Story Excerpt
Man to Man

flame div

“Hello, you must be Chase and Donovan. Your alpha called and told us you were coming. I’m Maryann Nash, mate of Daniel Nash. Please, come in,” she said as she held the door open and gestured for them to come into the house.

Donovan smiled as he walked past her, following his brother into the house. He was a little surprised at how welcoming the inside felt. The worn outside belied the homey comfort inside the old farmhouse. It was actually very nice.

“Can I get you boys anything?” Maryann asked, bringing his attention back to her.

“No, thank you,” Donovan and Chase both replied at the same time. He watched Maryann nod her head, rubbing her hands together.

“Well, please, sit down. My husband is at our son, Joseph’s house right now, but our other son, James, will be here in a few moments to take you to him.”

Donovan nodded and went to sit down on the couch next to Chase, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together as he waited. Maryann seemed a little nervous and he wondered if she was afraid of them.

“Mrs. Nash, is everything okay?” he heard Chase ask, thankful that he didn’t have to.

“Please, call me Maryann. And I’m just upset over this whole business with Nate. He’s such a sweet boy and he doesn’t deserve to be hunted down like a piece of lost property.”

“Nate?” Donovan asked in curiosity. Reece hadn’t told them why they were coming down to help except to say that they were going to help guard someone. They had no idea what they were actually walking into.

“My son’s mate, Nate Summers.”

“Nate is your son’s—mate?” Donovan asked, surprised that Maryann was talking so casually about her son’s mate when he was another man. From what he could see, it didn’t bother her at all. His mother, on the other hand, would flip.

After Chase and their brother Devlin had come out to the family a few years ago, it had been made very clear to Donovan that he was not allowed to be gay. He was responsible for producing cubs and carrying on the family name. Being gay was not an option.

“Yes, Nate is Joseph’s mate. Is that a problem?” Maryann asked sitting up straighter and staring intently over at Donovan.

“No, ma’am. A mate is a mate, not matter what,” Donovan replied, surprised that he really meant it. He had been searching for his mate for so long, he wouldn’t care if she had purple polka dots.

“Good, because I won’t have that boy looked down on because of who he loves. He has brought more happiness to my son in the small amount of time he has been here than I have ever seen. Joseph means everything to that boy and, I suspect, Nate means everything to my son.”

“That’s as it should be, ma’am.”

“I swear, if you call me ma’am one more time instead of Maryann I’m going to sic my husband on you,” Maryann laughed.

“Yes, ma’am—I mean, Maryann,” Donovan chuckled.

Maryann nodded, sending Donovan a small smile. “Are you sure I can’t get you boys something to drink? Something to eat maybe?”

“No, thank you, Maryann. We stopped on the way through town and grabbed something to eat. Our alpha didn’t exactly explain the situation to us fully so we didn’t know when we might get another chance,” Chase explained.

“Well, I don’t think I would be stepping on anyone’s toes if I told you that you’re here to keep Nate safe. Someone is after him and we need strong boys like you two to make sure that this madman never gets his hands on him. There’s no telling what would happen to him then.”

Donovan turned his head slowly to see how Chase was taking that bit of news. Situations like this were somewhat of a sore subject with both of them, which is probably why their alpha sent them.

He turned back to Maryann and smiled. “We understand, Maryann, and don’t you worry, we’ll to everything in our power to keep Nate safe.”

Maryann reached over and patted Donovan’s hand. “I know you will. I’m just so—oh, that must be my son, James, now,” she said as they all heard the front door open and close.

“Mom?”

Donovan froze as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up at the deep raspy voice coming from the other room. His cock had gone so hard, he was afraid it was going to break through his jeans.

Who the hell was it coming through the door and why was he having such an intense reaction? He had never experienced anything like this in his life, not from any girl he had ever dated or any girl he had ever slept with. So, why this voice?

Donovan watched as pair of long legs encased in tight blue jeans came into his line of sight. He lifted his head slowly, moving up past the thick muscular thighs. His eyes paused at the tight bulge that said the other man was having nearly the same reaction as he was before moving on up past the flat stomach and nicely chiseled chest to a square jaw.

But it was the man’s smoky, gray eyes that held Donovan spellbound. One look and Donovan knew he was hooked. Hell, he was obsessed. He was looking into the eyes of his future, his mate—and he was a man.