His Bacon Sundae Werewolf (6 page)

Does that mean we’re really supposed to be mates?

Fierce pride and
satisfaction filled both Jules and his wolf. It took him and Cole years to be
able to tap into the additional magical benefits of being werewolf mates. What
did it mean that it took him and Pat only a few hours to invoke it?

Something else
wormed its way past the pride and satisfaction.
Fear.
It meant Jules only had more to lose. If he left Pat here, he suspected Pat would
find some other way to find him. It was better to have Pat where he could keep
an eye on him.

“Oh fine. You can
come,” Jules snapped and Pat finally got off him. “A few ground rules though.”

Jules wagged a
finger at Pat and the wolf sagely nodded at him.

“My
hunt, my rules.
You understand? If I tell you to
run, you run.” Jules tugged at Pat’s ear to make his point.

Pat only whined in
annoyance. He wasn’t entirely sure if the gravity of his words sunk into Pat’s
thick wolf head, but there was nothing else he could do.

“Let’s go then,”
Jules said, brushing off his shirt. Pat’s fur rubbing against his jeans as they
walked felt comforting.

Jules jabbed a
finger into the elevator button and once the elevator’s doors opened, a boy and
his mother jumped at the sight of them.

“Jeez mister,
that’s a monster of a dog.” The boy peered down at Pat curiously and extended a
hand out.

He was maybe eight
or ten, and Pat nearly towered over him. His mother tugged him back
protectively, shrieking when Pat opened his mouth, revealing rows of sharp
teeth. His tongue slithered out and only licked the boy’s hand.

“He’s pretty
harmless, ma’am,” Jules said rather unconvincingly, trying not to laugh.

“You should place
him on a leash and collar, young man.” The woman stiffened, clutching the boy
close to her bosom. “It’s illegal walking around with animals that huge in
daylight.”

“I’ll take note of
that,” Jules agreed, ushering Pat into the elevator. “Guess we have to stick to
less open places for now, or should we get you a fancy pink collar?”

Pat only growled
at him in response, clearly not amused by his peal of laughter.

Chapter Six

The woods tasted
like autumn. It tasted of fallen leaves and freshly turned earth preparing
itself for a cold winter. Normally, the air would be cold. It was just that
kind of autumn where one caught colds or the flu easily if one wasn’t careful.
It was an awful time to be out if one were a human anyway. The air only blew
coolly against their fur and Jules liked it when Pat’s body occasionally brushed
against his. Running through the woods side-by-side, Jules realized he missed
this.
Missed the feeling of being free and unbound with his
soul mate running by side.

Pat nipped at him
playfully, skating away when Jules wiped an annoyed but fond paw at him. If he
didn’t know the shy human Pat lurked beneath the fur of the wolf, Jules
would’ve never guessed this wolf could be him. To him, Pat always hovered in
the shadows and never smiled, as if he couldn’t shake off the unnamed grief
that haunted him.

Jules wanted to
approach him on many occasions, wanted to clasp his shoulder and tell him that
he’d been there before and it was going to be alright. Except…well he would’ve
have been lying. Jules was a prime example of werewolf who could never move on.
He’d never really gotten over Cole’s death. Why else did he place a ‘pause’
button on living, if he’d gotten over it?

Pat raced ahead of
him, a beautiful liquid brown blur. Remembering how he’d recklessly darted into
the woods and into the killer’s den without a second thought, Jules ran after
him. The other wolf was a bundle of ill-contained energy, like an undisciplined
wolf pup. Catching up to him, Jules lightly nipped at Pat’s ear, growling in
warning. Focus on the job, Jules wanted to say, hoping the other wolf would get
it.

Mischief danced in
Pat’s amber eyes even as Jules looked at him disapprovingly. Didn’t he realize
how awful Jules had felt when he heard his yelp of pain and scented his blood
in the air? This time with the two of them, Jules would make sure nothing like
that ever happened again. If Pat had enough of playing and got some sense.

Jules swatted at
his face, and Pat growled, finally getting his gist. Jules backed away, about
to resume their hunt when Pat lunged at him.

It wasn’t an
attack. Jules didn’t feel Pat’s claws sink into his fur, but he did feel the
annoyed tug. Having enough of playing, Pat snarled softly at him. It was a
subtle warning that said, in shifter culture, “We haven’t decided who the
dominant wolf in this relationship is.”

Frustrated, Jules
shook his head. They had no time to establish the dynamics of their
relationship when they should be hunting a killer. Jules tried to continue
onward, but Pat stubbornly and effectively barred his path.

The message was
clear. Pat wouldn’t move unless this was settled. The other wolf even bared his
teeth in warning at Jules. At Jules! How could the other wolf presume he was
the dominant in their relationship? What a cocky arrogant beast!

Fine.
You want to decide this
now? We’ll decide this now.

Jules broke into a
run, catching Pat’s moving form. Pat’s charge knocked all the air out of Jules.
Hell, the chocolate wolf was not only big, he was also fast. It was unfair!
Jules thought, snarling. They began to circle each other and thoughts of Cole
and chasing after his killer fled from his mind.

All that mattered
was proving to his new mate that he was not the one backing down. It was a
rather uplifting feeling really. Like every human trouble he’d had flittered
away and the world narrowed its focus to him and his mate.

The thought of
showing Pat who was really the dominant wolf was harder in execution. Pat
wasn’t just fast and heavy, he was a vicious fighter. By the time they were
circling each other again, both of them sported cuts and bruises. Pat had even
torn a small part of Jules’s left ear and it left him enraged. Damn it all,
this run had started off on the right foot. Why did Pat have to spoil it? While
Jules hated certain aspects of the shifter culture, he knew why they were
necessary.

Oh, the duel they
fought were that of mates in heat fighting for dominance, otherwise one of them
would be long dead, but did Pat really have to do this now, during this
critical period?

Jules even
couldn’t remember what they were hunting for, but he was now damned pissed.
Even pissed though, Jules didn’t really think he could hurt his mate. Eyeing
the other wolf warily, he realized he could never beat Pat. His mind wasn’t
entirely focused on the fight and he didn’t think he could ever hurt his mate seriously.
There was only one solution.

It was a devious
plan, one that most wolves would frown on, but it was the only way to end this
silly fight. End the fight and maybe help Pat with his shifting problems. If
not, then Jules was minced meat.
Literally.
Jules
didn’t trust easily, but he’d take his chances with Pat. He had to.

Just as Pat lunged
again, Jules began to shift back to human form. It was his most difficult shift
to date. Even if his wolf was aware that it was their mate attacking them,
Jules’s wolf wanted to go into self-defence mode. Exerting his will, Jules
pulled back his fur just in time to see Pat’s claws and teeth aimed at his
face. He gulped.

Had this been
really such a good idea?

“Pat!” Jules
choked.

It happened in
merely a few seconds, but he could see an almost-human expression appear on the
wolf’s face. It was one of pure and naked terror. What have I done? Jules
wondered, frozen by the sight of death coming at him. He remembered Pat
confessing it was the death anniversary of his mate just hours ago, and now
Jules would be guilty of leaving Pat with a second dead mate?

Pat managed to
close his jaws and retract his claws at the last millisecond, before colliding
into Jules. Three hundred pounds of werewolf rammed into Jules, stealing all
the breath out of him. Jules let out a sound of protest, cringing. He’d
expected to feel Pat’s claws raking across his fragile human skin, but nothing
happened. The sleek brown fur was receding into human flesh.

Jules let out a
sigh of relief. He’d seen Pat’s speedy transformation at the car park, and bet
that he could do it in seconds. Still, it was a risky bet. If Pat didn’t manage
to hold back his wolf, Jules would have a head wound even werewolf magic
couldn’t regenerate from.

“You fucking
reckless idiot!” Pat snarled. His voice still wasn’t fully human, so it came
out as an odd growl, but Jules understood him perfectly.

“Well, I don’t
know why you’re the one complaining when I think you broke one or two of my
ribs,” Jules said mildly, enjoying the expression of horror on the other man’s
face. It wasn’t true, but seeing that look on the other man was worth it.

“Besides, I
finally have you where I want you.”

“What?” Pat still
looked furious, but then realization dawned on him.

Anger turned to
surprise when he realized he was lying on top of Jules and both of them were
naked in the woods. Exactly how Jules fantasized doing it.

“If I didn’t
resort to such tactics, that silly fight would’ve continued and I wouldn’t have
finally seen you naked,” Jules drawled.

It was finally
nice to be in control. Pat’s shaggy face was red. Was he really that insecure
about himself?

Noting the
tightness on his face, Jules frowned and grabbed his arm before he could stalk
off, turn back into a wolf and run out on Jules.
Again.
If Pat had a tendency to
run whenever things got messy, then it was just up to Jules to teach him that
some messy things needed to be dealt with.

“Hey. What’s wrong
with you? I know you’re attracted to me, both my wolf and I know it and your
wolf does too,” Jules said. “Didn’t you notice the way your paw healed just
now? Those were mate bonds at work, pal. You can’t just ignore it.”

He thought Pat
would’ve been pleased to be reminded of that fact, but no, the frustrating man
only glowered at him. Without all the shyness, Pat’s rough unshaven face looked
frighteningly fierce. It was a good look on him and it inappropriately stirred
excitement in Jules’s cock.

“Do you think this
is a joke?” Pat hissed, flinging his hand away.

“A
joke?
I let the trail of my killer go. A killer
I’ve been trailing for years.
For you.
Do you think
I’m joking?” Jules threw
back,
and crudely pointed to
his now half-erect cock. “Do you think this erection is
fake
?
Hell, you can’t imagine how sexy you look to me right now, looking at me so
threateningly like that.”

Pat blinked,
looking down at what Jules was pointing at. “You’re…serious?”

“Of course I am.
So, are you just going to gawk at my cock? I mean I like how it’s growing
excited, but are you going to do something about it?”

“You’re really
asking for it
aren’t
you?”
The
marked change in Pat’s personality and the dark look of desire in his intense
gaze made Jules shiver.

This confident and
dominant Pat was new to him and he wasn’t sure he could ever get used to it.
Was this the true and unbroken Pat, not the man who grieved for his lost mate?
Or was this the man whose soul was torn apart because he couldn’t change into a
wolf over the years? Or was it the wolf riding the man himself? Whatever it
was, Jules decided he liked it.
Liked it very much.

“Either way, we’ll
have to talk about this killer you’re chasing after we’re done,” Pat said
decidedly.

Jules snorted.
“Are you done talking buddy, or are we going to wait for tomorrow to fuck?”

Jules got no
further and Pat mashed his lips against his, his beard tickling against Jules’s
skin. Jules imagined sweet and tender kisses from the shy man, not forceful and
rough kisses that stole the very breath out of him. It was better than any of
the kisses Jules ever fantasized Pat giving him. Heat didn’t just pass from
Pat’s mouth to his. It exploded in a rush of desire.

Wrapping his hands
securely behind Pat’s neck Jules was consumed by the fury of his mouth. He
eagerly ground his body against the man above him. Beneath him came the
crunching sound of leaves and shifting soil. Oh gods, he’d always wanted to be
fucked on the forest ground by his mate, and Pat was only happy to give it to
him.

Pat’s mouth
descended to his throat, and began to kiss him downwards. His persistent lips
left a visible trail of heat down Jules’s neck, collarbones and chest. Jules
groaned when the other man deviously flicked his tongue over one nipple. Pat
made lazy circles around it, ignoring Jules’s pleas.

“Shh. I’m going to
make you feel good in just a bit,” Pat said. The hungry look in his eyes only
sent a quiver through Jules.