Page 4 of Sex and Suspicion

He placed Jake on the bed and made him comfortable. The Doctor had removed Jake's sweater, and the t-shirt he was wearing was covered in blood. Hayes carefully took it off him and then got a basin of hot water and a washcloth from the bathroom. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, he slowly and methodically cleaned his mate, removing all remnants of blood and dirt. He left his jeans but removed his tennis shoes and his socks.

The process of washing Jake brought Hayes a peace that touched him deep in his soul. Being with his mate and caring for him helped to overcome the pain of not protecting him fromthe attack. It was crazy to feel responsible since he had no idea that Jimmy would do such a thing, but still, in his heart, he felt like he should have known and should have prevented it from happening.

He finished and then covered Jake in one of the thick, soft blankets, tucking him in and dropping a kiss on his forehead. "When you wake, we will talk, my love." He said and was rewarded with a soft moan, which made him smile, and he dropped another kiss before responding to the light knock on his door.

“How’s he doing?” Zayn stepped in, and Hayes closed the door. "The Alpha filled me in on what happened, and I'm sorry your mate was injured."

"Yeah, me too." Hayes rubbed the back of his neck, feeling suddenly agitated.

"It'll be okay, Hayes. You got to him before Jimmy could do any lasting damage. Your mate will recover.” Zayn sensed his difficulty and easily calmed him down, which Hayes appreciated.

“This . . .” He gestured toward Jake on the bed. "This was so unexpected, and then to realize that the man bleeding out on the beach was my mate really threw me for a bit."

"Understandable, Hayes, but you handled it even with the fiercest instincts and hormones raging through your system. You managed the situation." Zayn patted his shoulder. "Stop beating yourself up and bask in the presence of your newfound mate. Your life will forever be changed, my friend, and I mean that in the best way possible.” He smiled.

"I know, and I am grateful, shocked that Fate chose me but very grateful.”

“I have some information on him." Hayes gave him his full attention, eager to know more about his young mate.

“His full name is Jake Kolly. He's nineteen years old, and he's originally from the Detroit area. He moved here a few months ago with his older brother Aidan. He’s an aspiring photographer working side jobs along with working part-time at that vintage theater on Langly.” His mate was just getting settled in the area. It was too bad that his introduction to the Pack involved being attacked. Hayes wished they could have met under better circumstances.

“He and his brother live together, so he may come looking for him. Don’t worry about it, we’ll deal with the brother. Just take care of your mate and get him settled as soon as possible.” Hayes understood the possible threat that Jake posed as a human with the knowledge of the supernatural. They had one hell of a lot to discuss when he woke up.

CHAPTER THREE

It was well past midnight when Aidan started to become concerned about his brother Jake. He’d gone to the beach area near Bay Harbor before without incident and was always home before midnight. Aidan didn't trust the community that resided there, believing them to be some kind of weird faction or sect or perhaps a crazy militia.

He walked the floor, peering out the windows, and waited, and then, around three, began calling and texting. Jake was fierce about his independence and minimal interference from his big brother, but this was outside his normal habits, so Aidan felt justified in taking action. The fact he didn’t answer and didn’t respond to the texts just made his worry deepen further.

At five, Aidan called Danny, Jake's friend from the theater where they both worked and asked if he'd seen or heard from Jake that night. He woke him, and he sounded groggy but came full awake when he heard Aidan’s concern.

“I haven’t spoken to him since early yesterday. He said that he was going to take more pictures of the sunset off the Bay. He's gotten some great shots there." Danny told him all that heknew. “Do you want me to head over there and check it out?” That was kind of him to offer.

"No, not yet. I'll go if I don't hear from him before morning. He has fallen asleep in his car before, so I'm hoping that's the issue here." Aidan responded thoughtfully, but his gut was telling him something was wrong.

"If you need me, call."

“I will.” Thoughts of that odd, gated community and hearing Jake make comments regarding their guards and extensive security had Aidan grabbing his coat and heading out. He would look for Jake’s car and then decide what to do from there.

Jake opened his eyes and tentatively glanced around the room. He had no idea where he was, but it did not feel threatening. For some strange reason, he was not afraid, confused but not afraid. He looked to his left, and there was the guard who'd watched him from down the beach. This is the one who . . . turned into something huge and fought off the wild dog that had jumped him from behind. The vision was frightening as it filled his mind.

The memory was blurry and chaotic, but this man intervened and probably saved Jake’s life. He was looking at Jake with an expression of relief and what looked to Jake like anticipation. He was one handsome son of a gun, that was for sure. The hand he had on top of Jake’s was sending jolts of intense awareness through Jake, heating him up in ways that should not be happening, considering what he'd been through.

Jake raised his hand and felt the wound on his neck that had been stitched up by the Doctor. “Why did that dog attackme?” He asked the first thing that came to mind. Hayes, the man’s name was Hayes. Jake remembered that he’d told him his name. Hayes held his hand a little tighter and leaned over the edge of the bed, getting closer to Jake before speaking.

"I don't know, but I'm sorry that it happened." Hayes had a voice that was pure sex and sent goosebumps rippling across Jake's flesh. His dark eyes held onto Jake’s, and they seemed to be asking for something.

“I saw you coming running toward me, tearing off your clothes, and then you changed. Was I hallucinating? You were a large, ferocious animal. You tore that dog off me and tossed him away like he was nothing." Jake's memories were coming back, but they were not making sense at all. "How can that be?"

Hayes didn't say anything at first. He just held Jake's hand. He didn’t deny anything, and he didn’t try to explain it away with platitudes like being overwrought or claiming it was too dark to see clearly. Jake wasn’t sure how he felt about Hayes’ hesitation. Hayes was a man in a dark suit, and then he was a huge wolf. He was too large to be a dog and too fierce. The animal was a large black wolf.

"You were a wolf, and then you were a man," Jake stated it clearly and waited.

“I was watching you because of how close you were to our border. We’ve experienced vandalism and trespassers over the past few months, so I was keeping track of you." Hayes was starting at the beginning, which was probably good.

“I was just taking pictures like before.” Jake defended himself.

"I know that now, but I'm part of security here at Bay Harbor, and my job is to patrol the beach." He was just doing hisjob, and Jake could understand that. He nodded to Hayes, who then continued.

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