Page 27 of Jacob

Tony knew which one it was even without moving closer.It had been taken during the last trip his parents had taken on their own to Alaska.“They are.They had me when they were older, and I lost them several years ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

As nice as it was to hear Jacob’s interest in him and his life, this wasn’t what Tony wanted to talk about tonight.He took a risk and linked his fingers with Jacobs, and when Jacob didn’t argue, he pulled his mate toward the front door.“Thank you, but there’s no need to be sorry.I made my peace with their loss a long time ago.”

Tony paused to lock his front door and had to let go of Jacob’s hand.Jacob stayed close, and he was still there when Tony turned.Their bodies brushed together, and Tony sucked in a breath.

He could feel Jacob’s warmth, and he wanted more.Jacob was here to take him on a date.That had to mean he was okay with more, right?Even if he wasn’t, he didn’t lean back when Tony pressed their lips together.Neither of them deepened the kiss, but it felt good, and they were both smiling when it ended.

“I’ll drive,” Jacob said.

“Do you have something planned?”

“Not really,” Jacob explained as they climbed into his car.“I went home to tell Gal what happened today, and he mentioned I should take you out and talk to you.I thought there was no better time than the present to do that.”

“Well, I’m glad you listened to him.”Tony hadn’t thought he’d spend the rest of his night with his mate, but he was happy to be there and to have Jacob by his side.

He’d been thinking about it since they’d met, and he hadn’t been sure how to go about it, so it was good that Jacob had taken the first step.He was showing Tony what he wanted, and Tony wanted to give it to him.

They took smaller streets, but Tony noticed they were headed back toward Main Street.There were several places where they could eat, so it made sense.

What didn’t make sense was the massive black and white animal he noticed on the side of the road, just between the trees.Tony’s eyes widened, and he reached for Jacob, grabbing his thigh and squeezing hard.

Jacob stopped the car.Neither of them left it, even though they probably should.They were supposed to find this shifter, and here they were.They were supposed to talk to them and ensure they were okay, and to get them to stop stealing.

Tony couldn’t do anything but stare at them, though.Clearly, he wasn’t the only one surprised by the sight of a freakingpandain their forest.

Chapter Five

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JACOB HAD NEVER METa panda shifter, and he’d obviously never talked to the panda shifter haunting the woods around Green Hill, but he was annoyed at them.He’d looked for them for hours, but of course, he’d found them right when he was on a date with his mate.

He shook his head and glanced around the room.Gal and Liam were quietly talking in the corner, serious expressions on their faces.Taylor was typing something on his phone, and while he was less serious, Jacob could see the tension in his body.Dennis and Christopher were there, too, having decided to help look for the panda shifter.It wasn’t all hands on deck, but Jacob was relieved he and Tony wouldn’t be going alone this time.

They were still waiting for Tony to arrive.Jacob couldn’t wait.Even though the beginning of their date had been interrupted, the rest of it had been nice.Jacob had spent some time on the phone with Gal to tell him what they’d seen, but the alpha had insisted that he stay in town for the rest of the evening.The panda hadn’t been anywhere near pride territory when Jacob and Tony had seen them, and there was a good chance they wouldn’t be headed there.Tony had been a bit hesitant, but by the time they’d both climbed out of the car to try to reach the panda, they’d been gone.

It would’ve been easy for Jacob to shift and find them, but he hadn’t wanted to leave Tony behind.He did today.They had no idea who this panda was, but Jacob was wary that something would happen to his mate.He wished he could leave him at the pride house where he’d be sure Tony was safe, but Tony was the sheriff.He needed to be there.

Jacob couldn’t believe how quickly he’d come to care for Tony, although maybe he shouldn’t be surprised.Not only was Tony his mate, but he was a good person.He was trying to do right by the people in town and the panda, even though his priority was Green Hill, just like Gal’s priority was the pride.

Jacob didn’t hear anyone knocking on the front door, but suddenly, Tony was there.He was wearing his uniform and had a frustrated expression on his face.“Sorry, I’m late,” he said to the room.“I was cornered by Mrs.Decker.”

“No worries,” Gal told him with a smile.“We waited for you.”

“Where do we start?”

Tony moved closer to Jacob as he spoke.He didn’t hesitate to smack a kiss on Jacob’s lips.Jacob wanted it to be.He didn’t even care about the gleeful expression on Taylor’s face.He wanted his mate to kiss him whenever he felt like it.

“We thought we’d go back to the spot where you saw the panda last night.They’re probably not there anymore, but the scent will still be strong enough for Jacob to follow it.”

Tony nodded.He clearly trusted Gal to know how to handle this.Even more so, he clearly trusted Jacob.Knowing that made Jacob’s stomach feel fluttery.

“Let’s head out, then,” Gal said.He moved toward the office door, and they all followed.

There was no question that Jacob would be going with Tony, so they both climbed into Tony’s car.Jacob couldn’t stop himself from glancing at his mate repeatedly.He hadn’t yet had the time to wrap his mind around what had happened yesterday.

They’d seen the panda—and Jacobdefinitelyhadn’t expected the bear shifter to be a panda—had gone on a date, and when Jacob had driven Tony back to his house, they’d kissed on the porch for what had felt like hours.Jacob had wanted more, and he was pretty sure that Tony had been in the same boat, yet it had felt natural for them to separate and go their own way.It was early in their relationship, and they didn’t need to rush into anything.Jacob wanted to take care of this panda thing before he and Tony went any further.He didn’t want the situation to hang over both their heads as they started dating.

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