Chapter Eight

IT HAD been another horrendously busy week so far, and Leo was swamped with paperwork that he knew wouldn’t get signed off before he left, which was going to bug him. He hated leaving things unfinished.

He was running late for his Starbucks date with Jackson because someone had convinced him to just quickly stop by ward eighteen before he left for the day and he’d spent almost an hour talking to a couple of parents about ongoing therapy sessions for their kids. He was starting to feel like part of the furniture of the children’s hospital, even though he wasn’t qualified yet, and that had to be a good thing. It meant his job prospects for the future looked bright.

“Mr. Gallagher?”

Leo stopped and smiled politely at the man and woman who’d approached him. They were both smartly dressed, conservative-looking, and he thought he recognized them from somewhere. He wanted to wave them off, tell them he’d finished his shift and they could contact him during his goddamn office hours.

That wasn’t how things worked around here, though.

“Can I help?”

“We’re hoping we can help you, Mr. Gallagher.” The woman pressed a leaflet into his hands. Leo glanced down; it was nondescript, the cover showing a photograph of a white couple who looked startlingly similar to the people in front of him.

If they hadn’t known his name, Leo would have dismissed them as Mormons.

He stepped to one side to let someone pass and realized he’d effectively let them box him in at the busy hospital entrance.

“A mutual friend asked us to come meet you,” the man said. He had a neatly trimmed beard and very green eyes. “You’ve been dating a werewolf, is that right? We can help, Mr. Gallagher. We’re with the Human Protection League.”

“I don’t know what that is. I’m sorry.”

“We help people who have been trapped in abusive relationships with werewolves.”

Leo barked a laugh. “You have the wrong person, then. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

“You are dating a werewolf, though, isn’t that right?”

Leo hesitated. He didn’t want to have this conversation at all, but the alternative was getting into some kind of altercation with these people and that would be worse—he was a hospital employee, and he was sure it wouldn’t reflect well on him.

“I have a few friends who are werewolves,” Leo said instead of answering their question.

“We monitor werewolf activity across the state,” the woman said. “It’s mostly just for our protection, as humans, but we step in when we think someone needs our help.”

“I don’t need your help,” Leo said, as forcefully as he dared.

He stepped to the side, but the woman moved with him. “This will only take a moment, Mr. Gallagher. Did you know that the myth of werewolf-human soul mates has been disproved by dozens of scientific and religious studies? It’s no more possible for a werewolf to mate with a human than it is for a goldfish to mate with a grizzly bear.”

“Excuse me, please….”

The man moved to block Leo again. “Mr. Gallagher, we’re here to help. Werewolves have been known to prey on humans who they perceive to be weaker, and trap them into relationships with the lure of some mystical bond. Those bonds do not exist,” he finished emphatically.

“You don’t have to listen to us now,” the woman continued. “But when you’re ready for us to help, we’re here.”

They stepped away in sync. “We’re ready to help you when you’re ready to listen, Leo.”

He rushed away, trying to shake off the disgust.

There was a trash can that the smokers used just outside the hospital entrance. Leo glanced at the title of the pamphlet: “Disproving the Myth of Human-Werewolf Mates and Freeing Humans Trapped in Abusive Relationships.”

He stuffed it into the trash can and rushed for his car.

HE WAS late getting to Starbucks, still pissed off at the Human Protection bullshit, especially because they’d made him even more late for his date. Jackson had been distant and moody in the texts they’d exchanged in the past week, though Leo was pretty sure that had nothing to do with him.

The coffee shop was buzzing with students, people working late, others catching up after a busy week. Jackson had found his preferred seat near the window and tucked in behind a wall, so there were fewer people in the immediate vicinity.

Leo bought his drink, then plopped down in the seat opposite Jackson with a sigh.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Jackson said, offering him a quick flash of a smile before turning back to his phone.

A rush of frustration twisted in Leo’s belly as he watched Jackson reply to some very important communication. Jackson was so hard to read. He could be so dismissive, and Leo really wasn’t sure if that was just him, the fact that they were out in public together, or if Jackson was just like that with everyone.

Leo picked at a loose thread on the cuff of his jacket for a moment, considering what he wanted to ask.

“Did you tell anyone about me yet?” he said in a rush.

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” Leo felt stupid.

“My sister. She’s desperate to find her soul mate. I think she’s pissed at me for not being more appreciative of you.”

Leo smiled thinly. “I’m probably not doing any better.”

“Huh. How about you?”

“Just Mitch, at the moment. I want to go and tell my parents, but….”

“But?” Jackson pressed.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure how they would react. They have certain, um, opinions. About werewolves.”

Opinions that many people shared, as Leo had been so rudely reminded.

“Oh,” Jackson said softly.

“They’re not bad people, Jackson. I just don’t think they’re going to understand.”

Jackson screwed his face up and rubbed his palm over it roughly.

“Are we doing the right thing?” he asked eventually.

“We’re not doing much of anything at all.” A few quiet dates, a few quick kisses. And that one time Jackson had let his guard down enough to kiss Leo like they both wanted. It wasn’t much, even if Leo felt his attraction toward Jackson growing every day.

“No. No.”

“I don’t really have any suggestions.”

“My parents aren’t soul mates,” Jackson said quickly. “They’re, just… not. It doesn’t always happen for us. A lot of werewolves don’t have soul mates. And they’ve been married forever. It doesn’t have to be….”

“It doesn’t have to be me,” Leo finished for him.

“Or me. We could be happy with other people.”

Leo nodded. “Do you want that? To see how that works out for us?”

Jackson was quiet for a long moment. Then he sighed. He still didn’t say anything.

“You don’t have to make a decision now,” Leo said when it became clear Jackson wasn’t about to respond.

“No.”

“No…?”

“No, I don’t want to see if we can make it work with other people. Mostly because I’m a selfish asshole, and though I could quite happily find some girl and marry her and get on with my life, the thought of seeing you happy with another guy makes me want to punch him—whoever he is—in the fucking face.”

“Oh,” Leo said, because what else could he say? That was definitely an “oh” moment. “That’s not exactly the healthiest sentiment, Jackson.”

“Yeah.” He grunted in frustration, his face twisting up as he pushed a hand through his hair. “I know. It’s like… now I know you, I can’t let you go. I don’t understand it either.”

“You don’t have to right now,” Leo said gently. “I like spending time with you. Well, most of the time.”

Jackson’s expression softened. No one would call it a smile, but it was getting there. Leo wanted so desperately to touch him, but it didn’t feel like a good idea. He’d been warned away from emotionally distressed werewolves all his life. It didn’t feel like a good idea to go poking one right now.

“Did you ever want your soul mate?” Leo asked instead.

Jackson shrugged and studied the surface of their little table intently. “I wasn’t looking.”

“Oh,” Leo said softly.

“I’m glad I found you, though,” Jackson added in a rare moment of openness. Leo didn’t bother to hide his surprise. “It’s better to know.”

“Look, Jackson,” Leo said, aiming for a practical sort of tone. “We don’t know each other that well yet. We can take our time. Forget everything else, what people around us are expecting, and do this our way.”

“That could work.”

Leo leaned across the table, took Jackson’s hand, and squeezed it lightly. For just a moment Jackson looked panicked. Then he squeezed back.

“Let’s just do things our way.”

“I feel like I’m doing the worst job ever of being your soul mate,” Jackson said quietly. It looked like the admission had cost him a lot.

“No,” Leo said. “You’re dealing with a whole lot right now. I’m probably not helping.”

“You’re incredible.” Jackson’s whisper was almost lost in the noise around them. “I can’t get over how incredible you are.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Leo told him with confidence he didn’t feel. One of them needed to be strong right now, and it looked like that responsibility was falling to Leo. He thought he could probably manage it. For Jackson’s sake, if nothing else.

In that moment he decided not to tell Jackson about the people who’d ambushed him at the hospital. Jackson already felt like the odds were stacked against him. The last thing he needed was to know there were people out there who already knew about them and were trying to get Leo to leave him. Whatever fragile thing they were holding didn’t need that negativity poured into it.

“Why don’t you…,” Jackson started. Then he deflated, like he’d run out of steam or faith in his idea.

“Hmm?”

“I don’t have any plans for the weekend.”

“Me either.”

Jackson didn’t seem in a rush to finish his thought. Leo fought with his patience, determined not to push Jackson on this.

“Why don’t you come stay?” Jackson said eventually. He fiddled with the hem of his denim shirt, tugging at it like a nervous schoolboy. “For the weekend.”

“That sounds nice. I’ll bring something for dinner.”

“I was thinking pizza Friday night,” Jackson said, a whisper of a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

“Okay,” Leo agreed with a laugh. “Pizza Friday, and I’ll cook something healthier for us on Saturday.”

“Will Mitch be okay with that?”

Leo snorted. “Mitch won’t even notice I’m not there.”

“That’s okay, then? For the whole weekend?”

“Yeah,” Leo said, stupidly endeared. “I’ll drive out when I finish work.”

Jackson smiled, and Leo felt it light him up inside.