“In case I haven’t said it recently, I love you.”
A nervous smile lifted the corners of Sam’s mouth. “It might have been a while.”
“I’ll make sure to say it as often as possible.” Jesse chuckled. “Or at least until you start believing me.”
“I may just be getting close to believing you.” Sam pulled the cotton shirt off of his cast and ripped it into two separate strips, which he tied around the bullet wound in Jesse’s arm. “If this is a Lycan shooting at us, won’t he smell the blood?”
“What makes you think it’s a Lycan?”
“Seriously?” Sam gaped at him. “Do you have humans after your ass, too?”
“None that I can think of.”
“Then my bet would be that it’s Desmond out there trying to kill you.”
Jesse didn’t even want to think about the possibility that Desmond could be trying to kill both of them, or just Sam. The man had seemed too desperate to get his hands on Sam to try and kill him now, but several of those bullets had come awfully close to Sam.
Jesse didn’t know what to think.
He just knew he needed to get Sam to safety. He quickly went over his options in his head. There weren’t many. He could only hope that Desmond didn’t know the full layout of the ranch.
“We need to make our way through the woods toward the bunkhouse. It is set close enough to the tree line that we might be able to get there without being seen.”
“Okay.” Sam stood immediately and then reached out a hand for Jesse.
Jesse grinned as he stared up at Sam’s hand for a moment then grabbed it and stood, making sure that he didn’t put too much strain on Sam. It hadn’t been that long since Sam had left the hospital. He wasn’t in top condition at the moment. Jesse needed to make sure Sam didn’t overdo it.
“Stay low and as quiet as possible,” Jesse said as he started leading Sam through the trees. “My brothers should be making their way toward us.”
“Won’t that put them in danger?”
Damn.
Jesse hadn’t thought of that. If his brothers came out looking for him and Sam, they would walk right into Desmond’s line of sight. Because of the time lapse between the bullet shot and the bullet actually hitting him, Jesse suspected Desmond was using a high-powered sniper rifle. His brothers wouldn’t see it coming.
Jesse quickly sent out a message to his brothers to stay inside the house where it was safe. He just hoped that they listened to him.
“We need to hurry, baby.”
Jesse was impressed with how well Sam held it together the further into the woods they went. He barely made any sounds at all, carefully setting his feet down where they would make the least amount of sound.
“You’re doing really well, Sam,” Jesse said when they took a small break.
“I remember what you taught me when we were kids.” Sam grinned. “I haven’t been in the city that long.”
Jesse had all but forgotten playing “hide and seek” in the woods when they were kids. Because Sam was human and the others playing the game were not, he had often been paired up with Jesse, who had taught him as much as he could about hiding in the woods so that they could win the game.
“Just hold it together a little longer, Sam.” Jesse nodded ahead of them with his head. “We’re almost there. The bunkhouse isn’t too far away.” Well, it was, but Jesse wanted to give Sam some hope.
The bunkhouse was actually located behind the main house, just like Sarah’s house was. It would take them forever to make their way through the woods and reach the bunkhouse, but it was set close enough to the tree line that it seemed like a better option than trying to make it to the main house.
Sam nodded. “How are you doing?”
Jesse glanced down at the bloody rags tied around his arms. He really needed to shift. It would speed up the healing. This just didn’t seem like the time to freak Sam out by shifting into his Lycan form. “I’ll make it.”
“I thought Lycan healed faster than humans.”
“I’ll shift when we get to the bunkhouse.”
Sam stared at him intently, his eyebrows pulled down low over his eyes. He even crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you hiding from me?”
“Sam, I’m not hiding anything from you, I promise. This is just not the time for me to shift.”
“Why not?” Sam’s frown grew even deeper. “Will it hurt you?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
Jesse groaned and stared up at the treetops for a moment. He so didn’t want to have this conversation right now.
“Jesse?”
“I don’t want to shift right now because every time I do you freak out.”
Sam’s jaw dropped. His face drained of all color. “You’re not shifting because of me?”
Jesse lowered his head so he could look at his mate. “I don’t want to scare you, Sam.”
“But you’d heal faster in your Lycan form, wouldn’t you?”
“Sam—”
Sam’s face darkened. “Wouldn’t you?” he asked again, louder.
Jesse sighed deeply. “Yes.”
“Then shift.”
“Sam—” he tried again.
“Do it!”
Jesse’s eyebrows shot up at the vehemence he could hear in Sam’s voice. “Are you sure about this, Sam?” Jesse knew he had to keep this part of himself from Sam for now because it would destroy him if Sam turned away from him in disgust.
“I’m sure I don’t want you in pain.”
Yeah, that wasn’t good enough. Jesse clenched his jaw for a moment, trying not to let his disappointment show through. He wished Sam understood how totally a piece of him his Lycan was. They weren’t two separate beings even though Jesse talked that way. They were one and the same.
Once he could speak again, he grabbed Sam’s arm and started pushing him toward the bunkhouse. “Come on, let’s go. The faster we get to the bunkhouse, the faster we can get you to safety.”
And the faster he could shift.
Sam didn’t know how it was happening, but he could feel the anger coming off of Jesse in waves. The man was pissed. And Sam was pretty sure Jesse was pissed at him. He just didn’t know how to fix the problem.
He didn’t understand the whole Lycan thing, and truthfully, it scared the crap out of him. He had seen what had happened when Jesse and Desmond fought each other. They were out to kill one another, not just fist fight. There had been claws and blood and everything.
So, how was he supposed to equate the ferocious beast that fought Desmond with the handsome man escorting him through the woods? He had wanted time to try and figure things out on his own, but he was beginning to suspect that all of the time in the world wouldn’t be enough.
Sam’s steps slowed as he realized he was right. He wasn’t a Lycan, and he would never be able to understand just what exactly it meant to be one. If he wanted to stay with Jesse and be accepted by his pack, he needed to man up and just deal with it. That wouldn’t mean he had to give up freaking out every now and then because he had no doubt that he would.
Sam tugged on Jesse’s hand until the man stopped walking and turned around to face him. “You need to shift, but kiss me first.” Jesse stared at him for so long that Sam started to get nervous. Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut.
“Sam, I don’t—”
Sam stepped forward and pressed his finger against Jesse’s lips. “Please?”
Jesse looked indecisive for about two seconds, and then he lowered his lips to Sam’s. Sam’s heart beat out of control as he sank into the kiss, hoping it wasn’t the last one he’d ever receive from Jesse.
His heart rate didn’t get any slower when Jesse lifted his head and then slowly stepped back from him. His gray eyes swirled with darkening colors as the transformation from human to Lycan took hold of his body.
It was slow at first, as if Jesse was letting Sam see every little change that happened. Dark brown fur sprouted up along Jesse’s skin. Sharp teeth dropped down in his mouth as it slowly elongated into a muzzle.
His body became larger, thicker, and taller as bones cracked and muscles stretched. Two pointed ears popped out of the top of his head, and a long, thick tail grew behind Jesse. Sam’s breath hitched in his throat when Jesse was finally done. His clothes hung on his frame in tatters.
Sam swallowed hard and moved closer, holding his hand out and praying it wouldn’t be bitten off by the sharp canines in Jesse’s mouth. He jolted when he heard a low rumble from Jesse’s chest and then felt soft fur brush over his hand as Jesse rubbed his face against him.
Jesse stood eerily still as Sam started stroking his hands over his neck and down to his furry chest. Sam was amazed by the softness of Jesse’s fur. He had the sudden insane urge to rub his naked body against it.
It became blaringly apparent how much larger Jesse was in his Lycan form now that they stood next to each other. Sam’s head barely came up to Jesse’s nipples. His body seemed twice as wide and several inches taller than normal. The span of his shoulders alone was more than half that of his entire human body.
In a word, Jesse was huge.
Sam tilted his head back and looked up. Dark gray eyes stared back down at him. When Sam reached up, Jesse surprised him by dropping to his knees. Sam chuckled lightly. Even on his knees Jesse was as tall as he was.
It became easier to touch Jesse’s Lycan form each time he did it. By the time he had stroked his hand over Jesse’s entire face and moved back to the ears twitching at the top of his head, Sam had no hesitation in his movements as he gently stroked up their full length to the pointed ends.
“Hey,” Sam whispered softly as he grabbed both sides of Jesse’s muzzle and looked into the eyes he knew so well, even if they were filled with an unusual apprehension. “I know those eyes.”
Sam squeaked when he suddenly found himself with an armful of human male instead of Lycan. Before he could catch his breath, Jesse’s face was buried in his chest and the man’s arms wrapped around him, squeezing any remaining air out of his lungs.
“Jesse,” Sam gasped, “can’t breathe.”
The arms around him loosened enough for Sam to breathe again, but they didn’t release him. Jesse wouldn’t lift his head from where he had it buried in Sam’s chest, either. Sam leaned the side of his face against the top of Jesse’s head and stroked his fingers through Jesse’s short dark brown hair.
Sam grew concerned when he felt Jesse shudder against him. He quickly looked down to where the bloody cloth had been wrapped around his arm. It was loose now and hanging around his elbow, the bullet wound fully showing.
And now nothing more than a puckered pink mark on Jesse’s skin. Sam was awed. He reached out and gently touched the healing skin. He snatched his hand back when Jesse jerked. “Does it hurt, Jesse?”
“No,” Jesse murmured against Sam’s chest. “It’s a little tender, but it doesn’t hurt anymore. It will finish healing the more I shift.”
“Then shift again.” Sam couldn’t figure out why Jesse didn’t continue to shift until he was completely healed.
Jesse tilted his head back to look at Sam. “It takes too much energy to shift over and over again, Sam. Lycan have a very high metabolism. We burn of calories really fast, which is why we eat so much.”
“So you can’t shift again until you eat?”
“I shouldn’t. I need to conserve my energy in case I need to shift again.”
“Do you need to eat?”
Jesse smiled as he pushed himself to his feet. “I’m good, sunshine.”
Sam frowned. “Yeah, we need to discuss that
sunshine
thing.”
“Nope.” Jesse crossed his arms over his chest and arched an eyebrow as if daring Sam to argue.
“No?”
“I like calling you sunshine.”
“But it makes me sound like a girl.” Sam knew he was whining. He just didn’t care. There were a lot of other things Jesse could call him besides
sunshine
.
“Honey,” Jesse said as he dragged Sam up against him, “there is nothing girly about you.”
Sam felt his face flush with heat. Hell, his entire body was flushing with heat. “Jesse, you’re naked.”
Jesse burst out laughing. “And you’re just figuring that out now?”
Sam gulped and looked down to where their bodies met. He could feel Jesse’s hard cock poking him in the abdomen. “Jesse,” he croaked, “you’re naked.”
Jesse groaned. Sam felt the man’s head drop down onto the top of his. “Don’t remind me, Sam. There’s nothing I can do about it until we get you somewhere safe.”
“But your clothes…”
“They will have something for me at the bunkhouse. We keep a closet of clothes there for just this reason.”
“You seem to have an explanation for everything.” Sam tilted his head back and looked up into Jesse’s gray eyes. “Want to explain to me how I’m supposed to concentrate on my surroundings while following your naked ass?”
Jesse grinned as if that was the best news he had heard in ages.
Sam rolled his eyes and pushed at Jesse’s chest, pointing beyond his shoulder. “Go.”
The sun was starting to set by the time they reached the tree line by the bunkhouse. Sam hadn’t realized it had taken them so long to make their way through the woods until they reached the edge of the trees. The setting sun was casting a pink hue out over the skyline and the woods were growing dark and ominous.