Chapter 14
Jude
As much as it almost killed him to stay apart from his mate, Jude couldn’t take anymore of Logan’s hateful looks that night. Even his tiger had had enough, running itself ragged before dragging down a deer and practically ripping it to shreds in its feral anger. Jude had felt sorry for the poor animal as he forced himself to consume more than he needed in retribution, almost making himself sick. He hadn’t even been hungry, having just consumed a large meal in his human form, but the need to kill something had been overwhelming and he’d finally given in. He knew the remainder of the deer’s carcass would feed several woodland scavengers for days, so the animal’s life wasn’t wasted. Regardless, Jude still regretted his actions. Killing for survival or even for sport was one thing, but killing in anger was too close to losing himself to the darkness that always lurked just a few steps away for most tigers.
He’d finally forced himself to return to human form. By the time he’d dragged himself back to Logan’s home, he was both physically and mentally exhausted. Jude briefly glanced down at his naked form, regretting his uncontrolled shift after the painful after-dinner conversation heaped on him by Logan’s pack. He only regretted shifting so frantically because he’d shredded another outfit he’d borrowed from Logan’s closet. Logan had already had enough of his things ruined by Jude already.
Jude fell onto the couch, pulling the small patchwork quilt on top of himself in an attempt to hide his nakedness. Jude honestly didn’t care who saw him naked, as long as it wasn’t Logan. He knew that would only make his mate more uncomfortable. Jude tucked the quilt tight around his hips and forced himself to sleep.
Jude jumped like he’d heard a gunshot when the front door clicked shut the next morning. He flailed around haphazardly as he searched for the threat, but quickly settled when he realized it was just Logan’s pack leaving for the day. Jude’s nose signaled the presence of Izzy’s breakfast gift. The plate of homemade biscuits and bacon had been left on the coffee table covered in foil. He must have truly been exhausted to help slept through Izzy’s time in the kitchen.
Jude’s mouth watered as he bit into the flaky bit of heaven. Jude once again almost wished it had been Izzy he’d been fated to, after all. Not only was he apparently the nicest of them all, the little wolf could really cook.
It was beneath a tiger to lick a plate clean, so Jude licked one fingertip to pick up the remaining crumbs instead. He was sucking the last delicious morsels from his middle finger when Logan finally shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing his hand through his disheveled black locks. Logan’s yawn was so wide, his jaw popped loudly, causing Jude to flinch in sympathy. Instead of speaking, Jude adjusted the quilt around his hips, making sure nothing of importance was on display and settled back to watch his mate putter around the kitchen.
Obviously, Logan was going to pretend Jude wasn’t there this morning. Jude was torn between being thankful at the lack of interaction and pissed at being ignored. Before he could decide his true feelings on the matter, Logan was approaching with two steaming mugs of coffee in hand. He held out the extra and Jude stared at the offering in shock. Several seconds passed before Logan sighed.
“Okay. I guess I should have asked if you wanted any before I made another cup,” Logan said and started to set the extra mug down on the coffee table. Jude was quick to reach for it and take a large sip before Logan’s olive branch could get away. Jude’s tongue burned from the too-hot beverage, but he’d never let Logan know it was anything less than perfect. Jude watched as Logan suspiciously sipped his own coffee and took a seat in the recliner.
“Sleep okay?” Logan asked. Jude was pleased at the hint of sarcasm in his mate’s tone. He hoped it meant Jude wasn’t the only one who’d suffered from their night apart.
“Not really. You?” Jude asked. He could already tell his mate had slept terribly, if at all. The bags under Logan’s eyes were big enough to hold a week’s worth of clothes. Instead of answering, Logan snorted and took another sip of coffee.
“The pack and I are going home tomorrow for the weekend. Izzy’s due for a checkup,” Logan said. Jude’s head was almost spinning from the abrupt change of topic. Jude waited, expecting Logan had more to say on the matter. Instead, Logan sat silently and fiddled with a hole in his jeans.
“Is that your way of telling me you’ll be gone or was it an invitation to go with you?” Jude finally asked. Logan looked up and met Jude’s gaze directly. He stayed silent for several moments and then sighed loudly.
“Honestly, I have no idea. I don’t know what to do here, Jude.” Logan admitted.
Logan stood and rinsed his empty mug in the kitchen sink. Jude wanted to follow, but wasn’t willing to risk ending the conversation on another sour note. He knew if he was close to his mate and still naked, instincts would kick in again and Logan’s defensiveness would only be more justified.
“I think you should go with us,” Logan said, still leaning over the sink, his back to the living room. “I’d at least like to get my alpha’s opinion on the situation. He’ll want to meet you, at least.” Jude forced himself not to pump his fist in the air in victory, but his excitement must have still been evident on his face. Logan turned and scowled in his direction.
“This means nothing yet, Jude, so knock off the fucking gloating. Geez, who did I piss off in a past life?!” Logan grumbled as he walked away. Logan’s bedroom door slammed closed and Jude finally let his huge smile slip free.
Several hours later, Jude had decided he didn’t mind naked daytime television watching as much as he thought he would. He’d managed to find some cop show that seemed to be running nonstop all morning. The way human’s preyed upon one another sometimes made Jude’s skin crawl, but it was also strangely fascinating. He found it especially intriguing how often a person’s mate seemed to be the culprit when murder was involved. Jude wondered if the murder rate would go down in the human population if there was such a thing as true mates for them, as well.
“No, probably not. Look at how well Logan and I get along,” Jude murmured to himself and couldn’t stop from laughing at the sour thought. Logan picked that perfect moment to enter the room.
“What the fuck are you laughing at? Isn’t that Forensic Files?” Logan asked, obviously disgusted at Jude’s apparent sense of humor.
“No, wait!” Jude said, jumping up to catch his mate before he could storm off again. “Honestly, I wasn’t laughing at the show. I’m not some sicko.”
Before he knew it, Jude had Logan pinned against the front door. He closed his eyes and cursed himself for physically restraining his mate again without thinking. The obvious breeze reminded Jude he was still stark naked, too, which he was sure didn’t help matters at all. When he forced his eyes open again, the look on Logan’s face was more assessing than furious. Jude hoped that meant they were at least starting to get on the same page.
“Um, Jude,” Logan asked, his eyes locked on Jude’s lower anatomy.
“Yes, Logan?”
“Could you back off maybe?” Surprisingly, Logan wasn’t yelling. Instead, his tone of voice suggested he was trying to keep the situation from exploding exponentially.
“Well shit,” Jude thought to himself as he felt his cock waking up. It had apparently taken notice of its mate standing nearby with one less layer of clothes between them. Jude instinctively inhaled a calming breath and tried to step back. Unfortunately, the scent of Logan assaulted his fragile control as his tiger sat up and roared. Jude looked into Logan’s icy blue eyes and saw unexpected turmoil there. Jude knew, however, he would never allow himself to move forward until he was certain of his mate’s acceptance.
“I am not just an animal. I can control myself,” Jude said as he stepped back, widening the distance between them.
“And for that, I’m thankful,” Logan replied. “Now go put some clothes on before something happens we’ll both regret.” Jude dropped his head and turned, heading off to Logan’s room to dress. “And get some shoes, too. We need to go shopping for clothes that actually fit if you’re going to meet my alpha.”
Jude hid his answering smile even as his tiger paced and cursed him for letting his mate escape again. His more primal half just didn’t understand the delicacy of this most important hunt.