Page 36 of Mated to the Human: Volume One

Cane smirked. “That I’d gotten it all on my own, and that…my mate was a good man.” The smirk melted from Cane’s face. “You deserve better than me, Jake.”

A sharp stab of fear hit Jake’s stomach, and he shook his head. “Us being together has nothing to do with who deserves what. You’re my mate, and I know we’re at the beginning of the road, but I can already tell you I don’t want to walk it with anyone else.”

Cane seemed to chew on that for a moment. When no words seemed to be forthcoming, Jake stuffed down his disappointment and took a step back.

“Come on, let’s eat before it gets cold.”

Cane caught his hand as he pulled away and gave it a squeeze.

Giving him a little smile, Jake squeezed back. He reminded himself that patience and being steadfast was how he’d prove to Cane that he was trustworthy. If Cane didn’t have words to give him yet, that was okay. They really were just starting out, and somehow Jake knew that Cane simply being there was testament enough. He’d snuck out the other night to go fight, but he could have easily hopped on a bus or plane and been gone before Jake even knew he’d left.

“Can I ask you something?” Jake walked over to the kitchen to get them plates and forks.

Cane looked up from where he’d settled on the couch. “Sure.”

“Why do you do it? The fights, I mean.”

Cane waited until Jake was seated beside him, and they’d heaped both their plates with lo mein, black pepper chicken, and beef and broccoli. “I love it. I’ve loved it since I was on the wrestling team in junior high. One of my teammates trained at a dojo that specialized in MMA. I went with him a few times. Discovered jiu-jitsu. Loved that, too. When I got older, I got into some boxing and kickboxing. Improved my stand-up game. Of course, that’s also when my mother decided I needed to put my focus elsewhere.”

Jake frowned, pausing with a forkful of food halfway to his mouth. “She didn’t approve?”

“No. She said if I wanted to be in sports, I should do one of the big three—basketball, football, or baseball.”

“What about after you were out of school?”

Cane grimaced. “Would you believe that she somehow managed to warn off every dojo I walked into? I don’t know how she did it. Paying them off, giving them some false line about me, or causing problems for them with the city. Whatever it was, every new place I went wouldn’t have me. Took me longer to realize than I like to admit she had me under surveillance.”

Jake knew his face showed the incredulity he felt. Why would any parent do that?

Cane chewed a bite of food and shook his head. “Eventually, I gave up, and she eased up. I was so mad, though. So I decided to do what she asked of me during the day and—”

“Cause trouble while she wasn’t looking?”

“Something like that. I was eighteen and pissed, but I went to the college she wanted. I passed my classes. And I made some friends she definitely wouldn’t approve of. They hooked me up with the guy who runs the underground fight circle. I’ve been doing it ever since.”

“What if we found you a legit place to train now? There’s a gym near here that hosts amateur fight nights. I know the warlock who owns it. He’s in our coven.”

“Huh. I never thought to go to a paranormal gym. I didn’t even know there were any.”

Jake chuckled. “I think they handle advertising a little differently. I’ll call him tomorrow and see when the next fight night is.”

Cane watched him for a moment, a wondering sort of smile on his face. “You really wouldn’t mind me training and fighting all the time? Maybe professionally someday?”

Jake studied his face. “It makes you happy, right?”

“Yeah, it does.”

“Then why would I have a problem with it? Don’t get me wrong, if you were set on staying in the underground fight circle…yeah, I’d have a problem. But fighting as your hobby or profession does not bother me at all. As long as it brings you joy.”

Cane nodded with a smile, dropping his eyes to his plate like he was suddenly shy. “Thanks.”

8

“What’s your list for the day?” Cane asked Hollis, swiveling around in his desk chair and staring at the ceiling of their office.

Hollis’s blond head popped up over the half wall that divided their shared space. “Boring stuff. There’s several boxes of paper records that need to be digitized, and apparently, I drew the short straw.” He frowned and adjusted his glasses. “What about you?”

“They’re sending me out today. Lenette wants me to check in on several local human-owned paranormal-friendly businesses. Not really sure what I’m supposed to be checking exactly, other than letting them know that they’re friendly neighborhood human paranormal liaisons are on the job.” He rolled his eyes.

---