Prickly By Nature (20 page)

“Wait!” Jaden called, bolting out the door after him.

Avery stood there, holding the beer and blinking in consternation.
Holy shit. This cannot be happening.
He peered outside. Jaden was standing next to Ribeiro, his cheeks flushed as he gestured sharply. Avery couldn’t hear what he was saying, but he closed the door to give them some privacy. Then he went back to the kitchen.

Dylan was digging through the contents of the fridge. He glanced at Avery over his shoulder. “What’s up? Was that Jaden I heard?”

Avery nodded, setting the beer on the counter. “Yeah. And I think things just got a helluva a lot more complicated.”

Dylan opened his mouth, but before he could respond, they heard the door open and shut. Jaden walked into the room, red-faced, his scent so distraught Avery moved to hug him without thinking.

Dylan shut the refrigerator and gave Avery a curious look.

“He’s my mate,” Jaden murmured, confirming Avery’s suspicions. He trembled in Avery’s arms.

Dylan’s shocked expression almost made Avery laugh. Except Avery couldn’t find any humor in the situation. Ribeiro might be Jaden’s mate, but judging from Jaden’s reaction and the fact that Ribeiro had walked away, they weren’t off to the best of starts. Avery sympathized. He’d spent two years being denied by Dylan, and denying him in turn. To put it bluntly, it had fucking sucked.

It had also worked out in the end. Maybe the same would happen for Jaden and Ribeiro.

“Want to talk about it?” Avery asked.

Jaden’s breathing hitched. He shook his head, his bright auburn hair brushing Avery’s cheek.

Avery rubbed his back, trying to soothe him. “It’ll be okay,” he said.

He only hoped he was right.

DYLAN DIPPED
his paw in the lazy creek and let the flow of the water tug on his limb. He could hear his friends running after a rabbit or a squirrel or a goat for all he paid attention. He chuffed, wet fern fanning around him. The run at Tryon Creek State Park was supposed to get him out of this funk, but he couldn’t seem to crawl far. Twice in the week since their meeting with Ribeiro, Dylan’s dad had shown up at the shop. He wasn’t threatened by the visits, but they held an eerie tension that pinged all of Dylan’s senses. Law was up to no good.

At first he’d thought the visit from his dad and Russell a week earlier had to do with Ribeiro. He was sure the detective was reporting to the alpha. After meeting with him, Dylan was certain Ribeiro had nothing to do with his father. Though, with Law, it hadn’t taken long to put two and two together. For some reason, Law was keeping an eye on him and Avery. After the events at the warehouse, he’d all but promised to see the day Avery was sent packing. Dylan wasn’t going to let that happen, but his father obviously hadn’t given up so easily. Though he did wonder why he’d chosen now to start skulking around, and he wondered how closely Avery was being watched and by whom.

The scent of musky sandalwood, strange but familiar, breezed Dylan’s way and he stilled, his ears pointing skyward. He didn’t move, only closed his eyes and listened. The sounds of his friends running and goofing off silenced, though he still sensed them not too far away. Probably keeping an eye on the new wolf in their midst.

When Dylan turned his head, the new wolf—pure black except for the small silver patch at his breast—approached neck tilted downward, his sign of peacefulness. The scent hit Dylan again.
Ribeiro.
His amber eyes, while canine at the moment, were completely tame and held an intense focus most wolves lacked, like he’d study his prey very carefully before dismembering it.

Dylan pushed to his feet and faced the black wolf, a rumble rolling from his belly. In his human form, he was laid-back, choosing to let things happen around him for the most part—except when it came to Avery. But as a wolf, Dylan was an alpha. In this form, he was more beast than human. He didn’t run with wolves stronger than him because his wolf didn’t submit easily. It’s why Dylan never joined the pack runs.

Dylan’s strength rivaled many pack alphas, though he never had aspirations of becoming such. He didn’t want that stress. His happiness came in the form of his shop, his mate, and his life. He didn’t need the rest.

What he wouldn’t stand for was a wolf attempting to challenge him, especially on a shit day like this one. He lifted his thin upper lip, bared his teeth, and snarled. There was a look in the other wolf’s eye. Dylan couldn’t quite place it. Wolves couldn’t smirk, but Dylan could’ve sworn that’s exactly what Ribeiro was doing.

Then all of a sudden, Ribeiro crouched with a playful look on his face, his mouth open in a wolfy smile. He tucked his forelegs and chest against the earth while his hind end stood and tail wagged in delight. His bark was the only warning Dylan got before he pounced. Caught off guard, Dylan was tackled by the wolf, and they tumbled through the thick brush of forest floor, moss and mud speckling their fur as they wrestled. Once Dylan got his bearings and realized Ribeiro only wanted to play, that’s what they did. With Luc, Sawyer, and Kirk joining in, the group of them ran and hunted and played for hours. Dylan almost felt guilty enjoying the time without his mate.

Later Dylan tugged his shirt down as he climbed through the thick undergrowth to the trail that would lead them out of the park. When his friends made their way onto the dirt path, he sent them ahead, figuring it would be rude to leave Ribeiro behind without saying anything.

“Didn’t expect to see you here.”

The comment came from behind Dylan. He turned around and found Ribeiro crawling up the same hill he’d just come from, only farther down. Wearing a T-shirt and jeans and combing his fingers through his hair, this man before Dylan looked less put-together than the one he and Avery had met a week ago. Dylan held back a grin when Ribeiro came across a particularly slimy patch of moss tangled in the black strands. Ribeiro scrunched his nose like he smelled something particularly bad and looked at the glob on his hand.

When Dylan finished laughing, he said, “It’s not our usual spot, but it’s nice here.” They began walking to the entrance, and he shrugged. “It’s a change of scenery, and most of the pack runs at Forest, so we stand less of a chance of running into anybody.”

“Are you hiding from someone?”

Question of the hour. “Are you on the clock, Detective?” he countered.

“Call me Heath,” he corrected. “And no, I was just wondering. You don’t seem like the type to change habits too often.”

Dylan hitched his shoulder. “Like I said, change of scenery. It’s quiet here. I like to come here when I need to think. Things are getting….”
Frustrating.
Yet he didn’t want to say that. Heath and Avery had settled into a tentative but still strained working relationship. Dylan hadn’t had a reason to trust the man beyond that. Not yet.

From the corner of his eye, Dylan could see Heath studying him, but the man didn’t say anything more, and for that, Dylan was thankful. He didn’t want to talk about it anyway, so he changed the subject, hopefully taking the spotlight off him. “What brings you out here?” He was curious. It was awfully coincidental that Heath showed up randomly.

Heath shrugged. “I live in Hillsdale. I haven’t met many of the pack outside of the alpha and his circle, Wallace, and you guys. Work keeps me busy, and after what I see every day….” He trailed off just as they stepped into the edge of the woods where Dylan had parked his bike. Lucas and the other guys had gone on without him, and strangely enough he wasn’t bothered by being left with Heath.

“I get that. I can only imagine what you see on a daily basis. I’d need to run too. What Avery deals with is sometimes too much for me. And don’t get me started about the mess with the auctions. I’ll stick with bikes.” He patted the seat as they came to a stop beside the Chieftain he’d driven. “They don’t talk back, they don’t deceive you, and some may come to me broken but they’re fixable.”

The corner of Heath’s mouth tilted, but instead of taking on his usual cockiness, he looked sad. Vulnerability hid in his eyes, and Dylan had a passing thought of how uncharacteristic it was. Everything he’d noticed of Heath told Dylan the other wolf was nothing if not strong and confident, bordering on arrogant. Although Dylan thought more than once Heath’s know-it-all attitude was covering for something.

“Can I ask you something?” Heath said.

“Shoot.” Dylan nodded and leaned his butt against the seat of the red-and-cream bike.

“What’s it like?”

Dylan quirked a brow at him.

“To have a mate,” Heath clarified. “What’s that like?”

Dylan grinned and he felt it warm his chest. That’s how it always was with Avery. “It’s like being finished. Like my whole life I was an unfinished work an artist left on an easel, and then I met Avery and suddenly I was complete.”

“Pretty words.” Heath smirked.

“Fuck you.” Dylan chuckled. “You asked, I told you. It’s like that. It’s like finding the missing piece to your puzzle—winding and imperfect and jagged. But that’s what ends up making you whole.”

“That easy?”

“Hell no. There was nothing about me and Avery that was easy. There is nothing that’s easy. We spent two years avoiding each other like the plague. We had our issues,
have
our issues—that’s for sure—but once we let fate take control, it worked.” Dylan shook his head.

A host of emotions crossed Heath’s face so quickly Dylan was unable to catch them all, but he thought he saw some form of regret, hurt, and hope floating around. He looked back at the forest they’d come from. “I can’t,” he whispered so softly Dylan wasn’t sure if he was talking to Dylan or himself, so he cleared his throat, bringing Heath’s attention back to him.

“Look, the best thing I can tell you is to give it a shot. You won’t know until you do.”

The vulnerability on Heath’s face faded into a scowl. “Mind your own business.”

Dylan raised his hands in surprise at the sudden change in Heath’s demeanor. “Whoa, dude. You opened the door. I was just giving you my two cents. If you don’t want to know, don’t ask next time.”

He thought about how lost and hurt Jaden had looked after Heath had left that day. Part of Dylan wanted to punch Heath in his nose for it. He’d grown close to Jaden over the past several months. Jaden was like an extension of his mate at times, part of their family. What had Dylan uncurling his fingers from his palm was remembering all the reasons he’d once told himself he and Avery couldn’t be together.

Dylan sighed and twisted on his seat until he straddled the bike. “Look, man, I’m not saying you do or don’t have to. It’s up to you. But I can guarantee that living as half a wolf is no way to live when you know your mate is out there. Especially when he’s waiting on you.” Dylan couldn’t help but throw that out there.

Heath sighed, his glare falling away. “Listen, tell your mate I talked to Joel’s roommate. The detective on the case gave me the chance to interview him. Lucky for me, the guy’s backed up with a couple other cases, so he didn’t ask too many questions. The kid—Sandy—said Joel had been acting strange a few weeks prior to his overdose. Said he kept weird hours and was rarely home. When he was home, he checked the windows, took the landline off the hook, and double- and triple-checked the dead bolt.”

Heath put his hands on his hips and dropped his gaze to the ground, studying it. “The guy was pretty sure it was drugs, so he wasn’t all that surprised by the OD. There are no signs of breaking and entering and no signs of a struggle. On paper, it’s textbook suicide.” He held up his hand when Dylan went to say something. “The behavior is suspect. I know, but it can still be attributed to drugs.” He looked back up and met Dylan’s gaze. “Look, we’re still waiting on tox. I just wanted to keep your mate informed. Thought he’d like to know. Nothing’s clear at this moment. So I know about as much as he does.”

Dylan nodded. His phone dinged, and he pulled it from his coat pocket. A text message notification flashed across the screen. Swiping his thumb over the surface revealed a picture of Avery, his beautiful hazel eyes shining and happy, matching the smile on his face, but it was the way he held his cock in one hand and positioned the camera phone in their bathroom mirror that caught Dylan’s attention.

Avery was home and waiting on him.

Dylan tapped out a quick message, then looked at Heath. “Something’s, um, come up. I’ve got to get home.”

A sly grin tipped Heath’s lips, and he inhaled deeply, no doubt catching the strong scent of arousal flowing from Dylan. “You don’t say. No trouble I hope.”

He laughed. “Only if I’m lucky.”

Starting his bike, he raised a hand in farewell to Heath. The Chieftain rumbled to life, and he sped off. He was looking forward to the best kind of trouble.

A WEEK
after his meeting with Detective Ribeiro, Avery decided a visit to Mr. Otis was long overdue. He’d only stopped by a few times since giving up the pack delivery job at the end of January. Guilt ate at him when he remembered the last time—Mr. Otis’s downtrodden face, his growing resignation to the idea of never seeing his daughter again. After Jaden, Mr. Otis was the first wolf who’d befriended Avery without any reservations. He’d accepted Avery as he was from the very start. Mr. Otis deserved more than the occasional phone call, especially with Lacey still missing. Avery vowed he’d make more of an effort to keep in touch from this point on.

Reid had loaned him the nondescript Camry. As he pulled to a stop in front of Mr. Otis’s small house, Avery noticed an unfamiliar truck parked in the driveway. He gathered their lunch from the passenger seat and exited the car, tipping up his nose to test the air. The musky scent of wolf struck his nostrils just as he heard a voice call his name.

Avery’s head jerked in the direction the voice had come from. Russell Metz, one of the pack betas, stood on a ladder that rested against the side of Mr. Otis’s house. He appeared to be repairing a section of the gutters.

Russell lifted a gloved hand. “Hello there.”