by AJ Jarrett
Nehalem Pack 6
His Perfect Mate
Jake Weathers just wants to be happy. After the death of his father and the abandonment of his twin brother, all he longs for is something normal in his life. But what he wants and what he gets are out of his control.
Carl Sampson has learned life doesn’t give out favors or happy endings. Being held prisoner with his younger brother for the past three years has left him a broken man. Daily physical and sexual abuse has taken away his ability to trust others. That is until he comes face to face with his mate. Learning to trust again might be Carl’s toughest challenge yet.
Carl discovers all too soon that he can’t run from his past. After his brother is taken by the very man they escaped from, Carl has to put his issues aside and accept Jake’s help. But Carl is starting to wonder if he can sacrifice his mate in order to save his brother.
Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 41,475 words
HIS PERFECT MATE
Nehalem Pack 6
AJ Jarrett
EROTIC ROMANCE
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove
HIS PERFECT MATE
Copyright © 2013 by AJ Jarrett
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-103-6
First E-book Publication: June 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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HIS PERFECT MATE
Nehalem Pack 6
AJ JARRETT
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
“Jake, where are you going?”
Jake turned around to see his brother Josh standing behind him. “Over to Holden’s house.” He gestured out the back door.
“Oh.” Josh shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his feet. “I didn’t know you two were such good friends.”
Jake loved his brother. They were twins and had always shared every part of their lives with one another but after their father died everything seemed to change. In his grief Josh took off, whereabouts unknown, leaving Jake behind.
For far too long he had been a follower and now he didn’t need his brother to guide him through life. He was a grown man and it was high time he started making his own choices. He just hadn’t told his brother of this little revelation.
“Well we are. After you left we started to hang out. He’s a great guy.” Jake looked just past his brother’s shoulder. He hated seeing the hurt look on his face. It wasn’t like he liked bringing up the fact that Josh took off for a month without telling anyone where he went but it was a hard subject to avoid.
“Fuck, Jake, I’m so sorry about that. I never did it to hurt you.” Josh looked away from him. “I just didn’t know how to deal with everything going on.” Josh let out a small chuckle. “I guess I’m more of a coward than I care to admit.”
“No you’re not.” Josh took stepped closer to his brother. “I don’t blame you for leaving. It hurt not knowing where you went but I get why you did it. I’m not trying to punish you for anything. But while you were gone I had to adapt without having you here.” He spoke the truth. He didn’t blame Josh for his actions but he couldn’t be at fault for moving on with his life either.
“I know you did.” Josh pulled him into a tight hug. “But I still feel like I failed you and Cole. I’m the oldest. I should have been here for you guys.”
It drove Jake crazy how Josh always thought he needed to take care of him and their younger brother Cole. They were grown men who didn’t need a caretaker. Yes, Josh had always taken on the role as leader but now they didn’t need him to fill that position in their lives. They just needed him to be their brother. Jake was happy with that and wished Josh could see that.
“You’re here now. Cole and I are grown men who can take care of ourselves.” He patted Josh on the back and took a step back. “Just don’t jump ship again without telling us,” he teased. “We at least need to know where to forward your mail.”
“Wise ass.” Josh lightly punched him in the arm.
“You know what?” He started to laugh. “I am wise. So don’t you forget it.”
He gave Josh one more hug goodbye then started the trek up to Holden’s house. Holden lived with Skyler and Noah and their young son Carson. A few months back Holden came to town and dropped the bomb that he was Carson’s uncle. Wouldn’t have been a huge shock if it weren’t for the fact that Carson’s mother had drugged Noah in order to become pregnant.
Holden came to Nehalem when he learned that his father had discovered that his sister’s baby stilled lived. Holden’s father was the alpha of their pack and a crazy son of a bitch to boot. The man had ordered the death of his daughter then wanted her son dead as well. Holden being the good guy that he was tracked Noah and Carson down and was there the night his father attacked. Luckily none of them got hurt but Holden’s father and his men had been killed in the battle. Not much of a loss in Jake’s o
pinion.
But since then Jake had become good friends with Holden. Holden was there to listen to Jake when he was dealing with his father’s death and his brother’s abandonment. Jake poured his heart out to Holden and shed more than a few tears on his shoulder but Holden didn’t judge him. A bond formed between them and Jake was happy to call Holden a friend.
Skyler and Noah’s property backed up to the Carsten family’s. The walk only took about fifteen minutes. If he were to shift he could cut the time in half but he enjoyed making the walk on his human legs. He loved the way the night breeze would brush against his face and the smell and sounds of nature all around him. It gave him time to just be him and to relax without the constant prying eyes of his brothers.
As he walked out of the trees he could see the lights on in the kitchen. Skyler stood at the sink washing dishes. He jogged up to the back door and knocked. Skyler glanced over his shoulder, smiled, then waved for him to come in.
“Hey, Sky.”
“Hey, Jake.” Skyler turned around, drying his hands on the towel. He had a worried look on his face. “Can I ask you something?”
Jake could feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to rise. “Sure,” he said slowly, not sure he wanted to hear what Skyler’s question would be.
“Do you and Holden have something going on between you two?”
“Excuse me?” Jake’s eyes widened at the question. Did he like Holden? Yes, but he didn’t think beyond that. No one ever asked Jake if he preferred men over women and he never discussed it with anyone. It was none of their business. If he had to label himself he’d have to say he was curious but still he never thought of Holden in that way. They were friends and neither of them wanted to jeopardize that.
“I’m not insinuating anything thing. I’m just curious,” Skyler rushed to say. “I mean just because your brothers have joined the club doesn’t mean you’re a member by association.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” At times he felt Skyler talked in a language only Skyler could understand. He often wondered how Noah kept up with his mate’s antics. “What club?”
“Oh you know.” Skyler twirled the towel in his hand around. “The we love cock club.” Jake rolled his eyes and Skyler began to laugh. “But seriously I’m just asking because Holden has a friend over. And if something is going on between the two of you, I wanted to forewarn you.”
“Sky, we’re just friends.” He wanted to put Skyler’s nerves at ease. And he also didn’t want Skyler to think he and Holden had something going on and that Holden was being unfaithful or some shit. “He can do whatever he likes.”
“Oh thank God!” Skyler sighed dramatically. “Ever since that guy showed up I’ve been sweating bullets. I didn’t want to be the one to break it to you if you guys were, you know, hooking up.”
He totally didn’t get Skyler’s logic. “Even if we were why would an old friend coming over to see Holden automatically imply that he’s cheating?”
“Because the guy is gorgeous. If I weren’t with Noah, I’d be trying to get me some of that.” Skyler’s eyes fell shut and he made a humming sound.
“Dude, you need help.” Jake pointed toward the hall. “Is Holden in the TV room?”
“Yes, and trust me when you meet Seth you’ll want to drool down your chin. Yummy!” Skyler snapped his fingers then turned back to the dishes he was washing in the sink.
Jake shook his head as he walked down the hallway. He admired the way Skyler could speak his mind so freely. Skyler knew who he was and didn’t make excuses for it. Jake hoped to one day be that confident in his own skin.
As he neared the room he could hear voices coming through the door. He could make out Holden’s voice and another. They were talking in low tones and Jake couldn’t decipher what they were talking about. He stopped at the door and knocked once.
“Jake,” Holden said when he opened the door. “Did you get held up by Skyler again?”
“Of course,” he answered as he stepped into the room. His eyes immediately landed on the man sitting on the couch. And he had to admit that Skyler was right. The man was beautiful. He looked like an angel who had fallen from grace sent to live among the lonely humans of the world. He had dark-blond hair with bright-blue eyes. A dark tan colored his skin and stubble covered his jaw. He looked gorgeous and lethal all at once.
But regardless of the man’s good looks, Jake didn’t care for the hard stare the other man was giving him. Jake wasn’t some lightweight but the man lounging back on the couch looked like he could wrestle a bear and live to tell the tale.
“Jake, let me introduce you to my friend, Seth.” Seth stood up and offered his hand to Jake and he accepted it. “We’ve been friends for years.”
“Nice to meet you, Seth.”
“Likewise,” the man said then sat back down.
“So what brings you to Nehalem?” Jake asked as he took a seat on the couch across from where Seth sat.
Seth tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow at him. Jake sat back further in his seat, not sure if what he had just asked had pissed the guy off.
“Seth has come here because he needs my help with something,” Holden answered. Seth opened his mouth to say something but Holden waved off his reply. “Seth, we can trust Jake. He’s my friend.”
“What’s going on?” Jake’s stomach clenched tight. He had a bad feeling.
Seth narrowed his eyes at Holden and Holden gave a nod of his head. With a resigned look on his face Seth started to explain. “Jake, I grew up in Holden’s pack but when I turned eighteen I chose to leave. I’m not one for large groups.” A smiled cracked the hard exterior of the man’s face. “I moved to a town in Vermont called Clawson. I like it there. It’s peaceful, away from any large cities, and I don’t have to deal with pack life. Until recently I hadn’t had any problems in avoiding other wolves.”
Jake wasn’t one to judge. Seth’s choice to leave his pack was his own to make. Not everyone wanted to be under the rule of another person and a pack always had an alpha. And sometimes the wolf in charge was a piece of shit that didn’t make the right decisions for the pack’s benefit.
“So what changed?” Jake asked.
“I spotted a young wolf on my property.” Seth shrugged. “Not a big deal until I noticed him more and more. Then I caught the wolf hunting on my land so I decided to follow him. The wolf never suspected that I had been following it and when he shifted I couldn’t believe the condition the kid was in. His body was thin and he looked malnourished. Scars covered the kid’s back like he’d been whipped. When I tried to approach him to tell him he was on private property he took off. Several days later I tracked him to a small, rickety-looking shack. And there were two of them. Brothers, I’m assuming.”
Jake hated to hear of anybody suffering from abuse, but what did this have to do with Seth needing help? “Why didn’t you approach them once you found where they lived?” It seemed like the most logical thing to do.
Seth let out a harsh laugh. “You’ve never had the privilege of being under the rule of a deranged alpha I take it?” Jake didn’t like Seth’s tone and just glared at him. “That’s what I thought. You look like you’ve lived a pretty pampered life.”
“Hey!” Jake stood up and Seth did so as well. His fist balled up tight and he could feel his body tingle with wanting to shift.
“Knock it off!” Holden shouted and put his arms out to separate them.
“Because, one of them had a gun and by the condition they were in they would probably shoot first then ask questions later. They need help and I’m not much of a people person. So I wanted Holden to come with me. He’s got a way with people and most seem to like him. I’m hoping he can help me get these boys the care they need and off my land.” Seth sat back down on the couch and put his head in his hands. The man looked tired.
Before Jake knew what he was doing he said, “If Holden’s going then so am I.”
“What?” both Seth and Holden asked simultaneou
sly.
“If these kids need assistance then I want to help. And I want to make sure nothing happens to you.” He didn’t think Seth would hurt Holden but he wasn’t sure about the two wolves he spoke of. Also he needed a vacation.
“Um, are you two seeing each other or something?” Seth asked.
“Dear god!” Jake threw his hands in the air. “Can’t two men just be friends? I swear everyone has sex on the brain.”
“Let me guess, Skyler got to you, too?” Holden asked with a wide grin on his face.
“Yeah. Not that you’re not attractive but I don’t see you in that way. No offense,” he answered honestly.
“None taken and I feel the same. But are you sure you want to go with us? It might take a few days and it might be dangerous. If what Seth says is true these wolves might be skittish toward anyone trying to help them.” Holden rested a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sure. I can handle my own and I need some time away.” Jake didn’t need to tell Holden why he needed to get away. His friend knew. Jake loved his brothers but ever since Josh left Cole had been treating him as if he were the baby of the family. Then when Josh returned his brother looked at him as if he would fall to pieces at any moment.
After their father had died he thought he might lose his mind. The grief was like a knife to the chest and he didn’t think he’d be able to live through the pain, but he did. Jake worked through his grief and in the process changed as a person. He no longer needed to depend on Josh to tell him what to do next. Jake really liked the person he’d become but his brothers still hadn’t gotten used to the new him.