Someone banged on the other side of the bathroom door, and I halted. My hand was covered in the sticky substance; I grunted in disapproval. I would need to take care of myself at least two more times before I could face her. Walking back to her with an enormous erection was not a great way to establish a relationship with her.
“What?” I growled.
The banging on the other side of the door ceased and Hawke’s voice came to my ears. “I’ve got all the stuff you ordered. It’s sitting outside your door,” he mentioned. “I tried knocking on your door, but all I could smell was your girl.”
I growled, not liking the distaste in his voice. “Mine,” I growled, wiping my hand away. “She’s mine,” I opened the door.
His hands were raised in surrender, his gaze now turning to my barely covered cock. “Oh, shit.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “You’re rutting? I mean, that’s great. It’s been a few years since you had one, right? You’re getting…better?
I nodded, pulling my jeans up and threading my belt through the loops.
Many would find the bodily functions of another man grotesque, but we were not men or humans. We were animals.
We all visited Bones, the club doc, frequently. It was mandatory for all the rogues to receive regular checkups. Especially those who would go rabid soon. I was at the top of the list.
Symptoms were posted throughout the clubhouse’s private quarters—what to look for and what to expect when one lost their rut and their ability to harden and grow a knot. The list included brothers who had lost theirs. It was damned emasculating, but it was there to let the brothers know we would succumb to the rabid stage.
Once my name appeared on the list, the inner circle thought I was done for.
My wolf had been silent for years, but other club members surpassed me and went rabid before I did. Maybe my wolf had something to hang on to. The hope that another female could be called our own kept us hanging onto life a while longer.
Because I survived, I’d come this far.
“How can that happen? Is she? Holy fuck, is she like? Are you getting better because ofthatgirl?” He looked to the distance, out the window in longing.
“Mouth shut.” I buttoned my pants. “Still don’t know.” Hawke let out a nervous laugh, his hand running over his beard.
“I… Wow.”
I pulled Hawke away from the bathroom, gripping his neck, and pushing him to the wall. “Shut up,” I growled. “No speaking.”
Hawk nodded in understanding. His back straightened, and he crossed his arm over his chest in respect.
“Right, I understand.” He pulled his cut away from his neck. “It’s just that this is big. Is that why Locke is acting funny? Around the women folk? Watching us all interact with the humans that work in the bar?”
Locke was going to get himself in trouble if he didn’t stop being obvious.
“Is she your mate, Grim? Your second chance? Does that mean? Really?” His enthusiasm was insufferable, but he was in the inner circle. I grunted in agreement, and he laid his head back on the wall.
“Fuck, damn.” He cursed, running his hand through his hair. “I wish…”
I knew what he was going to say before he said it. He wanted that human girl, Delilah. He dared not touch her, worried that his own selfish desires would get the better of him. Hawke was fond of her. Often times he had to leave the bar when jealousy overtook him. She was a friendly, pure soul that welcomed everyone with her kindness. He couldn’t force her to quit her job so men wouldn’t stare at her or seek her favor. Because he couldn’t claim her. Not a human, not when he was subject to becoming rabid in the future.
She wasn’t his, she was human. There wasn’t a bond.
“How did it go? Did your wolf just claim her? Just scent her on his own?”
I groaned, feeling my cock swell again. As excited as he was, as many other brothers would be, this was delicate, especially with a human and the potential for the Royal Council to get wind of the situation.
“Animal spoke to me.” I walked back to the bathroom door. My fingers already unbuttoned my pants, my cock springing free as I rubbed along my knotted shaft. “Claimed her, scented her all on his own.”
When finding a mate, the human side could find their mate extremely attractive but the animal inside a shifter was the one who made the official claim. The human side was able to reject a mate however—just like I was rejected—but their animal would forever be sore with their human side.
Now that we were rogues, we had lost most of our ability to smell, but my eyes appreciated Journey’s appearance. She was attractive, and the first moment I saw her I wanted her close.
And then, her touch. I wanted more of it.
The thought it could just be lust had never been the issue. I couldn’t get my cock to rise just looking at her then. A magnetic bond pulled me to her, and now that my wolf had claimed her, there was no going back. Not that I ever wanted to.
