by Marcy Jacks
He knew what a mating was, had heard how it affected people, but nothing in the world could have prepared him for what it felt like to be under the influence of a mating.
It was as though he’d found the other side to himself.
If Maddox were pulled away from him now, it would be like tearing off his own leg and feeding it to the sharks.
If how Gus felt about it was anything close to how Maddox felt about it, then he could understand perfectly the other man's pain.
“I'm sorry you were worried.”
Maddox shook his head, but he didn't say anything else. He held Gus for only a moment longer, his hand still combing through Gus’ hair.
When he stopped, but it was only to get a proper look at Gus’ face.
“How do you feel? Are you in any pain at all?”
Gus swallowed. He tried wiggling his toes on his right foot and then immediately regretted it.
“Ow. I'm fine, sort of. Just keep holding my hand. It makes it better.”
Maddox looked surprised. “You can feel the difference?”
“That's what a mating is supposed to do, right?”
Maddox sighed, again that look of relief coming over his face.
“It didn't look like my touch was helping you at all last night. No matter how much I touched you, and I kept my hands on your skin as much as I could, but I couldn't feel it, the connection…you were bleeding and…fuck.”
Maddox pushed himself away from the bed, rubbing at his face, scowling at nothing in particular.
Gus didn't know what he was supposed to say or do that would make him feel better, that would make any of this better, but that ache in his foot was starting to creep back in. So was the cold.
“Well, however the mating works, it's back on right now if you wanted to…”
He trailed off. Gus wasn't about to reach his hands out to the other man like some sort of child or something, but he almost did.
His body ached for the other man. He needed Maddox's warmth and his touch to ease his pain.
Which was getting to be more and more intense with every moment he spent not touching the man.
Maddox took one look at him, realized the problem, and cursed as he came back to bed, wrapping his arms around Gus.
And Gus sighed as he settled against the heat and strength of Maddox's chest.
“I am sorry this happened because of me.”
Gus frowned, looking around. They seemed to be in a rickety little fishing cabin of some kind. The wind whistling through the cracks became more of a screaming sound as the wind picked up. Maybe a storm was coming.
“It's fine. I mean we can go back to my place now, and everything will be—”
“You don't understand, sweetheart. There is no going back there for you.”
“What are you talking about? I live there. We can go back and then give my friends a call—”
“Baby, you're not listening. The hunters will still be there. I brought them to you. I did this to you.”
The more Maddox spoke, the more Gus could see his anger coming out.
It wasn't even in the glow of his eyes, either.
No, Gus could almost see the wolf itself in those eyes.
Fighting to get out.
“Uh, being mated to me gives you control over the wolf inside you, right? I mean that's how that works, right?”
He suddenly wasn't so sure, and Gus really wanted to get that cleared up before they went any further with this.
Maddox clenched his eyes shut before pushing himself away from Gus.
“I'm sorry. I'm having trouble holding it back.”
“Because of what happened?” Gus hoped that was what it was. It hurt him to think that he had a mate and he couldn't help that mate get control over his inner wild side.
That was the entire point of being a wolf soul, of being the very thing that the shifters wanted so badly.
If he couldn't even do that right…
“Sweetheart, you need to see your foot.”
Gus cringed. He hadn't lifted the thin sheet covering him, and he was pretty sure he didn't want to.
“Uh, I'm good. Why? Am I missing toes?”
He tried to laugh about it, but it came out a choked noise he couldn't hold back.
He didn't want to be missing any limbs.
“No, but it is showing signs of infection, and my touch isn't helping.”
“What?” Gus pulled the blanket back, and while he was massively relieved to see all of his toes there, they looked a little swollen and definitely red.
The bandage that was wrapped around his foot had bled through on one side. Gus reached out to touch his foot.
The throbbing heat was intense. Gus hissed the second he touched it.
His skin felt tight. Definitely swelling.
“My touch is not helping you. I should have brought you to a hospital last night, but I knew they'd be looking there, so I just held you and hoped…”
Maddox released an unholy sounding roar. His face changed, teeth becoming sharp and long as he turned away from Gus.
And Gus cringed.
He didn't want to fear his own mate, but that sudden shiver down his spine wouldn't go away as he watched Maddox struggle with the animal inside of him.
Gus knew werewolves struggled with their inner beasts, but the last time he'd watched one struggle to hold back like this…
It was during his kidnapping by the hunters in that pencil factory, where breathing in moldy air in a damp room with no showers or clean water had left him sick for days.
Watching Maddox grab onto a rickety table, his claws digging in as he clutched it for dear life didn't exactly bring about a lot of faith that he would be able to hold back.
If he threw that table and Gus happened to be in the way…
Maddox didn't throw the table. He breathed deep, keeping his head down. His shoulders trembled, as though he were holding down a physical being, and when he turned back to look at Gus, those violet eyes seemed so sad that Gus wanted to touch the other man, wanted to comfort him.
But what he wanted and what Maddox wanted were apparently two different things.
“I'm sorry. I need to run. I need to get it out. I won't hurt you.”
He seemed to struggle just getting that much out, so Gus didn't fight him. He nodded, appreciating the effort it took to say that much.
His foot had already been shot, and he didn't want to risk an angry, wild werewolf rampaging in this small space either.
Maddox didn't take a jacket, and he left no instructions for Gus while he was gone. Maddox went to the door, yanked it open so hard Gus thought it a miracle the thing didn't come right off the hinges, and then he practically flew out of the little shack.
Gus’ heart slammed. His foot ached, and as he listened to the quiet, that quiet eventually became the pained sounds of howling.
Chapter Seven
Only after Maddox was gone did Gus realize he'd forgotten to ask some basic things, like where exactly they were. He didn't know there were cabins around his neck of the woods.
Was this Maddox's house? Or someone else's?
Building his courage, Gus checked beneath the bandage.
Yeah, definitely some discoloration and puss around the skin. He didn't even want to look at his toes again. The nails were disgusting.
He'd heard something like this could happen when it came to metal and flesh.
He was definitely going to need a doctor. Gus didn't even have a timetable for how long it would take before this got dangerous. Maybe Maddox's touch actually had been helping it from getting worse faster than it would have.
Either way, it was too cold even when Gus stayed in bed beneath the blanket, which was more like a thin sheet than anything he could use to protect himself from the elements.
There was a hockey stick on the wall nearby. Gus reached for it.
It wouldn't be the most useful thing in the world when it came to keeping weight off his foot, but it was
much better than nothing.
As Gus looked around, he realized this wasn't just some lousy little fishing cabin.
Maddox lived here.
Guilt got at him for thinking the place had been lousy at all knowing this place was Maddox's. Hell, maybe he'd built this house by himself.
There were enough personal items around to make it obvious, and as he looked around, Gus could see signs of repair on the roof and walls.
There were lamps around, a solar charger with a phone plugged into it, and an old tablet on the table Maddox had been struggling not to break.
Gus checked the cupboards in what he supposed passed for the kitchen, and he found a number of canned goods, along with a loaf of bread and several sealed bottles of water.
He touched the plastic wrapping.
New. Fresh.
Gus was hungry. He hoped Maddox wouldn't mind.
The fireplace had signs of a fire recently dying out. Gus was cold, so he took another liberty with Maddox's home and lit it again.
He settled for a peanut butter sandwich and bottle of water for breakfast.
The bread seemed to be the only perishable thing in the cupboard. How long had Maddox been living like this?
It made Gus sad to think about, but it was also a reminder that some shifters still lived like hermits. No packs, no family, no nothing.
It made Gus incredibly happy that he hadn't commented on the state of the place when Maddox had been here. He would have definitely put his infected foot in his mouth if he'd done that.
Fire going, food in his belly, Gus grabbed a big sweater that had to be Maddox's. He put it on over his hoodie and felt so utterly small in it.
But it smelled like Maddox, and he was able to warm up.
Now he could think.
He had to get into contact with Maxwell. Eventually he would send someone to check on Gus’ well-being, and when he saw that Gus wasn't there, he would come looking.
Gus hoped. That was the deal Maxwell had made with him, but now that he was at the point where he had to test out how well the other man kept to his word, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
And the wolf continued to howl outside.
Gus winced, rubbing at his foot.
He hoped the man had some painkillers around here. He could sure as hell use them right about now.
There was a clock on the wall, the kind that ran on batteries, and it did show much time had passed, about an hour, but when Gus heard a snuffling noise outside, his heart leapt.
He got to his feet and moved for the door, pulling it open.
“Maddox? Do you feel better now?”
He didn't see Maddox there, but there was something just as terrifying. Maybe more so.
A bear.
Gus’ mouth dried up. He closed the door and slid the lock into place, though if that thing really wanted to get in here, Gus didn't know what the hell he was going to do.
“Oh shit. Oh shit.”
Did it smell the food he'd eaten? There were still crumbs on the table, and Gus had left the little plate and knife he'd dirtied in the bucket on the counter he assumed was meant to be the sink.
If he was eaten by a bear, then mate or no mate, Gus was going to be pretty passed off at Maddox for this.
A gentle rapping sound on the door made him jump, and then he clenched his teeth through the pain in his foot.
That wasn't the sound a bear made when it wanted inside.
“I know you're in there. You can come out now.”
Gus’ heart hammered so hard he thought he was having a premature heart attack.
“Wh-what?”
The voice on the other side of the door sounded patient, friendly even. “No one’s going to hurt you. You're safe now. Will you let me in?”
That was a person. Not a real bear then.
Thank God.
But just as Gus turned to open the door, he stopped, fingers on the lock.
“Which pack are you with? Or, whatever it is bears call their groups. Who are you with?”
He didn't think Maxwell had any bears in his pack, but things could change, and it wasn't as though Gus had been there long enough to get to know everyone, anyway.
The man on the other side of the door chuckled. “We live in sleuths. I'm not with anyone you know, but I am a friend.”
If he opened the door, then Gus would deserve to die for the sheer stupidity of it.
“I'll wait until Maddox comes back, but thanks for stopping by.”
“I'm a friend of Maddox's.”
“Then you can wait outside until he gets back.”
The man on the other side of the door sounded annoyed, and a little stunned.
“You're telling me that you're scared of me? Really? What are you, some kind of girl or something?”
That got Gus right in the pride, but his wounded pride wouldn't kill him.
“You're a bear shifter, and I'm a human, all right? That's enough of a reason for me to keep the door between us. Just wait for Maddox to come back.” Gus thought quickly on that one. “He's going to be back any minute.”
“Uh-huh.”
Not good, the guy didn't sound convinced.
Where the hell was Maddox?
“All right. I'll come back. I'm telling you I could help you.”
Gus swallowed hard, ignoring that terrible itching in his foot. “Thank you for your help. I'll gratefully accept it when Maddox is back. Which he will be. Any minute.”
There was no way this guy didn't know he was lying, but there was nothing Gus could do about it.
He waited until he was sure the bear shifter was gone, but he still didn't open the door.
If the guy was just faking it, then there was no way Gus could fight him off.
Hell, he couldn't even run like this.
Where the hell was Maddox? He was getting genuinely scared.
When the door tried to open minutes later, and then a hard banging noise sounded, Gus nearly jumped out of his skin until he heard Maddox's voice.
“Gus? You in there?”
Gus hobbled to the door as fast as he could, unlocking it and throwing his arms around Maddox's shoulders.
It required him to stand on the toes of his good foot, but it was so worth it.
“You're back.”
Maddox grabbed him by his shoulders. “Are you hurt? I smell someone was here.”
Gus nodded. “It was a bear shifter. He said he knew you. I didn't let him in.”
Maddox growled, and now it was a relief to see those violet eyes glowing like death was coming.
“I know no bear shifters. The fucker was lying to you. Come on.”
Maddox moved quickly back into the cabin, grabbing a messenger bag, his phone and tablet, along with the chargers, and he went to a jar at the top of one of the wooden shelves and pulled out what appeared to be a roll of cash.
Gus blinked when the man came back to him, taking him by the hand and yanking him away from the door.
“Hold this.” Maddox shoved the messenger bag into Gus’ arms, and he knew what was coming next, so he was fairly happy to be pulled off his feet and into Maddox’s arms while the man ran for it.
“Are you okay now? What happened?”
Maddox shook his head. “Sometimes the wolf needs to run. I need to let it hunt, or it gets restless. Even with you around, I'm still struggling, but don't worry, I won't let it hurt you.”
Gus wanted to tell Maddox that maybe having a wild wolf on their side right about now might not be such a bad thing, but he didn't think Maddox would want to hear that. Not when it was the last thing in the world he wanted to release.
“You really don't know that bear shifter, do you? I mean, you don't have any friends who can turn into multiple animals, or who was recently changed?”
Maddox shook his head again. “Not in the slightest. I don't want to concern you, but the smell of him is from the hunter group I was after.”
Gus shivered.
He knew
it. He fucking knew it.
“I'm so glad you came back.”
“I'm glad you didn't open the door.”
That made the two of them.
“What do we do now?”
Maddox pressed his lips together. He seemed to know where he was going, and he seemed to have a destination, so his next words shocked Gus.
“I don't know.”
Gus blinked. “You don't know?”
Maddox looked angry, and ashamed. Even as Maddox watched where he was running, Gus could see it all over his face.
“I don't have much to offer you, Gus. That was my house back there. I've always been alone. I never thought I would meet my mate, and if I ever did, I thought I would have the strength to stay away.”
He growled, his teeth getting long again, though this time, no fur grew out of his face.
“I did this to you, and I can't even protect you.”
In the distance, Gus thought he saw something truly horrifying, the shadows of people, and shifters, running through the woods.
Chasing after them.
“Maddox…”
“I see them.”
Gus swallowed hard. “I know some people. A pack of wolves. They'll take us in, you, too.”
Maddox briefly glanced at him. “They will protect you?”
Gus nodded, grateful he could offer this one small thing.
“They'll protect the both of us. I have the word of the alpha that I can come back any time I want. They won't turn me away. We can go there, and it will be safe.”
“Tell me where this pack is.”
Gus told him, and Maddox nodded, seemingly pleased as he smiled.
“I can at least do this for you. I'm sorry, sweetheart, but we're going to have to do a little more running before we get to where we need to go.”
Gus knew that meant he was going to have to fight a little harder to not bite his own tongue during the ride, but that was preferable compared to being taken prisoner by the shifters and hunters who wanted to sell him for profit.
Meanwhile, the large, dark shadows were getting closer and closer. Gus could see the eyes of the shifters chasing them.
“I'm sorry. It's me they want.”
“Gus, there's something you need to know.”
Gus looked at his mate, noted the anger in his eyes, and he knew he wasn't going to like what he heard.