Jacks, Marcy - Mason Returns to His Mate [DeWitt's Pack 8] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic Man by Marcy Jacks (free novel reading sites .TXT) 📗

his own shock that allowed him to be pulled against  his brother’s chest. He felt James’s hands behind his shoulders and

neck as they hugged.

Mason hadn’t realized how much he’d missed this warmth, this

loving embrace of family, until just now, and he held his brother back  as tightly as he could.

“You’re all grown up now. You look so different,” James said.

He did? Well, he supposed so. There was still a major difference  between twenty and thirty. The last of his boyish looks were gone,  that was for sure.

“I think you’ve changed more,” Mason said, referring to all the

scars on James’s face.

James just snorted. “Yeah, probably.”

They were silent for all of three seconds before James’s grip on him became tighter, if that  was possible. “I’m serious, Mason. Don’t leave us again. You go see that human now, and you and I are going to talk later,” James said, releasing him and stepping away.

Mason wished he could make himself look his brother in the eyes as he left, but he didn’t. He made his way over to the cabin where his mate was staying. It was one of the newer but smaller ones. Mason had noted that not so many wolves bunked up with each other anymore with all the added space. Some even kept cabins to themselves and their families instead of having to share.

Mason was going to have to ask James when all these new renovations had started, but he didn’t want to be nosey about it.

He inhaled a heavy breath at the door, fighting to keep from fidgeting on his feet too much. He finally stopped being such a pussy and just knocked on the door.

Derek answered. His blond brows lifted slightly at the sight of him, and he stepped aside, holding the door open for Mason to enter.

“Didn’t think I’d be seeing you,” Derek admitted.

Mason Returns to His Mate                    43

I didn’t think you’d want to see me. “Sorry, was just catching up on a couple things with my brother.”

He looked around at the small kitchen they were in. There was a mug of coffee on the table, but it was still full, and no steam wafted out of it. Cold.

“How’ve you  been feeling?” Mason asked then cringed inwardly  at the stupid question.

Derek’s jaw clenched. “Fine, fine, aside from the fact that my life  is ruined.”

“I’m sorry about the pawn shop,” Mason said.

Derek flopped back into his seat with a scowl on his face. He  grabbed the mug between his hands and glared at his dark reflection  in the liquid. “Thanks,” he muttered.

Mason stood there for a minute before Derek sighed. “Sit down.  You’re making me uncomfortable standing there like that.”

Mason did as he was told, somewhat shocked by the command.  He had to remind himself that this was not the same Derek he knew

ten years ago. That was plenty of time for personalities to change.

He cast an appreciative glance at Derek’s body as the other man  got up to fix another mug of coffee.

His personality wasn’t the only thing to have changed.

His jeans fit him perfectly. Tight enough to give Mason a good  view without being indecently skintight. He wore a borrowed black Tshirt with the Spider-Man logo on the front.

There was no coffee machine in here, so Derek had to rely on the  tea kettle on the stove and some instant mix. It took only a minute  before the thing was screaming and Derek was lifting it off the burner  and pouring Mason a cup.

“Do you still take it with four sugars?” Derek asked, reaching for  the half-full sugar dispenser.

Mason couldn’t believe there was ever a time when he drank

coffee like that. He couldn’t believe Derek remembered it either.

“One sugar is fine. A little milk, too, if there is any.”

44                          Marcy Jacks

Derek nodded.  “They stocked me up with the basics. Everyone here’s been really nice.”

Mason didn’t quite understand the accusatory look Derek sent to him when he said that.

Mason accepted the coffee gratefully, sipping carefully, and surprised at how good it was. Last time he ever had instant, it tasted like shit and he swore himself off the stuff.

He watched as Derek dumped out his own cup and started making another one for himself. “When did you buy the pawn shop?”

The clink of metal against the ceramic was the only sound Mason heard for a minute as Derek stirred his coffee. “Two years ago. The old lady was selling it for cheap, and I’d saved up some money, so I picked it up.”

“The crazy cat lady?” Mason asked, incredulous. “Wow. I didn’t think she’d survive another eight years.”

Derek smiled a little and came to sit down across the table from

him. “She still is alive, too. Still luring the squirrels in for her stupid  cats to go chasing around.”

Derek always had been more of a dog person. Maybe that was part  of the reason he and Mason had both clicked so well back then.

Mason’s spirits suddenly sank. “I thought you were saving your money to go to the city? What happened with that?”

Derek had always talked about going to either New York or San  Francisco. It was one of the  few topics they’d managed to properly discuss in the three days they’d been together. He’d wanted to go to be around more other people like himself and even kept maps on his walls.

Not that Mason had paid much attention to them as he’d been too busy pounding into the other man, but he did remember them.

Mason had been excited for him and saddened with the thought that he would never be able to go to places like that. Being a werewolf in a city was never a good thing.

Derek shrugged. “I guess I decided that  I liked it here better.”

Mason Returns to His Mate                    45

Mason nodded. He wet his lips and had to push the mug of coffee away from himself before he gripped it too hard and shattered it.  “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

Derek took another mouthful of coffee and nodded. “Yeah, I

figured as much.”

Mason stiffened. “Uh, you did?”

Derek