Chameleon Wolf (10 page)

Zac shook his head. He turned to face everyone, gripping the back of one of the dining chairs. “I don’t trust anyone except those in this room right now, not even the council. I have too much at stake, too much I can lose. Until I know what’s what, we’re on our own as far as I am concerned.”

“Look,” Sebastian said, “I know you don’t know me, but—”

“I said I only trust those in this room. That includes you.” Zac held his hand up. “If Aiden trusts you, then I do, too.”

Aiden frowned. “You barely know me. How can you trust me, let alone Sebastian? We just met yesterday.”

“You’re my mate.” For Zac, that was all that mattered. Being mated was sacred to him. He fully believed that fate would never mate him to someone he couldn’t trust.

Aiden whistled low under his breath. “You’re amazing.”

Zac cocked his head to one side as he regarded Aiden then Matt.

“I’m mated. That means everything to me, more so than even my duties as a Delta. You two will always come first in my life, no matter what.” He waved his hand absently at Sebastian. “If that means trusting someone I don’t know because you say I should, then I will.”

Zac chuckled when Matt clasped his hands together behind his back and rocked back and forth on his feet.

“I’m good with that,” Matt said. “Aiden?”

“A little stunned, but yeah, I’m good with it, too.”

“And I’m getting nauseous.” Sebastian smirked. “Do you think we can get back to the matter at hand? Anyone have an idea how to get our asses out of this mess?”

“Why don’t we just go to the council meeting in person?” Matt said. “We could all take copies of the stuff I found and separate. One of us is bound to reach council headquarters with the papers.”

“No splitting up!” Zac immediately snapped. He immediately regretted his words, well, the tone at least, when Matt bit his lip and seemed to kind of fold into himself. He stepped back slowly and slid partially behind Aiden’s bigger body.

Zac knew Matt was scared of him. It drove him nuts. In the few days they had been together, Matt cowered every time Zac raised his voice. Zac would never harm either of his mates. He just needed to convince Matt of that.

Zac pulled the chair that he had been gripping. He sat down and motioned for Matt. “Baby, come here,” he said quietly. “Please?”

Matt hesitated for a moment then slowly walked across the room to stand between Zac’s legs. He looked apprehensive, as if Zac would erupt into violence at any moment. Zac wished he knew why Matt was so scared of him. He knew he’d have to ask him about it eventually. For now, he needed to comfort his mate.

Zac grabbed Matt’s hands in his and looked into his eyes. “I want you to listen to me, Matt. This is very important. I yell, a lot. It’s probably due to living on my own for so long. I warned you in the beginning that I wasn’t very good at this.” Zac shook his head. “I’m not. I suck at relationships because I’ve never really had one. But I will never hurt you. I would chew off my arm before I ever raised it against you.”

Matt’s face went from pale to flush in a blink of an eye. “I-I’m sorry. I just—”

“Matt, you don’t have to explain yourself if you don’t want to,”

Zac said quickly. “I know I would like to know what’s made you so scared, and I’m sure Aiden does, too. But only when you’re ready to tell us, okay?”

Matt opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something then quickly snapped it shut, nodding his head. Zac patted his hand.

“It’s okay, baby. You’ll tell us when you’re ready.” Zac pulled Matt closer. “But I really want you to understand me when I say that my bark is a lot worse than my bite. I may yell a lot, and I may get angry, even at you, but I will never touch you in anger.”

Zac quickly glanced up when Matt’s body jerked. He thought he might have done something wrong until he saw Aiden standing behind Matt, his hand on Matt’s shoulder. He slowly let out the breath he’d been holding and waited for Aiden to speak.

“Matt, Zac’s right. He yells a lot. But he’s not going to hurt you or me. I imagine it will take some time, but you will learn that Zac is just a big puppy in wolf’s clothing.” Aiden wiggled his eyebrows. “If you’re lucky, he might even lick you to death.”

Matt laughed. Zac smiled, feeling a lot better. He was slowly figuring out where each of his mates stood in their relationship. He was the volatile one, the mate quick to anger, and the one to fight to protect them all. Aiden was the peacemaker. Already he had intervened a few times between Zac and Matt.

Matt, now he was the one who Zac felt would be the glue that held him and Aiden together. He wanted what they all had together so desperately that he seemed to do whatever he needed to keep it. He was the loving one of their group, the one who would provide the nurturing that Zac and Aiden lacked.

“Okay, so if we’re not going to separate and get the papers to the council,” Matt asked, “what are we going to do?”

“Oh, we’re going to get those papers to the council,” Zac said as he stood to his feet. He grabbed Matt’s arm and pulled the smaller man into the curve of his arm. “We’re just going to have to do it together.”

“I can still send them by e-mail,” Matt said. “There are ways around this.”

“While I have no doubt that you could, I think we need to do this the old-fashioned way.” Zac started to smile as a plan formed in his head. “However, I would like you to send an e-mail letting the council know that we have found some information that might help our case.

We are compiling a file and will be sending by e-mail when we have everything together.”

“But you said—” Matt protested.

“Yes, I did, and as far as the council is concerned, we will be sitting here at my house compiling our information to send it to them.”

Matt’s eyes widened. “And instead, we will be—”

“Hand-delivering the papers to the council,” Zac finished. “I would also like you to make a couple of extra copies, ones we can leave in safe places. If nothing happens, we can just pick them up later. If for some reason we don’t make council headquarters, we can leave instructions for them to be delivered to the council later.”

Sebastian chuckled. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the edge of the counter. “One way or another, the council will get their pound of flesh.”

Zac shook his head. “I could really give a fuck about the council.

This has nothing to do with them. This has to do with keeping Aiden safe. That’s all that matters to me. Once I know he’s safe, the council can do what they want with Alpha Issacar.”

Sebastian scoffed, “You don’t want revenge for what he’s done?

The man practically decimated his pack. He needs to be taken out.”

“Beyond protecting Aiden, I couldn't care less about Alpha Issacar.”

“What about what he’s doing to the pack?” Sebastian asked as he stepped away from the counter and closer to Zac. He looked shocked.

“What about it?” Zac asked.

“Don’t you care?”

“Look, it’s not that I don’t care. I do. It’s just that Matt and Aiden are now more important than any other pack. They are my mates, my pack, and until I know they are safe, no one else matters.”

Sebastian sat down suddenly in one of the dining chairs. “Do you know how much this sucks?”

“My not wanting to go after Alpha Issacar?” Zac asked in confusion.

“No,” Sebastian said, “being alone. I want someone to care for me more than they care for anyone else on the planet.” He waved his hand toward Zac and Matt. “Like you do with your mates. I want that, too.”

Zac wasn’t in any way surprised when Matt rushed across the room to Sebastian. “Oh, you’ll find that, Sebastian. You just have to keep looking. There’s someone out there for you. There’s someone out there for everyone.”

Sebastian’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Sometimes I wonder about that, Matt, but thank you, anyway. Watching the way you three have come together gives me hope.”

Zac couldn’t agree more. They could have had a lot of problems, not gotten along, or even not liked each other. Their mating was almost effortless. That made Zac more determined to keep his mates safe. He wasn’t about to give up what he had found.

“Come on, let’s get this stuff together and get it to the wolf council,” Zac said. “The faster we do that, the faster they can deal with Alpha Issacar. I want the time to just get to know my mates and be with them for a while.”

Sebastian stood. He looked determined, his jaw rigid. “After this, if the council wants to send you on any missions for a while, I’ll go in your stead.” Sebastian shrugged. “Who knows, maybe I’ll be sent on a mission to eliminate my mate, too.”

Zac laughed nervously. He knew Sebastian was trying to break the tension in the room, but being sent on a mission to eliminate his mate wasn’t all roses. He defied the council to save Aiden. Granted, the council might not all be in on the conspiracy to kill Aiden, but Zac still defied them. If that got out, not only could he be more of an outcast than he was, the council could send someone to eliminate him.

Zac helped Matt gather the information together, and they made several copies. He left one in his office, another between the rafters in his garage. He also wanted to drop a copy off with his Alpha, just to be on the safe side. The rest of the copies they would take with them, each of them carrying one.

“Matt, don’t forget to grab a change of clothes,” Zac said as he passed him in the hallway. “I don’t know how long we’re going to be gone.”

“Bite your tongue, Zac,” Aiden said from the kitchen archway. “I think we should make him go naked.”

Zac’s eyebrows shot up. “Uh…”

Aiden chuckled. “Ah hell, I can wish, can’t I?”

Zac nodded. “While the idea has merit, Aiden, I don’t think I want everyone seeing Matt without his clothes on. You, I don’t have an issue with. Anyone else I might have to kill.”

Aiden frowned and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked Matt up and down. “I see your point. Maybe we should buy him a suit of armor instead.”

“Hey,” Matt snapped, his hands planted firmly on his hips, “Don’t I get a say in this?”

“No!” Zac said.

“No!” Aiden said at the same time.

Zac chuckled when Matt rolled his eyes. He couldn’t have been more pleased when Matt crossed his arms over his chest and started tapping his foot. He had one eyebrow arched, his jaw clenched.

Zac jumped over and grabbed Matt around his waist. He picked the man up and tossed him over his shoulder. Glancing at Aiden’s laughing face, he winked. “You ready to go?”

“I’m right behind you, big guy.”

“Hey, what about my clothes, my laptop?” Matt shouted.

“I’ll grab your laptop, Matt,” Aiden said. “I still don’t think you need a change of clothes.”

“Aiden!” Matt shouted.

“Fine!” Aiden said as he walked back down the hallway. “I’ll grab you some clothes.”

Zac patted Matt’s butt. Liking the feel of the tight, rounded curves under his hand, Zac went from patting to caressing. He couldn’t keep the grin off his face when Matt moaned and wiggled his ass a little.

He could feel Matt’s cock hardening up against his shoulder.

He decided that their trip to the wolf council headquarters didn’t have to be all doom and gloom. They could have a little fun along the way. Zac grabbed his bag, the papers they wanted to turn over to the council, and the afghan off the back of the couch and then headed for his truck.

Sebastian was already outside, standing beside his car. Zac nodded to him when he saw the man grin and shake his head. He walked over to the truck and opened the door then set Matt down on the seat.

“Would you do something for me, baby?” Zac whispered.

Matt frowned. “Yes, anything.”

Zac smiled and leaned over to give Matt a quick kiss. The man sounded so serious, but it was nice to know Matt would do anything for him without even knowing what it was. He leaned back and gestured to the middle of the bench seat.

“Climb in the middle and buckle yourself in, but lose the jeans first.” He held up the earth-toned afghan. “You can cover up with this.”

Matt’s eyebrow arched again, but he slowly scooted himself back until he sat in the middle of the bench seat. Zac watched with great anticipation as Matt shimmied out of his jeans. He folded them up, handing them to Zac. Zac took a long look at his gorgeous mate before handing him the afghan. It was almost a shame to cover up that gorgeous body.

Zac glanced over his shoulder when he heard a noise behind him.

He could see Aiden coming out of the house, several bags in his hand.

He grinned, knowing the surprise Aiden had in store for him once they got on the road.

Turning back to Matt, he grinned. “Keep the blanket on until we hit the road.”

Matt’s laughter was a joyous sound that warmed Zac’s heart.

“You don’t think he’s going to notice my being covered with a blanket?”

Zac shook his head and handed over the two bags he had in his hand. “Put these in your lap. I’ll keep him busy until we get moving.”

Matt settled the bags on his lap and looked straight ahead. Zac could see the grin on his face and knew if Aiden saw it, he’d know something was up. Well, it couldn’t be helped. Hopefully, Aiden would be too wound up to notice.

Zac waved to Sebastian and walked around to the driver door. He climbed in and started the truck, then waited for Aiden to get in and get settled. The moment he was buckled in, Zac drove down the driveway, Sebastian coming up behind them.

He could see Matt casting him several covert glances. He shook his head. He wanted to get a little farther down the road. Besides, Aiden seemed to be wrapped up in the papers he was organizing in his folder.

Finally, Matt looked over at him and widened his eyes significantly. He lifted the edge of the blanket and showed Zac the hard shaft shooting up from his groin. Zac nearly drove off the road as lust instantly raced through his body and settled in his suddenly aching cock.

“Fuck, Zac,” Aiden shouted as his papers flew all over the floor.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?”

“I, uh, got a little distracted,” Zac said.

“By what?”