His Perfect Mate [Nehalem Pack 6] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) by AJ Jarrett (if you give a mouse a cookie read aloud txt) 📕

and Carl couldn’t help but stare. The sharp lines of his masculine face softened, almost making the man look childlike. Carl thought it was a good look for the tall man.

Carl took notice of his hulking shoulders. A dark-gray pullover hid the shape of Jake’s body but when the man would raise his arm or flex his muscles, Carl could see the strength the cotton material kept hidden.

“Here you go.” Holden sat a plate of eggs with some bacon in front of him and the delicious smell distracted him from his thoughts about Jake.

Carl smiled his thanks but waited until the others had food before he dug in. He might have had to live like an animal over the past few years but he still remembered the manners his mother had taught him.

They ate in silence. Every now and again he’d catch Jake looking at him and he had to swallow down a giggle as the man’s cheeks became flushed. Being around Jake, even Seth and Holden, almost made him forget the past or that his brother had been taken.

But like always reality came pounding down on his shoulders to remind him how fucked up his life had become.

“Can you tell us exactly what is going on here?” Holden asked when they finished eating. “How did you come to live here and what are you so afraid of?” Holden pointed at his face. “By the looks of it you have every right to be.”

Carl stared down at his empty plate and swiped the fork over the surface. Warm fingers wrapped around his wrist and he stopped playing with the fork.

“Let us help you.” Jake slid his hand down to entwine his fingers with Carl’s.

The contact had Carl gasping on the inside. The rough callouses on Jake’s palm told a story of a man who worked with his hands but in that masculine strength held a gentleness that had Carl wanting to melt at his feet. He didn’t feel afraid to tell Jake what had happened to him and his brother. Carl prayed his instincts were right and that he could trust Jake.

“So much has happened. Where do I start?” His voice cracked and he could feel the tears pool in the corners of his eyes.

“From the beginning,” Jake gently said. He then cupped his other hand over Carl’s.

“My brother, Casper, and I grew up in Edgerton. It’s a small town in Vermont. It’s kind of like here.” He motioned toward the window. “Secluded and faraway from the city. We loved it there. We were so far from town our mother homeschooled my brother and I. Our only interaction with other kids was when we attended pack meetings.” Carl’s eyes stung as the memories of the past floated to the surface.

“I don’t mean to be insensitive but you need to get to the part that tells us how and why you came to live on my property.” Carl looked up at Seth and the man waved his hand around signaling for him to get on with it.

“A week before my eleventh birthday our alpha was murdered by hunters. The wolves that were with the alpha said they were out running in wolf form when it happened. Tobias was the second-in-command and naturally he took over.”

“Tobias?” Jake asked. “This is the current alpha, I take it?”

Carl nodded his head. “Yes and it didn’t sit well with my father. See him and the deceased alpha were best friends and my father had reservations about being under Tobias’s rule so he had made arrangements for us to move. A few days later Casper and I were home alone when Tobias came by. He explained to us that our parents had been in a car accident and died. I was only eleven and Casper nine.” His throat began to burn at the memory. It was the darkest day of his life. “We had nowhere else to go and Tobias took us in. I had been so grateful for that. It kept Casper and I together.” Carl swiped his hand under his eye to wipe away a tear. “He was always so nice. I didn’t have a clue what he was capable of.”

“What changed?” Seth prompted.

Carl didn’t want to tell them. He’d been so stupid. He fell for every lie Tobias ever told. They would think him foolish and just a dumb kid but he had to be honest with them. These men were willing to risk their safety to help him. He at least owed them the truth. “I stopped sharing his bed.”

“Excuse me?” Jake shouted. Carl tried to pull his hand free but Jake wouldn’t let go.

“Jake, calm down.” Holden touched Jake’s forearm. Carl watched as Jake turned to Holden. When the two men’s eyes met the pressure on Carl’s arm loosened. Holden smiled at Jake and Carl lost it.

“Would you please stop touching him!” he screamed so loud that even his ears began to ring. His fist balled up and he banged them on the table top. Here he went making a fool of himself again in front of complete strangers but damn it, he hated seeing Holden touching Jake. It drove him crazy and he didn’t know why and that just made him even angrier.

Holden pulled his hand way. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. Jake and I are just friends.”

“No, Holden, I’m sorry.” He flattened his hands and laid them flat on the table.

“It’s okay, Carl.” Jake pulled Carl toward him and Carl fell into his arms. It felt so natural to be this close to Jake. After the time spent with Tobias, he didn’t think he’d ever let another man touch him but this felt good. “I’m sorry for shouting at you. Can you finish telling us what led to you and your brother running from your alpha?”

Carl rubbed his forehead in the area where Jake’s shoulder and neck connected. The man’s fresh, clean scent seemed so strong right there. He felt light headed from the masculine scent.