Page 8 of Chasing Secrets
Jalen picked at a loose thread on his jeans. “And what if I don’t want to be your... mate?” The word felt strange on his tongue, foreign and weird.
Chase’s shoulders tensed visibly. “Nothing happens,” he said after a moment. “I don’t force anything. But I’ll still protect you. That’s non-negotiable.”
“Because I’m your mate,” Jalen said flatly.
“Because you’re in danger,” Chase countered. “The mate thing... that’s my problem to deal with.”
He was giving Jalen all the power. He was making it absolutely clear that this was a choice, not a prison.
Jalen glanced sideways at him, taking in the rigid set of his jaw, the careful way Chase held himself apart. For all his intimidating size and supernatural abilities, the guy suddenly looked vulnerable.
He saw how much it cost Chase to hold himself back and respect his boundaries.
“This is crazy,” Jalen said, but the heat had left his voice. “This whole night is insane.”
Chase didn’t argue, just kept his gaze fixed on the parking lot entrance as if expecting the vampire to materialize at any moment.
“If I go to the motel,” Jalen said slowly, “will you just follow me there anyway?”
A ghost of a smile crossed Chase’s face. “Yes.”
“And if I agree to go with you, just for tonight,” Jalen continued, hardly believing what he was considering, “you promise not to... I don’t know, howl at the moon or shed on the furniture?”
This time Chase’s smile was more pronounced. “I promise.”
Jalen exhaled slowly, wondering if exhaustion had completely destroyed his common sense. “One night,” he said firmly. “Just until I figure out what to do about my apartment. And I want my own room.”
Chase nodded, standing and offering a hand to help Jalen up. After a moment’s hesitation, Jalen took it, surprised by the jolt of warmth that traveled up his arm at the contact.
“And tomorrow,” Jalen added as he retrieved his bag, “you’re going to explain everything. Vampires, wolf shifters, this mate business. All of it.”
“Deal,” Chase agreed, leading the way to his truck.
As Jalen climbed into the passenger seat, he wondered if he was making the biggest mistake of his life. Or if, somehow, this was just the beginning of something he couldn’t yet understand.
At least he wasn’t spending the night alone in a motel room, jumping at every shadow. Small victories, he supposed, in a night full of world-shattering revelations.
As they pulled out of the parking lot, Jalen glanced back at his apartment building. The rational part of his brain screamed that he was making a huge mistake, getting into a truck with a man who could grow claws at will, heading to a house full of others like him.
But another part felt like he was finally heading in the right direction after a lifetime of being lost.
The world had monsters in it, and yet another one thought Jalen belonged to them.
The truly terrifying part was how little that bothered him this time.
Chapter Three
Hunger made Jalen peek out of his bedroom door. He glanced across the hall, wondering if Chase was awake or asleep while trying to ignore the fluttery feeling in his gut.
Chase was gorgeous—that jawline, those shoulders that filled out his T-shirt in ways that should be illegal—but Jalen kept reminding himself that the man wasn’t even human. He was a wolf. A literal wolf in human form.
How is that even my life right now?
His stomach growled louder than the wolves, demanding attention. Jalen hadn’t eaten since his lunch break yesterday, and after the night he’d had, he deserved at least a sandwich. Hopefully these wolf people kept their fridge stocked with more than raw meat.
The hallway stretched before him, dim in the early morning light filtering through tall windows. Jalen crept forward like he was in some kind of horror movie, wincing at every creak of the hardwood floors beneath his feet. Last night, he’d been too exhausted to take in much about the house, but now he noticed the high ceilings, the rich wood paneling, and the surprising cleanliness.
No taxidermy heads on the walls or animal pelts strewn about.
