Free Jacks, Marcy - Eli's Reluctant Mate [DeWitt's Pack 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Marcy Jacks Page A

idea of what James was talking about.
    Poor guy had lost his brother and was mated to a chicken like  Chris. That would drive anyone to drink.
    He nodded and agreed to speak with Eli the first thing in the morning. Whatever it was that was happening between them, they would need to  find some way of settling it.
    “Oh, and uh, sir?” Chris said before he left. Calling James by his first name seemed a little too informal, considering they weren’t actually friends, but he didn’t look that much older than Chris for him to be addressing him  as Mr. DeWitt.
    Sir didn’t sound much better, but there was no taking that back

    Eli’s Reluctant Mate                         63

    now.
    “Yes?” James looked up from a small stack of papers, looked like  legal stuff, on an old wooden desk that was in a bad need for  varnishing.
    “I was going to ask Eli about this, but all things considered…”
    “What can I do for you?”
    He asked it so casually, as though doing Chris any sort of favor  wasn’t a problem for him at all. Chris relaxed.
    “My brother. He’s gone, too. I think he might be in trouble, or  dead, considering some  of the things he was into. Usually he would  call or something to check up on me, let me know he was fine, once  every couple of weeks or something, and I haven’t heard back from  him in several months.”
    “All right. He was last seen around this area?” James asked.
    “Yeah. I didn’t think I would find anything at first, especially  since he usually moved around a lot, but now that I know there are  wild werewolves around…” Chris let James finish that one off for
    himself.
    “Right, you want to know if we’ve heard anything.”
    Chris nodded.
    “All right, what was his name?”
    “Dean Lefroy. My older brother.”
    James’s neck seemed to get a little tighter than it had been before.
    “I’ve heard of him.”
    “Really?” Chris hadn’t expected it to be that easy. “Do you know
    what happened to him?”
    “He’s dead.”
    The words were like a blunt object ramming into his gut. “You’re not one for candy-coating it are you?”
    “Are you going to be okay?” James asked.
    No. Chris had suspected all this time, but the actual realization was having more of an effect on him than he thought it should have.  “What happened? When?”

    64                            Marcy Jacks
    James wet his lips. “Were you aware that he was a hunter?”
    “What? Well, yeah, sure. He had his license and went out all the time to catch things. We did that as kids.”
    “I don’t mean the kind of guy who hunts rabbits or buck. I mean he hunted werewolves. My kind.”
    James pointed at his mean-looking face. “He gave me these scars, and he tried to kill Corey.”
    Chris was frozen in sudden fear. “Did you―?”
    “I was the one to kill him, yes.” That chummy air that James had about him was entirely gone now as he and Chris looked at each other.
    Chris swallowed. “Are you going to kill me?”
    “You haven’t done anything to purposely harm my pack, so no.  You’re mated to one of my alphas, whether you like that or not. If I meant you any harm I’d have to go through Eli first to get to you. If I were to kill you right now, he would just try to kill me later.
    “I won’t hurt you, or try to,” James said. “But seeing as you’re related to one of the worst hunters I’ve ever met, I will have to keep a strict eye on you from now on. No more walks out into the trees with my omegas.”
    “Right,” Chris was only too happy to agree so long as it meant he was able to leave. He practically ran out of the small office and bolted out of the cottage.
    It was stupid, but he wished he knew which one of these houses belonged to Eli. If he was one of the main reasons James was going to give Chris some slack, then, drunk or not, desperate to have sex or not, Chris would stay as close to him as  possible.
    As it was,