Page 19 of Starting Over
A strange gurgling voice came from the same area as the back door, “You were touching that man in a room filled with men. I…”
Jude did a growling sound that would put a rabid dog to shame, snapping, “And what, Smoky? You honestly think I’d cheat on my mate? On my soul bond?”
“No!” Smoky gasped in shock. “I… I…”
“He hasn’t been thinking straight since you left us,” the deep voice said, sounding as if he was in front of Wyatt who was standing facing Jude… which meant Jude’s mate had come for him even in the smoked-out room. “Neither of us have been thinking right. We’re sorry.”
The smoke was clearing and Wyatt could see the slumped shoulders on Jude’s body. He looked… guilty… shamed… sad, when he said, “Come on, Smoky. We’ll talk in a few minutes.”
After all that Jude had done and said… how he acted before his mate had arrived, had Wyatt thinking that look should never be on that man’s face. His mate must have thought the same thingbecause he turned Jude around to face him, whispering, “We’re sorry.”
Shaking his head, Jude whispered, “No, I’m sorry. I should have talked this out with you both instead of running away like a young preteen that didn’t get their favorite toy.”
“A child is no toy and you did try to talk to us. We just were cowards and ran… maybe not out of Drago, but we still ran… from you.”
Sighing, Jude said, “We can talk, but not right now.” Turning Jude, continued, “Let me introduce our audience.”
Rain patted Wyatt’s chest. “As much as I like being here, I think you can let me down,” Rain said with his cheeks and ears so red…. Gods, he was adorable.
Reluctantly, Wyatt placed Rain back on his feet, then held his hand out to Jude’s mate. “I’m Rain. Jude’s spoken a lot about you and your…” Rain looked around. “Where is your dragon?” He looked to Jude, “Smoky, right?”
Wyatt looked to his thunder, but they all shook their heads as they too looked to see the dragon.
Jude lifted his arm. Wyatt looked at what Jude was showing Rain and about fell out. A huge dragon-shaped tattoo was where no tattoo had been just moments before. “What the hell?”
His thunder approached, but just then Smoky lifted his flat as fuck head off of Jude’s arm, causing them all to jump back a step, and watch as the tiny flat head blew up like a mother fucking balloon, and spoke, “I am Smoky. I apologize for causing such a disruption. I haven’t quite been myself.”
Rain took a tiny step forward, nervously saying, “It’s fine, Smoky. My animal sometimes gets the best of me as well. I tend to shift at times I really don’t want to.”
Smoky drew in a breath and gave a toothy smile… well, it was either a smile or the dragon was going to eat his mate, Wyatt didn’t know, but then he said, “Elephant shrew. I can honestly say it has been centuries since I have had the pleasure of meeting an elephant shrew. Very nice.”
Elephant shrew? What the hell was an elephant shrew? Wyatt had no idea but he planned on looking it up as soon as…
“Oh my gods you’re fucking adorable,” Ryan said, then called to Tandris, ”Look at this. Can you believe it? How cute is that?”
“Oh my gods! I can’t wait to see him shift,” Tandris said as he looked to Rain, “You will shift for us soon, right?”
Rain looked startled and Wyatt’s dragon did not appreciate another dragon shifter calling their mate adorable or cute and let out a low growl, “Knock it off… all of you.”
“What the fuck did I do?” Asod asked as if offended.
Wyatt ignored him, instead turning to Jude’s mate, “Wyatt.”
The man gave a sharp nod, “Casper. The only one that calls me Rance is Jude.”
Wyatt got the message. “No problem, Casper. This is part of my thunder and some of my team… Ryan, Tandris and Asod.”
The man gave a nod to them all, but said nothing.
A man of few words.
Okay, that wasn’t a problem. Some people didn’t like talking. Hell, there were a few men in his thunder that hated talking, andat times Wyatt might hear them say a total of three words in a week.
“Jude, I know you want to figure this out, but I really think you have far more important matters to attend to than talking with us. Go. Talk to your mate and your maharishi. I can show the guys to their rooms,” Rain said, then turned to Wyatt. “Besides, I think I have some heavy talking to do of my own.”
Jude looked hesitant, but Rain wasn’t having it. “Go. I got this. I swear. Besides, it will give Wyatt and me time to get to know each other better. I’m good. No more shivers and no bruises. Go. This is important.”
Jude hesitated, then shook his head. “The talk with my mate and maharishi is important, but so is your life. I say we have a quick discussion here and then we can both talk with our mates.”