Page 13 of Kendrick

“We thought Devon had kidnapped you or something,” Chris said as he pushed inside the house.

“You suddenly disappeared, and he was nowhere to be seen,” Boyd added. “Did he try talking to you?”

“He did. He kissed me, and I had to push him away.”

Boyd grimaced. “You need to put a stop to this.”

“I will. I have a brand new reason to do that now, so as little as I like it, I’m going to have to talk to Clay and Rowan.”

“What good reason?” Chris asked, still glancing around the house as if he expected Devon to be hiding behind the couch or around the corner.

Kendrick grinned. “I met my mate.”

Chapter Three

Jonas hummed as he got ready to leave the house. He’d been walking on clouds since he’d found Kendrick a few days ago, and he felt he’d never stop. He didn’twantit to stop.

Meeting Kendrick had changed everything. Not only had Jonas met his mate, but he also felt more secure in his position in the clan. How could he not? Kendrick was a clan member, which meant that even if Jonas wasn’t one already, he’d be one through Kendrick. That had to be why he and Kendrick had met when they had. Jonas had felt insecure in his position, and Kendrick had needed help with Devon. Now that they were together, they fulfilled each other’s needs.

So far, Jonas hadn’t needed to do anything about Devon. Jonas had been out and about, poking around the village, but he hadn’t seen Devon except from afar. He was pretty sure Devon was avoiding both him and Kendrick, and he was perfectly fine with that. The less he had to deal with Devon, the better it would be for everyone, especially the kid.

Jonas understood where Devon came from, and he wasn’t angry at him, but he was annoyed. If it had only been a crush and Devon had let it go when Kendrick had told him that nothing would happen between them, Jonas would’ve been fine with it. Hewasn’tfine with the way Devon had pushed and insisted, though. Kendrick had been honest and clear, and Devon should have done something about it. He would have if he really cared about Kendrick.

He didn’t. Jonas suspected that Devon had an idea of Kendrick that he’d made up in his mind. It was nothing like the man himself, which was probably why Devon was so obsessed. Devon didn’t see the real Kendrick, but Jonas did, and he liked what he saw.

His phone vibrated on his bed, and he dropped the sweater he’d been putting away in the dresser to snatch it up. He smiled when he saw Kendrick’s name on the screen. He and Kendrick had started texting and calling each other. More often than not, the texts they exchanged weren’t anything important, like now. Kendrick was at work, training with the other hunters, but he’d stopped long enough to snap a picture of a bug and send it to Jonas. How was Jonas supposed to resist that?

The answer was obvious. He wasn’t supposed to resist it because Kendrick was his mate. They were supposed to be together, and eventually, they would be.

He didn’t care if they had to take things slow. He’d do pretty much anything for Kendrick, even though they’d only met a few days ago. That was what having a mate meant.

Jonas had lucked out. He shuddered at the thought of being Devon’s mate. He was sure that in a few years Devon would be a nice person, but right now, he was bratty and obsessive. He wouldn’t make a good mate or even a good boyfriend.

Unfortunately, Jonas felt that he and Kendrick hadn’t seen the last of Devon. He’d been unhappy the other night, and while he’d told Kendrick to leave him alone, Jonas suspected he’d reach out, and soon. From what little Jonas knew, Kendrick was the only steady person in Devon’s life. Devon had Melissa, the Kudlak he lived with, and her daughter, but they weren’t enough. He needed a bigger family and more people to look after him, and while he might have found that with the clan, they could only take care of him if he allowed it.

Jonas sent a heart as an answer to the picture of the bug and finished getting ready. He wanted to see Kendrick, but he couldn’t right now, so instead, he was headed out to see Alexis. He’d told both him and Caroline about Kendrick the day after they’d met, and they were both happy for him, although Caroline kept teasing him about finishing renovating the house beforeleaving. Jonas had told her to fuck off, but he was tempted to do it anyway. He loved her like a sister, and he was kind of bored because he didn’t have anything to do.

There were no bars hiring in the village. There were barely any shops, although they were starting to pop up. Everything needed renovating, though, and Jonas had gotten good at it. He’d had to do a lot of video watching on the Internet to learn, and sometimes, he failed miserably, but he liked it, and he’d wondered a few times if he could turn it into a job. A lot of people wouldn’t expect it of him because he was small and looked fragile, but he was a Krsnik. Few beings were stronger than him.

Maybe he could talk to Alexis and see what he thought of it. If there was one person who would tell Jonas what he actually thought instead of what Jonas wanted to hear, it was Alexis. Caroline would do the same, but she’d be more brutal, and that wasn’t what Jonas was looking for at the moment.

Kendrick didn’t send anything else, so Jonas headed out. He grabbed his phone and his keys, along with his wallet, humming the entire time. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so happy. He doubted he’d ever been so happy. He’d lost his clan when he was a child, and that loss had tainted a lot of years in his life. It had changed everything, and he’d been alone for years before meeting Alexis and Caroline. They were like siblings now, but it had taken them a long time to get to that point, and that time hadn’t been easy.

Even when Jonas had relationships, they never lasted long. He, Alexis, and Caroline were always on the move, hunting Kudlaks. They couldn’t afford to settle down, because they were being hunted, too. Some Kudlaks had made it a game to kill as many Krsnik as possible, and every time they moved, they had to leave behind the people they’d met, their jobs, and sometimes even the few things they owned. It had been easier for everyoneto not have relationships and not get attached, so that was what they’d done.

Not anymore. They would never have to leave the village, which meant they could finally relax and allow themselves to build relationships. Alexis already had, and he was happy with Boyd. Now, it was Jonas’s turn.

He locked the door when he left the house, even though he doubted anyone would try to get in. The village was on the bigger side, but there weren’t a lot of people living there yet. That was a problem because it meant they’d be vulnerable if they were attacked, but luckily they were close to the Whitedell pride. From what Jonas knew, they’d been promised that the pride would step in if anything happened. He hoped they weren’t lying because he thought that, eventually, they would have to.

He was almost at Alexis’s house when Devon stepped out from behind a house. Jonas groaned. He really didn’t want to do this, now or ever, but especially not now. He had things to do, dammit.

But Devon’s stubborn expression told Jonas everything he needed to know. Devon wouldn’t let this go. “What do you want?” he asked.

“To know why you’re lying.”

“About what?”

“About Kendrick being your mate. He can’t be.”

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