Hard to Handle Jay
There’s a growl off to his right, causing Jay to veer away from the last of the setting sun’s light filtering through the trees.
He puts on a burst of speed, aiming for the stream he can smell ahead, where he might confuse Rowan-wolf’s superior senses and make the chase worthwhile.
Or at least enough to burn off some of his mate’s aggression.
Their resident wolf had spent too many hours this week in his shifted form, growling and pacing, and frankly, Jay had enough of his own territorial feelings to deal with—without adding Rowan’s shit to the mix.
He shouldn’t have been surprised when Gideon had suggested—insisted—that Jay take Rowan out for a run in the woods past the city limits for a few hours.
While he hated to leave the house, it had seemed like a brilliant idea—Rowan could burn off all the extra energy and quit being a broody little shit.
Jay had no intention of running himself. He had brought his laptop and two books on parenting twins to occupy his time instead. For reasons Jay doesn’t like to examine too closely, he hadn’t wanted to be too far from the SUV—just in case.
Just in case what, exactly, Jay’s wolf hadn’t made clear.
But Rowan-wolf had been a menace in the car, scratching what looked like his name into the back seat of the brand-new ?koda Kodiaq’s leather upholstery on the drive out.
Then he’d lifted his leg on the rear driver’s side tire, the sound of hot liquid hitting the custom titanium hubcaps ringing loudly in the quiet.
Now, Jay isn’t shallow enough to worry about his shit that much, and the SUV is still safe even with piss on the tires—but his mate had intended to piss Jay off, and boy, had it worked.
Still, it had taken everything Jay had to let it slide.
Gritting his teeth, he’d narrowed his eyes before telling his mate to Fuck. Right. Off.
He’d pointed over his shoulder toward the woods and reminded the big idiot that he’d honk when it was time to go. Flicking the lawn chair open single-handedly, he’d pulled out his laptop and settled in for a few hours of reviewing new group bios.
He was already thinking about being home for a late dinner and looking forward to his night keeping Nix company.
But no—Rowan-wolf had rolled his eyes, gotten right up into Jay’s grill, and bumped his laptop hard enough that it had rolled into the dirt that served as a parking lot.
When Jay had sighed and bent to pick it up, Rowan had held it down with a giant paw and a huff.
Now, Jay and Rowan have an understanding that has served them well since last fall: Rowan didn’t challenge Jay, and Jay wouldn’t kick his ass. They were both happy with the status quo.
Or at least, Jay had thought they were.
“Rowan Foster,” Jay had said, letting his alpha rumble up from deep in his belly. “I am not in the mood.”
And he sure as fuck wasn’t. As he said, he’d been dealing with his own shit all week—quick to anger, taking offense at the weirdest things, and scent-marking his pack every chance he got.
The debacle at Common Grounds was nothing compared to the fear of the Goddess he’d put into their new pizza guy, the delivery person, and the gardeners who had stopped (benignly) to watch Nix and Finn play catch on Tuesday.
He’s embarrassed to say that he is currently accepting applications for their replacements and paying two months of severance, as well as hiding the fact from Gideon and Leo.
He figures it’s probably because he’s anxious—terrified, really—about Nix being in pain. Hurting, crying, and shouldering it all to bring their pack babies into the world.
And then there’s the fear gnawing in his chest, that something could go terribly wrong. That his beloved might—no. He slams the door shut on that thought, refusing to let it take root. Not now. Not ever.
But this. This is the last straw.
“Move your fucking foot, Rowan. Or I will make you,” is growled out in his meanest voice.
Of course, Rowan, being Rowan-wolf—and having embraced the fuck-you attitude that only a 250-pound wolf can carry off—presses down on the fragile device. The crack of the screen inside is followed by the sound of the plastic casing snapping in two.
He meets Jay’s eye then and nods toward the woods. It’s a near thing that Jay doesn’t take this as an actual challenge. His wolf wants to put Rowan in his place—and maybe that’s what he needs: to run Rowan-wolf down and show him who’s boss for five fucking seconds.
“Okay. You made your point. But you are going to make that up to me.”
Rowan-wolf turns and darts into the trees without a backward glance.
Chuckling, Jay realizes he’s not angry—he’s excited. He tosses his things into the SUV, throwing the key fob in after them. He’ll just use the door code when they’re done.
Rowan-wolf howls in the distance as a reminder for him to get a move on.
It takes fifteen minutes for Jay to finally run Rowan-wolf down; a game not of speed, but of cunning.
He would feel bad if Rowan-wolf weren’t so big and made so much noise that it was easy for Jay to track him.
Maybe the Wolf did it on purpose, but Jay was thrilled to prove he was more than a match for him.
Although Jay wouldn’t admit it, he loved the challenge.
Rowan-the-man was a worthy opponent in the gym, but the Wolf? He reminded Jay who he was. As a Were, as an enigma, and as a leader.
That he was worthy to lead.
After he’d wrestled him to the ground, holding him down with his fangs deep into the back of the Wolf’s furry neck (ew, by the way—do not recommend), he’d rubbed Rowan-wolf’s ears in gratitude for the submission.
But Rowan wasn’t done. He’d gestured with his nose that it was Jay’s turn to get chased.
It would be a first, and he’d been sure that his wolf wouldn’t cooperate. That Jay’s wolf would turn and attack once Rowan-wolf got close enough because it was the wrestling and “fight” that were more of interest to Jay’s wolf than the chase.
With his mind going a mile a minute, he’d raced off into the thick trees when Rowan had given him a head start. He’d climbed over downed trees and outcroppings of stone and even skirted a cave.
Smelling a stream, he remembered Luca regaling them with his own run experience in the Smokies with Gideon.
Maybe he could confuse Rowan’s nose with the water.
He’s not five feet from making good on his plan when he’s pushed onto his hands and knees from behind.
Flipping over onto his back, he’s just in time to see the miracle of Rowan’s shift up close.
He’s stunning. His hair has gotten wild, long, shaggy, and fiery red. His shoulders and chest are broad, and Jay’s mouth waters at the sight of his magnificent, hard cock.
Jay has very recently been exploring the changes in his sexuality, but he has not considered taking Rowan’s giant cock. Not during Gideon’s or Grayson’s or even Rowan’s last rut has Jay wondered what it would feel like to be split open and feel his mate in places no one else could reach.
But the exhilaration of the chase has Jay’s cock hard, and the image racing through his brain.
Rowan smiles as if he can read Jay’s thoughts. Capturing Jay’s wrists in his giant hand and forcing them up and over Jay’s head, he uses the other to hold Jay down with a palm hard to his sternum.
“Sorry. No lube.” He licks a stripe up Jay’s throat with a growl. “That doesn’t mean I don’t expect you to make me come, though.”
He drops his hips down so their cocks line up through Jay’s pants, starting up a slow grind.
“Undo your pants,” Rowan growls.
“Fuck you, wolf-boy.” Jay isn’t going down without a bit of a fight. And by go down, he means literally.
Rowan’s eyes flash red before, lightning-quick, he’s got the side of Jay’s neck between his teeth. He gives it a shake—enough that Jay’s wolf takes offense and rolls him over so he’s on top, and Rowan is forced to let go of his throat or risk tearing it out.
“That’s not nice. I was winning,” Rowan pouts, bucking his hips up.
“Whatever gets you through the night, baby.”
“You should still make me come,” Rowan rasps, fingers pulling on the waistband of Jay’s cargo pants.
In a blink, he has the zipper down and his fingers rubbing the wet head of Jay’s cock through his boxers.
“That’s the best idea you’ve had all day.”
“What. You liked this chasing shit. Don’t tell me you didn’t.”
“I did. I think we could—”
Jay’s teasing is cut off by a sharp pain in his chest. It’s gone in an instant, but by then he’s straddling the Wolf an instant before Rowan knocks him backward into the dirt
In a blink, the Wolf is racing back toward the SUV before Jay can even climb to his feet.
What the fuck is happening?
Why would Rowan shift and run without warning?
Jay gives in to the urge to growl loudly before breaking into a run after him.
The pain in his chest is dull now, but fuck does it hurt.
If he hadn’t known very well what his bond with Nix felt like in every incarnation and emotion, he’d have been worried something was wrong at home.
Maybe it’s just heartburn?
“Rowan!” Jay chases after him. “You don’t even know the code to get in! Wait up.”
Running with a hard-on can be added to the list of things Rowan needs to make up to him later.
But Rowan isn’t waiting beside the car when Jay gets there. The giant Wolf is running down the hill toward the city at top speed.
Well, that’s not going to go unnoticed by humans and Weres alike.
Margot is going to be even more pissed if they break the Alliance laws than she was trying to pull Jay’s meltdown off social media.
Keying the access code, Jay gets behind the wheel and follows his mate out of the lot, a trail of dust behind him.
He finally comes alongside him five minutes later, but Rowan won’t slow down, and Jay has just opened the window to shout when the Bluetooth connects with a call from Finn.
“Finn,” Jay says before leaning out of the window and shouting, “Rowan! Just get in the car!”
“Where are you?”
With his eye on his mate, he doesn’t detect the strain in Finn’s voice at first.
Where was he?
He was halfway home and all the way pissed off. “Chasing Rowan in my fucking car.”
“What?!”
Jay hears the Land Rover start up and accelerate over the connection.
Finn sounds agitated—and he should, by Jay’s calculations, still have two hours of clinic hours left.
“We were running, yeah? And then we had stopped for a bit of—well, whatever, but then he shifted back and was gone.”
Jay feels his face heat. He’s not prone to exhibitionism, and as much as it’s only the Were community that runs in those woods, they are by no means private.
“Shit, not the point. I don’t know what happened. But when I caught up, he wasn’t at the car. He’s currently running toward home. I don’t know what I did, but I think I’m having a heart attack on top of it.” Jay is so confused. “He’s been weird all week.”
He hears Finn huff, and he’s grateful his mate is holding his tongue about Common Grounds and his otherwise cranky attitude.
“I need you to pull over for a minute.”
Rowan takes a hard left behind a strip mall, causing Jay to lose sight of him until he pops up on the hill behind the building, a hundred yards down the street.
What the fuck is driving him so hard that riding in the SUV is not fast enough to get him home?
“What? No. It’s everything I can do to keep him in sight as it is. Why do I need to pull over?” Jay asks sharply.
It hits him then.
That Finn is driving faster than his new license allows, cursing under his breath when he thinks Jay can’t hear. There’s even an angry honking.
Something is wrong, and Jay’s wolf is at full attention.
“Why. Do. I. Need. To. Pull. Over.”
When Finn doesn’t answer, Jay signals and pulls into the parking lot of a church.
He realizes belatedly that it’s the same church he and Nix had stopped at when Jay had finally figured his shit out, last fall. The instantaneous realization makes his stomach swoop, the hair standing straight up on the back of his neck.
“I’m in a parking lot. Now tell me—what the fuck is going on?”
Just as he asks the question, there’s a repeat of that sharp, aching pain from before.
“Ow… Fuck. I think I’m having a heart attack for fucking real.”
“Nix is in labor, and I didn’t want you to crash the car. Get home and don’t worry about Rowan. He knew before we did.”
What? No. Absolutely not.
Jay is not sitting in a parking lot while his beloved is…
“Now? But he’s got three more weeks at least. You said he’d be late,” Jay whispers, because this can’t be happening.
He bangs his forehead on the steering wheel while he questions his every waking moment for the past seven days.
“He called you first?”
“Fuck no,” Finn scoffs, and Jay hears What’s New Pussycat over his SUV’s speakers.
“Shit, that’s Gideon finally. I’ll see you at home.”
The line disconnects.
Jay cannot be blamed for sitting there for an extra thirty seconds, rubbing his forehead with one hand and his chest with the other.
Nix is in labor.
At home with only Luca and Gideon to comfort him.
He’s bearing the agony alone, though, and if the pain in Jay’s chest is anything to go by, it’s worse than Jay can imagine.
Nix is afraid.
Jay can feel that now, when Nix lets the bonds sing at their full strength.
That’s what the pain in Jay’s chest had been.
But he also feels excited, determined, and oh so brave.
Jay doesn’t detect that last one through the bond.
No, Jay knows that one because he knows Nix Rhodes.
Putting the SUV in drive, Jay pushes love and pride along his bond before following Rowan home.