“Whoa, easy there,” Cosmo cried, pushing him back down onto the bed. “You’re not going to be able to do much for another day or two. We have to make certain the infection is truly gone.”
“Shit,” Aziel groaned. “Can you at least sit me up so I can write?” He glanced around the room as Cosmo began fussing with his leg again. “And where’s my backpack? Was it left by the pond?” Focusing on Maelgwn, who had his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed, he asked, “You didn’t hurt Jerome, did you? Tristan and I are as much at fault as Jerome is for my injury. We freaked him out. He was just protecting himself.”
Maelgwn cocked his head. “You want to see Jerome?”
“Didn’t I already say that?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Aziel grimaced. “Apologies. I, uh, I’m going to blame it on pain killers.” Frowning at Cosmo, he asked, “Am I on pain killers?”
Cosmo chuckled softly as he nodded. “Yeah. Nothing too heavy, mind you. We don’t know your medical history and didn’t know if you were allergic to anything, so we just gave you something basic. A high dose of ibuprofen, that way if you had a reaction we could counter it.” Cosmo gazed intently at him, as if attempting to read his mind. “Do you need something stronger?”
“A shower and anti-itch cream.” Aziel immediately rolled his eyes at himself. “Good grief. Have I mentioned I’m a shit patient? Can’t seem to think when I’m in pain.”
“I can get you—”
“No,” Aziel cried, lifting a hand. “No, really. I’m good.” Upon seeing Cosmo’s disbelieving expression, he added, “I’d rather be in pain than woozy-headed.” Lifting his left hand, he rubbed his forehead, “That’s even worse.”
“Well, the shower is going to have to wait,” Cosmo told him, offering a commiserative smile. “I can give you a sponge bath, though. The cream I was about to apply. How bad is it?”
Aziel actually felt his fingers twitch as he once again focused on his leg. “It burns so damn bad. How many stitches? Did it hit the muscle?”
Cosmo answered as he gently applied cream to Aziel’s wound. “Thirty-seven stitches,” he told him. “It’s all superficial, but you’ll have an impressive scar.”
Nodding, Aziel dismissed that. He didn’t give a shit about scars as long as they didn’t hinder his movement. Being on a partial athletic scholarship, he needed to be able to play football the following year. He’d be a senior—finally—so one more year of sucking up loads of classes and plenty of practices.
“Good, good.” Aziel sighed as he felt the cream soothe the burning itch of his wound. “God, that’s better.”
“If you want to see Jerome, I suggest waiting on the sponge bath,” Maelgwn stated.
When Aziel pried open his eyelids, which he wasn’t even certain when he’d closed, the gargoyle was smirking at him. “Why?” Not that he wanted a sponge bath, but the chieftain’s look made him curious.
“Do you remember Jerome telling you that you are his mate?”
“Yeah.” Aziel felt heat rise to his cheeks that had nothing to do with a fever. Good thing he had such dark skin. “He mentioned it.”
“And you wish to see him?”
Why was he asking that again? Aziel frowned in irritation.
Maelgwn chuckled, holding up his hand in placation. “Okay, then. He thinks you’re his mate, which means having you covered in another’s scent, knowing they washed you, which most would consider an intimate act, would seriously piss him off.” Crossing his arms over his barrel of a chest, Maelgwn’s eyes narrowed. “Or make him really jealous, which could drive him away. Is that what you mean to do?”
“Wh-What? No! Of course not.” Once again, Cosmo had to stop Aziel from attempting to rise to a sitting position. He gasped as he stared up at the ceiling, his body breaking out in a fresh wave of sweat. “I don’t want to hurt him. I’m not—” He bit his lip. “Never been with a guy, but I think he’s hot. Think he’ll wait until I get better to, uh—”
Aziel snapped his mouth shut. He couldn’t believe he’d just blurted that out. No brain to mouth filter sucked.
I’m such a damn lightweight.
Ironic, really, since he was such a huge man. It’d always been that way, though. He didn’t take anything unless he thought he was going to die.
“Well, I’m glad you’re open to Jerome,” Maelgwn told him, grinning. “He actually seems like a pretty nice guy, especially with the shit pod he was raised in.”
“What do you mean?” Alarm surged through Aziel, causing his pulse to spike. “What happened? Is he okay?”
Aziel didn’t understand his sudden protective instincts, but he suddenly needed to know what had happened to him. The heart monitor attached to the clip on his finger went off. A soft beeping filled the room.
“Please take a deep breath, slow and steady,” Cosmo urged, rubbing his shoulder lightly. “You need to calm down.” The man glared over his shoulder at Maelgwn. “Really, Chieftain? You know better than to upset a patient.”
“I do, and I’m sorry,” Maelgwn instantly responded contritely. “I will not tell another man’s tale, Aziel,” he told him. “But if you’re feeling up to it later, I will send him to join you during the evening meal.” When Cosmo peered at Maelgwn with a frown, the chieftain quickly added, “If you’re cleared for it anyway, so why don’t you get plenty of sleep, hmm?”
Once again, Aziel felt his eyelids droop. He didn’t hesitate to close them. As much as he wanted to see the man, he trusted Maelgwn when he said Jerome wasn’t injured.
“Yes, please,” Aziel mumbled. An image popped into his head. “Naked with a cheeseburger,” he whispered. “Could eat it off his stomach, then lick up the oil and grease.” He hummed.
“What the hell did you give him?”
Maelgwn’s question cut into Aziel’s erotic daydream, making heat infuse his cheeks once more.
Cosmo chuckled. “Just the antibiotics,” he claimed. “I haven’t even given him more ibuprofen. Dude’s a lightweight.”
“God, shoot me now,” Aziel mumbled, moving his free arm over his face to hide. “Don’t pay any attention to that man behind the curtain.”
“What?” Cosmo sounded confused.
Maelgwn barked a laugh. “He’s quoting The Wizard of Oz. Okay, dude.” He patted Aziel’s right foot. “I’m out of here. Sleep for another couple hours, then we’ll get you something better than water, but sorry—” He chuckled softly. “Not a cheeseburger. You’ll have to eat it off Jerome’s torso another time.”
Aziel groaned again. A moment later, he heard the door snick shut. When he lowered his arm and pried a shockingly tired eyelid open, he found Cosmo waiting with a white tablet and a cup of water.
After downing the pain killer, Aziel relaxed against his pillow. He heard Cosmo urge him to sleep, but he couldn’t even manage to bother responding. He was too busy obeying.
The soft murmur of voices pulled Aziel out of the fog of sleep. He remained relaxed, breathing deeply, as he tried to get his mind to focus. Remembering the rather embarrassing conversation he’d had with Maelgwn, he wanted to have a clear head for dealing with his friends, whose voices he recognized.
“Really? Soup is all he can have?” Mitch asked, sounding disgusted. “He hasn’t eaten in two days.”
“Exactly,” Andre responded. “His stomach can’t handle solid foods, yet.”
“Right,” Aaden confirmed. “This is what Doctor Perseus said Z can have. Chicken noodle soup with oyster crackers, which is supposed to help pad his empty stomach, allowing him to keep the food down.”
Mitch scoffed before saying, “Doesn’t seem like much. How’s he supposed to recover on soup?”
“It’s only for one meal,” Andre responded, sounding exasperated. “In the morning he can have eggs and toast.”
“Unless maybe Jerome claims him,” Aaden teased. “Bet that would speed up his healing and make him right as rain in no time.”
“Not witho
ut his permission. He must know what he’s getting into first. The problems, and that I have nothing to offer him.”
Huh.
Jerome was there, too. Aziel’s body immediately responded to the sound of the otter shifter’s voice. He appreciated that the gargoyles hadn’t removed his shorts, so it wasn’t like the plumping of his dick would be noticeable.
Never had that response to a dude before. A boner from the sound of his voice? Must be that mate-pull shit.
How about that. It’s real!
Chapter Five
Jerome knew Aziel had woken. He’d heard a nearly silent hitch at about the same time as his human’s right foot had twitched. Feeling grateful he’d been paying attention, he’d fallen silent, not wanting to upset Aziel in case his presence wasn’t expected.
That was, he’d stayed silent until the human introduced as Aaden had begun razzing Jerome about claiming Aziel. He didn’t know if his human had remembered that he’d confirmed to him that he was his mate. Needing to assure his human, he quickly told all the young men that he would never claim Aziel without permission.
Plus, there were other issues.
“I’m a young college student,” Aziel mumbled softly. “Not like I have a lot to offer, either.” He cracked his eyes open and smiled at Jerome. Just as quickly, his brows furrowed. “While I’d really like to get to know you better, what do you mean by problems?”
“While waiting for you to wake, the gargoyles learned from other shifters that my pod is searching for me,” Jerome answered honestly. He vowed to never intentionally lie to his mate. “They’re claiming I impregnated a female of my pod, then fled when I learned of it. It’s a lie,” he hurried to assure. “I’d never do that. I haven’t lain with a woman in almost a decade, so I’m not sure why they’re saying this, but—”
“Sit down,” Aziel commanded softly, pointing at the chair beside his bed. As Jerome hurried to obey, his human turned his attention to his buddies. “Hand me those pillows, guys, and help me sit up, huh?”
While Jerome had wished Aziel had asked him for help, he understood that the human didn’t actually know him. He bit his tongue to keep from snarling at the others when his mate let out a pained hiss. When Aziel grunted and grimaced, he couldn’t stop from reaching over and touching his shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
Aziel finally rested back on his pillows. Beads of sweat dampened his forehead, but he smiled at Jerome. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I’m okay. Just give me a sec to catch my breath. How about you pour me some water.” Then, Aziel grimaced once more and shifted a little. “And a bottle. Gotta piss like a race horse and don’t think I can reach the bathroom.”
“Doc says you’re still wearing a catheter,” Mitch supplied, oh-so-helpfully. “Just piss.”
Curling his lip and glaring at his friend, Aziel snapped, “I am not going to just piss with a bunch of people in the room.”
“Nurse Leroy is on hand,” Jerome told Aziel, resting his hand on his forearm. “Would you like me to speak with him? Maybe he can remove it, then I could help you to the bathroom?”
“Yes,” Aziel immediately responded emphatically. “Yes, please.”
Jerome watched Aziel’s dark features ease into a relieved smile. Returning the look with a grin of his own, he leaped to his feet and hustled from the room. He glanced around, then crossed to the office.
“Nurse Leroy?”
Jerome called tentatively as he peered into the large space. There were a couple desks, one on the left, one on the right, facing each other. The walls were lined with numerous filing cabinets and lockable cupboards. There was another locked door to the right, but Jerome didn’t know what was in there.
The small blond human rose from behind the desk on the left. “Hey. Jerome, isn’t it?” He wore a welcoming smile as he moved toward him. “Is Aziel awake? Is he well?”
Nodding, Jerome felt his face flush hot even as he stated, “Uh, Aziel wants to know if you can take the catheter out. He wants to use the bathroom.”
Leroy’s lips twitched, even as he nodded. “Of course.” He crossed to a cabinet and pulled out a few supplies, then turned back to Jerome. “Let’s go.”
Jerome led the way back to Aziel’s room. He heard the guys teasing his mate about how hot Jerome was, and he had to smile. To his surprise, Aziel quipped right back with a comment about his buddies being jealous because he wouldn’t have to worry about unplanned pregnancy.
Huh?
Leroy snickered as he swept around Jerome—he hadn’t even realized he’d stopped—and entered the room. “Okay, boys. Out you get. Medical stuff time.”
Jerome shoved his hands into his pockets as he watched the guys troop past him. He offered them all a tentative smile. The group of men grinned back at him in return.
Relief flooded Jerome, thinking at least Aziel’s friends seemed to like him. “Are you all in college?” They all appeared to be the same age.
“We are,” Andre told him, indicating between himself, Mitch, and Aaden. He pointed at Tian. “He’s a retired cop.”
“Wow, really?” Jerome cocked his head. He didn’t have much experience with human law enforcement. Mostly he stayed away from them because he didn’t have a passport or anything. “Why retired?”
“Although I look like I just turned twenty-one, I’m actually thirty-one years old, and unlike these young guys, I want to get pregnant.” Tian grinned widely, probably amused at Jerome’s response, which was to gape at the human. “Didn’t anyone tell you that all gargoyles are male and that they can get their male mates pregnant?”
Jerome quickly shook his head. So that’s what they’d meant. “No. No, no one mentioned that.” Cocking his head, he took in the fit, muscular, young-looking male. “How does that work?”
“Well, I could give you an overview, if you’d like,” Leroy cut in as he opened the door and left the room. He winked. “Or you could go help your mate to the bathroom.”
“Thanks.” Jerome was more than happy to go to his mate. Still, he waited for a heartbeat so he could say to Tian, “Later, though, huh? It sounds fascinating.”
Tian smirked and lifted his chin in acknowledgment. He turned away to follow Leroy, saying, “Need you to check me out, Leroy. I think I might be pregnant.”
Jerome grinned since Tian sounded inordinately pleased by his announcement, which was received by hoots and hollers from his buddies. Heading into the room, he spotted Aziel attempting to swing his legs over the side of the bed. Either he or Leroy had already removed his foot from the sling, for the contraption hung empty from a hook in the ceiling, swinging slightly.
Rushing to Aziel’s side, Jerome didn’t even ask before he slipped his arm around his waist. “Let me help,” he insisted. Unable to help himself, he admonished, “You shouldn’t be putting pressure on that leg, yet. Didn’t the doc tell you that?”
“Leroy might have said something along those lines,” Aziel admitted, leaning heavily on him as they crossed the few steps to the bathroom. “But I really need to piss, and I didn’t know how long it’d be before one of you came in. What were they hooting about out there, anyway?”
“Tian thinks he’s pregnant,” Jerome told him. “And any time you need help, all you gotta do is holler.” He smiled up at Aziel. “I’ll never be too far away if I can help it.”
Aziel gripped the door frame and paused, peering down at him. His thick dark lips curved into a smile. Even with the pain swirling in the depths of his deep brown eyes, he appeared... pleased.
“I’ll remember that.” Aziel lifted his free hand and slid the tips of his forefingers along Jerome’s jaw in a soft caress. “Never kissed a guy, but I want to kiss you. I really need to brush my teeth first, though. Do you like kissing?”
“I do,” Jerome answered honestly. “And I’d like that.” Easing away from Aziel, he offered an encouraging smile. “I’ll be right here waiting.”
Aziel nodded, then leaned
forward and placed his free hand on the bathroom counter. He hobbled into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
As soon as the door was closed, Jerome adjusted his erection in his jeans. He blew out a harsh breath, his senses reeling at just touching his mate enough to help him to the restroom. The way his balls had rolled and the tingles that had spread from his hands, up his arms, and through his body from touching him... just damn!
Jerome took several minutes to inhale and exhale, focusing on getting his body to calm down. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t jump the man’s bones at the earliest opportunity. Not only was Aziel recovering from an injury that he’d caused, but he needed to figure out why his pod was after him.
Guilt for injuring his mate already filled him. He wouldn’t risk the possibility of more pain to the man.
Considering the control that Jerome’s alpha—Alpha Saburo—liked to exert over his people, Jerome knew the man surely didn’t like that he’d left. It didn’t matter the reason. Considering the slurs he’d heard the inner circle spouting about the North American shifter packs that accepted gays, he knew finding out one of his own pod was a homosexual would create deep anger in the alpha.
One he’ll no doubt be happy to take out on me.
Jerome didn’t have a new pack, yet, to offer him sanctuary. That meant he had to figure out a way to escape his old pod before bonding with Aziel. He needed to make certain his mate was safe.
“That’s an awfully serious look.”
Turning, Jerome spotted Aaden leaning against the side table on the other side of the bed. He had his arms crossed and his head cocked. The man stared at him with his eyes narrowed, a speculative gleam in his eyes.
“It’s been... an unexpected turn of events,” Jerome murmured, uncertain what the man was truly interested in.
The Otter's Tale Page 4