Don't Read in the Closet: Volume Four (66 page)

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 392

Taylor Law – WRONG TURN (Shape-shifter/Coming-out)

Genre:
shape-shifter

Tags:
wolf shifter, coming out, first time,

Dear Author,

marking, mating

One of my favorite things is

Words:
10,688

marking your lover. Is this

mark simply a product of

WRONG TURN

the heat of the moment or is

by Taylor Law

he making sure his rival

Blurb- After a hard year, Jessie decides to

knows he’s won his love’s

heart—and body?

take a vacation to visit his friend. On the way,

[PHOTO: A young man

he has an accident and cannot remember

kneels in front of another

anything. Xander is a wolf shifter and saves

man’s smooth, perfect torso.

Jessie’s life, only to realize he is Xander’s mate.

He pushes white briefs down

Xander has been in the closet his whole life.

with his wrists to cup the

round ass of the body he is

Coming out may be harder than ever, because

worshiping. Eyes closed, he

not only does he have to tell everyone he is gay,

sucks a mark onto a six-

but he has to tell his mate he is a wolf part time.

pack of alabaster skin. The

other man’s face is out of

****

hand caresses the dark

What could be worse than being lost on a

man’s head.]

mountain

in

the

middle

of

po-dunk

Sincerely,

nowhereville at night? Having it torrentially

downpour too, that’s what. How could it be so

Melanie

difficult to get from point A to point B?

Picking up the directions from the seat,

again, Jessie Rohen glanced down at the

scribbled words and frowned to himself. It

looked like he was on the right road, as far as he

could tell. He looked around, but had a hard

time seeing much of anything except the

shadows of trees and rain.

God, it had been a long year. Right out of

college, he was high on life and ready to start

really living. He had a great degree, a

wonderful boyfriend, and was in his prime. He

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 393

was excited about his future. Six months later, his outlook had

changed dramatically. It turned out jobs weren’t that easy to come by.

Application after application had been denied. Not enough experience.

What? How the hell does someone get experience, when no one was

willing to hire without it? He was slowly losing his optimism. And

that was when it got worse.

That was when his mother died.

Jessie had never met his father, and his mother had been his rock.

She was there for him through everything; always encouraging and

keeping him level. Without her he felt lost. He didn’t know where to

go or what to do. Instead of being supportive, his man broke up with

him. Something about not living up to his potential. Like he wasn’t

trying.

Camdon, his best friend since middle school, had called to check

up on him and convinced him to take a break. Cam, the lucky fuck,

got his job right after graduation, and it was a dream. He worked as a

trail guide and tracker at a high-end lodge for big money people. He

took people sightseeing, and babysat hunters by tracking their game

for them.

Basically, he vacationed and hunted all year long, and got paid for

it.

Jessie had gone into the business world. A world filled with ties,

suits, and egos. What a mistake.

After the year he had, an all-expense paid, relaxing week with his

best bud was just what he needed. So, he packed a bag and off he

went.

Now, in the middle of god-knows-where, he wasn’t so sure of his

decision anymore.

Jess picked his cell off the passenger seat, where he put it and his

wallet after his butt went numb.

Of course. No signal. Damn!

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 394

Looking down at the directions once more, he saw something out

of the corner of his eye. It was white and in the middle of the road.

Jessie glanced up and slammed on the brakes at the same time.

The car fishtailed as he hydroplaned in the water that drenched the

road. It came to rest almost sideways, with the back end of the vehicle

on the shoulder, way too close to the edge of the cliff. He immediately

focused on where he’d seen the white and met ice blue eyes of a wolf

staring at him through his windshield. Those eyes seemed to drill into

his soul and he lost himself for a few seconds. The wolf finally broke

the spell by darting into the woods. Jess shook his head and closed his

eyes for a minute, in an attempt to get his thoughts back together and

calm his racing heart.

Shit, that was close.

After his breathing returned to somewhat normal, he turned the

steering wheel to get himself back on the road and hit the gas.

Nothing happened.

He pushed on the gas a little harder. The engine whined but the

car didn’t budge.

Great! Just wonderful. This was definitely worse.

Jessie looked around to see if he could find any sign of wolves

around his car. He really wasn’t looking forward to getting out, but if

he wanted to actually get to the lodge anytime this century, it looked

like that was what he had to do. He pulled his jacket off and lifted it

over his head, glanced around once more, and opened the door. He

slipped a bit as he made his way to the back tires to check out the

situation.

That was when he realized just how close he had been to tumbling

over the cliff. Mere inches more and ….. NO, he wouldn’t think about

it.

The back tires were ground into a sinkhole of mud and just

spinning. He looked around to find something to shove under them to

give him some traction, grabbed some dead branches that had fallen

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from a nearby tree and shoved them under the back tires as much as

possible. He couldn’t quite get them underneath, but maybe they were

close enough to give him a way out.

Jessie straightened himself to a standing position, wiped at his

knees, and headed back toward the front of the vehicle to get back in

the driver’s seat, when suddenly his world spun on its axis. The

ground crumbled away under his feet and he belly-flopped in the dirt.

Stunned, with the breath knocked out of him, he glanced around and

started to drift backwards.

He scrambled for something to grab on to while his feet dangled

behind him. Flailing, he realized with shock that he was hanging

dangerously from the edge, and sliding feet first off the mountain. The

pounding in his heart increased as he tried to scratch the ground

without finding purchase. His breathing hitched when he came to the

realization that he was going to fall and there was nothing he could do

about it.

Finally, he found a tree root and latched onto it for dear life. He

tried to pull himself up, digging his feet into the mountain, but they

just kept slipping out from under him, and he didn’t have enough

upper body strength to move much. Not with the way his hands were

situated.

Then the rumbling started. Jess looked up and tried to find where

the sound was coming from. First, he couldn’t see much, except the

black tires to the left of him, but then he saw it. A wall of black water

coming right at him. The mud hit his vehicle hard, causing it to shift

toward his head. This didn’t look good for him either way. Fall or get

crushed, nice choices.

When the mud hit him, there was no decision to make. He

couldn’t breathe through the dirty water in his face, let alone hold on.

Jess lost his grip on the root, falling backwards into the ether.

Something hard hit his side and then everything went black.

****

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The wolf let a loud howl loose into the night. After the mudslide,

he wanted to make sure his pack was all accounted for. One by one,

they followed suit, their familiar tones ringing through the forest. As

Beta of his pack, it was Xander’s duty to watch out for everyone while

the Alpha was gone. Alpha Thomas would be pissed as hell if

something happened to one of his. Thank goodness everyone was

alright.

Xan had become separated from the group when that car came out

of nowhere.

The car.

His heart sped up in his chest. That vehicle with the man in it had

been right in the path of the mud. The worst of it would have hit him

directly.

The animal raced back the way he had come. He hoped that the

man had made it away safely, but he needed to make certain himself.

Letting a call for help slip past his throat, he ran as fast as his legs

could carry him. He felt a panic inside his soul that he couldn’t

comprehend. He didn’t even know this man, and yet it was imperative

he get to him. NOW.

As he approached the side of the mountain that became the ridge

where he had last seen the man, his pack approached from all sides.

He looked around, seeing nothing except the damage that was left

behind after the water and debris had torn down the side of the

mountain.

No car. No man. Nothing.

Maybe he had gotten away safely after all.

Xan sniffed the air, to make sure he wasn’t missing anything, and

caught the scent of someone not of his pack. The smell made his heart

clench in his chest and his panic grow to near horror. He ran where his

nose told him to go and found an arm. The rest of the man had been

buried.

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The wolf whimpered roughly and started digging. His pack came

over and helped him claw at the mud, move branches and items that

had been rendered unrecognizable. Once more of the dark haired

stranger had been uncovered, he grabbed hold of the long sleeve shirt

at the elbow and started to pull. He tugged with all his might,

revealing the man inch by inch. As soon as the outsider was

uncovered, he shifted. Completely naked, he turned to address his

pack.

“Sam, go get Doc Harris and tell him to get to my cabin

immediately. Josh, go with him and help him get whatever supplies

Doc may need.”

As the two wolves took off into the night, Xander leaned over the

man to check for injuries. He was gorgeous. Slight, with dark hair

trimmed in a business style, and his scent…..

A low growl escaped his throat without his permission.

“What the…”

A hand touched Xan’s shoulder and he spun around in a defensive

position, ready to attack the threat.

“Xander, what is wrong with you?”

“Sorry.” He straightened his stance and realized that he was

crouched over the man. “You startled me, Brian.”

His friend looked at him like he had gone crazy, and wasn’t

certain whether to move or not.

“Help me.” Xan began struggling to get the man up. “We need to

get him back to the village. He’s breathing and I can’t see any

damage, except for some bruising, but we don’t know what is going

on inside him.”

“Xander, man, how are we going to get him there without hurting

him more? He needs attention, like, now.” The younger wolf had his

hands up, palms out, like he was surrendering.

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“Just help me get him over my shoulder. I will carry him. You can

go back and see if you can help the others with anything.”

Brian went to touch the man, and another rumble filled his chest.

“What is wrong with you Xan?” Brian looked up frightened, and

then diverted his eyes in respect.

“I don’t know.” Xander rubbed his hand over his face and pushed