Inside Out [BoyxBoy]

Chapter 3 - Tracked Down

Sunny covered her mouth, her eyes widening.

I wasn't surprised by her shocked reaction.

"Oh no," she gasped. She kept repeating the same words for the next few minutes after the truth had been revealed. I told her everything from the beginning—how I became enraged, how the anger had led Jace and me into the forest and how the forest had become the venue of the discovery. She kept touching the scar I had from getting beaten by Jace.

"He has to know," she suddenly said.

"No," I pulled her closer to me. "Promise me you won't say a thing to anyone! Promise me right now, Sunny!"

"But—"

"Now!" I said.

"Jordan, you know that this is wrong! Hiding from a mate is wrong, Jordan! Our pack has never had this kind of an offense before! Some alphas even punish the wolves who commit this offense. When a mate hides, it can lead to death! I thought you knew better," she said.

Suddenly my head was filled with the story my mom had told me about Grandma Stella. I didn't think she was punished—probably because she was a girl. A female hiding from her male mate happens occasionally—their souls weren't strong enough to combat all of the sudden emotional changes. But when a male werewolf was found hiding from his mate, he was seen as a coward forever.

But this was different. My mate was a guy who'd ruined my life. I wasn't hiding from him out of fear.

Is it?

But you should never be involved in hiding someone's mate. A mate bond could drive a werewolf to madness—that's why those who couldn't sense their mates died. Apart from silver bullets, losing ability to be with a mate could kill a werewolf—how sick.

"It's all right," I said. "Nothing's happening to him, Sunny. I need you to keep quiet for now, okay? When I'm ready, I'll tell him myself. I want him to know from me."

"You have to be ready as soon as possible, Jordan," she said.

"Yeah, I know. Plus he looks fine to me. I'm hiding from him and I don't think he's going crazy from it. Maybe—"

I knew I was wrong—I guess that's why I paused. I couldn't say it because something was happening to Jace. He'd already sensed me, although he thought I was a girl.

"No, Jordan. Jace told me how he couldn't get together with Heather because he didn't feel anything towards her or all the other girls. He doesn't feel like he used to. He knows you're here, Jordan. I'm scared."

I sighed because there was nothing I could say. She was right. The mate bond was changing how Jace and I felt about things now.

I didn't know how to act. Jeff had told me once that he had an uncle who had a male mate. Maybe I should ask for the uncle's number so I could ask him for advice? No, Jeff would question me repeatedly on why I wanted the number and then Jace would know and things would occur in a way I didn't favor. Then maybe I should consider asking help from the online werewolf community—Hey I'm Jordan from a pack in DC and I'm sixteen.I was just wondering, how do I break it to a male mate that I'm his mate? Do male/male mates react similarly to female/male mates? That was just bullshit.

But Jace didn't look that bad. He was playing video games in front of me. I was behind him, sitting on the floor, a few feet away.

Callan, who was also playing the game, looked fully spirited and enthusiastic as he pressed on the game console. Jace, however, had a blank expression on his face. His eyes were filled with confusion. He looked like he was trying to figure something out, sweat dribbling down his head. The room wasn't that warm, in fact I was in a heavy sweatshirt and I was all dry.