Jesse was breathing raggedly, his body primed,ready. But then, Matt stepped back and turned away to pour a coffee, like nothing had happened.
The loss hit Jesse before his brain caught up. What the hell kind of alphadidthat? All that heat, and he didn’t even try to jump him? Rude.
Matt passed him a mug, and Jesse took it reflexively. “Thought you were going to sleep all day,” Matt said, his voice cool and calm. But his eyes were still dark, and the tightness in his body said hehadn’t been able to just flick a switch and turn thatthingbetween them off. No matter how much he wanted Jesse to believe he had.
Jesse huffed, still off balance and covering it the only way he knew how. “Guess you don’t know everything after all.”
Matt’s mouth tugged up at one corner, but he didn’t take the bait. He leaned against the counter, watching Jesse like he was trying to figure something out.
“You should eat,” he said.
Jesse snorted. “You ever get sick of bossin’ me around?”
“I could just let you pass out from hunger halfway down the driveway,” Matt said with a shrug.
The remaining anxiety slid from Jesse’s shoulders. Urban reallydidintend to let him go.
He’d gotten what he wanted. So why did it feel like he’d lost?
MATT
He’d been so close—sofucking close—to touching Jesse. To pulling him in, kissing him until he melted under the assault, andneverletting him go again. ThankGodhis brain had come back online before his wolf had his way.
Jesse was tucking in to bacon, eggs and pancakes, one arm wedged around his plate, guarding it. Matt wanted him to stay long enough so that every meal didn’t seem like a feast to him, one where he had to eat all he could because he didn’t know where the next one would be coming from. But the longer he was around Jesse, the more of a battering his self-control was taking, and Matt had to get him out of here before his instincts overcame all common sense.
He’d still teach him about territorial boundaries, but after that, Jesse was gone. “Once we’re done with the markers, I can drop you off somewhere,” he said.
“Y’know, I could take it personally, you being that eager to get rid of me.”
Matt tilted his head as he examined Jesse. Just this morning, Jesse had been desperate to get out of here. He still was, if Matt had read his body language right, but there was… Was that hurt in his eyes?
Fuck it. This whole mate thing had Matt second-guessing himself, something he never did. Unease still flickered inside him about not telling Jesse they were mates. It would be therightthing to tell him, except as Matt had no intention of doing anything about it, it would only cause trouble for both of them. Better to keep Jesse in ignorance, and once he was gone, Matt could get back to his life.
His empty, duty-bound life.
And if he’d neededanyfurther proof that this whole mate thing was screwing with his head, that was it. So maybe it wasn’t much of a life, but it was what he had. And what he deserved.
“I’ve got some chores to do before taking you out to the perimeter,” he told Jesse. He had no idea why he felt the need to explain rather than justtellhim what was going to happen.
His plate scraped clean, Jesse slurped his coffee, into which he’d stirred a frankly obscene amount of sugar. “Need a hand with anything? Kinda feel I should earn breakfast.”
About to refuse automatically, Matt paused. He’d lectured Jesse about needing to be around other shifters, and yet he’d been about to isolate him again. Maybe spending more time with Matt would get it into his stubborn head that heneededpeople. And it would get the chores done quicker. They were all out of their usual routine after the extra patrols last night, and Matt had said he’d pick up the slack, given he was staying home to ride herd on Jesse.
“Chickens need feeding,” he said.
Jesse raised his eyebrows. “You’ve got chickens?”
“You think eggs just appear on the plate?”
“I mean… I hoped.”
Matt rose to his feet, amusement once again tugging at him. Damn it, Turner was a handful. Just as well he was going to be someone else’s handful very soon.
He sobered swiftly as he realized that he didn’t know what Jesse might be walking into when he left here. Maybe Matt could sneak some bills into his pocket before setting him loose, just enough to keep him on his feet. Not that Jesse would accept charity. He’d bite before he begged, that much was clear, so Matt would have to be careful. He could hide the bills in his bag, where Jesse wouldn’t find them until he was too far away to come back and argue about it. Though, given Jesse’s argumentative personality, that might have to be Alaska.
He sent Jesse toward the chickens and set to forking hay in the barn. Only to pause when he heard a hell of a racket coming from the direction of the chicken pen—indignant squawks, flapping of wings, and a hastily bitten-off “goddammit!”
Setting his fork aside, Matt went to investigate. Animals didn’t sense their wolves in human form, so it couldn’t be the presence of a strange wolf upsetting his normally placid and well-behaved chickens. Tristan’s damn goats were in the paddock, so for once they weren’t the culprits.
