Hudson and EJ’s heads both snapped up as a young man jogged in their direction.
He held the cat closer to his chest as he watched the approaching stranger. No, wait! Hudson had met the man earlier that day.
“Hey!” the dark-haired man said as he stopped next to them.
“Noah, right?” EJ said. “From the bakery?”
That’s right. They’d gone in that morning, picking up some sweet treats to get them through the last long few hours of their shift.
“That’s me!” Noah replied with a grin. “I see you found Bas.”
Hudson frowned. “Is he yours? He was up in the tree. He could have fallen and gotten hurt!”
Noah blinked at Hudson before glancing down at the cat. “Uh, not mine. I mean, he belongs to a friend.”
“He doesn’t even have a collar!” Hudson pointed out.
Noah pressed his lips together, but it looked like he was trying not to smile. Hudson wasn’t finding anything funny about this situation. “Yeah, I’ll make sure…his owner keeps a better eye on him.”
Before Hudson could protest, Noah scooped Bas out of his arms.
What a strange name. Hudson wondered what it stood for.
“Anyway, thanks for looking after this guy.” Noah swung Bas over his shoulder. With Bas’s front across his small chest, the cat’s legs went all the way down his back and past his ass. “I better get him home!”
Hudson watched as Noah trotted off.
The cat, Bas, turned his head to look back at Hudson. He looked sad at being taken away. Hudson was sad. He should be relieved that Bas had a home, shouldn’t he?
EJ patted his back. “Sorry, bud, maybe you can keep the next cat you rescue from a tree.”
It was probably for the best. Hudson didn’t need the responsibility of a pet when he was still trying to settle into a new house and job.
“Come on,” EJ urged. “I’ll drop you off at home.”
Chapter Two
Bas
After a long shower, Bastian changed into a pair of old, comfortable jeans and a soft T-shirt. His mind was still whirling from the shocking revelation earlier. Even through all of Noah’s teasing about him being rescued from a tree, which hadn’t happened—Bas was the best climber, period—he couldn’t stop thinking about the big smiling human that had so earnestly wanted to help him. And had smelled like Bas’s favorite everything.
So, this was what happened when a shifter scented their mate.
Bas still had trouble believing it. At first, Bas had been annoyed that his nap had been interrupted until he’d gotten a look at the human whose deep voice had penetrated his dream. Then Bastian just wanted to get closer. But Bas knew better than interacting with humans when he was shifted. He tried to show the human that he was fine by walking to the smallest part of the branch, but that had only upset the human even more. Eventually Bastian figured the only solution was to get down from the tree.
He had not expected the human to snatch him up. Or how fucking good the human would smell.
Mate.
Was it really true?
Bastian had been certain when he’d been held in the human’s arms and against that awesome broad chest. The human wasjust Bastian’s type. Big, tall, wide, and strong. He’d been seriously considering letting the human take him home. How Bas would explain that to others hadn’t mattered. He’d have let the human rub him for as long as he was able.
Instead, Noah had shown up and Bas had been yanked back into his senses.
There was no way that Bas had met his mate. There must have been something in the air. The flowers or whatever. Bas just needed to forget all about the handsome human. Although, since the man had been dressed in the town’s firefighter uniform, if Bastian wanted to investigate further, he could.
Banging on the cabin door pulled him from his thoughts of the human. He stomped forward and threw open the door with a frown. He’d said that he would be right out. Bas just needed a few minutes to think.
