“Because you’re my mate.” Boone took a deep breath and tried to relax. “Mates are very important to shifters, Jackie.”
“They are everything,” Hugh added.
Boone shot his brother a smile before looking back at Jackie. “My brother is right. Mates are everything. Now that I’ve claimed you, my pride will protect you. You’re one of us.”
Jackie opened his mouth. Boone quickly held up his hand. “Even if you had been human, you would still be one of us because you are my mate.”
Jackie’s frown deepened, the lines around his eyes seeming more prominent. “Why? Everything I’ve heard about mates makes them sound like arranged marriages and servitude from the lesser shifter to the stronger one.”
Boone glared at his brother when the man burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” the man said as he held up a hand. “But can you see Kye or Neumus being subservient to anyone? Or Benji? Kody?”
He had a point.
Hugh still seemed to have trouble getting himself under control as he continued. “I don’t know where you got your information, Jackie, but it’s wrong. We adore our mates. We love them and protect them, cherish them, until our dying day. We don’t subjugate them.”
Boone was intrigued when Jackie’s face flushed as he mumbled something. “What was that, Jackie?”
Jackie huffed. “I researched it on the Internet…after…we…um…”
“I’m not sure where you searched,” Elder Hamilton said, “but I would be interested in seeing it for myself. If there is information about shifters out there, we need to know about it.”
“It’s probably still in my Internet history,” Jackie said. “I can make you a list and e-mail it to you.”
“Please do.”
“Why would you want to see it if it’s wrong?”
“Because I need to see how close to the truth it really is,” the elder replied. “Someone may simply be guessing, or someone could be spilling secrets they have no right to spill.”
Boone wanted to shout with joy when Jackie swallowed tightly and leaned a little closer. He wrapped an arm loosely around the man’s shoulders, pulling him gently into the curve of his body. He wasn’t sure how much Jackie would allow, but he was going to press his advantage while he could.
“I’ll get that list to you, sir,” Jackie said. “There was a lot of stuff there that was pretty wild, but some of it made sense, you know?”
“I would suggest you talk with Boone and Hugh about any questions you might have. They’re good men, Jackie. That’s why I placed you in Potter’s Creek.”
“Yes, sir.”
Boone leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of Jackie’s head. “Whatever you want to know, baby, just ask.”
Jackie’s smile wobbled, but it was there, and that was something. Boone knew he had to take things slow, but it was hard. Just holding Jackie in his arms made him want to roar.
“Why doesn’t Jackie have a scent?”
“Excuse me?” Elder Hamilton asked. “He doesn’t have a scent?”
Even Hugh gave him a strange look. Boone could understand where both men were coming from. Alphas couldn’t scent their mates until they claimed them. That was how they knew who their mates were.
Boone was an alpha, but he was a minor alpha, if there was such a thing. He had no desire to lead his own pride. He was perfectly happy being the beta for his brother and the Potter’s Creek Pride. He didn’t feel the urge to lead.
“No,” Boone replied, “he has a scent. He just smells human. I can’t scent his animal on him.”
“Oh, well, we don’t have anything concrete to go on. As you know, this is something that has never happened before, but we believe that it was part of whatever was done to him. The others all started smelling like shifter after they shifted for the first time.”
“Do I smell bad?” Jackie asked.
“No, baby, you smell like heaven to me.” Boone was being totally truthful. If Jackie’s scent never changed, Boone would be pretty happy. The guy smelled like the best ambrosia he’d ever scented. “Like dark chocolate and hot chili peppers.”
