Pleading the Fifth

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  ~~

  Jude heard the front door open and the sound of keys hit with a loud crack on the glass side table. The door slammed shut, shaking the apartment. Jude twisted on the couch to see Scott stalking through to the kitchen, mumbling under his breath.

  “Scott?” Jude asked.

  “What,” Scott snapped.

  “Wow, okay, did you not take your Midol

  today?” Scott stopped. Turning slowly, he looked at his brother. “I found my mate today.”

  Jude jumped up off the couch. “Really? Who is he?”

  “An asshole from the outer regions of the hell dimension. It’s Tristan Miles of the California pack.”

  “The lawyer?”

  Scott narrowed his eyes. “I would prefer Jabba the Hutt right now.”

  “He’s that bad? I thought Sebastian said he was smokin’ hot?”

  “I hadn’t noticed. His assholishness marred the moment.” Scott grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and twisted the cap off.

  Jude grinned. “Come on, he couldn’t have been that bad.”

  Scott turned slowly and eyed his roommate. “He’s a jackass. Stuck up and thinks his shit doesn’t stink.”

  “So you’re perfect for each other.” Jude ducked as Scott threw his water bottle at him. Water flew across the coffee table. “Oh come on! He is hot, isn’t he?”

  “You know, I was so wrapped up in my utter hatred of the man, his looks did not come into play.”

  Jude made his way into the kitchen. He leaned against the counter and hip-bumped Scott. “Come on; let’s go out to the club. You’ll feel better.”

  “Jude…”

  “Pleeease?”

  Scott had to smile. Jude’s pouty-lip look did it to him every time.

  “Fine. Cuffs and Stuff in one hour and you buy the drinks.”

  “Awesome!” Jude bounced out of the kitchen. “I’m calling Chaz and Cole!” Jude stopped and looked back at his brother. “You get to clean up the mess you just made.”

  “Ugh, I don’t clean!”

  “Start!”

  Scott stepped into the shower and sighed. The hot water flowed over his body, washing the day away. Thank God he was a werewolf, otherwise he’d be sporting quite the black eye right now. Closing his eyes, Scott ran his hands through his hair. A vision of Tristan Miles in a suit immediately came into view. Okay, so he had been paying a little attention.

  Tristan’s blond hair and amazing eyes were the first memory to hit his anger-fueled mind. They were nothing alike, had nothing in common; how could the fates have thought they’d be suited to one another? Scott shut the water off and stepped out of the shower. Drying his hair, he looked in the mirror and frowned.

  “It’s a mistake. It has to be.”

  ~~ The ride to the club was filled with Jude talking about Scott’s luck in finding a mate. Whatever. Scott looked out the window of the truck and pursed his lips. Tristan Miles annoyed him and he had called Scott short. What the fuck? Five eleven was not short. The club’s parking lot was packed; Scott jumped out of the truck and waited for Jude to catch up. They met the bouncer, Jesse, at the door.

  “Hey, Jesse,” Jude smiled. “How’s the meat looking?”

  Jesse winked. “Prime cut, Jude.” Jesse eyed Scott’s frown. “What’s wrong, Delange? You look extra pissy.”

  “He had a shitty day,” Jude said quickly.

  “Nothing a blow job won’t fix,” Scott grumbled.

  Jesse grinned. “Got some guys in from Sweden tonight. Don’t speak English too well.”

  “Perfect! Thanks Jess!” Jude pulled Scott into the club. Jude took a long look around the club; he spotted Chaz and Cole saving them a table off to the side. They’d met Chaz and Cole at an accident they’d been called to on I-5; Preston and Wyatt had introduced them all and they’d been fast friends ever since. Jude pulled Scott in the direction of the table.

  “Chaz and Cole saved us a table.”

  Scott was busy taking in the blonds across the bar. “I think I’ve spotted the Swedes. I believe I’ll go welcome them to America.” “Scott…” Jude frowned. “Come on.”

  “Just because fate decided to give me a mate, doesn’t mean I have to accept him.”

  Jude scowled as Scott took off towards the table of blonds. He sat down with a huff and looked over at Chaz and Cole. “It’s going to be a long night.”

  ~~ Tristan eyed the neon sign of Cuffs and Stuff with a frown. Seriously? Cuffs and Stuff? He’d been to quite a few gay clubs in West Hollywood, but this one took the cake. When Sebastian had suggested going out to unwind, he didn’t think it’d be a noisy gay bar. The beefy bouncer at the front door gave him an appreciative once over and Tristan smirked. Typical.

  Sebastian smiled at Jesse. “Hey, Jess.” “Bastian,” Jesse nodded. “Nicholas,” Jesse narrowed his eyes taking another look at the man with them. “Shit, Miles?”

  Tristan’s eyes widened. “Salvatore?”

  Sebastian looked from Jesse to Tristan. “You guys know each other?”

  “Hell, yeah, we do.” Tristan shook Jesse’s hand. “Salvatore’s an ex-SEAL”

  “Is anyone not a SEAL?” Nicholas sighed.

  “I’m not,” Sebastian chuckled.

  “Well, you shouldn’t have any problems inside tonight, Tristan.” Jesse said.

  “I’ll keep that in mind, Jesse,” Tristan smiled flirtatiously.

  Sebastian grabbed Tristan’s hand, dragging him into the club.

  “Will you stop flirting?” Sebastian groaned. “You are a taken man.”

  “Supposedly.” Tristan let his eyes adjust to the lights in the club. The floor was vibrating with the bass of the song that was playing. A man with dark hair and a package worth sucking was looking at him. Tristan grinned and leaned into Sebastian’s ear.

  “I think I just found myself a plaything.”

  “Tristan, wait-” Sebastian grabbed his hand. “Not that guy, that’s Jerry and he’s been through every man here.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m a big boy,” Tristan said. “I’ll find another one.”

  Sebastian sighed. He looked at Nicholas with a frown. “What is with these guys?”

  Nicholas palmed his fiancé’s face. “They will come around, babe. Please don’t worry. Try to enjoy yourself tonight, okay?”

  ~~

  Scott almost yawned. Lars - yes, Lars was butchering the English language. He’d gotten that they were all on some Swedish swim team. After that, he’d kind of checked out of the conversation. It wasn’t that Lars wasn’t a hottie, he was just so boring. Scott had tried to explain that he was an EMT, Lars had said ‘doctor’ so Scott had finally said sure, he was a doctor. It seemed to turn Lars on more, so what the hell? They moved to the dance floor and Scott had a grip on Lars’ nice, tight swimmer’s ass. The music pumped out a beat that Scott knew well; he slid down Lars’ body running his hardened cock up Lars’ thigh on his way back up.

  “You are good dancer,” Lars said. Well okay … “So are you,” Scott smiled. Was this guy thick? And not the hard cock kind of thick. “So, would you like to get out of here? I can show you how hospitable we Americans are.”

  Lars frowned. “I do not need hospital.” Oh for fuck’s sake.

  ~~ “Uh huh, that’s very interesting,” Tristan drawled. He was starting to wonder how this guy made it out of his house in the morning. He must have gotten hit in the head too many times. Although the guy had some fantastic hands, and one hell of an impressive cock from what he could see in the man’s painted-on jeans, Tristan just wasn’t feeling the vibe he usually got. He’d had some guys before who couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag, but this was ridiculous. Mike was a boxer. Big surprise.

  “So, what do you do for a living?” Mike asked.

  “I’m a lawyer.”

  “Yeah? So you like, put people in jail?”

  Tristan sighed in boredom. “I am a prosecuting attorney, so yes, that is my job.”

  “I spent some time i
n prison,” Mike said offhandedly.

  Tristan wanted to bang his head on the table. An alluring scent wafted up his nostrils and he stiffened on the barstool. It couldn’t be, could it? Tristan looked over his shoulder to see where Sebastian was and his eyes fell on Scott on the dance floor. Scott was basically fucking a blond Amazon on the dance floor. The jealousy rose so fast it almost knocked him on his ass. Tristan stood up and tried to control his emotions. Who the fuck did Scott think he was? They were fucking mated for Christ’s sake! Tristan marched over to them dragging Mike with him. He stood behind Scott and cleared his throat.

  “So, I see you decided to come out tonight. I take it the cream worked on that rash?”

  Scott turned slowly. “You tell me; you gave me the rash. Did it work on you?”

  “Whoa, huh?” Mike looked from Tristan to the guy in front of them. “A rash? Dude, you didn’t say anything about a rash.”

  “Oh, he didn’t?” Scott grinned. “He probably didn’t take his meds today. You know that bipolar shit is tricky.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Tristan spat.

  “The Tourette’s syndrome kicks in, too,” Scott shook his head sadly.

  “You have rash?” Lars asked.

  “Yes and pus leaks from his cock,” Tristan replied.

  “Pus?” Lars backed away.

  “Oh, that word you know?” Scott had to laugh.

  “It’s bad enough I’m stuck with you, now you ruin my night!” Tristan snarled.

  “Oh, please!” Scott leaned into Tristan’s face. “You think I’m happy about this?”

  “I think you should count yourself lucky to have someone like me.”

  “Lucky?” Scott yelled.

  ~~ Sebastian turned to the dance floor. The voices were getting louder and louder. Scott and Tristan stood in the middle of the dance floor in an all-out verbal smackdown.

  “Oh, shit,” Sebastian grabbed Nicholas. Nicholas spotted Jude, followed by Chaz and Cole, making a beeline for his brother. The dance floor had cleared as Scott and Tristan tore each other up verbally.

  “Um, Tristan?” Sebastian said loudly. “I’m leaving now, with my date!” Tristan shouted.

  “Yeah?” Scott motioned towards the back tables. “He’s moved on.”

  “So has yours,” Tristan smirked. Scott’s blond Amazon was leaving with another man.

  “Goddammit!” Scott said.

  “I think you guys should—” Sebastian started.

  “That’s just great!” Scott yelled at Tristan. “You’re already ruining my sex life!”

  “Oh please! You weren’t going to get laid by the blond Neanderthal.”

  “Neanderthal? Oh please! Look what you had!”

  “I think it’s time to go.” Jude grabbed Scott, dragging him across the floor.

  “This isn’t over, Miles!” Scott shouted.

  “Bring it, Delange!”

  Sebastian’s shoulders slumped. “Well, that went well.”

  ~~

  Tristan fumed all the way back to Sebastian’s and Nicholas’ house. The nerve of Scott to hit on some guy at the club; they were mates, even if they did hate each other. As soon as they pulled up to the curb, Tristan was out and headed for the door.

  “Tristan,” Sebastian called.

  “What?”

  “Don’t you think you might have

  overreacted?” Tristan turned with raised eyebrows. “Scott was hitting on a guy, right in front of me!”

  “And what were you doing? Or did you forget that little tidbit?” Sebastian crossed his arms.

  “Please, nothing was going to happen with Mike.” Tristan put invisible quotations in the air with his fingers. “I like my men with an IQ, thank you.”

  “Well, seems that both you and Scott have some talking to do.” Nicholas unlocked the front door, turning off the alarm.

  “We have nothing to talk about.” Tristan toed off his shoes and made his way down the hall to the guest bedroom.

  “I think you do.” Nicholas stood in the hallway. “Whether you want to admit it or not, you were jealous tonight.”

  “Jealous?” Tristan scoffed.

  “Yes, jealous.” Sebastian contemplated telling Tristan what he’d seen of the future, but figured the fates knew what they were doing. Who was he to mess with the fates’ designs? “It bothered you that your mate was flirting with another man. Seems that your inner alpha male wanted to come out.”

  “That’s the problem right there,” Nicholas declared, narrowing his eyes at Tristan. “Scott is also an alpha male and the power struggle is what’s going to keep the two of you from connecting. Neither one of you wants to give up control.”

  “Maybe I just don’t want him, period,” Tristan threw over his shoulder as he made his way into the guest room.

  “Nice try,” Sebastian grinned making his way up the stairs. “The jealousy was permeating the club, as was your arousal during your little spat. So, deny, deny, deny, but I know the truth.”

  “Oh, go to bed,” Tristan sighed in frustration.

  The door upstairs closed and Tristan closed the door to the guest room with a loud, irritated sigh. He removed his clothes and headed for the shower. Stepping under the spray, Tristan closed his eyes. Okay, so seeing Scott with a tall, good-looking blond had set his teeth to itching, but that didn’t mean he actually gave a shit. Did it?

  No…he wasn’t going to start changing now; he’d spent too many years perfecting the wall that surrounded his heart. Too many cheating lovers, lies, and betrayals of trust had left him jaded. He’d never loved anyone, never allowed himself to lose that much control. Loving someone meant handing your heart over, and Tristan wasn’t going to relinquish any part of himself to anyone. Ever.

  Tristan rinsed and turned the water off and dried his hair. Making his way back into the room, he grabbed his boxers and flung himself on the bed. Why did he get a mate now? Tristan looked for his cell phone and found it still in the pocket of his jeans. He dialed Jacob’s number and hoped that whatever he and Seth were doing, they could take a break. The phone was answered on the third ring by a very out of breath Jacob.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Jacob said.

  “Busy?”

  “Nah, situation.”

  Tristan gone from Navy SEALs to LAPD SWAT and just negotiating a hostage

  chuckled. Jacob and Seth had now, they were moving to Seattle to join the SWAT team there.

  “I didn’t think you knew how to negotiate,” Tristan laughed.

  “Oh, well once in a while Seth likes to talk instead of kill. It does happen, even if it is rare. What’s up? Everything okay with my mate?”

  Tristan had to smile. Jacob’s mate was none other than Kory Maguire, Kurt Foster’s brother and brother-in-law to Wesley Foster of the Denali pack. The guy was just adorable as could be but still on the fence somewhat about his sexuality.

  “Kory’s just fine as far as I know; Wyatt and Sebastian keep a close eye on him.”

  “So then what’s the apprehension about? I can hear it in your voice.”

  “Scott Delange is my mate.” Tristan blurted it out. Jacob’s laughter was like a loud roar in his ear. “What’s so funny?”

  “Oh, that is just priceless! Scott Delange is just as alpha as you are!”

  Tristan sighed in frustration. “I’m so glad I could amuse you.” Tristan could hear Jacob talking to someone and then the unmistakable sound of Seth’s laughter filtered through the phone. “Oh, come on guys! This is not funny!”

  “It so is! Scott Delange? The fates have one hell of a wicked sense of humor!” Jacob doubled over laughing.

  “I’m so glad you find this humorous. When are you guys coming out?”

  “Transfer’s been put in, any luck locating a house for us? Have you even started looking?”

  “I just got here! I got blindsided by the whole mate thing, and then went out tonight only to find Scott cozying up to some blond airhead!”

  “Let me guess, your inn
ocent ass was just moping around at Sebastian’s,” Jacob chuckled.

  Tristan sighed. Damn if Jacob didn’t know him like the back of his hand. “I may have been flirting a little.”

  “Noooo.”

  “Shut up. You got Kory as a mate; you have no idea what I have endured.”

  “Poor Scott,” Jacob sighed comically.

  “Poor Scott? Have you lost your mind? You know exactly what I’ve been through.”

  “You don’t exactly get all warm and fuzzy with the guys you date, and I’m sure Scott is the same way,” Jacob pointed out. “The two of you will butt heads until one of you finally allows the other in.”

  “It won’t be me; you know how I feel about that shit.”

  “Tristan, you can’t keep going the route you have, you know that. I understand what you’ve been through; hell, I went through it myself as a SEAL. Too many months gone does not make for a good relationship. I plan on doing everything in my power to be there for Kory when he’s ready, which means moving to Seattle and making my presence known to him. It’s a gamble to open your heart, I know it, you know it, but the alternative is being alone for the rest of your life. The fates gave you a mate and if it was anyone other than Scott, I’d know it wouldn’t work.”

  “What makes you think Scott and I are suited for one another?”

  “Seriously? He won’t put up with your shit and he’ll dog you every chance he gets. Scott Delange is just what you’ve needed all along and I’d bet my life the man will be faithful to you. He’s your mate Tristan, you and I both know what that means.”

  Tristan ran his hands over his face in frustration. “He’s such an ass.”

  Jacob chuckled. “He’s perfect for you. He

  -”

  “Don’t you need to be negotiating or something?” Tristan interrupted, trying to change the subject.

  “Nah. Seth’s got it under control.”

  “Please hurry up and get here. I’ll go house hunting tomorrow morning, all right? I’m going to stop by one of the law firms and see if I like it or not.”

  “Which one? The one that sent you the letter?”

  “Yeah, it’s like Markel & Markel or something like that. They are a pretty prestigious law firm so we’ll see how it goes.”