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letting it fall to the ground.
Gregory and Ashton walked over to Mrs Rafferty and Gregory kicked the rifle out of
her reach. The two naked young wolves at her side scowled at the council members but
remained quiet.
Finally Jared chanced a look at his mate. Nate s hands, arms, chest and stomach were
covered in blood. Jared nearly threw up. Without warning, his eyes shifted to their wolf form
and his incisors tore from his gums. Jared was dimly aware of a heated discussion between
Kelan, Gregory, Ashton and Mrs Rafferty, but he had no idea what was being said. All he
could see, all he could think about, was Nate& Nate who was completely covered in blood&
Barely managing to put one foot in front of the other, Jared crossed the yard to his mate,
but when he reached Nate all he could do was stare. Nate reached out a hand and placed it
on his shoulder.
You okay? he asked.
Jared shook his head, looking down at Nate s chest. You re& you re& bleeding.
Nate looked down at his chest and frowned, then met Jared s gaze. It s okay, it isn t
my blood.
Closing his eyes, Jared tried to calm his racing heart and steady his breathing. Not Nate s
blood. The relief that swept through him was so intense he felt a lump form in the back of his
throat and the sting of unshed tears behind his eyes. Not Nate s blood.
Hey, Nate said softly.
Jared opened his eyes and stared at Nate but he still couldn t force out any words, still
couldn t get his eyes and teeth to shift back to their human form.
Nate smiled, his hand gently squeezing Jared s shoulder. It s all right. I m okay.
What are you doing here? Jared said at last.
Nate s gaze shifted to Kelan and the other wolves. He sighed and pulled his eyebrows
together into a frown. It s a long story.
Jared? Kelan called. Can we talk to you for a minute?
Jared felt a tinge of regret when Nate removed the hand from his shoulder. Be right
there!
You too, Nate, Kelan added.
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NATE S DEPUTY Lavinia Lewis
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Nate sighed. I guess we d better see what they want.
Jared nodded. You sure you re okay?
Nate s smile lit up his whole face and it made Jared s breath catch in his chest until he
felt like he was suffocating. I m getting there.
Jared wanted to ask Nate what he meant by that, but now wasn t the time. He closed his
eyes once more, centred himself, and felt his eyes shift back to their human form and his
canines recede into his gums. When he opened his eyes for the second time, no trace of his
wolf remained.
Nate bent down to retrieve his hat, dusted the top then placed it back on his head. As if
by silent agreement they walked side by side to join the others. As they neared, Ashton led
Mrs Rafferty and the two young wolves into the house.
Nate, good to see you again, Gregory said. How s that chest wound of yours?
Chest wound? Jared s head swivelled in Nate s direction.
Nate got shot a few weeks back, trying to save Cary s life, Kelan said.
Shot? Jared gasped. Jesus.
Nate shrugged. It s okay, it s healed now.
Jared nodded, working hard to keep his breathing steady. What s going on here?
Kelan let out a long breath. It s a fucking mess. Ellie s running some sort of halfway
house. There are six young shifters in total all boys and as you saw, she s not in control of
a single one of them. Her husband left her several years ago. Neil, her son, is the oldest boy
living here and he s hardly role model material. Ellie won t admit it, but she s way out of her
depth.
Where have the kids come from? Jared asked. Does she have legal guardianship of
all of them?
That s the problem, Gregory replied. Under normal circumstances she d have to go
through the courts, like anyone else shifter or not but she s insisting she has permission
from the council to keep every one of them.
And does she? Nate asked.
Gregory shrugged. It s the first I ve heard about it. Ashton has gone with her to check
the paperwork.
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NATE S DEPUTY Lavinia Lewis
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But if the council sent you here to check on the disturbances in town, wouldn t they
have told you about the situation here at the ranch? Jared asked. Especially seeing as Ellie s
son has been involved in most of the trouble?
Gregory pursed his lips and turned to look at Kelan. He opened his mouth to speak but
stopped at the last minute and eyed Nate and Jared warily. I don t&
You can speak openly in front of Nate, Kelan said. I trust him with my life.
A look passed between Nate and Kelan that Jared couldn t identify. Jared watched
Nate s throat bob as he swallowed and lowered his gaze. It had looked almost as though they
shared a secret. He didn t like it.
What the hell is going on between them? Kelan is mated and so is Nate, Goddamn it!
As soon as the thought occurred to him, Jared felt a bite of pain in his chest. Nate was
free to do whatever the hell he wanted. Jared had no hold on him. But the thought of him
being with anyone else left him cold.
And Jared? Gregory asked.
Kelan sighed, his gaze shifting back and forth between Jared and Nate. Jared s his
mate.
Jared s head snapped up and he glared at Nate. How the hell was he ever going to
make sheriff if Nate was running around shooting his mouth off, telling everyone he was
mated to a man? More importantly, what was there between him and Kelan that made it so
easy for Nate to confide in him? You told him? he accused.
Nate raised his hand. I didn t need to tell him anything. Kelan was there when I found
out, remember?
What s going on, Gregory? Kelan asked, changing the subject. What is it you have to
tell us?
Gregory looked to the house and sighed, nodding his head as though making up his
mind. This is to go no further than the three of us, understand?
Kelan shook his head. I don t keep anything from my mate but you can rest assured
that Jake won t tell anyone and neither will I.
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