Kidnapped by the Werewolf Hunter [DeWitt's Pack 13] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Marcy Jacks (free ebook novel TXT) 📕

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

Before, he would have been suspicious about Cole faking an illness in an attempt to get away, but now that Cole was the one in charge, there was no need for this.

There was actually something wrong with him.

“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head and not bothering with looking back at Everett.

“Bullshit.” Everett stopped and dug his feet into the ground. Cole tried dragging him, and he even managed to pull Everett along for the next couple of steps before the other man finally gave up and stopped.

He still wasn’t looking at Everett.

“What’s wrong? Is it your wrists again?”

Everett had barely had the chance to take a look at those injuries after Cole had tried making a run for it. Even after they came back together, Cole had bandaged Everett’s wound on his face, but hadn’t bothered with much of anything for his wrists other than pouring some disinfectant on them.

With the keys now in his possession, he’d been able to get that last shackle off of himself as well before connecting it to Everett’s cuffs, so it wasn’t like he could be making them any worse.

Cole allowed Everett to take hold of his wrists, but he was quick to point out the problem when Everett saw no more swelling or discoloration.

“I need to transform. I need to make the shift.”

Everett’s head flew up. Cole’s eyes were golden again, and there was a thin sheen of sweat on his face. The day had warmed up once the sun had gone farther into the sky, but it wasn’t nearly hot enough to be giving Cole this kind of reaction.

Everett swallowed. He hadn’t prepared for this part, and now he was standing there, with Cole holding onto his leash—because that’s pretty much what the thing was—unable to get away. “I see. You’re fighting against it?”

Cole nodded. “Oh yeah.”

Even Cole was worried about what his inner wolf would do once it was let out. Why did the man have to argue with him and be stubborn about everything? Everett could help him if Cole would just admit that shifters were dangerous.

Even the ones that didn’t want to cause any harm were something to be feared. Everett could see that now.

“What should I do? Will you come after me if you shift? Should I go into the trees or something?”

Everett was already looking up into the branches, searching for something that could be easy enough for him to climb into, hide him, and hold his weight for several hours while Cole wolfed out. There was no way he was going to be able to outrun something like that. Hiding in the trees was the only thing that made any sense to him, even if it would make him look stupid and cowardly. If Cole’s wolf saw him while he was up in that tree, he was screwed. He’d seen some of the things werewolves had chewed through. Getting him out of a tree would hardly be a problem.

For that reason, he was a little confused when Cole started laughing at him.

“This isn’t funny! You’re about to change, and your wolf could kill me!”

“I’m not going to hurt you. That isn’t what’s making me fight it,” Cole said.

Everett didn’t understand. “Then what is? Why would you make yourself sick to avoid shifting?”

Cole started walking again, only this time, he started swinging the end of the chain around in a circular motion. “I don’t want you running away while I’m a wolf, but I don’t want to tie you to one of the trees either.”

“What?”

Cole turned around and looked at him. “I want you to stick around while I make my shift. Don’t panic, and don’t run away.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Everett couldn’t see his face, but by Cole’s sigh, he guessed he was looking at the other man like he’d just lost his mind.

“I’m being serious here. I want you to see firsthand that I’m not dangerous. I can control it now. I couldn’t back then.”

Everett was already taking several steps back, as far as the chain would allow him to, at any rate. “No way. If wolves could control it, then hunters wouldn’t exist.”

“I came back for you, remember? I saved your life when that guy was about to put a knife through your skull. You know I’m not evil, so why would I put your life in danger like that?”

It made sense. Everett didn’t like admitting to it, but it did.

Cole’s voice was pleading. “You know me, and I know you still love me. Let me show you that I really am, okay?”

Everett wanted to believe him. He was tempted to try. He was the kind of person who stuck to his beliefs, but he liked to think of himself as being open minded enough to be able to change his mind should he see proof of his mistakes. Cole was offering him that proof, but still, he wasn’t sure if he could do it.

“I—I don’t know if I can. I mean, I haven’t seen any werewolves yet who weren’t wild. I’ll run. My legs will start going the second I see you start to wolf out.”

It would be either run and hide or attempt to wrestle his weapons out of Cole’s hands, and he wasn’t prepared to kill the man just so he could live.

Cole thought about that for a minute. “But you are curious?”

He was indeed that. “Yes.”

Cole started looking around. “Would it be easier if I did tie the chain to one of these trees? I wouldn’t want to do it, but if it’ll make it easier for you to see because you couldn’t run…”

Everett got what Cole was saying. It reminded him of the times when he and Cole had messed around in bed with ropes and ties and other things they’d gotten from the S&M places online. They’d tried the stuff out, being each others’ firsts when it came to getting hot wax dripped on them, and all the while they