Page 1 of Jacob

Chapter One

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JACOB WAS JEALOUS.He’d never thought he’d feel like that, especially when it came to his best friends, but he couldn’t deny it.He was jealous of Dennis and Drake.

“We’re having dinner with them,” Drake was saying, a smile on his lips.That smile had been there since he’d met his mate, Christopher.He was completely smitten—as he should be.

“I heard Christopher mutter about his grandfather having more game than he does the other day,” Dennis offered.He was smiling, too.It was more discreet in his case, but then, he’d been with Kyle for a bit longer, and he’d never been obvious about his feelings the way Drake was.

“You and Kyle should come,” Drake said.“We’re family now.”

Jacob almost groaned.Instead, he took a sip of his coffee and told himself not to be a dick.Yes, Drake and Dennis were brothers-in-law rather than just close friends.Their mates were brothers, so it made them family.That didn’t mean they didn’t care about Jacob and their other friends anymore.Jacob was here with them, wasn’t he?

He glanced around the kitchen.It was empty at this hour of the morning, but people would start arriving for lunch soon.Jacob was here by accident.He hadn’t meant to have coffee with two of his best friends, but when he’d come in and seen them sitting together, it had been natural to sit with them.

Maybe it shouldn’t have been.They were friends, but things are different now.Dennis and Drake were in relationships, and with the fact that their mates were brothers, their friendship was becoming more exclusive.Jacob didn’t feel like they were abandoning him and the others, but it was normal for them not to have as much time for their friends as they had before.

Jacob didn’t berate them for that.He’d do the same thing if he met his mate.

He hadn’t so far.

That was one of the reasons he was jealous.Another reason was that he felt like he was getting slightly pushed out of their friend group.Taylor had his job in town as a sheriff’s deputy.Eddie was human, so it wasn’t exactly the same for him.Jacob, though?He didn’t have an outside job.Hell, he almost didn’t have a job at all.He’d been part of the pride’s security team for years, but he wasn’t needed anymore.The town and the pride were peaceful now that they had a good alpha, and he didn’t know what to do or where to go from there.

“What do you think, Jacob?Do you want to come?”

Jacob blinked.Had he missed something, or were they still talking about the dinner they were having with Christopher and Kyle’s grandfather and his girlfriend?

“Where?”Jacob asked before he could make a fool of himself.

Drake frowned, but Dennis gave Jacob a fond smile.“I’m heading back to the bakery once we’re done with coffee,” he explained.“Do you want to come with me?You can hang out in the back room with me.”

“Oh, that’s nice, but I’ll stay.”Jacob knew what this was.Dennis was taking pity on him.He could tell that something was up with Jacob, and he wanted to make him feel better.Jacob appreciated it, but at the same time, he didn’t need his friends’ pity.

He had enough of it for himself.

“Are you sure?Because I could use some company, and I don’t think you’re working today.”

Jacob took another sip of coffee to distract himself.He didn’t want to admit to feeling like a failure, but if he couldn’t talk about it to his best friends, who could he talk to?“I’m not working,” he confirmed.“There’s not much need for guards anymore.”

Drake had always worn his emotions on his face, so Jacob made sure to keep his attention on Dennis.He might feel as much pity as Drake did, but he wouldn’t let it show.

Dennis nodded.“I guess there isn’t.I don’t think there was a need for guards before, either, to be honest.Alpha Carter was just a paranoid asshole.That and he was the first to start trouble.We needed guards to protect us from him more than from the outside world.”

Jacob bristled at that.Had Dennis really just said that all the work Jacob had done over the past years had been useless?

“That seems like a good reason to have guards to me,” Drake pointed out in a soft voice.“I mean, I wasn’t there then, but I’ve heard enough about him to know that it’s a good thing you guys were protected.”

Jacob snorted.“We were obeying his orders.If he’d ordered us to stand down when he hurt someone, we would’ve had to do it.We were protection against the world, not against the monster inside the house.”

Drake patted Jacob’s arm.“Maybe, but the world is still there, while the monster inside the house isn’t.It looks to me like you guys did your job.”

If it were anyone else, Jacob would think they were condescending.Not Drake, though.He truly believed that Jacob’s job was needed.Not even Jacob felt that way.That was Drake for you, though.He was always supportive of everyone, especially his friends.

Jacob suddenly felt guilty about being jealous.Drake and Dennis both deserved to be happy.They’d met their mates, so of course they were busy.They both had jobs they enjoyed.They were settled in their lives, but it wasn’t their fault that Jacob wasn’t.

It was no one’s fault.Jacob felt like he’d had an important job when Carter had been in charge, but not anymore.Now that Gal was the alpha, the pride had settled down.They didn’t need guards anymore.

They didn’t need Jacob.

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