Midnight Matings 13 Splash and Elegance (14 page)

“Well, it went like this…”

Chapter Thirteen

“See, I called Melody, and she talked to Shane, and Shane knew this guy named Shade who’s part of The Allegiance, so he called in a favor, and here we are.”

Whitley stared up at his mate dazedly. “Huh?” That entire explanation just made his head hurt. “Okay, take it from the top and a little slower this time.”

Jude chuckled, lifted Whitley into his arms, and swung him around before setting him back on his feet. “Melody has been trying to help me find a way to fix all of this. That’s why she’s been calling me. Well, Shane is a UPAC guard, and he works with The Allegiance occasionally, so he knows this guy, Shade Santiago. I guess he was at the gathering as well, and ended up with two mates, but that’s neither here nor there.” Jude waved a hand around dismissively.

The excitement in Jude’s voice made Whitley smile, but he still wasn’t following along. “I have no clue what you just said. What the hell is The Allegiance?”

“It’s this group that hunts down rogue paranormals. They work with UPAC sometimes, but they’re mostly an independent entity.” Whitley nodded. “Okay, I got that.” He’d have a lot more questions about it later, but for now, it was enough. “Now, how do Melody and Shane fit into all of this?”

“Shane was once a part of The Allegiance as well,” Elder Swanson answered when the guards escorted the three shifters from the room. “While he does know Shade, it has nothing to do with my being here.” He smiled in apology at Jude. “I’m sorry he had to lie to you, but no one can know that I also head The Allegiance.”
“Does that mean you’re going to kill us now?” Whitley asked with wide eyes. He didn’t like that plan at all.

The elder chuckled. “No, I’m not going to kill you. For a long time, that would have been the case, but I’ve been making steady changes since I took over. Take Shane for example. Used to be, it was either The Allegiance or death. Since I’m in charge, I figured I could bend the rules a little for my nephew.”

“Melody’s mate is your nephew?” Whitley’s head was really beginning to throb now. “So you meant he called in a favor, not this Shade guy?”

“Yes and yes. But don’t think I’m playing favorites with my family. Shade Santiago will be granted a full reprieve as well, with stipulations, of course. When we find him,” he added under his breath. “You can imagine how shocked I was to see him at the gathering. Our members give up everything when they join, including the hopes of ever finding a mate. I suppose I felt sorry for him, though. He’s been alone for over six millennia, so I allowed it. I even recorded his mating myself. It was hard not to laugh at the look on his face when he saw me, though.”

It was all very interesting, but Whitley didn’t know what it had to do with their current situation.

“Ah, but I digress,” the elder said as though reading his mind.

“Let’s just say that if your mate and his friend had confided in my nephew sooner, much of this could have been avoided.” Whitley understood that part, and he glared up at Jude.

“Hey!” Jude held his hands up in surrender. “He’s Melody’s mate!

How the hell was I supposed to know that he had these kind of connections? After what happened when I came clean with you, she decided it was time to do the same with her mate. I have to say that he took it much better than you did.”

Whitley didn’t care for the accusation in Jude’s tone. “Well, none of this really affected him, now did it?”
“Point taken.” Jude brushed his knuckles over the side of Whitley’s face and smiled. “You already agreed to give me a second chance, and I’m going to hold you to it. No backing out now, Whit.”

“You’re a pain in my ass,” Whitley grumbled. He had agreed to give their mating another go, however. The funny part was that he was actually looking forward to starting over without all the bullshit between them. “If you screw it up again, I’m going to feed you your balls, though.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Jude purred to him before dipping his head and pressing their lips together. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, though. I’ve got too much to lose to dick this up again.”

Oh, the man said all the right things. Whitley just hoped he could back them up. “So, what’s going to happen to our parents and Elder Gamble?” he asked Elder Swanson.

“They’ll be tried and sentenced accordingly. Guards have also been sent to your home in Virginia to apprehend your father and brother. Their memories will be altered by The Allegiance so that they forget I was here, and a suitable story will be offered to The Council. All rights and profits for the holding cells will be transferred into your name, and this estate now belongs to Jude. Does that cover everything?”

Whitley nodded slowly. He really liked this elder. “How did you know about the cells?”

Elder Swanson winked at him. “There is very little that I don’t know. Besides, your father is a complete twit. There is no way on earth I’d believe he designed such a brilliant invention.”

“So, this house is mine now?” Jude asked.

“It will be by five o’clock this evening.” The elder seemed to be waiting to see if they had any more questions. When they didn’t, he dipped his head and backed away. “I’ll have to ask you to keep this quiet. I’m sure you understand why.”

“You can trust us,” Whitley said hurriedly.
“I know. That’s why I’m not altering your memories as well. I hate to rush off, but I’m needed in Dallas, Texas, tomorrow morning to deal with a siren and his extremely bothersome aunts.” He frowned, looking very put out. “I really don’t like those women. I knew this whole forced mating thing was going to cause problems. Do you know how many elders have had to go settle issues between these newly mated pairs?”

He didn’t wait for an answer as he strode out of the room, grumbling under his breath the entire way. Once they were alone, Carter broke into laughter. “I like that guy. He’s almost normal for an elder.”

Whitley barely heard him, though. Now that everything was over, the fire returned full force to rage through his body and boil his blood.

To his extreme aggravation, Jude held a hand up to stop his advance and shook his head. “Let’s get you healed first.”

“How about a blow job?”

“No.”

“A hand job?” he asked hopefully.

“No,” Jude said with a snicker. “You can make it another few minutes until we get you fixed up.”

“That’s it,” Carter announced with a mock shudder. “I’m out of here.”

“Get a shower and grab some clothes out of my room,” Jude said as he wrapped his fingers around Whitley’s neck and led him out of the room. “Second door on the left.” He pointed down the hallway.

“You can use my bathroom as well.”

“Thanks, Jude. Have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Carter winked and took off in the opposite direction.

“Maybe you could just tickle my balls,” Whitley suggested, getting back to the important stuff.

Jude laughed as he steered them toward the staircase. Whitley didn’t see what was so funny. He’d been dead serious about having his balls groped.
“I don’t like you very much right now.”

“I know, but from now on, I’m putting you first. If you think I don’t want to be buried inside your ass right now, you’re wrong. I don’t know all the rules about being a good mate, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say fucking you while you’re hurt and bleeding is not the way to do it.”

Okay, the man had a point, and he was trying so hard. “Fine, where are we going?”

“You’re going to shift so you can heal yourself, take a shower, and then I’m going to feed you. We’ll see what happens from there.” That’s exactly what they did, too, with zero variation from the plan. While Whitley felt like his dick was going to fall off, he had to admit that once the adrenaline wore off, he hadn’t really been feeling up to messing around with his mate.

Shifting healed the more shallow wounds, but the others still hurt like the six shades of hell. After his shower, Jude bandaged him up, led him to the kitchen, and nudged him into one of the kitchen chairs.

Then although he had a full staff on hand, he sent them all away and prepared Whitley’s breakfast himself.

“Do you think you’d like to stay here?” Jude asked while he flipped the French toast on the griddle. “We could have all your things shipped. Or we can even go get them when you’re feeling better.”

Whitley understood that Jude had a responsibility to the staff that resided inside the household. He had no desire to return to Virginia, either. “This place is much nicer than mine, and I really like what I’ve seen of California. I don’t have much at my place, but I don’t really know anyone who would box it up and ship it for me, either.”

“You don’t have any friends?”

“No.” He’d always kept to himself, which didn’t allow for many opportunities to meet people. The few lovers that had passed through his life had all been arranged by his family. It kind of made sense why
they’d all treated him like a piece of property now. At least his parents hadn’t tried to force a woman on him.

The only reason he’d ended up in Scotland for the gathering was because the invitation had said it was mandatory. He liked rules and figured they should be followed, especially when they came from the governing body of the paranormal world.

“Would you object to Arman going?”

Whitley thought it over briefly. “That would fine, if he doesn’t mind.” He squirmed in his seat and pressed the heel of his hand against his straining erection. “Jude, I don’t know how much longer I can stand this. I’m burning alive and my dick hurts.”

“Oh!” Jude spun around and hurried over to the table, pulling a small vial out of his pocket. “I don’t know exactly what this is or how it works, but Elder Swanson gave the same to me. It gives us a three-day reprieve so you can heal before we need to get physical again.” He waggled his eyebrows as he passed the glass tube over.

Whitley snatched it and downed the contents, eager for any kind of relief. Within seconds his cock deflated and the heat dissipated from his body causing him to sigh tiredly. “I think I have a crush on that man.”

Jude laughed and kissed the tip of his nose. “Since he saved our asses, I’m going to let that one slide. Make no mistake, though. You belong to me.”

“And you belong to me,” Whitley countered. “Now, hurry your sweet ass up and bring me some breakfast.” His mate looked offended for a second before he chuckled and shook his head. “And you used to be so quiet and shy.” It was true, but it seemed like an entire lifetime ago. “In a little less than two weeks, I’ve been mated, used, manipulated, kidnapped, stabbed, and told I should have never been born by my own mother.

To top it off, I didn’t even get to use those awesome ninja moves you taught me. I guess those things have a way of changing people.”
Jude didn’t say anything, but his muscles tensed and his head drooped a little. If they really were going to try to make this work, Whitley needed to get over Jude’s deception. Hell, he could see where the man was coming from, and he really wasn’t that angry anymore.

No way would he have given Jude another shot if he felt his mate’s actions had been sinister in their intent.

Still, Jude had been a jackass of epic proportions, and Whitley didn’t see any harm in making him squirm for a while longer.

Chapter Fourteen

“I’m going out,” Carter announced as he jogged down the stairs.

“Don’t wait up!”

Whitley looked like he’d say something, but Jude reached over and covered his mouth. “Have fun and stay out of trouble,” he called.

Carter gave him a wave and slipped out the front door. “I know he’s young, but he’s not a kid,” Jude told his mate gently. “He’s almost nineteen, and I think he’s proven that he’s responsible.”

“I know.” Whitley sighed and leaned back on the sofa. “I just worry about him.”

Jude worried as well, and he probably always would. Carter had grown in leaps and bounds in the last four months, though. He never stepped out of line or made waves, more than earning their trust. “I think he’s got a sweetheart.”

“What?” Whitley jolted upright, and Jude had to grab him to keep him from bolting off the couch. “He’s too young. Who is he seeing?

They’re being careful, right? I know we can’t get diseases, but he could still get a girl pregnant. He’s not ready for that, yet.” Jude laughed and pulled his mate back down to the cushions.

“First off, he’s not too young. Secondly, I have a suspicion that girls don’t push his buttons, if you know what I mean. Let the kid have some fun. He’s earned it.”

“Fine, but I want you to talk to him when he gets home.” Whitley pulled his feet up on the sofa and curled into Jude’s side. “He might have questions.”

“I’ll talk to him.” It wasn’t a conversation he was looking forward to, but if it made Whitley happy, he’d do his best.
Just like he’d been doing every day since Whitley had agreed to stay and work out their issues. Not once in the past four months had he lied to his mate about anything. He’d fessed up to every wrongdoing from eating the last of the Oreos to throwing out all of Whitley’s sweater-vests. In his defense, they really were hideous.

Though Whitley was coming around, he still seemed to be holding something back. He knew it would take time to earn back Whitley’s full trust, but it still hurt. Waking up with the man in his arms every morning was the best feeling in the world. Their sex life was still earth-shattering, and Whitley was very much into that part of their relationship. It just felt like something was missing.

Carter’s words kept coming back to haunt him as well. If what he felt was love for Whitley, he’d know. Right? He wouldn’t have to guess or wonder. Well, somewhere during the course of building his new life with the man at his side, he’d stopped wondering.

He was reluctant to voice his feelings, though. It was highly unlikely that Whitley felt the same way about him, and the thought of rejection scared him. What if it was too fast? He didn’t think his heart would survive if Whitley tried to run again.

So, he kept his emotions bottled up inside and just did the best he could to be a good mate and devoted partner. Sometimes he questioned if he was being selfish, though. He’d promised to never lie or keep things from Whitley again. Yet, there he was, hiding part of himself so that he wouldn’t have to face a letdown if his feelings weren’t returned.