Devotion

by Grace R. Duncan

Communication in wolf form. I can’t wait to run with you!

  Yes! Well, when the knot fades. He paused to study Finley’s handsome face, now that he could see it in color again. God, Finley… I, I was so wrong. I know I’ve said it, but… I want you to feel it. I want you to know just how much I know better now.

  Finley brushed at Tanner’s hair. I know. I’m sorry too. I should have trusted more in us.

  Tanner shook his head. No. I really think it happened for a reason. I needed the ass-kicking. Just… don’t scare me quite like that anymore.

  Finley laughed and shook his head. Don’t think there’ll be a need. He closed his eyes and laid his head on Tanner’s shoulder.

  Tanner held his mate, running his hands over Finley’s back. We should lay down. With a nod from Finley, they shuffled around until Tanner was on his back and Finley lay on top of him. Finley settled in and Tanner kissed the top of his head.

  They’d been right. Both sets of parents, Bob, everyone who’d tried to tell Tanner it wasn’t what he’d been thinking. He understood now why the visual was so important. He also understood why they hadn’t told him.

  The awe he’d felt at seeing it wouldn’t have been nearly the same if he’d known it was coming. He wasn’t sure if intense was a good enough word to describe it. The visual, the feel of their bond finishing, all on top of the pleasure had been… well, mind-blowing might not even be a strong enough term.

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was time to let go of the regret. They were mated, and the only thing he felt from Finley, the only thing inside himself, was happiness.

  A short time later, his knot subsided. “So, baby… how about that run?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  WHEN FINLEY stood facing Tanner in wolf form, he gave a wolfy sort of grin. Even in shades of gray, his mate was gorgeous as a wolf. He could admit he now understood Tanner’s use of the word beautiful.

  The witnesses had disappeared. Finley didn’t know when, but he realized he didn’t care. That was something else he understood now: it felt more like pride when others saw them together than embarrassment.

  He shook himself, then stepped forward until his snout was against Tanner. You really are beautiful.

  Tanner chuffed. See? Men can be beautiful.

  You’re not a man. You’re a wolf.

  Tanner snorted. Details. Ready to run, my mate?

  Finley licked Tanner’s face first, taking a brief moment to touch. Yeah, I think so. He stepped back and turned around, stretching so that his back arched and ass stuck up. He moved his tail out of the way as he glanced over his shoulder to see his mate watching. Like what you see? Wolf ass get you going?

  Tanner tilted his head. You know, I’m not sure how we mate in wolf form, but I think I need to find out.

  Finley chuffed and stood up again, grinning his wolf grin. I’m certainly up for it. He ducked his head to see Tanner erect and chuffed again. Oh yeah, you liked that view. He turned around, twitched his tail at his mate, then took off running for the trees.

  Tanner caught up to him pretty quickly, and instead of chasing, they ran together. Finley couldn’t quite put his finger—or, in this case, paw—on what was different about running with Tanner this time. But they seemed more in sync, sensing when they wanted to go a different direction or stop for a minute.

  They did play, chasing each other or play fighting. Finley actually found it a little more challenging. While he could sense Tanner’s intentions, he realized Tanner could also sense his, as well, which meant they were too evenly matched for either to get the drop on the other.

  Damn! I’m supposed to be alpha someday! Tanner grumbled in Finley’s head.

  Ha! I’m your mate. You’re not supposed to be able to best me.

  Tanner snorted at this as they flopped down next to a stream. I’m supposed to be the most powerful wolf in the pack.

  And I complement you, don’t I? Finley asked.

  That seemed to make Tanner pause. He tilted his head thoughtfully. I didn’t think about it like that.

  Finley shuffled a little closer, resting his head on Tanner’s paws. If we had to fight—not hunt, but fight—being linked like this is only an advantage. Finley licked Tanner’s face.

  That is true. Have I mentioned lately that you’re brilliant?

  No. But it never hurts.

  Tanner chuffed at him, licking him back.

  Finley closed his eyes, reveling in the new closeness and connection they had. He looked up at his mate. Are you hungry? Should we hunt?

  Oh, I’d love to hunt with you now. See how it goes.

  Finley gave a wolf grin and barked.

  Let’s see what’s out there, why don’t we? Tanner stood and put his nose to the ground. Mmm. Buck. Ready?

  Yup.

  Tanner took off running, and Finley followed close behind. They caught up with it not too far away, and both slowed down at the same exact time, changing from speed to stealth. Without even speaking telepathically or looking at each other, they split. Tanner went around to the left of the buck, and Finley to the right. They paused, watching for another moment, then in a flash, they were both on it.

  It was almost frightening, how efficient they were. They’d always hunted well together, but now it seemed that they were more an extension of each other, rather than two separate beings. It really brought home to Finley how close mating brought them.

  When they’d finished eating, they cleaned up in a stream, doing more for each other than themselves. Finley wouldn’t have expected it to get them going in other ways, but before he knew it, they were lying on the bank in human form, cocks rubbing together, mouths fused. It lasted an insanely short amount of time before they were both coating Finley’s chest with thick white ropes of cum.

  As they came down from their orgasms, curling into each other and working to recover their breathing, Finley heard steps on the other side of the stream. Standing across from them were Bob and Laura, both in wolf form. Finley grinned and waved, then turned back to Tanner, who looked up and started laughing. He waved too, and Bob and Laura both chuffed before turning back into the trees.

  “Why are you laughing?”

  It took Tanner a minute to calm down. “When I was a pup, about six years old, I came across Bob and Laura just as they were finishing up mating—in wolf form. They’d shifted when they came. I was kinda shocked. Both of them grinned at me and waved.”

  Finley laughed. “Well, I can see why that was funny then.” He considered Tanner for a moment. “You know, we didn’t do a thing to hide or hesitate when we saw them?” He looked down pointedly, making it clear the cum on his chest was very obvious. There was no way Bob and Laura could have missed what they’d just been doing.

  Tanner blinked at him. “Huh, we didn’t, did we?”

  Finley leaned in and kissed him. Guess the parents were right.

  So not telling them, Tanner replied, returning the kiss. Hmm. This is a nice advantage of the mating link. I can kiss you and talk at the same time.

  Finley snorted. I’m sure that’s what the gods had in mind when they made us this way.

  Tanner broke the kiss, laughing. Yeah, it had to be. He sobered then and brushed another kiss over Finley’s lips. “Thank you for waiting for me,” he said, ghosting his thumb over Finley’s cheek.

  “Thank you for coming for me,” Finley replied.

  “You didn’t have to stay devoted to me, Fin. I’ll thank Diana every day you did.”

  “I did, Tanner. And it wasn’t just my wolf. I don’t think what happened with Jamie was all about my wolf side. I loved you then, and it was my heart—my human heart—that knew you were the only one I really wanted. And I always will.”

  Epilogue

  JAMIE GROANED when he heard his phone ring. Why was someone calling him at this ridiculous hour on a Saturday? He opened one eye blearily to see it wasn’t even eight o’clock.

  He considered ignoring the phone, but by the time he decided to pick it
up, thinking it might be Starbucks calling him in, it stopped ringing. In relief, he flopped over and tried to go back to sleep. He’d been having the best, most erotic dream featuring his best friend and wanted to get back to it.

  Finley might not ever be his, but that didn’t mean Jamie wasn’t going to remember just how hot his best friend was. Or the night they’d almost had sex. One of the best memories of his life so far.

  Before he could get back to sleep, however, the phone started ringing again. Jamie groaned again, said good-bye to his dream Finley, and flailed for his phone. He opened one eye to see said best friend’s name on the screen. He swiped his finger over it and croaked, “Hello?”

  “Jamie?”

  “’Sup, man?” Jamie managed, forcing himself to sit up. He glared at his cock, which jumped at the sound of Finley’s voice.

  “Hey, I’m sorry! I forgot it’s so much earlier there. Want me to call back?”

  Jamie pushed his hand through his hair, then rubbed his face. “No, that’s cool. I’m up.” He decided not to clue Finley in on just what all was up.

  Finley snickered. “I don’t doubt it.” Jamie didn’t dignify that with a response. “So, he said yes.” Finley nearly singsonged it.

  “Told you,” Jamie said, chuckling.

  “Yeah, yeah, you did. Uh… I was wondering if you’d given any thought to what Tanner suggested when we were out there?”

  Jamie didn’t answer right way. He’d given it thought, all right. He’d given it a lot of thought. But the truth was, he wasn’t sure how close he really wanted to be to Finley and Tanner now that they were mated. He’d realized in the last couple of weeks that while he liked Finley, he didn’t love the man. So it wasn’t so much that he wanted Finley for himself.

  He wanted what Finley had. He wanted a mate of his own.

  He’d been waffling between going out there where he’d probably have a better chance of meeting someone, and staying in Oregon, where he was safe from watching Finley and Tanner… but the likeliness of finding a mate much smaller. In the end, he knew he was being ridiculous. He needed to go and take his chances.

  “Yeah, I did. I think I’d like to.”

  “Yes!” Finley nearly shouted into the phone.

  Jamie grinned. “Don’t let Tanner hear that.”

  “How could I miss it?” Tanner asked from somewhere near Finley.

  “He’s glad you’re coming too,” Finley said.

  Jamie blinked at that. “Huh. Really?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” Tanner again.

  “So,” Finley said, saving Jamie from trying to answer that. “When?”

  Jamie laughed. “Uh… I gotta put in notice and figure out where I’m going and pack and stuff. It’ll be a while.”

  “Grammy will help pack. And Tanner’s parents have a room in their place they said you can have until our house is done or school starts or whatever. And his dad said you can work part time at the pack leather shop.”

  Jamie’s mouth dropped open. “Uh, Fin, I can’t—”

  “Yes, you can. You’re joining the pack, aren’t you?” Tanner asked.

  “Well, yeah, of course.”

  “Then you’re helping the pack.” This came from Finley.

  Jamie didn’t know what to say.

  Finley didn’t give him a chance to stew for long. “Great! You can help me plan the wedding so my mom doesn’t take it over and turn it into some huge girly thing.”

  “You… want me to help you plan the wedding?”

  “Yeah. If we leave it up to her or Tanner’s mom, it’ll be all about ribbons and flowers and…. Ugh.” Finley paused, and Jamie nearly laughed at the shudder.

  “Okay, okay, I’ll help.”

  “Cool! Then you can be my best man. So, I’ll call Grammy and let her know.”

  Best man? He decided not to think about that. “Still gonna take me a bit to get out there.”

  “That’s cool! Oh, Pitt has a major I think you’ll like.”

  “Really?” Jamie was beginning to think this was too good to be true.

  “Yeah. You’ll have to do your gen eds first, but I think you’ll like the options. I’ll e-mail you a link.”

  “Cool. Now, uh, I think I’m going to go back to bed.”

  Finley laughed. “Lazy!”

  “Yes. Later, Fin.”

  “Later,” Finley replied, disconnecting the call.

  Just as Jamie lay down, his phone pinged with a text message. He sighed and looked to see it was from Finley.

  Oh, and our doc? Bi.

  Shit. Yeah, he wanted a mate, but after the disaster that ended up being Finley, he did not want to be set up again. Great for him and *his* mate. :P You don’t need to set me up.

  He’s hot, though! You’ll see! Later!

  Jamie groaned and tossed the phone down. Maybe moving out with Finley and Tanner wasn’t such a great idea. Something told him a mated Finley was going to be a scary proposition.

  He refused to acknowledge the envy and went back to sleep.

  Keep reading for

  an exclusive excerpt from

  Patience

  By Grace R. Duncan

  Jamie Ryan was almost ready to accept he’d never find his destined mate. They’re uncommon to begin with and same-sex versions downright rare. Since his gay best friend found a destined mate, Jamie figured he was out of luck. Until end of semester stress forces him to go through the full-moon shift early. Stuck in wolf form, he runs into none other than his destined mate. Who’s human.

  Chad Sutton has always had good instincts. They served him well as a detective and continued on when he went private. Those instincts tell him there’s something about the dog that comes up to him while running away from animal control that isn’t quite right. He works to put the pieces together, but is unsuccessful until his dog turns into a human before his eyes.

  Jamie has no idea what the mate bite of a shifter will do to a human. He’s terrified to try—and possibly kill his mate. They hunt for answers while working together on one of Chad’s cases. It’s easy to see they belong together, but Jamie fears the gods gave him someone he can’t keep.

  Coming Soon to

  www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  Chapter One

  JAMIE THREW back another shot and set the glass on the bar. It was days like this that made him wish to hell his metabolism wasn’t so damned fast. Thanks to his wolf, there wasn’t much he could do. His body processed alcohol almost as fast as he could drink it.

  It didn’t help that he’d been feeling out of sorts the whole day. After his last final, he’d loaded the rest of his things from his dorm room into his car. All through it, he’d felt just… off. He couldn’t wait until he got back out to pack lands and Tanner and Finley’s house. They both insisted he take one of the spare rooms when he wasn’t on campus.

  He hadn’t wanted to at first. He wasn’t sure he wanted to sit around and watch Tanner and Finley be loving and physical. It wasn’t so much that he still had feelings for Finley. He didn’t, thank the gods. It was more of a different sort of jealousy. Now that he’d seen what it was to have a mate, he wanted one of his own—badly.

  Tanner and Finley had tried to set him up with their friend, the pack doctor, Miles. While Jamie could admit Miles was most definitely hot, with his long red hair and lean physique, Miles wasn’t his destined mate. And they got along well enough, but he didn’t even feel the interest with Miles he had with Finley. Luckily for both of them, Miles felt the same. They’d been able to occasionally fuck and be good friends, but that’s as far as it had gone.

  Thankfully, Tanner and Finley weren’t as bad as he’d expected. They kept most of their physical stuff to their bedroom, with the occasional touch and kiss in front of him. So going back there for holidays and breaks wasn’t as bad as he’d been afraid it would be.

  And now he wanted nothing more than to get on the road and make the hour-and-a-half-in-traffic trip back. His wolf had been prodding him for a wh
ile, and he needed to shift and run, let him loose.

  Jamie tried to think of the last time he’d shifted outside of the full moon. When he realized he wasn’t sure, it made sense that he was so antsy. He was rather surprised he hadn’t started chasing the mailman down the street or chewing on his roommate’s slippers. Their kind had an unfortunate tendency to display horribly doglike behaviors—in human form—when they didn’t shift often enough. The worst of the side effects included full-blown attention deficit issues. Considering he was at the tail end of his junior year in college and squeaking through finals, Jamie counted himself lucky he’d managed to keep from any of that.

  The prodding was undoubtedly the reason he was feeling out of sorts. His wolf prowled just under the surface, and he wondered if he shouldn’t just tell his friends good-bye and head home.

  “Come on, man! You’re being a lightweight tonight,” his roommate, Dwayne, said, shoving another shot at him. “You usually drink all of us under the table.”

  “I gotta drive home, dude,” Jamie said. He wasn’t about to explain that it didn’t matter how many shots he had, he could sober up in no time and still drive.

  “You can crash on my couch,” Troy offered.

  Jamie turned to his other friend and shook his head. “Naw, it’s okay. I guess I can do a couple more.” He picked up another glass and lifted it to his lips, then stopped when he realized the fine hairs on the back of his hand weren’t quite so fine. He blinked, confused, since his vision was still normal.

  Right then, the colors faded to grays. Jamie downed the shot quickly and closed his eyes, pretending to struggle to swallow the liquor, trying to fight his wolf back into its place.

  Not yet. Just a little longer.

  When he opened his eyes, the color was back, but his wolf was even closer to the surface. He glanced at his watch—a digital with the moon phases on it, just in case—but the full moon was still more than two days away. The date didn’t seem to matter, though. Jamie was losing the fight against his wolf, and he needed to get out of there—fast.