Chapter Three
Driving away from his mate while he was in the clutches of that hussy was the hardest thing Nedrick had ever had to do in his life. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he drove along the winding roads toward town. Nedrick focused on his breathing, while reminding his wolf that they would see their mate again... soon.
Preall will let me know where to meet them. It won’t be long before we see our mate again.
With that silent promise made to the snarling wolf he shared his psyche with, Nedrick focused on his driving. The trek to Stone Ridge was short, and he drove through the open gate to the left of Kade’s mechanic’s shop. A quick glance showed him that the car dolly was right where he thought it would be.
As Nedrick backed his Jeep up to it, he spotted Kade as he exited the back of the shop and began striding toward him. He was a little surprised to see the wolf shifter enforcer there on a Saturday. The man usually reserved the weekends for pack business and time with his human mate, Tom.
After parking his vehicle in front of the dolly, Nedrick cut the engine. He hopped out, as did Rierdon, who’d been sitting quietly in the passenger seat. Nedrick had appreciated that his buddy hadn’t tried to discuss the situation with him. In truth, it had taken all of Nedrick’s self-control to keep his agitated wolf in check while driving.
“Hi, Ned,” Kade greeted with a smile as he glanced between them. “What’s up?”
Before Nedrick could explain, Rierdon blurted, “My truck broke down at Tall Timbers Campground. Ned came to help me, and he found his mate there.” Hardly taking a breath, he rambled, “Is there someone here that can help me instead, so Ned can go back and woo his mate? He’s up there camping with a redheaded hussy named Karissa.”
Kade’s jaw sagged open for an instant, and his dark eyebrows shot up as his eyes widened. “Say what now?” A second later, he shook his head once, as if clearing it, and lifted his hand, obviously asking for Rierdon to keep silent. Then he turned his attention to Nedrick. “You found your mate, Ned?”
Nedrick nodded. “Yeah. He’s a human camping with a group of friends for the week.”
“Congratulations,” Kade rumbled, grabbing Nedrick in a quick hug. After a pat on the back, he stepped back and returned his attention to Rierdon. “What’s this about a hussy named Karissa?”
Clenching his jaw, Nedrick blew out a sharp breath through his nostrils. He fought the urge to growl, and he felt a muscle begin ticking in his jaw. Fortunately, Rierdon answered for him again.
“Yeah, total skank-city.” Rierdon crossed his arms and scowled while staring at the car dolly. “She kept pressing her boobs against him and grabbing his arm possessively.” Curling his lip, Rierdon grumbled, “Ugh, and the way she carded her fingers through his hair almost made me want to yank her away from him.” Shaking his head, he focused on Nedrick. “I don’t know how you kept your cool, Ned.”
Letting out the rumbling growl, Nedrick recalled each scene Rierdon painted. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d lost control of his wolf, even a little, once Alpha Declan had taught him how to balance his urges. Right then, however, Nedrick felt his skin begin to tingle as his hair threatened to change to fur, and his fingertips began to ache with the impending growth of his claws.
“Calm down, Nedrick,” Kade ordered, pressing close to him. “Breathe in my scent.” He wrapped one hand tightly around Nedrick’s torso in a bear hug while threading his fingers into Nedrick’s hair and urging him to tuck his face against his neck. “Take solace in the scent of your pack,” Kade rumbled, soft and low. “Your enforcer’s got your back.”
Nedrick obeyed, inhaling the familiar scent of wolf and pack—his family. Resting his hands loosely on Kade’s waist, he stood like that for a moment and just breathed. He slowly reined in his wolf’s jealousy... and his own, and regained control of himself.
“Shit, Ned,” Rierdon murmured, worry and concern filling his tone. “I’m so sorry. That was so stupid of me.”
“Is’okay,” Nedrick mumbled, glancing up to meet Rierdon’s pale features and offering him a tight smile. Then he took several more calming breaths before lowering his hands and raising his head. “Guess I was more on edge than I realized.”
Kade’s deep brown-eyed gaze bored into Nedrick’s for a heartbeat, two. “You okay?” he asked quietly.
Nedrick nodded slowly. “Yeah. Much better.” When Kade’s grip eased, he took a step backward while shaking his head. “Damn.”
“Yeah, damn.” Kade scoffed softly, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Finding your mate while he’s dating someone else is... intense.”
Grimacing, Nedrick nodded. He recalled how Kade had found his own human mate in a similar situation. The enforcer had shown up at a restaurant to act as the fourth in a double date as a favor to his adopted sister for two reasons—so she wouldn’t be a third wheel and to vet the guy her friend was dating. As it turned out, the man Kade was supposed to vet was his mate.
“Except, you didn’t start to lose your shit,” Nedrick grumbled, frowning. “Not that I heard anyway.”
Kade shrugged. “I didn’t have to witness any behavior like Rierdon described from the date, either.” Then he clapped his hands together and rubbed them together as his expression turned feral. “So, who’s your mate? And did you at least get his phone number?”
“His name’s Brett Robinson, and no, I didn’t get his phone number,” Nedrick admitted. Seeing Kade’s expression turn speculative, he quickly added, “But he’s friends with Preall and Trina. Preall’s going to let me know where they’re going hiking.”
“So you can crash it,” Kade guessed with a knowing nod. “Good. And friends with a fellow shifter. Excellent.” Rubbing his goateed chin, Kade speculated, “And you said he’s here for the week, so we’ll put a plan in place to get him away from this Karissa hussy so you have a chance to seduce him and steal him away from her.” Peering intently at him, Kade asked, “Got any read on how long they’ve been together? You know the mate-pull will help in your favor.” He pulled out his phone and woke the device. “I’ll text Preall and see if he can give us information on your Brett.”
“Not a clue, so I’d appreciate that,” Nedrick admitted, but then he couldn’t help curving his lips into a shit-eating grin. “But I’ve already taken some of his blood, so even if Brett doesn’t understand why, he’s gonna be drawn to me and start feeling uncomfortable with her touch.”
Kade barked a laugh as he snapped his focus back to Nedrick. “Well, damn, Ned. Nice one.” His dark eyes twinkled with mischief. “How’d you manage that?”
With his grin firmly in place, Nedrick explained about Karissa startling Brett into dropping the tire and the subsequent cut on his finger. He’d realized pretty darn quick that Brett wasn’t good with blood. Acting on his instinct to soothe his mate came naturally, and Nedrick hadn’t even tried to stay his reaction to lick away the scary liquid, mostly seal the wound, and to take away his pain.
The fact that Nedrick felt his wolf rumble happily in his mind as he felt the beginnings of their bond was a very pleasant side-effect.
Chuckling, Kade nodded. “Okay, well, you’ve already got one foot in the door, then, so to speak.” He patted Nedrick on the shoulder. “Well done.”
Another thought occurred to Nedrick, and he found his smile fading as worry replaced the pleasure of his enforcer’s praise. “You don’t think he’s going to feel manipulated when he finds out.” He rubbed the back of his neck and squinted at Kade. “Do you?”
Shrugging his wide, thickly muscled shoulders, Kade offered, “Even if Brett does, he’ll get over it.” He smiled encouragingly. “It’s the way of paranormals. In time, he’ll come to understand.”
“I hope so,” Nedrick responded quietly.
Kade’s phone dinged, and he read what was on the screen. The corners of his lips quirked up. He turned his phone around so Nedrick could read the screen. Kade had received a text from Preall.
Tyler tells me Brett and Karissa have only been dating a couple of weeks. She seems far more vested than him. He’s never dated a guy, though, and he had no clue Ned was into him. Tyler says he’s really oblivious about that kind of thing. LOL.
“Huh,” Nedrick murmured. “So he wasn’t just ignoring my touches.” With a low chuckle, he claimed, “Guess I’ll have to step up my game and be more overt.”
“Sounds like it,” Kade confirmed.
Just then, Nedrick’s phone chimed, and he discovered his own text from Preall.
We’re heading to Lake Donita Flats for a picnic. Tabatha and Karissa wanted to start off with an easy hike. I’m sure you won’t have any trouble catching up to us.
Nedrick quickly responded with his thanks, confirming that he would see them there.
Just as Nedrick hit send, another message from Preall popped up on the screen.
Fair warning. Karissa knows you’re after her guy, and I think she’s more than a little homophobic. Trina’s brother, mate, and a couple of the other guys are meeting us, too, so it could get interesting.
Feeling his eyes widen, Nedrick flipped his phone around so Kade and Rierdon could read Preall’s warning.
Kade scoffed as he shook his head.
Rierdon wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, I got that vibe off her.”
“Well, at least you’ll have plenty of backup if Jason and Michel and their crew are joining you.” Kade gripped Nedrick’s shoulder and squeezed lightly. “Keep me posted on how it’s going, okay? And I’ll give Alpha and Beta a heads up about the situation.”
“Yes, sir,” Nedrick replied automatically to the stronger wolf. “Thank you.”
Nedrick knew that Jason was Trina’s older brother and a very out and proud gay man. Michel was a wolf shifter only a couple of decades shy of four hundred years. He was big, grizzled, and didn’t take shit from anyone. If Karissa made the mistake of saying something homophobic to Jason, woman or not, Michel would put her in her place.
There were several other mated couples in their tight-knit circle of friends, so it would be interesting to see who turned up to hike. They were all fated pairs, and with a number of them, one look was all a person needed to peg them as gay. Any comments toward any of them wouldn’t be received well.
Not at all. This may be a train wreck in the making.
Kade nodded once before looking at Nedrick’s Jeep , then at Rierdon. “And I’ll get Baker to go get your truck, Rierdon.” He slung his arm over the smaller shifter’s shoulders and began guiding him toward the shop. “Your shifts will be covered for the foreseeable future while we help you figure this out, Ned, so get out of here,” he called over his shoulder. Peering back at him, Kade winked. “And good luck.”
“Thanks.”
Needing no further encouragement, Nedrick hopped back behind the wheel of his Jeep and headed toward Lake Donita Flats trailhead.