Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-four
MATT
Waking up next to a naked Jesse Turner was one hell of a way to start the day.
Especially when Jesse was just as eager to be fucked as Matt was to fuck him.
The only slight problem was that Matt didn’t want to let go of Jesse afterwards.
He should be getting up, but he wanted to continue lying there, with Jesse in his arms.
It felt like he was holding back the darkness to come. As if, whatever happened, he could always have this—Jesse, making little unexpected sounds of pleasure, graduating to a full-body shiver when Matt mouthed his neck, until they were once again entangled in one another.
He thought about bringing up the conversation they hadn’t finished.
About the pack, about staying. But Jesse hadn’t run.
He was still here, warm and pliant in Matt’s arms. That counted for something.
And right now, Matt figured the best thing he could do was give Jesse space while still being there for him.
By the time they made it to the kitchen, Matt was more than ready for the breakfast Bryce was dishing up.
“Jason took the later patrol, so I sent him to get some sleep,” Bryce said as he piled eggs on plates. “I also spoke to some people last night, now that we have a name. Cale’s bad news.”
Bryce turned the stove off and joined them at the table.
“He’s a ruthless bastard with a small but brutal pack.
They’ve never challenged an established pack that anyone knows of, but you know as well as I do that a lot of smaller packs out there are like us and don’t like involving the state councils in their business.
What is known is that he’s got connections with organized crime and that anyone who crosses him has a habit of disappearing. ”
“Where’d he come from originally?” Matt asked, between mouthfuls.
“No one knows. Or if they do, they’re not saying. I guess no pack wants to own him.”
“With that reputation, a little spot of hit-and-run would be nothing for him.”
Jesse sucked in a sudden breath, and when Matt looked over at him, his eyes were bleak.
“You know it’s not your fault? Nothing that’s happening is your fault. It’s all on Cale.”
Jesse nodded, but he wouldn’t meet Matt’s eyes. Bryce leaned over and caught Jesse’s gaze. “Matt’s right. It’s not on you.”
Jesse’s nod looked a little more certain this time, like either hearing it twice—or from someone with no reason to want him to feel better—made it easier to believe.
Matt’s heart squeezed at the way Jesse was sliding into the pack without even realizing it. Maybe, if he could just prevent Jesse from noticing a little longer, he’d forget all his prejudices about packs and end up staying.
But that was a problem for later. Right now, he needed to get into town and prepare to meet Cale.
“Be careful, Matt.” Bryce’s expression was solemn as Matt stood. He evidently hated the idea of Matt going into town alone, but he knew it was his job to look after the pack in Matt’s absence.
Matt took a last mouthful of coffee before standing up. “I will.”
On his way past Jesse, Matt squeezed Jesse’s shoulder. He didn’t want to let go again, but he had to.
“I’ll be back soon,” he said, picking up his keys from the counter. And he hoped he was telling the truth.
* * *
Matt was going through the crime scene reports from the previous day when unease prickled at his senses. A quiet tension began to build, and something crawled up his spine. It was no surprise when Janice tapped on his door with the news that Mr. Cale wished to see him.
“Send him in, Janice.”
Cale entered the office like he owned the place. Not just confident but comfortable, like he’d already decided how this would go. His gaze flickered over every detail as though cataloging weaknesses, his eyes lingering on the framed photo of Matt’s pack.
Taking the chair opposite, Cale leaned back deliberately, the fine weave of his dark red shirt catching the light.
It looked out of place on a man who led a pack that lived wild.
That, Matt thought, was the point. Cale intended Matt to understand he wasn’t just some stray, scrabbling for dominance.
He had resources and connections. He wasn’t here to beg or threaten. He was here to take.
“Sheriff Urban.” His voice was smooth, but the force behind it hit like a punch. “You’ve got something that doesn’t belong to you.”
After a brief flick of his eyes when Cale had entered, Matt had kept his attention on the paperwork in front of him. He let the moment stretch, just enough to make it clear he wasn’t playing Cale’s game.
Something? It seemed Cale was too in love with his own performance to speak plainly. He had to mean Jesse.
A dark, ugly heat uncoiled in Matt’s chest. Jesse was his own person, and the idea of someone claiming him like a dropped wallet incensed Matt. But he kept his expression neutral as he finally met Cale’s gaze. “I like people to speak plainly.”
Cale leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He was less relaxed now. “I want my property back, Sheriff. And I’m not leaving this town without it.”
Matt set the pen down and leaned back in his chair. “You put one hand on him, and you’ll find out just how serious I am about this,” he said, his tone calm but iron-hard. “You’re going to leave my jurisdiction the way you arrived—alone.”
Cale’s laugh sounded sharp, edged with something unpleasant. “That sounds like a threat.”
Matt met his gaze, steady, unwavering. “It’s a fact.”
Something flickered in Cale’s expression.
A recalculation, perhaps. Then he smiled.
“Well, this is going to be more entertaining than I expected. A washed-up has-been playing alpha and a collection of strays calling themselves a pack.” His eyes drifted back to the framed photo.
“Jesus, Urban.” His voice was softer now, more personal.
“For someone who had prospects, you’ve really gone small-town, haven’t you? ”
Somehow, Matt kept his expression neutral. He supposed it made sick, inevitable sense that Cale had dug into his past, wanting to find out who his competition was.
“You’re not taking him,” Matt said, his voice quiet but inflexible.
Cale hesitated, just for a fraction of a second. When he stood and inclined his head, it seemed to Matt the amusement on his face was forced.
Fine, Matt thought, as Cale walked out. Now we both know where we stand.
* * *
Back at the house, Matt headed straight for the kitchen. Bryce was leaning against the counter, chatting to Jason as he cooked, but no one else was around. The place was strangely quiet for the time of day. Jason glanced up as Matt came in, and answered his unspoken question.
“Christian and Dave are patrolling, Karl’s sleeping, and Tristan took Jesse out to the yard. No idea why, but it looked like mischief.”
Devoutly hoping mischief didn’t involve Tristan’s damn goats, Matt stepped onto the porch, searching for Jesse.
A gray figure shot around the side of the barn, eyes bright and tail waving frantically as he ran, tongue lolling out of his mouth in a way that reminded Matt irresistibly of Tristan’s easy laughter.
Hard on his heels came another wolf, one that had to be Jesse.
At that instant, Matt’s brain stuttered and went into meltdown.
“Holy fuck,” Bryce said from behind him, sounding awed. “Holy fuck, Matt. Is that why Cale… ?” He broke off.
Matt swallowed, suddenly cold in the afternoon sunshine.
He stared at the wolf who had just pinned down a happily struggling Tristan and was pretending to savage him mercilessly.
His coat was sleek and lustrous as it gleamed silver in the sunlight.
Matt had no doubt that in moonlight it would blaze brightly—something that belonged in myth, not reality.
And his eyes... Bright blue, just a shade darker than when he was in human form.
Time stretched, long enough that Matt’s breath stalled in his chest.
Jesse was an Argent.
A legend. A ghost story. A royal bloodline so long extinct that most doubted it had ever existed.
Matt dragged in an unsteady breath, the weight of it sinking into his bones. If this got out, Jesse wouldn’t be just Cale’s target. He’d be everyone’s. There’d be no safe place left for him.
“Fuck me,” Bryce breathed. When Matt tore his eyes from Jesse, he saw his shock mirrored in Bryce’s pale face. “Matt—” He shook his head, swallowing hard. “It’s impossible.”
“I know,” Matt said. There was absolutely no way Jesse could be an Argent. Except for the small fact that he so obviously was.
Bryce drew a sharp breath. “And Dave and Christian didn’t think to tell us?”
Matt was still trying to catch up, to make sense of it all. “You know they’d never have kept this quiet,” he bit out. “But if the moon wasn’t out, there’d have been nothing for them to see.”
Argents were said to have glowed pure silver under the light of the moon, their coats like silver fire. In sunlight, their coats had held a paler echo of that brilliance, though still unmistakable. In the dark, they’d been the same as any other wolf.
And holy shit, he was going to have to stop thinking of Argents in the past tense. He thought his brain might liquify.
How could Jesse be an Argent? How could he have not told Matt? He’d said nothing—let Matt tell him about the old tales without breathing a word. Matt wanted to be furious at Jesse for the betrayal, but everything in him told him that wasn’t Jesse. He didn’t lie.
But about something as huge as this? A secret this dangerous? Knowing every shifter out there, every hunter out there would want a piece of him? Maybe he would.
Matt’s breathing wasn’t easing any because nothing with Jesse—nothing about Jesse—was as he’d thought.
“Jesse.” Matt’s voice was a whip crack, and Jesse instantly raised his head from where he’d been mouthing at Tristan’s ruff.
Matt stepped forward, rigid with the control he was exerting over himself. “Inside, now. We need to talk.”
“Damn right, we do,” Bryce agreed.
“Not you. I want you to wake Karl. He’s got command out here until I’m back.”
Bryce bristled. “I’m your damn beta, Matt, not him.”
“You are, but he’s got more experience when it comes to a battle.” Matt’s eyes were still on Jesse, who had shifted and was quickly pulling on the clothes that had lain in a pile on the end of the porch, his gaze flicking nervously over Matt. “Go.”
He didn’t wait to see if Bryce obeyed him. Instead, he turned away inside, walked past Jason without a word, and headed to the den. Tension thrummed through every nerve ending. He needed a drink. He needed a plan. And he needed Jesse to tell him the goddamn truth.