Mal Read online

  * * * *

  Mal crossed his arms on his chest and glared at Arlen. “Nope.”

  Arlen pouted. He should have known better. His pout might work on his mates, but it didn’t on Mal, not anymore. “Come on, Mal.”

  “Nick doesn’t need me to hold his hand while he talks to the Whitedell alpha. What do I even have to do with it?” Mal didn’t have to go with Nick. He didn’t even know the Whitedell alpha. He barely even knew Kameron, even though he’d been living in Gillham for months. He still felt uncomfortable when he was in the alpha’s house, like now, and he couldn’t wait to leave.

  “You were the one to tell me you wanted to see the mansion.”

  “Maybe, but this feels like you’re trying to hide me away.”

  Arlen sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, okay, maybe I am, a little. I can’t help it, Mal. I don’t think I’ll ever forget how bruised you were when you first got here.”

  Mal sighed and let his arms fall. “I know.” He shouldn’t have told Arlen about Paul’s texts. He knew it would worry his friend, but Elliott and Mihaja knew, and Mal couldn’t not tell him. “Paul hasn’t found me, though. I’m safe here.”

  “Yeah, I know Kam wouldn’t let anything happen to you, but still. Paul isn’t the only problem we have right now, and he could slip through.”

  Mal didn’t think so. He knew the pack territory was patrolled heavily, because of what was happening with those other shifters. There was no way Paul could pass them, not even if he’d somehow found out where Mal was. “Going with Nick isn’t going to help with this. It’s not like he’s moving to Whitedell.”

  Arlen huffed in annoyance. “It’s not only that, okay?”

  Mal leaned against the back of the couch and pulled his feet up. He hugged his knees and peered at Arlen, who looked like he was thinking about what to say pretty hard. “What is it if it’s not Paul?” Mal asked, since Arlen wasn’t answering.

  “Look, I’m not blind.”

  Mal arched a brow. “I know that, but I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

  “I found two mates, then Elliott and Mihaja mated. You’re lonely.”

  “I’m not,” Mal protested. He wasn’t sure he was convincing Arlen, though, not from the skeptical expression on his face. “I’m really not. I have Simon, and even though you and Elliott are mated, you’re still my friends.”

  “I know, but you should have more of us.”

  Mal shrugged. “I’m fine with the three of you.”

  “Please, Mal? Do it for me?”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “You’ll meet more people. There are more humans in Whitedell than here.”

  “So what, you’re saying I should stick to human friends?”

  “No!” Arlen shook his head. “That’s not what I’m saying. I just want you away for a bit, just in case Paul is in Gillham, and I want you to make friends. I feel guilty, okay? I know I’ve been neglecting you ever since you came.”

  Mal reached out and took Arlen’s hand in his. “Len, I’m just happy you’re fine. You deserve to be, and you deserve to spend time with your mates. I’m not angry.”

  “I know you’re not, Mal, but you haven’t left pack territory since you arrived here except to go to work, and it’s been months. You need to see other things, other people.” Mal opened his mouth to protest again, because he didn’t need anything more than what he already had, but Arlen stopped him before he could actually say anything. “Do it for me, okay? To make me happy.”

  Mal huffed. “How could I say no to that?”

  “So you’re going?”

  “Yeah, fine, but if Nick says anything to me I don’t like, I’m coming back, even if I have to steal a car to do that.”

  Arlen beamed. “He won’t.”

  “Yeah, right. I know he hates me.”

  “He doesn’t hate you, Mal. He’s just kind of prickly, but he’s that way with everyone.”

  “Especially me.”

  “Aww, Mal, come on.”

  “You know I’m right. He never forgave me for invading his house right when you popped up in his life.”

  Arlen patted Mal’s knee. “You’ll be fine. I’ll tell him to be nice.”

  Arlen’s words brought an image of Nick wagging his tail and obeying Arlen, and Mal chuckled. “Yeah, okay. I can always stick my headphones in and listen to music, I guess. What am I supposed to do while I’m there and Nick talks with the alpha, though?”

  “Go around the house, talk with people.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Yeah. I know some of the people who live there, and everyone is great. If you can, look for Keenan or Nysys, and you’ll be set. They’re great. You’ll like them.”

  Arlen jumped up from the couch and hurried away, probably to Kameron’s office. Mal sighed and closed his eyes, but his phone vibrated in his pocket before he could relax. He knew who it was. Mihaja might have blocked the phone number Paul had used before, but Paul wasn’t stupid, and it hadn’t taken him long to start sending Mal texts from several new numbers. Mal had stopped reading the texts, and he was thinking about just turning his phone off. He should. It wasn’t like anyone but his friends called him, and they all knew about Paul now.

  “You ready to go?” a gruff voice asked.

  Mal sighed before opening his eyes. “Yeah.” He got up from the couch and headed toward Nick. He passed by the man, not looking at him, and walked outside the alpha’s house. He could hear Nick following him, but neither of them talked as they got into the car and Nick drove away.

  It was only when Mal’s phone vibrated again that Nick finally talked again. He watched Mal take his phone out from the corner of his eye, but Mal ignored him until he asked, “Paul?”

  Mal thumbed the screen.

  Where are you, baby? I need to find you. I miss you so much. Answer me, please.

  “Yeah, it’s Paul,” Mal told Nick. He put his phone back in his pocket.

  “Want me to take care of him?”

  Mal’s eyes widened in surprise. “You would?”

  “Of course I would.”

  “Why?” Mal was aware of the surprise in his voice, and he leaned sideways toward the door when Nick looked at him with a frown.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Nick asked.

  “Uh, no. I thought you hated me.”

  “I don’t hate you.”

  “Could have fooled me.”

  Nick glared and Mal shifted toward the door again. Not that he thought Nick would hurt him, but putting some more distance between them couldn’t hurt.

  “I’m really going to have to say it, aren’t I?” Nick asked.

  “I don’t know. What do you think you’re going to have to say?”

  Nick glared. “Shut up, Mal.”

  Mal made the gesture to lock his mouth and throw away the key, and Nick rolled his eyes.

  “Look, I don’t hate you. I won’t say I love you either, but you’re Arlen’s friend, and you’re not too bad when you keep your mouth shut, something that doesn’t happen often enough.”

  Mal scowled. “Way to make me feel like you don’t hate me.”

  “You’re annoying and mouthy, and I don’t like that, but I don’t hate you, I swear. Arlen loves you, and I want you to be safe, because he’d be distraught if something happened to you.”

  “So you tolerate me for Arlen’s sake.”

  “Exactly. I don’t know you enough to like you, but it doesn’t mean I want to see you hurt. I don’t want any pack member to be hurt. I’m the pack’s beta. It’s my job.”

  “Was it your idea to take me to Whitedell with you?”

  “Not exactly. Arlen came up with it, but I agreed with him. It can’t do you any harm to be away from Gillham for a while, especially with your stalker problem.”

  “Paul can’t get to me if I stay in pack territory.”

  Nick pressed his lips together. “I wouldn’t be too
sure of that, Mal. Tom and his friends managed to get as far as the alpha’s house.”

  “There were a lot of them, though.”

  “Yes, and one man, if trained, can slip under the radar. If he knows exactly where to find you, the house you live in, he wouldn’t have too many problems getting to you, and it’s the last thing we want or need. Pack territory is big, and no matter how well we try to patrol it, we can’t cover every inch of it.”

  Mal grimaced. “Believe me, I really don’t want him to find me.”

  “Maybe it would be a good idea to move somewhere else for a while.”

  “Is that why you’re taking me to Whitedell?”

  “Not exactly, no. Arlen and I want you to meet those people so that if you need to move there, you’ll know them, but we’re not going to force you to go.”

  There was nothing Mal could say. Nothing except, “Thank you.”

  * * * *

  Will wanted to leave. That was what he’d intended to do when he’d left the alpha’s office, but instead a weird pink-haired guy had noticed him walking away and had snatched him from the entrance and pulled him into the living room.

  Now Will was on the couch, sandwiched between Pink Hair and another guy he thought was called Keegan or something. He didn’t remember too well.

  They were watching something on TV, and there was way too much blood for Will’s taste. Pink Hair patted his arm when Will tried to get up. “We’ll see dicks soon, Boo. Don’t go anywhere.”

  “See dicks?”

  “Yeah. What, you thought this was all about blood and gladiators?”

  Will looked at the screen, where two guys were trying to kill each other and blood was dripping everywhere. “Looks like it.”

  “Oh, no. Whoever made this series isn’t shy about sex. Not even gay sex.” Pink Hair waggled his eyebrows. “And they show the actors’ bits and pieces every so often. You need to keep your eyes on the screen, because sometimes it’s a see or miss. We can always rewind, or whatever, so just shout if you see dick.”

  Will didn’t even know how to answer that. He closed his eyes when one of the guys on the screen started pounding on the other one with a huge hammer. He should leave. What could these two do to him if he tried? Nothing, that was what.

  Will started to get up again, but Pink Hair grabbed his arm. “Where are you going?”

  “Home.”

  Pink Hair cocked his head and momentarily took his gaze off the screen. “You don’t live here?”

  “Uh, no.”

  “What are you doing here, then?”

  “I was dropping some things for Heath and talking with the alpha.”

  “Heath? Heath doesn’t live here.”

  “I know.”

  “Why didn’t you take his stuff over to his house?”

  “Because I didn’t want to.”

  Pink Hair narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?”

  “You forced me to watch guys killing each other with you and you don’t even know who I am?”

  Pink Hair waved his hand. “I thought you were new and I wanted you to feel welcome.”

  Will risked a glance at the screen, immediately regretting it when the guy with the hammer started taking off the other guy’s face with a hook. “And that’s what you made me watch to make me feel welcome?”

  Pink Hair grimaced. “Well, me and Keenan watch it mostly for the dicks and the gay sex.”

  “Wouldn’t it be easier to watch porn?”

  “I can’t watch porn with Keenan! He’s like my brother.”

  “I need to go home.”

  “Who are you?”

  “Why are you ignoring what I’m saying?”

  Keenan snorted. “Because he’s Nysys. He ignores whatever doesn’t suit him.”

  “I have a long way to drive,” Will insisted, but Nysys didn’t let go.

  “You can sleep here. We have lots of free rooms.”

  “I have to go to work tomorrow.”

  “I’ll take you. I’m a Nix.”

  Will remembered Nysys was one of the names on the list Alpha Nash had given him and promised himself to never call Nysys if he needed help. “My car’s here.”

  “Then I’ll shimmer you back here after you’re done working and you can go back home. Or even better, why don’t you move here?”

  “Why are you trying to convince me? You don’t even know me.”

  “So? I like you.”

  “How can you like me if you met me only fifteen minutes ago and we were silent almost the entire time?”

  “Call it intuition, or sixth sense, or whatever.”

  Will heard the front door open and wondered if he’d be able to shake Nysys off long enough to escape. He started to relax and smiled at Nysys, and Nysys smiled back. His hold slipped, and Will jumped from the couch and hurried toward the entrance.

  “Hey! Come back here, you traitor!” Nysys yelled after him, but Will went straight for the front door.

  He risked a glance behind himself as he reached it, and collided with someone. The fact that Will was taller and bigger than the other guy meant the guy fell backward, and Will tried to grab him. He ended up falling forward and on top of the guy, who oomphed as his back hit the floor.

  Will’s body pressed against the guy’s and Will’s nose skimmed the guy’s neck. Will froze and his bear purred in his mind. Mate. The guy under Will was his mate.

  Will resisted the urge to rub himself against his mate’s body and looked at him. He was on the small side and had blond hair that fell on his forehead and in front of his hazel eyes. Will could feel his mate was kind of skinny from the hipbones poking against his stomach, and that made him realize his mate’s dick was pressed against him, and that Will was holding him down with his weight. He flushed, with embarrassment or lust he didn’t know, and sat up.

  He looked down at his mate, who was peering at him from under his hair. “Not that I mind having you sitting on my dick, big guy, but maybe we should at least exchange names before we do this.”

  Will looked down, and sure enough, he was sitting on his mate’s groin. He could feel his mate’s dick was hardening, and while it was the last thing his bear wanted him to do, Will scrambled off his mate’s lap and fell on his ass.

  Will’s mate sat up and looked at him, his head cocked in an adorable gesture that made Will want to kiss him. “I’m Mal.”

  Will swallowed. “I’m Will.”

  “And I’m Nick, nice to meet you and can we get going, Mal?”

  Will snapped his head toward the man who’d talked. He was big, bigger than Will, and his muscles looked like they had muscles. It made Will feel tiny, and he slid backward to put some more distance between himself and Nick.

  “What’s happening?” another voice asked, and Will groaned. Of course Nysys would have come after him.

  “I don’t know,” Mal answered. “I walked in and Will attacked me.”

  “I didn’t attack you!” Will cried out, panicking until he saw Mal’s sly smile. “And why aren’t you saying anything? Are you with Nick?” Why wasn’t Mal acknowledging they were mates?

  Mal frowned. “Saying anything about what? And no, I’m not with Nick. Eww, thanks for the image, I really didn’t need it. I wonder what Arlen will say when I tell him someone thought I was with his mate.”

  “What’s happening?” Nysys asked again, obviously peeved about the fact that everyone ignored him.

  Nick held his hand out to Mal, and Will resisted the urge to growl. He pushed himself up and brushed his ass to clean his pants. Mal watched him, his head still cocked, and Will didn’t know what to say. The last thing he’d expected when he decided to come to Whitedell was to meet his mate.

  “Hey, Nick, can I ask you something?” Mal asked, never looking away from Will.

  “What?” Nick answered gruffly.

  “How does it feel when you meet your mate?”

  Will’s eyes widened and his
mouth opened on a O. Mal felt it, then.

  “What do you mean?” Nick asked.

  “I know you’re supposed to feel drawn to your mate.”

  “Yeah, you do.”

  “Like you want to wrap your arms around him and never let go?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Like you’ve finally found your place in the world?”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “Like even only seeing him makes you happy, and you don’t even know why?”

  “Yeah. What’s up, Mal?”

  Mal looked away from Will, and Will could finally breathe again. He stepped forward, closer to Mal, just as Mal looked up at Nick and said, “Well, I think I found my mate, then.”

  Chapter Two

  Nick blinked at Mal, and Mal clarified, “I know he’s not my mate. I mean, I know I’m his mate since he’s obviously the shifter here.”

  “You think you’re his mate?”

  “I’m pretty sure I am. Not a hundred percent since I’m only human, but I think so.” And Mal couldn’t believe it.

  He hadn’t really thought he was a shifter’s mate. What were the odds? He already lived with shifters and his best friends were shifters. He’d resigned himself to age and watch them be happy and young until he died of old age, but now, he had an alternative. He didn’t have to die. He didn’t have to become old, at least not as fast as he should. The only thing he had to do to be able to do that was to drink Will’s blood.

  Nick looked at Will. “So?”

  Will looked confused, and Mal wondered why. “So?” Will repeated.

  Nick huffed. “Is Mal your mate?”

  Will shook himself and straightened, almost like he thought Nick would say it wasn’t acceptable, that Mal couldn’t be his mate. “Yes, he is.”

  Mal’s heart stuttered. Will had admitted it. They were mates. Mal had found his happily ever after.

  Nick grinned and slapped Mal’s back. Mal stumbled forward and landed straight into Will’s arms. “Great. Watch him, will you? I need to talk to Dominic.”

  Mal spluttered. “I’m not a kid!”