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

“Oh Carl, how I’ve missed you,” Tobias whispered softly against his cheek. Carl wanted to yell at him to fuck off but he didn’t have the power. Tobias had broken him and he was defenseless to do anything else but stand there and accept whatever Tobias did to him. “I think it’s only right for me to gift you with my mating mark.”

No! Carl wanted to cry out. He didn’t want it. He would never accept Tobias as his.

“I’m going to cover you from head to toe with my mark.” Carl cringed as Tobias scraped his sharpened canine teeth over his jaw. “We might not be true mates but you’ll wear my mark as if we were.”

With that Tobias sunk his teeth into Carl’s neck then moved to bite his other shoulder. He cried silently as the man bit every bit of exposed flesh. After the first twenty or so bites Carl started to become light-headed. Spots danced in his field of vision and his legs gave out. Tobias gripped him around the waist and held him up.

Carl hunched over, depleted of all his energy. He could feel the blood as it ran down his body to drip in a puddle on the floor. Tobias continued to bite him again and again. Carl gave up the fight and let his eyes fall shut. He welcomed the darkness as it was his only savior from the dreadful life he would now be forced to live.

Chapter Twelve

As darkness fell upon them and they made their way around the back of the property toward the rear entrance of the house. Seth led the way. Jake kept his eyes peeled for signs of any other wolves but everything seemed eerily quiet. Only the sounds of birds and deers frolicking in the distance could be heard.

Holden stayed close to him and Jake assumed the other man feared he’d take off but Jake wasn’t stupid. His mate’s life depended on him keeping a clear head and not doing something stupid like getting himself killed.

Seth waved them over. “Do you see it?” he whispered.

Jake ducked down and squinted in the darkness. He saw the entrance that led to the door Seth referred to and it seemed rather out of place on the house. The back of the house had large windows and a sprawling patio with lawn furniture on it with a few doors leading into the home. All looked normal except that on the side of the house dug down into the ground was an entryway.

“Pretty weird, huh?” Seth asked.

“Yeah, it is.” Jake tilted his head to get a better look.

“The way they have it disguised with bushes and grass it’s like they’re trying to hide something,” Holden said from beside him.

“My guess is they probably are.” Seth removed his jacket then took off his shirt. “Let’s get ready, guys. Time to go save the day.” Seth gave a shrug of his shoulders. “Or so I hope.”

“That’s not real encouraging.” Jake stood up and kicked off his boots then started to take off his clothes.

“Hey, I’m not tempting fate. Being too overconfident can be just as damaging as being underconfident,” Seth explained.

Once they were all naked they shifted. Seth once again led the way and Jake followed close behind him. As they got closer a rabbit darted across the yard and a large spotlight went off, lighting up the entire area. Seth came to a stop and Jake bumped him from behind. The light was so bright as if it were noon on a summer day. Seth motioned with his head for them to follow him. He went wide and came up directly across from the door. The light kicked off and the three of them ran under the shelter of the entryway to the mysterious door.

The space wasn’t big enough for three full-grown men once they were in human form. They bumped shoulders and stood closer than Jake wanted to be. Shouldering his way toward the door he reached out to touch the knob but Seth’s hand shot out to stop him.

“Wait a minute.” Jake let go of the knob and Seth dropped to his knees. Seth sniffed along the ground and up the door frame.

“What’s he looking for?” Jake asked Holden.

“I’m not sure.” Holden stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

“I’m sniffing for any type of explosives or something that could be used as a trap or device to signal them of intruders.” He sniffed down the other side then gave a quick jerk of his head. “Nothing smells odd which means they aren’t expecting visitors which is good for us.” Seth turned the knob and surprisingly it opened.

“That’s a little disturbing.” Holden placed a hand on Jake’s and Seth’s shoulder stopping them. “Don’t you think it’s strange they’d leave this door unlocked?”

Jake was just about to say he agreed when a loud cry came from inside the house. He’d never heard Carl scream in pain or terror but the pitch and tone alerted him that it was his mate crying out in agony. “Carl.” He took off but strong arms grabbed him from behind.

“Are you stupid?” Seth hissed at his ear. “If they hear us coming we’re all dead.”

Jake struggled for a moment then gave up. More screams followed the first and Jake fought against Seth’s hold to go to his mate. His skin itched with the need to shift. His wolf wanted out and it craved blood, blood of the person causing its mate so much pain.

Soon the screaming stopped and that bothered Jake more than the loud, pain-filled cries did.

“Let’s go,” Seth whispered.

They slowly edged their way down the long hallway. The walls were light beige and marble floors ran throughout the hallway and didn’t stop until the very end where stairs began. The stairs went up and he tapped Seth on the shoulder and pointed.

“I know,” Seth whispered. “But we need