Love, Always, Promise [Wolf Creek Pack 5] (3 page)

JD nodded. “I can imagine. I wouldn’t want to be the one to tell this guy his mate claimed him then flew the coop. Who knows how he might react?”

“I worry about that myself. Ethan’s only been part of the pack for a few months. I don’t know that much about him, but he seems like a nice guy.” Joe said as he climbed for the vehicle. “You mind hanging out for a few while I go check on him?”

“No, I’ll get us something to drink and meet you back here at the truck,” JD said as he climbed out.

“Better yet, why don’t you come on up with me? I’ll be just a moment and then we can go back to my place for lunch. My baby is a super cook, and I’d really like you to meet him. Besides, I might need the help with Ethan. I suspect he’s drunk.”

“Can you blame the guy?” JD asked, following Joe upstairs to the second floor of the small apartment building. He leaned up against the door as Joe knocked. He lifted an eyebrow in curiosity when Joe needed to knock several more times before they heard a reply.

“Come in,” said a quiet voice from inside the apartment.

Joe reached for the doorknob, glancing over at JD. “Just wait here. I shouldn’t be too long.”

JD nodded and watched Joe walk into the apartment. As he looked through the doorway, he could see Joe walk into the far room. He assumed it was the bedroom. He could hear Joe swearing.

“Fuck, Ethan, what the hell are you doing?”

“I wasn’t doing anything,” said another voice.

Ethan
, JD presumed.

He was intrigued by the tone of the man’s voice. It sounded soft and lyrical, much like butterfly wings flapping.

“How much have you drank?” Joe asked.

“Not that much,” Ethan replied.

JD shook his head, chuckling quietly. He would bet that Ethan had been drinking for quite some time if the slurring of his words was anything to go by. The man was obviously plowed.

“Ethan, I thought you planned to come down to the office to see me today.”

“Did you find him? Has he come back? I know he’s going to come back. He just has to, Joe.”

“No, I haven’t found him yet. But you have everyone worried. You didn’t come down to the office today. You know we look forward to your weekly visits,” Joe said.

JD shook his head as he heard Joe crooning softly to Ethan. He wondered if Joe’s mate knew about the way he talked to Ethan. He also seemed to really care about Ethan. JD wondered how much.

He couldn’t see Joe being unfaithful to his mate, ever. He had looked for his mate for as long as JD knew him. But still, did he have to talk to the man like he was? For some reason, it bothered JD.

“Hey, JD, could you come give me a hand?” Joe called from the bedroom.

JD rolled his eyes as he walked into the small apartment. As he crossed the room, he could hear the other man talking again. As he reached the doorway to the bedroom, he was stunned at the sight of the man Joe sat next to. He looked breathtaking.

* * * *

“Did I tell you how gorgeous he is, Joe?” Ethan asked. “He has such beautiful green eyes. I could look at his eyes all day long.”

“Yes, Ethan, you told me how beautiful he is,” Joe replied. “Now come on, let’s get you into the shower, and you can take a nap.”

“He’s coming back for me, Joe. He has to. I’m his mate,” Ethan said as Joe helped him to his feet. As he stood up, a strong, masculine, woodsy scent reached him. Oh, how he missed that smell. “I miss him, Joe,” Ethan mumbled as Joe tried to lead him toward the bathroom. “I want him back.”

“I know, Ethan. Don’t worry, he’ll come back,” Joe assured him.

Ethan started to turn to ask Joe what he would do if Jace never came back when he spotted the man standing in the doorway. “Jace,” he whispered, briefly shocked that his mate stood before him. “Jace, you came back,” he cried out as he pushed his way past Joe to get to the man, wrapping his arms around him. “I knew you would come back. Everyone thinks I’m crazy, but I knew you’d come back.”

He turned quickly to look back at Joe, smiling wildly. “I told you he’d come back.”

Joe just nodded his head absently. His eyes seemed to be on the big man in Ethan’s arms. “JD?”

Ethan turned back to Jace, his hands rubbing over his chest, trying to touch as much of his mate as he could. It seemed like forever since he touched him. He needed to feel every inch of the man.

“Where have you been, Jace?” Ethan asked. “Why did you leave me? What took you so long to come back?”

He felt strong arms grab a hold of him and push him back. “Look, Ethan—”

“JD? I’m going to step outside while you two talk. If you need me, I’ll be downstairs in the truck,” Joe said as he pushed them into the living room, then walked past them and out of the apartment.

“Joe! Damn it, Joe, don’t leave me in here with him,” JD yelled out as Joe shut the door.

“Jace? What’s wrong? Aren’t you glad to see me? I missed you so much, Jace,” Ethan said as he pushed his body up against Jace again. He reached up and brushed his hands over Jace’s beautiful face. “I love you, Jace.”

“Look, Ethan, I’m not your mate. I—” Jace began.

Ethan stared at him in horror. How could Jace be saying that? Of course they were mates. Jace claimed him. “That’s not true, Jace,” Ethan cried out. “You know I’m your mate. You claimed me.”

“No!” Jace exclaimed. “I am not your mate. I am not gay.”

“But, Jace, you—” Ethan cried out as he grabbed onto the front of Jace’s shirt. He couldn’t believe that this was happening. Jace was rejecting him. He dreamed about Jace coming back since the night he left. Ethan just never thought Jace would be come back to deny him.

“Please, Jace,” he cried again, tears starting to form in his eyes. “I love you, Jace.”

“No!” Jace yelled, grabbing Ethan by the arms. “Stop saying that. You don’t love me. I don’t love you. This needs to stop, Ethan. I am not your mate. I have never been your mate. I never will be your mate!”

Ethan cried out as Jace pushed him away with such force that he hit his desk with a sickening crack then fell to the floor. A shock of pain shot through his back. He looked over just in time to see Jace walk away, the door slamming closed behind him.

He started to sit up when the pain in his back made him cry out, and flashes of light sparkled in front of his eyes. He flopped back down on the floor, laying his head down and staring at the closed door.

It really was over. Jace didn’t want him. Ethan spent the last three months wanting for something that never really existed. It had all been a hoax, a fantasy created in his mind. Jace wasn’t his. He wouldn’t ever be his.

Ethan closed his eyes, the pain in his heart almost too much to comprehend. He didn’t know if he would survive this. He didn’t know if he wanted to. His whole body radiated with his pain. As he tried to turn over again, the pain became too much. With a small whimper, Ethan gave in to the darkness trying to claim him.

* * * *

Jace’s hand clenched and unclenched with anger as he made his way out to the truck, climbing in and shutting the door. He glared over at Joe before turning his head to stare out the window. He couldn’t believe the situation Joe put him in.

“JD? You okay?” Joe asked.

“Hell, no, I’m not okay,” Jace snapped. “You left me up there with him. He’s out of his fucking mind, Joe.”

“How do you know? You said that you experienced memory lapses. Maybe you forgot, and he is your mate,” Joe replied as he started the truck and pulled into traffic to head home.

“He is not my mate,” JD snapped. “I told you, my mate will be a woman, not a man.”

“I really should have seen it,” Joe said as if JD never spoke a word. “He described you perfectly. I think the name threw me. I’ve always called you JD. But that’s not your name, is it? Jace must be short for Jason, right?”

JD shrugged his shoulders. “I use
Jace
once in a while. I just didn’t remember using it with Ethan.” JD gripped his hands together to keep them from shaking. “Hell, I don’t even remember Ethan. I’d remember if I claimed someone as my mate, wouldn’t I?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Joe replied.

“He really thinks I’m his mate, Joe. I don’t even know the guy.”

“Is there any way that you could be?”

“No, of course not,” JD said, quickly dismissing the idea before he could think about it. If he thought about it, he might remember how cute Ethan looked. “I would know, wouldn’t I?” he asked quietly.

Wouldn’t he?

“Well, you did say that the silver poisoning messed with your senses. Maybe it messed a lot more up. And you did say it was about three months ago. The time period is about right. Do you remember if you were in town or not?”

JD shook his head. “No, I still don’t remember anything. But, Joe, I just can’t have a man for a mate. My father would disown me in a heartbeat. I’d never make alpha.”

“Well, seems to me that you have some things to consider, then. What’s more important to you? Being alpha of your father’s pack or being with the mate that fate has chosen for you? You do realize that if Ethan is your mate, you’ve already claimed him. There will be no other mate for you, right?”

“Yeah. I just need to think about this,” JD said after a few moments. He pushed his hand through hair, pulling at the ends a bit as frustration wormed its way through him. This situation was just plain nuts. He needed a drink.

Joe patted JD on the shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, man. We’ll figure this out.”

JD just nodded. He wasn’t so sure. If he claimed Ethan as his mate, he would never get the alpha position from his father. On the other hand, if the man was his mate and Jace denied him, he would be without his mate forever. Both situations made his stomach roll.

“Come inside and meet Nate,” Joe said as he pulled his Bronco to a stop in front of his house and opened the door of the truck. “I believe I promised you lunch.”

JD chuckled. “Yeah, you did.”

He watched Joe’s stride quicken. The man sure was in a hurry. He chuckled when Joe opened the door and called out to his mate.

“Baby, I’m home.”

Walking in behind Joe, JD started to shut the door when the sound of someone running caught his attention. JD turned his head just in time to see a small, sandy haired man fly around the corner and launch himself into Joe’s open arms.

He watched with astonishment as they began to kiss, a kiss that looked like it would go one for several minutes, especially since Joe’s hands firmly grasped the guy’s ass and the guy’s legs wrapped around Joe’s waist.

Feeling a little embarrassed watching such an intimate display between mates, JD cleared his throat. He saw the man in Joe’s arms lift his head and look at him in curiosity. “Hello,” the man said.

Joe laughed as he turned around to look at Jace. “Baby, this is an old friend of mine, JD. JD, this is my baby, Nate.”

“Hello, JD,” Nate said, holding out his hand.

JD couldn’t help laughing. Nate didn’t even let go of Joe, just held out his hand to him. Reaching out, he shook the man’s hand. “Hello, Nate, it’s nice to meet you. Joe has talked about you all day. And please, call me Jace.”

He saw Joe raise an eyebrow at him. He just shrugged his shoulders. Until he knew for sure whether Ethan was his mate or not, he might as well be called Jace. He preferred Jace. JD is what Joe knew him as, but it was also what his father called him. He hated his father.

“I told Jace that maybe we could talk you into making us lunch,” Joe said as he gave Jace a strange look before turning back to his baby. “What do you say?”

“Oh, I see how it is. You just came home so I could cook for you,” Nate said as he slid to his feet, his hands going to his hips as he glared at Joe. “It doesn’t matter that I’ve been missing you all day.”

“Now, baby,” Joe said as he placed his hand on Nate’s arm. “You know that’s not true. If I just wanted food, I could have taken Jace to some place in town. I came home to see you. Your cooking skills are just a bonus.”

Nate stared at Joe for a moment before nodding his head. “Good answer, Sheriff. You might still get lucky tonight.”

Jace couldn’t help laughing at the crestfallen look on Joe’s face as Nate turned and headed for the fridge. Joe looked like someone just kicked his puppy. Jace sat down at the table across from Joe when he gestured to a chair, a soft chuckle still coming from him.

“Hey, baby, I wondered if you could help me with something,” Joe said as he looked across the room at his mate. The cautious tone in Joe’s voice made Jace curious.

“Sure, what’s up?” Nate asked as he started slicing a tomato.

“You remember me telling you about Ethan?”

“The guy who can’t find his wayward mate?” Nate asked curiously. “Yeah, sure, I remember him. Why?”

“Well, I went by to see him today, and he thinks JD, I mean Jace, is his mate. Do you think you could—?”

Jace watched with interest as Nate rolled his eyes, wiping his hands off on a towel before walking toward them. Once he stood in front of him, Nate reached out for Joe’s hand, then his.

“Okay, go for it,” he said after taking a deep breath.

Jace looked at Joe in confusion. What the hell was going on?

“Jace, do you remember Ethan?” Joe asked.

“No, I told you I don’t,” Jace replied.

Nate nodded, confusing Jace even more.

“Is he your mate?” Joe asked.

“No—yes, oh hell, I don’t know,” Jace said as he pulled his hand free of Nate’s and set it on the table. “How in the hell am I supposed to know? I don’t remember a thing from then.”

Joe nodded. “I know. But I’m trying to help you here, Jace. Hold Nate’s hand again and answer me yes or no. Is Ethan your mate?”

“I don’t know, Joe. What more do you want from me?” Jace said angrily.

“What do you feel? Is there any way he could be your mate? Think about it, Jace,” Joe continued. “Now, grab Nate’s hand and answer my question.”

Jace glared at Joe but finally took Nate’s hand again. “I don’t know if Ethan’s my mate or not, but I can’t have a man for a mate. I told you that. I know I didn’t like you talking to him, but I don’t know why.”

“He’s your mate,” Nate said simply, dropping Jace’s hand and walking back over to the kitchen counter to start slicing tomatoes again. Jace stared after the man, confusion filling him at Nate’s statement.