Chasing Seth (7 page)

“He said he’d been born a wolf. After finding out who my mate was, I kind of lost my temper.” Kasey had the grace to look sheepish. “I accused him of lying, and he ran out.”

Jeremiah gave his son a stern look and shook his head. “You need to learn to open your mind to things, Kasey, and to control your temper. When you become pack Alpha, you will not have the leisure to jump to anger so quickly. You will need to have much patience. Learn to judge with your eyes, mind, and heart. For only with all three can you come to a fair judgment.”

Kasey immediately felt his conscience prick again. Shame flashed across his features for a moment. Only his father could make him feel like a little kid again with so few words. “I’m sorry, Dad,” he mumbled.

“I would like to speak to your mate, son. To know of where he came from.”

“I don’t know if he will want to after how I spoke to him and… frightened him.” Dismay washed over Kasey as he realized he’d definitely handled the whole situation wrong. But would he have handled it any differently if he’d known what his father had just told him? He didn’t know, but now he’d have to do some pretty fancy footwork to try and smooth over the situation.

“Oh, Kasey,” Emily sighed. “How could you? No matter the situation, you should never use your strength or size to harm someone unless the situation absolutely calls for it. You are going to march yourself into his clinic and apologize right away. Do you hear me, young man?”

He gave his mother a tight look. “It’s not going to be that easy, Mother.” His jaw clenched as he again remembered the look on Seth’s face before he’d darted from the house.

“Well, it has to start somewhere,” she insisted. “And apologies are the best way to begin.”

Jeremiah watched his son’s face while his mother spoke to him. He agreed wholeheartedly, and if it turned out this man had in fact been born a natural wolf, then it became a very real possibility there were other packs. “I agree with your mother, Kasey. I think you should go and talk to him. Apologize and explain about the Created ones. It’s the only way.”

Kasey knew his father could make it an order if he chose to, but he gave Kasey the chance to make the decision for himself. Though there would always be the same outcome. He would have to speak with his mate and try to make amends. “Fine,” he said flatly. “I’ll go talk to him, but there is no guarantee he will even agree to speak to you.”

The Alpha nodded. “I understand, but you must try. If not for me, then for yourself.”

Standing, Kasey went to leave but stopped, turning back to look at his father. “What happened to the stranger?”

“He said he’d been born as a wolf yet had no pack, knew of no others like himself until he came to our territory. I knew it was wrong, but I requested he leave the area. We couldn’t accept him into our pack, and if he stayed, the others would surely have questioned my allowing him to do so.” Sadness haunted Jeremiah’s face. He’d always felt regret he’d sent the stranger away, but it’d been necessary to protect his family, his pack.

“What was his name?”

“Eric. Eric Hawthorne.”

Kasey gave a jerky nod and left, shifting and running back to his truck. The knowledge he might have caused irreparable damage to the connection with his mate sat like a giant rock in his stomach. His hands tightened on the steering wheel. This wasn’t the way he’d imagined finding his mate. He’d never cared if it turned out to be a man or a woman, but he’d never thought his mate would be the man he had turned out to be.

Chapter Four

Seth
had finally managed to drag himself home. He shifted just inside the edge of the forest before walking the rest of the way. It’d taken him hours to find the town again. If it hadn’t been for his canine senses, he would still be wandering around lost in the woods. His skin felt raw, as though it’d been rubbed off by an abrasive sponge that had left behind invisible wounds.

Bullet greeted him enthusiastically, and Seth opened the door, motioning his pet outside. Thankfully, he kept a huge bowl of food and water on the floor for the dog, or he would have been starving by now. Seth had never trusted doggie doors, so he knew there had to be a mess on the floor. He wasn’t disappointed and sighed, knowing he couldn’t blame the dog for his own stupidity. As he headed to the kitchen to grab paper towels and cleaner, he noticed the light on his answering machine blinking like crazy and cringed as he hit play. Every message contained a very frantic-sounding Chessie. He hit “delete all,” picked up the phone, and called the clinic. “Senaka Animal Clinic,” he heard come over the line.

“Chessie, it’s Seth.”

“Oh my God!” she shouted. “Where have you been?”

He thought quickly and realized he could use a bit of the truth. “I got lost in the woods,” he said sheepishly.

“For two days?” she exclaimed.

“Yeah…,” he admitted reluctantly, knowing she probably thought him an idiot. “I just now got home, but I need to shower and change. Please stall any appointments until I can get there, Chessie.”

“Will do, Doc,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little worse for wear,” he said, laughing drily. “Give me about thirty minutes, and I’ll be there.” He disconnected the call, cleaned up the mess Bullet had left, and went to take a shower.

Several cars were in the lot when he arrived. Wincing, he rushed into the clinic, immediately apologizing to the clients waiting in the reception area. Chessie handed him the first file, and after a quick perusal, he entered the examining room.

The next three hours flew by nonstop, and exhaustion had set in by the time he had some downtime. He sank into the chair in his office and leaned his head back, heaving a sigh. His leg had healed, but the deep ache inside would take a few days to disappear.

The phone on his desk buzzed. “Yes, Chessie,” he answered tiredly.

“The sheriff is here to see you,” she said quietly, “and it looks serious.”

Seth froze. His heart leapt into his throat, and it took several swallows before he could answer. “Tell him I’m not available,” he choked and hung up the phone.

Seth heard Chessie call out to try and stop Kasey, but his door flew open roughly.

Kasey stood there, eyes blazing. “Go back to your desk, Chessie,” he snarled at the still-yelling petite female behind him.

Seth saw her glance at him, and he nodded reluctantly. “It’s fine, Chessie. Go on.” When the door closed behind the sheriff, the room immediately shrank in size. Seth’s chest ached, and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“We need to talk,” Kasey snapped.

“I think we’ve said enough, Sheriff,” Seth replied in a low voice.

Kasey prowled the room restlessly in front of him. Seth couldn’t quite read the Cheyenne’s face, but it appeared tight with some emotion he didn’t want to identify, and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “We haven’t finished yet, Doc. We need to talk about the fact that we’re mates.”

“I am not your mate,” Seth ground out. He glared at the tall, virile man pacing his small office. “And you don’t want me to be, either. You made it blatantly obvious earlier this morning.”

The man stopped, shoving a hand through his hair in frustration. “Yeah, and maybe I was wrong.”

Seth’s mouth fell open in shock. “Excuse me?”

Kasey pinned him in place with a sharp look. “You heard me. Maybe I was wrong.”

Seth could clearly see the man wasn’t used to apologizing to anyone, and the stiff set of Kasey’s shoulders brought a cynical smile to his face. “I think you reacted correctly, Sheriff. But even if you are willing to ‘accept’ me as your mate, I’m not willing to accept you. Not only do you believe I am a liar, but you also can’t stand me because I’m white.”

Kasey scowled at his refusal to even listen. “That was before I knew what you are.”

“Doesn’t change the fact of what I am,” Seth pointed out in a strained voice.

Before Seth could blink, Kasey stood next to his chair, towering over him. Unable to help himself, Seth flinched. The man gave him a harsh look. “I would never hurt you.”

“You mean like this morning?” Seth challenged, watching in satisfaction when the older male paled beneath his tan.

“I let my anger get the better of me,” Kasey bit out. “I never should have touched you in anger.” His eyes took on a strange gleam as he dropped into a crouch next to Seth’s chair, surprising the vet. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

The soft words left Seth speechless, not knowing what to say, but his mind whispered to him of his past and caused him to withdraw inside himself again. “Either way, it doesn’t matter, Sheriff,” he said in a voice devoid of emotion. “Now please leave me alone.”

“I can’t do that,” Kasey said hoarsely. “My father would like to meet you. As another wolf in the pack’s territory, if you aren’t part of it, they will attempt to force you to leave if they know you’re here.”

Seth wanted to cry. He’d been so sure this place would be perfect for him, a place to live without fear and pain plaguing his every step, but apparently he’d been wrong. “Fine. Give me a few weeks to get my affairs in order, and I’ll leave,” he finally stated.

A panicked look crossed the sheriff’s face at his words. “No!” Kasey’s hand shot out and lightly encircled Seth’s wrist, and the vet shuddered at the sheer strength in that hand. “You can’t leave. Seth, I—” A growl rumbled in the sheriff’s throat when Seth’s phone buzzed. “Ignore it,” he demanded.

Seth glared at him and deliberately answered it. “Yes, Chessie?”

“Doc, there’s an emergency. Mr. Sheffield’s dog’s been hit by a car and is bleeding pretty badly,” she informed him in a crisp voice.

“I’ll be right there,” he said urgently. He shook off Kasey’s hand and stood. “I can’t talk about this right now. I’d rather not talk about it at all, but somehow I doubt I’m going to get rid of you that easily.”

“You’re damn right, pup,” the man replied darkly as he watched the vet walk out of the office.

The dog’s lungs were laboring for breath, and Seth could tell the dog was on the edge of dying. He assured Mr. Sheffield he would do everything he could to save the dog. Kasey stood against the wall by his office as he rushed the animal into the small emergency operating room, but Seth ignored the man. Focusing intently, he laid the small mixed-breed dog on the table. Seth placed both his hands on the animal’s side and reached outside himself. There were severe internal injuries. If he had been anyone but who he was, he wouldn’t have been able to save the dog in this bad a shape.

His eyes closed as he sent healing energy through the warm body. The instant he touched the wounds, he knew it would take a lot out of him. It was going to cost him almost all of his energy. He’d be lucky if he could stand afterward. He concentrated on fixing the injuries inside the animal. The outside wounds would need to be stitched so no one was aware of what he’d done. They were superficial wounds, anyway.

Seth felt the pull on his own energy. It sucked at him like an incubus. Perhaps ten minutes passed before he released the energy back inside himself. A gasp echoed through the small tiled room as he sank to his knees, gripping at the metal table to keep from curling up on the floor and passing out.

Using the little energy he had left, Seth shakily stitched up the two deepest wounds and bandaged the rest. He could feel the negative energy eating at his insides as he worked. If he didn’t get it out soon, it would render him unconscious. Sweat poured off his body by the time he’d finished. His limbs trembled like he’d been stuck in a blender for an hour and had only just gotten out.

Seth stumbled out of the emergency room, barely aware of his surroundings as he gripped at the wall for support. A loud roaring in his ears drowned out his name being called as he shoved open the bathroom door. He slammed it shut behind him, dropped to his knees, and retched. The amount of black liquid that came out was three times what it had been the other day. His body heaved with convulsions as he released the negative energy from inside him.

It was only after the vomiting stopped that he realized someone else was keeping him from sinking to the floor. A cool, wet cloth pressed against the back of his neck and slid along his cheek and forehead. His body trembled fiercely, like he had an intense fever. Seth struggled to his knees, shakily rinsing his mouth out with the little bit of energy he had left. He’d have slumped to the floor if Kasey hadn’t caught him.

“It’s all right, pup. I’ve got you.” Kasey’s warm, smooth-as-honey voice poured over him soothingly.

He didn’t have the strength to fight him, to push him away, so he just lay there dazed in his arms. “Can you stand?” Kasey asked gently.

“No,” he croaked out.

A small sound of shock left Seth when he suddenly found himself airborne. Kasey carried him into his office, setting him down on the small couch resting underneath the only window in the room. The sheriff brushed a lock of sweat-soaked hair back from Seth’s face. “I’m going to go put Ginger in one of the recovery cages and let Chessie know to cancel the rest of your appointments for the day.”

“You… you can’t,” Seth panted. “Just… just give me a few minutes. I’ll be all right.”