Chapter 10
Jude
Jude ran until he felt his heart was going to burst. Finally reaching his limit, he dropped down on a park bench, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He watched several humans as they jogged past, many eyeing him with obvious concern. He smirked at the thought that any of them would think he was weak enough to need their help. A particularly stunning red-headed female made her way toward him, jogging in place as she stood near.
“Are you okay? Should I call someone for you?” the redhead asked, breasts bouncing up and down as she continued to move. Jude almost laughed aloud at how little reaction he felt to her prancing display. He knew before he’d met Logan he would have been all over that obvious invitation. He sighed, accepting it would never be that way again.
“No, but thanks. Really, I’m fine. Just overdid it a little,” Jude replied, forcing himself to smile with teeth. He always found that made the humans just uncomfortable enough to keep their distance, as if their subconscious picked up on the danger he truly represented. True to form, the redhead smiled half-heartedly and jogged away. He would have watched her tight ass until it was out of sight, but really, what was the point anymore? He had a mate now. A mate who rejected him, but still a mate.
Jude sat back on the bench, letting his head drop back between his shoulder blades and closed his eyes. The humid air did little to soothe his frayed nerves as he thought back over his failed interaction with Logan this morning. He ran through several scenarios trying to find a way to make Logan accept their mating, but came to the same conclusion every time. Unless Logan felt he was in the lead, it would never happen. Jude had watched his mate long enough to know that Logan’s alpha instincts were too strong. Unfortunately, so were Jude’s and unless one of them was willing to give, this relationship was never going to work.
It was a frustrated Jude that finally left the park when dusk started falling. He jogged toward the house he had come to think of as home, hoping his mate would be waiting for him as requested. Jude tried the knob and growled when he found it locked. He was tempted to break the door down, but he calmed himself before he let foolish pride get the better of him. Jude took a deep breath and knocked. He stepped down a level to keep himself from losing patience and storming inside. Finally, after what felt like eons, a familiar scent approached and the door cracked open slightly.
“Hello, Izzy. Can you let me in please?” Jude calmly requested. He crossed his arms over his chest and forced himself to portray the epitome of calm. Jude could feel Izzy’s eyes as they roamed up and down his human form, cataloguing every feature from his reddish-blond hair, square jaw, and mismatched eyes down to his wide shoulders and size fourteen feet. He’d been lucky Logan shared the same foot genetics. Jogging barefoot would surely have attracted more unwanted attention.
“Are you really Judas?” Izzy faintly asked through the crack in the door. “You don’t look like a cat.”
“That’s because I’m a tiger. And it’s Jude, not Judas. Now let me in, Izzy, before I lose my patience. I don’t want to hurt you, but I need to see Logan.” Izzy stepped back instantly, letting the door swing wide. He obviously accepted Jude’s tenuous grip on his control.
“Thank you, Izzy. I’m sorry if I frightened you,” Jude said as he stepped inside. He forced himself to modulate his deep baritone, even though his nerves were frayed. He knew his voice could be threatening enough without speaking at elevated volumes. Izzy shut the front door and shoved his hands in his pocket. The little shifter rocked back and forth on his bare feet, failing to hide his own nervous energy.
“It’s okay. Ryan gets like that sometimes if we’re separated too long. I get it,” Izzy admitted, flushing as he did so. “Logan’s in his room, I think. He didn’t want any dinner tonight. Maybe you can convince him to eat something? I don’t think he’s eaten all day.”
“I’ll try. He’s had a hard day, I think,” Jude admitted. Izzy patted his hand on Jude’s shoulder in an apparent attempt at comfort. Jude honestly appreciated the sweet gesture from the little wolf.
“I suspect he’s not the only one. Good luck in there,” Izzy said. Jude nodded in agreement and headed for the room he considered his as much as Logan’s. Before Jude made it two feet into the hall, Logan’s brother was racing to block his way.
“Damn it, Izzy. I told you not to let him back in!” Ben snarled at the smaller wolf.
Jude stopped, crossing his arms over his chest and waited for the other man to explain himself. He could feel the rest of Logan’s pack watching from behind. He should have been worried at being outnumbered, but Jude had so much bottled up frustration at the moment that he almost hoped this interaction turned into a fight.
When Ben said nothing after several moments, Jude made to push past. Ben stepped to the side, once again blocking Jude’s forward momentum. Ben puffed out his chest defiantly, but he still had to look up, way up, to meet the tiger shifter’s gaze. When Logan’s brother stood there despite the odds, Jude felt nothing but pride for the other man. It seemed Ben had finally found his balls. Jude would be proud to call him family one day.
“You were an asshole as a cat, so I’m assuming you’re still an asshole no matter what you really are. You don’t deserve my brother, Judas. Why don’t you just turn around and get out of here before you cause him any more pain?” Jude continued to meet Ben’s golden gaze directly and held it until the other shifter was finally forced to look away. Jude smirked, never doubting his superiority.
“Logan is my mate and I’m not going to let a pup like you get in my way. Got it? Now step aside before I lose my temper.” Jude may have been proud of Logan’s brother, but that didn’t mean he was going to let anything get between him and his mate.
Ben growled deep in his chest, his wolf starting to rise to the surface. Jude picked up the growls of two more wolves starting to shift behind him, knowing Adam and Ryan were both ready to enter the battle to protect their pack mate. Izzy was frantically trying to calm them all, arguing that this didn’t need to turn into a fight. Jude turned and caught the betrayed look Ryan shot his mate. Finally, Izzy relented and shifted, too. His white wolf trembled in its unwillingness to join the battle but yet it stood in solidarity shoulder-to-shoulder with its mate.
“Everyone fucking stop!” Logan’s booming voice sounded from the doorway to his room. “Jude, get in here before you cause any more trouble.” Jude snarled at the implication that any of this was his fault. Logan scowled at Jude’s expression and added a snarl of his own in response.
“I said stop! All of you! Now get in here, Jude,” Logan yelled, pointing with one finger in the direction of their shared room. Jude slid past Ben’s blond wolf who was still baring its teeth and growling in Jude’s direction.
“Damn it, Ben! Fucking knock it off, will you? Jude isn’t going to hurt me,” Logan yelled. “Since all of you have so much fucking energy tonight, why don’t you get out of here and go hunt. We’re low on meat.”
Logan slammed the door behind himself, practically in his brother’s face. Tapping claws could be heard retreating to the front of the house and Logan rested his head on his door frame, sighing loudly. Jude fought with himself to keep from offering physical comfort to his mate. He knew instinctively that Logan wouldn’t find it comforting at all.
“Sorry about that,” Logan finally said, turning to sit on the end of his bed. “Ben can be a little overprotective at times. He’s been that way ever since our folks died. Like he’s afraid he’s going to lose me, too, you know?” Jude joined his mate in sitting on the bed, but left several feet between them. He didn’t want Logan to feel any more uncomfortable than he already was.
“It’s okay. I’m sure if I had a brother in this situation, I would act the same way,” Jude said.
“You don’t have any siblings?” Logan asked. Jude shook his head in response. He was going to leave it there but felt the need for his mate to know more about his kind. “I might have siblings that I’m not aware of. I don’t have any contact with my family anymore,” Jude continued.
“Why not?” Logan asked. “Shit, I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“No it’s okay, Logan. I want to tell you. You should know,” Jude said. He paused several moments, contemplating the best way to describe his childhood. Realizing Logan wasn’t going to like it no matter what, Jude sighed and started explaining the basics of weretiger society.
“Well, tigers aren’t like wolves, you know. Offspring only stay with their parents until we can protect and fend for ourselves. My father was not my mother’s true mate, so he didn’t stay around after I was conceived. Once I was mature enough, I left to find territory of my own. I haven’t seen my mother in many years,” Jude explained.
“Seriously?!” Logan asked, apparently angry again. “See?! Another reason we could never work. You’re crazy if you think I’d just let my pups wander off on their own when they were barely weaned.” Logan was back to pacing, arms crossed tight over his chest as if he was trying to hold himself together. Jude could scent his mate’s growing distress like burning sulfur.
“Logan, please. Calm down. I promised I wouldn’t force anything on you, remember? You’re getting all worked up about something that would likely never happen anyway, even if we do figure out a way to make this work,” Jude said reasonably. Logan stopped near the door again and groaned as he rubbed his fists into both eyes. Jude could sense Logan’s exhaustion like it was a physical being in the room with them.
“I know. I just can’t turn my brain off. It keeps running off on these crazy tangents. Honestly, I just wish I could shut down and go to sleep so I could pretend this day never happened,” Logan explained. Jude took in his mate’s worn out appearance and stood to unmake the bed. Logan appeared ready to argue again when Jude met his gaze directly, forcing peace through their fragile link.
“Shift, Logan. Just shift and let your wolf take over for the rest of tonight. I promise you’ll both be safe. You need the rest. Just go to sleep and you’ll feel better in the morning.”
Logan nodded once and turned around, stripping quickly. Jude sensed his mate’s reluctance at being watched. He turned his back, offering Logan privacy. The faint sounds of shifting bones and flesh sounded and soon Logan’s large black wolf pressed against Jude’s hip affectionately. The wolf slid past and jumped into Logan’s usual spot, circling three times before he lay down. The wolf sighed peacefully, laid its muzzle on its crossed front paws, and closed its eyes. Jude couldn’t resist the urge to run his palm down his mate’s furry flank. Logan’s wolf apparently didn’t seem to mind the contact as much as his human side, as a humming noise sounded deep in the wolf’s chest. Jude smiled and turned off the bedside lamp.
“Goodnight, mate,” Jude said. The wolf snorted out a breath and succumbed to its exhaustion. Once the room was bathed only in moonlight, Jude kicked off his shoes and dropped his clothes were they fell. Jude relaxed and let his tiger flow free. The bed groaned when his heavier form jumped into its usual spot dead-center. Logan’s wolf briefly glanced over and huffed again, seemingly pleased at the tiger’s nearness. Jude forced his eyes to close, pretending to sleep but all the while watching over his mate while the wolf took its much needed rest.