Free Jacks, Marcy - Mason Returns to His Mate [DeWitt's Pack 8] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Marcy Jacks Page A

philosophical to silly and joking. Tristan even went so far as to ask if a wolf transforming into a human would be a   wereman .
    Derek chatted with them some more, getting the lay of the land, as well as some of the rules the pack followed in order to survive.  Everyone was responsible for a couple of things. Some did the laundry and cooked, though everyone was  responsible for their own cleaning, while others went out and hunted for meat or took odd jobs in town to bring in money.
    Derek had seen them before, usually alphas loading up their trucks with the furniture of people who were moving into a different house
    or apartment.
    He knew that Mrs. Kettle, the crazy cat lady he’d purchased the  pawn shop from, had her groceries delivered to her by one of the  wolves from this pack. Another female werewolf did her gardening  while she drank iced tea in the shade.
    Derek wondered if anyone in the town knew just how close they were to dealing with the supernatural.
    “What’re your plans?” Corey asked.
    Derek blinked. He hadn’t meant to space out like he had. “Me? I guess when my name clears I’ll see what I can salvage of the shop.  Maybe the insurance money will be enough for me to start it up again if there’s nothing left over. Why are you shaking your head at me?”
    Corey stopped, his body going tight, as though he hadn’t realized he’d been shaking his head to begin with.
    More of  that awkward looking amongst each other thing happened between Tristan and Adam before they both got up.

    Mason Returns to His Mate                      63

    “Hey! Where are you both going?” Corey demanded.
    Adam downed the last of his beer and put the empty bottle on the  picnic table where they’d been sitting. “You’re the boss’s mate and an  omega. As far as stuff like this is concerned, you’re in charge.”
    “Stuff like what?” Corey asked.
    “Gentle letdowns,” Tristan said.
    Derek didn’t like that one bit.
    Both men said their good-byes to him and shook his hand, and  Derek was left alone with the man who was apparently going to try and gently let him down about something.
    “Okay, what are they talking about?” he asked.
    Corey’s jaw clenched up. “Maybe this is the kind of thing you should be speaking with James about. He’ll know the rules better than  I will.”
    Likely because James was the one to make the rules. “Please just tell me what the rules might be then,” Derek said through clenched teeth. He’d never fought so hard for patience before in all his life.
    The rest of the pack wandering around must have seen the other two weres leave the table, or at the very least they sensed the tension coming from the space, because everyone was suddenly keeping a distance.
    Corey ran his hands through his hair, shifting his body so that he was facing Derek straight on from across the wooden table. “Okay, this is what I know, and you’ll still want to double-check with James and Mason because this might not even be permanent.”
    “Might” didn’t take away from the fact that Corey had also said permanent. “Just tell me.”
    He especially wanted to know what the hell Mason had to do with this.
    Corey drummed his fingers onto the table. “You know that the police are looking for you, right?”
    Derek nodded, keeping his eyes firmly locked onto the guilty ones that Corey was sporting. “Yes, because they want to question me

    64                            Marcy Jacks
    about insurance fraud.”
    “Right, well, considering that there are a couple of hunters out to  get you, too, we can’t let you get picked up.”
    Derek had already figured that part out, but what he thought was  going to happen clearly didn’t mesh with what the werewolves were  expecting to happen.
    “I figured you were all keeping me safe from the hunters. Is this  because you’re all worried that if I’m brought in the hunters will try  and get me out