I hugged Linc, looking at Marcus as I did.“He’s right here, and he’s fine.”
“Thank fuck for that.”Linc’s words weren’t loud enough to carry as he breathed them against my ear before straightening.
I couldn’t stop myself from grinning at Marcus, who couldn’t seem to help staring whenever he saw us show affection to each other.
“We’re assuming the dead wolf in the woods was shot that day we found you.When’d you leave your car?”
Marcus scratched his head but flinched when he got too close to the stitches.“A little before sunset.I thought I was going to make it through the woods before then, but… Yeah, I underestimated how fucking dark it gets out there, and how fast.”
Linc nodded.“It does.No going into the woods by yourself again, Marcus.I’ll call Vi and fill her in.At a minimum, everyone should be especially careful if they go out there shifted.”
Linc gave both me and Marcus a thoughtful look.Knowing Linc, he wanted to tell Marcus it would be safer for him at the house, which it would be, except Marcus was human, and we couldn’t lock him up.Maybe we could once he was our mate—well, not lock him up, but make sure he was too comfortable to ever want to leave much.I filed it away as something to possibly explore later.
Linc apparently came to the same conclusion, because he just poured himself a large mug of coffee while the machine was still running.
“Get Marcus some hiking shoes while you’re in town,” he said.
“I have shoes.”Marcus put a hand on his hip.“Plus, you just said not to go into the woods.”
“I said hiking shoes.”Linc gave Marcus his levelest alpha gaze.“And you’re not allowed—sorry.I’d ask that you not go into the woods by yourself for now.Doesn’t mean don’t go ever.”
Marcus finished his tea and put the mug on the counter.“I do not hike.”
Linc chuckled.“You’re on vacation.We’ll show you the area while making sure you don’t fall or get lost.It’s the least we can do.If it gets too much, you can always hitch a piggyback ride.”
Marcus looked unimpressed.“The most I had planned was to explore the rose garden at Corpsewood.”
Linc smiled his most charming smile, the one I had fallen for.“Hmm.Then I’m challenging you to a little adventure.”
I bumped into our mate playfully.“You won’t chicken out when an alpha challenges you, right?You’ll show him.”
Marcus snorted.“You two aren’t subtle.”
“Were we supposed to be?”Linc turned the heat up on that smile of his.It would have been enough to drop my pants, but Marcus was still coy.Or maybe shy, maybe still getting over Steven, whose balls I wanted to bite off.
“Oh, whatever.Fine, I’ll hike, but I reserve the right to complain about it.”
Linc’s eyes twinkled.“I reserve the right to give you a piggyback ride.”
I growled.“You’re hogging himagain.”
Linc shrugged.Cocky bastard.Cocky bastard I loved.
I sighed.“Marcus, let’s head into town, just the two of us.”
“You know no one’s going to get to hog me, right?I’ll hog myself.”
The best thing was, despite his words, Marcus didn’t sound upset about being hogged at all.
14
“That’s not my jacket,” I told Dom when he held out something green and way too big for me.
Dom didn’t seem to mind, just moved closer with that oversized thing as if he wanted to catch me in it, his wide grin the bait I wasn’t going to fall for.
“Nope.This is Linc’s.Yours is all muddy from the fall, for one thing.For another?I wouldn’t even call it a real jacket, more like a decorative accessory.”Dom lifted his chin.“I don’t want you to get cold when you’re only just recovering, so I’m putting this on you.It’s nice and warm, see?You can think of it as your own blanket.”
He brought the jacket even closer, and yes, fine, it was definitely warm.And it wasn’t flannel, so there was that.
