Bite Me [sHarmony Shifters 1] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 8

  Calmly, Orion went back over to his discarded clothes and started to dress, wiping the blood off his mouth with his wifebeater tank top.

  “Are you done?” Logan asked Nick, panting lightly.

  “You’re going to regret this,” Nick threatened, groaning no doubt from the pain.

  “Not as much as you are when they arrest your ass for assault.” Logan pushed himself off Nick and stumbled over to where he and Collin stood. “You okay?”

  “Yeah,” Jude whispered, tears pricking his eyes. “I’m so glad you’re here.” He leaned into Logan and the scent of blood teased his nostrils. He startled. “Are you bleeding?” The cut on Logan’s lip wasn’t bad enough for the scent to be that strong. It was then he caught sight of the X-Acto knife that was sticking out of Logan’s shoulder. “Oh my god,” he yelped.

  “Shh, babe. The ambulance will be here in a minute. The wound isn’t that deep. They’ll pull it out.” He motioned for Orion to come over, and he did, though his eyes stayed on Nick, who was clutching his leg on the ground.

  “You should’ve let me eat his stupid ass,” Orion rumbled, glaring at Jude’s ex. “When I saw him pull that on you…” His jaw tightened as he trailed off, rage in his expression.

  “I’m okay, little brother,” Logan said in a low, soothing voice. “Let’s go wait out front though, huh?”

  They moved out to the front of the store and into the customer parking lot. “At least we caught everything on camera,” Collin said as they waited under the baking sun. “The internal cameras were installed before the external ones. I bet the security guys saw the car that the asshats who just pulled out of here were driving.”

  “I’m sure the cops are going to need those tapes and witness statements,” Logan said, sitting down on the sidewalk. He could say what he wanted, but that knife couldn’t feel good sticking out of his back like that. Jude sat beside him and fussed over him, equal parts terrified and furious over what had just happened. Logan leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Be easy, sweet. Everything is okay. I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” Jude whispered.

  Orion sat on the other side of Jude. “Well, now you’re gonna have to move in with us,” he sniffed. “We can’t keep you safe if you don’t.”

  Jude turned his head to pin Orion with a look. “Is that your not so subtle way of asking if we can all move to the subdivision together?”

  Orion nodded, his expression serious. “Mated people should live together. Is all I’m sayin’.” He looked away, down toward the street where the cop cars were coming from.

  Jude looked at Logan. “The teenager has spoken.”

  Logan smiled. “True. For his sake, we ought to listen to him. He’ll be all mopey and pouty if you don’t make me the happiest man on earth by moving in with us.”

  Jude sighed in an exaggerated fashion. “I suppose you’re right about that. I’d hate to put you out.”

  Orion flipped them off. “Fuck all y’all.”

  Logan growled. “Orion, language.”

  For the first time in several hours, Jude laughed out loud. If they could joke at a time like this, they could make light of any situation, no matter how serious. They were stronger together, and no matter what anyone said, everything was just how it was meant to be. sHarmony had guaranteed that they would “make lasting connections that would endure eternity” after all. Looking over at Logan, Jude knew that they hadn’t exaggerated in the least bit.

  Epilogue

  One Year Later

  “Hey, sweet, can you grab my beer off of the coffee table?” Logan shouted from the table on the back deck. They were having supper outside since it was such a nice evening.

  “Sure,” Jude called back. “I’ll bring it out with the condiments.” He disappeared into the interior of their home, and Logan couldn’t help but train his eyes on his mate’s backside as he walked away. He loved every inch of Jude, and the feeling hadn’t lessened one bit since their initial meeting.

  They’d moved into the house a good eight months ago and had since installed a wraparound deck and a, in-ground swimming pool that Orion was currently enjoying with his two friends Dana and Marley. “Orion, food,” Logan shouted as Marley and Orion took a nose dive into the deep end. Life was good for them here. Orion was even doing better in school since this school district had made some shifter-friendly class environments part of their high school program. It was working out really well for him, and Logan was happy his little brother was finally in a place that accepted him and helped him rather than hindered him in his education.

  Jude opened the sliding glass door, beer and a basket full of condiments for their hot dogs and hamburgers in hand. Logan couldn’t help but smile at his lover as he made his way toward him. Since the installation of the cameras at Jude’s work, there had been no further incidents there, for which Logan was intensely grateful. Nick had been arrested and charged with hate crimes, vandalism, as well as assault, though the hate crimes had been knocked out due to lack of physical evidence since they couldn’t prove he had said the racial slurs or been the one to physically write the graffiti. The assault charge had stuck at least.

  Upon further investigation, the police made a few more arrests for the vandalism which had turned out to all be members from the organization Humans First, a group that Nick had intimate ties to. It boggled Logan’s mind how Jude had ever seen anything redeemable in a man like Nick. His mate was everything that Nick wasn’t, sweet, accepting, and understanding. But he just chalked his involvement up to his lover’s ever-optimistic nature about people and put it from his mind.

  Humans First continued to pass out pamphlets about the “Shifter Agenda” and tried to force-feed the public their political views on shifters as lesser beings, but they at least left him and Jude alone as far as making them obvious targets. Logan wasn’t sure what the next step for them was, but he knew it wouldn’t be pleasant. In return, they’d joined the SSA, Shape-Shifters of America, and were trying to be better advocates against hate groups like that through education and openness. They’d made a lot of friends through their volunteer work, and Logan had even gotten his bosses involved a bit, which had been an amazing experience in itself.

  Yes, life was good for his family, no two ways about it. Jude put Logan’s beer on the table alongside his basket of condiments. Logan reached up and grabbed his waist, pulling the smaller man into his lap so he could steal a few kisses.

  Jude smiled, wrapping his arms around Logan’s neck and returning his kisses one by one. “So are they going to come eat or they going to swim?” he asked as he pulled back. He picked up Logan’s beer and took a swig.

  Logan shrugged. “They’ll come when they’re hungry. There is no reason we shouldn’t eat though.”

  “Agreed.” Jude slid off his lap to sit in the seat beside him. “Do you think after supper we could go for a run?” The community park at the center of their subdivision was about a half-mile stretch of land and walking trails that they’d taken to shifting and wandering after supper.

  “I’d like that,” Logan said, grabbing himself a hot dog bun. “Have I mentioned I love you more than anything, Mr. Lawson?”

  “Not today but I’m open to it,” Jude drawled, clearly teasing him.

  “Well, I do love you more than anything, Jude,” Logan rumbled. “I can’t wait for forever with you.”

  Jude smiled again, the soft expression flirting with his lips. “We’re already having our happily ever after, Logan. Haven’t you noticed?”

  He had, but it was nice to hear Jude’s acknowledgement of it as well. When he’d signed up for sHarmony, he hadn’t really believed that he would be sitting here a year later with the love of his life at his side. “I love you, Jude.”

  “I love you, too, Logan.” Jude snagged another sip. “Maybe we can skip the run tonight and after supper you can bite me instead.”

  Logan’s body perked up at the words. Jude hadn’t been kidding when he said he would as
k for Logan to bite him as a code word for sex the night of their mating. It was an inside joke and serious offer at this point. “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah,” Jude said, his smile transforming into a grin. “In fact, while the teens are distracted…”

  Logan surged to his feet, not needing to be asked twice. Jude’s laughter echoed off the privacy fence as Logan bent down and swung him up into his arms.

  “Oh jeez, get a room!” Orion shouted from the pool.

  “Going to,” Logan threw over his shoulder. “Eat when you’re hungry. Don’t come in the house.” Jude couldn’t stop laughing long enough to say anything as Logan walked steadily to the door.

  The man was his everything. That much was clear. As Logan strode past the things they’d collected in the year since they’d been together, the pictures especially, he realized his life was as perfect as it could be and he couldn’t have been happier.

  THE END

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jana Downs lives in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina with three cats, one dog, several dozen fish, and a very understanding partner-in-crime who hates to read but makes exceptions for her stories.

  You can usually find her either watching bad reality TV, buying way too many books on Amazon, or dreaming up another man or two to occupy her time because life is good but several drop-dead gorgeous nonexistent men is just better.

  For all titles by Jana Downs, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/jana-downs

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