Mates: Prequel (Claws Clause 0)

No matter how many times Colt saw him like this, it always took him by surprise.

Maddox was a big man, standing a couple of inches taller than his younger brother and Colt was no slouch. But the pounds fell away from him the first year in the Cage and he never managed to gain many back. He looked older than his thirty years, his skin paler than its normal golden hue, his hollow face creased with worry and despair. His once vibrant eyes were dull, as were his blunt human teeth.

His face was expressionless, as if at first he didn’t recognize his visitor, then he couldn’t be bothered when he did.

“Oh. It’s you again.” Maddox’s brow furrowed. “Hang on. It hasn’t been a month yet, has it?”

Colt kept his hands curled into his fists at his side as he shook his head. His damn near miraculous discovery couldn’t have come at a better time. Maddox might not have chosen to be put down after the accident. The result would end up being the same since the Cage sure as hell was killing his brother.

Maddox huffed. “Didn’t think so.”

His voice was hoarse and listless. That wasn't new. It was all part of the sad, sorry routine. Maddox went through the motions during Colt’s monthly visits, knowing that as soon as he did, Colt would leave him alone to his misery.

Since he lost his mate, that was all he had left—or wanted.

Not for the first time, Colt was fucking grateful he hadn't found the one woman meant for him. If this was what he had to look forward to if he ever lost her, he'd much rather never find her in the first place.

“The pack all right?” Maddox asked. Just like he always asked. At least he still cared that much.

“Pack’s fine.”

“Dad okay?”

He didn't bother wasting any words to ask after their mother. Both brothers understood that, so long as their father was still kicking, Sarah Wolfe was safe and sound. The day something happened to her, they'd be digging two graves.

“Old bastard’s still hanging in there,” Colt said with a hint of a wistful smile.

Their father was the most ornery old bastard he knew, but his wolf was undefeated. He wasn’t kidding when he said Terrence Wolfe was hanging in there. Colt believed his father lived on spite and the desire to kick ass until his oldest son was back with the pack. Once that happened, Terrence could finally step down to retire someplace remote and wooded with his mate.

Every wolf shifter in the state knew that Maddox was supposed to be the pack’s next Alpha… only he couldn’t do that while he was stuck in the Cage. Enterprising shifters had tried to challenge Terrence and failed. Their father decided three years ago that he would lead the pack until he died or Maddox got out. Up until that morning, Colt didn’t see either of those things happening any time soon.

But now—

That wiped the smile off of Colt’s face. “Listen to me, Maddox. I… look. There’s no easy way to say this so I'm gonna just spit it it out. Okay?”

When he got a listless shrug for an answer, Colt realized that that was the best he was going to get. He took a second to brace himself. On a shudder, he said, “I’ve come about Evangeline.”

Maddox stiffened, strung as tight as tension wire. It was a knee-jerk reaction whenever someone dared to say her name out loud. Colt knew that well.

At least he had his brother’s attention now.

“What about her?”

The entire ride back to the Cage, Colt tried to figure out the best way to tell his brother what he had accidentally discovered. But he’d never been all that good with words, and he hated wasting time beating around the bush, so, in true Colton Wolfe fashion, he was honest, brash, and to the point.

“Your mate isn’t dead.”

And there it was. A sudden spark in his amber eyes that said, no matter how deeply buried it was, the old Maddox was still in there somewhere.

Instinct hit Colt like a sledgehammer. He immediately lowered his gaze, watching the way Maddox’s hands flexed and cracked. He subtly tilted his head to the right and offered his throat. Colt was an alpha wolf, damn it, and even he recognized the danger rolling off of his brother.

“Say that again,” whispered Maddox.

“She's not dead.” Colt purposely made his own voice as gentle as possible. Rousing Maddox's beast, probably not the smartest plan. Sure, the collar kept him from shifting, and the Para-proof glass kept them separated.

Tell that to his whining wolf.

His brother’s answer was halfway between a snort and a snarl. Flecks of spit dotted the glass when he snapped out, “Bullshit.”