Chapter Five
When Nedrick arrived at the trailhead, he spotted several motorcycles, Brett’s Envoy , and Preall’s SUV. He also noticed Paolo and Jamie lounging on the grass in the shade near the motorcycles. After parking, Nedrick leaped from his Jeep and headed toward them.
The guys were on their feet instantly, moving toward him, too. While Paolo appeared as amused as hell, Jamie’s expression screamed of concern. Then the very dominant rat shifter tugged the submissive wolf shifter against his side, holding him close, and Jamie practically sagged into his mate as they came to a stop.
“Hey, Ned.” Paolo grinned up at him. “Congratulations, man.”
While Paolo’s shorter stature of five-foot-seven didn’t seem like much, he had broad shoulders and thick muscles. His attitude also screamed dominant. The guy considered caring for his mate, a more reserved five-foot-nine wolf shifter, of the utmost importance.
As it should be.
“Hi, Paolo,” Nedrick greeted. “Jamie.” After glancing between them and getting a sweet smile from the small wolf shifter, he peered toward the trailhead. “I’m guessing they’re already on their way.”
“Yep,” Paolo agreed amicably, turning in that direction. “Jamie, love.” He pecked a kiss to his mate’s cheek. “Grab our backpacks with our picnic shit. Would you please?”
“Yes, sir,” Jamie immediately responded before bounding toward the motorcycles.
Paolo started strolling toward the trailhead slowly, obviously giving his mate time to grab their stuff, and Nedrick fell into step beside him. “You’re right,” Paolo offered as they walked, shaking his head. “That Karissa is a piece of work. Homophobic with a possessive streak a mile wide.” Paolo’s grin turned maniacal as he cackled a little. “But don’t worry. The guys and I got your back.” With a wink, he turned around and started walking backward so he could keep an eye on his mate. “We’re already paving the way for getting Brett used to the idea of men together while showcasing just how bitchy his date is.”
Nedrick wondered just what Paolo meant by that, but he held his tongue as a middle-aged man and woman dressed in outdoor apparel appeared around the bend before them. The pair smiled at them, and they exchanged greetings and have a good hike pleasantries. They’d just disappeared from sight when Jamie jogged up with a backpack slung over each shoulder. Paolo immediately took one of them and slipped it over his own back before giving the man a peck.
“Thanks, baby,” Paolo crooned with a heated smile. Then he grabbed his lover’s hand, threaded their fingers, and refocused on the hike. “So, we made out in front of everyone a little after agreeing to wait here for you.”
Jamie snickered. “A little?” The wolf shifter smirked as he hip-checked Paolo. “That was more than a little, my mate.”
“Indeed, it was,” Paolo rumbled. With a leer at Jamie, he added, “And making out with you is never a hardship.” Then he returned his attention to Nedrick and told him, “Karissa’s definitely a bigot, just like Preall warned. We overheard some not-so-nice stuff she whispered.”
Jamie lifted his free hand and tapped the side of his head. “Shifter hearing.”
Nedrick nodded, understanding. Shifter hearing could easily pick up comments that humans had thought they’d whispered. Plus, considering his own interaction with her, he didn’t think she was all that subtle. Hell, she’d probably barely even whispered.
Pushing those thoughts away, Nedrick glanced between the mated pair. “Anything else I should be ready for?”
Paolo shrugged. “Luther said he and Deke were going to try to engage your mate.” He smirked and winked. “Do their best to try to keep his attention on them as opposed to Karissa. That sort of thing.”
Nedrick nodded, contemplating that. Considering the self-centered, needy way she’d been acting at the campground, he could see how that would be effective. She was all about keeping Brett’s attention on herself. Having to share him would piss her off.
Gods, I do love my pack.
“Perfect,” Nedrick murmured. “Let’s pick up the pace.”
Paolo and Jamie laughed, but they were happy to oblige. When Nedrick broke into a jog, the other shifters easily kept up.
*
Nedrick heard the group before he spotted them. Having hiked the trail about a million times, he knew there was an arcing bend just before the meadow and stream came into view. He slowed down to a stroll and took a few deep, measured breaths.
All that did was allow him to pick up the lingering hints of Brett’s unique and exotic scent.
His prick twitched as his blood heated.
Great.
Dismissing that, Nedrick paused, doing his best to ignore his wolf’s urging to keep moving. He lifted his arms over his head and stretched. Then he bent at the waist and arched his back.
After straightening, Nedrick glanced at the pair with him. He rolled his eyes upon seeing their matching grins. With a shake of his head, he started forward again, making certain he kept at a leisurely pace.
“You got this, Ned,” Jamie murmured encouragingly.
“You really do, man,” Paolo seconded. “And we got your back.”
Nedrick nodded, then slowly rounded the bend. After climbing another twenty feet of trail up a sharp slope, the meadow stretched out before him. There were spring wildflowers in bloom everywhere, covering the area in shades of purples, blues, whites, and reds. Tufts of green grass sprouted up between them, creating a unique kaleidoscope of colors before him.
Two large blankets had been spread out, and everyone was sitting in a circle around them. Food and drink containers littered the fabric. Most of them held plates and chatted between taking bites.
Preall, Trina, Michel, and Jason were engaging Tyler and Tabatha along one side of the blanket. Luther and Deke sat opposite them, toward the right, and were talking with Brett. His mate was sitting on the edge of the blanket with a plate on his lap. Karissa sat between Tabatha and Brett, leaning close to him. Well, she was pressed against his side and probably wished she was on his lap, considering the way she literally held his arm around her waist and clutched their other hands together. Each time Brett wanted to take a bite of food, he had to tug his hand away from hers to do it. Then Karissa grabbed him again.
For an instant, Nedrick saw red.
How dare she touch what’s mine!
“Settle, Ned,” Paolo ordered, his voice low and strong. “Calm the fuck down.” Even though the male was a rat shifter, he was a damn dominant one, and when Paolo stated, “You’ll earn no points by rushing over and acting the fool,” Nedrick found himself responding.
Taking a deep breath, Nedrick forced his gaze away from Brett and Karissa. He noticed the second Luther registered his presence. The wolf shifter snapped his attention Nedrick’s way and appeared to be preparing to stand... as if he planned to stop him from doing something foolish.
Like rip out Karissa’s throat.
Yeah, that wouldn’t endear me to my mate.
Nedrick forced down his instinct to head straight to Brett. Instead, he kept his pace to a leisurely stroll toward Michel’s end of the blanket. He knew the mere presence of the older, stronger wolf would help him settle his own animal.
When they were ten feet away, Michel focused on them, his gaze flicking between them. His bearded lips curved into a small smile, although the move didn’t reach his eyes. He nodded toward the picnic food spread out on the blankets.
“Hey, guys.” Michel’s dark-eyed stare bore into Nedrick. “Have a seat. Grab some chow. Relax for a bit.”
Nedrick and his wolf knew an order when they heard one. “Food sounds great right about now,” he replied with a grin.
Considering there was a considerable gap between Deke and Jason... who was actually sitting on Michel’s lap, Nedrick headed that way. Jamie settled next to Michel and Jason with Paolo by his side. Nedrick bent and took the paper plate offered to him by Jason and almost began to kneel.
Then Nedrick spotted the large container of turkey and cheese croissant sandwiches in front of Luther.
Perfect.
With an internal smirk, Nedrick moved toward his fellow wolf shifter. He placed his left foot between Luther and Brett and lowered his right knee to the ground behind his mate, subtly nudging his back with his leg. Nedrick rested his forearm on Brett’s shoulder, grinning at his human when the man he wanted to touch and taste peered up at him in surprise.
“Did you enjoy your hike?” Nedrick asked Brett.
“Uhhh, y-yeah,” Brett confirmed, nodding.
With Brett’s attention focused on Nedrick, his mate probably missed Karissa’s sneer as she looked at him. If looks could kill, Nedrick would have been writhing in pain. Fortunately, they couldn’t.
“Glad to hear it,” Nedrick replied affably, pressing his leg into Brett’s side a little harder before easing off. “There’s definitely many more gorgeous places around here. Can’t wait to show them to you.” Nedrick saw Karissa open her mouth, and he could just imagine what vitriol she was preparing to spout. Not giving her a chance, he turned his attention to Luther and indicated the container of turkey croissants with his plate. “Hold that up for me, would ya, Luth?”
Dutifully, Luther grabbed the large Tupperware and held it up. “Here ya go, Ned.” Mischief danced in the shifter’s blue eyes, and Nedrick knew the other shifter was aware of exactly what he was doing and seemed only too happy to play along. “Deke’s homemade chipotle mayo is on there.”
Rubbing his chest against Brett’s upper arm as he reached forward to place two sandwiches on his plate, Nedrick groaned. “Oh, hell yeah, man. Thanks, Deke.” He eased back and licked his lips as he eyed Luther’s grinning mate. “I love your chipotle mayo, Deke. So damn good.”
Deke’s cheeks flushed as he grinned widely, clearly pleased by the compliment. “You’re welcome. Glad you like it.”
“More than like,” Nedrick claimed. Waggling his brows at the man comically, he teased, “If I didn’t know Luther would pull my spine out through my balls, I’d try to steal ya away.”
Luther growled, but fortunately, there was no true anger in it, so Nedrick’s wolf wasn’t worried. “Get your own mate,” he snapped, wrapping his arm around Deke.
Nedrick barked a laugh and nodded. “Workin’ on it, Luth. Workin’ on it.” Then he turned his attention to a wide-eyed Brett and winked. To his pleasure, Nedrick caught the slightest whiff of surprise, tinged with a hint of embarrassment and even arousal. Yes! My mate’s not immune to me. Instead of calling attention to it, Nedrick pointed at a container of red Jello near Karissa’s knee. “I’d love some of that, if you’ll hold it up for me, Brett.”
Brett blinked once, as if needing to regain his focus. “Uh, yeah.” He looked toward where Nedrick had indicated. “Here.”
In order to grab the dish and lift it toward him, Brett needed both hands. Not only did he remove his arm from around a clearly perturbed Karissa’s waist, but he freed his second hand from her, too. Brett held it up, and Nedrick smiled his thanks as he used the large spoon to dish some onto his plate.
“Thanks, handsome,” Nedrick stated with a smile. Then he squeezed Brett’s shoulder, pretending to need the grip to rise back to his feet. “Oh, look at that. Crackers and salmon dip. Yum.” Before moving away, Nedrick took the opportunity to slide his right hand up his mate’s shoulder to his nape so he could tease his fingers through the man’s thick auburn hair.
Pulling away was damn difficult, especially noticing the way his mate’s arms goose bumped, but Nedrick did it. He headed toward the open space between Deke and Paolo. Settling Indian-style between them, he grabbed a plastic fork from the red solo cup in the middle of the blankets.
Nedrick ignored Karissa’s hate-filled glare—which she quickly hid when Brett returned his attention to his plate—as well as Paolo’s amused smirk, and he used the fork to point at the aforementioned salmon dip and crackers. “Can you pass that my way, man?” Then he scooped up a forkful of the Jello , pleased to see it contained slices of banana, chunks of pineapple, and grape halves.
“Sure.” Paolo slid the requested items his way.
“What do you want to drink, Ned?” Preall asked, indicating a soft-sided cooler. “Beer, wine, soda, water?”
“I’ll take a beer,” Nedrick answered after swallowing the strawberry-flavored goodness.
Nedrick placed the fork on his plate and the plate on his knee. After taking the bottle, he popped the cap. While taking a drink, Nedrick cut a side-eye look toward his mate, pleased to see that Brett hadn’t allowed Karissa to grab his hands again. Instead, his mate had picked up his plate with one hand and a fork with his other while he was eating potato salad.
Mmmm... that sounds good, too.
“I’m gonna go for a swim, Michel,” Jason declared, drawing everyone’s attention. He hopped off his big lover’s lap before bending and pecking a kiss to Michel’s lips. “Wanna come?”
“Always wanna come,” Michel countered with a smirk as he lifted a hand and squeezed Jason’s shorts-covered ass, making several people laugh, including Jason. “But I’ll pass on the swimming for now. Go have fun.”
Jason grinned broadly as he whipped his shirt over his head, and Michel stared avidly at his lean torso. When he toed off his shoes—a hiking variety that had five toes—he revealed toenails painted in pink and green. With another wink in Michel’s direction, Jason sashayed toward the lake.
Over his shoulder, Jason called, “Coming, Deke?”
“Most definitely later,” Deke replied as he bounced to his feet, leering at Luther. “But I’d enjoy a swim.”
A round of good-natured groans mixed with chuckles filled the air. A couple of people threw napkins at Deke, who just laughed while removing his own shirt. Then he bent to peck a kiss to Luther’s lips, but the blond wolf shifter cupped Deke’s head and held him still so he could ravish him for a good ten seconds before releasing him.
With flushed cheeks, Deke purred, “Promises, promises.”
Luther grinned. “And I always deliver on my promises.”
“Can’t wait,” Deke responded breathily before bouncing his way across the field after his friend.
Taking a bite of a turkey croissant— oh, gods, so good —Nedrick kept a discreet eye on Brett, wondering how he’d take the interaction. To his pleasure, he didn’t seem to be fazed at all by his friends’ antics. In fact, with the way Brett’s lips were curved up just a little and the amusement dancing in his gorgeous green eyes, Nedrick would bet that he was fighting back a laugh.
Karissa, however, appeared to be fuming, considering the way her cheeks were flushed, and disgust filled her green eyes. She looked like she wanted to say something so badly, but she kept her lips pinched shut.
“You have a pond at home, Mich, and I know you enjoy the water often,” Preall stated, drawing attention. “It’s a beautiful day. How come you aren’t swimming with Jason?”
“Because I swim in the nude,” Michel stated bluntly while grabbing another beer and popping the cap. “Didn’t think you’d appreciate Trina seeing the bone I’d end up with for Jason.”
Even as many of them chuckled, including Nedrick, he heard Karissa’s outraged gasp.
“Oh my god!” Karissa snapped. “How can you all laugh at something so perverted?”
“Well, while I sure don’t want to see it,” Trina stated crisply, scowling at Karissa. “There’s nothing wrong with being attracted to the one you love.”
Karissa’s face turned even darker, but she snapped her mouth shut.
Yep. Deliciously scandalized.
Gods, I love my pack.