When Jay had sighed and bent to pick it up, Rowan had held it down with a giant paw and a huff.
Now, Jay and Rowan have an understanding that has served them well since last fall: Rowan didn’t challenge Jay, and Jay wouldn’t kick his ass. They were both happy with the status quo.
Or at least, Jay had thought they were.
“Rowan Foster,” Jay had said, letting his alpha rumble up from deep in his belly. “I am not in the mood.”
And he sure as fuck wasn’t. As he said, he’d been dealing with his own shit all week—quick to anger, taking offense at the weirdest things, and scent-marking his pack every chance he got.
The debacle at Common Grounds was nothing compared to the fear of the Goddess he’d put into their new pizza guy, the Amazon delivery person, and the gardeners who had stopped (benignly) to watch Nix and Finn play catch on Tuesday.
He’s embarrassed to say that he is currently accepting applications for their replacements and paying two months of severance, as well as hiding the fact from Gideon and Leo.
He figures it’s probably because he’s anxious—terrified,really—about Nix being in pain. Hurting, crying, and shouldering it all to bring their pack babies into the world.
And then there’s the fear gnawing in his chest, that something could go terribly wrong. That his beloved might—no.He slams the door shut on that thought, refusing to let it take root. Not now. Not ever.
But this. This is the last straw.
“Move your fucking foot, Rowan. Or I will make you,” is growled out in his meanest voice.
Of course, Rowan, being Rowan-wolf—and having embraced the fuck-you attitude that only a 250-pound wolf can carry off—presses down on the fragile device. The crack of the screen inside is followed by the sound of the plastic casing snapping in two.
He meets Jay’s eye then and nods toward the woods. It’s a near thing that Jay doesn’t take this as an actual challenge. His wolf wants to put Rowan in his place—and maybe that’s what he needs: to run Rowan-wolf down and show him who’s boss for five fucking seconds.
“Okay. You made your point. But you are going to make that up to me.”
Rowan-wolf turns and darts into the trees without a backward glance.
Chuckling, Jay realizes he’s not angry—he’s excited. He tosses his things into the SUV, throwing the key fob in after them. He’ll just use the door code when they’re done.
Rowan-wolf howls in the distance as a reminder for him to get a move on.
It takes fifteen minutes for Jay to finally run Rowan-wolf down; a game not of speed, but of cunning. He would feel bad if Rowan-wolf weren’t so big and made so much noise that it was easy for Jay to track him. Maybe the Wolf did it on purpose, but Jay was thrilled to prove he was more than a match for him.
Although Jay wouldn’t admit it, he loved the challenge.
Rowan-the-man was a worthy opponent in the gym, but the Wolf? He reminded Jay who he was. As a Were, as an enigma, and as a leader.
That he was worthy to lead.
After he’d wrestled him to the ground, holding him down with hisfangs deep into the back of the Wolf’s furry neck (ew, by the way—do not recommend), he’d rubbed Rowan-wolf’s ears in gratitude for the submission.
But Rowan wasn’t done. He’d gestured with his nose that it was Jay’s turn to get chased.
It would be a first, and he’d been sure that his wolf wouldn’t cooperate. That Jay’s wolf would turn and attack once Rowan-wolf got close enough because it was the wrestling and “fight” that were more of interest to Jay’s wolf than the chase.
With his mind going a mile a minute, he’d raced off into the thick trees when Rowan had given him a head start. He’d climbed over downed trees and outcroppings of stone and even skirted a cave.
Smelling a stream, he remembered Luca regaling them with his own run experience in the Smokies with Gideon. Maybe he could confuse Rowan’s nose with the water. He’s not five feet from making good on his plan when he’s pushed onto his hands and knees from behind. Flipping over onto his back, he’s just in time to see the miracle of Rowan’s shift up close.
He’s stunning. His hair has gotten wild, long, shaggy, and fiery red. His shoulders and chest are broad, and Jay’s mouth waters at the sight of his magnificent, hard cock.
Jay has very recently been exploring the changes in his sexuality, but he has not considered taking Rowan’s giant cock. Not during Gideon’s or Grayson’s or even Rowan’s last rut has Jay wondered what it would feel like to be split open and feel his mate in places no one else could reach.
But the exhilaration of the chase has Jay’s cock hard, and the image racing through his brain.
Rowan smiles as if he can read Jay’s thoughts. Capturing Jay’s wrists in his giant hand and forcing them up and over Jay’s head, he uses the other to hold Jay down with a palm hard to his sternum.
