Page 22 of Forbidden Moon
Mia’s scent revealed her compassion and concern for their Gladstone brother.
“Poor Jonah! It doesn’t seem fair for Luna to burden an already-struggling Omega with something like this. How are Ben and the others taking it?”
Everet cocked an eyebrow and let slip an abbreviated growl—the equivalent of a belly laugh for anyone else.
“To my knowledge, only Evan and Jack are aware of it, and Jonah has yet to meet his intended mate. Evan is hesitant to tell Ben, hoping to give the couple some time to themselves first. As for how the pack will respond, I believe they will be supportive once they get over the initial shock. The dreams seem to indicate a happy ending for the two of them, yet Jonah undeniably faces some challenging days.”
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MEANWHILE, AT THE NAVAJONation Museum, Window Rock, Arizona
Walter re-read the email from Katrine, confirming that all the commissioned artworks were complete and ready for him and his team to pick up. Despite the long journey ahead and the threat Birdman posed to his shifter friends at large, he couldn’t wait to arrive in Gladstone.
As the plan now stood, he and three trusted museum employees were to travel in pairs—two in the truck and two following by car. On arrival, the paintings would be crated appropriately and stowed away for the return trip to Arizona. Walter, however, planned to remain in Gladstone for a few days to visit with Jack and William, meet the twins, and observe their pack and way of life.
Not for the first time, he fervently wished they lived closer. He missed his dear friends, enjoying a unique connection forged generations ago by his ancestor Gray Feather. His gaze gravitated to a small, framed photograph resting on his desk. In it, Gray Feather and Hezekiah Matson stood side by side—the only known image of either of them. The original daguerreotype, fragile and beset with age, was found in the satchel containing Hezekiah’s journals.
After Jack confirmed the men’s identities, William promised to provide a copy of the image for Walter. He’d gone beyond that and paid for a professional duplicate of the original, restored to mint condition using special software. In the end, he received two reproductions—the smaller one on his desk and a larger version for the museum’s photograph collection. It caused no small stir when his people finally got a look at one of their most revered and well-known ancestors.
Walter wasted no time setting up a meeting to plan the details of their trip and secure the special truck they needed for transport. Once the dates were confirmed, he’d notify Katrine and Jack and pack his bag for a long-awaited trip to Michigan. It couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter 10
MID-AFTERNOON WEDNESDAY, LRC office
The wait was killing him.
No matter how many times Jonah glanced at the clock, time alternately stood still or zipped by too fast, depending on his mood. Today he would meet his mate! The man he’d longed to hold and claim since the day his hormones kicked in. On the other hand,his mate would be here any minute,and Jonah didn’t know what to do!
Once Robyn left around noon, he tried filling the hours with busywork upfront, unwilling to sit in his office or use the workroom in back lest he miss RJ’s arrival. The miserable weather prevented the usual ebb and flow of visitors, leaving only his wolf for company. No help there at all, as the randy beast paced restlessly, urging him to “CLAIM OUR MATE” over and over! A lovely, yet impossible, sentiment due to present circumstances.
Distracted, eager, and nervous, Jonah considered the challenge he faced. While his natural pheromones would certainly draw RJ to him, he’d have to play the game using human rules—rules that didn’t include mutual orgasms within moments of their first meeting! Like all other shifters, Jonah didn’t think in human terms when it came to relationships.
Shifters didn’t date, didn’t do gradual, and didn’t go slow. Once they scented their mate, they rutted like bunnies for four or five days and lived happily ever after. Even love was almost instantaneous, without question, and lasted until death. In essence, shifter couples enjoyed what humans only dreamt of or read about in romance novels.
Only this time the rules were different, and RJ wouldn’t know or understand Jonah’s fears. He’d probably come on too strong and scare off his human mate before they even got to know one another. Jonah stepped to the front windows and looked up at the menacing sky, thick with dark clouds and laced with lightning. Heavy rain and wind gusts slapped angrily at the building—a perfect picture of his whipsawed emotional state. Jonah wished the moon were showing right now, for he had a few choice words for Luna!
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DNR AGENTS WORKED INall kinds of conditions, and even RJ admitted today’s storm made an awful mess of things. He and Chad spent most of their time in the truck, making rounds of the area parks while using some of the shortcuts and local roads. He’d lost count of how many times they’d pulled over to wait, unable to see anything during the heaviest downpours.
Truthfully, the nasty weather worked to his advantage once Chad realized they weren’t accomplishing anything and ended their shift early. All the better. Though hidden well from his co-worker, RJ eagerly anticipated meeting Jonah Blair this afternoon. Following yesterday’s brief stop at the LRC office, RJ was intrigued by the man—rousing his curiosity and libido.
Strange, that. It usually required meeting someone in person to provoke such a response, yet he assumed the wonderful scent he’d picked up must belong to Blair. RJ wasn’t the type to let his imagination go wild, yet he sensed something significant, almost otherworldly, might happen today. While it embarrassed him to admit it, his dreams last night were strikingly erotic. He hadn’t experienced a wet dream since his teens!
