Authors: Annabelle Jacobs
Oh God.
With great effort, he stared Nathan in the eye and pretended he wasn’t mortified. “Can I borrow some clothes, or were you planning on keeping me naked for the whole month?”
“What?”
“Clothes. Can I borrow some?”
Nathan scowled at him. “I heard that part.” He got out of bed—also naked—and walked over to his wardrobe. After throwing Jared boxer briefs, tracksuit bottoms, and a T-shirt, Nathan thankfully pulled on some underwear himself. “Why the fuck would I want to keep you naked all the time?”
“I know what shifters are like.”
“You keep saying that, but you really fucking don’t. This is all my fault, I get that, but I’m trying to make the best of a bad situation. I want to keep you safe, not… use you as some sort of sex slave.”
Jared bit back his instinctive sarcastic reply—maybe he was being a tad unfair, Nathan hadn’t tried to force himself on him or anything—and hastily got dressed.
Nathan ran a hand through his hair, looking as frustrated as Jared felt. “Look, if you’d sit down for five minutes instead of flying off the handle every time I try to talk to you, then maybe I’d tell you my plan.”
At that point, what did Jared have to lose? With a resigned sigh, he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m listening.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Two hours later, Nathan had almost convinced the guy to go along with his plan. He wasn’t quite sure how that had happened, but the guy was no longer making noise about leaving. “What’s your name anyway? I can’t keep calling you Blondie in my head.”
“I spent the night in your bed, and you’re only now asking my name? Classy.”
Nathan sighed.
“It’s Jared.”
Jared.
Not what Nathan had expected, but now that he thought about it, the name suited him. “And how old are you, Jared?”
“What does that matter?”
“I was just asking.”
Jared stared back at him for a second before answering. “Twenty-five.”
“Really?” Nathan had pegged him for twenty-one, tops. Even after a day without shaving, Jared’s face was still smooth-looking.
“Yes, really.” Jared looked down at his fingers and played with the drawstring of his bottoms. Nathan’s bottoms.
For this deception to have a chance of working, Jared had to smell as much like Nathan as possible—sleeping in his bed and wearing his clothes was a must. The sight of Jared in Nathan’s slightly too-big T-shirt and tracksuit bottoms stirred a protective instinct in him that was wholly unwelcome, though, and Nathan did his best to tamp it down. This mess didn’t need any more complications.
His phone buzzed with an incoming text, and both he and Jared turned to stare at it. “Relax. It’ll be Daryl letting me know about Ben. I texted him earlier.”
Jared didn’t relax, still sat on Nathan’s bed with his knees drawn up to his chest. Accepting that Nathan’s plan was a good idea hadn’t made him any less pissy. Which Nathan was forced to concede was totally understandable, all things considered.
But he’d had enough of that attitude already, and it had only been one day. How the hell was he going to handle it for another twenty-five? Maybe his plan wasn’t that good, after all.
Nathan snatched his phone up, smiling when he saw Daryl’s name, and thumbed through to read the message.
Ben fine—healing well. Mess cleaned up. No pack claiming responsibility though.
Heads-up! Full pack mtg 6pm. Alec not happy with u.
Fuck.
Nathan had waited until Jared was safely inside his flat to text Daryl and let him know the rogue shifter had escaped and that he’d headed home. Then he’d texted a brief report to his own beta, Gareth, resulting in a unit meeting later that morning. Nathan checked his watch—nine thirty. He had about twenty minutes before he needed to be upstairs.
“What did it say?” Jared glanced from Nathan to his phone, then back again. “The text. And who the fuck are Daryl and Ben?”
Distracted by the prospect of facing an irate Alec later, Nathan didn’t answer straightaway.
“Well? I take it from your glazed expression it wasn’t good news?”
Nathan immediately snapped his attention to Jared, and shrugged. “Ben’s gonna be fine, but Alec is pissed off with me about last night. Nothing new there, though.”
Jared threw his hands in the air. “Who are all these people? You tell me I have to stay holed up in your flat for my own safety, and then in the next breath you’re throwing names about left, right, and centre. I thought no one else knew what happened last night?”
Nathan shook his head. “They don’t.”
“Then what—”
“There was a fight. Members of another pack attacked one of our vans, and two of the shifters got away. That’s who I was chasing when I ran into you.” The prospect of explaining that he’d lost track of them at the pack meeting later wasn’t appealing in the least. Nathan was fast, and the other two had been injured, way more than he had been. Maybe he could sidetrack the meeting by focusing on the shifter he’d found with its throat slit.
“How many were in the fight?” Jared asked, seeming far too interested for Nathan’s liking.
“Three of us, five of them. Why?”
“Just curious. What happened to them all?”
Nathan cocked his head to one side, studying him. “Three of them were killed, two escaped.” He didn’t mention the dead body he’d fallen over. “Me and Daryl were a little roughed up, but okay. Ben got the worst of it.” Nathan glanced at his watch again. Shit, the unit meeting was in fifteen minutes. “I know this is all confusing right now.”
Jared snorted. “Fucking understatement.”
“I’ll explain about pack hierarchy and anything else you want to know when I get back, but I have a meeting in fifteen minutes that I can’t be late for.” The meeting might be only two floors up in Gareth’s flat, but lateness was a huge sign of disrespect, and Nathan needed to get everyone he could on his side.
“You’re going to leave me here while you swan off?”
Nathan pulled on a clean pair of jeans and then grabbed a T-shirt before turning to answer. “Yes. But it’s only on the third floor.”
“You and the rest of your group—”
“It’s called a unit.” Nathan sat on the bed to pull his socks on, wishing Jared would hurry up and spit it out.
“Fine. You and the rest of your
unit
will all be upstairs, yes?”
“Yes, but—”
Jared ignored him. “So what’s to stop me walking out the front door while you’re all occupied?”
Fuck, Nathan didn’t have time for this. He turned to find Jared watching him intently. “Nothing. But I thought we’d been through this? You agreed to stay here?”
“For now.” Jared sat up and set his feet on the floor, mirroring Nathan. “I agreed to stay in your flat for one day, two at the most. In which time you will explain to me exactly what you think the next four weeks will mean for me, because your plan was really fucking vague at best.”
“After this meeting you can ask me anything you want, okay? But please stay here until I get back.”
Jared pointed at the bed. “
Here
here? Or in your flat in general?”
“Only the bedroom and bathroom are fully soundproofed, so you need to stay in those two rooms or be really fucking quiet. We’re only upstairs. If you make a lot of noise then everyone will hear.” By telling him that, he’d handed Jared an easy way to out him to his unit, but hopefully Jared was smart enough to know how that would go. “Look, there’s food in the fridge. You need to eat to keep your strength up. Okay, I have to go.”
Jared stretched out on the bed again and waved his fingers. “Have fun. I’ll be here waiting for when you get back. Probably.”
Nathan growled as he left his bedroom and pulled the door shut behind him.
Fucking humans.
Nathan got to Gareth’s flat with three minutes to spare. Only one other person had beaten him there, so that made him feel marginally better.
“Hey.” Luke waved from his spot on the sofa. “Smelling better.”
He grinned, and Nathan grinned back secretly praying Luke wouldn’t say anything else.
Much to Nathan’s relief, the rest of his unit chose that moment to pile through the door. Gareth came in from the kitchen, his huge six-foot-four frame filling the doorway. At thirty-six, he was the youngest beta in the pack, and in Nathan’s opinion he was also the best—always fair and ready to listen.
Gareth made a point of checking his watch and raised one eyebrow. “Thirty seconds to spare, people. Try not to cut it so fine next time.”
The other four muttered apologies and took their seats.
“Cameron’s called a full pack meeting for this evening.” Gareth turned and made eye contact with Nathan as everyone else looked on curiously. “Nathan, give us your version of last night’s events, because you can guarantee Alec will be out for your blood given half a chance. We need to know what we’re dealing with.”
For a second, Nathan thought about telling the truth. He trusted these people more than anyone; they were the closest thing he had to family now. Could he trust them with the secret? The answer was a resounding yes. Nathan didn’t think for a second that they’d turn him in. Could he put them in that position, where they had to lie to other pack members, and in Gareth’s case, lie to his alpha? No. It was Nathan’s problem, and he refused to drag anyone else into it. If the worst happened and he was found out, maybe that would save them from any guilt by association.
Instead, he sat forward, rested his elbows on his knees, and started to talk. The story, or as much of it as he could tell them, wasn’t all that far from the actual truth. In fact it was pretty much the same up until he turned into that alley.
Gareth nodded as Nathan finished talking. “So you chased down the two shifters who ran, found one dead, and lost the other?”
“Yep, that about covers it.” Nathan maintained eye contact the whole time, hoping he exuded sincerity.
“And you didn’t recognise what pack, or packs, those shifters might be from?” Gareth walked towards the window and leaned against it.
Nathan shook his head. “No. They didn’t smell familiar, and I’ve met nearly all the London packs. Could be outsiders?” Gareth hummed but didn’t say anything. “Daryl should be familiar with all the local packs. Didn’t he say anything?”
“He said the same as you, but I haven’t had the chance to talk to him about what happened. He sent me a quick text this morning.”
“About Alec?”
Gareth nodded. “Yeah.”
Daryl went up another notch in Nathan’s estimation. Alec had no doubt given him an earful when he met up with Daryl last night. It meant a lot that Daryl had taken the time to warn Gareth about it. Not all the units were that accommodating, despite being part of the same pack.
Well, that wasn’t strictly true—everyone else got on, but Alec’s unit took after him. They were all a bunch of arseholes, thinking they were better than the rest.
“I’m playing devil’s advocate here, or Alec, in other words.” A ripple of laughter sounded around the living room, and Gareth smiled before looking serious again. “Were you injured after the fight, Nathan?”
“I broke my wrist, but the bones had already knit back together, so just the usual ache. And a gash across my back.”
“Had that started to heal?”
Nathan swallowed, his hands already starting to get clammy. They’d smell the sweat on him soon. Christ, if he couldn’t handle Gareth questioning him, how the hell would he cope with Alec? “I think so. I don’t really remember. It happened fast.”
“What about the shifters who ran? What were their injuries?”
Nathan repeated what he’d said earlier but in more detail. He had no option than to list all the injuries they’d sustained. Ben and Daryl were there; they’d seen everything. Besides, Nathan wanted Gareth to know as much as he could tell him before they went to the pack meeting.
Fuck, I wish I could tell him everything.
“The whole pack knows how fast you are, Nate. How did they get away from you?”
“I—” Nathan hung his head. Hating the lies that were about to pour out of his mouth. “They made for the busiest streets, too many people. The noises and smells masked everything. I lost them a couple of times, and by the time I picked up their trail again, it was too late. One was dead, and the other must have got to a car or a bike.”
Essentially the truth. He supposed he was omitting facts rather than telling an outright lie, but he still felt shitty about it. As he looked at the other members of his unit—Luke, Clive, Tasha, Will, and Kara—the shitty feeling grew inside him. They believed every word he said, the trust implicit on each face.
Gareth was harder to read. He regarded Nathan with the same impassive expression as usual, but Nathan got the distinct feeling Gareth knew he was hiding something. It made him want to squirm in his seat, but he held fast, returning Gareth’s gaze.
Kara cleared her throat, capturing everyone’s attention. Her short red hair, artfully tousled, matched the dress she had on today, paired with her usual Doc Martens. She might be only five foot four, but she was far more vicious than Nathan in a fight. Other than that, she was almost as nice as Luke was. “Is that what the pack meeting’s about?” she asked. “The fight last night?”
“I believe so, unless anyone else has something to report?” Gareth looked at each of them in turn but was met with headshakes. “And speaking of which, there’s been a change of plan. The pack meeting is for betas only.” Silence followed Gareth’s announcement.
It wasn’t unusual for Cameron to meet with only his betas, but for something like this, first-hand accounts from those present were normally required. The uneasy feeling in Nathan’s gut returned tenfold. “Any particular reason?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” Gareth didn’t seem especially concerned by the new development. “If I had to guess, I’d say since Daryl was there, he’ll be able to give an accurate account of almost everything. And now I know everything that you do, I can fill in the rest.”
Nathan swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Sounds reasonable.”