Page 12 of Jared

On the other paw, he thought to himself wryly, my wolf is not feeling quite so patient. The circumstances o our meeting has him wanting to mate him and mark him as ours as soon as possible, to warn off others. Not that other humans would get that, so guys like the those assholes would still remain clueless. Besides, it's not as if they were thinking about anything other than satisfying their own base urges. I doubt him being taken by another would have mattered one whit.

He sat back up, fluffing his pillow once more before lying back down and adjusting the covers.

I think tonight went rather well. He didn't seem to want to talk about the pack or my wolf any further, but he said he'd enjoyed the food and we had fun watching the movie. He actually did as he agreed, too, staying the night and not going home until morning.Baby steps, Steve, baby steps. I probably should tell him sometime soon that the whole mate during the full moon thing was definitely a joke though. He seemed to honestly believe him when I told him it was an old tradition.

Steve quirked his lips into a soft smile.

Still, he didn't run screaming at that point, or faint again. That's got to be progress, right?

He closed his eyes and allowed his senses to reach out. He could scent the lingering smells left behind by his pack mates as well as the tantalizing tease of his mate's unique scent mingling with his own. His wolf gave a soft huff of satisfaction, temporarily placated by the fact that their mate was safe and ensconced in Steve's bed.

Hopefully, it won't be too long before that bed will see the both of us sharing it, as mates.

His wolf yipped in agreement.

4

“So, how'd you enjoy your night out? Meet anybody hot?” Desmond asked.

Jared regretted having shared his plans to go out with his co-workers. Now Desmond wanted to chat. He knew it was probably a seemingly trivial topic for Desmond, probably asked to merely alleviate some of the boredom of what was proving to be a slow sales day at work.

“It was all right, I guess.'

“Just all right? Tell you what, next time I go, you can tag along. They know me there. I can introduce you to some guys.”

“No thanks. I don't think it was my scene after all.”

Desmond narrowed his eyes. “Huh. Okay, then. Was just a thought.”

Great, now I've offended him.

“Yeah, I think I'm more the quiet dinner and movie kind of person after all.” Not to mention I don't ever want to encounter those two or any one else like them ever again. I definitely don't want to share about having met them to begin with. At least no one has commented on the fingermarks on my jaw; the concealer seems to be doing its job even under this light.

“Oh, I get it. Shy, quiet type.” Desmond sighed dramatically. “It's hard enough to meet someone, especially if you're looking for a forever kind of guy. If you don't go out and socialize, it's damned near impossible. Try it a few more times? You're an okay guy, I'm sure you'll find someone to hook up with.”

Jared's head hurt from the way Desmond wittered on.

“Thanks, but I'm not into casual hook ups.” And I have the prospect of a forever but I can't tell you about it, or about how he is a shapeshifter who turned into a wolf right there in his living room.

Desmond gave a sniff, eyeing him with a level stare, then softly said, “I was rather surprised when you asked me about Club Paradise. You never hang out with anyone after work and I've never seen you at any of the clubs. You seem to stick to yourself. Maybe I'm at fault too. I can be a bit over the top and tend to have a bit of tunnel vision. I never noticed you were lonely. Never mind dating or picking up tricks. How about friends?”

Jared looked down at his shoes. “Not really, no. I had some back in college, then when I had to leave, well, sort of drifted apart and then there was finding an apartment, and work, and all that,” he mumbled.

“You get off at two, right? I get off then too. We'll go to Full Froth, so don't leave without me.”

Wait, what?

Jared blinked. “Full Froth?”

“The coffee shop? It's just up the street? Surely you've noticed it.”

Jared nodded.

“You drink coffee? If not, they do tea and chai lattes that are to die for. Nothing like having a natter over coffee to build a friendship, right? Good, glad that's settled.”

Jared watched in astonishment as Desmond made his pronouncement and then strode away. A friend.

Oh, now I've got a friend. I have a friend and yet I still have no one to share the recent mind fuck I've gone through. What ever next? Maybe vampires. Or aliens. Or I'll be kidnapped at Full Froth by government types who want to use me as bait to catch the werewolves. Sure, why not?