Yeah.
“He thinks we’re monsters.”
Neumus frowned again. “I thought you said he knew about shifters.”
“He does. He thinks, and I quote, we’re evil, vile creatures.”
“Well, that doesn’t make sense.”
Yeah, the entire thing was fucked up.
“My mate hates me, Neumus.”
“I’m sure he didn’t—”
Boone clenched his hands, his claws threatening to come out again. This time, his anger wasn’t aimed at Neumus. “He told me if I went near him again, he’d report me to the council for sexual assault.”
“Shit.”
Yeah, Boone didn’t think there was another answer for that either.
“We still have to call the council,” Neumus said. “You know that.”
Boone nodded his understanding, and maybe acceptance of Neumus’s words. He didn’t want to report his mate to the council, but he was hoping they might assign someone to Jackie who could keep him safe. Boone could do it from afar, but that was it.
“They won’t hurt him, will they?” Boone couldn’t allow that.
“The council doesn’t go around hurting humans.”
Boone snorted.
“Okay,” Neumus corrected. “They don’t usually go around hurting humans, but you know someone has to check on Jackie. If word of shifters got out…”
The world they knew would come to an end. Boone knew that. Everyone knew that. It was in everyone’s best interest to keep the existence of shifters from humans. It was also an order from the council.
Boone was still a little confused at how Jackie knew about shifters. It seemed as if there were more humans with shifter knowledge popping up every day. Those who did know seemed more interested in seeing how they could profit from that knowledge than exposing shifters to the world.
When they pulled up in front of the house, the last thing Boone wanted to do was go inside and tell Hugh about Jackie, but the man was not only his brother, he was Boone’s alpha, and that meant he had to know.
“I’ll go wake Hugh if you want to make some coffee,” Neumus said as they walked inside the house.
Boone nodded and headed for the kitchen. He worked automatically as he grabbed the coffee pot and prepared a new pot. His mind was kind of numb. He just couldn’t shake Jackie’s words or the hatred and loathing on his face.
Once the coffee pot was going, Boone looked out the window over the sink. He gripped the edge of the counter with his hands until his fingers hurt. His misery was so acute that it was a physical pain.
Tears prickled his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away whenhe heard footsteps coming up behind him. He took a deep breath and unclenched his hands from the edge of the counter before turning to face his brother.
He wasn’t surprised to see Kye with Hugh and Neumus. The three men hardly went anywhere without each other. Seeing how bleary-eyed Kye was, Boone reached for a cup and poured some coffee into it before the pot was done. Kye looked as if he needed to mainline the stuff.
Kye grunted and moved to sit on Hugh’s lap after the man sat down. Boone crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter, waiting until both men were awake enough to talk.
“So, what’s going on?” Hugh asked.
“I found my mate.” Boone quickly held up his hand when Kye smiled and started to get to his feet. This was not a joyous occasion. “It’s Jackie Lee.”
Hugh’s gaze was intense, his head tilting to one side. “I’m taking it this isn’t something to celebrate?”
“He knows about shifters.”
