Blooded Mate

Chapter 62 - Your Chicken

Jan choked when a shrill alarm pierced the air.

Coughing, he spat the minty chemical out. He had swallowed a bit, but that was not enough to upset his belly.

Then he pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Ethan."

He had purposefully assigned this ringtone to the young wolf.

"Open the door."

"Huh?" But Ethan had already hung up.

Jan wiped his face with a towel, did a final once-over on his clothes, then walked out. With curiosity tenting his brows, he opened his front door and froze.

Ethan stood with his shoulders hunched, and his head bowed as if someone had sucked the life out of him. Behind him was Indri sporting a sheepish look on his face and Chris, who raised an eyebrow in question.

"What's goi-" The Lycan shuffled in dejectedly and dropped his head on Jan's shoulder, cutting off the rest of his words.

Jan looked at his security team in bewilderment, but when Chris stepped forward to pull the wolf off him, he lifted a hand, stopping him. Ethan was not fondling him or teasing like his usual self. He was barely moving. He just hung on his shoulder, not even bothering to shift closer.

Jan waved his hand, shooing the other men off. Chris nodded and turned away, giving his assistant a stern look. Indri responded with a soft dimpled smile, even though he was about to receive a tongue lashing from his boss.

"Come in," Jan said, urging Ethan inside. He half carried, half-pulled the giant werewolf into his suite.

"Why do you smell like toothpaste?" Ethan asked, speaking into Jan's neck.

His warm breath tickled the golden tendrils on the vampire's nape.

"Uh..."

Ethan shifted, lifting his head to glance at Jan's face. Unfortunately, they had stopped right in front of the study, where the door lay open, and the culprit sat crystal clear on the gorgeous wooden desk.

Luna's tits!

The hazel eyes spotted the empty bottle containing dredges of blood and swiveled back to stare at him. Jan took a deep breath, prepping mentally for the outburst that was about to happen.

He waited. And waited.

It never came.

Instead, Ethan slowly disentangled himself from Jan's arms, moving sluggishly like he had just lost energy in his limbs.

Much more effective than the threatening growls and angry yells, this reaction hit Jan like a punch to the gut. His breath caught in his throat as he watched the tall Lycan deflate further as if the blows of disappointment were physically hammering on his back.

Jan learned something new about himself today. He could bear Ethan's violent wrath. But this despondent response burrowed straight to his core, and a feverish touch of desperation laid its icy hand on Jan.

"Ethan, listen to me," he said, grabbing the broad shoulders in front of him. "I drink blood, just like you eat chicken. It's nothing special, just food. I don't even take fresh blood anymore. See, only stale blood. It's just like chicken."

He shook him gently, hoping the wolf was listening to him. Jan didn't even know why he felt the need to explain himself, but he had to.

Something was off with Ethan today.

"Then why don't you want mine?"

Jan's usual response that he did not like wolf blood was at the tip of his tongue, ready to roll out when he clammed shut. Ethan's request for truth last night had established some loose sense of trust between them. A faith that he had not been aware of until he hesitated, not wanting to break it now.

He thought of the other reason why he was reluctant to indulge in Ethan's sweet nectar. An elixir, so fine and so potent that it sang to his soul.

Because I'm afraid of you, Ethan, he finally admitted to himself. I'm scared the next taste would get me hooked, and I'll never be able to shake you off.

But these were words that he could never verbalize. Instead, they were buried deep under the pride and ego in his heart.

"Because you're not chicken," he finally answered.

"But I want to be your chicken."

"You can't be. You ... you're more than that. I don't talk to my chicken."

"Hmph!" The young wolf responded, but the beginnings of a smile smoothened the dark creases on his forehead.

A/N

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

Sorry for the late update! Life got in the way. A thousand thanks to @Kayla_Bee23 and the lovely readers who have kept up with my story. Much love!!

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

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And what didn't you like?

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

Ciao!