Page 93 of Forbidden Moon
Jonah’s knees wobbled as RJ gave him more than expected, claiming his mouth with intensity as the pheromones began to stir. Focused on his mate, Jonah did not notice the scent of four humans until it was too late.
“Well, look what we got here!”
Rough hands grabbed each of the men and pulled them apart, two on Jonah and one on RJ. They were now facing each other with several feet between. John stood in the middle with a disgusted look on his face.
“A couple of homos doing the nasty right here in the park. When are you stupid queers gonna learn that normal folks don’t want to see this shit?”
Jonah’s wolf began to snarl. They were touching his mate.No one touched his mate!
“Get your hands off of him. Let him go!”
The redhead wasn’t having it.
“Fraid not, pretty boy. Your boyfriend needs to learn a lesson.”
John pulled his arm back, slamming his fist into RJ’s abdomen. Jonah fought, trying to wrench free of his captors.
“Stop it! Leave him alone!”
RJ fell to his knees, gasping for breath while the man behind held his arms.
John yanked RJ’s chin up and backhanded him with a vicious slap.
“Oh, the cocksucker is on his knees, right where he belongs. Maybe I’ll let you have mine when we’re done here.”
Jonah’s wolf howled, wrestling for control as the human abused RJ.NO MORE! DEFEND OUR MATE!! The change began, taking Jonah’s captors by surprise. Instead of holding a man, they now backed away from a snarling, pissed-off wolf. Jonah went for the redhead first, knocking John down and shredding his clothing with sharp claws. One of the others pulled out a pistol and fired, narrowly missing. Jonah turned and latched onto his arm, shaking until he released the gun. The uninjured man scooped it up off the ground, and they both took off towards the parking lot at a dead run.
The man holding RJ dropped him in favor of helping his fallen comrade stand, and together they hurried after their friends. Jonah gave chase for a few yards, stopping to howl in victory as he watched them flee. Retracing his steps, the wolf trotted back towards his mate. Cowering, RJ scurried backward, shaking in fear. Jonah didn’t understand why he was afraid of him... until he realized he was in wolf form. Damn! RJ shouldn’t have seen any of this!
He shifted back, slipped into his tattered shorts and shoes, and gently lifted a whimpering RJ in his arms.
“I’m sorry I scared you, but I can explain everything. Don’t be afraid.”
Overwhelmed by what he’d witnessed, RJ’s mind simply couldn’t deal with any more, and he blacked out. Jonah held his mate closer and took off for the parking lot at top speed. Thankfully, no one else was in sight, and after finding RJ’s keys, he belted him into the passenger side for the ride back home. Jonah drove the unfamiliar vehicle faster than he should have, pulling up at the gates about ten minutes later.
The guards let him through, promising to alert Ben. RJ stirred a couple of times on the way in, though his eyes remained closed. Jonah never intended to tell him this way, even though a part of him felt nothing but relief. Now his mate knew. Would RJ still be afraid? Could he forgive him for all the lies?
Jonah pulled into the lot, sliding into the nearest parking spot. By the time he wrestled RJ out of the cab, both Ben and Evan were there with worried faces. Jonah explained on the way to his house.
“Four of them grabbed us at the park. They were beating RJ and I... I shifted to protect him. They saw, they all saw it, Ben. RJ is afraid of me now, and he fainted! I didn’t know what else to do but bring him home.”
Ben softly gripped the back of Jonah’s neck to ground him.
“I’m sorry, Jonah, but I need to know if you left any bodies behind or if anyone else saw it happen.”
“Nobody else saw, and I only scratched up a couple of them before they ran off.”
“You did exactly the right thing, little brother. We’re supposed to defend our mates, and no one will blame you. We were going to tell RJ eventually anyway, and I’m grateful you’re all right. Evan and I will stay with you and help explain everything.”
“This is what they wanted all along, isn’t it? I didn’t mean for it to happen, but they were hurting him!”
Evan shushed him.
“Shh, it’s OK. It doesn’t matter now. We’ll figure out what to do.”
They entered the house, and Jonah lay his mate on the couch. Aside from the bruises on his face, there didn’t appear to be any other damage. Even now, Jonah’s wolf gnashed in fury at those who attacked his mate. The scent of those filthy goons clung to both of them, forcing his mind to replay the scene again and again. He wanted them all to die, but it would only have made things worse.
While they waited, Ben sent a quick text to Caleb to let him know what happened and where to find him. Meanwhile, Evan returned from Jonah’s bedroom with a stack of clean clothing.
