“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.
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