Free Wolfsbane [Dark Hollow 5] by Shannon West

Hunter, Marco. He’s human too! I never wanted anything to do much with humans, you know that. No offense intended to Nicky, but all the human pets seem a little crazy to me. Unpredictable, ill-mannered, defiant—they can’t settle into life as a Werekin very well, and it only causes problems for any wolf who tries to tame them.”
    He glanced sideways at his alpha, hoping he hadn’t said too much. It hadn’t been long since Marco and his human mate, Nicky, had reconciled after Nicky and Ian’s mate, Logan, ran away and hid out for two weeks. They’d almost been captured by Hunters and had worried their mates half to death.  Since then, a lot of changes had been made to allow the pets more freedom. Some of the human pets were even being trained in various support positions in their small army. Even with all the changes there were still loud, contentious arguments between Marco and Nicky regularly, usually followed by even louder sex.
    Marco smiled at his gamma. “Yes, Brett, humans are unpredictable. Definitely ill-mannered and defiant, or at least Nicky is. They’re also loyal, brave, beautiful and passionate. Not a bad trade-off, all things considered. Go see your human up close before you make a decision. Talk to him. Give him a chance. You owe it to yourself, because without a doubt he’s also the love of your life.”
    Brett made a dismissive sound, but nodded his agreement to try. He’d come down to Brevard to see his blood mate the next day. He’d been almost arrogant, thinking that he must have overestimated his attraction. No one could look that good and smell so sweet. It was impossible. When he found that Evan had moved into the Hunter compound, and there was no way of getting in to find him, he’d been surprised at how furious he’d felt, and how determined he was to get him back.
    He could hear the roar of the small falls as they neared the cave, and he set Evan down on his feet to shimmy out of his jeans.  Brett nodded at Evan’s jeans. “Better take those off and roll them up in a tight bundle. We have to go behind the falls and the spray will wet you clean through. When we get inside there you’ll want some dry pants, because it might be cool.”
    Evan stepped back and instinctively raised his hands. “No, I’m not taking off my jeans. I’ll just take my chances.”
    “Oh for God’s sake, it’s not like I haven’t seen you naked. Take them off, or I’ll do it for you. Stop acting like some stupid little virgin.”
    “Then stop treating me like one! All right, I’ll take them off, but because I’ve changed my mind and I think it’s a good idea. Not because you tell me to, or because I’m scared of you.”
    Brett simply stared at him with an unreadable expression on his face and waited.
    Evan tightened his lips, toed off his shoes and jerked angrily at the button on his jeans, awkwardly trying to push them down with one hand. Brett made a sound of impatience and pulled his pants down and helped him step out of them. He pulled off the makeshift sling and stood looking him up and down when he had him naked before shoving both his own jeans and Evan’s clothes into his hands.
    “Try to hold them close and tucked under your body so they won’t get so wet. I’ll take us up as fast as I can.” He picked him up, threw him over his shoulder and took off up the hill, climbing to the cave.
    The stream came from farther up the mountain and where it cascaded down the hill, a rockfall sometime in the past had left only a small hole for the water to flow through. It had created a small waterfall as the water rushed through and hit the rocks below. To get to the small cave, they had to pass right by this cascade and the spray would totally soak them.
    Brett climbed steadily up the jagged rocks to reach the small opening of the cave. Once inside, Brett put Evan back on his feet and began to gather some dry twigs and wood left in the far back corner by previous visitors. This was a spot well