Free Chasing Seth by J.R. Loveless

the brutal way he’d treated the smaller wolf earlier. He didn’t blame Seth for being mad at him or frightened of him. He hadn’t exactly kept his promise. His fingers stroked gently over one pale cheek in a light caress. The vet let out a soft sigh and leaned into it, bringing a smile to Kasey’s face. Despite the pup’s attempts to deny it, his unconscious self recognized he was in fact Kasey’s mate.

    His body sang out, demanding he claim Seth, and it left him knowing without a doubt the stubborn, feisty veterinarian was his mate. You didn’t get another one. It wasn’t like walking into a dating agency and picking a new one. Seth had time to come to terms with it, but Kasey would have this slender, infuriating man in his life no matter how long it took his mind to accept what his heart already did.

    He’d already accepted that Seth had told the truth about being born as a werewolf. The only matter at hand still troubling him was Seth’s skin color. The whole reason he’d always despised the white men of this world wasn’t because of how they’d treated his ancestors, though that would have been a very valid reason, but because they cared nothing for other living beings. Money. They raped forests and destroyed the lands and homes of those animals all for the sake of greed and progress. At the rate they were spreading over the earth, there’d be nothing left in another millennium.

    Seth didn’t appear to be like the white men Kasey had met. Seeing the ability his mate possessed and how drained it left him made him realize that if Seth were in fact evil or greedy, then he wouldn’t hurt himself to help the animals he treated. Kasey warred internally over accepting his mate. His pride raged against the destiny of being bound to the vet, but his heart held more power over his will. The resolve he’d felt in the cabin to claim his mate, to protect him from whatever demons haunted him, came back in full force. Even if it took ten years, he’d find a way to complete the binding of their souls into one. To earn the heart of his mate.

    The sun had long since sunk behind the horizon before Kasey switched on a lamp, and its dull glow illuminated the room. He could hear Seth’s breathing become uneven as he stirred. The steady, slow pulse of his heart sped up in equal fashion. Seth carefully sat up, lifting a hand to his head. “Headache?” Kasey asked.

    Seth jumped slightly before croaking, “Yes. I always get one after.”

    A frown twisted Kasey’s lips. Did the healing actually harm his mate? The tremble in Seth’s hand twisted his gut sharply. “Are you certain you aren’t causing your body damage by healing?”

    “I’m a werewolf, Sheriff. I have accelerated healing abilities, and we don’t get diseases, so I highly doubt it does more harm to me than a white throne session and a massive hangover afterward.” Seth debated standing but thought better of it and carefully leaned back against the couch.

    “Kasey,” the sheriff insisted.

    “What?” Seth gave him a confused look.

    Kasey pushed himself up from the doctor’s desk chair and slowly stalked around the edge of the desk toward the couch. “My name is Kasey.”

    Seth swallowed hard at the husky tone and the strange gleam in those dark eyes.

    Kasey sank down on the couch next to him, one hand coming out to touch Seth’s face lightly. “You keep calling me Sheriff,” he explained further, as Seth still looked confused. “Call me Kasey.”

    He watched as Seth shook his head at his request. The tip of a small pink tongue sliding across his mate’s perfect lips drew his gaze. He almost started in shock at his thoughts. Perfect lips? He could feel the heat coming from Seth’s body and knew his closeness affected the other male. “Say my name,” he whispered silkily, his breath dusting over those same rosy red lips.

    Seth sighed his name just a split second before Kasey’s mouth claimed Seth’s. His hand slipped around to cup