“No, Tim, it’s nothing you’ve done. It’s Gabe. He told me he was bitten and left for dead by a wolf. The same bastard killed his mother.”

“Oh my God! The poor kid. He doesn’t even know what he is or what’s happened to him? No wonder he seems so lost and angry.”

“Yeah, and I didn’t help any by grabbing him and throwing him over my shoulder like a caveman. The blood lust was strong in me last night, and I was afraid I’d take him right there. I just wanted to get him back here and get some distance between us for a while so I could control myself. I must have scared himto death.”

“What is he, exactly, Zack? He smells soodd.”

“I think he’s feral. I’ve heard about them, but I’ve never actually seen one. I heard Marco, the western North Carolina alpha, had a pet who went feral last year, though he recovered fine. He was the first one we knew about for over a century, though we know a little more about the condition today.”

“Feral? What is that, exactly?”

“It means no one ever cared for him properly, and after the wolf attack, it changes him into a kind of half-wolf creature. All of the ones I’ve ever heard of become savage and crazy, just like the TV shows about werewolves. This is the first time I heard of them changing only with the moon and then changing back, though.Marco’s pet changed when he got angry, I think, but there’s so much we don’t know about the condition. There’s a mystery here, and I mean to get to the bottom of it. He must be very strong mentally and emotionally to have survived alone as long as he has, keeping himself away from other humans when he changes.”

“Will he…will he shift tonight?”

“Not if I can help it. Our blood is supposed to keep them from changing.He’s been fed once, and I’ll feed him again before tonight. I’ll put him in restraints and lock him in this room, too, just in case, but I won’t put him back in the cell.He’s been through enough already. Don’t worry. We’ll keep the other pets safe.” He hesitated before adding, “Keep this between you and me for now, Tim. No one else needs to know.”

Tim nodded, seemingly reassured.“I just feel bad about the way I treated him. I thought he was only being a brat.”

“Me too.” Zack took a deep breath and turned back to the room.“And he was,” he said, smiling at the memory of his defiance.“But at least it’s a little more understandable. I’m going to spend some time with him before the moon comes up. Go back upstairs and cover for me if any problems come up.”

Tim left right away, leaving him alone with his mate.

Zack opened the door and walked back into the room. Gabe was curled up on his side, tear tracks still evident on his sweet face. Zack pulled back the covers and lay down beside him, spooning him. Gabe snuggled back into him with a little moan. He stirred restlessly and then turned to open his blue eyes and stare at Zack. He rolled to his back, and the wide blue gaze stayed carefully trained on Zack’s face.

“I must admit you’re better looking than most guys I wake up with. Did you…did we…uh?”

Zack stirred restlessly, hating the idea of his beautiful mate waking up with other men. “No,” he said more roughly than he’d intended. “I’m not a rapist. When we mate,you’ll definitely know it, and it will be becauseyou want me more than you’ve ever wanted anyone before in your life. A good thing, becauseI’ll be the last man you ever sleep with too.”

“Oh yeah? Possessive much? Who are you, really, and why did you bring me here? I told you, I’d leave quietly and get out of your territory you seem to beworried about.”

“We need to talk,though, and it’s hard with your cute little naked ass in my crotch.Let’s get up and get you dressed.”

Zack swung his feet over the side of the bed and crossed over to the dresser. He rummaged through the dresser drawer and found Gabe’s jeans and T-shirt, washed and folded neatly. He threw them over to Gabe.“Put these o n.”

Gabe caught them and pulled them on quickly before sitting back down on the edge of the bed while Zack watched.“Okay, talk.It can’t be too much longer till the full moon, though, and I need to get outside soon.” Gabe looked around the room.“Unless you want your house destroyed.I usually make a bit of a mess.”

“Is shifting painful for you?”

“Hell, yeah. I hate every second of it.Isn’t it the same for you?”

“No. I’m a born shifter. Shifting comes naturally to me, and it feels—wonderful. Freeing and familiar, like coming back home after I’ve been away a long time.But I’m a wolf, and not a feral creature, like I thinkyou’ve become.”

Gabe stared at him with narrowed eyes.“What do you mean? There’s more than one kind of werewolf?”

“Any of our people who aren’t wolf shifters are called Werekin. They’re non-shifting kin. Some are humanswe’ve adopted and mated with, and some were born of a wolf and a Werekin or Werekin parents without the inheriting the genes necessary to shift. We’ve been around just as long as humans and coexisted peacefully the whole time. Over the centuries, we’ve had our outlaws, our killers, just as humans do. These wolves exist outside our packs, and when we find them we punish them. These murderers, like the one who attacked you and your mother, sometimes attack humans as weaker prey. It’s possible he was even trying to mate with you. Did he—did he rape you, Gabe?”

Gabe frowned and turned his head away. “I don’t talk about what the son-of-a-bitch did to me.”

Zack was silent for a moment, giving him time.He wished he didn’t have to press him, but he needed some answers before he could mate with him. Even if some other wolf had claimed his bloodmate before, it wouldn’t matter in the long run. He had abandoned him, and Zack would still have him, no matter what. It might take longer to develop a mating bond, however, and could make it even more painful for Gabe when he claimed him with the ritual while his essence eradicated the other’s.

“Did he try to give you a mating bite? It’s important, Gabe. I need to know.”

“How the fuck do I know?I don’t know what a mating bite is!” At Zack’s steady look, Gabe sagged a little and sighed.“Okay, he bit me on my arms and hands, when I tried to throw him off me. The doctors were amazed at how I healed so fast without scarring. Hurt like hell though. He ripped my pants off and forced himself on me when I was unconscious. I was fighting him and screaming, and—that’s when my mother must have—” He bit his lower lip and looked down at his hands clenched on his lap. “She must have tried to help me. How could he do something so vicious to her? She was such a little thing.”

His eyes filled with tears, and Zack kept his voice soothing and soft.“I can’t explain why it happened—no more than you could explain a human killer to me.I’m so sorry, sweetheart, but I need you to focus for me. The one who attacked you bit you and mingled his saliva with your blood and changed you into Werekin.” The mating ritual involved more than that, just as the roguetaking Gabe’s blood created a connection in the wolf, but Zack wasn’t going to confuse him any more by going into details.

“Werekin? Is thatthe creature I turn into at the full moon?”

“No, honey. It means your body has changed forever, and you’ve become part of the wolf clans—the Werekin. Adopted Werekin, or humans who have undergone the change, turn feral if they aren’t fed regularly. In other words, they become like the monster you say you turn into. You can live a good life, though, a long, happy life. We can take you into our clan. As long as a wolf cares for you properly and feeds you,you’ll be fine. It all works better, of course if the wolf mates with you. I have to ask again, did he bite you on the neck?” He held off asking if they’d been tied up for any length of time. Knowing if the wolf gave the bite was enough.

Gabe shook his head,“No, not on the neck. Just my shoulder—my arms and hands. Defensive wounds the doctor called them.” He hesitated a moment, seeming to consider all Zack was telling him.“But slow down. I can take care of myself.I mean, it’s nice of you to want to take me in and all, but I’m doing just fine on my own.”

Gabe wasn’t getting it, yet. “Sweetheart, I don’t want to just take you in. I want you for my mate.”

“Like a sex partner?”

“Not just a sex partner, a life partner. In your world it would be like a marriage.”

The word startled a brief laugh from him.“I just met you, dude.” Zack stared steadily back at Gabe for so long he started to fidget.“Look, like I said, I appreciate the offer and all. Hell, you’re gorgeous, so I’ll have sex with you, if you want, but Ican take care of myself.”

Zack shook his head.“You still don’t understand, Gabe.If you don’t drink wolf blood from time to time, I think your body will continue to force the change on you—painfully, as you said, and not always just with the full moon. I think it can happen when you experience strong emotion too. Let’s say you were suddenly cut off in traffic or got mad at your boss. You could spontaneously change wherever you were. I think a full mating is needed to provide you with complete protection.”

“You keep saying you think these things will happen.How come you don’t know?”

“I’ve never actually met a feral creature before. It’s very rare. Actually, we always thought a human Werekin who went feral died right away. Maybe the shock was so great to many, they did, but we know now that doesn’t always happen. Until now, we didn’t know you could change back to human after becoming feral. We obviouslyhaven’t had much experience with the phenomenon, butI’m pretty sure if you mate withme, you won’t shift anymore at all. The chemicals you receive from me should dominate then.”

“I won’t?” Gabe said excitedly, rising to his feet.“You mean, if I drink your blood, like I did earlier, I won’t ever have to become amonster again?”