Nate's Deputy (2019 Reissue)

by Lavinia Lewis

  Jared sat down on the sofa but immediately got back up. He paced around the room then stopped in front of Nate, keeping his eyes to the ground.

  Oh, God.

  Nate’s heart hammered ninety to the dozen. Finally, right before Nate thought he would explode from the suspense, Jared looked up, his emerald eyes shining brightly.

  “This is kind of hard to say.”

  “Then you best get it over with,” Nate bit out, more sharply than he would have liked. “No sense dragging it out.”

  Jared nodded and chewed on his bottom lip. “When I introduced myself as your mate, to your father and your sister, I liked how it sounded.”

  Nate scratched the top of his head as he stared at Jared in confusion. That hadn’t been what he’d expected at all. He cocked his head to the side and stared into Jared’s eyes waiting for the ‘but’.

  It never came.

  “I could get used to saying it.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “We’re mates, Nate. I don’t want to deny it anymore…I can’t. Don’t you feel how strong the bond is between us?”

  All the air whooshed out of Nate’s lungs.

  Was Jared saying what he thought he was?

  “I think we should try. I think we should—”

  Jared didn’t get to finish the sentence.

  Nate slid a hand through the hair on the back of his head, pulled him close and kissed him hard, cutting off the rest of his words.

  Jared groaned into his open mouth, taking everything Nate gave and returning it tenfold.

  Without breaking the kiss, Nate threw down his hat, using his hand to grab hold of his mate’s ass then pulled him closer until their rigid erections were pressed together. Jared cried out and tilted his head back, grinding into Nate until they were both blissfully short of breath, their bodies begging for release.

  It was the sweetest torture Nate had ever experienced.

  When Jared looked up, his eyes had shifted to their wolf form and there was a look of desperation on his face that was nearly Nate’s undoing.

  Then, Jared whispered one word.

  “Please.”

  That single, innocent little word sent Nate into a frenzy.

  His wolf was ecstatic.

  His eyes shifted to mirror Jared’s and a low, gravelly growl tore from his throat. Nate lost all self-control. He reached down and tore at the button on Jared’s jeans, fighting with the zipper before reaching inside and finally—finally—getting his hands on the prize.

  Jared’s cock was like steel.

  When Nate slid back the foreskin, his hand became slick from the moisture that leaked from within. Jared trembled in his arms, gasping and panting and whispering words of encouragement in his ear.

  Nate didn’t need any.

  He sank to his knees and wrapped his mouth around Jared’s cock, taking it right to the back of his throat, moaning in pleasure when he tasted Jared’s essence for the first time. Jared grunted and grabbed a handful of Nate’s hair, his hips jerking, forcing even more of his length into Nate’s throat.

  Jared wasn’t going to last very long. It was obvious. His entire body shook as he thrust deeply into Nate’s mouth over and over, each time harder and with more urgency.

  “I’m home!” Tristan shouted from the front door.

  Jared yelped and pulled his cock out of Nate’s mouth. He tucked his cock back inside his jeans then fumbled with the button.

  “Shit!”

  Nate quickly got to his feet and swiped a hand over his mouth. Jared had just finished untucking his shirt and pulling it down to hide his erection when his brother entered the room. Tristan took one look at them both then his mouth curved up into a smirk.

  “I can go back out again if you guys—”

  “No!” Jared squeaked, and then cleared his throat. “No, it’s fine, really.”

  Tristan’s grin got broader. “Uh-huh.”

  “Did you, uh…did you have a good time?” Jared asked.

  “Yeah, but it looks as if you were having an even better time.”

  Jared’s face turned bright red.

  Nate, who had been watching the exchange between the two brothers with silent amusement, threw his head back and laughed. He reached out, slid an arm around Jared’s waist and pulled him to his side, planting a kiss on his head.

  “We were, as it happens,” Nate said. “Hope that’s okay.”

  “Hell yeah, it’s okay,” Tristan replied. “I’m gonna grab some water from the kitchen then I’ll get out of your hair. Guess I’ll see you both in the morning.”

  Nate couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “Yeah, kid, see you in the morning.”

  “Uh, yeah, night,” Jared said.

  Tristan was almost out the door when he paused and turned. “Crap, I nearly forgot. I just saw Kelan before I left the Crazy Horse. He asked me to tell you to call him soon as you can. He said he’d tried to get hold of you both but your cells were switched off.”

  Shit.

  Nate pulled the cell phone out of his pocket at the same time Jared reached for his. It seems they’d both forgotten to switch them back on after they left the nursing home. When the phones blinked to life, they beeped repeatedly.

  Nate looked at Jared and frowned.

  “What the hell?”

  Nate pulled up three text messages that had been sent within the last half an hour and read them in turn. They all said pretty much the same thing.

  ‘Urgent…Call me ASAP…Trouble.’

  Jared was wearing the same look of disappointment Nate was certain covered his own face.

  “Guess we’d better call Kelan,” he said, hitting the button for speed dial.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “I’m sorry for spoiling your night,” Kelan said. “But thanks for coming so quickly. We only just got here ourselves.”

  Jared waved off Kelan’s concern. “It’s no problem, what happened?”

  “There’s been more trouble, it seems. Pete called. He didn’t say much but I got the impression it’s bad.”

  Nate and Jared strode across the parking lot towards Jessie’s Dancehall alongside Kelan and Stefan. Jared couldn’t believe there had been more trouble again, but he was relieved Tristan hadn’t been involved this time.

  “Has the sheriff been called?” Jared asked.

  Kelan shook his head. “Pete said we should get down here first. I’ve already called Gregory at his request. He and Ashton are on their way.”

  Nate frowned. “It must be bad if Pete wanted you to call the council.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Kelan replied. “Pete sounded strange on the phone earlier… I don’t know…scared, I guess.”

  “These occurrences are happening too frequently,” Stefan said. “If something isn’t done soon then there’s a real danger of the humans finding out about us. I’m amazed we’ve been able to hide from them for as long as we have.”

  “You know, if Dean is right and this Stan is working with Joe Walker, then maybe we should be watching Joe round the clock,” Jared mused. “Stan has to show up sooner or later and when he does, we’ve got him.”

  Kelan nodded. “I’m inclined to agree. We’ll talk to Gregory and Ashton about it when they get here. See what we can arrange.”

  Jared pushed open the door to Jessie’s and the second he stepped inside, the smell of blood hit him.

  It was strong.

  His gums itched, his incisors threatening to elongate.

  “Jesus, what the hell happened here?” Nate stepped in behind him.

  Jared sensed the cowboy was having trouble containing his wolf, too.

  Kelan and Stefan strode across the dance floor to the bar. The jukebox was loud and playing some country song about holding on to your man, but there was no sign of Pete or anyone else in the room.

  There was smashed glass on the dance floor, tables and chairs had been upended and when Jared reached Kelan and Stefan at the bar, it seemed they’d located the
source of the smell. Kelan’s face was ashen and his entire body shook, anger radiating out of the alpha in waves.

  There was a man lying on the floor behind the bar—his blood-soaked legs just visible, poking out into the room. When Jared leaned around Kelan to get a better look, he had to fight the urge to throw up.

  “Who is it?” Nate asked, stepping up beside him.

  “Don’t know,” Jared replied. “A human. He’s dead.”

  “What?” Nate shouldered past Jared to take a look himself.

  He groaned loudly and quickly turned his head away from the body. “Jesus Christ, the guy’s been torn apart.”

  The human’s eyes were wide.

  There was a fixed look of terror on his face. But it was the state of his chest and the rest of his body that had Jared fighting his gag reflex. The man had, quite literally, been torn apart. His shirt was missing and the gaping wound that ran the length of his torso was so wide his rib cage was visible and his intestines were hanging out of his stomach. Deep claw marks covered his face, neck, arms, and legs. And there was so much blood pooled around him, Jared would be surprised if the guy had any left in his body.

  “Who did this?” Nate whispered. “What the hell went on here?”

  The sound of a bolt sliding open on the storeroom door behind the bar caught their attention. A moment later the door swung open and Pete stepped out. Pete’s body was covered in deep scratches and welts, his clothes were torn and the look on his face was grave.

  “What happened?” Kelan asked.

  “Neil Rafferty happened,” Pete ground out. “That’s what.”

  Neil Rafferty.

  Jared swallowed hard and turned to look at the mangled body. The fact that Tristan could have been there—could have been lying in the man’s place, made his stomach heave.

  He clenched his hands into fists.

  “Was anyone else hurt?”

  Pete shook his head. “I was getting ready to close up for the night when Neil came in with two of his friends looking for a fight, and, well, I guess they found one.

  “Neil was drunk—went crazy. He starting fighting with two other wolves that were in having a drink, minding their own business.

  Pete swallowed before continuing. “Then Paul here stepped in. He tried to calm them down, only he didn’t know what he was getting himself into. He didn’t know what they were.”

  “They shifted?” Nate asked.

  Pete took a deep breath then closed his eyes. “Neil shifted his hands into claws and cut Paul across the face. The two wolves that were in here panicked and ran off, but Neil and his friends weren’t going anywhere.

  “I’ve heard of pack mentality before, but I didn’t think I’d ever see it up close and I swear to God I hope I never see the likes of it again.”

  “Where are they now?” Jared asked.

  Pete shrugged. “I tried to stop them, I did, but I couldn’t fight them all. When they started to shift, I locked myself in the storeroom and that’s when I called Kelan. I tried to get Paul in with me but it was already too late—Neil ripped his stomach out right in front of me and I’m sorry to say, I didn’t stick around after that.”

  Kelan shook his head. “It’s not your fault, Pete. I don’t blame you for what happened. There was nothing you could have done.”

  Pete shrugged but he didn’t look convinced.

  “What are we going to do about them?” Nate asked.

  Kelan sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. “Normally I’d go to the wolf council with something like this, but I believe Gregory and Ashton can be trusted so we’ll wait for them to get here.

  “We’ll go to Neil’s house together.”

  Nate wrapped his arms around Jared from behind and Jared welcomed the embrace, sank into it even.

  “Pete, do you have anything here we can use to cover his body?” Jared asked.

  Pete nodded. “There should be something out back. I’ll go look.”

  Ten minutes later Gregory and Ashton arrived at the bar.

  Jared had found it difficult to look at the man’s injuries but Ashton’s reaction had been the most surprising. The bird shifter ran from the bar and lost the contents of his stomach in the parking lot.

  He was quiet and distant after that—he seemed somehow…haunted.

  Gregory pulled him aside to talk to him and that seemed to help, but only marginally. He arranged for the man’s body to be collected and while they waited, they took seats at the booths in the back of the room.

  Jared slid into the seat nearest the wall and the moment Nate sat beside him, he slid his arm around Jared’s shoulder, pulling him close. Jared couldn’t believe how easy it was to lean into Nate’s body and let himself be held.

  It felt right.

  “Who was the human, Pete? Did you know him?” Nate asked.

  Pete nodded. “Yeah, name was Paul Bourne. The guy was in here a lot. A loner. I don’t think he had family around here if he had any at all.”

  “Thank God for that,” Gregory said.

  Under normal circumstances, Jared would have balked at such an insensitive remark but he imagined they were all thinking pretty much the same thing. Paul’s death would have to be covered up. They couldn’t take the risk of any humans finding out about it. So the fewer people that would be left behind to miss Paul, the better.

  They didn’t have to wait long for the Supernatural Council team to show up.

  Two of the men took away Paul’s body while a clean-up crew dealt with the mess that had been left behind. Gregory and Ashton took a few minutes to speak to a man who had stood back and watched the proceedings and appeared to be in charge.

  When everyone else left, he stayed behind.

  “Everyone, this is Riley Burnett,” Gregory introduced. “He’s my superior at the council. He’s going to come with us to pick up Neil and the other two boys.”

  “Do you need us all to come?” Nate asked.

  Riley shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll take Gregory and Ashton. Two other men should be enough.”

  Kelan strode forward and shook Riley’s hand. “I’m Kelan, the alpha here in Wolf Creek. My brother-in-law Stefan and I will come with you. He’s one of my betas.”

  Riley nodded. “Good enough.”

  “Pete, go home and get some rest,” Kelan said. “Jared, Nate…thank you both for coming tonight. I’ll talk to you tomorrow about what we can do about Joe.”

  Jared and Nate said their goodbyes and waited for Pete to lock up before they made the short drive back to Jared’s house. Jared parked his SUV next to Nate’s truck and switched off the engine.

  They were both quiet for a moment before Nate spoke.

  “It’s been a hell of a day.”

  “Yeah, it has.” He heaved a sigh. “Poor guy. What they did to him…”

  Nate reached over and placed a hand on Jared’s knee and the gesture calmed him instantly.

  Jared shook his head. “You know, I felt guilty about it, but when they were taking his body away all I could feel was relief. I mean, what happened to him was terrible, but I kept thinking, what if it was Tristan in that body bag?

  “I don’t know what I’d do if something were to happen to him.”

  Nate shook his head. “Nothing is going to happen to Tristan. He’s a good kid. I think he was just lost for a little while, is all. But he’s got a home now, he’s making friends, and I’ll be there for him as much as I can.”

  “You will?”

  “Of course. You know, I never did answer the question you asked me earlier.” Nate reached over and took hold of Jared’s hand, running his thumb along the palm. The light touch was incredibly erotic, it sent shivers down Jared’s spine and despite the exhaustion in his body, he couldn’t help the way he responded to his mate’s touch.

  His dick hardened in his pants and his breath came faster.

  Jared tried to remember what question he’d asked, but it was difficult to concentrate on anything when
Nate was so close, the sweet, intoxicating scent of him filling the enclosed space around them, his fingers caressing Jared’s palm.

  “You asked me if I could feel how strong the bond is between us,” Nate said with a small smile on his face.

  Was he aware of how his touch was affecting Jared?

  “I did?” As Nate continued to caress his palm, Jared could barely remember his own name.

  Nate nodded. “You did.”

  “Okay…”

  Nate abruptly pulled his hand away and Jared very nearly whimpered at the loss. But when he looked up at Nate’s face, the wolf was suddenly serious and Jared had to swallow down his anxiety.

  “I don’t know what sort of mate I’d make, Jared,” Nate said quietly. “But I can promise you one thing—I’ll try my damnedest to make you happy if you’ll let me.

  “The bond between us? Strong doesn’t even come close to describing it. I feel you in every part of my being. Sometimes I’m afraid I won’t be able to breathe if I can’t be near you.

  “It’s as if I’m suffocating and the only way to get air in my lungs is to see you and be near you—to touch you. My soul is incomplete without you.”

  Jared couldn’t fail to notice the uncertainty in Nate’s eyes.

  Nate lifted his lips into a small smile. “Does that answer your question?”

  Jared couldn’t breathe.

  How the hell was he supposed to talk? He nodded dumbly and when he finally found his voice it shook with emotion.

  “That answers every question. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect response.”

  Nate’s answering smile was brilliant, like a shining beacon lighting up the night sky around them. He leaned across the seat and tenderly pressed his lips to Jared’s before pulling back.

  “Can I stay with you tonight?”

  Jared took Nate’s face in both hands and looked him square in the eyes. “You can stay with me every night.”

  Inside the house, Jared grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator then turned out all the lights. When they walked out into the hall, Nate was heading for the stairs, but Jared reached out and pulled him back.

  He shook his head.