Wolfsbane (Dark Hollow Wolf Pack 5)

“ You? What are you doing here? What’s all thisfor?”

Brett saw Evan wet his lips and drop his eyes downward. “Didn’t they tell you?” “Tell me what?”

Evan stared back up at him, his eyes very large and blue. He was breathing through his mouth and looked scared to death.

“They want you to. . . to mate with me. ”

“What?”

“To mate with me. It’s an experiment. They think you might secrete something in my blood either with the mating bite or the—the gland thing on your. . . ”

“Is that right?” He sauntered over to the bed as Evan backed away. He flopped down on the bed on his back. A little smile played around his lips. “What makes them think I’d mate with you?”

The heat rose to Evan’s cheeks. “You don’t have to, of course. They can find you someone else if the idea of having sex with me is so repugnant to you. ”

He started for the door, but not before Brett saw a hurt look in his eyes. Brett called out to him from the bed. “Stop right there. ” Evan hesitated, then turned slowly around to look at the man. “Bringyour ass back over here. ”

“What if I don’t feel like bringing my assback over there?”

Brett smiled. “Please, Evan, would you please move your sweet little ass back over here?”

Evan hesitated, giving the wolf a dirty look, his blue eyes flashing. In the end, he walked slowly back toward the bed, his feet moving like they were stuck in quicksand. But he was coming, and that was the important thing. You’ll learn to follow my commands more quickly in the future, sweetheart. Brett gave him plenty of time, holding out a hand to him as he got closer. He took his hand and pulled him down onto the bed to sit beside him. Brett noticed he winced a little when he sat, and leaned to the side. What was going on with his little Hunter?

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to mate with you, sweetheart. I just wondered what made them come up with the idea? And what made you agree to it?”

Evan ventured a look directly up into his eyes and answered the first part of his question, ignoring the last. “They told me Elias Winters is trying to come up with an antidote for the blood match thing. Winters says it’s too late for his son, but maybe it will help someone else if they can get their hand on another mate. They think it must be something from your gland, or something in the bite. They think if you. . . mate with me, then they can check my blood afterward. See what they find. ”

Brett put back his head and laughed. “Well, good luck with that one! I think we might be as happy to find that antidote as the Hunters are. ”

Evan tilted his head. “Why would you say that?”

“Because some of us think it’s a damned pain in the ass. The Blood Match is no respecter of sexual orientation, or age, or desire or anything else. You just see someone or smell them, more accurately, and that’s it. No matter how illsuited you might be for each other. ”

“Smell them?”

“The blood mate has a unique odor to the other mate. Sort of sweet. Hard to explain, but it’s compelling. It draws us in and won’t let us go. Then,after the mating bite, it’s impossible to ignore, no matter what. Like I said, a pain in the ass. ”

“What if they’re already mated to someone else?”

“That’s what I mean—they could be. There have even been a few rare cases of three people sharing the match. Unless they’re into ménage, one of them is screwed. And wolves don’t share! Don’t even get me started about the human equation. My alpha Marco has a human mate. He’s a brat and nothing but trouble. They fight all the time and then make up with embarrassingly loud sex. The human is gorgeous and smart, but to my way of thinking he takes way too much effort. Always running away or storming off in a huff. Our beta has a human mate too. Both of them lead their mates a merry chase. It’s stupid. My mate will never be allowed to act that way. ”

“So you don’t like humans? I’m guessing you would never mate with one. So where does that leave me?I guess they can’t make you mate with me. ” Evan’s voice seemed a little hurt, and Brett mentally chastised himself. He was talking too much. What was there about this human that had him spilling his guts to him and saying way more than he should have?

“No, I like humans all right. I didn’t mean to give that impression. Some of them are quite beautiful and sweet. Hell, they’re all interesting. And Ican’t help who I mate with—that’s the point, sweetheart. ” He lifted his hand to the side of Evan’s face. “Like you, for instance. ”

“Me? But I’m not your blood mate. ”

“Who says?” He reached out and took a lock of Evan’s hair in his fingers, rubbing it against his thumb gently.

“What do you mean? How can that be? I volunteered to do this. When they first approached me, you hadn’t even been captured yet. ”

“And why do you think I allowed myself to be captured?”

Evan looked stunned. His mouth opened and closed. Alarmed, he started to stand up, but Brett pulled him back down, lying back against the pillows and holding Evan across his chest as he looked down at him. “Listen, bab

y. I know this is hard to understand. All this is a set-up, all right. But it’s my set-up. Dr. Cornsilk is one of us. He’s related to the wolves, though not by blood. He’s the stepson of a wolf. Thewolf’s human mate was a widow, and he lived with the clan since he was a baby. He infiltrated the Hunters years ago. He’s only one of several people we have on the inside here. ”

Evan’s face was almost blank in shock. His mouth opened and closed several times. Brett smiled and put a finger to his lips. “Shhh. . . they’re in deep cover, babe. ”