Keenan wants his mate to come back, but after two months without any news about Jonah, he has lost his hope that the wolf shifter will come back to him. Then one night his phone rings and Jonah finally talks to him.
Jonah left Keenan because he needed to help the other wolves who had disappeared with him. He has a hard time staying away from his mate, though, and as soon as he finds Elliott, Merle and Simon, he runs back to Whitedell, hoping his apologies will be enough for Keenan to take him back.
Just when the two men take their first step in their relationship, something happens to Keenan and he disappears. Will Jonah be able to save the mate he has just started to get to know, or will Keenan be forever lost to him?
Keenan had to work on keeping in the laugh that was bubbling in his chest—it just begged to be let out. He had known exactly what he was doing when he had chosen to wear this particular T-shirt this morning. He wanted everyone to know Jonah had claimed him. They would all have known anyway, even if he told only his friends. Nothing remained a secret for long in the mansion.
Everyone was still sitting at the kitchen’s table except for Nate and Jayden, who were leaning against the counter. Thankfully, the kids were nowhere to be seen, because someone was probably going to say stuff they shouldn’t hear.
All the men wore the same expression. Mouths open, eyes wide, hands still in whatever they were doing. All eyes were on Keenan, and he found it funny that Jonah was trying to hide behind him, because, come on, there was no way he actually fit there. Keenan was five foot eight and Jonah six foot six, for Christ’s sake!
Keenan looked at everyone, finally laughing when the jelly on top of Jamie’s toast slid down and plopped in his plate. “Good morning, everyone. Did ya’ll have a good night?”
Keenan pulled on Jonah’s hand and directed him to sit on the one free chair. He looked horribly uncomfortable, glancing from one man to another, probably to make sure no one was going to kill him.
Keenan sat down on Jonah’s lap, mildly annoyed when his mate looked at him in alarm. “Oh, hush. They won’t hurt you. They’re just shocked right now.”
The only one who was already over it was Dominic, who was quietly snickering in his chair and attempting to hide behind Ani, who was sitting on his lap. It didn’t work any better than it had for Jonah, though, and Keenan smiled at him. “What’s so funny?”
Dominic openly laughed and Keenan was happy to see that most of the men sitting around the table turned to look at him. “Oh, nothing. I’m just so happy that you live here right now. Things never were so entertaining when it was only us unmated shifters.”
That seemed to jolt the other men into motion. Jamie jumped from his chair, his toast abandoned on his plate as he stomped toward Keenan. “What did you do? You’ve known him for, for thirty seconds, for fuck’s sake!”
Keenan felt the arm Jonah had wrapped around his waist tighten, but he knew he had to be clear with Jamie, so he got up and faced his brother. “Jamie, I know you’re worried for me, and I thank you for that, but I’m an adult and I know what I’m doing.” He fingered his neck, stroking the now scarred skin. “I wanted this. I was the one to ask Jonah to mate with me, and I was the one who convinced him even when he wasn’t sure about it. It’s none of your business, just like what you do with Ward is none of mine.”
Ward snorted and both Keenan and Jamie turned to him. Keenan smiled back at him, because everyone knew just how nosy and bossy he was. “It might not be your business, but you didn’t have any problems putting your nose right in it. I remember a certain note you left me, and a strip of condoms.”
Keenan smirked. “Ah, yes. I remember.” He waggled his brows. “Aren’t you glad you did as I said, though?”
“Guys, we’re not talking about this right now!” Jamie yelled, but the tension in the room had lessened, and Jamie really was the only one so wound up. Ward got up and walked to his mate, sliding his arm around Jamie’s waist. “I know, but Keenan’s right. He’s an adult, and he knows what he’s doing. He’s lived with shifters long enough to know exactly what being mated means, Jamie. It was different for us. You didn’t know about shifters and you wanted to wait. He’s known about Jonah for months, even if they had problems.” Ward looked at Keenan and smiled. “I’m glad you solved them. Congrats.”
Keenan let out a relieved sigh, but he knew he wasn’t out of it yet. Jamie meant the world to him. He was the only family he had, and it would hurt if he decided to push Keenan away, but Keenan couldn’t live for Jamie. To be honest, he hadn’t even thought about other people’s reactions when he had decided he wanted Jonah to mate with him, but he didn’t regret anything.
