Patience Read online

  “You know that and I know that. But they gotta put on the dog and pony show.”

  Jamie listened closely to the small talk, though he lost track of names as they went through wives and partners and others. He took note of when Chad’s voice changed at the mention of certain people and tried to remember those names. If things went well and Chad didn’t run screaming when he found out about shifters, Jamie would have to ask about them.

  It seemed every time Chad tried to steer the conversation back to business, Reid came up with something else to talk about. But apparently there was nothing else he could use to delay things.

  “Here,” Reid said, shoving a yellow envelope at Chad. “It’s all we’ve got on him.”

  Chad took the envelope but didn’t look in it.

  Jamie heard the slight hitch in Reid’s voice and surreptitiously sniffed. Oh yeah, the sweat just got worse. Jamie listened closer and heard Reid’s heart beating faster. Huh. Interesting.

  “Thanks, Reid. I really appreciate it.”

  “Don’t mention it. Really.” Reid looked around uncomfortably.

  “Of course, Reid. Geez.” Chad shook his head, but something in his voice made Jamie look up. Chad looked antsy and Jamie wondered why.

  “So, uh, Chad—”

  Chad sighed, and Jamie had a feeling Chad did not want to hear what was coming.

  He decided to help his mate out. He sat up, tilted his head, and perked his ears, looking into the distance as if he saw something interesting. He barked once and took off running.

  “Shit, I gotta go. Later, Reid. Murray!”

  Jamie ran toward the lake in the middle of the park, then skirted it to the right and around behind a statue. He stopped on the other side and waited for Chad to catch up.

  A moment later, Chad rounded the statute, laughing. “Thanks, boy. He was about to ask me for a blowjob. Man’s so far in the closet, he takes regular trips to Narnia, I swear.” He shook his head, smile fading into a scowl. “Won’t come out, but wouldn’t mind a dirty back-alley blowjob. Asshole acts like he’s doing me a favor by letting me suck his cock. Can you believe that?”

  Ew. Jamie snorted and Chad nodded.

  “Exactly. Come on. Let’s get back to the apartment. I’ve got work to do.”

  They walked back to the car, and Jamie jumped in when Chad opened the door. He waited for Chad to put the seat belt around him, then settled on the seat.

  Chad tucked the envelope behind the sunshade after he got in, then started the car.

  Jamie looked up at Chad and sighed. His mate was so gorgeous. He was so relieved to hear Chad was gay, but he wondered if Chad would find him attractive as a human. He shook his head at himself. That was the least of his worries. He needed to see first if Chad could accept the fact that once a month he broke out in fur.

  Chad turned the radio on, and Jamie looked up at the display to see it listed as a Pandora ’80s station. Sammy Hagar’s voice came through the speakers, complaining about driving slow, and Jamie snorted.

  “What? Not a Sammy Hagar fan?”

  Jamie chuffed and shook his head.

  “Then what?”

  Jamie raised his head and pointed at the display with his nose.

  “Oh, the song!” Chad laughed. “So you can read too?”

  Jamie nodded.

  Chad shook his head. “It’s killing me to figure you out, Murray.”

  Jamie chuffed at the name. The truth was, though, he liked it. He liked that Chad had put real thought into choosing it.

  He listened to Sammy Hagar fade into ZZ Top, which became The Police. It was all before his time, and he wondered at Chad, who didn’t look old enough to have heard these songs when they first came out. Yet another thing he didn’t know about his mate. Chad still sang along to almost every one—thankfully in a half-decent voice.

  He sighed in frustration. He wanted back in his human skin. This was driving him fucking batshit. If only he could talk to Chad.

  After a detour to Wendy’s, where Chad bought Jamie a huge bacon cheeseburger, they went back to the apartment. Chad ate in front of his computer, reading through the information in the envelope. Jamie tried not to inhale his burger. He failed epically.

  Chad snorted. “I’m not going for another one.”

  Jamie licked Chad’s hand, then rested his head on his paws and tried not to think too much. The only thing on his mind was wondering how Chad was going to take the reveal of his nature. He kept going in circles with the worry, then telling himself to let it go, to enjoying Chad’s company, and back around again.

  “Blah, need music. This isn’t making a lot of sense.” Chad went into the living room and hit a button on the stereo. The end of a song Jamie didn’t recognize played. He did know the singer. Bob Seger sang something about the moon being ghostly white. Jamie couldn’t pay too much attention because Chad walked into the bedroom then and he was too busy staring at his mate’s ass.

  The song changed, and even he recognized the opening piano chords. A few seconds later, Chad slid across the wooden floor in nothing but underwear, white socks and his button-down shirt. He was holding a hairbrush, not a candleholder, but Jamie knew what he was doing. He snorted. He couldn’t exactly laugh in wolf form, but he could chuff and snort, and he did so.

  It only got worse when Chad turned around and his shirt was open halfway down. His mate was built much more nicely than Tom Cruise—especially from that movie—but he couldn’t resist another snort at what Chad was doing.

  Then Chad started singing along, even doing the same hand gestures. Jamie flopped down, shaking his head. The little butt wiggle compensated for some of the goofiness. When Chad threw the hairbrush, though, and pointed, Jamie put his paws over his eyes. He didn’t think he could watch anymore.

  He couldn’t resist for long, though and peeked to see Chad still singing along, playing air guitar in all the right spots. He had to admit, he was impressed when Chad did the kneel-and-lean-back thing. Of course, Jamie simply imagined himself straddling Chad in that position—not an image he wanted to entertain in that moment. He seriously didn’t want another wolfy hard-on. He put his paws back over his eyes.

  When the volume went down a moment later, Chad snorted. “Everybody’s a critic. You gotta admit, I look better than Tom Cruise did.”

  Jamie chuffed and stuck his tongue out.

  Chad laughed and went back into his bedroom. When he came out, he wore a T-shirt with the Ghostbusters logo on it and another pair of gym shorts. He went back to his desk and sat. “Now. There has to be a way to make sense of this stuff.”

  Jamie retrieved the last of the ham bone from under the kitchen table and stretched out at Chad’s feet.

  APPARENTLY, WHEN Chad got to working, he didn’t pay much attention to silly things like taking his dog out to pee or making food. Jamie had to pull at Chad’s shorts, nearly ripping them off, to get his attention.

  “What?”

  Jamie sighed, went into the living room, and sat by the door.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Murray,” Chad said, sheepishly. “I kind of got, uh, involved.” He grabbed the leash and opened the door. “I guess even if you’re not a regular dog, you still gotta go out, huh?”

  All Jamie gave in reply was a snort and focused on getting out to the yard. When he’d finally relieved himself and they went back inside, he went over to the refrigerator and sat.

  “Hungry too, are you?” Chad asked, snickering.

  Jamie barked.

  “Okay, okay—shit, I didn’t pay attention to the time. No wonder you’re hungry. Sorry, boy.”

  Jamie looked up at the clock and noticed it was after eight in the evening. As usual, time passage didn’t register in the same way for him when he was in wolf form. It was worse that night, as the moon was now up. His wolf was much more in the forefront. In fact, the urge to get out and hunt was strong. That would ease some when he ate, but he wondered if he could at least get Chad to wrestle and play or something. He needed to be
physical in some way tonight, and since he wasn’t going to be able to fuck, run, or hunt, that was the next best thing.

  Chad took out hamburger and set it on the counter. He made the patties, then stuck them in the frying pan.

  Jamie’s stomach growled, but he did his best to ignore it. Instead, he drank some water to shut it up, then lay down and waited as quietly as he could. Chad was fairly quick, though, and before long, a plate of burgers was on the floor in front of him. Jamie barked his thanks and dove in, nearly inhaling the first one. He slowed down on the second and actually savored the third. Thankfully, when it was all said and done, he did feel better. The need to hunt wasn’t as strong, though he did still need to do something.

  When Chad finished his food and put the plates in the sink, Jamie nudged him on the back of the knees.

  “What?” Chad looked down.

  Jamie nudged him again, then tugged at his shorts. He wasn’t sure how to get his point across.

  “What are you trying to tell me? Do you need to go out again?”

  Jamie thought about it, but the yard was too small to do anything with. He shook his head and nudged Chad again, then jumped up and pushed at his chest.

  Chad laughed. “I think you want to play, is that it?”

  Oh thank gods, yes. Jamie nodded and barked.

  “Living room. There’s no space here. And… hang on.” He went into his bedroom, and Jamie heard a drawer opening and closing. A moment later, Chad came out with a sock knotted up. “How about this?”

  Jamie wagged his tail and took the end.

  They wrestled for some time. Jamie was impressed with how long Chad lasted. They played tug-of-war, and then he’d throw the sock as far as he could in the apartment—which wasn’t too bad, all the way down the hall—and Jamie retrieved it. It wasn’t a run or hunt, but when Chad begged for mercy, Jamie felt better still.

  When Chad sat in his computer chair, Jamie flopped on the floor at his feet. There was a tiny bit of the bone left for him to chew on, so he got it and settled in. He actually fell asleep there.

  WHEN JAMIE woke the next morning, he wasn’t sure what to feel when he realized he was still in his fur. He checked the clock, then looked toward the window, but he didn’t know what time the moonset was, and with the sun up, he couldn’t tell by looking at it. He didn’t know if he was relieved that he could maybe leave and shift, then come back as a human, or disappointed he hadn’t shifted already. Though he didn’t think Chad would welcome waking up with a strange, naked man in his bed.

  The phone on the bedside table beeped, and Chad yawned, rolled over, and picked it up. “Oh good,” he said, climbing out of bed. He hurried into the kitchen, and Jamie followed in time to see him typing furiously at his computer.

  Jamie waited a few minutes to see if whatever it was that got Chad’s attention was quick. But when, some ten minutes later, according to the clock on the wall, he didn’t seem even remotely interested in moving, Jamie started to get worried.

  He had to pee.

  With a small whine, he nudged Chad’s leg.

  “Just a minute, boy. I’ll take you out. Panther finally got back to me.”

  Jamie sat and tried to be patient. But another ten minutes later, his bladder was starting to get downright painful. He whined again.

  “Really, Murray. Just another minute. I promise.”

  Jamie shifted, trying not to put pressure on his bladder, but it wasn’t working. He couldn’t stop another whine.

  “Almost, Murray,” Chad said, as distracted as the last two times.

  Jamie looked toward the hall, then back to Chad. If he had to try to hold it much longer, he would end up peeing on the floor. And there was no way he was going to do that.

  He padded out of the room. Chad didn’t even notice him go, he was sure of it. With any luck, he could do what he needed to and not even let Chad know it. Down the hall and into the bathroom, Jamie looked at the toilet, then the tub, then back to the toilet. He’d never tried to use one in wolf form, but if he was careful, he thought he could still aim, at least well enough.

  He nosed the seat up—he really didn’t want to spray it—then got up on his hind legs, bracing his forepaws on the back of the toilet. With a little shifting and squatting, he thought he had the right aim and let go. He was happy to see he was right, and the relief he felt almost made him lightheaded.

  Just as he was finishing up and trying to figure out how to shake without getting pee everywhere, he heard a laugh behind him. “Well, I knew you were intelligent, but I didn’t think you could use a toilet.”

  Jamie looked around behind him at Chad, blinking. Shit. He tried to decide what to do, though there wasn’t much he could do. He jumped down and turned around.

  And that’s when it happened.

  As it did most days at the end of the full moon, it was almost instant. One minute, he stood on all fours, looking at Chad in grays. The next, he crouched down on two legs, his mate filling his vision in full color. This was so not how he’d planned to tell Chad.

  “Murray?”

  “Uh, Jamie… actually. Nice to meet you?”

  Chapter 5

  CHAD STARED at his dog, who had just turned into a person. A guy. A hot guy.

  “Well, that’s not quite what I expected,” he blurted as the guy stood. Chad couldn’t stop his eyes from traveling down the man’s body, pausing a little too long on his pretty, nice-sized cock before moving back up to the gorgeous blue eyes.

  Murray—Jamie—smiled. Chad didn’t know if it was for the once-over or the comment. “What did you expect? Uh, actually… do you have a towel? I’m kind of naked.”

  “I’m not minding the view,” Chad mumbled as he turned toward the closet.

  “Well, I’m glad you like what you see, but… explanations might be a little easier if I’m not naked.”

  Chad blinked at him. “You heard that?”

  Jamie nodded as he wrapped the towel around his waist, then pointed to his ear. “Sensitive hearing. And, uh, actually, could I use your phone? I’ve got a couple of friends who are probably really worried about me.”

  “Oh, sure,” Chad said, going back out to the kitchen to retrieve his. Footsteps followed him, and he turned to hand the phone over, seeing Jamie had caught up. “Maybe you’d prefer some shorts or something?”

  “That’d be great, thanks.” Jamie smiled, and Chad had to force himself to look away. The man wasn’t just hot, but gorgeous.

  Chad hurried away. He stopped in the bedroom long enough to pull jeans on—and thus hide his hard-on—and grab a pair of drawstring shorts. He’d noticed Jamie was quite a bit leaner than he was. He paused to lower the volume on the stereo he’d just turned on, laughing when he heard Duran Duran talk about hunting and being hungry. When he got back to the kitchen, Jamie was still on the phone.

  “Yeah, just got pulled through the shift early and stuck.” He paused and made a face. “Yeah, all four. In the city. I’d say it wasn’t fun, but, well, mate, you know?” He laughed. “Right. Anyway, I’ll call you when I’m on my way. Don’t know when that’ll be, but I’m fine…. Great. Later, Fin.” He touched the screen and turned to Chad, holding the phone out.

  Chad traded it for the shorts and turned around so he didn’t stare at Jamie while he changed.

  “I’d totally blow you for a cup of coffee.”

  Chad spun so fast, he almost unbalanced himself. His eyes wide, he opened his mouth to speak, closed it as he tried to decide what to ask first, then blurted, “You’re… gay?”

  Jamie nodded. “Yeah. Uh, there’s a lot to explain, but—”

  “Sorry! Have a seat. I’ll get it started.” Chad hurried over to the sink and focused on making coffee. Water, filter, and grounds handled, he turned around to consider the man in his kitchen while it brewed. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I don’t think I’d believe it.”

  There was that gorgeous smile again. “Yeah, I can understand that. So… what did you think?”r />
  Chad shook his head. “I had it totally wrong. I was leaning toward escapee from one of the research labs there at the school. I know at least one of them does cloning experiments.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Who knows what all goes on up there?”

  “Huh. Yeah, I can see that. But, well, obviously that’s not it.”

  “So… what are you?” Chad finally asked. The coffee gurgled behind him, and he turned around to pull out cups. After he’d poured, he crossed to the table. “Oh, do you take it with sugar or anything?”

  “Uh, cream usually.” Jamie chuckled. “Couldn’t exactly find a way to explain that in wolf form.”

  “Wolf?” Chad asked, eyebrows up.

  “Yeah.” Jamie took a deep breath and let it out. “That’s what I am. A wolf shifter.”

  “Shifter. Huh.” Chad pulled the milk out of the fridge and turned back. “All I got. Is that okay?”

  Jamie nodded. “That’s great. Thanks.”

  Chad took a seat and waited for Jamie to fix his coffee. “So… what… what does it mean? And how did you end up with me? Can you shift at will? What about the full moon and all that?”

  Jamie grinned. “One at a time, man. I’ll answer them all.”

  Chad blushed. “Sorry. The investigator in me.”

  “Yeah, I get it. I’ve got tons of questions for you too. But first….” He bit his lip. “I usually can shift at will, yes. I can even demonstrate, if you want. Except on the full moon. The moon forces us through the shift. Usually it’s only for that night, or maybe the one before or after on those months it’s very strong. Outside of that, we shift when and as much as we want, though, of course, not in the city—again, usually.”

  “But… why didn’t you, then?”

  Jamie sighed. “I was stuck. Even though we get pulled through the shift at the full moon, if we don’t consciously shift other times and give our wolves the control, we can have problems. Sometimes we actually act like dogs—chase squirrels or mailmen or chew on someone’s slippers, all in human form.” Jamie grinned at Chad’s laughter. “Yeah, I know. But sometimes we’re forced through the shift early.”