Full Moon Mating [Wolf Creek Pack 1] (11 page)

Joe looked around the living room in puzzlement. “It still needs work, but I don’t think it’s that bad.”

“It’s not, Joe, but you do have to admit, it does need a softer touch. And you’re not exactly soft, thank God!”

Nate laughed as Joe turned several shades of red, his gaze jumping up to his father. Nate rubbed back against Joe’s semi-hard cock. He couldn’t help it. “Okay, on that note, I think it’s time for me to go home to your mother.” Daniel said as he stood to his feet. “Nate, I’m sure that Maryann will be expecting a visit or at least a call from you soon to discuss the mating ceremony. My advice to you, just give in to whatever she wants. That’s not a woman you want to have angry at you.”

Joe stood up, grabbing Nate’s hand to pull him up, then walked his father to the door. He returned the hug his father gave him, feeling his love and understanding surround him. Daniel had always been a strict father, but he never let a chance pass by to show his children that he loved them.

“Thanks, Dad. I know I’m not making things easy for you.”

“We can’t choose who we mate, Joseph,” Daniel replied, his eyes lifting to look back at Nate. “But, somehow I think you will come out ahead when this is all said and done. Nate is going to be a good mate for you.”

Joe turned to look back at his mate, holding out his hand to him.

As soon as Nate walked forward and grabbed his hand, Joe pulled him into the curve of his arm. He leaned down and kissed the top of Nate’s head.

“I came out ahead the minute Nate agreed to be my mate. He’s perfect for me.”

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Nate glanced up at the clock on the wall. 4:30 p.m.…Joe should be home soon. It seemed like he had been gone forever, but it had only been a few hours. Nate hated that he had to leave for work every day. He would much rather Joe stay home with him.

He understood that Joe had a job to do. It still didn’t mean he had to like it. Having Joe home with him made him feel safe, protected.

He still felt pretty safe when Joe wasn’t home. But, he felt better having Joe’s strong arms wrapped around him.

Besides that, having Joe’s strong arms wrapped around him usually led to more intimate holding. Nate was surprised at how much he enjoyed Joe’s lovemaking. Not that he hadn’t thought he wouldn’t, but having never been with anyone before Joe, and with that whole touching thing, he had never thought to enjoy it so much.

Joe was very…imaginative. He did everything in his power to make sure that Nate enjoyed everything they did together. He also seemed to have an insatiable appetite for Nate, not that Nate was complaining.

Joe would no sooner get in the door and he was all over Nate. It didn’t seem to matter to him what Nate was doing or where in the house he was. If the room didn’t have a flat surface, Joe just pulled him down to the floor to make love to him.

Afterwards was almost as nice. Joe wasn’t a love-’em-and-leave-

’em type of guy. After making love to Nate, he would hold him, cuddle with him, and they would talk about their day together. Nate liked those intimate moments almost as much as the sexual ones.

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His feelings for Joe were growing by leaps and bounds. It almost scared him how much he was coming to depend on him. Part of him was afraid that if he became too involved with Joe, when the Teacher came for him, it would destroy him.

On the other hand, he couldn’t seem to keep his feelings for Joe from growing, especially since he could feel the affection Joe had for him every time they touched. Joe did nothing to hide his growing feelings from him. He, in fact, encouraged Nate to use his abilities to know Joe was telling him the truth every time he said he was glad they were mated.

Nate lifted his head from the bread dough he was kneading when he heard the front door open. With a leap of joy in his heart, he realized that Joe was home early. Nate couldn’t believe how that little thing could make his day so perfect.

Quickly wiping his hands off, Nate headed for the front room. He was a little confused when he didn’t find Joe in the living room, until he heard a noise coming from the office. With a little smile, Nate walked towards the office door.

Pausing briefly in the doorway, he was surprised to see a dark-haired stranger in the room. He had one of Joe’s file cabinets open and was going through it. Nate tried to keep his breathing even as he felt fear fill him.

He didn’t know who this man was, but he had no business going through Joe’s personal files or coming into their house uninvited. Joe hadn’t told him that someone was coming by the house, so this man was definitely uninvited.

Nate quietly sneaked into the room, grabbing a small wolf statue off the sideboard as he walked up behind the man. As quietly as he could, he brought the statue down on the man’s head, jumping out of the way when the man fell to the floor unconscious.

Quickly running to the garage, he grabbed the first bit of rope he found. Running back into the house, he grabbed the phone as he ran
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into the office. He tied the man’s hands and feet together before dialing Joe’s cell phone.

“Hey, baby, how is your day going?” Joe said when he answered the phone.

“You need to come home right now. There’s this man in the house and—”

“There’s someone in the house with you?” Joe growled.

Nate could hear the squeal of his tires as Joe turned his truck around, heading for home. His heart stopped beating so hard in his chest when he realized that Joe would be home in a matter of minutes.

“Yeah, but he’s tied up right now. I knocked him out with that wolf statue you had on the sideboard in your office and tied him up with some rope from the garage.”

“Do you recognize him? Could the Teacher have sent him?”

Nate looked down at the man, bending over to try to get a better look at his face. “Nope. I’ve never seen him before. The Teacher could have sent him, I suppose, but he doesn’t look familiar to me at all.”

“Okay, is he still unconscious?”

“Yep, he’s out cold. I don’t think I hit him very hard, though.

There’s no blood or anything.”

“Okay, I want you stay away from him, but keep your eyes on him at all times. I’ll be home in just a moment. I’m just down the street.

I’ve already called my father, and he should be there soon too.”

“Why did you call your father?” Nate asked as he walked over to sit down in the chair behind Joe’s desk.

“If this man was sent by the Teacher, I want my father there when we question him. He might be able to get something out of him if we can’t. My father can be very intimidating when he needs to be.”

Nate had no doubt of that. Daniel still intimidated the hell out of him, and he had never been anything but nice to him. He would hate to see what Daniel was like when he was in full alpha mode.

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“Oh, Joe? I think he’s starting to come around,” Nate whispered as he saw the man’s head move. “What should I do?”

“Just stay away from him, Nate. I’m almost there.”

Nate huddled in Joe’s chair, the phone to his ear and his eyes pinned to the man on the floor as he waited for Joe to reach the house.

He was never more relieved as when the front door flew open and Joe rushed into the office.

“Joe,” he cried out as he rushed across the room to him, dropping the phone down on the desk. He felt Joe’s arms wrap around him and felt safe for the first time since he had found the man in Joe’s office.

“I’m glad you’re okay, baby,” Joe whispered against his hair. “I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to you.”

He kissed Nate one more time then pushed him to stand behind him. He walked over and knelt down next to the man. “Now, let’s see who we have here.”

Nate watched Joe turn the man over before letting out a small cuss. He took a deep breath, rubbing his hand over his face before looking up at Nate. Nate didn’t like the look on Joe’s face. It made him feel like he had really done something wrong.

“Nathan, I want you to go upstairs to our room. Stay there until I come to get you. Do you understand? You do not leave that room for any reason until I come to get you.”

Nate nodded, not sure what was going on, but the feeling that he had done something wrong was getting stronger by the second. “Joe?

What—?”

“Now, Nate.”

Joe’s voice brooked no argument. Not fully understanding, Nate turned and walked out of the office and upstairs to their bedroom. He walked over to the window when he heard another car pull up.

He wasn’t surprised to see Daniel get out of his car. What did surprise him was seeing Joe escorting the stranger outside. The man
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was untied and seemed to be very angry. He was arguing with Joe, who seemed to be trying to placate the man.

Nate watched as Daniel began arguing with the stranger, Joe adding to the conversation every now and then. Finally, Daniel nodded his head, shaking the man’s hand. Nate was surprised when they just let the man walk away.

How could they do that? He had broken into the house, gone through Joe’s private files. The Teacher could have sent him. Why were they letting him just walk away? Didn’t they understand what kind of danger this man presented?

Upset that they were just letting the man go, Nate ran down the stairs to stop them. He had just made it into the living room when Nate and Daniel walked back in. Joe’s eyes, filled with anger, instantly went to him, pinning him where he stood.

“I thought I told you to stay in the bedroom until I came to get you, Nathan?”

Nate stared at Joe in shock. Joe had never talked to him in that tone of voice. It was angry, irritated, frustrated. It was the tone of voice that Nate used when talking to people who had done something wrong.

“Joe—”

“Go back upstairs, Nate. Now!” Joe yelled at him.

“Nate, do you remember discussing that there was a time and place for you to remember the ranking of our pack?” Daniel asked sternly as if he was speaking to a small child. “This is one of those times when you need to do what your mate says.”

Nate nodded his head, slowly backing out of the room. He remembered, but he didn’t understand what that had to do with them letting the stranger leave. He cast one more confused look at Joe before turning and running back upstairs.

He slammed and locked the bedroom door behind him then he pulled his clothes off before climbed into bed. Tears quickly came to his eyes. He didn’t understand why Joe was so angry with him. He
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had just done what anyone would have done if someone had trespassed in his or her house. He had defended himself and his home.

Was that so wrong?

Maybe Joe didn’t care that this man had broken into their house.

Maybe he didn’t believe Nate that someone was after him. Maybe he didn’t believe any of what Nate had told him. Or maybe he just didn’t care.

For a brief moment, Nate wondered if the last couple of weeks had all been some sort of elaborate setup by the Teacher. He had often thought that Joe was too good to be true. Could he right?

Just as quickly, Nate dismissed that idea. There was no way that Joe could have faked the emotions he had felt. Nate could tell if he was lying or not. That still didn’t explain why they were just letting that man go free.

Nate closed his eyes, trying to block out his negative thoughts, but all he could think about was how angry Joe had been with him. He didn’t understand what he had done wrong, and Joe didn’t seem to be in the frame of mind to explain it to him.

Daniel was being evasive as well. He hadn’t seemed as angry as Joe had been, but he had still been condescending? It wasn’t like he was trying to treat Nate like a child, but he had still done it.

Nate wondered if this was what being a mate was like. Would he always wonder what was going on with no one to explain it to him?

Would Joe always get angry with him if he didn’t immediately do exactly what he said? Would Daniel always treat him like a child?

Maybe this mating stuff wasn’t as glorious as he first thought it was. It all looked like something wonderful when he had first looked at it. Now he wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t a child. He resented being treated like one.

On the other hand, he had promised to understand his
ranking
within the pack. He hadn’t known that meant that his mate would ground him to his room. Of course, his mate was above him in ranking. Guess that meant he could tell Nate what to do.

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Just before Nate fell asleep, he wondered if his relationship with Joe was that much different than with the Teacher. They both seemed to want to control him, to tell him what he could and could not do.

And neither of them treated him like he could make decisions on his own.

* * * *

Joe raked a hand through his hair, watching the moon rising in the night sky out his office window. He could hear his father moving around behind him, his mother humming in the living room.

“Joe, you need to tell him what’s going on and give him the choice,” his father said.

“No.”

“Joseph—”

“I will not subject Nate to this, Dad. I don’t care what he’s done,”

Joe replied as he turned to look back at his father.

“Joseph, he broke pack law. He has to face the consequences of that,” Daniel reasoned.

“He didn’t know what he was doing. I forgot to tell him that I had sent Roger over to the house to pick up a file. All he knew was that some man, some stranger, was in our house without my permission.

He didn’t know I had sent Roger here.”

“That still doesn’t mean he doesn’t have to pay his dues, Joe. By pack law, any pack member who assaults another one has to be punished. You know that as well as I do. You’re the pack enforcer.”

“Not Nate,” Joe growled. “He’s not strong enough.”

“Son, the pack is going to have a hard enough time accepting your relationship with Nate as it is. If you show preferential treatment to him, that’s just going to make it worse. He has to be treated just as you would anyone else that had broken pack law.”