Page 5 of Kendrick

Jonas shook his head. “Not a ghost. My mate. I smell my mate.”

* * * *

Kendrick had found out that sticking with Boyd and Chris meant that Devon couldn’t corner him, so that was what he’d been doing since they’d arrived.

It might be a family dinner, but with so many people there, it was a bit of a crowd. Dinner wasn’t ready yet, and everyone was pitching in, helping in the kitchen. Kendrick had noticed that Clay and Rowan had stepped away for a moment, so he’d taken Rowan’s place at the stove. Boyd had been right next to him, but he’d been looking around, probably searching for his mate.

“You can’t leave me,” Kendrick hissed.

“I’m not leaving you. You have to be clear, though. Tell Devon that nothing is ever going to happen between the two of you.”

“You think I haven’t already tried that? I’ve been pushing him away since we first met him. He doesn’t take no for an answer.”

That made Boyd frown. “I don’t like that. He might be human, but it would be easy for him to hurt someone. You’re a big man, but imagine if he fixated on someone else. He could really hurt them, even if he didn’t mean to.”

Kendrick had thought of that, too. Unfortunately, Devon had lost his family. Melissa had kind of adopted him, but she had her hands full with her daughter, and they’d lived on the streets for a long time. Melissa probably hadn’t thought of talking to Devon about things like this, and Kendrick could understand why. It hadn’t been a priority.

It seemed it was now.

Kendrick could afford to push Devon away because he was an adult and strong enough to do so, trained to act if Devon did something stupid. Devon might turn his attention to someone else, though, and they might not be capable of doing all of that.

He groaned. “Why is it my job to do this?”

“It’s not. I wasn’t saying that you had to talk to him about his behavior, especially considering the way he feels about you. You should talk to Rowan and Clay, though.”

“It’s going to make an already messy situation even messier. I don’t want that.”

“I don’t think you have a choice. Everything you’ve done has failed. Clay and Rowan are the clan leaders, so Devon will have to talk to them, and they’ll be able to punish him if he doesn’t. It’s gone beyond a normal rejection, Kendrick.”

Boyd was probably right, but Kendrick didn’t think he could do this. He didn’t want to get Devon in trouble, especially after everything Devon had already gone through.

“I’ll think about it.”

Boyd rolled his eyes. “No, you won’t. I know you. I’ll never understand how you became a hunter, because your heart is so soft. You don’t want anyone to be hurt, not even people who might be dangerous.”

“I don’t think Devon is dangerous. He’s confused and probably overwhelmed, but I don’t think it’s going to help him if I alert the clan leaders to that. He’s going to feel watched and probably freak out, and I don’t want him to leave. He finally has a home here.”

“I understand all of that, and I’m not going to push you to do something you’re not comfortable with. You have to be careful, though. It might not be your responsibility to ensure that Devon grows up into an honorable man, but I don’t think Melissa realizes anything’s happening, and he has no one else.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Kendrick promised.

“Which means you’re not going to do anything.”

“Maybe. Probably.”

Boyd shook his head. “As long as you’re careful.”

Kendrick was always careful around Devon. He was even more careful about keeping his distance from him, which was why when he saw Devon coming toward him, he handed the spatula he’d been using to Boyd and quickly vanished.

He had no idea where he was going as he fled the kitchen. Unfortunately for him, Devon caught up to him.

“Hey, Kendrick,” he called out.

Kendrick could act as if he hadn’t heard him, but they were alone in the hallway. Besides, he didn’t want to lie to Devon. “Devon,” Kendrick said as he turned to look at him. He glanced around, relieved to see he was by the stairs. That meant the front door was close by, so he could make an easy escape.

“I want to talk to you,” Devon said.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’m not feeling well.”

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