It had been a long night, searching, listening, every sense stretched to breaking point. Even his inexhaustible wolf was tired, a bone-deep ache from the tension that had gripped him all night.
He’d detected nothing, no matter how far he’d roamed. That was better than the alternative, but the fact that Karl had reacted tosomethingwas undeniable. Karl didn’t imagine things.
Best-case scenario, the hostile pack—and it must be a pack, because non-shifters wouldn’t be able to stay hidden from shifters for long—had passed by their territory again on their way back from searching for Jesse. They’d now be well on their way to wherever they came from.
It was a neat little story. A little too neat. Matt snarled as he padded through the yard. He wouldn’t put up with lying to himself.
Now, he had to decide what to do about his pack. He was uneasy at the thought of Jason and Tristan leaving pack territory today. Bryce could handle himself out there, but those two?
He waged a silent battle with himself, trying to work out if his concern was simply overreaction after Cheyenne. If he was being too cautious, he’d suffocate his pack. If he wasn’t cautious enough—If he let one of them walk into danger again—
He forced the memories down. Bryce would tell him there was no harm in being cautious. But Bryce had been in Cheyenne. He had his own ghosts.
What Matt knew for certain was that if anything happened to either of them, he’d never be able to live with the guilt. They’d given themselves to him, trusting him to keep them safe.
So he headed back to the house before Tristan was likely to be stirring from his bed, ready to tell the kid he had a snow day. In the middle of summer.
Shifting when he reached the porch, he donned a pair of sweats from the basket of clothes they kept handy. Too damn cold to be naked right now. He glanced over his shoulder as he opened the back door, checking to see if any of the others were following now that he’d released them from duty.
Not yet. Typical of his pack—they were thorough to a fault. None of them would come in for the breakfast they must be longing for until they’d checked every inch of their territory one last time. And he loved them for it.
He stepped through the back door and stopped dead. Jesse was staring at him, his eyes wide, his face pale and unreadable.
And then Matt remembered how he’d fucked up last night, grabbing Jesse. But this didn’t look like fear—andGod,he never wanted to see that from Jesse again. Especially not aimed at him. It didn’t even look like Jesse was about to tear into him.
No, this looked like shock. It couldn’t be from the little bombshell he’d accidentally tossed in Jesse’s lap last night about them being mates, because Jesse had the entire night to get his mind around the idea. Most likely, Jesse had taken two seconds flat to dismiss it as bullshit and move on. Matt didn’t have a clue what was going on with Jesse right now, and he didn’t like that fact.
Jesse turned sharply away from him. “Coffee?” he asked, his voice choked.
Honestly, Matt had been about to tell Tristan he was to stay home, then head to bed to crash. But Jesse needed something from him, and whatever it was, it came first.
He pulled out a chair and sat at the table, hoping that would encourage Jesse to do the same. Because right now, the tension vibrating through Jesse made him look seconds away from bolting.
“Join me?” he invited.
“I’m gonna bebleedingcoffee at this rate,” Jesse shot back at him, and at least he sounded more himself.
He dragged out a chair and sat opposite Matt, who tried to suppress his smirk when he saw that, for all his protests, Jesse had poured himself a coffee. He pushed Matt’s mug across the table, and when Matt reached to take it, their fingers brushed.
Touching Jesse always felt electric, but he wasn’t prepared for Jesse’s reaction. He gasped before snatching back his hand. God, had Matt really ruinedeverythingby grabbing Jesse like that?
Jesse’s eyes were wide again, his pupils large enough to drive a bus through.
“Whatever Karl sensed earlier, it’s clear out there now,” Matt said. His words seemed irrelevant in the face of Jesse’s reaction to him, but he didn’t know what else to say. Asking Jesse what was going on with him was the fastest way to shut him down. And there was nowayMatt was going to bring up the subject of theirbeing mates until he’d gotten some sleep and his brain was working better.
Seemed like he didn’t get a say in that.
“You said we’re mates.” Jesse’s voice was harsh, but his eyes… For a second—just a second—Matt swore he saw something else. Wistfulness, maybe, or longing.
And suddenly, Matt knew. He’d spent so long fighting this, convincing himself it could never work, listing every reason why it was impossible. Those reasons still stood, but they didn’t change the truth.
He wanted Jesse to behis.
The realization left him winded. Maybe it had been spending the night shifted, letting his wolf’s instincts settle over him. Maybe it was coming back to the house and finding Jesse—complicated, sharp-tongued, impossible Jesse—still here, waiting for him. Jesse, who pushed and challenged him, but who hadn’t walked away.
He breathed out slowly, steadying himself. Wanting Jesse was one thing. Acting on it was another. Because this wasn’t his choice alone. If Jesse wanted him, if that look meant what Matt hoped so desperately it did, then Jesse could have him. Body and soul.
He’d need to work at it, to find a way to keep his balance and control so that having Jesse wouldn’t threaten his pack, but if ever something deserved his efforts, it was this. It wasJesse.
