Watching Out For Fangs (The Cloverleah Pack Book 7) Read Online Free PDF Page A

blood for me?”  Josh continued hopefully, looking at Tobias. Sure, the two men had shared a bed a couple of times when they were living in San Antonio, and they were friends, but still, paying a vampire debt by letting himself be a snack was not normally the sort of things friends did for each other. Even in a wolf pack. But nope. Tobias shook his head.
    “Vadim said a debt wasn’t incurred.” It was Jax who spoke up, and to Josh’s surprise the big man laid his hand on Josh’s shoulder. Josh didn’t think his friend had ever touched him before unless they were training. Instead of soothing, Josh felt more confused than ever.
    “But I thought…” Josh trailed off. He wasn’t sure what to think. No one seemed inclined to want to say anything, in fact barely anyone would meet his eyes at all.  Only Dean, and the Omega just looked sorry for him. What the hell was going on?
    “Oh, what these soppy wolves are trying to tell you, without getting to the point, because they don’t want to hurt you, is that Vadim’s apparently your mate. He healed you and inadvertently bonded with you when he was giving you his blood. Vampires don’t demand a blood debt when they give their blood to mates.” 
    Aelfric’s tone of voice wasn’t unusual, he nearly always sounded like the arrogant prince he was. But the words just weren’t making sense in Josh’s brain. Vadim was his mate. Vadim healed him and bonded them apparently in some vampire way. Vadim wasn’t in the room, and clearly hadn’t been in the house because there were no foreign scents that Josh could pick up.  Which must mean…
    “He didn’t want me then. Was compelled by the Fates to save my life, but he didn’t want to be mated to shifter. Brilliant.”  Okay, those blunt words shouldn’t have hurt so much when they came out, but fuck they did. It’s not as though he’d gotten to know the wretched vampire or anything. He’d wanted to, his wolf had been keen, but Josh didn’t even remember catching the man’s scent before he fell unconscious. Despite all that, Josh was gutted and he was sure every wolf in the room could sense it.
    “I’m sorry Josh,” Kane said. “We all are. Vadim said something about you being better off without him and that he was going to do his best to make sure the pack has no more problems with the coven. He asked me to keep you safe before he left.”
    “But you don’t think he’s coming back.” For some reason Josh felt it was really important to get that point clarified even though he could feel the answer in his heart.
    Kane shook his head. “He’ll apparently starve to death by staying away, but that was his choice and he made it, well aware of what would happen.”
    “Any idea how long that will take?” Josh asked looking around the room at his friends. The pity in the room was like a stench. It was Jax who answered.
    “About two weeks to a month, depending on how old the vampire is.”
    “Your wolf will let you know when it happens,” Shawn said, his voice full of compassion. “We will all be here to help you get through it. You might find it a bit difficult, given that he apparently bonded with you when he healed you, but you should come out of it okay, and once Vadim is dead your life will be lonelier, but you should be able to stay on track.”
    Yeah, right. On track, but never having a mate. Vadim was the one chosen for him by the Fates, and the wretched man didn’t want him. Josh felt a sharp pain as his heart broke, the dreams and hopes he’d had since well before coming to Cloverleah disappearing in a puff of smoke. He had always dreamed of a man who would want him, just the way he was, but apparently that wasn’t what the Fates had in mind for him. It was in that moment that Josh resigned himself to a very long and lonely life. He’d already experienced enough hassles with the games men played with his affections. That was why finding his mate had become so important. Well, he’d found him,