Page 12 of F Is for Honey Bee

Chapter Four

As soon as Kijani woke, he cracked his eyes open and noticed he was still on Jonah’s hardwood floor. Jonah’s living room was nicely decorated, something Kijani hadn’t paid attention to when he’d been there on official business. As soon as he’d stepped inside, he’d smelled Jonah’s scent infused throughout the house.

Then Kijani had felt the undeniable pull toward the human. His wolf had sat up and taken noticed, whimpering to comfort Jonah and snarling to erase Flint’s existence.

Flint needed to consider himself lucky it had been Slater who’d held him against that wall and not Kijani.

He glanced to his right and saw his mate on the camel-colored couch watching him with those pretty teal-green eyes. Jonah’s expression didn’t reveal anything. Not a single emotion of how he felt. It had been an unbelievably bad idea to show up on his doorstep in the condition he’d been in.

In the midst of his pain and delirium, Kijani had made a rash decision. Normally a levelheaded man, he always took the time to carefully consider his options and weigh the consequences before making any decisions. He was not one to act impulsively or recklessly.

Showing up at Jonah’s in the state he’d been in, knowing his wolf would take over, had been the most reckless and irrational thing he could have done.

Now, Kijani waited for the repercussions. There was no way to spin this in a way that wouldn’t sound like a lie and insult Jonah’s intelligence.

So, he just lay there, waiting to see what would happen now.

“How do you feel?” Jonah uncurled his legs and sat up, resting his arms on a red throw pillow in his lap. His expression was still unreadable. “You’ve been asleep for six hours. It’s now two in the morning.”

“As bad as new.” Kijani grunted as he propped himself up on one elbow. He might have healed his injuries in his wolf form, but the unforgiving hard floor hadn’t done his body any favors.

“I would let you borrow some of my clothes, but I don’t have anything you could fit into.”

Kijani glanced down at his stomach. He was completely healed. There wasn’t even a tiny blemish to indicate what he’d been through.

But the blanket draped over his hips wasn’t the same one Slater had given him. This one was soft, blue, and held Jonah’s sweet scent.

“I’m sorry if I frightened you by showing up a complete wreck.” Careful to keep the blanket in place, Kijani stretched, his joints popping.

“I was more shocked than anything.” Jonah hugged the pillow to his chest.

Every bone in Kijani’s body was wary. The human was a little too composed. Was this the calm before the storm? He wanted to tell Jonah everything, both about being a wolf shifter and how they were mates. The first was a given since Kijani had already shifted in front of him.

The second would be more complicated. That would have a direct impact on the human. It would be life changing. Their souls would be merged together, their mating unbreakable. Kijani didn’t want to lay that on Jonah after what his mate had just been through.

But eventually, they would have to talk about it.

“You’re taking this surprisingly well.” Kijani got up then sat on the other end of the sofa, the blanket hitched as tightly as he could get it around his hips. It was pretty annoying to have to keep a grip on it. He wanted to let it go, but he didn’t want to expose himself in front of Jonah.

Although his mate denied being frightened, when he remained silent, Kijani wondered if he was still in shock. Any human who was unaware of the supernatural world would likely be terrified of seeing a man shift into a wolf.

Which made him suspect Jonah had some hidden knowledge about Kijani’s world.

“How did you find out?” Kijani yanked the small, stylish pillow from behind his back and placed it on his lap, the same way as his mate, but he used it as a buffer so he could finally remove his grip on the blanket.

“You shifted right in front of me.” Jonah looked as if the answer should have been obvious.

He was cute when his pert nose was wrinkled in confusion, causing his smattering of freckles to bunch together.

“That’s not what I was asking,” Kijani said. “You’ve got prior knowledge of shifters, Jonah. How?”

His mate jerked from the couch, the pillow in his lap falling to the floor. “You must be starving.”

“I’m famished for answers.”

“I might have those in the refrigerator.” Jonah spun and walked away, leaving Kijani to stare at an ass that would fit perfectly in the palms of his hands.

Unwilling to let things go, he got up and trailed behind his retreating mate, once again keeping the blanket tightly wrapped around his waist. “It’s a simple question, honey bee. Friend? Accidental encounter?”

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