Blooded Mate

Chapter 46 - Catching Flies

Soon they were running in circles around the slender she-wolf while she worked to disentangle her clothes from Cody's grasping fingers.

Ethan grabbed his little brother by the waist and hoisted him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing.

"Aah, help! Rook!" Cody yelled, banging his fists on Ethan's back and yanking his hair without effect.

Ethan just chuckled. Ah, sweet victory!

"Hel-Mom! Help, he's gonna kill me!"

"Ethan!"

The older bully whirled around to see his mother striding towards them with a dangerous glint in her eye.

"Put your brother down, " she ordered.

"Eeek!" Instead of obeying, Ethan started running away with Cody bouncing pitifully on his back. His mother came after them, shouting at him in a manner that would have made Zyga proud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, Ethan sat behind the laptop at the little spindly desk in his room. Cody lay on his bed, fast asleep. He had dozed off soon after dinner, and Ethan was tempted to join him despite the early hour.

Their horseplay in the backyard had burnt off pent-up energy, leaving him far more relaxed than he had felt in weeks. He suspected he had only been able to let go of his worries in the first place because his mate had finally come back.

Though Jan had left again without saying goodbye, Ethan was not as worried as before. Zyga had informed him of their new arrangements over dinner.

Ethan absent-mindedly fingered the keys on his laptop, dreaming of living together with his mate.

Would I get a room next to Jan? Or maybe I'll share one with him because there'll be a lot of us. The new house can't be that big.

An image popped up in his head of his mate's golden hair tumbling over the pillows as they woke up on the same bed. And Ethan blushed. Then, a gentle knock interrupted his musing, and he jerked, half-afraid that his naughty thoughts may be written on his face.

His mother's head popped through the door. The voices of Zyga and Jeb in a discussion floated in from the living room while his mom glanced at Cody's sleeping form before settling on him.

"Hey, honey. I just wanted to check up on you," she whispered.

"I'm fine, mom."

"Awesome." She fidgeted with the door lock

"Mom? Was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

His mother hesitated, taking a deep breath before talking. "Ethan, you and Cody have always been my little boys. With all that's happened, you grew up so fast that we never got to talk about mates and the whole ceremony ...."

Ethan's breath stuttered, the blush on his face deepening. Oh Luna, no, no, no. Please, not the sex talk.

"... With that said, I don't even think any of us know how to be with a vampire. But I think the phrase, 'you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar,' is universal."

Ethan sighed, relieved the conversation was not heading into awkward territory. At least, not more mortifying than it already was.

"Flies with honey?" he asked.

His mother nodded with a smile. "I mean, be nicer to him. It's harder to be mad at someone who's all sweet and caring."

Ethan's face was as bright as a fire truck, knowing that he had not been pleasant to his mate. Somehow they ended up quarreling every time they met. He was unsure how to handle such a strong-willed mate, and Jan did not want to be with him. In fact, the vampire had made it quite clear on their first meeting that Ethan's gender was not the one he favored.

"Mom... Did it bother you that my mate is- is a..." He stumbled over his next words.

"That he's a vampire?"

Ethan shook his head. He had gotten over that roadblock on the first night. "That he's... a he."

His mother gave him a wry smile. "A male wolf having another male as his mate is nothing new. Yes, it's not common, but it is not unheard of. Besides, being a vampire kind of overshadowed everything, don't you think? He's the mate Luna gave to you, and as your mother, I'm willing to do anything to make sure you complete and enjoy your bond like your father and I did."

Though it did not ease away all his worries, it always felt good to have that reassurance from his mother. She kissed his soft curls good night and left with a gentle click of the door.

As he sat musing over his mother's words, his mind wandered over the last argument with Jan. He frowned at the thought of his mate feeding on someone like he had done with him. He did not even want Jan to touch anyone else like that.

Scowling even deeper, he turned to his computer and opened a new tab, typing, "keep a guy from cheating."

The first few results nearly distracted him. They were focused on keeping a guy after making love. Interesting as that was, it hardly addressed his current worries. But a link further down caught his attention: "male chastity belts."

He clicked it and nearly choked in surprise.

A daunting gallery of twisted metal jockstraps with intricate designs secured with cold padlocks filled the page. They looked more like torture devices rather than anything that reassured the provider. Jan might kill him before he got close enough to put one of those on him.

Then he imagined buckling one of these straps around his mate's pale, slender waist. He moaned as slow-burning heat spread down to pool between his legs.

Cody mumbled in his sleep, and Ethan jerked, hastily closing his laptop.

He had forgotten about the imp in his bed.

Luckily, his brother did not wake. Grumbling, Cody shifted away from the lamplight, and then his breathing evened out once again to the slow rhythm of sleep.

Ethan heaved a sigh, turning off the lamp. He squeezed in the bed beside his brother, finally feeling the tiredness of the day's activities. Listening to Cody's soft snores, he did not know when he dozed off. But something woke him up. A soft click.

Cody's arm was draped over his face. Ethan pushed it away, looking around the quiet, dark room. There was no one there beside them, but a distinct woodsy scent cleared the sleep from his mind. Jan.

The smell was strong, and it lingered close. His mate must have just been here.

Ethan threw the covers off and bolted to the door. The hallway was empty, and only Jeb's sleepy grumbling from the sofa awaited him in the living room.

He did not realize how much he was already missing his mate until his heart clenched with disappointment. He shuffled back to the bedroom barefoot and checked the phone on his nightstand. Five-fifty in the morning.

Jan was probably going to bed now.

A/N

Hi lovelies, thanks for reading.If you loved it don't forget to vote, comment and add to your library.

I would love to hear your feedback on the story in general and this chapter in particular.

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Next chapter is already being edited. I will post it in a couple of days.

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