by Parker Skye
“What’s wrong?” Jude asked, scanning their surroundings as if searching for danger. Logan knew he wasn’t much for public displays of affection. By offering his hand, Logan realized he’d unconsciously signaled his mate something was amiss. While he hadn’t meant to alarm his mate, Logan tucked that bit of Intel away, knowing that trick might come in handy in the future.
“I’m not sure, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Logan admitted, keeping his tone down so hopefully no one but his mate overheard their conversation.
“Do you want to go? Say the word and we’re out of here, Logan. You know I’ll protect you,” Jude offered. Logan noticed the tiger’s shoulders hiking up almost imperceptibly as if readying himself to fend off attack.
“No, it’s okay, Jude. I’m sure I’m imagining things. I just managed to piss my alpha off a few times lately and I’m due an ass chewing. But I was in a bad space then. I’m sure Alpha Leikos will take that into consideration,” Logan said.
“And if he doesn’t?” Jude asked.
“Then I’ll accept my punishment,” Logan answered, forcing confidence into his tone. “I’m a loyal member of Silver Moon Pack and I accept the will of my alpha.” Jude’s answering scowl reminded Logan how solitary his mate’s life must have been before this. He wondered if Jude would ever fully understand Logan’s way of life.
When they reached the main house, Logan was unsurprised to see Alpha Leikos waiting for them on the porch. He stood leaning on the porch rail, both arms crossed tight over his chest. Alpha Leikos’ long black hair flowed like ebony waves down his back and the wind tossed pieces haphazardly around his face. Logan’s heart skipped a beat at his alpha’s stony expression. His normally cold blue eyes were practically frigid.
“Alpha. I’m here as requested,” Logan said, bowing his head in deference to his superior. Logan missed his alpha’s close examination of Logan and Jude’s linked hands.
“I see you two figured things out. About damn time,” Alpha Leikos said. “Well, come on, boys. I’m glad you finally got here. I’ve been dying to show you your surprise.”
The alpha descended the steps two at a time and strode off toward the southern sector. Logan looked at his mate in confusion, hoping Jude had some explanation for the alpha’s odd behavior. Jude simply shrugged and shook his head. Logan jumped when his alpha’s yell to “Hurry the hell up!” echoed back from the tree line. Logan jogged to catch up, dragging his mate along with him.
Chapter 30
Jude
Jude’s feet refused to move another step until he had more information. His nose was telling him things his brain didn’t understand. Logan turned at his mate’s hesitation; a look of apprehension painted across his face which Jude suspected matched his own.
“What is it?” Logan asked. Jude sniffed the air deeply and sneezed. Someone who shouldn’t be here, his nose said. Logan inhaled deeply through both his mouth and nose, adding his wolf’s sense of smell to solving the mystery. His eyes immediately narrowed as he picked up the hint of ozone, as well. Their eyes met and they uttered the bastard’s name in unison -- “Kai”.
Jude cocked his head to the side, waiting for Logan’s next move. He was willing to let his mate decide how things were going to go down. It was his home turf, after all. When Logan pulled his t-shirt over his head and stepped out of his shoes, Jude’s answering grin was excitedly feral. Jude’s clothes quickly added to the pile and they both shifted to their more primal forms. Jude’s tiger tried to take the lead, but Logan’s wolf wasn’t having it. After a few moments of bumping shoulders, tiger and wolf agreed to enter the clearing side-by-side instead.
Jude’s mismatched feline eyes quickly scanned the clearing, taking in the surprised faces of Logan’s pack staring back at them. There had to be two hundred people in the clearing. Jude had no idea his mate’s pack was so large. In the center of the clearing, standing on what appeared to be a makeshift wooden stage, was Logan’s alpha and the warlock Kai.
Both men burst into laughter at the sight of the mates in their fur. Jude’s tiger didn’t give a shit what they thought was so funny. He lunged for the stage and roared a sound so blood-curdling, several members of Logan’s pack screamed and ran. Chaos likely would have ensued if Logan’s alpha didn’t order everyone to freeze. Unfortunately, Jude’s tiger was not pack and ignored the alpha’s command.
Jude’s tiger made it to the stage unencumbered and made to leap for the warlock’s throat. The air around Kai crackled and Jude found his paws glued to the wooden floor. His tiger refused to give up, roaring and thrashing, trying to free himself from Kai’s magical chains.
“Logan! Tell your mate to calm down before he hurts himself. The warlock means us no harm. We will both explain if you’ll give us a chance,” Alpha Leikos commanded. Logan’s wolf dropped its head at the order and allowed his human side to resume control. Logan put his naked form in between the tiger and the warlock. Instantly, Jude’s tiger stopped roaring and tilted its head in confusion.
“It’s okay, Jude. Shift before you hurt yourself. Alpha Leikos promises to explain everything,” Logan said forcing his voice to remain calm. Jude’s tiger shot an evil glare at the warlock again and snarled.
“I know, Jude. He’s an asshole, but Alpha says it’ll be okay. You have to trust me now. Shift back,” Logan said. Jude’s tiger chuffed in frustration but couldn’t refuse his mate’s request. The tiger lay down on its belly and seconds later, was back in human form.
“Ben, go get their clothes, will you? I think they’d be more comfortable having this conversation without their nethers flapping in the breeze,” Alpha Leikos said. Jude smirked when he caught the alpha staring at his admittedly impressive nethers wondering who it was that really would feel more comfortable if the mates were dressed. Jude was pulling his tee shirt over his head when Logan finally started asking questions.
“What’s going on, Alpha? Why is he here?” Logan asked, staring daggers at the warlock leaving no doubt to whom he was referring.
“Sorry, Pack! Party is rescheduled for this evening when the moon is high. Now get lost!” The alpha’s command voice boomed through the crowd and the pack slowly started to disperse. Curious whispers slowly faded away.
“I told you he hated surprises,” Ben said chuckling. He was obviously fighting not to break down into full blown laughter. Adam was tearing up as he hid his face on Ben’s shoulder.
“I know, I know. And I should have listened, but damn. You have to admit that was fucking funny,” Alpha Leikos said.
Jude’s patience was running thin. Someone better start explaining or someone was going to start bleeding. Jude widened his stance slightly; happy he’d hesitated to put his shoes back on. With his size feet, shoes were hard to come by locally. Jude left his hands at his sides, but his fists clenched and unclenched rhythmically as if they were imagining crushing the life out of someone in graphic detail.
“Um, Alpha,” Ben said as he noticed Jude’s growing aggression levels again. “Maybe we should go inside and sit down before Jude loses it again.” Alpha Leikos took in Jude’s fighting stance and grimaced. The alpha shot a look at the warlock who only shrugged in response.
“Probably a good idea. Come on, boys. Let’s go sit down and have a drink. Obviously we skipped a step here today,” Alpha Leikos said. The alpha turned and entered the meeting hall, the warlock following close behind. Jude turned to meet his mate’s icy-blue gaze and saw matching frustration. Jude leaned over and brushed a kiss across Logan’s lips. Expectedly, his mate huffed in response.
“What was that for?” Logan asked. Jude imagined his mate was forcing himself not to wipe a hand across his lips.
“Because I could,” Jude responded, taking his mate’s hand and pulling him toward the meeting room. “And as a reminder that I’m only here for you. You say the word and we’re gone. No matter what happens don’t forget that.” Logan squeezed his hand in agreement and followed his mate inside. Ben and Adam silently brought up the
rear closing the door behind.
Jude took a seat with his mate on the only full-sized sofa at the edge of the room. The large mostly-empty space was obviously for gatherings that required the full pack’s presence. Jude once again wondered what they were doing here.
A small seating area sat at one end of the hall. This seemed to be where they were going to hash things out. The fully stocked bar Alpha Leikos was currently raiding likely had more than a little to do with location choice.
Jude couldn’t stop staring at the warlock as he sat smugly in an armchair, nursing a drink. Alpha Leikos seemed insistent they all have something alcoholic as he forced a highball almost full of amber liquid on everyone in the room. Adam tried to resist but the alpha’s glare had the stubborn pup gulping audibly and taking the glass in one shaky hand. Ben shot his mate a look of sympathy but swallowed a sip from his own glass setting the example. Jude swallowed a burning mouthful and set the glass to one side.
“Explain,” Jude ordered. His eyes were trained on Kai, leaving the warlock no doubt to whom the tiger was speaking. The warlock swirled the liquid in his glass and took another calm sip. He lowered the glass to rest on his knee and blew out a deep breath.
“My name’s not really Kai. It’s Ryusuke Mata,” the warlock said. His thick southern accent was gone, replaced with an unexpected British cadence. “I’ve been undercover for the Conclave of Elders for the last five years infiltrating the fighting ring Jude so conveniently joined. First, let me reassure both of you that I had no intention of letting that fight continue. It was supposed to be the final piece of evidence I needed to nail the organizers. By dangling such a tempting match, even the leaders of the ring couldn’t resist personally attending the fight. Thanks to your pack’s assistance, several very bad people are going to be in Conclave prison for a long time.”
“I’ll admit. When you showed back up after I’d dumped you with your mate, I nearly pissed myself,” Ryusuke continued. “I’d put so much work into getting you out of that environment and here you were coming back voluntarily. I knew you were too good of a person, Jude, to be mixed up in all of that darkness. It took me years to figure out a way to force you to find another path and then Logan walked into the picture like a shining beacon for your rehabilitation.”
“I don’t understand,” Jude admitted. “What does Logan have to do with this?”
“Remember those months when I was ‘on vacation’ last summer?” Ryusuke said, air quotes included. Jude nodded and crossed his arms over his chest dreading where he could feel this conversation heading.
“Well, I was actually in East Texas doing reconnaissance into a shifter gang there that was heavily involved fighting ring. A bunch of coyotes.” Ben and Logan shot each other knowing looks at the mention of the local coyote shifters that were likely the same ones to have caused them trouble before.
“One day, I happened to meet Logan. I won’t mention how, but let’s just say it was through a mutual acquaintance,” Ryusuke continued. Logan felt his heart skip a beat and was instantly grateful to the warlock for keeping his mouth shut. He knew they both had played the field heartily in the past, but Logan still didn’t think they needed to discuss his previous sexual endeavors in detail with his newly bonded mate.
“You see, I quickly realized that Logan was Jude’s true mate. It’s one of the many odd gifts I was born with and lucky for you both or you might never have found each other. I mean, who could imagine a tiger and a wolf being true mates, really?” Ryusuke paused to take another sip of his beverage. “So then, I had to figure out a way to put you together, which turned out to be much more difficult than you might imagine.”
“So you were never interested in me? That was all a lie, too?” Jude asked his tone almost emotionless.
“Oh, don’t be so upset, Tiger. Of course everyone wanted you, even me for a while. But, not like I knew Logan would. I knew if I could just get you free of the organization, you would flourish in a healthier way of life. I knew Logan was the answer, so I did what I had to do,” the warlock admitted. Jude’s head popped up and his tiger roared.
“You fucking trapped me in a housecat’s form for months! Do you have any concept of how humiliating that was?!” Jude snarled. Logan’s hand slammed down on Jude’s thigh when he began to rise from the sofa again. Ryusuke actually looked abashed and started to stutter.
“I-I-I knew you would hate it, but it was the only idea I could come up with. I had to get you in close proximity to your true mate. Logan had already spewed his opinion of being involved with another man all over me, so I knew he would never accept you in your true form. I figured if you were his pet cat, you could still be mostly yourself, but you’d also have a chance to work your way under his skin eventually. Obviously it worked or Logan wouldn’t have spoken the words needed to break the spell.” Ryusuke shot them both a pleased grin. “So see. All’s well that ends well.”
Chapter 31
Logan
When the warlock cockily winked in Logan’s direction, Logan lunged. Jude wrapped his arms around his mate from behind and managed to manhandle Logan back onto the sofa. Logan didn’t need his wolf to crave the warlock’s blood right now.
“How dare you! You practically forced him on me as if I didn’t have any say in the matter! If it weren’t for you, I could still be living a normal life,” Logan screamed at the warlock. Deafening silence echoed through the room as Logan’s own words sunk into his brain. Logan shot a terrified look at his mate. Jude’s jaw was clenched and he was staring at the floor, refusing to even look in Logan’s direction.
“Jude, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” Logan began to explain. Before he could say any more, Jude was out the door. Logan clenched his hands together in his lap and ran through what he could do to take back those hurtful words.
“Logan, look at me,” Alpha Leikos ordered. Logan hesitated but finally forced his gaze up to meet his alphas cold blue eyes. The expression on his alpha’s face froze the blood in Logan’s veins.
“You’re a fucking fool, Logan Sterling. I’ve never been so disappointed in one of my pack’s behavior than I have been just now.” Logan’s head dropped in agreement and his vision swam with unshed tears.
“Yes, you were played. But honestly, son, I don’t think you ever would have let anyone else inside that fucking mile-thick wall you’ve built around yourself. You have until the moon is high to find your mate and bring him back willingly. Otherwise, don’t come back at all.” The alpha’s final words rested in Logan’s heart like a stone. He nodded, silently voicing his understanding of the consequences if he failed. Logan glanced at his brother’s terrified face for only a second before following his mate out the door.
“Alpha, please. Logan didn’t mean…” Logan overheard his brother’s words as he tried to argue on his behalf. Alpha Leikos' answering growl stopped Ben’s pleading mid-sentence. While Logan appreciated his brother’s attempt, he agreed with the alpha. This was Logan’s mess and his alone to clean up. Logan sniffed the air as he shucked his clothes, easily picking up his mate’s distressed scent. He steeled himself for the crow he was about to eat, but the thought vanished as he shifted, nose to the ground following Jude’s trail.
Logan’s wolf finally found its mate on the beach of Silver Moon Lake, sitting hunched over, both arms wrapped around his knees. As he watched, the sun sank below the horizon and Logan knew his future with his pack was in peril. He kept his distance, though, contemplating how to bridge the gap he’d wedged between them in such a short amount of time.
Logan watched his mate toss rocks into the water dejectedly, not even attempting to make them skip. When Jude ran a hand under both eyes, Logan knew it didn’t matter if he ran out of time or not. His standing with his pack was no longer important. The only person that Logan needed stood there in front of him, crying because of Logan’s selfish words.
Logan’s wolf shuffled forward, tail between its legs as it inched toward its mate. When his wolf pressed its forehead
in between Jude’s shoulder blades and whined, Jude’s tears only intensified into sobs. Before he even realized his wolf had given up control, Logan found himself wrapped around his mate’s back, weeping along with him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Logan kept repeating over and over. Jude never uttered a response, but his body finally stopped shaking. Logan refused to let his mate go, his arms wrapped tight around Jude’s chest. Jude inhaled and cleared his throat. His voice sounded odd through the residual stuffiness of his nose, but Logan heard the power in his mate’s next words. This would be Jude’s final offer.
“This is the last time I’m going to go through this, Logan. I’m done fighting you. If you push me away again, I’ll go. No matter how much I know it will hurt to leave, I’d rather that quick pain than to have you repeatedly torture me this way,” Jude said emotionlessly. “I thought I was strong enough, but I’m not. I can’t go through this again.”