by Bear Naked
“Manny?” His eyes were red rimmed and glossy, but he was completely disheveled. His mussed hair, rumpled clothes, and overall presence were so totally unlike him, that worry claimed her. Shutting the door and unlatching the lock, she opened it fully. Declan was right beside her, but the door had his body blocked from Manny’s view.
“Are you okay?” He swayed a little and braced a hand on her doorframe.
“Uh, yeah, I’m good. I should be the one asking you if you’re okay.” Wrapping her arms around her middle she stared at Manny with concern.
“Sure, I’m doing fan-fucking-tastic.”
God, Manny was trashed. He never said shit like that. She looked around his shoulder and saw his car parked sideways in her driveway.
“You drove here in your condition?” He blew her question off with a wave of his hand. “Manny, what in the hell are you doing driving drunk, and then coming here wasted and pounding on my door?”
“I just wanted to talk to you, to see you. I’ve missed you, Melissa.” His words were slurred, and concern grew thicker inside of her.
“Manny, we talked about this. I said I needed some time to myself, time to get to know Declan.” Manny’s nostrils flared, and his already crazed looking eyes took on an even more insane expression.
“The scent of him is all over you.” His eyes lowered to her neck, and she placed a hand over Declan’s mark, as if she could protect it somehow. Manny was so unstable right now, and seeing him unraveled like this made her question if she knew the meerkat at all. Declan moved up behind her and placed a very possessive hand on her hip. That didn’t go unnoticed by Manny, and the jealousy that came from her lifelong friend slammed into her as if he had reached out and slapped her. “So, looks like the two of you have finally solidified the whole mating bullshit.” He didn’t state it as a question, and swayed on his feet.
“Manny, this is completely unnecessary.” He lowered his head and closed his eyes. For a moment all he did was stand there, but she finally felt his resolve. When he looked up at her there was an apologetic expression on his face.
“You’re right, and I’m sorry.” He straightened to his full height, which wasn’t any taller than her own, and ran a hand over his face. “I guess I let the alcohol do the talking.” When he dropped his hand there was a strange expression on his face, as if he had just come to the conclusion he had been searching for. “I shouldn’t have come here acting like a jackass.” Declan grunted behind her and tightened his hold on her hip. The scent of his grizzly was powerful, and she knew Manny picked up on it as well. “I’m sorry, both of you.” He turned to leave, but she called out to him.
“Manny, come in for some coffee. I’ll call a cab.” No way was she going to let him drive away.
“I’m good.” He looked over his shoulder. “Seriously. I’ve already came here unannounced and acted like a fool.”
“I’m not about to let you drive in the state you’re in, Manny. Please, come in for some coffee and sober up.” Fortunately, Declan didn’t argue about letting Manny come in after the shit he pulled at the restaurant and now, but Declan wasn’t an asshole like that, and knew that sobering up the meerkat was the right thing to do. Manny exhaled, nodded, and turned around to come into her house. She moved out of the way, or more specifically, Declan pulled her away from the door and into the hardness of his chest. Manny didn’t look at either of them as he all but stumbled inside. “Just go sit in the living room and I’ll make you some coffee.” Manny nodded again but didn’t look at her. She shut the door and sighed. God, the drama was ridiculous.
“Hey, are you doing okay?” Declan turned her around and kept his hands on her waist. She looked into the living room and saw Manny sitting on the couch. He had his head resting in his open palms.
“Yeah. I’ve just never seen him this way, and I know it’s because of me. Maybe I was too hard on him?” Declan was shaking his head before she even finished. He tilted his head back with a finger under her chin.
“Baby, when someone gets like this it isn’t anyone’s issue but theirs.” He stroked the edge of her jaw with his thumb. “Clearly the male is in love with you, and there isn’t anything you could have done to make his reaction to you wanting to step back any less fucked up.” His words, although trying to comfort her, didn’t make her feel any less responsible for the clear hole Manny had fallen down.
“I’d better get a pot of coffee started.” Before she could move away Declan cupped both of her cheeks in his hands and leaned down. He kissed her softly at first, but became a little more adamant in it, and she knew that his bear was staking its claim, even if Manny wasn’t around to witness it. He pulled back, but there was no amusement or triumph in his now chocolate eyes.
“I’ll keep the meerkat company.” He turned and headed into the living room, and she knew he was not keeping Manny company, but watching him to make sure he didn’t do anything extreme. Melissa sighed again and headed into the kitchen. This night had gone from wonderful to downright nightmarish.
Chapter Ten
Declan leaned back in the chair and stared at the meerkat. Declan could hear Melissa in the kitchen making the coffee, but honestly Declan would have been more comfortable just calling a cab and sending Manny’s drunk ass home. The guy was starting to piss off Declan to the point he was on the verge of shifting just thinking about the dick. Manny dropped his hands and leaned back against the couch. He slowly opened his bloodshot eyes and stared at him.
“Even though I’m sure you feel like an ass right now, or maybe you don’t—” Declan shrugged and threw his arms over the back of the chair. “You coming here after the fucking shitty thing you did at the restaurant, and after I know Melissa told you to back off, is a bigger step over the line you already crossed.” Manny didn’t say anything and showed nothing in his expression. “I want to make something absolutely crystal clear.” Declan leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. The little fucker smirked, actually smirked, like this was a damn joke. Yeah, Declan had sensed the sympathy that came from the male was a little off, and clearly it had all been a front.
“I love that female in there, and there isn’t anything that will change that.” Declan slowly leaned back and stared at the other male. The little fucker had the audacity to say that shit to him right now?
“We’re mates, asshole, and there isn’t anything that is going to change that.” Declan was already feeling unstable, but the fact this male was basically saying that he wasn’t going to back off, made Declan nearly homicidal.
“And that won’t stop me or change the way I feel for Melissa.” Manny smirked again, and Declan gritted his teeth. He had to talk his bear down from coming out and finishing off this douche-bag that threatened what he had with his mate. But he was holding it together, at least enough that he wasn’t shifting. His nails were now claws, and he had them curled into his thighs. “Melissa and I have known each other forever, and she may not know it, but she cares for me just as deeply as I do for her. You are just something to pass the time until she realizes males like you are nothing but trouble and violence.”
“You do realize that I am a grizzly and you are a meerkat, and that in taking you out I wouldn’t even break a sweat?” Declan clenched and unclenched his hands.
“Yeah, nothing but violence and bloodshed from the likes of your kind. Melissa is a gentle soul, and therefore needs a gentle male. You alpha assholes think you can come in here and take whatever you want. And when you leave after you’ve had your fill—which is what your kind is good at—I’ll be there picking up the pieces and telling her that there are better males out there that deserve her love and would cherish her. Males like me.”
Declan clamped his jaw down hard enough he wouldn’t have been surprised if his teeth cracked. Before he could say anything Melissa strode back in the room. She stopped and looked at both of them, holding two cups of steaming coffee, but clearly feeling the tension heightened in the room. “Thank you so much, Melissa.” Gone wa
s the holier-than-thou attitude that Manny had just given Declan, and in its place was the timid, softly spoken introvert that he played pretty fucking well. This guy wasn’t a threat physically, but he was clearly obsessed with Melissa, and thought Declan was just going to up and leave. No way was he going to walk away from his mate, and no way in hell was he going to let this dick think he could take away something that meant a lot to Declan.
“Everything okay?” Melissa looked between them, and Declan forced himself to smile.
“It’s all good, baby.” Declan stood and walked over to her. He wasn’t all about making a scene with the PDA, but he sure as fuck was all about making it known that she was his mate and belonged to him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in. Taking her mouth in a deep kiss, he knew she was uncomfortable with the show he was putting on, but it wasn’t a fucking show as much as it was Declan staking his claim. She wore his mark, smelled of his scent, and there was nothing that would change the fact she was his. He pulled away, and it took her a second to catch her breath. Good. But that breathlessness turned into annoyance. Maybe if she knew why he had just attacked her that way in front of the meerkat she wouldn’t be angry, or at least she might be less pissed? But as it was her wolf bristled at the fact she thought he was being an asshole in front of a male that was clearly in emotional pain.
If she only knew about the lying fucker she might not be so upset with me.
“Declan, what the hell?” She said it softly, but Manny would have been able to hear her, and the bastard was probably feeling like his dick had just grown an inch. She handed him one of the cups of coffee and brought the other one to Manny. Then she sat down next to the fucker, and Declan had to force himself to loosen his hold on the dainty fucking cup or he would have crushed it. He moved back to the chair he had been in and sat his ass down. “Manny, I really don’t want to be the cause of you losing it like this.” There was a lot of compassion in her voice, and if it hadn’t been directed at this joke of a male who was playing her, Declan might have actually felt her sentiments, too. As it was he wanted the meerkat gone so he could talk to her about this sick, very unhealthy thing he had for his mate.
For the next twenty minutes Declan sat there, keeping his damn mouth shut, and forcing himself not to bitch slap Manny every time he laid on the sob story about how sorry he was for coming over and doing this. It was all a mask of deceit, even if it didn’t seem like a lot to others. Declan knew males like Manny, knew the ones that got stuck on one female, never moved on, and were a lot more twisted than they let on. Finally there was a honk outside from the cab, and Manny and Melissa stood. Declan wanted to pull her away from the other male, but he kept his place, not wanting to create a scene that would further pleasure the meerkat into thinking his little “prediction” was right. Melissa led him out of the house, and when the door was shut and she was facing him again, Declan knew that his little PDA back there was about to blow up in his face.
“I can’t believe you, Declan.” She exhaled loudly and walked into the kitchen. He didn’t know whether to follow her or give her space. This was definitely not a situation that he was used to, nor had he ever been in. But he followed her, because having her pissed and her not knowing why he had done what he had done needed to be fixed. She was cleaning up the coffee grounds on the counter, and rinsing out the coffee pot. “You knew he was already screwed up when he came here, knew how he felt about me, and I told you I talked to him.” She kept her back toward him and tossed the towel she was using to clean the counter into the sink. She did turn around then. “You kissing me like that was totally unnecessary.” Her cheeks took on a red hue from her anger. Declan leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. This wasn’t going to be an easy conversation, not with the way his mate was growing more annoyed with him by the second. “You think I don’t know what that was back there? You think I didn’t get that you were stalking your damn claim in front of Manny? That was a jackass thing to do when the guy was all but falling apart.”
No one had ever talked to him like that, dared to call him names, and if it was a male that had said those things, there would have been bloodshed and bones broken. But she was a female and his mate, and he’d never hurt her. Instead, he took what she had to say, knowing that she didn’t know the conversation he had had with Manny, or the fact the motherfucker was a lying bastard. There was no doubt the male was probably hurt and jealous over Melissa finding her mate, but shit, the scents Declan picked up, the ones Manny tried to hide, still couldn’t be hidden from Declan. She needed to hear what he had to say, whether she liked it or believed him.
“That asshole was playing you in there, Melissa.” She sighed and shook her head. “Why the fuck would I lie about that? He thinks I’m going to fuck you and leave you, and then he’ll be there to pick up the pieces. He’s a manipulator, baby, and he knows how to play the game. But he can’t hide shit from me, and in fact didn’t really try that hard. For such a little guy he has some goddamned balls of steel to be challenging a grizzly bear over his mate, and thinking he’d win. To be honest, he was really lucky I was able to keep my bear from taking control and showing him what happens when he thinks he can take what is mine. And it was only because you two have been friends for a very long time, and the fact that you care for the asshole, that I didn’t shift and beat his ass.”
“And that is why I am putting space between us.” He grunted, but he saw the narrowed- eyed look she gave him.
“What?”
She huffed out. “You are so infuriating.” She straightened her arms at her sides. “I have never met a male so alpha and … so … damn infuriating.”
He ginned, but it was more predatory than anything else. She would learn soon enough that when it concerned her he would go to any lengths to let any bastard know that she was his.
“Baby, you haven’t seen anything yet.” She ground her teeth, and the grin he flashed this time was filled with humor. She might drive him crazy with her stubbornness and sassy fucking mouth, but Declan also found this tug and pull with her hot as hell.
She glanced down at the floor for several seconds. “I thought I had seen total possessiveness with Candace, Ary, and the other females, but damn, you take it to a whole other level.” She looked up at him, but there wasn’t any more fight left in her, and something inside of him cracked at the look she gave him. “I’ve known Manny my whole life. He’s always been gentle and quiet, and never hurt anyone. I’m not calling you a liar, but he’s never done anything malicious to anyone.” He looked at her incredulously. “Okay, so his behavior the last two times I’ve seen him have been less than normal, and frankly a bit creepy, but I’m trying to think about it from his point of view.”
Declan let out a low growl.
“You are ignoring what is right in front of you, Melissa, and everything I have told you. Think about the shit he pulled at the restaurant, and the fact he was beating the hell out of your door, drunk as fuck, and pissed because you found your mate. If he was such a good friend he would be happy that you finally found your other half, and not have this toxic jealousy inside of him that has consumed him beyond reality.” She didn’t say anything for several seconds, but Declan could see in her eyes that she knew what he said was the truth.
“I understand you, Declan, I really do, and I see it from your point of view. What can I say? He’s been in love with me since we were in high school and has gone off the deep end.”
“That’s not love, Melissa. That’s a sick obsession, and one that will only become more twisted now that I’m in your life.” They stared at each other for several long seconds, and finally her shoulders slumped forward.
“Yeah, I know all of that, but I still feel like a bitch, and that all of this, and how Manny acts, is my fault, Declan.”
“For what?” He moved toward her and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“Because I knew that he had very strong feelings for me, and I obviously didn’t try hard en
ough to let him know that there was nothing going to happen between us.” Declan pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
“Even if you told him once, which I doubt is how it went down, that one time should have been enough for him to realize that things weren’t going to progress the way he wanted them to.” She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t need to, and neither did he. Declan continued to hold her, and when she pulled away he was reluctant to take a step back.
“I told him I’d drive his car home tomorrow. You wouldn’t mind following me so I have a ride back, would you?” He shook his head and smiled.
“I’d insist on doing that anyway.”
“Thank you. Come on.” She took his hand and started moving toward the bedroom again. “I think round two will help ease some of the tension.” She looked over her shoulder and grinned, and just like that he was hard as fucking steel, and everything else was pushed aside.
Chapter Eleven
“So what are you going to do about Manny?” Ary asked on the other end of the phone. Melissa finished filing some paperwork and then leaned back in her seat. The office had been closed for the last few hours, but she had so much work to catch up on that she had stayed late.
“I don’t know. I dropped his car off this morning, and he looked like shit. He also wasn’t acting like himself. It isn’t like I didn’t know he had feelings for me, but you should have seen the way he acted the last couple of times I saw him. It was like a totally different person from the guy we went to high school with.” Melissa exhaled and stared at the ceiling. “I feel like this is all my fault because I knew how he felt for me.”