Freeing Demitri's Wolf by Charlie Richards (read books for money TXT) 📗

Demitri had never been so relieved that the short, pocketed apron was part of his uniform than when Kiernan had started coming to the diner. The first time he’d scented the man, his wolf, which normally lay placid in the back of his mind unless he was getting ready to run with other shifters, had yipped loudly and wanted to tackle the guy and rub their scent all over him, marking Kiernan as their own.

Never had Demitri needed to force his wolf into submission until that day. With Kiernan returning nearly every day, Demitri knew the human felt their connection too, at least in some unconscious way. Unfortunately, Demitri was woefully inexperienced with any sort of flirting or seduction, and Kiernan was a middle-aged human. He had no idea if the man would take his advances seriously, no matter what his scent told him.

He also didn’t understand how he could find his mate so early in life. What if he was misunderstanding his body’s urges because he was young and perpetually horny?

Demitri made his way to Frankie and Vince’s table.

Frankie, a big wolf shifter, had taught Demitri how to accept his wolf, allowing him to shift faster. At first, he hadn’t known what to think of Frankie’s vampire mate, Vince, and had even been a little scared of him, if he were honest, but after knowing them for a couple of months, he thought the guy was all right.

They’d given him the courage to go to pack runs without his mother, Rachel, much to the displeasure and yelling of his father, Cooper. Demitri had heard more than an earful from them about how his new friends were a bad influence, but then anyone who encouraged him to embrace his wolf or accepted the fact that he was gay was a bad influence.

Rachel was a wolf shifter just like him, but over the years, she’d adopted Cooper’s beliefs. Mainly, shifting was unnatural and should be avoided at all costs and being homosexual was an abomination. Demitri had no idea why they’d stayed in Alpha Declan McIntire’s pack when he came out and took a male mate.

He often entertained the idea of moving out, but he had to make certain he had enough money first. There was no way he wanted to end up cash poor and have to go crawling back to them. That’s why he worked every extra shift at the diner he could.

“Hey, guys,” he greeted Frankie and Vince quietly, glancing between them. “What movie are you going to see after this?” “Something with explosions,” Frankie replied, grinning.

Vince gave his lover an indulgent smile, then turned his attention to Demitri. His expression changed to a sly look, and he sniffed discreetly. “We know that’s not for us,” he said, his voice low. Vince glanced at Demitri’s apron covered crotch. “Someone in here you got your eye on?”

Demitri blushed, and he just knew his fair skin glowed red. He swallowed hard, as his tongue tied in his mouth.

“Don’t embarrass him,” Frankie scolded, coming to his defense. He whapped his lover lightly on the chest with the back of his hand. To Demitri’s mortification, Frankie continued, “It’s probably the broad-shouldered human two booths over. I can smell his arousal from here.” Frankie grinned up at him and winked. “You two got a thing going on?”

“No,” he immediately denied. “I—” Demitri glanced around furtively, then lowered his voice further. “I think he’s my mate. He’s been coming here almost every day for the last two and a half weeks.”

“Hey, that’s great!”

Frankie responded a little too loudly for Demitri’s liking, and he shushed the other shifter. When the big man’s brows shot up, he realized what he’d done. Demitri had never ordered a more dominant wolf to do anything, even something so small as to lower his voice.

A shiver of dread passed through his body, and he lowered his gaze submissively. He could feel his wolf cower in the back of his mind. Chairs scraped across the floor.

Frankie’s big hand landed on the back of his neck. The other man leaned close as he massaged Demitri’s tight tendons.

“Calm down, Demitri. We’re in public,” Frankie whispered. “I’d never chastise you, especially for something like that.”

Demitri nodded, then glancing at Frankie, he saw the shifter’s encouraging smile and returned it with a tentative one of his own. “Sorry. I—I’m not—” Strong? Big?

Dominant? Demitri wasn’t sure how he wanted to end that sentence.

Frankie didn’t seem to need him to. He squeezed Demitri’s neck again. “I know. What are you going to do about your smoking hot silver fox over there?” he asked quietly.

Sighing, Demitri answered honestly, “I have no idea. I’ve never—I’ve never dated anyone before.” He looked into Frankie’s eyes imploringly. “I don’t know what to do.”

Suddenly, Vince was on Frankie’s other side, pulling him away and urging him back to his seat. “We’re drawing attention,” he whispered by way of explanation. “Take our orders, get us both a soda. While you do that, we’ll come up with an idea or two to get you a date with your man.”

Demitri nodded, then took their orders and hurried to get their drinks. He’d been drawing a blank about what to do about Kiernan for more than two weeks. It was nice that his friends were willing to give him a hand, because he needed all the help he could get.

Chapter Two

Kiernan watched through narrowed eyes as Demitri nodded and headed back toward the kitchen. When the big man, Frankie, had risen and loomed over Demitri, Kiernan had almost stood and approached them. He’d been surprised at his urge to protect the younger man and just barely held himself in check. He’d only ever felt that way about his daughter and wasn’t certain how to assimilate those feelings for a nearly complete stranger.

Still, Kiernan really wished he could have known what they’d whispered about. One minute, Demitri appeared happy,