joined Aiden at the stove and bumped him out of the way. “I got this. Rudy has graciously given you an hour to explain things. I wouldn’t waste time.”
Aiden looked at the archway, but Rudy wasn’t standing there. He walked into the living room and found his mate sitting by the fireplace, his hands held out in front of it. He was shivering slightly as he rubbed his hands together.
Aiden cleared his throat as he sat on the couch. He wasn’t sure where to start. Rudy already knew Aiden could shift into a bear. He felt as though that part would be easier to explain than the whole mate thing.
“Cold?” That was a dumb question.
Rudy looked at Aiden as if Aiden was daft. “No, I just enjoy holding my hands up in front of a fire.”
Aiden smirked. “Just don’t let them get too close. Your fingers aren’t marshmallows.”
His mate turned and faced him. Aiden was dying to brush aside the patch of hair that had fallen over one of Rudy’s pretty blue eyes. Rudy curled his arms around his bent legs and stared curiously at Aiden. “Reese said you had things to tell me.”
Aiden wanted to sit next to Rudy but remained on the couch, giving his mate a comfortable distance. “You already know I can change into a bear.”
The skin under Rudy’s right eye twitched. “I’m still convincing myself that I dreamt all that.”
“Do you want me to prove it?” Aiden stood but sat back down when Rudy’s eyes widened and he looked ready to bolt for the door.
“Here we go.” Reese brought in the mugs and handed them out then sat on the love seat. “I can’t stay long. I want to get back to Jude and John.”
“John?” Rudy took a tentative sip. Aiden heard his mate sigh at the taste and probably the warmth.
“That’s my son’s name.” Reese looked proud. “Now let’s get on with this. You know me, Rudy. Do you trust me?”
“Well, I don’t know you well yet,” Rudy said. “But you seem like a really nice person.”
Reese waved a hand at Aiden. “He’s a bear shifter, and I’m a rhino shifter. Please don’t ask me to prove it because I really don’t want to get naked or destroy Aiden’s house.”
Rudy nearly choked on his drink.
“Aiden already showed you his bear. There’s another world right under everyone’s noses. I won’t get into what kind of creatures there are. We’ll just stick to bears and rhinos right now.”
Rudy’s gaze snapped between Reese and Aiden. Aiden didn’t mind letting Reese nutshell things. He’d take help were he could get it, and Rudy seemed to listen to Reese, whereas he’d thought Aiden was a serial killer.
Whatever worked.
“You with me so far?” Reese took a sip of his cocoa.
Rudy shrugged.
“You’re smart enough,” Reese said. “I know you got that part. Now, we’re moving on to mates. Fate gave us one, well, sometimes two, but we won’t delve into that. Fate gives us one mate. That person, for a nonhuman, is the most precious person on the planet. We’d die to protect them. Their happiness and health are our number-one priority.”
Rudy’s brows dipped. “You said I was the safest person around Aiden.”
The human was putting the puzzle pieces together. “That’s true,” Aiden said. “I’d rather chew off my own arm than hurt you.”
Reese waved a hand at Aiden. “And there you have it. Aiden is your mate. He’d do anything to help and protect you. Now I’m heading out. You two can work out all the detai
ls.” Reese stood and set his mug on the coffee table. “Try not to freak out too badly, Rudy. Aiden is a little fucked in the head, but he’s a good guy.”
Aiden narrowed his eyes. “You could’ve left that part out.”
“That you’re a good guy?” Reese smirked.
“Bastard.” Aiden showed Reese to the door. Not that he had to, but he wanted a second to let Rudy get his bearings. “Thanks,” he whispered.
Reese looked back at Rudy. “Just go slow. He looks like he’s ready to haul ass.”
“That’s because you told him I’m fucked in the head,” Aiden snarled.
“Hey, I wanted him to know what he was getting into. You’ll thank me later.”
“I’ll be sure to send you a thank-you card.” Aiden shoved Reese the rest of the way out the door and closed it. With a deep breath, Aiden turned. “You really haven’t said much.”
Rudy looked incredulously at Aiden. “What the hell am I supposed to say to all of that? Bear shifters. Rhino shifters. Mates. Fate. Are you two serious?”
And the freak-out begins.
Aiden tapped his own chest. “Don’t you feel a connection between us?”
“Buddy, that’s called lust. You were naked when I first saw you. Of course I felt a connection. It was called wanting to jump your bones.”
At least Rudy was physically attracted to Aiden. That was a start. “You believe two people can be attracted to one another, but you don’t believe in soul mates?”
That wasn’t what preternatural beings called it, but Aiden decided to use a term that Rudy might be more familiar with.
“I didn’t say I don’t believe in soul mates.” Rudy gripped his coffee mug tighter. “It could be possible, but in my experience, soul hates is more accurate. You know, two people who would rather kill each other than give their kid a happy life.”
Aiden was taken aback at how bitter Rudy sounded. He also felt for his mate if that was the kind of life he’d been brought up in. Aiden had lost his parents and younger sisters, but his mom and dad had been loving and caring. He couldn’t imagine them being that heartless toward him.
And Aiden thought he had issues? Rudy had even more.
“But you do admit that soul mates exist.” Aiden took a seat on the stone slab in front of the fireplace. He couldn’t keep his distance any longer. His bear wanted Aiden to pull Rudy into his arms and comfort him, but Aiden kept his hands to himself.
