Page 9 of Chasing Secrets
For a house full of animal-people, it smelled pleasantly of pine and something like cinnamon.
Reaching the staircase, Jalen descended carefully, trying to remember the way to the kitchen. The stairs opened into a massive great room with comfortable-looking leather furniture arranged in conversation areas. A stone fireplace dominated one wall, while floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined another. The place looked like something out of Architectural Digest, not a den of supernatural creatures.
He was impressed against his will.
“Right, because werewolves—sorry, wolf shifters—can’t have nice taste in furniture,” Jalen muttered to himself. “They probably hired an interior decorator. 'Yes, I’d like something that says modern rustic but also says I might turn into a wolf and shed all over your couch.”
Following his nose toward what smelled like coffee, Jalen walked into a kitchen that made his jaw drop. The room held gleaming stainless-steel appliances, granite countertops, and a center island big enough to land a small plane on.
Whoever these wolves were, they weren’t hurting for money.
“Can’t sleep either?”
Jalen nearly jumped out of his skin. A guy sat perched on a stool at the island, surrounded by bowls of fruit. He had tousled blond hair, bright green eyes, and a wide, friendly smile.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” the guy said, popping a grape into his mouth. “You must be Jalen. I’m Preston.”
“How did you know my name?” Jalen asked, immediately suspicious.
Preston waved a hand dismissively. “Word travels fast around here. Plus, Chase came in at the crack of dawn looking like he’d won the lottery and lost his favorite chew toy at the same time. Zeppelin said you were his mate.”
“Right. That.” Jalen shifted from one foot to the other, rubbing his arm. The word still felt weird, like he’d suddenly been cast in some bizarre supernatural romance novel without auditioning for the part.
He also didn’t get the chew toy reference but didn’t ask for clarification either. Jalen was going to deal with one issue at a time, and right now, the chew toy thing didn’t feel important.
“Hungry?” Preston gestured toward the massive refrigerator. “Help yourself. Mi refrigerator es su refrigerator. Or something like that.”
Jalen hesitated. “Are you sure? I don’t want to eat someone else’s food and get mauled.”
Since he knew nothing about wolf shifters, it could be a possibility.
Preston laughed, the sound bright and genuine. “Trust me, no one’s going to maul you for raiding the fridge. Food is communal here. Besides, you’re Chase’s mate, which basically makes you pack royalty.”
“Great, I’ve been upgraded from potential vampire snack to wolf royalty overnight.”
To hell with it. Jalen moved toward the fridge.
He was starving, and Preston had just given him carte blanche of the fridge. Jalen wasn’t going to turn it down. Not when his stomach felt like it was about to eat its way out.
Holy shit. The refrigerator looked like someone had robbed a grocery store. Shelves were packed with meats, cheeses, vegetables, and more condiments than Jalen had ever seen in one place. He grabbed eggs, bacon, and cheese, setting them on the counter.
“So,” Jalen said, trying to sound casual as he searched for a pan, “are you a wolf too?”
Preston snorted. “Nope. One hundred percent human, just like you.”
Jalen nearly dropped the pan he’d found.
Preston continued. “Though living with a pack of wolves does rub off on you. I’ve gotten weirdly good at identifying people by their footsteps.”
“You’re human? But you live here with them?”
“Yep. I’m Zeppelin’s mate. He’s the pack alpha. You’ll meet him sooner or later.”
Not at all if Jalen was lucky. He was already overwhelmed and meeting an alpha just might tip him over the edge.
“So humans can be mates to... them?” Jalen started the bacon, placing the pieces in a neat row inside the pan before turning on the burner.
“Not just humans,” Preston said, biting into an apple with gusto. “From what Zeppelin told me, other shifters can be their mate too. But trust me, I was just as freaked out as you when I found out.”
