Patience Page 10

  When it was over, Chad slumped forward, bracing himself, but Jamie tugged until Chad was on top of him. He closed his eyes, savoring the awe he felt from Chad. Happiness unlike any he’d ever known squeezed his heart and made breathing difficult.

  “Oh, is that you?” Chad whispered.

  Jamie looked up, cupping Chad’s cheek. “The happiness?”

  Chad nodded. “Yeah.”

  Jamie grinned. “Yes. You did that.”

  “Oh… I think I like that.”

  The grin turned a little wicked. “Wait until you piss me off.”

  Chad winced. “Duly noted.”

  Jamie laughed. “I have a feeling that’s not going to be too common between us.”

  “I hope not.” Chad leaned in and kissed Jamie’s forehead, then eased out and stretched out next to him.

  “Still in shock, huh?” Jamie asked.

  Chad nodded. “You can feel that?”

  “Yes. You know how we felt strong emotion before?”

  “Yeah, like the….” Chad blushed. “Like the jealousy? And anxiety?”

  “Right. And I didn’t mind that. But, yes. Well, this level of our bond makes us tele-empathic. You’ll know how I feel and vice versa.”

  “Tele-empathic? That’s kind of cool.” Chad frowned. “Did you know that?”

  “I knew it would be to some level. I didn’t realize how strong. Finley never told me that part.”

  Chad nodded. “Well, I’m thinking this will take some getting used to. Does it come through in wolf form?”

  Jamie bit his lip. “You know, I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know if you’ll feel it when I’m a wolf or not.”

  “Why don’t we test it?”

  Jamie blinked at him. “Test it?”

  Chad nodded. “Yeah. Shift. I’ll see if I can still feel you.”

  “Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense.” He laughed, then leaned in and kissed Chad before climbing out of bed. He closed his eyes and let his wolf out. This shift was slower than the one at the end of the full moon, but as usual, still measured in seconds. In no time, he was back on four paws, looking up at his mate.

  Sure enough, he could still feel the awe and wonder that wasn’t his. He didn’t need to even try to feel anything in particular. The happiness from their mating was still plenty strong.

  “Oh yeah, I still feel it,” Chad said, smiling. “Well, Murray, I have to say, though, it’s still a little odd equating my dog with my mate.”

  Jamie chuffed, jumped up onto the bed, and licked Chad’s face.

  Chad laughed. “Okay, now that’s weird. I know that’s the same saliva I just had in my mouth, but it’s still a little weird.”

  Jamie snorted. He nudged his wolf back and focused on his human side. A few seconds later, he was grinning at his full-color mate. “You mean this saliva?” he asked, then licked Chad’s cheek.

  Chad let out another snort of laughter, then pinned Jamie to the bed. He kissed Jamie breathless, then pulled back. Grin in place, he said, “Yeah, I like you. A lot, Jamie.”

  Jamie swallowed and reached up to brush a lock of hair back from Chad’s forehead. “I like you a lot too.” He cleared his throat, trying to bury the other thing that cropped up on him. I hope you can love me too.

  “Hey, what’s that?” Chad asked, brushing his thumb over Jamie’s cheek.

  Jamie shook his head. “Nothing.”

  “Uh-uh,” Chad said, with that half smile Jamie was coming to love.

  “Uh-uh?”

  “Yeah. Apparently, we can’t lie to each other. Entirely aside from the fact that I knew it wasn’t nothing, I felt it.”

  “Huh. Well, that’s… comforting.” He looked up. “It’s too soon.”

  Chad tilted his head. “Oh?”

  Jamie nodded. “You don’t want to hear this.”

  “Try me.”

  “Chad… you just discovered I’m human less than twenty-four hours ago!”

  Chad leaned sideways slightly, peering over Jamie’s shoulder. “Fourteen, actually.”

  Jamie blinked at him. “So not helping.”

  Chad grinned. “Wasn’t trying to.”

  With a sigh, Jamie shook his head. “Seriously.”

  “Don’t make me threaten the humane society…. Balls.”

  Jamie snorted, but couldn’t suppress his grin. “Yeah, right.” He sighed. “I was just… I was just thinking I hope you can come to love me eventually too.”

  Chad’s smile faded and he studied Jamie for a moment. “I’m not going to tell you that I do. You wouldn’t believe me and I wouldn’t blame you—even with our bond. But—” He leaned in and kissed Jamie softly. “But I have no doubt I will be able to say those words to you. Probably in the not-too-distant future.”

  Jamie couldn’t stop the relief, but it just made Chad grin. “Sorry, I—”

  Chad put a finger over his lips. “It’s okay. Don’t apologize. Really.” With another kiss, he sat up. “How about we get a shower and you tell me a little more about the gods?”

  JAMIE SHUFFLED through the apartment, following the scent of coffee. Music played quietly from the stereo. He didn’t recognize the song—he really was going to have to learn more about ’80s music—but he caught something about deadheads and Cadillacs. Jamie shook the thought away and continued into the kitchen. He found his mate watching the machine brew, singing along with the music. “Oh gods, it’s already brewing,” he moaned, joining Chad at the counter.

  Chad grinned, and turned, tugging him in, wrapping both arms around him. He kissed Jamie on the temple, then cheek. When Jamie turned his head, Chad caught his lips in a longer, more thorough kiss.

  Their connection buzzed with happiness. Jamie savored it for several long moments, eyes closed as he rested against Chad. He buried his face in Chad’s neck, inhaling deeply the intoxicating scent. Chad’s fingers in his hair pulled another soft moan from him.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have kept you up so late last night, hmm?” Chad murmured in Jamie’s ear.

  “I wasn’t complaining then,” Jamie pointed out. “Though… my ass is a little sore this morning.” Little was an understatement, but he wasn’t going to tell Chad that. In one night with Chad, he’d bypassed the number of times he’d had sex, ever.

  Chad chuckled. “I’d be surprised if it wasn’t, wolf or not.”

  “Well, that might have something to do with the fact that we ma—had sex again this morning.”

  “You can say it, Jamie. It was more than just sex, whatever label you want to put on it.” Chad kissed Jamie’s forehead, then lips again.

  Jamie couldn’t argue that. Even outside of strengthening their bond, he’d felt something from Chad. Every time they’d touched or kissed, every time Chad had filled him, there’d been emotion there. Emotion Jamie had been more than a little afraid to put a name to.

  So he didn’t, but he could recognize something was there. “Yes, it was,” he belatedly agreed. He looked up into Chad’s gorgeous brown eyes. They crinkled at the corner when Chad smiled. Jamie tested the link to see if he could feel Chad’s emotions, and he got happiness, contentment, and that something else.

  “Good, I’m glad you felt it too.” Chad kissed him again, and that’s when the coffeemaker gurgled.

  Jamie stepped back and turned to get the milk when he saw the carton of cream on the counter. “When did you get that?”

  Chad flashed him a smile. “Yesterday, when I went shopping.” He poured out two cups and handed Jamie one of them, complete with cream.

  Jamie closed his eyes and took a long, slow drink, making Chad grin.

  “Are you drinking coffee or having a religious experience?”

  He looked up at Chad. “Both. I’m praying to Bacchus.” When Chad blinked, he chuckled. “The Greeks called him Dionysus. We call him Bacchus—Roman god of wine and ecstasy, among other things.”

  Chad laughed. “Well, I can’t say I blame you.” He watched, eyes twinkling, for another few moments while he
sipped his own cup. He refilled it, then pursed his lips. “So I was thinking, after breakfast, we’ll get your car unpacked. What time did Finley say we were expected at the alpha’s house?”

  Jamie blinked at him. “Unpack my car?”

  Chad stared for a long moment. “Yeah. Unless there’s a reason you want to leave all your stuff in it. It seems a little silly to go out and get fresh clothes all the time, though.”

  Jamie returned the stare, completely confused. “Uh… but… why would I unpack here?”

  “Where else would you unpack it to?” Chad asked.

  Jamie sensed nothing but pure befuddlement across his bond, which was exactly what he was feeling. “My room at Tanner and Finley’s place,” he answered, still at a loss.

  “Why ever would you unpack it there?”

  “’Cause I live there?” Jamie shook his head.

  Chad stopped and didn’t speak for a long moment, then turned away. “Now who’s being impatient?” he muttered, but of course Jamie caught it.

  “I—Chad?”

  Chad turned around, raising his eyebrows. The wariness Jamie felt from Chad made him uneasy. “Yes?”

  “Are you saying you want me to live with you?” He couldn’t seem to make the words come out at more than a whisper. His heart pounded and he knew Chad would sense his fear, but he couldn’t stop it.

  “I… well, we’re mates, aren’t we? I guess I just thought it was kind of a given.”

  Jamie frowned. “Well, under normal circumstances, yeah. But… you’re—”

  “Human, yeah,” Chad finished, frowning. He turned away again, opened the refrigerator, and bent down to reach for something.

  Jamie didn’t like the hurt he felt coming from his mate. He liked less that he’d caused it. He touched Chad’s arm. “Chad? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  Chad stood and turned back around, rubbing his face. “You di—sorry, you know better. It’s okay. I’m… this is all new to me, I get that. But… as a human, a human who’s accepted all this stuff, it never occurred to me that being human was a bad thing.”

  “Wait, it’s not. I mean, not really. Just….” Jamie sighed and flopped down onto a kitchen chair. He buried his face in his hands. “Look, when two wolves find their destined mate,” he said, dropping his hands and looking over at his own mate, “there’s usually no hesitation. They know the fates picked out someone for them that they would fall in love with. Oftentimes, that happens almost immediately. You know how people like to make fun of love at first sight? Say it doesn’t exist?”

  Chad nodded.

  “Well, for the wolves, it does. The wolf half recognizes its mate. It doesn’t need to date. It doesn’t need to ‘see where things go.’ As far as it’s concerned, it sees its mate, they bond, and that’s that. Their love is a much more simplistic thing. We, the human sides, trust our wolves. When our wolves recognize our mates, we go with it. I’ve never heard of a destined pair not working out, even when they went from strangers to mated in a night.”

  Chad looked thoughtful as he took a seat without speaking, and Jamie couldn’t decipher the emotions from him. “But I don’t have a wolf, so you’re afraid that I won’t recognize that part of us—the part that says I’ll love you. Is that it?”

  Jamie frowned. “I guess? I mean… you could still decide you don’t believe in the mate stuff. Like… you’ve seen me shift—more than once, now. So you know we’re real. But that’s not the same as accepting the mate bond to be real.”

  “I’ve felt it, baby. I felt your happiness. I feel your fear and worry now. I don’t have to question it. It’s right there.”

  Jamie swallowed and stared at the table again. “Or you could just decide you don’t want me after all,” he whispered.

  “Oh, hey, hey,” Chad said, pulling on Jamie’s chair until he was up against Chad. “I get that fear.” He sighed, closing his eyes. “You have to feel it, though, baby,” Chad whispered. “I know you do. I feel it.”

  Jamie knew what Chad was trying to say. Or maybe trying not to say. But could Chad feel it? Could he recognize it—as the love it was—as a human?

  He took a deep breath and looked up at Chad. He wanted to believe it. Hadn’t he been feeling it but refusing to name it? But even if Chad did, that didn’t guarantee anything. He could still choose to walk away, couldn’t he? “Can I think about it? Just for a little while.”

  He winced at the disappointment he felt over their link, but Chad nodded. “Yeah, okay, baby. Whatever you need. Just… you’ll come back with me, right?”

  That, Jamie could promise. “Couldn’t make me stay away,” he murmured, leaning in.

  The relief that flooded their bond about made him giddy.

  Chapter 9

  “NOW, WHEN we go in,” Jamie said as they stepped out of the Challenger later that morning, “you’ll see me tilt my head and show my neck. It’s a sign of submission and respect to the alpha.”

  Chad nodded. “Okay.”

  “You don’t have to do it, as a human,” Jamie said, turning to him.

  “Will I insult him—or the other wolves—if I do?”

  Jamie blinked at him, then shook his head. “No, of course not.”

  “All right, then. Let’s do this.” He leaned in and dropped a quick kiss on Jamie’s forehead, then took his hand.

  They climbed the steps to the porch, but before Jamie could knock, Tanner yelled from inside, “Come on!”

  After exchanging chuckles, Jamie opened the door and stepped inside, followed by Chad. Jamie had certainly been in the alpha’s house on a few occasions over the years. It was smaller than he’d have expected, considering the alpha for the pack he’d grown up in had what amounted to a small mansion. In fact, it was probably a little smaller than Tanner and Finley’s house. The house sat on a sloped lot surrounded by forest on three sides. They could shift and run straight from the alpha’s backyard, though they usually preferred to gather in the pack clearing, actually in the forest.

  Jamie could tell the alpha’s mate, Carol, did her best to create a welcoming space. Not too fussy or expensive, it was nonetheless clean and well kept. A plush, comfortable sofa, several chairs, and two love seats filled the big, open, two-story great room without crowding it, leaving the focal point a huge brick fireplace off to one side.

  Tanner, Finley, Miles, Alpha Noah, and Carol sat around a low coffee table, and Tanner waved them over.

  Jamie stopped at a respectful distance. He tilted his head to the side, showing his neck. “Good afternoon, Alpha.” He glanced over to see Chad doing the same, and it warmed him. “I’d like you to meet my mate, Chad Sutton.”

  Noah stood, smiling, and held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Tanner’s been telling me a little bit. Why don’t you have a seat?” he asked as they shook.

  “Coffee?” Carol asked.

  “Yes, please,” Jamie said, glancing at Chad when he chuckled. He elbowed his mate, who only laughed.

  “Yes. Thank you, ma’am,” Chad said to Carol, who beamed at him.

  “Be right back.”

  Jamie turned to Miles and waved a hand at the long, almost lanky, red-haired man. “This is Miles Grant. Miles, my mate, Chad.” Jamie grinned—until a surge of jealousy so strong, it nearly knocked him off his feet came through the bond. He turned to look up at his mate, eyes wide. “Chad?”

  “Sorry,” Chad mumbled, cheeks red. “Can’t seem to help it.”

  Jamie’s smile came back, even wider. The jealousy, as silly as it sounded, actually felt good. “It’s okay.” He stood up on his toes and kissed Chad’s cheek. “I like it.”

  Chad considered him for a moment. “You’re mine,” he whispered.

  Jamie beamed at that and kissed him again, then turned back to Miles. “He, uh, knows we’ve been… friends,” Jamie finished lamely, glancing at the alpha.

  Noah simply smirked.

  Miles laughed. “I’d be the same way. Nice to meet you, Chad.” He held a hand out,
which Chad shook, and then they finally sat together on the love seat.

  “So, how did you find out about Jamie?” Noah asked Chad.

  Together, they gave Noah and Miles the Reader’s Digest version of the last several days. After they managed to stop laughing over Jamie’s bad shifting timing, they got down to the real issue.

  “I don’t know what my bite will do to him.” Jamie focused on Miles. “Do you know?”

  Miles looked thoughtful. “I don’t. I mean… most of the time, biting a human is fatal. The combination of our sharp canines, then the saliva mixing with their blood, can be enough to do it. It’s one reason we’re so careful to keep our teeth out of them.” He paused and pursed his lips. “On the other hand, most of the time, humans are bitten with the intent to kill, so the wolves often go for the carotid artery or the like. So I’m not sure. Either way, I’d think a destined mate would have to be different.” He shrugged. “I’ve just never heard about it before. When I studied at the national headquarters, I didn’t hear anything about human mates.”

  Jamie sighed in frustration. “There has to be something.”

  “Not to question you,” Noah said, “but… are you sure he’s your destined mate?”

  Jamie tried not to scowl. He knew Noah and Carol were chosen, not destined, so it was a fair question since they wouldn’t have felt the pull. It still bothered him.

  Chad surprised him by speaking, rather firmly, before Jamie could answer. “Yes, we are. I feel it, and I’ve never felt anything like that before. I can’t smell him like he can smell me, but I felt the pull.”

  Jamie warmed at what he heard and was wondering if he’d been too quick to dismiss Chad because of his humanity. He didn’t like that he was the holdout in their mating. He put that idea away for later to focus on the issues at hand.

  Noah nodded. “Just making sure.”

  “I wondered if we might have a look at your library,” Jamie said into the following silence.

  “Of course,” Noah said. “I don’t know what might be in there. There’s still so much that wasn’t written down.”

  Jamie nodded. “Yeah, I know. But it’s a place to start.”