Full Moon Mating [Wolf Creek Pack 1] (10 page)

“He doesn’t make you…hurt? Has someone been hurting you, Nate?”

Nate shook his head. “Not the way you’re thinking.” He looked up to Joe for support, wanting to know how much he should tell Daniel.

He felt Joe pat his hand to reassure him.

“We need to tell him everything, baby.”

“But only him, right?”

“For now.” Joe nodded. “Although, I’m pretty sure he’s going to tell my mother. He doesn’t keep anything from her. He’ll decide who needs to know after that. You can trust him, Nate. He will only do what’s best for you.”

Nate had his doubts, but he looked across at Daniel anyway. He nearly snickered at the confused look on Daniel’s face, a look the big alpha was trying desperately to hide. Guess it wouldn’t do to be an alpha who had no idea what was going on.

Standing up, he walked across the space separating them. He held his hand out to Daniel. When Daniel grasped his hand, the emotions coming through to Nate were so strong, so powerful, that Nate cried out, dropping to his knees.

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Joe instantly jumped to his feet and ran over to Nate. He grabbed on to him and pulled his hand from Daniel’s arm. “Let go, Nate. It’s too much for you.”

Nate slumped back against Joe, feeling himself being surrounded by Joe’s essence. He took several deep, calming breaths before looking back up at Daniel’s concerned face. He sent him a little smile.

“No, I’m okay now. I just wasn’t prepared for how strong his emotions were. You just need to hold on to me.”

Joe nodded, his arms pressing Nate back into the apex of his thighs before wrapping around him. “Okay, try now.”

Nate reached up for Daniel’s hand, his body jerking a little at the touch before settling down.

“I’m a sempath,” Nate began telling Daniel. “I can feel people’s emotions. Right now, you’re confused, apprehensive, and even a little afraid of me. I think you’re worried about Joe and what our mating will mean to your family.”

“No, no, of course not—” Daniel started.

“And now you’re lying.” Nate chuckled, making Daniel’s eyes widen.

“How…how do you do that?”

Nate shrugged his shoulders, letting go of Daniel’s arm and leaning back into the safety of Joe’s arms. “I don’t know. I’ve always been able to do it. I guess I was born with it.”

“You said Joe doesn’t make you hurt. Does it hurt to touch me?”

“No, it’s not like that, really. Most people don’t guard their emotions, so when I touch them, I get it all, every emotion they are feeling. Joe has a calming effect on me. He filters the emotions so that they don’t hurt.”

“Filters? I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I, really. The only other person who could filter for me was my mother. Until Joe, I hadn’t felt any relief since she died when I was five. It’s actually nice touching Joe. I can feel his emotions, but they don’t pound down on me. When other people
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touch me, he mutes their emotions so that I can read them, but it doesn’t hurt.”

“And you’ve had this all of your life? Reading other people’s emotions? Being able to tell if they were lying or not?” Daniel asked, sitting back in his chair.

“As far as I know,” Nate replied. “It’s just been this way as long as I can remember.”

“Which brings us to our next order of business,” Joe said.

“Someone is after Nate.”

“Who?” Daniel asked, sounding suddenly concerned and very much the alpha that he was.

“I don’t know his name. We just call him the Teacher. He’s had me, and others like me, for as long as I can remember. He uses us as his own personal paranormal army, so to speak. He sells our services to the highest bidders.”

“He sells your services? What services?”

“Human lie detectors, telepaths, empaths, clairvoyants, you name it. He makes a lot of money off of us, moving us around the country.

He’s got his hands in nearly every government agency known, and a few that aren’t known. If he gets wind that I’m here, he won’t stop until he finds me.”

“You keep saying us. Are there more of you?”

“Oh yeah, there’s several of us. We usually all live in a dorm together. Armed guards constantly surround us. His
security force
to keep us safe. As far as I know, I’m the only one to successfully escape. And I had a lot of help.”

“They helped you escape? The other…what do you call them?”

“Most of them I call friends. There are a couple of them that like what they do. They like the power and money it gives them. They’re the Teacher’s little pets. But most of them just want to have a life of their own, to be able to have a say in what happens to them and who they use their abilities on. We don’t like using our abilities on people without their knowledge.”

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“Like you did with me?” Daniel countered.

Nate felt his face blush a little. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think you’d believe me if I just told you. I promise I won’t do it again.”

Daniel nodded. “I understand, and you’re right. I wouldn’t have believed you without proof. But I still don’t understand why this man is after you, Nate. If he has others, why does he care so much about you?”

“I guess because I have more than one ability. I bring in a lot of money, not that I ever see any of it. He says he’s investing it for us and he provides everything for us. But I just think he’s keeping it for himself.”

“And you would use your abilities for money if you could?”

“God, no,” Nate exclaimed, waving his hand at Daniel. “I don’t want to use my abilities at all if I don’t have to. I mean, sure it’s nice to have to know that Joe isn’t lying to me when he tells me…uh…things. But I’d prefer just to be normal, like everyone else.”

Daniel nodded. “Nate, I have to tell you that I do not believe we are given the things we have without a reason. I was not made the strongest in my pack, the one able to lead, without a reason. Nor was Joe made the enforcer without a reason. You just have to figure out what your reason is.”

“I just want to be normal.”

“And you think we’re normal? Nate, we’re werewolves. There isn’t much about us that is normal.” Joe chuckled. “Besides, I like that you know when I’m telling you the truth. Or, like earlier today, when I came home and you knew that I was upset. It makes me feel more connected to you.”

Nate tilted his head back to look up at Joe, smiling at him. “I like it too.”

“All right, so Nate is a sempath. While it’s a little unusual, we’ve dealt with stranger things. The Teacher, however, is another story. I would like to get the two of you officially mated as soon as possible so that we have a better hold on Nate.”

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“But…but I thought we were already mated,” Nate cried out, looking up at Joe in fear.

“We are, baby. He’s talking about the official mating ceremony, kind of like a wedding. We go before our pack and declare our mating; then they officially accept you into the pack. It’s nothing to worry about, a formality really.”

Nate smacked Joe on the arm. “Something else you forgot to tell me about?”

Nate heard Daniel burst out laughing. He looked at him curiously.

“Having problems with your mate already, Son?”

“I forgot to tell Nate about the knotting until—”

Daniel held up his hand, stopping Joe. “I get the picture, Joe. I don’t need to hear the details. But, if it makes you feel any better, I forgot to tell your mother about the mating bite. Imagine her surprise when I bit her.”

“Your mother isn’t—” Nate asked.

Joe shook his head. “No. You have to be born a shifter. You can’t be made one. If we mate outside of our pack, which most of us do, our mates are human, like you. If a child is born, they have a fifty-fifty chance of being born a shifter, depending on which parent they take after, but all are considered pack.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be a problem for us, should it?” Nate replied.

“Oh, I don’t know. We can always use a surrogate to have a baby.

Nothing says that two men can’t raise a child. We would just have to decide whose sperm to use.”

Nate’s mouth dropped open in shock as he looked at Joe. “You can’t be serious. What if we end up with a child like me?”

“Moss green eyes, honey blond hair? I can’t say I’d be disappointed.”

“Human lie detector, sempath…have you forgotten my little abilities? How would you like to have a child that always knew what
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you were feeling, or one that cried every time you picked him up because your emotions were bleeding through?”

“How did your mother handle it?” Daniel asked. “Did you cry when she held you?”

“No, but she was a filter like Joe.”

“Who says Joe wouldn’t be a filter for your child? Or even you?

Besides, you could always use Joe’s DNA and have a shifter child.”

“I’d prefer that no child had to go through what I went through. I couldn’t stand it if a child of mine was put in danger because of someone like the Teacher. No one has the right to subject a child to that.”

“How would you feel about a shifter child, then?” Joe asked hesitantly. “Not having a child isn’t a deal breaker for me, Nate. I’ll take you any way I can get you. But it would be nice to still be able to provide a grandchild to my parents.”

“As long as you tell me everything to expect, and not conveniently forget anything, I’m fine with it. That being said, I’d prefer to wait until we know that the Teacher isn’t coming after me anymore. I don’t want to endanger any child, let alone ours.”

“Boys, there is one last thing we need to discuss.”

Joe and Nate turned to look over at Daniel, both going quiet at the sober look on his face. “What is it, Dad?”

“You know that not everyone is going to accept Nate or your mating. There will be some that will try to force you from your position as pack enforcer, or may even harass Nate. Are you both prepared for that?”

“I expect it, but I’m not afraid. Nathan is my mate, and I’ve already claimed him. There is nothing they can do. I won’t give him up. Those that are my friends will remain my friends. Those that aren’t can go to hell.”

“Joe, be nice,” Nate said. “You’re going to catch more bears with honey than you will with vinegar.”

“Wolves, baby, not bears,” Joe reminded him.

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“Fine, then you’ll catch more wolves with…What do wolves like to eat?”

“Raw meat!” Joe and Daniel both laughed.

“Eeewww. That’s just disgusting,” Nate said as he wrinkled his nose.

“Preferably, running from us,” Daniel said with a grin, sending Joe into uncontrollable laughter.

“I can see that there are few things that I’m going to have to get used to.” Nate grimaced.

“Don’t worry, Nate,” Daniel said, “we don’t expect you to learn it all overnight. We understand that it takes time to remember all of this.

There’s just one thing you really need to remember, and that’s the pack hierarchy.”

“Joe explained that to me,” Nate said as he nodded his head.

“When we’re around others, I need to defer to him and not question him in public. Even though I will be as equal to him in status, I will still be beneath him, right?”

Daniel nodded, a smile coming to his face. “Yes, that is correct.

It’s not always going to be easy for you, Nate. You have to ensure that you do not challenge pack members that have more ranking than you.”

“Challenge?”

“If you are disrespectful, or step on someone’s toes, so to speak, they may see it as a challenge. I can tell you right now, you wouldn’t win in a challenge. And then Joe would have to get involved.”

“I don’t understand why someone would think I was challenging them, though. I’ll do my best not to be disrespectful or anything.

What more do they want?” Nate asked, really confused.

“I think you should stick to not talking like you did before,” Joe said. “That way you won’t offend anyone.”

“Seriously? You want me not to talk?” Nate asked, his eyebrows raised in astonishment.

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“Just for now, just until the pack gets to know you. I promise, once we get you settled in, you’ll be fine.”

Daniel nodded his head. “That might not be a bad idea, Nate. If they think you can’t talk, they won’t question you or think you’re being disrespectful. I also think Joe should let it be known that he doesn’t want anyone touching his mate, that he’s very possessive.

That way, we don’t have any issues with Nate’s abilities.”

“I don’t think proving to everyone that I’m possessive will be much of a stretch, Dad. I can’t stand anyone touching Nate now as it is. Once I introduce him to the pack, it’s going to get even worse.”

“Worse?” Nate croaked, looking up at Joe nervously. “What do you mean worse?”

Joe looked a little embarrassed as he replied. “Baby, you belong to me. No one should be touching you except me. This idea that someone might touch you makes me see red. Besides the whole thing about it hurting you, no one should touch what is mine.”

Nate grinned. “This whole possessive thing is going to take a little getting used to.”

“It’s not that bad, Nate, I promise. Maryann got used to it fast enough,” Daniel assured Nate.

“That’s easy for you to say. Joe’s not asking you to be his housewife.”

“Housewife?” Daniel asked in confusion.

“He doesn’t want me to work. He wants me to stay home waiting for him to come back from work every day, keeping the house clean and cooking for him. He even suggested I talk to your wife about some recipes.”

Daniel frowned over at his son’s blazing face. Nate could tell from the look on his face that he was trying his hardest not to laugh at Joe. He knew exactly what his son wanted.

“It’s not that bad,” Joe tried to say. “I just want Nate someplace I know he will be safe. It’s not like he can go out on patrol with me every day.”

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“Oh please, you want me to be your
little woman
. You know it, and I know it, so stop trying to talk your way out of it.” Nate leaned up and kissed Joe on the jaw. “Luckily for you, this place needs a little tender loving care, and I think I am just the person to do it.”