Full Moon Mating [Wolf Creek Pack 1] (20 page)

The Teacher took a couple of staggering steps forward, his hand going back behind him. Hearing a small whimper, Nate turned to see Taylor standing behind them. His eyes were glued to the Teacher and the knife sticking out of his back.

Nate’s eyes widened as he watched the Teacher trying to pull the knife from his back, but Taylor had stabbed him right in the middle.

He couldn’t quite reach it. As the Teacher began to stumble around, Nate began backing away from him towards Joe.

Just as he reached Joe’s safe arms, the Teacher looked up, his gaze filled with hatred. He lifted his gun, pointing it at Nate, an evil smile crossing his lips.

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“You did this. If you had just done what you were told, none of this would have happened. You’re just like your mother. If she had agreed to my proposal, I wouldn’t have had to kill her. Now, you’re going to pay.”

Things seemed to move in slow motion as the Teacher pulled the trigger. Joe pushed Nate out of the way as he lunged at the Teacher, shifting in mid-jump. Nate fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of him by the force of his fall.

By the time Nate had taken a few deep breaths, sat up, and turned to look back over at the Teacher, Joe was just shifting back into human form. He could see Taylor slowly walking forward, abhorrence written all over his face as he fell to his knees next to the Teacher and Joe.

“Is he…is he dead?” Taylor asked quietly, looking down at the Teacher’s motionless body.

“Yeah, he’s dead,” Joe replied as he got to his feet and walked over to Nate. He squatted down next to him, his face showing concern as he reached over to gently caress the side of Nate’s bruised face.

“I kept my promise, baby.”

“It’s over? It’s really over?” Nate whispered doubtfully.

“Yep. The Teacher can never hurt you again. He’s gone, baby. No more running, no more hiding, no more having to sell your abilities to the highest bidder. It’s all over. Now all you have to worry about is dealing with my mother and our wedding plans.”

“After this, I think I can handle that.” Nate laughed, grabbing the hand Joe was holding out to him. “Next to the Teacher, your mother is going to seem like a pussycat.”

“I heard that.”

As Joe pulled Nate to his feet, he turned to see the pack arriving, Daniel and Maryann in the front.

Daniel looked over at the Teacher’s bloody body, then up to Joe, one eyebrow raised in question. “Guess we missed the party.”

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Joe nodded as he wrapped his arms around Nate’s trembling body.

“He wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Oh, Donovan…the Teacher shot Donovan,” Nate exclaimed, turning around in Joe’s arms to look back to where Donovan had fallen. He was a little surprised when he saw Donovan sitting up, his wound being attended to by a very gentle-handed Jim.

“Oh, well, I guess that answers that question.” He chuckled lightly. He looked over at Daniel. “What about Chase? Did he get the others out?”

Daniel nodded, a small smile coming to his lips. “I’ll say. Luckily no one was seriously injured, on our side at least. All of your friends are safe and waiting for you back at your house. We figured they would be safer there. And before you ask, Chase and his guys are keeping them safe.”

“Did he…Did Justin get out? He’s small, red hair, green eyes?”

Taylor asked hesitantly as he walked up to stand before Daniel.

“Little guy? About five-six?” Daniel asked, Taylor nodding rapidly. “Yeah, he got out okay. He’s back at the house with Chase.”

Nate saw Taylor let out a deep, relieved breath, his eyes closing briefly before opening again. They were filled with tears as he looked back at him and Joe.

“Thank you. I know you didn’t want to trust me, Nate, but I did it for Justin. I hope you believe that.”

“I do. I would do anything to keep Joe safe, so I understand. I still don’t like what you did for the Teacher, but we need to put that behind us now. We’re all safe. You and Justin can be together. What more do we need?”

“Nothing, I guess, except to see Justin myself. I know you said he was safe, but I really need to see him with my own eyes,” Taylor said, his eyes begging Nate to understand.

“Daniel? Do you think someone could drive Taylor back over to our house so he can see Justin?” Nate asked, never looking away from Taylor’s grateful face.

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“I think that can be arranged. I also think that you and Joe need to get home too. You both could use a bath and something to eat. I’m sure that this has been an ordeal for everyone, and a little downtime is something we all need.”

“What about…?” Nate started to ask, pointing to the Teacher’s body and Roger’s.

“Not to worry, Nate, we’ll take care of that. You just take your mate home and get some rest.”

Nate turned to look at Joe, a small smile crossing his lips. “Well?”

“Are you sure, Dad?” Joe asked.

“I’m sure, son. Go home, and that’s an order from your alpha.”

Daniel stated.

“You’re the boss.” Joe turned Nate towards his truck.

“Yeah, now if I could just convince your mother of that,” Daniel said dryly.

“Good luck with that,” Joe said as he whisked Nate and Taylor out to his truck. He quickly loaded them up and started back towards the house.

Nate’s mind was still trying to grasp the fact that the whole thing was over. The Teacher was gone for good. His friends had been rescued and were waiting for them back at the house. And most importantly, he was no longer in danger. Life looked good.

“Joe?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“It is really over, right?”

“Yeah, baby, it’s over for good,” Joe said.

* * * *

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Nate was still dazed as Joe pulled the truck into the driveway. He could see lights coming from nearly every room on the first floor, and a couple on the second floor. He could see people walking about through the open windows.

Nate turned to look at Joe as he brought the truck to a stop and turned off the engine. “Looks like we have company,” he said, gesturing towards the brightly lit house. “Think they’re going to stay for dinner?”

Joe nodded, chuckling lightly. “Somehow I think we’re going to have guests for quite a while. Until your friends can decide what they want to do with the rest of their lives, they really have no other place to go.”

“You don’t mind?” Nate asked hesitantly. He knew he was asking a lot of Joe. All of his friends and the men that Chase had called in were going to be there, invading his house, eating his food, and generally be underfoot.

“Well, we won’t be sneaking off into the pantry anytime soon, but I guess I can put up with it for a little while. Just one thing, though.

Our bedroom is off-limits to everyone except you and me. That room is just for us. I’d also prefer if everyone tried to stay out of my office too, but the bedroom is more important.”

“Okay, Joe, I’ll pass the message along.” Nate opened the passenger door and stepped out. He pulled the backseat forward to let Taylor out, closing the door after he climbed out.

As he walked around the front of the truck to join Joe, Taylor darted past him. “Taylor, wait—” he cried out, running after him.

Chase and the men guarding his friends didn’t know Taylor. He was afraid he would be hurt before he could stop him.

Nate caught up with Taylor just as he yanked the kitchen door open. The both screeched to a halt when a very large dark shape stepped forward, taking up most of the doorway. Nate quickly stepped in front of Taylor, glancing over his shoulder for Joe.

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He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Joe walking up right behind him. He turned back to the man in the doorway, trying to smile. “I, um, I’m Nate. I live here,” he said to the big mountain of a man. He was huge, even bigger than Joe.

The man silently lifted an eyebrow as he looked down at Nate, then slowly stepped out of the doorway, clearing a path for them to walk through. Nate kept his eyes on the big guy as he stepped past him, pulling Taylor behind him by the arm, Joe bringing up the rear.

“I’m Joe Nash. This is my house. Who are you?” Joe asked holding out his hand to the man.

“Marc Duggon,” the man replied in a very deep voice as he reached over to shake Joe’s hand. “Chase is in the living room.”

Well, that answered one question. Marc Duggon was obviously one of the men who Chase had called in to help rescue Nate’s friends.

As Nate followed Joe into the living room, he wondered how many other men were in the house.

He stopped suddenly as the living room came into view. He hadn’t been expecting this many people. It was obvious, though, which people were there for protection and which had been rescued.

There was a clear size difference and manner of dress.

The friends who Chase had called in were all dressed in black, from head to toe. Nate’s friends were dressed more casually in tan slacks and white dress shirts. That had been a requirement of the Teacher’s. All the students had to wear tan slacks and white dress shirts. It separated the students from the guards.

Besides their modes of dress, the demeanor of the two groups was clearly different. Chase’s friends stood close together near the exits with their backs to the walls. Nate’s friends sat huddled together in little groups.

The only real surprise was Chase sitting on the couch with Justin next to him, leaning against his bigger body. Chase’s eyes seemed to be riveted on Justin’s little form as if he were afraid to look away.

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Just as he stepped into the room, Taylor cried out, rushing past him to fall to his knees at Justin’s feet, his arms instantly going around him as he buried his face in Justin’s stomach. Nate’s eyebrows shot up in shock when Justin wrapped his arms around Taylor, and Chase began to growl.

He quickly turned to look at Joe for answers, but Joe just looked like he was trying to hold in his grin. Following his gaze, he saw that Joe was watching Chase, who was watching Justin hugging and kissing Taylor…and Chase did not look happy.

Nate was even more surprised by the look of shock that crossed over Chase’s face the moment Taylor lifted his head and looked up at him, his hand landing on Chase’s arm as he began to thank him for rescuing Justin.

Totally confused at the scene that was playing out before him, Nate took a couple of steps closer to Joe and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “What the hell is that all about?” he asked, gesturing to where Chase was staring down at Justin and Taylor in shock.

Joe turned to look down at his mate, a grin crossing his face even as he wrapped an arm around Nate’s shoulders. “I do believe that Chase just found his mates,” he whispered.

“Mates? You’re saying mate in plural, Joe. Don’t you mean mate?”

“Nope. I meant exactly what I said, baby. I’m not positive, mind you, but I think Justin and Taylor are both his mates. Only Chase will have the answers to that. But if I am correct, it’s going to be an interesting trip for him.” Joe chuckled.

“You can have two mates? You don’t have another one, do you?”

Nate asked, suddenly concerned that he might have to share Joe with someone else. The mere thought of it made him sick to his stomach.

“No, baby, just you. Most of us have only one mate, but some of us find that we do have two mates. I’ve even heard of one guy that had three mates. But, just to put your mind at ease, I only have you.”

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“How can you tell? I mean, how do you know that there isn’t another mate out there waiting for you to claim him?” Nate asked hurriedly.

“I just know. Until I found you and claimed you, I had this driving need to find my mate. It’s almost an obsession. Once I found you, my mate, or mates as in Chase’s case, and I claimed you, that feeling went away. I was filled with something else. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like a sense of inner peace, total contentment.”

“Really?” Nate asked softly, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

Joe seemed to have the special ability to turn Nate on too much with just a few words, and he always said the most wonderful things.

He leaned up and kissed Joe’s chin before looking back over at the trio sitting on the couch. “So, what should we do about them?”

“There’s nothing we can do, Nate. They have to figure this out on their own. We can just be there for them if they need us, provide a safe place for them to get to know each other, and show them how amazing being mated can really be.”

“Oh? So you see us as the example for mating couples, do you?”

Nate laughed.

“Well, yeah, I guess so. Don’t you?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t been mated long enough to form an opinion. Ask me after we’ve been married and mated thirty or forty years.”

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“Hey baby, there’s something I need to talk to you about,” Joe said as he walked into the kitchen several days later.

Nate quickly wiped his hands on a kitchen hand towel, turning to look over at his mate. “What’s up? Is something wrong?” he asked, seeing the concerned look on Joe’s face.

“No, not exactly, but there is something we need to discuss.”

“Okay, what is it?” Joe looked very nervous.

“Do you remember before we were mated and we were discussing all that it would entail?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you remember me telling you about the full-moon effects on a mated wolf?”

“Yeah,” Nate answered again, still unsure what Joe was getting at.

But he sure looked sheepish as he looked over at him.

“Tonight’s the full moon.”

Oh! Well, that explained the slight blush filling Joe’s face.

Tonight was the full moon, and he was going to change, hunt Nate down, and fuck him until he couldn’t walk. It didn’t sound too bad to Nate.

“And?” Nate asked, just to see Joe squirm a bit. He crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the counter and stared up at Joe waiting for him to reply.