by Stormy Glenn
He heard a small catch in Rue’s breath when he squatted down in front of him. Zus frowned and reached over to stroke Rue’s face only to pause when his mate flinched away from him. Zus didn’t understand why Rue would be afraid of him. He didn’t like the heavy feeling it created in his chest.
“Rue.” He watched Rue’s eyes flicker up to his then quickly drop down. Then Rue turned his head away as if he refused to acknowledge Zus was there. “Rue, are you okay? Have you been injured?”
Silence.
“Rue, answer me.”
Rue’s head turned slightly, a small shudder working its way through the man’s slim body, but he still refused to answer. Even in the moonlight, Rue’s features looked unnaturally pale. His hands were clenched into little fists, his lips pressed together firmly.
“Rueben,” Zus tried again, more sternly this time, “I asked you a question, and I expect an answer.”
Rue turned to look at him. He still had tears in his eyes, but now the dark mocha orbs also glowed with anger. “Fuck you. You don’t own me. I don’t answer to you.”
Zus reeled back in shock. He never expected to hear such words come out of his mate’s mouth. There had been something in the way Rue looked at him, in the way the man responded to his touch, telling Zus that his mate wanted exactly what he wanted.
Why the change in attitude?
“You are mine, Rue. You said you understood that.”
Zus watched Rue push himself up the trunk of the tree until he stood on his feet. He was confused by the pain and anguish he could see in Rue’s dark mocha-brown eyes. They just had mind-blowing sex, some of the best in Zus’s life. They bonded.
Why the fear?
“I will never be your little fuck toy.”
“Fuck toy?”
“I thought you were different. I thought you—” Rue pressed his lips together and shook his head. The sadness that came over his face ate at Zus’s heart. Rue shouldn’t be feeling this way. “I want you to go away and leave me alone.”
“I can’t do that, Rue.”
“You—” Rue’s words suddenly died away, and his eyes strayed just beyond Zus’s shoulder.
Zus quickly sniffed the air before he moved, smelling the clear scent of a predator behind him. He would have liked more time to break the news to his mate of what he was, but Rue’s safety came above all else.
“Stay down and don’t move from this spot,” Zus whispered.
Zus gestured for Rue to get down, trying his best to block the view of his mate from the wolves he could sense standing behind him. Once Rue squatted down, Zus very slowly turned around. He spotted three pairs of golden eyes staring at him from the underbrush.
Zus gave a low, threatening growl. He would prefer to warn the wolves off before a fight started, but if not, he would protect Rue until his dying breath. When the wolves just growled back, taking a few steps closer to him, Zus let his canines drop down and extended his claws. He heard Rue whimper behind him but couldn’t spare a glance for the man. Taking his eyes off the threat advancing on them wasn’t an option. Zus crouched down low and readied himself for the battle he knew was coming.
The moment the wolves attacked, Zus shifted and jumped up, blocking them from getting to Rue. He heard Rue cry out behind him and knew his mate was freaked out. It just wasn’t something he could deal with right now. It was more important that he keep Rue from being hurt than soothe his ruffled feathers.
Zus started swiping his huge claws at the wolves, raking them across their furred bodies. He bit into wolf flesh with his long teeth and kicked out with his back legs. He roared out in pain as one wolf got a good-sized bite out of Zus’s shoulder. Zus shook his upper body, trying to dislodge the wolf. He winced when he felt the wolf’s teeth just dig in deeper to the muscles of his shoulder. The pain was excruciating, almost mind numbing. It was only the cries heard coming from Rue that spurred Zus on, reminding him that he had something worth fighting for.
Zus renewed his attack, going after the wolf directly in front of him. If he could ignore the wolf biting into his shoulder, he could take the others out one at a time. They might scatter if they were down a wolf.
Zus could hope anyway.
He bit into the leg of the wolf at his front, clawing at his vulnerable stomach area at the same time with his paws. The wolf cried out and tried to wiggle out of his hold. Zus just dug his claws in deeper. When the wolf arched away from him, Zus swiped at his throat then tossed the wolf away as hard as he could. He heard a crack and a suddenly cut off whimper as the wolf hit a tree trunk and went down, not moving again.
Satisfied that he’d eliminated one threat, Zus went after the wolf on his back. Zus’s heart pounded frantically when he went down under the weight of the second wolf’s attack. He hit the ground with a thud. Biting into the first bit of furry flesh he could reach, Zus tried to roll back onto his feet, but he kept slipping in the dirt.
The wolf biting into Zus’s shoulder suddenly yelped and went flying past him. Confused, Zus looked up to see Rue standing over him with a large stick in his hand. He was waving it like a sword, keeping the wolves at bay.
“Get away!” Rue shouted. Zus’s heart melted as he tilted his head back and gazed up at Rue. His mate—his human mate—was defending him against three vicious wolves. Zus wasn’t sure he’d ever seen a more beautiful sight in his life.
He wanted to lean up and rub his face against the side of Rue’s face, purr. He just couldn’t. Rue was swinging the stick in his hand back and forth so fast, Zus knew he’d get a good knock on his head if he lifted it too far up in the air.
Instead, he looked back at the wolves left, one injured and whimpering, the other snarling and barring his teeth. Zus climbed slowly to his feet, giving Rue plenty of time to stop swinging. He barred his own teeth and let out a low, threatening growl. The two wolves eyed Zus for a moment then backed up until they were several feet away before turning and running, one of them limping severely. Zus waited until he couldn’t hear them anymore or smell them, then let out a loud huff.
He turned back to Rue and settled down on his stomach, wondering what the man would do now that the fight was over. Much to Zus’s surprise, Rue dropped the stick in his hand rushed over to kneel down beside him.
“Zus?” he whispered as he slowly reached out. Zus huffed again, this time softer, and leaned his head into Rue’s hand. “Geez, now I’ve fucking seen everything.”
Zus winced as Rue’s hand sank into his fur right where he’d been bitten by the wolf. He rolled a little, trying to dislodge the man’s tight grip. If he’d been in human form, his eyebrows would have shot up to his hairline when Rue smacked him on the nose.
“Knock it off,” Rue snapped. “You’re injured, and I need to see how bad it is.”
Zus tried to lie there quietly while Rue’s fingers probed his wound, but it wasn’t exactly easy. It was a wound, damn it, and it hurt. Still, he felt amazed to be lying there with his mate checking over his wounds, especially since Rue had been scared of him before the fight.
“Can you… turn back, I guess?” Rue asked as he sat back on his legs. He waved his hand in the air over Zus’s body. “I don’t know what it is exactly that you do, but can you do it? I think it would be easier to look at your injuries if you were in… if you looked human.”
Zus closed his eyes and concentrated on shifting. The wind suddenly whipped wildly around them, and there was a flash of blinding light. When Zus opened his eyes, he was human once more.
“Is this better?”
Rue’s dark-brown eyes dominated his pale face. “I… I don’t know.” Zus noticed that Rue’s hand trembled as he reached out again, his hand pausing before it reached Zus’s skin. “Are you real? Am I dreaming this?”
Zus slowly sat up until he was just inches from Rue. He gently cupped the side of the man’s face and smiled. “It’s all very real, Rue. You’re not dreaming, I swear.”
Rue’s eyebrows drew together as he frowned. “What are
you?”
“I’m human just like you are, but I’m also something more. I was born this way, and although I wasn’t able to do it until I hit puberty, I can shift into a large white cat, as you saw.”
“Ho—those wolves that attacked us, were they… can they…?”
Zus nodded. “Yeah, they were shifters, too.”
“Why did they attack us?”
“They smelled your fear.” Zus stroked his hand down Rue’s face. “I suspect that they were rogue shifters. They were probably drawn to the scent of your fear.”
“Is that why you chased me?”
“No, Rue, that’s not why I chased you.” Rue looked so confused, and Zus doubted it all had to do with his ability to shift into a large cat.
“Then why?”
“You ran from me. And, while I may be half-human, I still have the instincts of a cat. If you run from me, I will chase you.” Zus grinned. “Hide and seek is a game I imagine we’ll play often.”
Rue’s jaw dropped open. “You were playing a game with me?”
Zus didn’t know what to say. Rue sounded astonished, and he was starting to get pissed. Zus could see it in the narrowing of Rue’s eyes when the man climbed to his feet and started backing away. Rue opened his mouth then snapped it shut. Zus arched an eyebrow when Rue pressed his lips together and crossed his arms over his chest. It seemed like his mate might have a bigger temper than he thought.
“Why would you do that to me?” Rue asked. “Why would you—” Rue snapped his mouth closed again as if he couldn’t finish his question. He started shaking his head as he took a few more steps back from Zus. He wagged his finger at Zus. “No, I’m not going to do this with you. You just stay away from me.”
Zus was up and on Rue before the man could turn away. He carefully turned them when they fell to the ground, making sure he took the brunt of the fall on his own body. The pain shooting through his shoulder quickly reminded him that he was still injured. Once he regained his breath, Zus rolled them over until Rue’s body was beneath his. He moved up and straddled Rue’s waist, capturing the man’s wrists and holding them above his head.
“You are mine, Rueben,” Zus said with a growl. “You agreed to be mine when I claimed you. I will not give you up.”
“I agreed to belong to you when I thought you—”
Zus didn’t understand the tears that came to Rue’s eyes or the pain that darkened them as he turned his head away. He knew deep down in his soul that Rue wanted the same thing from their relationship that he did. Why was this beautiful man denying it, denying them?
“When you thought I what, Rue?” Zus grew even more confused when Rue bit his lip and shook his head, refusing to look up. Zus grabbed both of Rue’s wrists with one hand. He stroked the other down the side of the man’s face. “I know you want to belong to me, Rue. Why do you deny it?”
“I wanted to belong to you when I thought you could give me what I need.” Rue turned to glare up at Zus. “You can’t.”
“What makes you think I can’t give you what you need, Rue?”
Rue started to struggle, pulling his hands free of Zus’s grasp. He started beating his fists against Zus’s shoulders as he cried out. “Leave me alone. I didn’t ask for this. Why are you doing this to me?”
“Rueben!” Zus shouted as he caught Rue’s hands and held them back down to the ground. He was astonished at the strength in Rue’s smaller body. The ferocity in which the man fought him was amazing. “That’s enough.”
“No! You—”
“Rue,” Zus said softer, hoping to calm the man down, “you’ve seen what I am. I can’t—”
Rue’s eyes widened. “Are you going to kill me?”
“What?” Zus asked, frowning. “No!”
“Then let me go.”
Chapter Four
Considering the situation he was in and the sheer power of the man straddling his body, Rue was shocked when Zus released his hands then slowly rolled away. He quickly scrambled back, putting a few feet between them.
“I don’t want you to be afraid of me, Rue,” Zus said as he sat up. He didn’t make any move to close the space between them, and Rue was thankful for that. He knew he couldn’t outrun Zus in either of the man’s forms.
“What do you want?”
Rue didn’t know what to think when Zus leaned back against the log behind him and pulled his knees up. Zus rested his arms on the tops of his knees and clasped his hands together, staring down at the dirt between his legs.
“I thought we wanted to the same thing, but now I’m not so sure.” Zus finally lifted his head to stare over at Rue. The determined glint in his dark-green eyes gave Rue a chill. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to give you up, though. I claimed you, and you belong to me.”
Rue swallowed past the hard lump in his throat. He licked his dry lips before he spoke. “You… you can’t keep me if I don’t want to stay.”
Rue jumped when Zus growled, the corner of his lip curling. “You belong to me!”
“I belong to me,” he whispered, knowing his words would enrage the man but unwilling to give in even if it meant Zus would harm him. He had to stand his ground. Something told him if he didn’t do it now he would never have the chance again.
“You are my mate!”
Rue opened his mouth to argue when the strangeness of Zus’s words struck him. He snapped his mouth closed and thought about them. Mate, what exactly did Zus mean by that? Somehow, Rue knew Zus didn’t mean it in the usual sense. But then, nothing about the entire situation was usual.
“What does that mean?” he finally asked. Relief flooded Rue when the tension in Zus’s shoulders faded away. The man settled back against the fallen log, getting comfortable as he started talking.
“You know what I am,” Zus said. “You saw me shift.”
Rue nodded.
“When one of my kind meets our mate, we can scent it. We just know. I scented you the minute you walked into the bar, just as my brothers scented their mates in your friends. We call them forever mates because once we claim our mates, we are forever bound to them.”
“A–an–and you claimed me?” Rue’s entire body trembled when Zus nodded. “What does that mean?”
“You are my forever mate.”
The words seemed so simple, but they had a wealth of meaning behind them. Rue knew that. Nothing was ever that simple. At least not for Rue. “I’m not one of your kind, Zus. I don’t understand what a forever mate is. What does it mean to me?”
“I need you.”
Rue’s mouth dropped open. Of all the things Zus could have said, those were the last ones Rue ever thought he’d hear. “You need me?”
“I will always need you, Rue.”
“Why?” Zus was a large man, a strong man. He could shift into huge white tiger. What possible reason could Zus have for needing Rue? Unless… Rue’s jaw snapped hard as a wave of anguish and anger rolled through him. “I told you I won’t be your little fuck toy.”
Rue scrambled backward when Zus growled and rolled up onto his knees. Fear made him tremble, made him clumsy. Rue slipped on the dirt and fell back onto ground. Before he could get back up, Zus was over him.
“You are not a fuck toy!” Zus bit out between clenched teeth. “I don’t ever want to hear those words come out of your mouth again. Do I make myself perfectly clear? You are my mate. I claimed you. You belong to me.”
Rue was so terrified he would have agreed to anything at that point. He nodded quickly, afraid to utter a single word in case he pissed Zus off anymore. He had no idea what the man would do to him. Zus looked so fierce. His face had darkened, his eyes going nearly black. Rue could see the tips of fangs between Zus’s lips.
When Zus stood to his feet and held a hand out to him, Rue was to afraid not to take it. He grunted a little then quickly bit his lips to silence himself when Zus pulled him quickly to his feet.
“It’s time to head home,” Zus said. “Your friends should be there right about
now.”
That was the only thing Zus could have said that would have made Rue walk even faster as they headed back toward the parking lot. Rue knew if he could get back to his friends they could run for their lives.
It was the only sane thing to do.
He followed behind Zus, knowing he didn’t have much choice when the man refused to release his hand. He was surprised at how close they were to the parking lot when they broke through the trees.
They couldn’t have been more than a few hundred yards and yet Rue had felt like he had run for hours. More than likely, he had been so scared he had run in circles. It would just figure. His life seemed to just go that way—one big ugly circle.
Zus’s truck was on the edge of the parking lot. Rue didn’t offer any protest when Zus opened the passenger side door for him. He just climbed inside and buckled up his seat belt. By the time Zus climbed into the other side, Rue was already looking out the passenger window, wishing he could ignore the large man seated next to him.
It wasn’t until they were driving through the parking lot and out the driveway that Rue noticed that the place wasn’t vacant. He pressed his hand against the window glass when he spotted Bay talking to another man, wishing he could call out for help.
“I thought you said all of my friends would be at your house?”
“I’m sure Stefan will be brining your friend home soon enough.”
That didn’t reassure Rue. In fact, it made him feel even more nervous. What if Zus lied about his friends being out at his house? Rue really had no idea where he was going or who he was going with. For all he knew, he could be headed toward his death.
Rue shivered and rubbed his hands up and down his arms. He knew he should have kept his knives on him. He was so incredibly fucked without them. He had no way to defend himself. On the surface, Zus seemed to be everything Rue ever dreamed of, strong, dominant, and powerful. Underneath, Zus didn’t want to be the one thing Rue needed.