by Marcy Jacks
Dillon wouldn’t be put off, however. He shrugged, and pulled away from Rowan’s hold, leaving him somewhat cold. “What was that?” Dillon asked again.
“Mmm, I think it was a sign that we should be doing this again,” Rowan said, and it was easy for the words to leave his mouth, because he wasn’t lying, he wanted to do it again and knew very well that Dillon did as well.
His way of telling the man that this was meant to be, without telling him that it was meant to be.
By the slow smile that spread across Dillon’s lips, it was the right thing to say. Dillon fell back on the bed, always keeping his eyes on Rowan, and stretching his hands above his head so that his chest and stomach were completely exposed to him.
Oh! And he was a human! He did not even know how much a trusting gesture like that meant to Rowan.
“I’m in town for the next four weeks,” Dillon said. “I wouldn’t mind making a habit of this in that time.”
Rowan only kept from frowning using his sheer force of will. Dillon still seemed to think that this was a temporary arrangement.
Well, people in this world were much more open with their sexuality. Making love did not automatically signal that a commitment had been made after all. Regardless of the things that Dillon was feeling, the way he was brought up and knew the world as it was now told him to not get comfortable.
Rowan was going to have to make the man see otherwise in the next four weeks.
“I look forward to it,” Rowan said.
The next hours were lazy and good. Rowan felt like a king in Dillon’s bed, and not simply because it was comfortable, and there was good food and clean water within easy reach that they both shared while lying naked in the sheets.
Nothing could compare to a blanket that was filled with soft duck feathers, so Rowan was pleased that, even in these modern times, some things remained the same.
Rowan thought it would be the perfect end to the night, as well as a wonderful beginning to all the things were coming for the both of them. It would be hard, explaining to his brothers why he was choosing to live the life of a mortal when other werewolves told their mates the truth, but Rowan did not wish to take chances like that with his new lover.
He intended to have Dillon in his life for many years to come.
A knock at the door pulled them from the little fantasy world they’d allowed themselves to sink into.
Rowan immediately looked to the window. The sun was not yet set, but it was lower in the sky, the light more orange in color and the shadows outside long.
“Wonder who that is,” Dillon said, and he slid out of bed and began pulling open his drawers so that he could find something to wear.
Rowan smiled as he stared at his mate’s ass, and when Dillon half-turned and looked at him, he grinned, totally unapologetic about it.
“Would you like me to go?” Rowan asked, sitting up and hoping that Dillon would invite him back.
“Oh, well, if you had somewhere to be, then that’s fine,” Dillon said, and he looked back to the door when there was a loud knock down the hall again. “But I wouldn’t mind it if you spent the night either,” he said.
The smile on his face made little fluttery feelings happen in Rowan’s stomach. “I will stay then,” he said.
How long would it take a human to recover from what Rowan had just done to Dillon? Hopefully not too long. Every time he saw the man smile, his dick twitched, and it made him want to put the man on his back with his legs in the air.
Dillon made it worse by smiling wider as he reached for a red T-shirt to wear, and he pulled it over his head before nodding. “All right,” he said, and then went to the door. “I’ll be right back. This shouldn’t take long.”
Dillon shut the door behind him, and Rowan fell back into the soft and heavy covers and pillows.
He was so caught up in his own happiness that he didn’t hear the conversation that Dillon was having with whoever was at the front door, until later.
Not that their voices rose up and got louder. It was the fact that Dillon was hissing in whispers, while the man he spoke to became angrier.
Then the voices got louder. “Do you have someone in there with you?”
“That’s not your business,” Dillon snapped.
Rowan did not think his mate was a child, and he had no intention of treating him as such, but just hearing words such as that, and listening to the way his mate’s heart was beating so quickly, did make him worry.
He wanted to be the sort of beta who allowed his mate to handle himself instead of stepping on toes, but he couldn’t remain in bed. That man, whoever he was, was clearly not welcome here, and for whatever reason, he wasn’t leaving either.
Rowan almost charged out the door before he remembered that most humans thought it was better manners to wear clothes while confronting other humans.
“I talked to your parents and your sister. They wouldn’t tell me where you were,” the man said. “You’re my boyfriend. I have a right to know when you want to vanish like that.”
“I told them not to tell you where I was and you and I are not dating!” Dillon said, whisper-shouting his words once more. Likely because he did not want Rowan to overhear that boyfriend comment. Rowan knew what that meant, but he trusted that his mate was not involved with someone else.
“I didn’t agree to any breakup,” the man said.
“You didn’t have to. We dated for less than a month, please go home, Mark.”
Finally Rowan was suitably dressed, and he was able to open the door and make his presence known.
The man Dillon had been speaking with, Mark’s, face reddened considerably at the sight of him. It was contrasted well on his pale skin, especially with the black hair and blue eyes.
The first thing Rowan realized was that he’d forgotten to tie his own hair back. Mark’s hair was just long enough to grab a handful of, but Rowan would be at a disadvantage if they chose to fight, simply because his blasted hair would be in his eyes, or too easily grabbed by the enemy.
“I fucking knew you were in here with someone else,” Mark said.
Dillon sighed, and he looked very much like he wanted to vanish into the floor. “Please go home, Mark.”
Mark stepped farther into the house instead, as though he’d been given an invitation. He was only somewhat shorter than Rowan was. He had some muscle on him, but he was lean, and not anywhere near the size Rowan was.
Rowan was also childishly pleased to note that he was more handsome than this Mark. Mark had some mild scarring on his face, mostly on his cheeks and neck. Pockmarks that were the sign of what was likely an unhappy adolescence, but there was also a faded scratch scar here and there, which was interesting.
“You realize he’s taken? Or do you like fucking other people’s boyfriends?”
“Mark!” Dillon snapped.
Rowan could feel the tension in the human, the need to fight and dominate. He was human, but very clearly had an alpha personality.
The man had an alpha personality, and he knew that he was clearly challenging Rowan at that very moment.
Rowan wanted to grab the human by the throat and put him on his back. He stepped forward to do just that, then stopped. He couldn’t do that. Not if he wanted to play the part of a human, and even then, what would Dillon think of him if Rowan was to turn violent against a man he used to be with.
Dillon barely knew Rowan.
Interestingly enough, Rowan didn’t have to do anything. It seemed that Mark found just the act of stepping forward to be threatening enough that he had to act on it.
He was the one who grabbed Rowan by the throat, a nasty snarl on his face. “You were about to try something?” he asked.
“Mark! Stop it!” Dillon yelled, and he grabbed on to Mark’s shoulder and wrist, trying to pull them apart, but he didn’t have the strength for that.
Rowan might have to pretend to be human, but that didn’t mean he was going to take this lying down either.
&nbs
p; He didn’t have to hit the pompous little prick, or threaten him. He just wanted to show the man that he couldn’t be hurt by him. Rowan kept his neck tight, and he smiled down at Mark as he continued to breathe without any issues. He was perfectly relaxed, and Mark couldn’t even get a proper grip on Rowan’s throat because Rowan wouldn’t allow the man any leverage.
The man clearly saw that as well. Even Dillon stopped what he was doing as he stared at Mark, occasionally yelling at him, but Mark was now staring at Rowan like he didn’t understand what was happening.
Then a light entered his eyes that Rowan was positive could not be a good thing. It was understanding, like he did know what was happening, and he started to back away from Rowan. He never took his eyes away, though. They were staring wide now, and his heart was racing.
That was when Rowan realized his mistake. He should have just let his throat stay slack and let the man close off his airways for whatever brief amount of time, because it was clear just by looking at him that Mark knew what Rowan was.
At least, the man thought he knew what Rowan was, because the next thing he did was turn his mean looking snarl onto Dillon. “You fucking supporter,” he said, and he turned around and stormed out of the cabin.
The door slammed behind him and actually came loose on the hinges.
Dillon’s mouth gaped very briefly at the sudden silence in his family home, and he scratched the back of his neck, clearly humiliated by the act of his ex. “Sorry about that. You can see why I left him.”
“I can,” Rowan said. If he ever discovered that Mark had put his hands on Dillon the way he’d tried to with Rowan, then Rowan was going to have to hunt the man down and make things very unpleasant for him.
“Please don’t leave,” Dillon said. “I know that was messed up and everything, but I still want you to stay.”
Rowan looked at his mate, and he smiled a sad smile before reaching for his cheek and cupping it. Dillon leaned into the touch. Did the man even understand why it was that he wanted Rowan so badly? “I won’t leave, but there are some things you and I are going to have to discuss. I’d been hoping to keep them from you, but after meeting him, that’s no longer possible.”
Some fear spiked in the sound of Dillon’s heart and lungs, and it was clear even in the way his heart was beating as well. “Things…like what?”
“Your former lover is a hunter of werewolves, and he believes you to be a supporter of them. In his code, that’s punishable by death.”
Chapter Five
“Get away from me!” Dillon ran out of the house when Rowan refused to leave. It had started to rain very lightly, and he was hoping that it wouldn’t come down any harder than this because it was going to be a long run until he got back to Willow Lake and rented a room at one of the motels that was on the highway. Fucking Mark had slashed his tires when he’d left the cabin, so Dillon had to at least power walk if he wanted to get away from Rowan.
Of course, he should have known that Rowan would follow him. “I’m telling you the truth!”
“You’re a psycho and you need help, just like he does!” Dillon shot over his shoulder, thinking about Mark and how the man had tracked him here, come into his house, and thrown that weird little fit, right before inexplicably leaving.
“Dillon! Will you come back? It’s dangerous out here by yourself! He’s going to come back for you and you need to be protected.”
Dillon refused to turn around and look at the man, even when he had to stop running and start walking fast because he was out of shape. “To think I was glad that you’d come home with me! You’re just as bad as he was! You’re not a werewolf God and he’s not a werewolf hunter. If he thinks he is then he’s got problems that are just as bad as yours.”
“You know I’m telling the truth,” Rowan said.
Dillon forced his neck to stay tight so he wouldn’t accidentally look to the side as Rowan caught up with him.
The man’s legs were so strong and long that he was able to keep up with Dillon’s fast walking, by just keeping a pace that was barely above brisk.
“I don’t know that,” Dillon said.
“Yes you do,” Rowan replied, all calm voiced, like he knew exactly what he was talking about.
Dillon didn’t know if that infuriated him, or scared him. “Because we’re mates? You know, I’ve read a bunch of romance novels that do the mate thing. I was never impressed.”
“I can tell. You don’t use it that often in the books you write.”
“Arghhh!” Dillon shouted, and he grabbed at his hair. “Please just leave me alone.”
It was embarrassing enough that he’d let this man fuck him, a guy who was just as possessive as Mark was. Actually, no, he was worse because he thought that Dillon was his life mate or something.
Either way, it was bad, and he wanted to get away and do it fast.
“You only want to be away from me so quickly because you fear that I’m right,” Rowan said.
“That has nothing to do with it,” Dillon replied.
“Aren’t you the least bit curious as to how I’ve read your mind?”
“Mind reading’s got nothing to do with it. I’m walking fast so it’s easy for anyone to see that I want to get away from you and do it in a hurry.”
“Either way, you have a fear that I am right, and you also fear that I am reading your mind,” Rowan said, still keeping pace very easily beside Dillon. “I’m sorry for that. I’ll teach you how to keep me out if you like. I can only read your thoughts when they’re being particularly loud as well. Which they are right now.”
It was raining harder now. The sky was dark, and it was going to start pouring before Dillon made it another thirty steps. He really didn’t feel like catching his death out here, so he stopped and turned around.
He kept his hands on his hips, but he could still barely look Rowan in the eyes. “You’re crazy just for saying these things, and the only reason why I’m even pretending to believe you right now is because you’re amazingly hot and you sound pathetic when you’re begging me for attention.”
Rowan actually bristled at that. “I do not beg!”
“Either way,” Dillon said. “Prove it. Prove to me that you’re a werewolf. I want to see what happens when you touch silver or something.”
“I don’t even need to do that. I can turn into a wolf for you right now,” Rowan replied, and Dillon could swear that he saw the man’s eyes start to glow once more.
“What?” Dillon looked up at the sky. He couldn’t see it because of all the dark clouds that were coming in, but he still grinned because he’d been paying attention to the moon this month, and he knew that it wasn’t full right now.
“You’re so full of shit. You’re going to change into a wolf when the moon isn’t even full? And I thought that werewolves couldn’t control themselves?”
“Not all of them can, but most have the ability to learn should they choose it.”
“Uh, huh,” Dillon said, and he crossed his arms when he realized that Rowan was serious. He was taking off his clothes, and Dillon backed up a step as he watched what was happening.
Rowan took note of that, and he smiled as he pulled off his pants, becoming gorgeously naked. The bastard. “You have nothing to fear from me. I would not attack you or attempt to force you to do anything.”
“Sure, let’s see the wolf,” Dillon replied.
“Your heart is beating incredibly fast. Are you sure you’re not worried just a little?”
“It’s starting to really rain freezing water down on my head, and you’re naked while we’re both standing out in the dark woods. I’m definitely worried.”
He was also worried because Rowan’s teeth suddenly looked a lot sharper than what they’d been the last time Dillon had seen them.
“Very well. Here it is,” Rowan said, and the transformation was so fast that, in the dark, Dillon damn near missed it.
Not that he could miss the way fur had sprouted over Rowan’s face and
body, and how his shape had changed, not to mention the fact that there was no longer a person standing where a man had once been.
He was still reserving judgment because it was dark out here, and that shadowy shape could just be Rowan who was playing a trick on him or something, but then the kicker really started when the body of the wolf began to glow a bright, yellow and gold light. It was like morning sunshine, and there was very clearly a wolf in the place where Rowan used to be.
Dillon’s heart started doing things that it had never done before. It was hurting in a way that wasn’t emotional inside of his body, and he started to fear that he was actually having a heart attack or something.
He was only twenty-four, he was too young for that to be happening, but it didn’t stop the ground from swimming beneath his feet as he turned away from Rowan and sank down to his knees, clutching at his chest.
The bright glow that had briefly lit up the dark and rainy woods was then gone, and Dillon felt incredibly alone in these woods as he gasped for breath while mud water soaked through the legs of his jeans.
“Dillon, speak to me,” Rowan said, and his hands were warm, and actually comforting, on Dillon’s shoulders.
He had no idea what it was, but the pain that was in his chest was diminished by that touch, so he turned around and wrapped his arms around Rowan’s shoulders, burying himself into the man’s naked chest.
“This…this isn’t…it’s not possible,” Dillon gasped, finally managing to get the words out.
Rowan pet Dillon’s hair like he was a puppy or something.
Maybe that was what werewolves did when they wanted to comfort each other. It kind of made sense once he thought about it. “You are well,” Rowan said. “This is very possible and it’s true. You know it is. You’re just…” The man actually shrugged, as though it wasn’t a big deal that everything Dillon thought he knew about nature—which wasn’t a lot, granted, but still enough to think that werewolves weren’t real—had all just been turned on his head. “You think too much like a human,” Rowan eventually said.
“I am a human,” Dillon replied.