Page 5

Chapter Five

S kippy smelled him before he even entered the station. He couldn't see him, but it didn't matter. He knew whoever it was, he was his mate.

Skippy stood and went to the bars. He met Mercury's gaze. "Let me out."

He growled and flashed his fangs. His knuckles turned white.

Mitchell put his hand on his shoulder. "What's up, man?"

"My mate entered the building. I can smell him." Skippy could sense his presence. Like a gentle hug, the feeling of warmth washed over him. Anticipation took hold.

He’d known he’d meet him soon. He’d known it for months, and there he was, in the same building as Skippy. Maybe a little of Seryn’s magic had rubbed off on him and he could sense the future too.

Mercury sighed and opened his desk drawer, grabbing the keys to the cells. He really needed to move where he kept them. Mercury had been pulling it out of that drawer for years.

Mercury waved as if beckoning someone forward. "You might as well come on back. It's not like he's gonna hold back the second I open that door, anyway."

"You make me sound like an animal." He felt like one. He felt feral. He was barely contained. He wanted out. He wanted to touch. To hold his mate.

His mate needed him. Skippy heard his growl. It sounded more like a gentle wave. It wasn’t a deep rumble, but more like a soft purr. It still went soul deep, as if he longed for Skippy the way Skippy had longed for him.

"You act like one," Mercury smirked as he closed the distance.

"Your problem is you like me but you don't want to like me." Skippy stopped paying attention to Mercury because the prettiest dragon shifter he'd ever seen came around the corner. He was also one of the smallest, although still above average height for a dragon shifter. He was thin, with an angular face and dark-rimmed glasses.

The man scowled when he met Skippy's gaze. "You're not what I expected."

Skippy grinned and pushed the door open when Mercury unlocked it. He closed the distance between them but didn't touch. Not right away. And not without consent. So far, his mate seemed confused and maybe just a little surprised. Were all the emotions on his mate’s pretty face a good thing or a bad thing? It was difficult to tell. So, Skippy kept his hands to himself.

"You're exactly what I expected." Skippy should have said what he was hoping for. His mate exceeded his expectations.

"I'm Yael."

"You can call me Skippy. Everyone does."

Yael scowled. "Skippy doesn't suit you."

"It's a nickname."

"What's your real name?" Yael took Skippy's hand and held it. He rubbed his thumb over Skippy's callused fingers.

"It's Simon." Skippy smiled at the way Yael's touch came so easily. He wasn't intimidated.

"Simon. That's a nice name. It suits you." Yael stepped closer. Was he aware of it? Skippy had his doubts.

"His name doesn't reflect his personality," Mercury said as he put the key back in the drawer.

"Fuck off, Merc." Skippy smiled at Yael. "I'm not a nice person. But I'll never hurt you."

"You need lotion for your hands. I have some in my car." Yael seemed to want to take care of him. Was that his nature, or was it the mating pull?

"Hazard of the job."

"Is your job to harm people?" Yael clearly didn't know if he wanted the answer. That much was obvious by the way he averted his gaze, as if he didn't want to see Skippy's face when he answered in the affirmative.

"I'm a gardener."

"You're a gardener?" Yael sounded skeptical.

Skippy smiled. "I hurt people for free. But only the right kind of people."

"And how do you define who deserves to get hurt and who doesn't?"

"I define it by what they've done to innocent people." Judgement still darkened Yael's eyes. Skippy could see it. He just didn't know what it meant. But he knew he wasn't changing for anyone, not even his mate, whom he waited for his entire life.

"Why were you arrested?" Yael stepped into Skippy, putting his arms around him. The physical affection wasn't what Skippy expected, given how deep the judgment went. Yael felt the mating pull as strongly as Skippy. Maybe he had less control.

The half-hug thing they had going on let Skippy know Yael didn't mind being touched. For the first time since meeting, Skippy put his arms around Yael.

He felt right. Perfect. As if he were made for Skippy. They notched together in all the right ways. So much so, they would need privacy soon and probably should have had some anyway, because their conversation was just for them.

Skippy met Mercury's gaze. "Do you have a private space we can use?"

Mercury nodded to a door behind him. "Break room."

Skippy met Mitchell's gaze. "I'll catch up with you later."

Mitchell nodded, grinning as he left the station.

Skippy nodded in thanks and walked Yael to the room. It was more of a kitchen with a big table taking up most of the room.

He shut the door behind them and then pulled out a chair for Yael.

Yael shook his head. "You're too far away."

Skippy raised his eyebrows. Somehow, he expected to be the clingy one who needed physical contact. He was a very physical person.

It hadn't occurred to him that his mate would be clingy, and he'd have reservations about the mating. If the judgement wasn't there, it would be different for Skippy, but he could still sense it. Even as Yael stood there trying to come up with a solution to a non problem.

Skippy took the chair instead and then patted his lap. "Sit with me."

Yael looked relieved. He sat on Skippy, wrapping his arms around him and burying his face in the crook of Skippy's neck.

Skippy held him close. They stayed that way for a long time. It was a nice reprieve from the conversation. The silence was comfortable, even though Skippy still felt an argument on the rise. The possibility of it hung over them like a cloud.

"I beat up two people while in Draco's bar. I'll probably get a destruction of property charge. And I’ll pay for the table and chair I broke when I threw a feline shifter onto them."

Yael sat up, meeting his gaze. "You threw a person?"

"Yes. They're in the holding cell next to the one I was in, if you want to ask them judgy questions, too." Skippy wanted to just get it over with. He didn't see how talking about what he did would help anything, considering Yael's opinion was already formed before they even met.

Yael stiffened and scowled. "I'm just trying to understand why the sheriff arrested you."

"He arrested me for assaulting two men who had kidnapped and trafficked two women. Women who are mates with each other. According to the women, the men didn't like their mating."

Yael sucked in a breath. His eyes widened. "For being a same sex mating."

It wasn't a question, but Skippy answered it like one. "That's what they told me. But I attacked the men for hitting one of the women. The kidnapping I learned about after the fact."

Yael shook his head. "You should have called the sheriff first, but I'm glad those women are safe."

"This isn't the first time I've been to jail, and it won't be the last."

Yael scowled. "Why are you telling me that?"

"Because I can tell you don't like it. And if you don't, then you don't like me. And I will not change."

"I'm not asking you to." Yeah, Yael definitely didn't like being called out. He stiffened on Skippy's lap, but still didn't get up.

"Not yet. Probably not anymore since I put a stop to you trying to change me. But you want to. I can see it in your eyes." Skippy had always been pretty good at reading people, so long as he took the time to do so. Throwing a punch first and asking questions later wasn't exactly conducing to figuring out the finer details of a person.

"I don't want you to go to jail, Simon. Why would I want that for you?" And there it was. The beginning of the end of the mating.

"I fight with people. A lot. It lands me in jail. It's who I am. If you don't like it, then you won't like me." It was as simple as that.

Yael sighed. "I can't tell if you're being difficult on purpose, that you secretly don't want a mate. Are you trying to push me away, Simon?"

Skippy growled. "I've waited for you my whole life, and I want you with every fiber of my being."

"Then why are you saying what you're saying?"

"Because you don't like me." If anything was a deal breaker, it should always be whether or not someone likes him as a person. If they didn't, then he let them go. Maybe fate got it wrong.

"I don't like this one aspect. That's true. But we don't know each other well enough yet. We just met, Simon."

Skippy shook his head. "I'm a pretty simple person, honey. This is all of me."

Yael got off his lap. He crossed his arms over his middle. The hurt was clear in his eyes, although it was misplaced. "Are you rejecting me?"

Skippy stood. He cupped Yael's cheek. "When you can accept me, come find me. Gavin knows where I hang out."

Skippy walked to the door.

"Simon. Please don't go." The plea was like a knife to the heart, but Skippy knew he needed to walk away if he wanted Yael to choose him as a person and not let the mating instinct pull him along.

"There's one more thing you need to know. If you choose me, you're choosing to be my boy. Make sure you know what that means. If you need help finding out, you can ask me."

It took everything he had to walk out of the station and away from his mate. The only reason he did was because it was what was needed if they were going to build something real. Skippy would wait forever for Yael, but he wouldn't mate with someone who didn't even like him as a person.