Primal (Wrong Side of the Tracks 2)

The thick form shuddered in his embrace, but when they came to a halt, Dane glanced over his shoulder and laughed despite the pallor still overcoming his cheeks. “Oh man, like a waterslide!”

Jag grinned and smelled the dark side of Dane’s hair, which always had a somewhat stronger scent to it. “What’s that?”

Dane’s eyes glinted as he pulled his teeth over that tempting bottom lip. “Maybe I’ll show you sometime.”

“I do like water. I used to live a short trek from a lake.” Jag kissed Dane’s salty arm, then licked it with a happy sigh, but the fat droplets falling on them in warning got him moving. “But maybe let's not get drenched.”

The heavens chose that moment to roar.

“Fuck, no, there’s so much metal here,” Dane said, getting to his feet and looking around as if he no longer understood where home was.

Thunder resonated high in the clouds, so Jag grabbed the chain at Dane’s collar and pulled. “So? Let’s go!”

Dane hissed something but it didn’t seem addressed to anyone in particular. The sky, which moments earlier had seemed heavy with clouds yet mundane, had transformed into an inverted landscape of nightmares, and as hordes of wild beast passed above, illuminated by lightning, the wind grew stronger, shoving Jag and Dane away from the den, as if it wanted to keep them from seeking shelter.

Worse yet, the wind sped up as if released from a giant’s bellows. Dane hated getting wet outside of the shower, and now he’d be soaked because Jag hadn’t bothered to plan for a situation like this. He still had a long way to go in becoming the mate his man needed.

Water dripped down Dane’s face and shoulders as they ran, and Jag almost tripped when his gaze settled on the colorful tattoos that came alive with movement.

“We can dry by the fire!” Jag yelled.

They could also cuddle under the furs, but Dane didn’t need to know about that part of Jag’s plan.

Dane ignored him, braving the wind and stepping ahead of Jag, but something moved at the edge of Jag’s vision, and he tugged on the collar. Dane groaned, clutching at the restraint from the front, and he glared at Jag, but they both froze when a large sheet of metal cartwheeled across the path, exactly where Dane would have been if Jag hadn’t stopped him.

“Stay close to me!” Jag demanded with a growl, because force and fear were the only things capable of keeping his reckless mate safe.

He wasn’t losing the man of his dreams to stray junk or a cold brought on by rain. He’d fight lightning for Dane if need be.

But as careful as he wanted to be, various items started rushing everywhere around them, as if thrown by unseen monsters. Jag settled on taking their chances with a fast run. The wind was strong enough to carry heavy objects, and since in this kind of weather even something mundane could pose a serious danger, hiding someplace safe became imperative.

When Jag lowered his head to avoid getting the cold air and dust into his nose and eyes, Dane patted him on the leg, folded in half. It was a silly position, but when Dane took a step forward, it became clear that it helped him move, and Jag soon followed his example, smiling in appreciation. His mate might be inexperienced in matters of survival, but that didn’t mean he had no practical knowledge at all!

A loud noise startled them as they reached the path by their house, but Jag pushed on, unsettled by the creaking ahead. Breaking into a run, he entered the ravine first, but the sight before him was like an icy stab to the neck.

The roof of corrugated sheet sagged, only to cave in altogether moments later, flooding the interior with the rain that had gathered in the few minutes of torrential downfall.

“No!” Jag screamed in frustration and ran toward the home he’d so carefully built.

“Fucking hell,” Dane roared, and his footsteps thudded against the metal making up the slope. At least within the ravine, the wind wasn’t pushing either of them around as much beyond its boundaries. But when Jag tugged on the chain he was still holding, Dane groaned and stood still.

“You’ll choke me! Let go!” he shouted, sputtering water as the rain turned into a gray veil around them.

Jag huffed, but there was no time to argue. He wrapped the chain around a car window with no glass in it, and locked it with a padlock. “Stay here! I’ll fix the house!” he yelled in exasperation while the storm rumbled above as if boulders were about to fall on their heads from the sky.

But he was already out of time. The walls he’d crafted out of different pieces of wood were being dragged inside by the weight of the collapsed roof, set on showing Dane that the man who was supposed to provide for him was a failure.