Jacks, Marcy - Eli's Reluctant Mate [DeWitt's Pack 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Marcy Jacks (best ereader under 100 .txt) 📗

woman he wasn’t interested in thrust upon him  would have sucked to high heaven. Of course, being mated to a  woman would have made him interested in her, enough to produce  pups, and maybe they would even get along as good friends, but Eli  just wasn’t interested in women that way.

Maybe Romulus and Remus were just taking a little pity on him.  They sent him a male mate, and he was also something decent to look

at, too.

“I’m going to go and find Chris.”

“He’s in Nick’s old cabin,” James said, and Eli left to claim his

mate.

40                          Marcy Jacks

Chapter Five

It was beginning to drive Chris a little crazy how mellow everyone was acting, considering they were all beings that shouldn’t exist. Corey seemed like a friendly guy, though Chris wondered how his hand got to be so badly scarred. It looked like a fire burn over all of his fingers and the hand itself. He didn’t mention it, however, and  Chris didn’t think it was his business to  ask.

Tristan was funny. Somehow he managed to tell a story that would make Chris laugh, even though he was in a campsite filled with werewolves and no one from the outside knew where he was.

Wasn’t like he had anyone to report back to anyway.

Despite these worries, Chris slowly found himself relaxing around the pair of them, even when they began talking about the fun they had chasing rabbits through the trees and pouncing on a family of squirrels in their wolf forms, like that was normal for them.

They both gave Chris curious glances from time to time, especially whenever Chris locked eyes with them. However, they didn’t try to pounce on him or anything.

Maybe it was because they had their own significant others. At least, that was the impression Chris got whenever Corey or Tristan spoke about men named James and Isaac.

Didn’t mean they weren’t occasionally acting strange about something.

If Chris didn’t know any better, he’d say these men were babysitting him.

“Would my eyes really bring me trouble? With other werewolves,  I mean.” It was still strange, having that word pass his lips.

Eli’s Reluctant Mate                       41

Werewolves. This was going to take a little getting used to.

Both men looked at each other. Corey was the one to answer.  “Mostly this will only apply to unmated weres. There is something instinctual about it, though.”

“Yeah,” Tristan said. He was sitting on the bed, his ankle crossed over his knee. “I mean, I’m looking at you, and I kind of want to hit on you, but I don’t want to throw you down on the bed or anything like that.”

“Most of the unmated weres here will probably try flirting with  you to get some attention,” Corey said. “The mated ones will be  curious, but a few of them will probably try shaking your hand or  something.”

“To see if that will pass on any of my good luck?”  Chris asked.

Corey shrugged. “From what I understand, basically, yes.”

Chris didn’t feel very lucky. He didn’t think anything about his  situation was lucky at all. Nearly getting raped by some huge bearlike  man, who was actually a werewolf capable of ripping him in half if he  wanted to, and then having to come here for his safety to hide from  anyone else who might make a try for him …

It definitely wasn’t the way he’d hoped to spend his time  searching for his brother.

“So,” Tristan said, clearing his throat. “What do you think of Eli?”

“Eli?”

“The werewolf you rescued,” Corey said, as though Chris could  have ever forgotten him. “That’s a pretty cool new way to meet new  friends.”

Chris didn’t think so, nor was he even sure that he’d even rescued

Eli, considering the man was healing just nicely on his own anyway.  Admittedly, Chris was still struggling with the memory of Eli walking around his motel room naked, like that was the most natural thing in the world to be doing.

It still heated his blood with embarrassment.

Both men in front of him seemed to see this, and Chris realized

42                          Marcy Jacks

that he was blushing, and they were smiling about it.

Only one thing they could be thinking about right at this moment.  “No, no. There’s nothing going on between him and me. Not  happening.”

“Sure,” Tristan drawled, grabbing one of the beers that had been  put on the nightstand for them. He took a swig from the bottle, still  somehow managing to keep his eyes on Chris and that knowing smile  on his lips.

“Okay, I get it. It’s my eyes, right?” Chris asked. “Well, I did drag  him back to my motel, but I was only doing that to try and help him.  Nothing happened in there, and nothing ever will,” he said.

“Really?” Corey asked, his brows raised.

Chris hoped he wouldn’t come off as a jerk, especially since these  two men were obviously part of the other team. “I’m not even gay. I  mean, is that why you guys are asking about him?”

Had Eli spoken to these other wolves, staking his claim? Is that  why everyone would rather send him curious glances rather than just  introducing themselves like normal people?

Chris wasn’t afraid of people who were gay. Far from it. Even he  was able to recognize beauty in its male form, and Eli had lots of that  in spades, but if either of these men were under the impression that there was something going on between him and Chris, well, Chris was  going to have to set them straight on that front.

Both Corey and Tristan looked at each other thoughtfully.

“Hm,” said Tristan.

“Well,” Corey said, looking back at Chris, “the two of you  will

get that all settled. Sorry we jumped to conclusions.”

“But what about―”

Corey elbowed Tristan in the ribs quickly, and Chris’s suspicion meter started sounding alarms inside of his head.

He needed to think, to get his head on straight for when Eli did return for him, especially if he thought he was going to claim Chris as his, or however it was the werewolves termed it.

Eli’s Reluctant Mate                       43

“I’m going to take a quick walk.”

Tristan and Corey got to their feet. “Great, we’ll go