Page 5 of Tender Wild

Probably Diablo, with some apology Miguel didn’t want to hear.

The road curved ahead, and Miguel leaned into it, muscle memory taking over where conscious thought failed him. His phone buzzed again, more insistent this time.

Pissed, he pulled over. The silence felt oppressive after the constant roar of his engine as he fished out his phone.

Four text messages. Not from Matias. Not from Diablo.

From Jared.

The first three were cute but mundane. A meme about cats, a complaint about it being too hot, and random emoji—rope, a shooting star, and a question mark.

But the fourth…

Chapter Two

Jared leaned casually against the rough brick wall outside Sin & Steel, scowling at his phone like he could force a text message to appear. Twenty minutes ago he’d sent Miguel a bunch of texts, the last one reading: I'm in town. Wanted to hang out at Sin’s.

No response.

The sun was blazing, making him sweat as he absentmindedly scratched his arm. The rock music from inside thumped away, muffled but steady, matching the beat of his growing anxiety.

He had no plans to go in until Miguel hit him back. No way was he gonna face Matias without a solid excuse for being there, which would be hanging out with Miguel if the guy ever answered him.

“Great idea, Jared,” he muttered to himself. “Show up without letting Miguel know beforehand. Such a smart move, genius.”

He checked his phone for the gazillionth time. Still nothing.

Maybe Miguel was just caught up with something. It wasn’t like his whole life revolved around Jared’s texts and calls.

A thought struck him only now. What if he was reading into their time together? What if Miguel just thought of Jared as a friend? The night Suero had taken Kia home to claim him, Jared had been left at the tavern with Miguel keeping an eye on him. When the tavern closed and Kia still hadn’t come back, Miguel had given Jared one of the tavern’s bedrooms the pack sometimes used to crash for the night.

Or for hook-ups. Though that part hadn’t been said, Jared wasn’t naïve.

Instead of being left alone, he and Miguel had talked until sunrise, laughing and eating snacks while watching TV. It might’ve sounded like a boring night to most, but they’d kept talking and texting even after Jared’s car was fixed and he headed home.

If he shows up, play it cool, like a friend dropping by.

Jared had reminded himself of this at least a dozen times already, but still felt butterflies when he thought about Miguel.

Tall, lean, and the kind of hot Jared wanted to sink his teeth into. Those dreamy dark blue eyes had glanced his way more than once as they’d talked that night.

And Miguel’s voice? The way it carried a lazy heat that coiled low in Jared’s stomach, daring him to lean in closer and give in completely.

Just thinking about it made him feel like swooning.

The rumble of an approaching motorcycle made his head snap up. His heart raced before his brain could remind him there were plenty of bikers besides Miguel.

Still, Jared crossed his fingers it was him.

The bike crawled into the lot, moving slower than cold honey. When it parked near the entrance, Jared’s jaw dropped.

Suero sat on the shiny navy-blue bike with cool black accents, and behind him, holding on for dear life, was Kia.

“What the hell?” Jared straightened, pushing off the wall. His cousin was terrified of motorcycles, no thanks to Jared. A few years back, he’d borrowed his uncle’s bike and convinced Kia to ride with him.

Jared didn’t know what he was doing and ended up crashing. His cousin’s back still bore the scars from that dumbass decision.

Now Kia had his arms locked tightly around Suero’s waist, forehead smashed against the wolf's back like he was trying to fuse their bodies together.

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