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Khan nibbled his bottom lip for a second before whispering, “You deserve so much better than me.”
Before Nathan could think up a response—after all, he didn’t know the man—Khan jumped to his feet, pulling away from him. Even as he reached to draw him back to the sofa, the shifter skittered away while shedding his jacket. Seeing Khan start to shift, Nathan called the male’s name.
Khan’s change from man to wolf was far faster than the reverse, and Nathan sat too long in stunned silence.
Soon enough, Khan was racing from the room. The wolf ignored not only Nathan calling him, but Kontra and Sam, too. He disappeared down a hall and out of sight.
Blowing out a harsh breath, Kontra waved toward where he went. “Payson, please follow him.” The big male shook his head as he muttered, “He shouldn’t be out there alone.”
Payson appeared both troubled and confused. “I’ll get Vail, too.” After a quick kiss to Land’s lips, he started out of the room, adding, “He’s good at getting people to talk.”
“You mind if I go, too, Mads?” another man asked. The guy was big and broad, and sported a troubled expression.
“Of course, you can go after your friend, Ish,” the slightly smaller but no less broad goateed man who was holding Ish rumbled. “Just be careful, my mate.”
Ish nodded. “I will.” After the pair kissed, the larger one hurried after Payson.
“That was not the way I’d hoped for this to go,” Kontra grumbled, scrubbing his fingers through his hair, betraying his frustration. He arched a brow as he turned to Tim and asked, “You saw nothing about any of this?”
“Afraid not,” Tim replied, drawing his brows together with worry. “I mean, I know I’m not the only one that often scents fear from Khan.” He glanced around, and Nathan saw several of the other men nodding as if confirming Tim’s comment about smelling fear from Khan. “I thought bringing his mate to Khan would help settle him.”
“Khan smells afraid?” Nathan questioned, glancing around the group. “What’s that mean?”
Ryan returned to his seat and settled beside Sam once more. “We told you that shifters have heightened senses.”
Nathan nodded. “I recall.”
He could see pros and cons to that, considering some of the smells out there in the world.
“Well, emotions give off certain scents,” Kontra explained before taking a sip of his own drink. “Like anger, fear, happiness, even arousal and lies.” Tapping the side of his nose, the big male claimed, “Normally, we’re trained to figure them out after our first shift. We can tell a lot by how someone smells.”
Nathan remained silent, only giving a tiny nod of acknowledgment. He didn’t know what to say to that.
Well, shit. They can smell arousal and lies? That has to make things tough at times.
“We don’t know what Khan’s running from,” Kontra admitted, looking frustrated. “He hid that he could shift, never talked to us, and we know nothing about his past.”
Groaning, Sam added, “Hell, he says to call him Khan, which obviously isn’t his real name.” He frowned as he stared down the hallway where the men had disappeared. “Payson picked it out for him.”
“Could his real name be attached to trouble?” Nathan tossed the idea out there. “Are there wanted shifters?”
Lifting his hands, palms up, displaying his confusion, Tim stated, “We have a Shifter Council, and they have lists of known rogues. If Khan’s on it, I can’t imagine why.” Scoffing softly, Tim mused, “There’s not a mean bone in that skittish wolf’s body.”
“If someone listed Khan as rogue, then it was by someone trying to cover up their own crime,” Kontra stated with conviction. “But we won’t know unless he tells us.”
“It’s a moot point, Kontra,” Sam countered, frowning and shaking his head. “He’s with us now. He’s part of our pack. Has our protection.” Waving a hand, he added, “Hell, if he bonds with Nathan here, then he’ll end up with the protection of Alpha Declan and the Stone Ridge pack, too. He just needs to stop running.”
Nathan downed the rest of his drink and rose to his feet. Grabbing his hat from the nearby end table, he placed it on his head. Then he grabbed his jacket from the floor and started toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Sam demanded as they all rose.
Looking over his shoulder at them, Nathan paused only long enough to tell them, “If Khan wants me, he knows where to find me.”
“You’re his mate,” Tim declared, scowling at him. “Don’t you want to help him?”
Nathan turned and sighed. “Sure I do, and not just because of the whole mate thing.” Although that definitely ramped up the need. Resting his hands on his hips, Nathan declared, “It’s obvious that young man was abused, but if he won’t talk to any of us, all we can do is be there for him when he’s ready to change his mind.”
“Then why are you walking away?” Kontra demanded quietly.
