word, I promise.”
“Good, now stop with the crazy idea that I don’t want you around, slim.”
William’s eyes dropped to Sage’s hard, muscled abs. Good god, he could scrub his clothes on that washboard. He would never tire of seeing Sage’s body. And he wanted to see it again, naked, pressed hard against him.
But it was more than that. William wanted to feel Sage’s arms wrapped around him, holding him close and making him feel as if the world wasn’t insane. The world felt like it was crazy already to him, and after last night, William wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.
He had been just a baby when the murders in Mystery took place.
He was one of only two who had survived the massacre, and now he was back, living close to the house he had been taken from. Only his return hadn’t felt like coming home. It felt more like falling back in time where everything was crazy, chaotic, and unreal.
William just wanted Sage to hold him and let him know he wasn’t alone anymore. That the creatures he heard so long ago and the creatures he heard since coming back weren’t one and the same.
William prayed they weren’t because if they were, then it was starting all over again.
And he couldn’t lose Sage, not after getting to know him, personally and intimately.
“Why the sad face?” Sage asked as his thumb played over William’s jaw. “I want you around, slim. I want to be mated to you.
Do you understand that?”
William shook his head, to answer Sage, but also to rid himself of the memories. “No. What exactly is a mate?”
Sage took William’s hand in his oversize one and led him back over to the blankets, setting both of them down. He could see the Sage’s Mystery
89
struggle in Sage’s eyes and wondered if the explanation was that difficult.
“When a werewolf decides he wants to spend the rest of his life with someone, he bites them and gives that person his seed, binding them for life. It’s like you’re my partner now, my life companion.”
Sage scratched his stubbled jaw as he glanced at William. “I’m not explaining this right.”
William sat up on his knees, mulling over Sage’s words. “So I’m like your husband now?” And wouldn’t that be fantastic. Weird, but fantastic. He couldn’t see himself with anyone but Sage.
“Exactly, only there is no divorce for us. This is it, till death do us part.”
Did he have to put it that way?
“Can I have a ring?” The question slipped before William could stop it. It was a childish question, but an insecurity he wanted to put to rest. William was afraid he had gone too far when Sage took a while to answer him.
Sage smiled as he pulled William down onto the blankets with him. “Whatever you want, slim.”
William was flying high, soaring through the clouds at a high rate of speed. He launched his body at Sage’s, a smile so wide that his cheeks hurt spread across his face. “That means you’re my husband as well.”
“It does, but we call it being mated.”
“I like married better,” William confessed as he buried his face against Sage’s chest. The warmth alone made him feel like he was as safe as a baby in its mama’s arms. That thought led to another, making William sad all over again. God, he hated the roller coaster of emotions this moment was causing.
“I know what happened in Mystery,” he confessed to Sage’s chest. He hadn’t spoken a word of the tragedy in a very long time.
That confession had bought him a one-way ticket to a mental health facility where he spent most of his life. William had learned a long 90
Lynn Hagen
time ago to keep his memories and the truth to himself. The trouble was, after so many years and so many doctors refuting his claim, William began to wonder if he had heard those sounds at all, until he had come back to Mystery.
Once the howling began, William had no doubt whatsoever about all those years ago.
He knew he could tell Sage. He was a werewolf after all. It wasn’t
“Good, now stop with the crazy idea that I don’t want you around, slim.”
William’s eyes dropped to Sage’s hard, muscled abs. Good god, he could scrub his clothes on that washboard. He would never tire of seeing Sage’s body. And he wanted to see it again, naked, pressed hard against him.
But it was more than that. William wanted to feel Sage’s arms wrapped around him, holding him close and making him feel as if the world wasn’t insane. The world felt like it was crazy already to him, and after last night, William wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.
He had been just a baby when the murders in Mystery took place.
He was one of only two who had survived the massacre, and now he was back, living close to the house he had been taken from. Only his return hadn’t felt like coming home. It felt more like falling back in time where everything was crazy, chaotic, and unreal.
William just wanted Sage to hold him and let him know he wasn’t alone anymore. That the creatures he heard so long ago and the creatures he heard since coming back weren’t one and the same.
William prayed they weren’t because if they were, then it was starting all over again.
And he couldn’t lose Sage, not after getting to know him, personally and intimately.
“Why the sad face?” Sage asked as his thumb played over William’s jaw. “I want you around, slim. I want to be mated to you.
Do you understand that?”
William shook his head, to answer Sage, but also to rid himself of the memories. “No. What exactly is a mate?”
Sage took William’s hand in his oversize one and led him back over to the blankets, setting both of them down. He could see the Sage’s Mystery
89
struggle in Sage’s eyes and wondered if the explanation was that difficult.
“When a werewolf decides he wants to spend the rest of his life with someone, he bites them and gives that person his seed, binding them for life. It’s like you’re my partner now, my life companion.”
Sage scratched his stubbled jaw as he glanced at William. “I’m not explaining this right.”
William sat up on his knees, mulling over Sage’s words. “So I’m like your husband now?” And wouldn’t that be fantastic. Weird, but fantastic. He couldn’t see himself with anyone but Sage.
“Exactly, only there is no divorce for us. This is it, till death do us part.”
Did he have to put it that way?
“Can I have a ring?” The question slipped before William could stop it. It was a childish question, but an insecurity he wanted to put to rest. William was afraid he had gone too far when Sage took a while to answer him.
Sage smiled as he pulled William down onto the blankets with him. “Whatever you want, slim.”
William was flying high, soaring through the clouds at a high rate of speed. He launched his body at Sage’s, a smile so wide that his cheeks hurt spread across his face. “That means you’re my husband as well.”
“It does, but we call it being mated.”
“I like married better,” William confessed as he buried his face against Sage’s chest. The warmth alone made him feel like he was as safe as a baby in its mama’s arms. That thought led to another, making William sad all over again. God, he hated the roller coaster of emotions this moment was causing.
“I know what happened in Mystery,” he confessed to Sage’s chest. He hadn’t spoken a word of the tragedy in a very long time.
That confession had bought him a one-way ticket to a mental health facility where he spent most of his life. William had learned a long 90
Lynn Hagen
time ago to keep his memories and the truth to himself. The trouble was, after so many years and so many doctors refuting his claim, William began to wonder if he had heard those sounds at all, until he had come back to Mystery.
Once the howling began, William had no doubt whatsoever about all those years ago.
He knew he could tell Sage. He was a werewolf after all. It wasn’t
Similar Books
