Page 7 of Bear the Burden

“And a meanie.”

Hyett growled. “You just had to add the last one.”

“Don’t get pissed at me because it’s true.” Killian walked to the window and waved at him with a shit-eating grin. Sometimes Hyett wondered about his siblings. He was the youngest, yet the other two were the ones who acted like juveniles.

“I’m going to take him home and hope like hell he doesn’t freak out.” Sober, his mate was as prickly as a cactus.

“Good luck with that, but since you’re headed home, I might as well ride with you.”

“You just called my mate a meanie. Walk home.” Hyett reversed from the parking spot.

“Are you serious?” Killian growled.

“Dead.” Hyett hung up and tossed his phone onto the center console. His phone chimed with a text as he drove down the street. Hyett grinned when he saw Killian sent him an exploding volcano and the middle finger.

Maybe next time he would keep his opinion to himself, even if he’d been right. He sent back the emoji with the puckered lips and the one with dark sunglasses.

A second later, his phone pinged again. This time Killian had sent him a GIF of someone throwing a punch. He wished the guy would come at him.

It had been a good minute since Hyett had had a good brawl. He thought he would have one roughly two months ago when he and his family had come to Midnight Falls to help out the Frosts, longtime family friends.

Too bad the goddamn vampires had played nice. Then he’d found out Jax, the guy he’d always gone on the prowl with to find some ass, had not only mated but would soon become a father.

So Hyett had gone solo to the bar. He’d scored, but he’d missed hanging out with the wolf shifter.

Jax ended up having twin boys. Cute little pups. Almost made Hyett want to become a dad, until one of their diapers had overflowed and the other one had thrown up on Jax.

Nope. Hyett was cool not having any responsibilities.

But he did now. His responsibility was sleeping off his high, and Hyett wanted to know why he needed those pills and what was wrong with his leg. To each his own, but Wesley was more than just buzzing along. He was stone-cold out of it. In Hyett’s world, that was asking for trouble, especially if you had an enemy at your back.

Wesley might be human, but he was now a part of Hyett’s world.

He headed up their long, winding driveway and pulled to the back of the house just as Ryker was walking outside.

“Did you really leave Killian in town?” His brother looked annoyed that he had to pick him up.

“He shouldn’t have talked shit about my mate,” Hyett said matter-of-factly as he parked and killed the motor.

Ryker stopped walking, his brows furrowing. “Did you just say mate?”

Clearly Killian had kept that to himself, allowing Hyett to tell his family. That was nice of him, but Hyett still didn’t feel guilty for leaving him in town.

He got out and circled the front of the SUV, heading to the passenger side. Ryker walked over and looked inside the closed window. “Why is he unconscious?”

“He’s sleeping off his high.” Hyett scowled. He should have pulled Wesley off the door before he’d gotten out.

“Is there a reason your mate is high?” Ryker gestured toward the door. “I’ll open it, you catch him.”

“Pain killers. Something’s wrong with his leg. His dosage is too fucking high, no pun intended.” His mate was in a seatbelt, but Hyett didn’t want his head to flop sideways when he slumped. The guy was already in enough pain.

When Ryker yanked open the door, Hyett quickly cradled Wesley’s head in his hands. He was still out cold.

“I’d say so.” Ryker glanced at him. “Congratulations. How did you meet him?”

“Works at Papa’s.” Hyett reached in and unsnapped his seatbelt. When he pulled it off his mate, Wesley curled snugly in the seat, causing his loose-fitting jeans to ride up a little, exposing his ankle and a few inches of skin above it.

Hyett saw patches of discoloration, some shiny spots no bigger than a dime, and a little scarring. Honestly, he was expecting a lot worse from the pain his mate was in.

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