Jacks, Marcy - Eli's Reluctant Mate [DeWitt's Pack 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Marcy Jacks (fiction novels to read .txt) 📕

werewolf.”

Chris seemed taken aback by that. “But I thought werewolves only changed under the full moon and were all ferocious and couldn’t control themselves when they did transform.”

Eli shook his head. “That’s the odd case. Wild werewolves are

usually like that, and most of the  time they can’t even control

themselves when in their human forms.”

“Wild―?”

“Shh!” Eli raised his hand for silence, his ears picking up a sound

26                          Marcy Jacks

from just outside their door. Sounded like an empty can or something

being kicked around.

“When you brought me  here, did you travel along the streams?”

“What streams?” Chris asked.

Right. He was new in town, and that response certainly answered  Eli’s question.

He slunk over to the door, still naked and trying not to notice the way Chris blushed and hid his eyes under his hand as he passed. Eli looked through the peephole. He saw nothing.

That didn’t guarantee that Lloyd and his man hadn’t gone back to their pack and decided to return with some reinforcements.

Eli didn’t smell the men, and he had their scent for sure. He would

never forget it. Maybe it was just some soda can blowing in the wind.

He didn’t want to take the risk. “Where’s the phone?”

“On the nightstand. Did you want me to go out and, I don’t know,  find you some clothes or something?”

Just the way he said it let Eli know how uncomfortable Chris was  over Eli’s nudity. The rise in his heartbeat also told him that it wasn’t  because he found the male body repulsive. Not by a long shot.

“Probably best you don’t leave here after what happened. At least

not yet,” he added quickly, finding the phone and picking up the

receiver.

Chris swallowed. “Because of those other men?”

Eli looked at him straight on, remembering the way that one slimy fuck had tried to rape Chris. “Yes.”

“But I have nothing to do with any of this!” Chris said. “I’m not a werewolf.”

“No, but you have the night-and-day eyes,”

“The what?”

Eli could barely concentrate on dialing the number he needed to.  Instead, he walked over to Chris and got down on his knees in front of him. “Night,” he said, pointing at the one chocolate-colored eye, so dark it was nearly black, then at the bright blue one. “Day. The weird

Eli’s Reluctant Mate                       27

thing about the name is that, even if you had one eye that same dark  brown and the other hazel instead of sky blue, it would still be called  day-and-night eyes by my people. Having dual-colored eyes is a good  luck symbol for werewolves. It means you’re blessed by Romulus and  Remus. Maybe it’s more instinctual than I thought, too. Either way,  any wild wolf without morals is going to want a piece of you.”

Chris reached up with his hand, touching the skin just under his  lower lash. “But…”

“Don’t think about it right now,” Eli said, getting back to his feet  and moving toward the phone. “I need to make a call so we can safely  get out of here.”

“You’re a werewolf,” Chris said, and Eli heard him getting to his  feet. “Do you want a piece of me, too?”

His voice was defensive. Not good.

Eli looked at him then noted where Chris’s eyes were pointed, and  he shifted around to keep him from staring too long at  Eli’s erection.  “Yes, but I won’t hurt you. I would never do that.”

“Why?”

Jesus Christ! Eli wet his lips. “Because I’m not like that, and  neither are my friends. You traveled in a way that those other wolves  can follow our scents here and bring reinforcements if they want. I  need to call my pack alpha and tell him to come and get us.”

Eli had the phone in his hand again when that kicked can sound  came again. This time they both heard it, because Chris’s head  whipped toward the door.

“There’s someone out there,” he said. Those mismatched eyes of  his were alert, and he looked to Eli as though asking,  What should I  do?

“Stay there,” Eli whispered. “Don’t make a sound.”

Chris swallowed and nodded.

Eli walked naked over to the door again. He looked out the little peephole, and this time, a shuffle in the bushes, just on the outskirts of the parking lot, caught his eye.

28                          Marcy Jacks

The sun was setting, however, and the shadows were long, making it difficult to see who exactly was out there.

Goddamn it. He was still hungover.  Whose scent was that?

“Who’s there?” Chris whispered.

Eli signalled him for silence then motioned to the door lock. Chris nodded, getting the message loud and clear.

Lock the door behind me.

Eli stepped out. He wasn’t too worried about giving some old ladya heart attack or anything with his nudity, because, despite how shitty his nose was working at the moment, he couldn’t smell any humans nearby, but he was definitely catching that distinct dog smell that came with being a werewolf.

As to the individuals, however, he had no idea who they were.

Eli quietly shut the door behind him, and he heard the click of the bolt sliding home as Chris locked himself inside.

Not that it would help him if Eli couldn’t stop whoever these wolves were from getting to him, but it would buy him some time to call for help, and hopefully that would be enough.

Eli kept his eyes on the prize, those shifting shrubs just over there, where he knew his enemies were hiding. They would see him coming, but he marched over with his back straight, itching to transform and

attack.

When he made it over, he lifted his hand, his fingers clawlike, ready to bring it down in a killing swipe.

Someone popped out and jumped back, putting his hands up to keep Eli from attacking. “Hey! Hey! Relax, it’s me!”

Eli couldn’t believe it. “Isaac?”

“No shit! Put your claws away!”

Oh. Right.

He lowered his hands. The second he did, a heavy fist punched  him on the back of his shoulder. “You prick!” It was Adam, and he  didn’t look very happy. “Where the hell were you all this time? We  thought you were kidnapped or something.”

Eli’s Reluctant Mate                       29

Eli stiffened.