Chapter Two #2
“I can’t do this right now,” Jalen said finally. “I need sleep and definitely a therapist.”
As he tried to step around Chase, the man moved to block his path. Not aggressively but with a quiet determination that made Jalen’s pulse quicken.
“The motel isn’t safe,” Chase insisted. “Let me drive you.”
“So you can take me to your secret wolf lair instead?” Jalen crossed his arms. “Hard pass.”
Chase’s mouth twitched. “It’s a house. With locks. And a security system.”
“And a bunch of werewolves. Sorry, wolf shifters.”
“Who will protect you,” Chase added, his voice softening. “Because you’re my mate.”
Jalen blinked, certain he’d misheard. “Your what now?”
“My mate,” Chase repeated, looking uncomfortable but resolute. “It’s how I found you tonight. Why I could sense the vampire was near you.”
The world tilted slightly beneath Jalen’s feet. “Your mate,” he echoed faintly. “Like... what? We’re cosmically destined to be together or something?”
Chase nodded once, his gaze never leaving Jalen’s.
“Nope. No way.” Jalen shook his head vigorously. “That’s where I draw the line. Vampires? Fine. Wolf people? Whatever. But I am not some predestined soulmate picked out by the universe. That’s not how life works.”
“It’s how my life works,” Chase said simply.
Jalen stared at him, searching for any sign this was an elaborate joke. The guy was dead serious, truly believing what he was saying. The cosmic soulmate reveal hit Jalen like a truck while Chase was just… calmly rearranging the fabric of his existence.
What the fuck?
“I need to sit down,” Jalen muttered, dropping his bag and sinking onto the curb. The concrete felt cool through his jeans, grounding him as his thoughts whirled chaotically.
Chase hesitated then sat beside him, leaving a careful gap between them. The silence stretched, punctuated only by the buzzing of the parking lot lights overhead.
“So you just... knew?” Jalen asked finally. “The moment you saw me?”
“The moment I caught your scent,” Chase corrected. “It’s... hard to explain to humans. But, yes, I knew.”
Jalen picked at a loose thread on his jeans. “And what if I don’t want to be your... mate?” The word felt strange on his tongue, foreign and weird.
Chase’s shoulders tensed visibly. “Nothing happens,” he said after a moment. “I don’t force anything. But I’ll still protect you. That’s non-negotiable.”
“Because I’m your mate,” Jalen said flatly.
“Because you’re in danger,” Chase countered. “The mate thing... that’s my problem to deal with.”
He was giving Jalen all the power. He was making it absolutely clear that this was a choice, not a prison.
Jalen glanced sideways at him, taking in the rigid set of his jaw, the careful way Chase held himself apart. For all his intimidating size and supernatural abilities, the guy suddenly looked vulnerable.
He saw how much it cost Chase to hold himself back and respect his boundaries.
“This is crazy,” Jalen said, but the heat had left his voice. “This whole night is insane.”
Chase didn’t argue, just kept his gaze fixed on the parking lot entrance as if expecting the vampire to materialize at any moment.
“If I go to the motel,” Jalen said slowly, “will you just follow me there anyway?”
A ghost of a smile crossed Chase’s face. “Yes.”
“And if I agree to go with you, just for tonight,” Jalen continued, hardly believing what he was considering, “you promise not to... I don’t know, howl at the moon or shed on the furniture?”
This time Chase’s smile was more pronounced. “I promise.”
Jalen exhaled slowly, wondering if exhaustion had completely destroyed his common sense. “One night,” he said firmly. “Just until I figure out what to do about my apartment. And I want my own room.”
Chase nodded, standing and offering a hand to help Jalen up. After a moment’s hesitation, Jalen took it, surprised by the jolt of warmth that traveled up his arm at the contact.
“And tomorrow,” Jalen added as he retrieved his bag, “you’re going to explain everything. Vampires, wolf shifters, this mate business. All of it.”
“Deal,” Chase agreed, leading the way to his truck.
As Jalen climbed into the passenger seat, he wondered if he was making the biggest mistake of his life. Or if, somehow, this was just the beginning of something he couldn’t yet understand.
At least he wasn’t spending the night alone in a motel room, jumping at every shadow. Small victories, he supposed, in a night full of world-shattering revelations.
As they pulled out of the parking lot, Jalen glanced back at his apartment building. The rational part of his brain screamed that he was making a huge mistake, getting into a truck with a man who could grow claws at will, heading to a house full of others like him.
But another part felt like he was finally heading in the right direction after a lifetime of being lost.
The world had monsters in it, and yet another one thought Jalen belonged to them.
The truly terrifying part was how little that bothered him this time.