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Shifters of Mystery 1

Sage’s Mystery

When Sage is made an outcast in his pack for being gay, he
travels to a town he purchased online, a town called Mystery that

was sold to him dirt cheap. The place looked as though it was
ready to fall down around him, but Sage was determined to call it
home.

William roamed aimlessly for years, never having a place to call
his own. When a stranger shows up in Mystery and states that

he’s the new owner, William is ready to grab his bag and run. But
when Sage invites him to stay, William knows that he has found

the man of his dreams.

But Mystery holds a dark secret that Sage is determined to find

the answer to. When howls erupt on the night of his shift, Sage
fights to find out Mystery’s past and keep William from becoming
one of them. But plans don’t always work out the way one would

want them to when William is pulled violently into Sage’s world.

Welcome to Mystery.

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal,
Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 36,376 words

SAGE’S MYSTERY

Shifters of Mystery 1

Lynn Hagen

EVERLASTING CLASSIC

MANLOVE

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove

SAGE’S MYSTERY
Copyright © 2012 by Lynn Hagen
E-book ISBN: 1-61926-271-1

First E-book Publication: January 2012

Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
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Letter to Readers

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SAGE’S MYSTERY

Shifters of Mystery 1

LYNN HAGEN

Prologue

“I will not have a gay son!” The alpha roared as he knocked the

cabinet over, crystal and fine china crashing to the floor. Glass
shattered everywhere. “Get out!”

Sage looked over at his mother, who was weeping in a corner. He

wanted to go to her, comfort her, but he knew his father wouldn’t
allow it. He squared his shoulders and glared at his father. Sage knew
it was a challenge, but if he went by the alpha’s words, he was no
longer a part of this pack.

“I’ll leave, Father. But you should know that some of the pack

disagrees with you. They have decided to leave with me.”

His father roared as he leapt across the dining room, pinning Sage

to the table. His nostrils flared as his canines gleamed in the
fluorescent lighting. “You will not take anyone with you. If so much
as one person leaves with you, I’ll hunt them down, along with you,
and kill whoever it is that was stupid enough to defy my orders!”

Sage clenched his jaw as he lay on his back, staring up into his

father’s angry blue eyes. “Very well.”

His father reared back and slashed Sage across the face with his

claws and then held his hand out. The beta hurried forward, handing
the alpha a small red satchel. Sage fought to get free, but his father

Lynn Hagen

was stronger, more determined to kill what love Sage still held for
him as he reached into the small bag and pulled out a sprinkle of
silver.

Sage howled as his father ground the silver into his wound,

cementing it for life.

“You bear the mark of an outcast now. Go, and never return!”
Sage pushed up from the table, giving his father a heated glare one

last time before storming from his parents’ home. As he walked
through the small village to his house, pack members scurried away,
unwilling to be associated with an outcast. Sage clenched his jaw as
he made his way home.

Once inside, Sage gathered his belongings, shoving various items

into suitcases and duffel bags. He knew he wouldn’t be returning, so
he had to get what he could fit into the bed of his truck.

He stumbled slightly at the raw pain radiating from his face as he

walked outside and tossed a few of the bags into his truck.

“Sage!”
He turned to see his best friend Jeremiah heading his way. Sage

walked back into his home, grabbing a few more bags when Jeremiah
walked inside.

“Leaving without me?” he asked as he leaned against the living

room doorframe.

“You can’t go with me. My father said that anyone leaving with

me will be killed.”

Jeremiah snorted. “Since when did that stop me before?”
Sage grinned at his best friend as he picked up three duffel bags,

tossing them over his shoulder. “I know you’re crazy as fuck, but
don’t go against your alpha.”

Jeremiah pushed away from the doorframe as he grabbed a bag

from the living room floor. “You’re not going this alone. I won’t let
you.”

Sage knew Jeremiah would be stubborn. He had to stop his friend

from having a hunt called down on him. He sat the bags down and

Sage’s Mystery

fished a small piece of paper from his front pocket. He looked around
to make sure no one was near before lowering his voice. “I bought a
small town about five hundred miles east of here. If you can find a
way to get away from the pack without raising my father’s suspicion,
join me.”

Jeremiah curled his fingers around the paper and nodded. “I’ll find

a way. You won’t be alone for long.”

Sage gave Jeremiah a quick hug before grabbing the bags once

again and loading his truck. He gazed over the small village that he
once called home, seeing a group of men standing off to the side. The
four gave a slight nod, telling Sage that they would soon be joining
him.

Sage sighed. Sometimes it sucked being the next in line for alpha.

But then again, he no longer had to worry about carrying that mantle.

He was an outcast, no longer accepted in his pack, or anyone

else’s. Sage grinned as he saw his father step out onto his front porch.

He might be an outcast, but he had plans for his life and the small

town he now owned. And god help his father if he was ballsy enough
to come after him.

Because Sage didn’t plan on walking away the next time they

crossed paths.

Lynn Hagen

Chapter One

Sage stopped his truck, looking at the wooden sign hanging from

one hinge as it blew carelessly in the gentle wind. He cocked his head
to the side so that he was better able to read the faded words.

Welcome to Mystery. Population zero.

Sage got out and grabbed some dirt from the ground, smearing the

sign to make it read Population one. He wiped his hand off on his
jeans as he took a step back and admired his work.

“Welcome home,” Sage mumbled as he climbed back inside his

truck and slammed the door closed. He drove past the broken sign and
headed into what should be the downtown area.

It was a sad sight as he slowly rode down Main Street. Businesses

were in disrepair, sagging and basically falling apart. He drove past
the buildings, heading for his new home on Highway 114.

There was a post office, a barbershop, a diner, and a general store

that he could see. The buildings looked as though they hadn’t been
used in hundreds of years. Most buildings were missing shutters or
windows. Some doors hung loosely from their frames.

All of the buildings needed repair or a damn jackhammer, a stick

of dynamite, and maybe a bulldozer. Sage looked at the sidewalks in
disbelief. Were they really made out of plank? Who made sidewalks
out of plank anymore? He knew he had a hell of a job ahead of him in
repairing the sad state of his town.

He made a right when he reached the edge of town and drove

down Highway 114, heading to his new home. Sage had memorized

Sage’s Mystery

the map of the town from his printout on the dashboard. Too bad
pictures hadn’t been posted online with the sale of his town. He could
see why they hadn’t now.

It had been an impulse buy, one he was grateful for now that he no

longer had a pack backing him up. Although he wasn’t sure how
grateful he was as he looked around the small town, wondering if he
was ever going to get it up to par.

Maybe he should have thought twice before buying a town off of

the Internet, but it was such a bargain that Sage couldn’t pass it up.

Sage’s jaw dropped when he saw the sad-looking structure in

front of him as he drove down the dirt road leading to his new home.
It looked like it was frowning from the way the second floor sagged at
both ends.

What the hell had he gotten himself into?
He had thought buying the town online was a steal. The price was

so low that Sage had thought he had stumbled onto a gold mine. Now
he could see why the town was practically free. The whole damn town
and outlying homes needed to be bulldozed.

“Fuck me,” he said as he pulled the truck to a stop and climbed

out. He was afraid to walk inside the home for fear that it would
collapse in on him. Now he knew why the town was called Mystery.

It was a goddamn mystery how the town was still standing.
Sage stepped up onto the first stair, and his foot went right

through the wood. “Fuck,” he shouted as he pulled his foot free. He
was either the bravest man on the planet, or the stupidest, because
Sage walked up the remaining steps—carefully—and pushed the front
door open.

He groaned. The place was a hot mess.
Was he expecting anything less?
There was broken furniture lying in pieces everywhere, a few

holes in the floor, and broken windows. Not to mention the thousand
and one cobwebs on everything. He kicked a few pieces of wood
aside and heard a noise coming from upstairs a second later.

Lynn Hagen

Sage frowned. No one should be here. This town was deserted as

far as he knew. From the sad shape of the town, no one who was sane
should be living here. The sign did say population zero.

He gripped the banister, placing a foot on the bottom step, and

prayed he didn’t fall through. Sage took a deep breath and held it as
he ascended the creaking stairs. They protested his weight the whole
way up, but held.

He listened closely, but the noise didn’t repeat itself. Maybe it was

the house. The damn thing was old enough to be settling in quite a
few different places or ready to fall down at any second. He prayed it
wasn’t the latter.

Just as he reached the top of the steps, he heard a scuffling noise

from down the hallway. Sage growled low, ready to defend his piece
of property, his town, against whoever was here without his
permission.

He pushed the bedroom door open, the first one he had come to,

and looked inside. He tilted his head as he stared at the smallest man
he’d ever seen. “Who are you?”

The man clutched a filthy blanket to his chest as he pushed hard

into the wall, as if it would reach out and protect him. Sage quickly
masked his anger as he walked into the room. “I asked you a
question.”

“William, my name is William,” the small man quickly answered.

“Are you homeless, too?”

Sage gazed over at the tiny man as he shook his head. “I own this

town.”

William’s eyes grew wide as he scrambled to his feet, grabbing a

tattered bag from the floor. “I’ll get out of your town quickly.”

Sage held a hand up as William ran toward the door, stopping the

man in his tracks. “One, I could use the company and the help.
Two”—Sage looked around the bedroom, wincing at all the work that
needed to be done to make the place livable—“I wouldn’t be running
in this place. It looks like it could collapse at any minute.”

Sage’s Mystery

William grinned up at Sage, gifting him with a dazzling smile. “It

hasn’t fallen around me yet.”

Sage snorted as he waved a hand at William’s body. “That’s

because you weigh ninety pounds soaking wet with boulders in your
pockets.”

William giggled as he clutched his bag to his chest. “Ninety-one.”
That was what Sage thought. The guy could use a few good meals

and some clean clothes. “Come on. I have some food down in the
cooler.”

William’s eyes widened once again as he licked his lips. “Thank

you.”

Sage chuckled as he waved toward the steps. “Let’s go. I could

use a bite myself.” He winced when William tore down the steps.
Didn’t the guy know the house was unstable? Sage shook his head as
he gazed at the man’s body frame. William didn’t weigh enough to
make the dust move, let alone put any weight on the steps. Sage, on
the other hand, did. He glanced down at the staircase before
descending, praying it held him once more.

As he reached the bottom, William was standing there waiting on

him. “I told you the house was fine,” he said as he walked outside
with Sage.

“We’ll see once I’m done inspecting the place.” Sage grabbed the

cooler from the back of his truck, yanking it over the tailgate and
carrying it to the porch. He set it down and then sat on the top step.

“It’s all cold. I don’t have anything in here that needs to be

heated,” he said as he popped the top to the cooler and began digging
inside. He pushed the ice aside as he spotted some sandwiches.

William leaned forward, peering inside. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll eat

whatever you give me.”

Sage handed him a deli sandwich and a cold container of milk.

“How long have you been here?” he asked as he grabbed two
sandwiches and another milk from the cooler. He unwrapped the
plastic and bit into his food. He was hungrier than he thought. Sage

Lynn Hagen

polished off his first sandwich before William had even made a dent
in his.

“A few months,” William said as he chewed his food. “It’s a

really nice place, but kind of quiet.”

Sage stopped chewing to look over at William. Maybe the guy

didn’t have it all there. Or maybe he’d been alone in this town for too
long. “It’s quiet because it’s a ghost town,” he reminded the small
man.

“It’s not a ghost town, although there are strange noises at night. I

haven’t figured out yet where they’re coming from on account of my
chicken blood,” William said as he bit into his sandwich, smiling up
at Sage.

Sage drank his milk, glancing down at William and then looking

out to see the town a mile away. What could be making a noise in a
deserted town? The wind blowing around the buildings, maybe?

He sat his container of milk down and then looked back at his new

home. “I guess I need to get in there and see what needs to be done.”

William wrapped his sandwich up and set it back in the cooler as

he jumped to his feet. “I’ll help you.”

Sage looked William over, seeing how thin he really was. “Go

ahead and finish eating. It can wait.” He had a feeling William
wouldn’t finish his food unless Sage sat right there with him. The man
was a little too eager to please.

William sat back down, grabbing his sandwich once again. “I

usually try not to eat all of my food at once. I never know when I’ll be
eating again,” he confessed as he took a bite.

“No worries. I have plenty of food for the both of us.”
William’s eyes widened, and then he looked into the cooler. He

frowned and then looked back at Sage. “There’s not much there. Are
you sure?”

Sage grinned. “I’m going to take a look at the electrical work.

There’s a contractor coming out tomorrow to set the house up with

Sage’s Mystery

electricity. We can get a refrigerator and fill it once the electricity is
on.”

William lowered his hand as he gaped at Sage. “You said we.”
Sage was about to answer him when he heard barking coming

from his truck. “Looks like Terror is awake.” He jumped up to go to
his truck when Sage heard wood smacking. He looked over his
shoulder to see William standing inside the house behind the screen
door.

“I’m afraid of dogs,” William called out.
Sage turned, his brows pulling down in a frown as he waved a

hand at William. “Then why are you standing behind a door with no
screen in it?”

William shrugged. “It makes me feel safer.”
“Stop slamming things before the house falls down around us,”

Sage said as William saluted him. He shook his head as he walked
over to the truck and opened the door. Terror jumped out, peeing on
the dirt, and then ran in circles.

“That’s Terror?”
Sage looked down at his dog. “Yeah, so?” What the hell was

wrong with his dog?

William pushed the screen door that was missing the screen open

as he walked out onto the porch, laughing. “When you said Terror, I
thought a three-hundred-pound dog was going to come barreling out
of your truck.”

“What’s wrong with my dog?” he asked indignantly. Terror was a

hell of a dog. Sage didn’t like anyone poking fun at Terror or
anything that belonged to him. Sage had enough of prejudiced people
to last him a lifetime.

William held up a hand as he waved it back and forth. “Nothing. I

like Chihuahuas. Come here, boy.” William clucked his tongue,
bending at the waist and snapping his fingers.

“Girl,” he corrected William. “I found her on the side of the road,

tossed out like garbage. She’s been my riding buddy since.”

Lynn Hagen

“Oh,” William said as Terror ran right to him. “Sorry.”
“Traitor,” Sage mumbled at the dog as he walked back over to the

porch. His eyes grew large when Terror squatted and peed on
William’s shoe.

“Hey!” William shouted and jumped around, lifting his foot from

the ground. “Now I’ll have to go wash them.”

Sage grabbed his chest as if he were having a heart attack.

“There’s actually running water here?”

William nodded and then toed his shoe off. “Yeah, but it’s cold.

So get used to your balls climbing up inside of you when you bathe.”

“It’ll be heated soon. At least you know Terror likes you. She

marked you. I guess you belong to her now.” Sage hooted as he fell to
his side laughing.

“I like her, too,” William said as he bent at the waist and scratched

under her chin. Terror was eating the attention up. She yapped and ran
around William when he took his hand away.

“I guess I better go inspect the house. Is there a hardware store

around here?” Sage asked as he stored everything back into the cooler
and took it into the house.

He shoved the cooler inside the living room as he glanced around

at all the work he had cut out for him. He prayed he could get the
house ready before winter set in. It was already fall, the nights getting
just a bit chillier outside.

“There’s a town about fifteen miles south of here. They have a

large lumberyard with a hardware store attached.”

“Good. Once I get the inspection done, you can ride with me to

get the supplies we’ll need.”

A veil fell over William’s eyes as his eyes darted down to Sage’s

dog. “I think I’ll stay here with Terror and guard the house.”

Sage looked over his shoulder, glancing at the ghost town behind

him. Not even a breeze was blowing through Mystery. He looked
back over at William, a brow raised. “And what are you guarding the
house against?”

Sage’s Mystery

William licked his lips as he looked to the south. “You never

know, we could get invaded by mice or something. You got to watch
out or they’ll chew through everything.”

Sage wasn’t sure what was going on with the man, but he wasn’t

going to force William to go with him. “Okay, you and Terror can
guard the place. Come on. Let’s go see what needs to be done.”

“It’s a really nice place. Once it’s fixed up, she’ll be a beaut.”

William walked in behind Sage, leaving his sneaker out on the porch.
Sage looked around the living room, checked the closets, and then ran
his hands over the wall.

“I know how to fix her up, but you’ll have to do the decorating.”
William’s eyebrows rose high into his hairline as he looked at

Sage. “Dude, I can’t even color coordinate my clothes. I’ll try, but it
just might look like a blind man was let loose in here when I’m done.”

A deep chuckle rumbled in Sage’s chest as he looked over at

William. The guy was growing on him. “Same here. I guess it doesn’t
matter what it’s decorated with. It’ll be home.”

There was hesitancy in William’s eyes, and a little hope. Sage

looked away as he glanced at the walls. “I need to check upstairs, see
what needs repaired or replaced.” He climbed the steps slowly and
then walked down the hallway.

Sage walked past the first room where he had discovered William

and walked to the second one. He pushed the door open, finding the
same kind of mess as downstairs. There was broken furniture littering
the floor and large holes in the walls.

He wondered why the furniture looked as though someone

smashed it to smithereens. It wasn’t just one room, but the entire
house that held the broken furniture as if in memory of what had
taken place here.

Sage walked into the next room, his brows rising high when he

noticed an entire wall missing.

Aw, now, wait a damn minute…

Lynn Hagen

“What the hell?” Sage could understand rotted floorboards,

broken windows, and even bad plumbing. The place hadn’t been used
or maintained for years, but a missing wall?

He was staring into his backyard with nothing obstructing his

view. It was a beautiful sight to see the forest lining the backyard, but
he’d rather have an unobstructed view from the back porch, not a
damn second-floor bedroom.

Sage walked closer and then glanced down, seeing the roof of the

back porch staring up at him. He scratched his stubbled jaw and
wondered how in the hell he was going to replace an entire wall.

Tarp. One big-ass piece of tarp—for now. Sage prayed the rest of

the house wasn’t missing any external structure. He just might be
better off bulldozing this damn place and starting over from scratch.

He kicked a small piece of wood with the toe of his boot,

watching it take a nosedive off of the second floor and crash-land on
the porch roof below. “That would hurt.”

“Wow!”
Sage glanced over his shoulder to see William and Terror standing

in the doorway. “I’ve never been in this room. No wonder why I
heard the wind so loudly at night.”

Sage grabbed Terror as she trotted over to the edge. He could

handle a fall. It would hurt like a bitch, but he’d survive. He wasn’t so
sure about his pocket-size pet. Sage sighed and walked out of the
bedroom, William trailing behind him.

“How have you been here for a few months and not explored the

whole house?” Sage asked as he closed the bedroom door and then set
Terror down.

William glanced down at the dog and then looked everywhere but

at Sage. “I’m a chicken. What can I say? I mostly stayed in the
bedroom you found me, and the bathroom, unless I went out to find
food. This place is creepy, especially at night.”

Sage knew that there were plenty of men out there that weren’t

fighters. Not everyone was born an alpha, but some men weren’t even

Sage’s Mystery

omegas, like William. “How’s the plumbing in the bathroom?” he
asked, leaving William’s confession behind him as he walked further
down the hallway.

“Water’s cold.”
Sage didn’t even ask William to elaborate. He knew he had to see

this for himself. Somehow he knew the bathroom wasn’t going to be
shining and clean, but a guy could hope for a fucking miracle around
here.

The door squeaked as he pushed it open with the palm of his hand.

He grimaced, waiting to see a dump site just beyond the door. He was
shocked to see how clean it truly was. There wasn’t a shower curtain
and the room could use a scrub and a wipe down, but it was in pretty
good shape.

“I cleaned it when I first got here. I hate nasty bathrooms,”

William said as he poked his head past Sage. “I didn’t have the proper
cleaning supplies, but I did my best.”

Sage nodded. He could tell. There wasn’t anything broken in

there, and the cobwebs weren’t decorating the room. “This is
probably the cleanest room in the house.”

Sage walked downstairs, carefully, and headed into the kitchen

next.

“Nice.”
William stared at him strangely as Sage took in the dilapidated

floorboards, the missing cabinet doors, the missing oven door, broken
windows, missing refrigerator, rust stains and mold in the sink, and
outlet covers that hung from the wall, just waiting to start a fire as
soon as the electricity was cut on.

“Are we looking at the same room?” William asked as he pushed

past Sage and walked into the kitchen with Terror on his heels. He
reached for the handle on the back door and pulled it clean off.

“The door needs a new handle,” he said as he held the proof up to

show Sage.

Lynn Hagen

If only that were the only thing needing to be replaced. Sage

glanced around the kitchen and wondered if he had a big enough truck
to haul just the bare essentials that he needed to get his projects
started.

“I’ll be back, slim. Guard the…” Sage looked around the

saddened state of his new home. “Never mind.”

Sage’s Mystery

Chapter Two

William drew closer to Terror as night fell and Sage wasn’t back

yet. He was usually locked away in the upstairs room by now. He
didn’t like being downstairs. It was creepy.

Temptation was trying to make his feet carry him upstairs where

he could lock himself away, but William stupidly stayed right where
he was. If Sage got back and needed his help, William needed to be
downstairs. Not upstairs hiding under his raggedy blanket.

“Does he always take this long doing things?” William asked

Terror as he peeked out of the broken front window. He slammed his
eyes closed and fell down onto his butt, pushing his back into the wall
when he saw movement close to town.

Many a night he lay upstairs, hearing strange noises, but William

was never brave enough to see who, or what, was making them. And
from a long-ago memory, he didn’t want to find out.

He wasn’t brave enough now either. “You gonna protect me,

girl?”

Terror quickly ran over to William, tucking her head into his arm

as she curled in his lap. Okay, a guard dog she was not. Figures. He
was left with someone that was a bigger chicken than he was.

When he heard tires crunching and an engine cutting, William

swallowed hard, his heart racing like a thoroughbred on a racetrack as
he clutched Terror closer. He was afraid to look out of the window
and see who it was.

Did ghosts drive?
He screamed and Terror whined and barked as the front door flew

open. William was on the verge of passing out when he saw Sage

Lynn Hagen

standing there as tall as an ancient oak tree staring down at him like
William had lost his damn mind.

Sage’s brows pulled together as he stared from William to Terror.

“Mind helping me get some of this stuff from the back of the truck?”

Damn, damn, and double damn. William couldn’t take all of this

excitement. He wasn’t built Ford tough. He was more like a damn
family station wagon.

Old-school style.
“Mind telling me what all the screaming was about?” Sage asked

as he let the tailgate down. William looked at the piled-high supplies
almost falling out of the bed. The guy sure knew how to shop.

He’d rather not tell Sage about his less-than-manly scream. It was

embarrassing enough that the guy had heard him. William
concentrated on the truck, pulling the first small items out that he
could find, suppressing the urge to look behind him at the deserted
town. “Stubbed my toe.”

The large man had a look like he didn’t believe one word William

was trying to spin. Well, he would have to. There was no way he was
confessing that he nearly peed his pants and passed out. Someone like
Sage wouldn’t understand cowards like William.

It was an exclusive club that one was born into.
William thought it was bad enough that everything around him

seemed like a bad sci-fi flick. He wasn’t going to share his chicken
heart with Sage. The man looked as though he could take down the
world.

He even had a cool-ass scar on his face to prove it.
The guy probably escaped from prison or had it out with some

sort of mob boss and killed the entire mafia. He wouldn’t understand
William’s dilemma. Guys like Sage never did. He set the boxes to the
right, just inside the door, and went back for more.

His eyes grew wide when he saw Sage carrying large pieces of

plywood over his head, as if they were a sack of potatoes. The guy
wasn’t even straining.

Sage’s Mystery

William envied that as he went for more of the smaller, lighter

supplies. He carried in a broom, dustpan, and mop, setting them with
the rest of the stuff. Sage didn’t complain that William wasn’t
carrying the heavier stuff, and he was grateful for that.

Once they got the truck emptied, Sage doing most of the

unloading, the man closed the tailgate and walked inside.

“Could you grab Terror’s food from the front seat? I forgot to

leave it here when I left.”

William hurried around the truck, refusing to look past the front

yard as he made quick work of retrieving the food and doggie bowls.
He slammed the truck door and hightailed it back into the house,
slamming the door closed behind him.

Sage’s head whirled around, a grimace once again on his face.

“Don’t do that.”

William opened the front door and then closed it gently.
Sage grinned and gave a jerk of his chin toward the pile of

supplies stacked up in the front hallway. “Grab the small white pails
and take them into the kitchen for me, slim.”

Sage wanted him to walk through a dark house into a creepy-ass

kitchen…by himself? Was the guy nuts?

Scratch that. William didn’t want an answer to that question.
He glanced down the desolate hallway that seemed to stretch on

for miles and miles. William wasn’t so sure about Sage’s big plan to
have him go it alone. William grabbed a bucket in each hand and
looked down at Terror, who was standing by his side wagging her tail.

“Come on, girl. You can help me die slowly and painfully.”
“What was that?” Sage asked as he grabbed two five-gallon

buckets and headed into the living room.

“I said I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time.”
Like that was going to happen. William walked down the spine-

chilling hallway, drawing closer to the kitchen. He could barely see,
but made out the outline of the kitchen entrance. He quickly let go of

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the one-gallon buckets and spun around, walking briskly back toward
Sage.

When a creaky noise sounded close by, William bolted, Terror at

his side running next to him and barking her head off.

Sage appeared at the beginning of the hallway, his figure looming

as he glanced past William. “What is it?”

William skidded to a halt in front of Sage, shaking his head as he

tried desperately to get his heart back under control. “Nothing. I just
wanted to grab two more buckets.”

This was going to be one long-ass night.

* * * *

William yawned, cuddling closer to the heat radiating at his side.

He snuggled close, wrapping the blanket tighter around his body. He
was still floating somewhere between dreamland and awareness, more
on the dream side right now.

He stilled when he felt something warm, hard, and large curled

around him. William cracked one eye open and bit back his gasp.
Sage’s large frame was nearly wrapped around William as the man
slept.

Moving as quietly as he could, William moved away until he was

free and then spun around, pushing to his knees.

That had been close. If Sage had woken up and saw William

buried in his side, he probably would have snapped him in half like a
twig. Guys like Sage didn’t mess around when it came to their
masculinity, and William had just tested it by using Sage as a blanket.

Thank god Sage didn’t know that.
He pulled the entwined blanket from off of his body and covered

the sleeping man as he stood and stretched. Terror was up in seconds,
wagging her tail and looking at William to get on with it and take her
out.

Sage’s Mystery

He crept quietly out of the room, making sure he closed the door

once the dog cleared the doorway. “You’ll have to wait one second
while I use the bathroom first.”

Terror yelped, heading for the steps, telling William that she’d

meet him downstairs by the way she turned and looked at him before
bouncing down the steps.

After William dried his hands of the cold water, he headed

downstairs to let Terror out to tend to her business. It was a cool fall
morning, and William soaked it in. He loved the fall. It wasn’t too hot
or bitter cold. The leaves hadn’t even started changing yet.

Just as he climbed off the porch to check on the dog, a shimmer of

light caught his eye. He glanced toward town to see something
shining in one of the deserted buildings. His skin broke out with the
goose bumps as William hurried around the side of the house and then
around back, searching for Terror.

Sage would kill him if he lost the man’s dog. The guy seemed

extremely attached to the Chihuahua. It was a strange contrast
between Sage’s large, skyscraper size and Terror’s tiny body, but the
guy made it known how much he loved the dog.

William gave a low whistle, not wanting to draw attention to

himself. He wasn’t sure who was in that building, and a low profile
seemed smart as hell right now. He gazed over the backyard but
didn’t see any sign of Sage’s dog.

Ah, hell.
The man was going to string him up by his balls if he didn’t find

Terror. William looked around overgrown shrubs and behind a few
trees that stood off by themselves, separate from the forest in the
backyard.

Where the hell did she go?
He heard rustling behind a cluster of bushes further away from the

house. William stepped closer, his eyes snapping around wildly as he
approached the bushes. His heart was beating out of control at the
eerie quiet around him.

Lynn Hagen

This was such a Stephen King moment that William was half

tempted to turn around and haul ass in the other direction. The only
thing stopping him was the image of Sage getting the twine out and
looping it around his nuts.

“Damn it. Where the hell are you, Terror?” he whispered as he

pushed the branches aside.

William let out the most unmasculine scream known to mankind

when a small object leapt right at his face. He fell on his back,
holding his arms up to his face for some small measure of protection
when he felt a wet tongue lapping at his arm.

“Holy hell, Terror. You scared ten damn years off of my life!”
The dog yelped and then ran around in a circle, chasing her tail.

William’s head spun around when he heard deep laughter coming
from behind him. He glanced around the yard and then looked up,
seeing Sage standing in the bedroom with the missing wall, looking
down at him with a wide grin on his face.

“She did that to me the first time I let her out of the truck to use

the bathroom on our trip here. Apparently she has a fondness for hide-
and-seek.”

William didn’t feel so bad now for his fear, but he did for the

scream he had let out. He pushed himself off of the ground and dusted
his clothes off. Not that that would help. They not only needed to be
washed again, but burning the damn things wouldn’t hurt either.

They were the only clothes he had, so he washed them daily in the

cold water of the house. He didn’t think they got that clean in cold
water, but it was better than wearing dirty clothes. If he hadn’t
washed them religiously, they would be standing on their own now,
walking right next to him.

“Come on up. We have a lot of work to get done today,” Sage

called and then turned around and walked away. William bent at the
waist and snatched Terror from the ground, heading toward the house.

Once inside, William filled her dog bowl with food and headed

into the kitchen to get some water. He tripped over the buckets he had

Sage’s Mystery

just dumped precariously in the doorway last night. William pushed
them aside and walked over to the sink.

When he turned the tap on, nothing but brown water spilled out.
“Yuck.”
He spun around, heading back toward the living room. Maybe

there was some bottled water stored in the front seat of the truck.
William walked outside, glancing toward the building that had held
the shining light earlier, but saw nothing.

He quickly checked the cab of the truck to see only empty bottles

littering the floor. William went back inside, grabbed one of the cups
from the plastic sleeve sitting on top of the cooler, and then opened
the cooler.

He scooped the water from the melting ice and poured it into

Terror’s other bowl and then took it to her. Once she was fed and
watered, William walked upstairs. Just as he got to the end of the
hallway, the bathroom door swung open.

William quickly averted his eyes when Sage walked out with a

pair of boots on and a towel wrapped around his toned waist…and
nothing else covering his tanned skin.

Good god almighty. The man was a walking fucking billboard for

eroticism.

He moved aside as Sage walked by and disappeared into the

bedroom they had slept in the night before. William wasn’t sure if he
should follow, but he wasn’t about to just stand there. As Sage
pointed out, they had a lot of work to get done today.

The days were growing darker earlier, so they needed to get

started now. He walked to the bedroom door, seeing Sage squatting in
front of his duffel bag, the towel hanging over his shoulder.

William swallowed around his dry throat, trying his best not to

gawk at all the luscious skin exposed to him. If Sage caught him
staring at his naked and godlike form, he’d be sporting a fat lip and
most likely a broken jaw. “What do you want me to do?” he asked as

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his eyes darted around the room, refusing to settle his sights on Sage.
It was just too damn tempting.

The man stood, turning around to face William with a pair of

jeans and a T-shirt clutched in one hand and a pair of socks in the
other. From the one millisecond that William had looked, he hadn’t
seen any underwear.

Fuck, the man went commando. That was an image William

didn’t need. Not if he didn’t want to get busted looking at Sage’s
groin all day.

“Go grab the box of industrial-size trash bags and the broom and

dustpan. I’m going to need the debris and cobwebs cleared away so I
can work. I wouldn’t mop, though. We have no hot water yet, and I’m
going to be making a mess anyway.”

William nodded rapidly as Sage spoke, sneaking pound-you-into-

mud glances at Sage every few seconds. He spun around, damn near
breaking his neck as he ran down the steps to get away before the man
caught on to what he had been doing.

“Stop running!” Sage yelled from the bedroom.
William would rather have the house fall in on him than have

Sage use him as a punching bag for ogling his sun-kissed body and
pronounced muscles. He hadn’t been brave enough to look at Sage’s
groin.

He wasn’t suicidal, after all.
William searched through the pile of supplies as he took deep and

measured breaths, trying his best to make his erection go away. He
grabbed the big yellow box of trash bags and then walked over to the
wall under the steps and grabbed the broom and dustpan in his other
hand from where they had been resting.

William stood still, wondering if enough time had passed for Sage

to get dressed and cover what William was dying to look at. The
image of Sage’s squatting backside was burned into William’s
memory forever.

Sage’s Mystery

He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and then climb the

steps. Relief washed over him, and a bit of disappointment, when he
saw that Sage was fully dressed. “Are we starting up here?”

He was dying to run his tongue over the stubble lining of the

man’s jaw. It was sexy as fuck and not helping his erection go away
in the least.

“I want to get the side of the house tarped first.”
William nodded, not really hearing him as he listened with his

cock. His tongue ran along his bottom lip as his eyes settled on well-
honed muscles that stretched and flexed as Sage moved his arms. The
T-shirt looked one size too small as it stretched around biceps that had
veins running down the course of them.

“Did you hear me, slim?”
William blinked, looking up into eyes so dark, they almost looked

black. “W–What?” His eyes quickly lowered to the floor as a blush
crept across his face.

“I said to grab a hammer from downstairs and a box of nails.”
William sat the yellow box of trash bags and dustpan on the floor,

leaned the broom against the wall, and hurried from the room. If he
didn’t rein in his infatuation with Sage’s body soon, the man was
going to bust him, and then bust him up.

William almost ran down the steps until he remembered Sage’s

warning earlier. He took the steps slowly as he pressed the palm of his
hand into his raging hard-on.

This was going to be a long day.

Lynn Hagen

Chapter Three

Sage hammered the nails into dry rot as he hung the tarp. He

wasn’t sure how well it would hold, but it was better than leaving the
rooms exposed to the elements. He rolled his shoulders, his skin tight
and itchy as he hammered another nail into the wood.

Looking over his shoulder, Sage watched William bend down,

picking up the debris that littered the room as Terror carried over a
small piece, setting it on the floor and running to grab another.

His eyes locked onto the small patch of exposed skin between

William’s shirt and the waistband of his jeans. His back was creamy
smooth, pale, and perfect. Sage glanced away. He had already pushed
the envelope when he had stood in front of the man this morning,
exposing himself.

He felt like shit now for doing that. William trusted him, and Sage

was lusting after the man like a dog in heat. Besides, William was
human. He wouldn’t understand about the dark magic that flowed
through Sage’s blood or the change that took over his body every full
moon.

How could William accept him when he was a vârcolac? The

human knew nothing about werewolves, or Romania, or even about
choosing a mate to stop the uncontrollable shifts.

Sage wouldn’t be able to shift at will until he found someone he

wanted as a mate and claimed him. Then the full moon would only be
a glowing planet in the sky, not his torturer.

The problem was, he had never heard of two men mating. It was

unheard of. Sage wasn’t even sure it would work. Males mated
females, produced pups, and continued the population of their kind.

Sage’s Mystery

He knew for a fact William wouldn’t be producing a damn thing for
him to take back to his pack to prove he could carry on the family
name.

Did he even want to prove to his father that he was a fit leader?
Not really.
Sage glanced back over at William, watching him pick up the

small pieces of scrap that Terror was bringing him. He smiled at the
teamwork the two were engaging in. William was a breath of fresh
air, something Sage would not be inhaling.

He did have to figure out what he was going to do when the full

moon rose high in the night sky in five days. He vowed to himself
right there that he wouldn’t pull William into his crazy life. The man
was too innocent in all of this.

He wasn’t even sure if William was gay.
No. He had to fight the attraction that was starting to form for the

small man. It wouldn’t be healthy for either of them. Sage was a beast
and William…well, was a beauty, if he had to compare the two.

Sage set his hammer down and crossed the room. “Let me get

that.” He grabbed the oversize bag from William and carried it out of
the room. He needed a moment to clear his head anyway.

In five days he was going to shift into a werewolf. What the fuck

was he going to do about William? His mood was going to turn
irritable and sour the closer the shift came, and he didn’t want to take
it out on the man that had done nothing but try and please him.

Sage took the bag outside, placing it on the side of the house.

When he had gone to get supplies, he had also rented a Dumpster. He
hoped it got there soon. It would make things easier on William if he
could just chuck the bags and larger debris down a chute instead of
struggling to carry them downstairs.

Why the hell did William have to be in his small deserted town?

Sage had accepted the fact that he was going to be alone on his drive
down here. It sucked, but he knew he would learn to deal with it.

But now the tables had turned on him.

Lynn Hagen

Upstairs was a tempting treat that made Sage want to howl at the

moon and pin the man down. He stretched his neck as he rolled his
shoulders, trying his best to shake off the symptoms of his impending
shift.

Like that would happen.
Sage prayed he didn’t bite the guy while in werewolf form. That

would suck big-time. One bite and William would go through the
change. It was a curse he wouldn’t pass on to his worst…well, maybe
his worst enemy, but not William.

It wasn’t that Sage hated being a werewolf. It had its perks, but it

was a rough and dangerous life, one he knew William wasn’t cut out
to live.

Dust blew up in a cloud down the road, the hulking truck carrying

his Dumpster heading his way. Sage took a seat on the top step,
waiting for it to arrive so he could tell them where to place it.

This would make William’s day go easier, and his. Sage wouldn’t

have to stop working every time William overloaded a bag. The damn
bag weighed more than the human did.

Sage stood and dusted his bottom off as the truck turned into his

driveway.

* * * *

William pushed the tarp aside, watching as a very large metal

container was hauled to the backyard. Sage stood there talking with
some guy as the stranger pushed a long lever down, the container
rising high into the air. It slid from the truck, a loud thud vibrating
through the air as it landed on the ground.

He spotted round, plastic orange things lying inside the Dumpster.

Sage was still talking with the guy, waving his hand up toward the
second floor…and then looking directly at William.

Busted.

Sage’s Mystery

The tarp fell from William’s fingers and settled back into place as

he took a few steps back, looking around the room as his face flushed.

It was just William’s luck to find the man of his dreams in this

deserted town. The guy probably wasn’t even gay. William snorted.
There was no probably about it. Sage was too rough, too manly to be
gay.

He was glad to know there was one stable thing in his life, one

thing he could count on to always be there for him. His bad luck was
always there to make sure William was happy. Not!

William glanced around quickly, his eyes settling on Terror, who

was growling and yapping at a trash bag. He opened the bedroom
door and gently shoved her into the hallway. “Okay, here’s the plan.
If Sage says anything about me watching him, I was looking for you.
Got it? I was not ogling him in any shape, form, or fashion. You have
to back me up on this one, girl, or my new name will be toast.”

Terror sat on her haunches, yapped, and then got up and chased

her tail. William groaned. He was dead meat. His head snapped up
when he heard the screen doorframe squeak on its hinges.

Shit!
William ran back into the bedroom, grabbed the broom, and began

to sweep the dirt around in circles. When Terror ran into the room,
William devised another plan. “There you are, girl. I was looking for
you,” he said loud enough for Sage to hear.

“She playing hide-and-seek again?” Sage asked as he entered the

room.

“Uh, yeah. I heard the screen door bang and knew she went

outside. That’s why I was looking out.”

“She grow thumbs?”
“Huh?”
“Why would she open the door when she could have just hopped

through the frame?”

William took a step back. He didn’t like the irritation he heard in

Sage’s voice. Had he seen through William’s ruse? Oh god, this was

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it. Sage must have put two and two together and came up with a very
gay man standing in front of him.

He was going to die.
Sage crossed the room, giving William his back as he pushed the

tarp aside and hooked it on a nail. “I’m having chutes set up so all you
have to do is toss the trash down to the Dumpster.”

William nodded even though Sage couldn’t see him. His voice

was gentler, but William wasn’t sure that was a good sign. If Sage
suspected him of lusting after the big guy, it just might be a way to
lure the truth out of him and then toss William down the chute.

William watched as the chutes were set into place. He had to

admit, it did make his job a lot easier. Once they were set up, William
tossed a few long pieces of broken wood with fabric attached,
watching them slide down into the Dumpster.

This was kind of fun.
“I’m going down to check out the fuse box. Try and get this room

finished and start on the next one.”

“Okay,” he said as he looked over his shoulder at Sage. The man

was standing there looking stressed, as if he had been doing this all on
his own with no help. William felt guilt swamp him at the stress lines
pulling at Sage’s face. He really hadn’t been that much help at all. He
couldn’t carry anything heavy, and he knew absolutely nothing about
interior restoration.

As he made quick work of cleaning the bedroom, William glanced

back at the door to make sure Sage wasn’t around. “It’s not like I’m
not trying,” he said to Terror. “I’m giving him one hundred and ten
percent.”

He kicked the last piece of debris over to the chute and then

picked it up, tossing it away from him. It seriously messed with his
head how hot and cold Sage was acting, but what could William do?
Honestly? The guy looked like he could wrestle a damn bear with one
hand tied behind his back, albeit a very sexy back.

Ugh!

Sage’s Mystery

Frustrated with himself, his hard cock, and Sage’s PMS, William

grabbed what he needed and headed to the next room. It was worse
than the last one.

“Who the hell had lived here? A hoarder?” There were stacks

upon stacks of newspapers and worn and broken bric-a-brac strewn
about the room. One man’s treasures were another man’s nightmare!
It was going to take him the entire day, and maybe a few more, to get
this mess cleaned out.

William was seriously considering asking Sage to move the chute

from the missing wall to the window in this room. The problem was
he couldn’t even see the ledge from the crap piled for a mile in front
of it.

After two thousand trips to the next room and pile after pile of

trash being tossed down the chute, William hadn’t made a noticeable
dent.

“Come get some lunch,” Sage shouted up the stairs. William’s

stomach growled in agreement as he walked to the bathroom and tried
to wash as much filth off of him as he could. His teeth chattered with
the cold water as he splashed it over his arms and face.

It was going to take all night to wash the dirt from his jeans and T-

shirt. Well, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do. Maybe he
would be too tired to curl back up into Sage once they called it quits
for the day.

Boy, was that a disaster waiting to happen.
William shivered again, but this time from the nightmare scenario

playing in his head. He could just see it now. William cuddled close,
enjoying the strong body wrapped around him. Sage waking up,
seeing William’s hard-on. William swearing it was morning wood.
Sage breaking him into tiny toothpicks and then tossing him down the
chute.

Gee, it made a guy want to sleep standing up.
“Coming,” he called as he made his way out of the bathroom,

grinning widely at his play on words. Too bad that wasn’t really the

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case. He just bet Sage could make him come for hours and—
William’s thought stopped in its track when he saw Sage glowering
up at him.

Fuck. Was it the guy’s time of the month?
“We don’t have all day. There’s a lot we still need to finish before

it gets dark.”

Yeah. William was well aware that the days were getting shorter

and the nights came more quickly. He mentally grinned when once
again the play on words gave him wicked thoughts. “Sorry.”

“Just get down here.”
“Yes, sir, Captain Happy,” William muttered as he made his way

down the steps. He wondered if he could knock Sage a good one in
his sleep without the guy knowing about it.

“There are fresh sandwiches in the cooler.” Sage jerked his chin

toward the kitchen as he walked out onto the porch. William grabbed
one, and a container of chocolate milk, and then joined Sage.

“Sorry I’m not more help,” he said as he took a seat on the step.
Sage sighed as he ran a hand over his head and waved back at the

house. “It’s not you. I just had no idea how much work was involved
in this.”

William breathed easier. So Sage hadn’t figured out William’s

gay secret. Thank fuck.

“I don’t mean to be irritable toward you, slim.”
That put William in a better mood. He really hadn’t been looking

forward to coldcocking Sage in his sleep. “It’s okay.”

Sage shook his head as he grabbed the container of milk and took

a drink, his flexing throat muscles trapping William’s attention. “No,”
he said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s not.”

Unsure of what to say to that, William shoved the sandwich into

his mouth. A thought occurred to him, and William knew he was
antagonizing a bear when he opened his mouth to ask. “Sage, can I
ask you something?”

Sage’s Mystery

“Sure,” he said before taking a bite of his sandwich. William was

quickly changing his mind when he saw more than half the sandwich
disappear from that one bite. He swallowed, and then opened his
mouth again.

“When you went to Mayfield County to buy all the supplies, why

didn’t you buy a generator?”

William quickly scrambled off of the steps when Sage roared and

threw his food out into the yard, Terror running after it. He stood and
stormed into the house. William knew he needed to find another place
to live. If Sage was really that moody, that explosive, then he wanted
no part of it.

He’d stay out of Sage’s way as best he could until the house was

at least cleaned out of all the debris, and then William would find a
new home.

* * * *

Sage gripped the counter edge as he fought desperately against the

change already taking place inside his body. His skin felt as though it
were stretched tightly over his bones. Not only was he fighting the
change, he was fighting his growing attraction toward William.

“Hell of a way to show him,” Sage gritted between clenched teeth.

“If you kicked him in the gut, it would hurt less.” He took a few deep
breaths, which didn’t help in the least, and then pushed away from the
counter.

The changes were getting worse the older he became. If he didn’t

mate soon, he would lose himself to his beast. He’d heard of men
shifting and then never shifting back to their human form from
waiting so long to mate.

But Sage hadn’t found the right person to stand by his side. And

with his mark of outcast etched into his face, he highly doubted he
would.

Lynn Hagen

Not only had Sage never heard of a man mating another man, but

he’d never heard of a werewolf mating a human. Sure, werewolves bit
humans, converted them, and then mated them, but no one had ever
mated an unconverted before.

And he wasn’t going to bite William and subject him to this life.

He was an outcast without a pack to back him up and help protect his
mate.

Sage slammed his fist on the counter as his ass was slung between

a rock and a hard place. He needed to get away from the human until
his shift was over. But what the hell was he going to tell the guy?

He looked down the hallway when he heard the screen door slam

shut. He knew William was going back to work. Fuck!

Sage walked out of the kitchen, going to find the small man and

try to fix the mess he had made of things. It wasn’t William’s fault
Sage was losing his fucking mind. If the house wasn’t capable of
falling down around him, Sage would walk over to a wall and knock
some sense into his head.

But the house looked as though it was barely standing as it was.
Shit. He needed to go upstairs and make amends. It was something

Sage wasn’t used to doing, but he had to learn to eat crow sometime.

As he walked up the stairs, carefully, Sage stopped to clench his

jaw and roll his shoulders to ease the tight and tingling feeling that
encompassed his entire body.

Somebody shoot me and put me out of my fucking misery.

Sage’s Mystery

Chapter Four

Sage walked out onto the porch the next morning, stretching and

yawning. He scratched his chest, still feeling the itching and tightness,
but the irritation wasn’t as bad today—so far.

They had a full day’s work ahead of them, and Sage was anxious

to get started. He wanted to complete as much as he could before the
change took over because he would be down for a day or two
afterward recouping.

It was late fall, and the weather wouldn’t hold out much longer.

Soon the ground would be filled with snow, and the air would be cold
as hell. Some of the wiring needed to be replaced and a few of the
plumbing pipes.

His thoughts of his agenda were interrupted when he saw a car

pulling out of his town and heading toward his home. Sage gave a low
growl until he saw that it was a patrol car.

That was odd. As far as he knew, he hadn’t hired any law

enforcements. He rubbed his thumb and his index finger together as
he watched the patrol car turn into his driveway, dust kicking up
behind it.

Sage stepped down from the porch, walking toward the slowly

moving vehicle. With the neighboring towns being so small, Sage
wondered if the sheriff doubled as a safety inspector. He wouldn’t
doubt it. He grunted when the thought of being scammed crossed his
brain waves.

Maybe this town was scheduled to be demolished, and he got

duped. That thought had his hackles rising as the sheriff got out of his
car.

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“Morning,” the sheriff said as he walked over to Sage. “Name’s

Sheriff Reese, but you can call me Samuel.”

“Sage,” he replied as he shook the proffered hand. The guy was

kind of young looking to be a damn sheriff. Sage noticed the fire in
the guy’s eyes as he shook Sage’s hand with a little too much
strength. The desire to prove to everyone that he could do his job and
tough it out with the best of them was very obvious from the firm
grip.

Sage wasn’t so sure he wanted someone like that around. He had

dealt with enough gung ho men to last him a lifetime.

“I take it you’re the new owner of Mystery?”
Okay, so he hadn’t been duped. Good to know. “Yeah,” he replied

as he looked Samuel over, wondering if his visit was just being
friendly. “You’re a little off the beaten path, Samuel.”

“That I am. My jurisdiction is Mayfield County, but word got out

that there was a new owner of this quaint little town.”

Sage could hear the sarcasm in the man’s voice, and it made him

want to rip the fucker’s throat out. It might be a piece of shit town
right now, but Sage had plans for it. He didn’t like anyone talking
smack about it.

“I just wanted to welcome you and let you know that some

teenagers have been known to come here to party, with the town
being deserted and all.”

Not anymore they weren’t. Sage would make sure of that. There

would be no underage anything going on in Mystery. Maybe he
needed to hire help. The thought wasn’t too pleasing to Sage. He
hadn’t planned on anyone being here for a while, but then again
William had tossed that idea of a broken window the first day Sage
arrived here.

“Here’s my card,” Samuel said as he reached into his shirt pocket

and pulled a business card out. “Call if you have any problems.”

Yeah, right after he handed his manhood over. “Thanks,” he said

as he shoved the small paper into his back pocket. No sense in pissing

Sage’s Mystery

off the cops. He wasn’t too keen on spending time in a jail, especially
a small-town jail…and so close to his shift.

“Well, good luck. If you need any help, call. I know a little about

fixing things up.”

Sage nodded as he watched Samuel climb back into his patrol car.

He looked over his shoulder to see William standing just inside the
door, and just out of sight.

Hmm…

* * * *

Samuel looked out of his rearview mirror as he pulled away. Sage

seemed like a nice enough guy. He hoped the man could rebuild
Mystery and bring her back to her former beauty. It was a nice out-of-
the-way place to live if one preferred the slower pace to life.

He just prayed the guy stuck around once he found out why

Mystery was deserted. And Samuel had no doubt Sage would find out
about the wolves that massacred every last one of the residents all
those years ago.

* * * *

“I thought the electrician was supposed to be coming out?”

William asked as he set the small armful of branches on the ground
next to the round fire pit Sage was building. It wasn’t big, but it
would serve its purpose.

Yeah, so did he. Sage pushed the last brick into place and then

leaned back. “Apparently he forgot he had an appointment with us
today.” He wiped his hands off on his jeans, grabbing some of the
branches that William had brought over and placed them in the
middle.

His eyes cut over to the small man, stealing a glimpse of William

in one of Sage’s T-shirts. He had been tired of seeing the guy in the

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same damn clothes. Although his shirt reached William’s upper
thighs, he had to admit, it looked good on him. Too bad he hadn’t had
any pants to give him.

“Well, it’s too late in the day to call him now,” William

commented as he tossed a few small branches on top of the ones Sage
had just stacked.

“I’ll get a hold of him first thing in the morning. Why don’t you

go get the meat from the cooler?”

William nodded and disappeared behind the Dumpster to where

the cooler was sitting on the back porch. Sage would have left the
cooler in the kitchen, but if the house fell, at least they could eat.

Sage started the fire while he waited on William. It gave him a

chance to take a deep cleansing breath. Working around the small
man all day was playing fucked-up games with his cock. He’d never
stayed hard this long in his life. Not even when he was a teenager.

“Here you go,” William announced as he brought the package of

meat to Sage. “I also grabbed the spices as well.”

Smart man.
Sage lifted his arm up, grabbing the package from William when

his fingers brushed the other man’s. His cock jerked fiercely at the
contact as a low growl ripped from his chest before he could stop it.
William snatched his hand away quickly as he ran back toward the
porch.

Great, scare the guy.
Sage was beginning to wonder if he was going to be the only

resident of Mystery by the time his shift occurred. It was looking
more and more like it as the days wore on. If he didn’t stop scaring
the man, Sage would be alone in his deserted town.

A smile tugged at his lips when he thought about William. He

wished the man hadn’t slept on the other side of the room last night.
Sage had been looking forward to another morning cuddle session.
Too bad William tore himself away as soon as he woke up that first
morning.

Sage’s Mystery

It only cemented his theory that William wasn’t gay. If he had

been, they would have been rolling around on that floor yesterday
morning. He hadn’t even been willing to look at Sage when he stood
there with nothing but his boots on.

He knew it wasn’t his outcast scar. William hadn’t batted an eye

at it. That only made Sage want the guy even more. “William?” he
called out.

“Coming.”
He wished.
Sage placed the frying pan securely on the fire, waiting for it to

heat up as William walked back over to him, looking a little flushed.
Sage cursed. He hadn’t meant to embarrass the guy. William stayed a
few feet away, telling Sage without words to back the fuck off. He got
the message.

“Could you grab a drink for me?”
“Could have yelled that and saved me the trip,” William grumbled

as he walked away. Sage grinned as he looked back at the fire.
William might be lightweight in the he-man department, but the guy
had spunk in him.

Sage groaned. He had plenty of spunk to give William. Too bad

the guy didn’t want it.

* * * *

William took a deep breath as he reached back into the cooler.

Man, that was close. If Sage had seen his instant hard-on when their
hands had touched, he would have had an apple stuck in his mouth
and been roasted over the open fire.

Clank.
William stilled when he heard a noise coming from inside the

house. No one should be in there. Sage was in the backyard with the
food, and Terror was running around chasing her tail twenty feet
away.

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Clank.
William’s hand shook as he pulled it from the cooler. He glanced

over his shoulder, but the Dumpster blocked his view of Sage.

“Terror,” William whispered loudly. “Come here, girl.”
Clank.
William jumped when he heard the noise again. He’d lived in this

house for months, and he never heard that noise before. He shot off
the porch, running full-out toward Sage.

Sage glanced up and must have seen the fear on William’s face

because he jumped to his feet, growling.

Growling?
“What’s wrong?”
“I heard a loud clank coming from the house.”
Sage took off, leaving William to defend himself all alone outside.

He watched the large man disappear around the Dumpster. Oh yeah,
he knew this part real well. Sage was going into the house, but he
would never be coming back out.

“Sick ’em, girl.” William pointed to the house, but Terror ran the

other way. “Thanks for having our backs!”

Terror barked, but didn’t come back his way. William stared at the

house, praying Sage kicked whoever’s ass. The man could do it.
William knew he could. He breathed a sigh of relief a few seconds
later when Sage came strolling back.

“It was the pipes, slim,” he said with amusement in his voice.
Yeah, William had small balls. He’d own that. Big deal. It kept

him alive this long. There was nothing wrong with running away
screaming in his book. “But I’ve been here for a while, and they never
made that noise before,” he pointed out.

Sage shrugged and then sat back down. “I don’t know what to tell

you. But it was the pipes in the basement.”

There was a basement?
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from the pipes,” Sage said and then

chuckled.

Sage’s Mystery

“Hardy-har-har.”
Sage didn’t say anything else as he grabbed the meat package,

tore it open, and tossed the chicken into the frying pan. It sizzled
loudly. William’s stomach did a happy dance as he licked his lips.
How long had it been since he had a decent meal?

Since forever.
William sat down on the ground across from Sage, crossing his

legs as he watched the meat cook in the frying pan. Even Terror
wandered back over at the sizzling sound of the meat cooking.

William sat there picking at his pants, sneaking glances at the

handsome man sitting across from him. He wanted to all-out gawk,
but knew that wasn’t possible. At least not while Sage was awake.

“Do you want to try a piece of meat?” Sage asked as he cut into

the large breast portion. Fuck if that wasn’t a loaded question.

“I’d love to try some of your meat.”
Sage’s hand stilled as he glanced over at William. Oh, holy hell.

Now he’d done it. There was no way he could have stopped the
answer from springing from his lips. No way. Sage had left himself
wide open for that answer.

“Would you now?”
William wasn’t sure if that was an invitation or a question for

clarity right before he was pounded into the dirt. He bit his bottom lip
and gave a slight nod, feeling his face heat up like a ball of fire was
attacking it. He wasn’t sure where the hell the bravery was coming
from, but he’d confessed.

He just hoped it wasn’t his last confession.
The side of Sage’s mouth pulled back into a sexy-as-fuck smile as

he held the fork up, a small piece of chicken displayed for William.
He reached across to grab it from the fork, but Sage pulled it back.

“Take it off with your mouth.”
William’s eyes locked onto the fire, refusing to look Sage in his

eyes as he leaned sideways, closing his lips around the chicken.

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Spices burst on his tongue, but William was focused on his racing
heartbeat instead.

He might have been hearing things because his heart was beating

so loudly in his ears, but William could have sworn he heard Sage
groan softly. He slowly sat back, swallowing hard around the chicken
as he forced its way down his dry throat.

“I–It was good,” William said to the ground.
“Yes, it was,” Sage said in a voice that dipped lower than his

already thick and deep timbre that William had grown to appreciate
with every word the man spoke. A shiver raced down his spine.

When Sage didn’t say anything else, William jumped up from the

ground. “I’ll go get the plates.” And that was saying something. He’d
rather move closer to the house with the spooky noises than keep his
ass planted right where he was.

William darted across the yard, taking a moment to clear his head

as he grabbed a few paper plates from the plastic sleeve that rested
next to the cooler. He looked over his shoulder, making sure Sage
couldn’t see him, and then reached into the cooler, grabbing a few
pieces of ice. He slid his hand down his pants, dropping the cubes in
place.

“Oh hell!” he shouted before he could stop himself. That shit was

cold!

“What’s wrong?” Sage asked as he stormed past the Dumpster to

where William was dancing around the back porch, trying his best to
make the ice cubes slide past his balls. Not one of my more brilliant
plans.

“Nothing. I just stubbed my toe,” he replied as he gritted his teeth,

making himself stand in place and live through the brutality of frozen
nuts.

Sage’s brows pulled together as he looked at William as if trying

to figure him out before turning around and walking away. As soon as
Sage was out of sight, William reached in his pants and grabbed the

Sage’s Mystery

ice, tossing it into the yard. “Doofus,” he muttered to himself. But
hey, it did the job. His cock was finally lying limp and to the left.

William grabbed the plates, walking back over to the fire and

taking a seat as far away from Sage as possible without looking too
obvious. Sage held out a hand and William gave him the plates. He
saw that Sage had set the pot of beans on the fire and they were
bubbling as the steam wafted off of them.

“Here you go,” Sage said as he handed a full plate over to

William. He was so damn hungry that he didn’t know where to begin.
It all looked good.

“You might want to slow down,” Sage said a moment later.

William lowered his plastic fork. Yeah, he’d been scarfing the food
down, but he couldn’t help it. For a winged meal, it was damn good.

“You chew any faster, and I’ll have to feed you something else.”
William coughed, damn near choking at Sage’s promise.

Lynn Hagen

Chapter Five

Sage pushed his hands into his front pockets, leaned against the

wall, and watched as William slept.

His feelings were growing stronger for William, no matter how

much he fought against it. He watched as William turned over, pulled
the blanket over his shoulder, while using one of Sage’s duffel bags as
a pillow.

It scared him to think that he was seriously considering converting

William and claiming him. How had things changed so much over the
past couple of days? William hadn’t thrown himself at Sage like a lot
of she-wolves had done in his birth pack. He ran around here half the
time like the Energizer Bunny, tripping over things and making a
bigger mess than when they started out.

And that turned him on?
Sage needed his head examined.
When the hell did incompetence become sexy? Sage wasn’t sure,

but if it had, then William was the sexiest man on the planet. He
smiled at that. The guy didn’t know a number-two bit from a screw,
but he did whatever it took to get the job done.

Sage realized just then that he admired William. He was

everything opposite of Sage, and that actually turned him on.

Shrink, here I come.
“Is something wrong?”
Sage pushed away from the wall, shaking his head as he saw

William’s bright green eyes sparkling in the moonlight spilling into
the room. He had tempted fate many times by flirting with William
over the past couple of days, but the man never flirted back. Sage

Sage’s Mystery

wasn’t sure about the reason why, so he kept his lust in check, never
allowing himself to touch William.

But the change was tomorrow night, and keeping his hands to

himself was getting harder. He wanted to go lie down and curl around
William. Nuzzle him until they both fell asleep.

Ah hell, who was he kidding? Sage wanted to fuck the man until

the house fell down around them. They could cuddle afterward. His
cock was so hard that he knew his brain had no blood circulating in it.
That was why he stood there now. If he lay down, he wasn’t sure he
could control himself. His skin was tight, itchy, and he was hornier
than a motherfucker. The change always did that to his libido. It was
nature’s way of making him hunt for a mate.

“No, go back to sleep.”
He patted himself on the back for not taking his anger and

aggression out on William over the past few days, even though his
attitude was getting worse. If anyone else wandered this way, Sage
couldn’t guarantee anything.

Sage leaned back against the wall and then slid down until he was

sitting on his ass. He pulled his legs up and rested his arms on his
knees. He stared out of the window at the moon that was almost full.

If he claimed William, he wouldn’t have to worry about going

through any of this again. He would be able to shift at will, not when
the moon was full. He’d no longer be at its mercy. He wasn’t going to
condemn William to his outcast life just so he could control his shifts.

He wasn’t that big of a bastard…today.
He clenched his jaw and curled his hands into fists as lust

overtook him, wiping out what he had just been thinking. He knew it
was more than the change. He wanted William, wanted him more than
anyone before.

“Forgive me,” Sage whispered.
“For what?” William asked.
Sage leapt across the room, pinning William on his back. He

lowered his head, inhaling the small man’s scent as his tongue trailed

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over his neck. The heat coursing through his body was making him
want to take William in a thousand different ways. He couldn’t focus,
and his head had a fuzzy haze enveloping it. All Sage could think
about was William. The human’s smell was driving him nuts.

“S–Sage?”
Sage closed his eyes, fighting against the lust that ate at his blood.

He shook his head back and forth, leaning back slightly. He couldn’t
do this to William. He had to fight it.

“I–I like you, too.”
A growl tore from Sage’s chest. William wasn’t supposed to say

that. He was supposed to scream at Sage to get the fuck off of him,
not welcome him into his bed. Sage could feel his cock growing
longer as William stared up at him. There was a shot of lust in his
pretty green eyes, but there was also need.

“You don’t want me,” he said as he rocked back and forth over

William. “You don’t know what you’re saying. I’m falling hard and
you can’t be the one to catch me.”

William reached up, tracing his fingers over Sage’s scar, his lips

parting as his eyes snapped up to Sage’s. “I may be smaller than you,
but I’m sure I wouldn’t let you fall.”

Sage leaned in, his lips a hair’s breadth from William’s as he

panted heavily, fighting against what his body was begging for. He
licked his lips and then pulled his head back slightly. “You don’t
know what you’re asking for, slim.”

“I’m asking for one night. I’m asking for you to love me for just a

few short hours.”

Sage’s arms shook as he held himself up, hovering over William

and slipping quickly over the edge to giving in. Sage lifted one hand,
skimming it over the soft skin of William’s face. He wanted the same
thing, but he knew it wouldn’t be just a few short hours or just one
night. The beast inside of him was already snarling and snapping for
him to bite William and then claim him.

Claim him as Sage’s mate.

Sage’s Mystery

“You make me forget that I’m an outcast.”
“Then we both have something in common.”
Sage curled his fingers in, pulling them away from William’s

face. “I walk a lonely road. I can’t offer you anything.”

And he couldn’t. He had no pack to offer William. No protection

against the harsh world that Sage lived in. If he mated William, and it
worked, his mate would automatically be an outcast as well. Sage was
torn in two. William was looking at him with longing, giving himself
over to Sage, but could Sage keep him safe?

“There’s something you should know.”
William shook his head, placing a finger over Sage’s mouth. “It

doesn’t matter.”

The hell it didn’t. The only way it wouldn’t matter would be if

Sage fucked William but didn’t bite him, an almost impossible feat.
Sage reached between them, running his hand over William’s
stomach, feeling the slight jerk as they connected. His eyes shot to
William’s, seeing him bite his bottom lip, and then his legs parted.

Sage growled again. “A few hours.”
William nodded quickly as he reached down and tossed the

blanket aside. Sage groaned when he saw that the only thing William
had on was one of Sage’s oversize T-shirts. Sage pushed the hem up
with a finger, seeing William’s balls and then his hard cock.

He pulled his hand back, fear making him second-guess what they

were about to do. William quickly grabbed Sage’s hand, placing it
back on his thigh. He could feel William’s hand shaking.

Sage ran the tips of his fingers over William’s hand, stilling them

before he ran a knuckle up the length of William’s shaft. He heard a
quick intake of breath as his fingers traced over warm, succulent skin.
His common sense was trying to kick in, trying to yell for Sage to run,
but Sage didn’t listen.

He stood, ridding himself of his clothes before kneeling back

down, his eyes taking in the sight underneath him. William pulled the
shirt from over his head, tossing it aside and laying his hands on

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either side of him to rest on the floor. His chest was expanding and
contracting rapidly as he lay there waiting for Sage to do something.

Wetting his fingers with saliva, the only thing he had available to

him, Sage reached down and circled his fingers around William’s
entrance. William’s legs lifted as he planted his feet on the floor,
raising his ass slightly, giving Sage more room to do with what he
wanted.

He locked eyes with William as his finger slid into William’s

body and then back out, repeating the move a few more times before
pushing it in all of the way. There was no way he could fight it now.
Sage had felt a small part of what things would be like between them,
and he was hooked.

Groaning, Sage twisted his fingers. William’s channel was as soft

as silk, grabbing Sage’s fingers and pulling them in. He could feel the
need in him rising like the hottest fire, clouding his brain as he
watched his fingers play.

William watched him, raising his lower half even higher as pure,

liquid lust radiated from his eyes. Using his free hand, Sage reached
forward, curling his fingers over William’s shoulder, pushing at it
slightly to keep the man in place. William nodded his understanding
as he stilled.

Sage glanced back down to what he was doing, his fingers a

hypnotic pull for his eyes as they glided in and out, adding a third,
and then scissoring them. Sage’s lips parted, his breathing labored as
he fought not to take William in the ways of his people, savagely,
swiftly, and snarling for the right to mate. William was human,
needing him to be gentler than Sage was used to.

Pulling his fingers free, Sage yanked William closer and then

pressed the head of his cock against the stretched hole. He pushed just
the very tip of his cock in, feeling his control slipping fast.

This was a bad idea. Very bad, but Sage was too far gone to stop it

now. His entire body shook as he exhaled, trying to take William in a
human way, slow, gentle.

Sage’s Mystery

But he wasn’t human. Sage was a beast. A werewolf. A vârcolac.

Sage gasped as he thrust forward, his muscles quivering as he stilled,
straining against the need to fight William for the right to claim him.

William cried out, his legs leaving the floor and wrapping around

Sage’s waist as his fingers curled into Sage’s bare chest. The cry
broke through his restraint as Sage’s pupils dilated and his claws
started to slip from his fingernails. Sage clenched his jaw as his
canines grew longer, extending far beyond normal.

This had never happened before. It was only a partial shift, but an

unmated vârcolac never shifted before the full moon rose high above
the earth. He couldn’t understand what was happening, and he was
powerless to stop it.

Sage slid his hands under William’s soft and fragile body, pulling

him from the floor and holding him tight to his chest. He rested one
hand behind William’s head, the other cupping his ass as Sage’s head
fell back onto his shoulders. He didn’t want William to see him like
this. William would be terrified, and that was the last thing Sage had
wanted.

He could also feel his cock growing as he thrust deeper into

William’s giving body. His human was mewling, clinging to him as
Sage took him, his heart rate steadily climbing. Sage thrust forward as
he pulled William down harder onto his shaft, growls erupting from
his chest every few seconds.

“Sage, oh god, Sage,” William cried as his body took Sage in over

and over again. It was a cry of pleasure. This Sage could hear.
William was taking pleasure in what Sage was giving. William’s
tight, puckered hole gripped his cock perfectly, milking his orgasm
closer.

“Fuck, William,” Sage said between gritted teeth. He wasn’t

going to be able to stop the bite. He could feel it in his bones. His
mouth was gearing up, saliva pooling as Sage sniffed at William’s
succulent flesh, the soft skin between neck and shoulder.

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His teeth snapped, clamping tight as his cock erupted, sending

him into a spiral of out-of-control thrusts. William cried out, bathing
their bodies with his seed as he clung tightly to Sage.

Sage released his arm, his own arm that he had bitten into to stop

from biting William as he slowly lowered the human. He kept his face
turned, unwilling to show William who the human had just given
himself to.

Pulling his softening cock free, Sage yanked William’s back to his

chest, keeping him from seeing the beast that was partially exposed.
William burrowed under him, sighing softly.

Sage was going to have to leave tomorrow before the change took

place. If he didn’t, his own arm wasn’t going to be what he bit into the
next time.

* * * *

William stretched, feeling achy in all the right places as a smile

spread across his face. Last night had been fantastic, wonderful,
everything he knew it would be.

He stiffened when he realized the heat he had felt all night against

his back was gone. Disappointment flooded William, but he had only
asked for a few hours, which Sage had given him.

Was he expecting roses and breakfast this morning? He got what

he asked for, and nothing more. So why did he feel like he’d been
used and tossed aside? Maybe there was a small part of him that was
hoping Sage would want to keep him after the night they had shared
together.

William shook his head at the romantic scenario playing through

his head as he got up from the floor and went to the bathroom. There
wasn’t going to be any romance and declarations of love. It had been
sex, plain and simple. Two people reaching out to each other in the
middle of the night.

Sage’s Mystery

After washing up in the cold water, he walked downstairs, looking

but not looking for Sage. He didn’t want to seem needy and clingy.
They had spent the night together. Since he woke up alone, it didn’t
mean anything to Sage, and William refused to show that it meant
anything to him.

Even if it meant the world to him.
He might not want Sage to know how he felt toward the man, but

he couldn’t stop the images from reminding him why his ass was sore
this morning. Sage had looked glorious above him before scooping
him from the floor and holding onto William like he mattered. No one
had ever treated William that way, and now all he had was a memory
of that one special night.

Terror came running toward him, barking and running around

William. He glanced around, but didn’t see Sage. William let the dog
out as he walked through the empty house. “Where the hell did he
go?”

William saw a piece of paper sitting on top of the cooler. Cold

fear ran down his spine as he slowly walked closer. Was Sage going
to tell him to get out now that he had given up the ass? Sage didn’t
seem the type, but how much did he really know about the guy? His
hand trembled as he picked the paper up and unfolded it.

He swallowed hard and then read Sage’s messy handwriting. The

note said that Sage had to attend to a personal matter and that he
would be back tomorrow. William turned the note over and then
glanced at the one sentence again as if more words would suddenly
appear.

Well, at least Sage hadn’t asked him to leave, although he had

wished the note said more. “Like what, words of undying love? Get
over it,” William mumbled as he shoved the note in his front pocket.
He ate breakfast and then started on another bedroom. He would work
to keep his mind preoccupied. Lord knew there were plenty of
bedrooms for that.

Lynn Hagen

As the day went on, William started dreading the night. It had

only been a week, but William had gotten used to Sage sleeping in the
same room, making him feel safe. He still didn’t like the noises from
town at night, and he still wasn’t going to investigate them either. If
they were the same noises he remembered vividly from his past,
William wasn’t going anywhere near that place.

But oddly enough, they stopped when Sage showed up. He was

relieved about that. William grabbed a few trash bags from the
bedroom where his supplies were and made his way to the next room
down the hallway.

William couldn’t help but miss Sage as he cleared cobwebs and

swept the floor. He knew it was sappy to wish for a life with the man.
Sage didn’t seem like the type of person to be tied down. He was a
rebel who needed to be free, and taking up with William wasn’t the
man’s idea of being free.

Terror barked as she trotted into the bedroom, wagging her tail.

William glanced down at her, giving her a slight smile. “I don’t know
where he went, girl,” he said and then headed downstairs to feed the
Chihuahua.

William had even liked the nickname Sage had given him. In his

eyes, only someone who liked another bothered to give them a
nickname. Maybe he had been wrong. No matter, William could still
feel Sage touching him, caressing him, and fucking him until his eyes
crossed. His skin still tingled where Sage had touched him.

He’d have that memory at least. He cleared his throat around the

lump that had formed, and shook his head, clearing that as well. What
a damn sappy wuss he was.

He got what he’d asked for, and now he wanted to cry? No

wonder Sage took off. He would take off from himself, too, if he
could. “Man up, jackass.”

Terror chose that moment to come into the room and bark,

solidifying William’s chastisement toward himself. No matter what

Sage’s Mystery

fantasy he had in his head of a happy life with the man, Sage wasn’t
going to profess his undying love or build a life with William.

He needed to get over it.
William swept the room, tossing larger pieces of trash into the

bag, and trying his best to lose himself in his task. It wasn’t working,
but he was determined not to pine after the rebel. They had a good
working relationship right now, and William wasn’t going to ruin that
over a broken heart.

He dragged the trash bag down the hallway when it was full and

picked it up, tossing it down the chute. He worked through the day,
taking a break to eat lunch and then dinner. He wasn’t very hungry,
but he needed to keep up his strength to finish his work.

As the night drew closer, William started getting nervous. Would

he hear the howls from town now that Sage wouldn’t be there?

He hoped not. There was nothing worse than being a chickenshit

and locking himself in the bedroom so the boogeyman wouldn’t get
him. It sucked being afraid, but William knew that was who he was.

Why deny it?
He had every reason to be afraid after the horrific event from his

childhood. Any sane person would be a wreck.

“Where the fuck is Sage?”
William spun around, gaping at the very large man standing in the

doorway, growling like he was about to pound William into dust.

Lynn Hagen

Chapter Six

Jeremiah glared at the short man standing there gaping at him.

Too much was going on for Sage not to be there. He had followed the
directions perfectly, so he knew he was in the right place—albeit, a
pretty fucked-up place. What in the hell had the wolf been thinking
when he bought this piece-of-shit town? “I asked you a question.”

The human dropped his broom and reached into his front pocket,

his hand shaking badly as he handed over a crumpled piece of paper.
Jeremiah snatched the paper. His eyes still narrowed on the small man
and then glanced down at Sage’s shitty-ass handwriting. So, he had
gone into hiding for his shift.

This wasn’t good. Jeremiah had no damn clue where he was,

except in the middle of nowhere, and he hadn’t a clue where to start
searching for Sage. “He didn’t say anything to you about where he
was going?” Jeremiah knew the answer before the human shook his
head back and forth. Sage wasn’t the type to check in with anyone, let
alone tell anyone where he was going.

Fuck.
Jeremiah turned from the bedroom and headed back downstairs.

He had to be careful because his foot had already gone through the
second-to-last step outside. He looked around, feeling as though the
house was going to cave in on him at any second. What a dump.

“Excuse me,” the small human called from upstairs. “Who are

you?”

Jeremiah could hear the nervousness in the man’s voice. He

should be nervous. There were far more dangerous things to worry
about than a stranger showing up. “Jeremiah,” he growled and then

Sage’s Mystery

pushed open a screen door with no screen. A small dog stood at the
top of the steps with the human, barking its little head off. Jeremiah
could still hear the dog barking as he stood on the front porch.

Where in the hell could Sage have gone?
This was bad.

* * * *

William scooped Terror into his arms as he watched the stranger

walk out onto the front porch. There was something about the guy that
screamed danger on seven hundred different levels. The guy looked
like the type that would rather cut someone’s throat than answer
anyone’s question. He backed away from the banister and walked
back down the hallway, heading into the room that he and Sage had
shared.

“What is going on around here?” William asked Terror. “First

Sage gets all moody, fucks me, and then disappears. Now this guy
shows up out of nowhere wanting to know where Sage is. Do you
think he wants to hurt Sage?”

There was no way William was going to allow anyone to hurt

Sage. The man looked like he could handle his own, but still. The
problem was that William wasn’t sure how he was going to go about
taking Jeremiah down. The guy was huge. He had to think.

Maybe he should sleep on it and see if the guy was still here

tomorrow. Sage wasn’t supposed to be back until tomorrow, so that
would give him time to devise a plan. William knew that wasn’t the
right solution, but he honestly didn’t see how he was going to take
Jeremiah down by himself. He’d see if Sage needed his help taking
the stranger down when he got back.

Besides, William was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open.

He had accomplished a lot that day with cleaning away the debris, and
even his eyeballs were tired. The room with all the newspaper and

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bric-a-brac was almost empty, and William planned on finishing it up
tomorrow.

“Come on, girl,” William said as he yawned and closed the

bedroom door, locking it. He wanted to go downstairs and tell
Jeremiah to get lost, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
William curled up next to Terror as he pulled the blanket Sage had
brought to cover himself with. It was a lot larger and warmer than the
one he had used.

Hopefully Sage returned tomorrow and they could work out the

mess with Jeremiah.

* * * *

Sage huddled in the corner of the filthy room, feeling as though

his skin was being shredded from his bones. His jaw locked and his
body seized as he writhed on the floor in agonizing pain. He was
soaked in sweat and pulling in ragged spasms of air.

Sage prayed he didn’t seek William out after his shift. No matter

how hard he fought it, he was like a moth being drawn to a flame. He
couldn’t seem to stay away from the guy. Sage was so confused about
what to do with William. His heart was overruling his mind when it
came to the logical thing to do, and he knew deep in his heart that he
was a goner.

But nights like tonight, that wasn’t a good thing. It was killing

him already to be away from William. He feared for the small man,
leaving him alone in the big house by himself. A thousand times he
wanted to go check on him.

Sage rolled to his back, crying out as bones crunched, reshaping

and transforming. He screamed as his body grew and small hairs
sprouted, covering his body in a layer of fur. Sage rolled back to his
belly, crawling slowly across the dirt floor as he panted heavily, his
claws digging into the dirt as his eyes shifted. He threw back his head
and howled as the pain ripped through him once again. He pushed to

Sage’s Mystery

his feet, staggering and slamming into a wall. Sage made it to the
door, looking out over the town. His arms slung out to his sides as his
head fell back, howling with a strong lungful of air as the shift
completed.

He glanced around as his tongue ran over one canine then the

other. Once again his heart won out, and Sage headed for home. He
just wanted to make sure William was okay. He wouldn’t show
himself, but he needed to know the guy wasn’t harmed.

He knew that William would be frightened if he saw Sage in his

were-creature form. He stood almost seven feet tall, on his hind legs,
with nails and canines that were sharp and deadly.

A typical werewolf he wasn’t. Sage stood on his hind legs, a cross

between man and beast with a long snout and pointy ears. William
would definitely have a heart attack if he saw Sage in his present
form. The small man was afraid of his own shadow, a quality Sage
thought endearing.

Sage leapt from the run-down building, his heart beating faster

than normal as he made his way home. He cut through the buildings,
around the corner of the ramshackle diner, and then he ran through the
fields, making his way to the large looming house ahead, the moon
guiding him every step of the way.

It was like a homing beacon, guiding him, calling him to the man

who had started to mean more to him than his own life. Sage stopped
in his race to howl once more, feeling a freedom like no other as
images of William played through his mind.

Images of the sexy little man in the throes of passion made Sage

hard as a rock. The picture of William giving himself freely over to
Sage’s demands was making him want to take William again, now.

William had been a beautiful lover that Sage planned on taking

over and over again. It had killed him to leave William in the wee
hours of the morning. It had felt good to be curled up around the man.

But it was something he had no choice in. If he had waited for

William to wake, his leaving would have been that much harder. He

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just prayed William didn’t regret their time together or think that Sage
had left for other reasons.

Sage growled when he heard another howl. His lip curled up as

the howl repeated itself, coming from the direction of his home. Sage
tore through the field, racing to William. There should be no other
werewolf around. He would kill whoever it was if they had harmed
the small human.

As the house grew closer, a third howl rent through the air,

angering Sage like a beast unleashed. He ran up the dirt driveway and
up the front steps, tearing the screen door from its frame as he walked
slowly into the house.

His toenails clicked on the wooden floor as he sniffed the air,

scenting another wolf in his territory. His head snapped to the left as
he saw movement coming from the living room. Sage snarled and
snapped as he walked toward the intruder. He wanted to go upstairs
and make sure William was safe, unharmed, but first he needed to
take care of the sorry bastard unlucky enough to cross into his
territory.

He howled when he saw a were-creature standing before him.

Sage swung his arm out, raking the air as his claws missed the wolf
by a hair’s breadth. He snarled again, circling the other werewolf.
Recognition filtered into his mind as he stared down the other wolf.

It was Jeremiah.
That didn’t matter to Sage. Best friend or not, Jeremiah was too

close to William. He would fight his best friend to the death in order
to protect the human. William was his, and Sage wasn’t sharing.

Sage lunged, this time his claws making contact with Jeremiah’s

chest as blood spread out across his best friend’s chest. Jeremiah
howled and lunged, both werewolves engaging in battle as they
crashed into the wall, knocking over supplies.

Flipping his body at the last minute, Sage pinned Jeremiah

beneath him. The large werewolf was a worthy opponent, but Sage
was playing for keeps. Jeremiah growled and kicked out, but Sage

Sage’s Mystery

didn’t budge. He pressed his knees into the other wolf’s abdomen, his
teeth mere inches from the other man’s neck.

At the last second, right before Sage ripped his throat out,

Jeremiah tilted his head, showing Sage that he was submitting. Sage
growled and gnashed his teeth together, nipping Jeremiah before
backing away.

The other werewolf climbed to his feet, backing away. Sage

howled his victory and then turned, heading up the steps. He stopped
halfway up and growled at his best friend, warning him not to follow.

Jeremiah dipped his head in acknowledgement as Sage finished

taking the stairs two at a time. His toenails clicked over the
floorboards as he walked down the hallway. When he reached the
bedroom that he had slept in with William, Sage reached out and
turned the knob, seeing that it was locked. He howled, twisting the
knob in his hand, bending it, breaking it. Sage pushed the door open
slowly to see William huddled in a corner, shaking badly, Terror
tucked behind him.

Terror ran out from behind William as she growled and barked,

but William quickly grabbed her and shoved her back behind him.
Sage wanted to grin at the way William was protecting the
Chihuahua. It was truly a sight.

“D–Don’t hurt her. She is only trying to protect me,” William said

with a bravery Sage couldn’t see in the human’s gorgeous green eyes.
He knew he should back away and leave William be, but once again
his heart overruled his common sense.

Sage stepped into the room slowly, making sure his movements

were slow and measured. He wanted to inhale William’s scent, not
scare him to death. Well, he knew he was scaring him, and that wasn’t
his intention, but Sage couldn’t help himself. He needed to be close to
the small human.

William pushed his back into the wall, almost smashing Terror

behind him as his eyes grew rounder than the moon.

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Sage bent low, sniffing at William, scenting him. Small puffs of

air made William’s hair span out, gently taking flight as Sage inhaled
his aroma. His tongue snaked out, the tip running up William’s neck,
making the small man shiver as he stayed very still.

Sage’s arm reached out before him, his claws grazing William’s

skin with the gentlest of caresses. The small man broke out in goose
bumps as the tip of Sage’s nail ran the length of William’s cheek. He
wasn’t sure if the reaction was fear or desire, but Sage didn’t stop to
ask.

“Please don’t kill me,” William whispered under his breath.
Sage placed one claw under William’s chin, tilting the human’s

head back, making the small man look him in his eyes, but the human
smashed his own eyes closed. Sage gave a light jerk to William’s
head, making him open his eyes.

William’s bright green eyes locked onto Sage’s for a moment, and

then William inhaled sharply, slow recognition dawning in them. He
didn’t want William to fear him. Sage wanted the man to know that
he was safe.

“S–Sage?”
“Do you fear me, William?” His voice was rough and gravelly,

deep and growly. Sage tried to make it as gentle as possible, but that
was a large feat in his present form.

“Are you going to hurt me?” William asked as he cocked his head

to the side.

Sage shook his head, never breaking eye contact. He couldn’t.

William was a beautiful sight with the full moon illuminating the
room, casting a haloed effect around William’s form. “Never,” he
finally answered.

William lowered his eyes, giving Sage his submission. He glanced

down at the small human when he heard a swift intake of air. William
was staring strangely at Sage’s cock as it jutted out, hard and erect.
Sage chuckled, but it sounded more like a grunt as he watched
William’s reaction to his desire for the small man.

Sage’s Mystery

“Stay inside,” Sage warned as he backed out of the room. He had

to leave. There was no other course of action to take. If he took
William now, Sage knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would
bite the small human.

It was inborn in him, the need to mate, the need to claim. He was

getting older, and the pull to mate was getting stronger with each
shift. If he bit William, the change would begin and on the next full
moon, William would become a vârcolac, a lycan, a werewolf, but if
he bit him while fucking the man, William would become his mate.

It was a decision Sage wouldn’t take from William.
“Don’t go!” William shouted as he pushed to his feet. “I’m

terrified of you right now, but I’m even more terrified to be alone,”
the small man confessed. “Please don’t leave me alone.” He
whispered his plea.

Sage was torn. He had only wanted to check on the man, but knew

he crossed the line when he entered the room and revealed who he
was. The fear in William’s voice tore at Sage. He wasn’t sure what he
should do.

When a howl and then another cut through the quiet of the night,

Sage pulled to his full height. His head snapped around, scenting the
air. The howls were distant, further away than Jeremiah, and more
than one.

William swallowed and moved closer. “I heard those noises all the

time before you came. I heard a lot of weird noises coming from
town.”

Sage’s eyes scanned the outside through the window across the

room, looking for movement before his eyes slowly lowered to
William’s. “No one should be here. Stay here. Jeremiah and I will
hunt.”

William nodded quickly, bending at the waist to pick Terror up.

The dog was shaking in William’s arms. Sage reached out and ran a
claw over the small dog’s head. Terror whimpered and whined and
then twisted around in William’s arms as her underbelly was exposed.

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“Stay,” he commanded gruffly. When William didn’t argue, Sage

left the room, closing the door behind him.

“Do you know who they are?” Jeremiah asked from below.
“No, but we are about to find out,” he said as he bounded from the

top step, landing on his feet below. Fuck, if he kept up his acrobatics
in this house, it was going to fall apart. He was shocked his fighting
with Jeremiah hadn’t brought the structure down.

Sage pushed that thought from his mind as he and Jeremiah

stalked from the house and headed toward town.

“William says he’s heard these howls before, almost nightly

before I arrived.”

“Impossible,” Jeremiah replied. “That would mean these

werewolves are mated if they don’t need the full moon to shift.”

“Then let’s find out what they’re doing in my town,” Sage said as

he and Jeremiah took off running. His number-one priority was to
protect William.

Sage spotted two wolves before they disappeared from sight. He

howled, putting on a burst of speed, Jeremiah at his side. Sage could
feel his control slipping. He had used every ounce with William in his
goal not to fuck the small man and mate the fragile human to him,
bringing William into this dangerous life.

Whoever these werewolves were, they didn’t have a damn thing

coming to them. He had left his scent all through the town when he
had first shifted, so they knew he was there. Sage saw two more
werewolves out of the corner of his eye.

Jeremiah must have seen them as well, because he spun left before

Sage did. Just how many were here? Sage didn’t care if the town was
overrun with them. Mystery belonged to him, and these trespassers
were about to learn this.

Sage tackled the first werewolf dumb enough to show himself. He

gnashed his teeth inches from the wolf’s face as he took him down.
Sage could see Jeremiah fighting the other, but he focused on the one
trying to claw him.

Sage’s Mystery

Sage feigned left, slicing four gash marks into the werewolf’s

side. He was playing for keeps, just like the wolf he was fighting was
doing. This wasn’t his best friend. No, this was an unknown that Sage
wasn’t taking any chances with.

Just as Sage took the werewolf down, two more came rushing at

him. He quickly killed the one below him and then spun around,
letting out a howl as he leapt toward the closest one.

Lynn Hagen

Chapter Seven

William hugged Terror close as the howls filled the air. He prayed

Sage was okay. It shocked him, but didn’t, to find out Sage was a
werewolf. He had known of were-creatures in these parts. Hell, he
had lived through their brutality.

He just wished they had stayed a distant memory.
Tucking Terror under his arm, William slid closer to the window,

peeking out. Sage said to stay put, and William had no intention of
doing otherwise. As he stared over at the town, he couldn’t see a
damn thing. He could hear plenty, but all he saw was a deserted town.

Frowning, William turned his head at a slight noise coming from

the hallway. Was Sage back? When Terror began to tremble and
whine, William became nervous. He listened harder, trying to make
out the noise.

He was a chicken, so it could just be the house settling, but to him,

it was ghosts, zombies, or werewolves coming after him. He had a
very vivid imagination when it came to things that went bump in the
night.

He had a very good reason to fear the dark.
William scrambled over to the blanket with Terror still tucked

under his arm when he heard the floorboards creaking right outside
the bedroom door. The entire house was dark with no electricity,
making his surroundings all the more terrifying. The only light
offered to him was from the moon spilling into the bedroom through
one of the windows.

He held his breath, his grip on Terror strangling as the bedroom

door squeaked open. William could feel his entire body shake as he

Sage’s Mystery

saw a large werewolf standing in the doorway, his teeth bared as his
fingers curved into the wolf’s palms and then uncurled.

This wasn’t Sage.
Oh hell, oh hell, oh hell…
The werewolf took a step into the bedroom, his eyes narrowing as

he watched William. He knew this wolf wasn’t just going to sniff him
and go on his merry way. No, the look in the creature’s eyes said he
had other plans, more diabolical plans for William.

He shouted and tried to crab-crawl backward but the werewolf

was quicker, leaping at William and sinking his teeth into the soft spot
of skin between William’s neck and shoulder. He kicked and fought
without success as the pain hit him hard, feeling as though his skin
was being torn away.

Terror barked and ran around the werewolf, biting him on his

back leg as the wolf clamped down even harder into William’s tender
flesh. He banged his fists into the creature’s face, but that did nothing
to detour the thing from trying to eat him.

William’s shoulder felt like it was on fire as the werewolf released

him. He collapsed to the floor, crying out as lava-hot fire raced
through his blood.

“Welcome to our world. Tell Sage that Brody said hello,” the

creature said with disdain before turning and running from the room.
William rolled over to his knees, his shoulders scraping across the
floor as he tried to crawl away from the pain. It was so intense that
William felt as though he were burning alive.

His ears started ringing as his skin became cold and sweaty at the

same time. His eyes felt like they were two sizes too big as his body
flopped over and began to shake uncontrollably. He could hear Terror
barking and whining in cycles, but William was too far gone to
comfort the dog. The entire room began to spin as William rolled over
and vomited violently.

Tears streamed down his eyes as he prayed for death. He hurt so

badly that William actually felt like his body was going to combust.

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His mouth dried out and his skin felt tight, making him flex his
muscles to try and rid himself of the rigidity.

“William.”
William’s lips parted as he heard his name being called, but no

words formed. He was on a roller coaster to hell with no conductor as
his head fell back and a loud, curdling scream left his lungs.

* * * *

Sage pulled William from the floor, rocking him in his arms as he

watched the fragile human writhe in agony. He saw the bite mark on
William’s shoulder and rage unlike anything he had ever felt before
consumed him. He wasn’t even this enraged when his father made
him leave. Who in the hell had bitten the small man?

“Don’t fight it, William. You have to let the venom flow through

you,” Sage said as his hand cradled the back of William’s head. “Let
go.”

“Who did this to him?” Jeremiah asked from beside him,

indignation flowing from his words. “I saw no werewolves get past
us.”

Sage shook his head as he pulled William’s small body to his

chest. There was only one way to stop the pain from consuming the
human. Sage was going to have to mate him. His bite and seed would
counteract the painful venom the unknown person had inflicted upon
him.

Whoever had done this had made sure he bit William in a way that

brought him the most pain. When Sage found out who it was, the
bastard was dead. “Leave us,” he said to Jeremiah.

His best friend nodded as he backed out of the room, taking Terror

with him. Sage looked back down at William, praying the small
human would understand him. “William, can you hear me?”

William nodded slightly as his body jerked uncontrollably in

Sage’s arms. Sage could feel tears prickling at his eyes as he ran a

Sage’s Mystery

clawed finger over William’s sweat-soaked cheek. “William, listen to
me. In order for me to stop the pain, I’m going to mate you.”

The human cried as he clawed at his own skin, tearing at his

clothes as his breathing became labored. “Make it stop. Sage, please,
make it stop.”

“Do you understand what I’m saying, William? I’m going to mate

you, bond you to me for life. Do you understand?”

William groaned as his head wobbled unsteadily on Sage’s arm.

“Do it. Do what you have to. Just make it stop.”

Sage wasn’t sure William understood what he was saying, but he

knew that if he didn’t mate William, the human would endure hours
of pain as the venom coursed through his veins, making William go
mad.

A bite did hurt, and there was some pain associated with the

werewolf DNA settling into its new host, but Sage also knew that
there was also a way to bite someone to inflict so much pain that the
host felt as though he was dying, actually prayed for death.

Sage knew he would make the bastard who had done this pay. He

lowered William to the floor and then leaned over him, biting into his
shoulder in the same exact spot that the other werewolf had bitten
William. His soon-to-be mate cried out, thrashing around wildly. Sage
would give anything right now to take William’s pain away. He did
the only thing he was capable of doing.

Sage tore the back of William’s jeans and then plunged his cock

deeply into William as he eased his grip on the small man’s shoulder.
He allowed his venom to work its way into William at a slower pace
as he thrust deeply, trying his best to bring William as much pleasure
under the circumstances, replacing what the other wolf wrought.

Sage could feel the heat that was rolling off of William in waves

slowly ebb, his body cooling down. William stopped whimpering as
his body became less rigid and more relaxed. It was working.

For a moment Sage had been afraid it wouldn’t work. They were

both males. He had never heard of two males mating, but from

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William’s relaxed posture, Sage could tell it was working. Sage
couldn’t deny that the thought of mating William pleased him. The
small man had grown on him over the course of just a week.

Still, guilt was the prevailing emotion as he spiraled higher, the

bond more prominent inside of him now as William began to moan
out his pleasure. Sage removed his canines as he pushed the hair from
his mate’s forehead and eyes. “William, sweet William.”

William lifted his head, gazing up at Sage with an emotion that

was hard for Sage to decipher. It wasn’t hate or repulsion at being
taken by a werewolf, but Sage was hard-pressed to put a name to it.

“Sage, you came back,” William said in awe as his arms circled

around Sage’s neck.

“I’m so sorry, slim,” Sage said as he pulled William closer to his

body. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

William’s head fell back, small sex noises falling from his lips as

his body molded to Sage’s. He was astonished at the sight. William
had suffered a fate worse than death from the bite, and yet the man
was willingly giving himself over to Sage once more. The small slip
of a man had just wound himself around Sage’s heart in that moment.

William closed his eyes as he cried out, his hole pulsing around

Sage’s cock as his orgasm ripped through him. Sage watched in utter
enthrallment as William rode through his throes of ecstasy. The man
was stunning.

Sage’s head fell back as a howl tore from his chest, his seed

shooting into William’s silky channel. His cock throbbed as his seed
spilt, binding them together.

Gently lowering William to the floor, Sage pulled his still-hard

cock from William’s tender body and then curled up around his mate.
William was bound to him now, and Sage would do whatever it took
to protect the small man.

He just prayed William didn’t kick his ass in the morning for this.

* * * *

Sage’s Mystery

Jeremiah leaned against the wall in the living room, gazing out of

the window, watching for any sign that there were more werewolves
over in the ghost town. He lifted his head and looked up at the ceiling
as he heard Sage howl.

His best friend was mated now. He just hoped the small man

didn’t spaz out in the morning when he came back to his senses and
realized he was stuck with Sage’s hairy ass. Jeremiah loved Sage like
a brother, but the man could be moody and stubborn at times. He just
prayed his mate could deal with it.

As he lowered his head and glanced back out of the window

again, Jeremiah wondered what it would be like to have controlled
shifts. He was still in his werewolf form and would be until the sun
rose, but what would it be like to be able to shift at will, no longer
chained to the full moon?

Jeremiah stiffened when he saw a small sliver of light come from

the town and then disappear just as quickly. It happened so fast that
he thought that maybe he imagined it. His eyes locked onto the spot
where he had seen it, but nothing else happened. He waited longer,
but when the town stayed dark, Jeremiah pushed away from the wall
and found a spot to lie down on that wasn’t covered in filth.

What the hell had his best friend been thinking when he bought

this dump?

* * * *

William’s eyes shot open as he lay perfectly still. Memories of

last night came flooding back as he felt a heavy weight at his back. He
was sweating profusely as he turned his head slowly, seeing Sage
wrapped around him, cocooning him in, and giving off so much body
heat that William’s brain was about to cook.

He was afraid to move, though. William was afraid last night had

been a dream and he didn’t really belong to Sage. Of course, he hoped

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the attack was a dream because no sane person wanted that crap, but
somehow William doubted it.

His bad luck wouldn’t have left him at such a pivotal moment in

his life. William pulled his arm from under his body and felt his neck,
wincing when a slight pain radiated from the tender area. Nope, last
night had really happened.

His hand lowered when he noticed that Sage’s breathing had

changed, no longer relaxed. William could tell the man behind him
was awake. He lay there quietly, unsure of what to say. He had heard
Sage last night. They were mated now, bonded for life.

Whatever that meant.
All William knew was that Sage had wanted him. It hadn’t been

just once, and it hadn’t been just for a few hours. But as the memories
began to play vividly in his head, William wondered if Sage only
bonded them together to stop the pain. Did the guy really want him
around? Sage was a rebel who didn’t look as though he needed
anyone, least of all a guy like William.

“Good morning.” Sage’s deep and gruff voice sounded behind

William, sending shivers down his spine. A large hand grazed through
William’s hair as he lay there soaking it all up.

Oh, yeah, right there…
William could get spoiled waking up like this every morning.
“How do you feel?”
“I can work,” he quickly admitted. A vibrating chuckle rumbled

through his back as Sage laughed.

“That’s not what I asked, slim.”
William was glorying in the nickname falling from Sage’s lips

once again. Maybe his bad luck had finally moved on to another
victim. “Like I was a hood ornament for a freight train that forgot to
stop and crashed into a wall head-on.”

“That bad?” There was worry in Sage’s voice as his hand

continued to play in William’s hair.

“Okay, not that bad, but sore.”

Sage’s Mystery

William’s toes curled when Sage nuzzled his neck, licking over

the bite mark. “Good sore?”

God, yes. His rear end felt like it had been plowed like a well-

seeded field. And William wouldn’t change that for the world. “Uh-
huh.”

William yelped when Sage rolled him over, cupping his face and

laying a mind-boggling kiss on his lips. He whimpered when Sage
broke the kiss. He hadn’t ever remembered someone kissing him so
thoroughly that his mind fragmented. William leaned up and
recaptured Sage’s lips. If the man was in a giving mood, William was
taking.

He arched his back when he felt one large hand run the course of

it and then pull him closer to a well-muscled chest. The warm skin
made William’s cock grow hard as he lifted one leg up and placed it
over Sage’s thick, ripped thigh.

The kiss was amazing.
Phenomenal.
Godlike.
Praiseworthy.
It was—
“You guys up yet?” Jeremiah called from the other side of the

bedroom door.

“I knew I should have taken him out,” William muttered under his

breath. A loud booming laughter filled the room as Sage hugged
William close.

“You were going to take my best friend out? Like snuff him?”
William’s eyes widened as he glanced up at Sage. “Is that who he

is? I thought he had come here to hurt you.”

“And my mate was going to take him out. This is good. This is

real good.” Sage chuckled.

“You don’t have to find so much humor about it. I could if I

wanted to, you know. He may be big, but, yeah, you know.” William

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curled his lips in. He was digging a bigger hole than he could climb
out of the longer he talked.

Sage leaned forward and kissed William. “I think it’s amazing that

you were going to take Jeremiah out. You’d really defend me?”

William could feel a blush creeping across his face as he

shrugged. “Yeah, so.”

“Come on, slim. We have a lot of work that still needs to be done.

We have things to talk about as well.”

Yeah, William knew they had plenty to talk about, but he was too

busy enjoying the warmth of Sage’s body. They could talk about
mating and werewolves, and biting, oh my, later. Right now he
wanted to stay snuggled close to the man he had fallen in love with.

William sighed in frustration when Sage pulled up from the floor,

taking his body heat with him. He rolled over and admired all the sun-
kissed flesh that was exposed to him. Sage was one hell of a man.

His body was ripped and well honed. He had an eight-pack

sporting on his abdomen and thighs that looked like they could crack
walnuts.

“We’ll have plenty of time for that later,” Sage said as he grabbed

some clothes from his duffel bag.

How the hell did he do that? His back was turned to William.

Reluctantly, he rolled to his knees and got up. William swayed and
then fell, thankfully being caught by Sage before he crashed to the
floor.

“Easy, slim.”
Yeah, easy. He needed to remember that next time.

Sage’s Mystery

Chapter Eight

Sage helped William down the steps as his eyes scanned the

downstairs. It was daylight, but he still felt ill at ease after last night.
He needed to find answers to a lot of questions he had concerning the
werewolves that had been in his town last night.

He definitely wanted answers about the one who bit William. He

rolled his left shoulder, feeling stiff from the fighting last night and
from the fact that one of the bastards had bit him. Thankfully the bite
was harmless to him. A werewolf couldn’t be converted into a
werewolf.

Although the bite did hurt like hell.
“About damn time,” Jeremiah snapped when Sage and William

walked into the living room. “I was beginning to think you were
going to stay locked away all day.”

“Right between the eyes,” William grumbled as he walked in

behind Sage. He chuckled softly as he looked around the room. The
place was a bigger mess from his fight with Jeremiah. He was going
to have to repatch a wall that he had already repatched.

“We have a lot of work to get done. The days are getting colder,”

Sage said as he grabbed his tool belt from the floor and wrapped it
around his waist. His body was killing him and the need to rest was
riding him hard, but they had work to get done. The winter wasn’t
going to wait until Sage readied the house.

“Are you going to give me a bedroom to sleep in, or am I

relegated to the living room?” Jeremiah asked as he looked around
like the dust mites were going to jump out and attack him. Sage rolled

Lynn Hagen

his eyes at his best friend as he bent down and grabbed his hammer,
shoving it in his tool belt.

“There’s one right down the hall from us. It has a great view,”

William said as he grabbed the broom and dustpan. Sage burst out
laughing as he kissed William on the head. Leave it to William to
offer Jeremiah the room with no wall.

“Thanks, I think,” Jeremiah said as he looked around the living

room. “So you really are going to try and fix this place up?”

“It’s my home now, J. Now are you going to tell me how you got

away from my father in only a week’s time?”

Jeremiah averted his eyes as he kicked at one of the bags of

plaster. “Things are a little crazy there right now. As soon as you left,
everything went to shit quickly. It seems the pack is divided now. A
lot of people disagree with what your father did.”

“That still doesn’t tell me how you got away.”
Before Jeremiah could answer, the front door swung open. Sage

grabbed William and thrust the small man behind him, ready to take
down whoever was stupid enough to just waltz right into his home.

His jaw dropped when he saw his childhood friends step through

the door. There was no way all of them were here.

“Are you sure we got the right place?” Monterey asked as he

walked in. His nose crinkled as he looked over the house as if he
weren’t really seeing it correctly.

“It’s the directions Jeremiah left for us,” Patrick said as he walked

in behind Monterey. “But I may have taken a wrong turn somewhere
back in bum-fucked country land.”

Sage watched as Mercy and Isaac walked in behind the other two.

He hadn’t realized how much he missed his friends until he saw all
four of them standing there looking at his house as if it were a
monstrous sight.

“You’re in the right place, dickheads,” Sage said from the living

room. He stood straight, grinning widely as the four men snapped
their heads in his direction.

Sage’s Mystery

“Then your brain must have taken a wrong turn when you bought

this piece-of-shit town,” Monterey said as he crossed the room and
gave Sage a hug. “How the hell are you?”

“Good, but what in the hell are all of you doing here?”
“Visiting grandma’s house, what do you think? And who in the

hell decorated in here? It’ll take me weeks to get an idea of what’s
needed to spruce the place up. You know how to hand a guy a rough
job, Sage,” Patrick complained as he looked around with a grimace.
“I’m not even sure I can decorate in here. Where should I shop, the
junkyard?”

Sage chuckled as he hugged Patrick. “It’ll look great when we’re

done, Pat.”

“I hope so,” he said and then shivered. “I think I’ll sleep in the

truck.”

“Hell, no,” Monterey barked. “You drool.”
“I do not!”
“Can someone tell me how all of you got away?” Sage asked as he

looked around at his five friends. Jeremiah was leaning against the
wall, a shitty-ass grin on his face.

“We just up and left,” Patrick sniffed. “It wasn’t the same without

you. And who is the little hottie behind you?”

Sage growled as he narrowed his eyes at Patrick. “My mate.”
“Fuck, man. We leave you alone for a week and you go and mate?

Can’t take you anywhere.” Monterey snorted as he looked closer at
William.

Sage’s neck hairs stood on end as he eyed each and every one of

his friends. He knew they wouldn’t harm his mate, but all of them
were big enough to scare the shit out of William. Well, except for
Patrick. He was a little on the feminine side. He and William would
probably get along fine.

“So you just left?” Sage asked, ignoring Monterey’s outburst.

“And did none of you think that my father was going to go apeshit
and call a hunt on your heads?”

Lynn Hagen

“He didn’t follow us,” Mercy said quietly from the doorway. “We

took extra precautions.”

“Why do you think it took us so long?” Patrick asked. “These

three insisted on circling back around and then going a different route.
My ass is sore from sitting in the damn truck for so long.”

“Your ass is sore from that guy at the last truck stop,” Monterey

said as he ducked Patrick’s fist. It was good to have his friends with
him, but Sage worried that his father would be on the warpath now.
Of course, the alpha would have to find them first.

Life just kept getting more and more interesting by the day. “Fine.

Everyone grab something and get this place in living order.”

“I vote we get a bulldozer and start from scratch,” Patrick said as

he took the broom and dustpan from William. “Come on, shorty.
Let’s see if we can’t Martha Stewart this place.”

William looked at Sage helplessly as he followed Patrick into the

kitchen.

“What the hell!”
Sage chuckled at Patrick’s outburst from the kitchen. The room

really was a mess.

“Where’s the damn refrigerator?” Patrick called to them.
“Some things never change,” Sage said as he turned back to the

other men. “Let’s get started.”

* * * *

William scooted closer to Sage as the men sat around the fire in

the backyard with full bellies, talking to Sage as if he were the leader.
William knew Sage was a manly man, and hearing these men defer to
him only solidified his belief.

He snuck peeks at everyone sitting lazily in a circle. They might

be sitting leisurely, but William could tell these men would be ready
in under a second if something were to jump off. They all looked like
rebels, but Sage was the personification of the definition.

Sage’s Mystery

Okay, so William was attracted to the rebel in the man, but it ran

deeper than that. Sage watched him from across the room, winking at
him when no one was looking, making his heart burst with joy all day.
He was gentle with William when he looked anything but.

“So you had an outbreak of werewolves?” Monterey asked. “Huh,

that’s odd.”

“It’s more than odd,” Sage said as he leaned forward, placing his

hands on his knees. “One of them purposely came after my mate and
bit him.”

Curses rang out around the fire as each man sat up a little

straighter. “Was he already your mate when the wolf did this?” Isaac
asked with steel in his voice.

Sage shook his head. “No, I had to finish the conversion. Whoever

it was had bitten William with force, putting him in ultimate pain.”

“Brody,” William said in a shaky voice as he scooted another inch

toward Sage. He didn’t like any attention on him, especially from this
group of men. He didn’t want to seem clingy. And he didn’t want to
embarrass Sage in front of his friends by begging for the man to give
him some attention.

He knew he should man up and act like he had a lick of sense, but

Sage called to him like no other, even more so since the biting thing.
He wasn’t sure what it was, but ever since last night, William had this
deep ache inside of him for the rebel, ten times worse than before.

“Did you just say Brody?” Sage asked with malevolence in his

voice. William decided to scoot the other way as he nodded. “He said,
‘Welcome to our world. Tell Sage that Brody said hello.’”

“Well, fuck me,” Isaac cursed. “That little weasel just keeps

cropping back up like a fucking disease.”

“Who’s Brody?” William looked around the group before settling

his eyes on Sage. He watched as Sage traced the scar on his face, his
eyes distant, cold.

“He’s an outcast. He was thrown out of the pack for being a

traitor. He tried to set the alpha up to our enemy pack.”

Lynn Hagen

“Alpha?”
Sage sighed as he pulled William close. William glanced around

to see if anyone was watching them. They all were. He swallowed
hard and then looked up at Sage, concentrating on him.

“We are a pack of werewolves. Not the kind that run on four legs,

but two. We descend from Romania. On the full moon, those who
aren’t mated have no choice but to shift. Once mated, we can control
it, shift at will. Our alpha, or leader of the pack of werewolves living
in the same area, leads us.”

“Are you the alpha here?” William asked and then curled his lips

in when Sage gave a low growl. Maybe he should just listen and not
talk. He was out of his depth here. No need to make the nice
werewolves mad.

“I’m no one’s alpha. My father made sure of that when he gave

me the sign of an outcast.” Sage once again traced the scar on his
face. As William looked closer, he noticed that the scar resembled
four slash marks. His fingers itched to reach out and trace the scar
with his fingers. He was fascinated by it.

“Will I turn into a werewolf?” William asked. He knew he should

just be quiet, but he needed to know. That bite hurt like a bitch, but
there had to be a reason behind it, behind what happened to him.

“Yes,” Sage said after a moment of silence. “You are mated, so

you’ll only have to go through one uncontrollable shift.”

Gee, now didn’t that sound like something he should look forward

to. William glanced down at the ground, feeling as though his entire
world had just turned upside down…again.

He was a werewolf now. All day he had pushed the thought of

what happened the previous night from his mind, but now he had no
choice but to deal with it. He shuddered at the idea as images from his
past began to play through his mind.

“Will I kill anyone?” he whispered to his hands.
“Not unless your life is threatened.”

Sage’s Mystery

William leaned forward and picked Terror up and sat her in his

lap as he petted her. No one said anything as William silently fell
apart. He could feel Sage watching him. All of them were watching
him. He wiped his eyes and then nodded. “Okay.”

Sage stood, pulling William to his feet and leading him toward the

house. “Put Terror down.”

William set Terror down and then followed behind Sage. Once

they were in the kitchen, Sage turned and faced William. “I didn’t
want this for you. You have to know that. I had to mate you in order
to save you from the fire burning inside of you.”

That didn’t help William one bit. Sage was standing there telling

him that he was forced to mate William. He just told him that he
didn’t want him to be a part of his secret little club. William should
have known. It had all seemed too good to be true, being mated to
Sage.

William staggered back and then ran from the kitchen and up the

steps, throwing himself on the pile of blankets in his and Sage’s
bedroom.

Would he ever fit in anywhere? This had all been a mistake. Sage

never really wanted him. William knew he should have left when
Sage had gotten moody with him a few days ago. Now he had fucked
around and fell in love with the rebel.

He could feel his heart breaking in two as he lay there.
And worst of all, he was going to become the very creature that

had haunted his dreams since he was a child.

* * * *

“He’s going to screw it up,” Patrick said from around the circle as

he leaned back. “I’m surprised he doesn’t have a boot permanently
sticking out of his mouth.”

“Ease up, Pat,” Jeremiah said. “I’ve never seen him this way

before. I think William is exactly what he needs.”

Lynn Hagen

Patrick wasn’t too sure about that. Sage was one hell of man to try

and rein in. He wasn’t sure William had it in him. Not that he had
anything against the short man, but Patrick had grown up with Sage.
He had witnessed his angry outbursts and moody ways. It wasn’t a
pretty sight.

He was willing to bet his sweet ass that Sage was going to fuck

this up. “Twenty says he’s in there right now saying all the wrong
things.”

“You got it.” Monterey chuckled. “I say William is the one to turn

him around.”

“I’m in,” Mercy said. “I say William will walk away.”
“Twenty on Sage fucking it up,” Isaac said.
“You’re all dickheads,” Jeremiah said. “Count me in. William will

turn him around.”

Patrick snickered as he rubbed his hands together. “Good. I need a

new pair of shoes.” He glanced toward the house, praying he was
wrong and that William was exactly what Sage needed. As much crap
as he talked, Patrick wanted his friend to be happy.

* * * *

Sage looked up the stairs, wondering if he should go up. What had

he said wrong? Didn’t William want to be mated to him? It was too
late to change his mind now. The bonding was complete and couldn’t
be reversed.

Sage cursed as he walked back through the kitchen and out the

back door. He stood there looking over the backyard at his friends
around the fire laughing. He felt as though he were caught in the
undertow of this mating thing.

It wasn’t supposed to be hard. He had flirted with his mate all day,

winking at him, trying his best to let William know he wasn’t
forgotten with all the chaos of getting the house in repair. Hell, all
Sage had wanted was to go lie down and rest after his shift. He was

Sage’s Mystery

surprised he had made it through the day without falling over from
exhaustion.

Had he come on too strong?
Sage wasn’t sure about anything right now. All he knew was that

William made him happy, something that had been sorely lacking in
his life. He made it easy for Sage to love him. The man had all that
Sage ever needed in a person, in a partner, in a mate. The small man
was priceless to him.

He swung back around, storming into the house and up the stairs.

He was going to find out what was eating at his mate. There was no
way he had found the perfect man only to lose him.

Sage’s steps faltered when he heard soft crying coming from the

bedroom. Was being mated to him that terrible? Sage braced himself
for the hurt as he pushed the bedroom door open. He stood there
feeling as though his heart was being ripped out of his chest as he saw
William curled up on the blanket, crying softly.

“Slim?”
“Go away,” William said as he sniffled.
Sage wasn’t going anywhere until he had answers. “Why are you

crying?”

William wiped his eyes and then looked up at Sage. His pretty

green eyes were bloodshot as his bottom lip quivered. “Why do you
think?”

Sage was lost as fuck. “Is it because you’re mated to me?” he

asked a little too curtly. If it was that god-awful, Sage would…he
wasn’t sure. Giving William up wasn’t an option. He couldn’t see
himself without William in his life. In just a week’s time, Sage had
fallen hard for the man.

William gaped at Sage as if he had two heads. “Are you serious?”
Sage was officially confused now. He felt like Terror when she

chased her tail in a circle. He pinched the bridge of his nose, placing
his hand on his hip and taking a deep and cleansing breath. “Please
tell me why you are crying.”

Lynn Hagen

“Because you don’t want to be mated to me. The only reason you

did it was to save me from the pain I was going through. Admit it!”

Sage’s jaw dropped as he stared at the small man before him. He

could feel his anger mounting as he stared disbelievingly at William.
“You think I mated you out of pity?”

“Yes,” William retorted with attitude.
Sage counted to ten, and then counted to twenty. He half wished it

was one of the guys downstairs he was arguing with. At least he could
slug one of them.

His hand shot out as he pointed angrily at William. “I don’t do a

fucking thing out of pity. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. If
you don’t want to be mated, fine. But don’t you dare lie there and put
the blame on me. Tell me what I’ve done that even gave you that
asinine idea because there is no one on this planet that has ever taken
my heart the way you have.”

William opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. He cocked

his head as he stared disbelievingly at Sage. “You love me?”

Sage’s Mystery

Chapter Nine

William knelt there stunned. When Sage spun around to leave the

room, William panicked. He shot from the blankets and jumped onto
Sage’s back. “Don’t go.”

Sage’s arms swung back, grabbing William’s legs as he stilled. “I

don’t play games, William. If you don’t want to be mated, I need to
know.”

The tables had taken a hard turn, and William was confused as

hell. “I don’t like games.” Damnitty, damn, damn. That was all he
could think of to say? He should tell Sage that he loved him, too. But
had Sage really said he loved him? What exactly had Sage meant by
taken my heart?

“Good, then we’re on the same page,” Sage said as he pulled

William from his back. William climbed down, staring up at Sage,
wondering what to do next. He didn’t want the man to walk away
from him.

Begging seemed a little unmanly, but William had never worried

about his manhood before, at least not when it came to bravery. What
was another shot against him? And same page? William wasn’t even
sure they were reading the same book. “So, you want me around
then?” he ventured, dreading Sage’s answer. His muscles wound tight
as he waited for Sage to answer him. That was the last thing William
wanted Sage to do.

“Slim, I didn’t just confess all that to you to sharpen up on my

romantic side. And not a word about my romantic side. I definitely
don’t want the guys downstairs to get the wrong impression. Jeremiah

Lynn Hagen

would roast my ass over the open fire if he knew how deeply in love
with you I am. Those guys can be brutal.” Sage shivered.

William threw his hand over his mouth, stifling the giggle. “Not a

word, I promise.”

“Good, now stop with the crazy idea that I don’t want you around,

slim.”

William’s eyes dropped to Sage’s hard, muscled abs. Good god,

he could scrub his clothes on that washboard. He would never tire of
seeing Sage’s body. And he wanted to see it again, naked, pressed
hard against him.

But it was more than that. William wanted to feel Sage’s arms

wrapped around him, holding him close and making him feel as if the
world wasn’t insane. The world felt like it was crazy already to him,
and after last night, William wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.

He had been just a baby when the murders in Mystery took place.

He was one of only two who had survived the massacre, and now he
was back, living close to the house he had been taken from. Only his
return hadn’t felt like coming home. It felt more like falling back in
time where everything was crazy, chaotic, and unreal.

William just wanted Sage to hold him and let him know he wasn’t

alone anymore. That the creatures he heard so long ago and the
creatures he heard since coming back weren’t one and the same.
William prayed they weren’t because if they were, then it was starting
all over again.

And he couldn’t lose Sage, not after getting to know him,

personally and intimately.

“Why the sad face?” Sage asked as his thumb played over

William’s jaw. “I want you around, slim. I want to be mated to you.
Do you understand that?”

William shook his head, to answer Sage, but also to rid himself of

the memories. “No. What exactly is a mate?”

Sage took William’s hand in his oversize one and led him back

over to the blankets, setting both of them down. He could see the

Sage’s Mystery

struggle in Sage’s eyes and wondered if the explanation was that
difficult.

“When a werewolf decides he wants to spend the rest of his life

with someone, he bites them and gives that person his seed, binding
them for life. It’s like you’re my partner now, my life companion.”
Sage scratched his stubbled jaw as he glanced at William. “I’m not
explaining this right.”

William sat up on his knees, mulling over Sage’s words. “So I’m

like your husband now?” And wouldn’t that be fantastic. Weird, but
fantastic. He couldn’t see himself with anyone but Sage.

“Exactly, only there is no divorce for us. This is it, till death do us

part.”

Did he have to put it that way?
“Can I have a ring?” The question slipped before William could

stop it. It was a childish question, but an insecurity he wanted to put
to rest. William was afraid he had gone too far when Sage took a
while to answer him.

Sage smiled as he pulled William down onto the blankets with

him. “Whatever you want, slim.”

William was flying high, soaring through the clouds at a high rate

of speed. He launched his body at Sage’s, a smile so wide that his
cheeks hurt spread across his face. “That means you’re my husband as
well.”

“It does, but we call it being mated.”
“I like married better,” William confessed as he buried his face

against Sage’s chest. The warmth alone made him feel like he was as
safe as a baby in its mama’s arms. That thought led to another,
making William sad all over again. God, he hated the roller coaster of
emotions this moment was causing.

“I know what happened in Mystery,” he confessed to Sage’s

chest. He hadn’t spoken a word of the tragedy in a very long time.
That confession had bought him a one-way ticket to a mental health
facility where he spent most of his life. William had learned a long

Lynn Hagen

time ago to keep his memories and the truth to himself. The trouble
was, after so many years and so many doctors refuting his claim,
William began to wonder if he had heard those sounds at all, until he
had come back to Mystery.

Once the howling began, William had no doubt whatsoever about

all those years ago.

He knew he could tell Sage. He was a werewolf after all. It wasn’t

like he wasn’t used to the strange and bizarre.

“Tell me,” Sage whispered against his hair.
“I was a baby when it happened, but I remember it as if it were

yesterday. My mom had just given me a bath. We were in my room
when howls sounded from every direction. My mom set me down and
looked out of the window. I remember her running back to me and
grabbing me from my bed, hiding me in one of the closets.” William
swallowed hard at the memory of his mother’s beautiful face. She had
been a kind and beautiful person, not deserving what had happened to
her.

“You lived here, in Mystery?” Sage asked in astonishment.
“A very long time ago. I don’t remember the town being this bad,

though.”

“It must have been squatters.”
“Maybe. But ever since I’ve been back here, I’ve heard the same

howls as the night the town was massacred.”

“I’m not sure what’s going on, William, but I will get to the

bottom of it. My question to you is, how can you not fear me after
what happened to you?”

William clutched Sage, holding him tighter as he spoke the truth.

“I got to know you before I found out who you were. I fell in love
with you before you went all hairy. You didn’t attack me last night.
You showed me a gentle side. It’s hard to explain, but I just don’t.
Are all the men downstairs werewolves?”

Sage’s Mystery

Sage sighed as his hands skimmed William’s back. “Yes, but

we’ve never killed anyone who didn’t have it coming. We don’t kill
innocents.”

Now wasn’t that a blessing?
William didn’t want to think of Sage killing anyone, but he had

learned a long time ago that life existed and sometimes people did
things they normally wouldn’t have just to survive in it. And life was
also filled with cruel people who cared for no one but themselves.
People who were sick and twisted and had no morals or conscience
lived among the good.

“You truly are kindhearted, slim,” Sage said as he lowered

William to the mound of blankets. William thought that they were
about to have sex, but was shocked when all Sage did was hold him
close. “I’ve never had someone I could just cuddle with.”

The big guy was turning out to be deeper than William had first

thought. He wasn’t a rebel, but someone looking for the same thing
William was—comfort, security, and someone to traverse through life
with.

William found himself wrapped in Sage’s arms as soft snores fell

from Sage’s lips. He pushed closer to his mate’s hard chest, finding
himself in a position that everyone looked for. Just the feeling of
Sage’s large, muscled body curled around him made William sigh
contentedly as he, too, drifted off to sleep.

* * * *

Jeremiah scowled as he tossed broken floorboards into the

Dumpster. He wasn’t sure how he got wrangled into giving up his
labor, but here he was shoveling shit with everyone else. It wasn’t that
he was pampered or prissy. That was the farthest thing from the truth.
He just hated trying to fix up a place that looked as though it were
standing on its last leg.

Lynn Hagen

“What exactly happened to this damn house?” he asked Sage as he

walked back inside for another load.

Sage grunted as he carried a few pieces of plywood over his head

through the living room and up the stairs, Jeremiah following behind
with two five-gallon buckets. “Beats me. The foundation is good, so
we can work with the rest.”

“But one of the bedrooms has no exterior wall!” he pointed out for

the tenth time that morning. It baffled him that a wall was missing.
Who stole an entire wall? Who stole a wall, period?

Sage sat the plywood down as he gave his best friend a defiant

stare. “Look, I know you five think I should raze this place and the
town and start over, but it was William’s childhood town. I think it’s
worth saving.”

Jeremiah prayed someone shot him first before he turned all

sentimental over something that belonged to his mate, if he ever
found one. He wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. Most guys
loved writhing under him, but as soon as the sex ended, they ran from
his sparkling personality.

He couldn’t blame them. He was pissier than a wildcat with a

thorn in its paw, and that was on his good days. “He’s a human. Who
cares what he thinks. Raze the place and start over. If he complains,
toss him out.”

Sage rounded on Jeremiah, slamming him into a wall. “Don’t ever

talk about him like that again. He’s my mate, asshole.” The anger in
Sage’s eyes shocked Jeremiah. He had been kidding around, but to
Sage, it was a declaration of war.

“Easy, Sage. I was just joking. Now get your paws off of me,”

Jeremiah said calmly with a deadly seriousness.

Sage gave him one last shove before releasing him. “We have

work to do. Stop bitching and pitch in or go sleep outside tonight.”

Damn, talk about touchy. Jeremiah walked away, flipping Sage

off over his shoulder as he made his way back downstairs. No one
said he had graceful social skills.

Sage’s Mystery

“Where’s Sage?” Isaac asked as Jeremiah cut through the kitchen.
“Upstairs going through PMS,” Jeremiah snapped as he grabbed a

few more filled trash bags and took them outside. He was a rotten
bastard. Sue me.

* * * *

Sage glanced around the downstairs. He walked through the living

room, into the dining room, and then circled back around and headed
for the kitchen. It had been two weeks since his friends had shown up,
and the place was finally starting to look livable.

The treads and risers to the staircase and front steps had been

replaced, along with quite a few balusters. Sage was no longer afraid
he would fall through them. The missing wall was finally sealed up
with plywood, shoes, and wall studs. The drywall was going up today.

The framing had been a bitch since they had to replace the

second-floor wall, but the six of them had managed it.

Sage glanced around the kitchen, seeing that William and Patrick

had done an immaculate job at replacing the floor tiles, scrubbing
down the counters, and killing the mold in the sinks. Sage had even
managed to get appliances into the kitchen.

Yep, the house was finally coming together.
“I’ll be checking the electrical work today since you seem to have

an MIA electrician,” Isaac said as he walked into the kitchen. “I’ll
start with the breaker box and then check the rest of the house out.”

“Thanks,” Sage said as he glanced around the room. “Hopefully

we can start cooking in here soon.” Isaac nodded and then left Sage to
his inspection. The place was really coming along nicely, but his
thoughts were on the werewolves that had invaded his town.

He had to figure that puzzle out or he was never going to get his

town up and running. Sage wasn’t interested in a pack-run town. He
wanted a place where everyone could be who they wanted to be

Lynn Hagen

without the hierarchy of packs. Yeah, they needed a mayor and law
enforcement, but he could do without the alpha and beta titles.

This was a fresh start, and he planned on making this a quiet town

that was slower than the faster pace of life. Not big, but someplace
people could feel safe if they forgot to lock their back doors, where
pups and kids could play together.

It might be a pipe dream, but that was the goal Sage had in mind.

He just needed to figure out the reason behind the massacre all those
years ago and why werewolves were back now. He hadn’t seen any
since the night of his shift, but he had no doubt that they were still
close by.

His thoughts swung to William. In two weeks, his mate was going

to shift for the first time, and there was nothing he could do to prepare
him. Sage walked through the house and out onto the front porch,
seeing William tossing a ball and Terror running to retrieve it.

God, his mate was one sexy little man. He had put some weight on

over the past three weeks, looking healthier. Sage walked down the
steps, watching the way William’s body flexed and turned when he
twisted his upper torso to throw the ball.

“That was a bet I didn’t mind losing,” Monterey said from the

other side of the porch.

“Should I even ask?”
“The usual,” Monterey said as he chuckled and then sobered. “Do

you think he’ll survive the shift?”

Sage shoved his hands into his front pockets, leaning against the

porch post. That was one of his main worries. The first shift was a
difficult process, and some didn’t survive it. This was exactly why he
didn’t want to convert William. Well, one of the reasons. It just
wasn’t safe in his world.

His fingers played over the rings in his pocket as he watched

William and Terror play ball together. He had gone to a jeweler in
Mayfield County and purchased two gold wedding bands. He’d been
pondering when to present them to his mate for days now. He didn’t

Sage’s Mystery

want to just toss one to William and say, “Here’s your ring.” The
thing that had Sage stumped was that he wasn’t a romantic, so he
wasn’t sure how to go about giving the ring to his mate.

William seemed to need romance, reassurance, and cuddling,

things Sage didn’t mind giving—if he knew how. He could do the
reassurance and cuddling, no problem, but romance?

Sage stood straighter when he noticed a car coming down the

road, heading in his direction. The cop car pulled into Sage’s
driveway and drove up to the house. He walked down the steps, a few
of his friends coming out to be nosy as Sage met Samuel when the car
stopped.

Sage noticed William stiffen. His eyes were round as dinner

plates, and then he quickly looked away, giving the sheriff his back.
Sage wasn’t sure what was going on with William, but he moved his
body so that he was blocking Samuel’s sight from seeing his mate.

The sheriff stepped out of his car, eyeing the rest of the men as he

nodded his head toward Sage. “Friends?”

“Something like that,” Sage answered, the hairs on the back of his

neck bristling. Sage’s eyes watched as Samuel’s hands fell to his
sides, his fingers relaxing close to his gun. He wasn’t sure what the
hell was going on, but he didn’t like it.

“Men, this is Sheriff Samuel Reese from Mayfield County,” Sage

introduced the sheriff, hoping to put him a little at ease.

The men walked down the steps, introducing themselves. Patrick

walked over to William, walking back inside the house with him as
the other men blocked his view. Sage wasn’t sure if Patrick was a
mind reader, but he was grateful the werewolf got William out of
sight.

He’d ask his mate later what that was all about.
“Something I can help you with, Sheriff?” Sage asked as he

crossed his arms over his chest.

Sage’s Mystery

Chapter Ten

Samuel watched the expression on Sage’s face closely. He was

pretty good at reading body language, and Sage’s was telling him that
he was surprised.

“He never showed up as you can see,” Sage said as he waved a

hand back at the darkened house. “I’ve called him several times, but
only got his voice mail.”

“His logbook has you down for his last appointment, and his wife

says he left to come out here, but no one has heard from him in two
weeks.”

“And you’re just now looking for him?” Sage asked

incredulously. “Mighty long time to let a missing person go missing
before searching for him.”

Samuel wanted to curse. What Sage didn’t know and what

Mayfield County failed to remember was that Bobby liked to
disappear for long periods of time. Most of it was spent on drunken
binges, but he had to do his job and investigate.

“Well, the electrician has been known to wander off. I had to

come ask, Sage.” It didn’t escape Samuel’s notice that the man who
had been in the front yard playing with the dog had disappeared when
all the other men were introducing themselves.

Samuel was torn between keeping the peace with Sage so Mystery

could be rebuilt and doing his duty and figuring out why the guy ran
into the house. “Let me know if he comes by,” Samuel said as he
climbed in his car.

“Will do.” Sage waved as he pulled away. He could investigate

the man at a later date. Right now Samuel had a drunk to find.

Lynn Hagen

* * * *

William watched the car pull away and sighed in relief. He wasn’t

into getting his ass hung out to dry, and he wasn’t going back. No one
was going to make him.

“Mind telling me what that was all about?” Sage asked as he

stepped into the house.

“No,” William answered honestly. He really didn’t want a house

full of tough and gruff men to know he had checked himself out of a
loony bin…when no one was looking. I escaped from the crazy house
wasn’t a topic he cared to discuss over dinner. Maybe while drinking
a shot of whiskey to forget it ever happened, but definitely not dinner.

Sage growled and tossed William over his shoulder, carrying him

up the steps two at a time. William was getting dizzy as he watched
the first floor quickly move away from him. “What are you doing?”
he shouted as he held on to Sage’s shirt for dear life.

“I’m about to teach my mate about keeping secrets from me.”
“It’s not a secret!” Okay, it was, but Sage didn’t need to know

that.

“Now he adds lying to it.”
William wasn’t sure what Sage was going to do, but he didn’t

sound like a happy camper. The man had a growl vibrating in his
chest as he deposited William on the blankets. “Now tell me why you
ran from that cop.”

“He smelled funny?”
“Try again,” Sage said as he yanked William’s pants down and

smacked him on his ass. William wasn’t sure if he should yell at the
indignity of the smack or moan from the pleasure it brought him.

“He had a gun?”
Smack. “Try again.” If Sage kept smacking his ass, he just might

lie all night. He had no idea that being spanked felt so damn good.

“I had to pee?”

Sage’s Mystery

Smack. “I can keep this up all night if you keep lying to me.”
That was what William was hoping for. His ass burned, sending

thrilling spikes all through his body. Had he known being spanked felt
this good, he would have lied to Sage the first night.

“Patrick broke a nail?”
Sage’s hand stopped midair as he cocked his head at William. “If I

didn’t know any better, I’d think you were enjoying this.”

“Not in the least!” William protested with a snap.
A wry grin spread across Sage’s face as his hand came barreling

down toward William’s ass then stopped at the last second, but not
before William jutted his ass in the air to receive the pleasure.

“I knew it!” Sage accused as he rolled William to his back, seeing

his cock hard as hell. “You do like it.”

William shook his head as he rolled back over, sticking his ass

high into the air again. “No I don’t. I lied to you. I’m a very bad man.
Now spank me, damn it!”

Sage ran his hands over William’s ass, his nails scraping his

stinging flesh. William groaned. He gasped when Sage leaned
forward and licked a long path over each cheek and then kissed each
mound. “Tell me why you ran,” Sage said as his voice dipped to a
husky whisper.

William was putty in Sage’s hands as his mate rimmed his

puckered hole with his fingers. It was a feeling that had William
whimpering for more. “I may have a warrant out for me.”

“May?” Sage asked as he inserted a finger into William’s ass.

William was a goner. He’d confess the national secrets right now if
Sage kept torturing him for information like this.

“Yes, may.” He panted. “I may have walked away from the

nuthouse. Now fuck me!”

Sage’s hand stilled, which drove William to the brink. “Don’t you

dare stop. You started this, now fuck me.”

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Lynn Hagen

Sage leaned close, nipping William’s ear as he spoke so low that

William had to strain to hear him. “I’ll fuck you, mate. But afterward,
you’re going to tell all to me.”

“Deal, anything,” William begged, pushing his ass harder onto

Sage’s embedded finger. William forgot about their conversation,
forgot the world existed outside of his pleasure. He ground his
forehead into his arms as he rocked back and forth, fucking his ass on
the large finger buried deep inside of him. He swiveled his hips,
trying to get the finger to graze his prostate.

Sage placed his free hand on the small of William’s back while he

inserted a second finger. That was fucking perfect. That was the extra
push William needed as he thrust his ass back, crying out as his cum
shot from his cock.

“That’s it, William,” Sage crooned from behind him, his deep and

hypnotic voice carrying William’s orgasm a little farther, a little
higher as he groaned.

William jerked when he felt Sage pull his fingers free. All

William wanted to do was sleep now. He sagged to the floor, sighing
heavily as he closed his eyes.

“Now tell me what’s going on, slim.”
Damn.
William knew he couldn’t stall any longer. He wished the sheriff

had never shown up today. Everything was going good, sailing along
fine, and then his life tanked out. He should have known bad luck
would be there to steer him in the wrong direction.

He slowly turned over, expecting to see a scowl on Sage’s face

from his confession of escaping from the nuthouse, but his mate just
watched him curiously. William pushed up from where he thought he
was going to crash peacefully and pulled his knees to his chest,
wondering how Sage was going to take the news. He scratched at his
chin, trying to buy some time as he composed his thoughts.

“I told you that when I was a baby the massacre took place?”

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101

Sage nodded as he took a seat on the floor, stretching out next to

William.

“Well, when the cops found me huddled in the closet, they asked

what happened.”

“And you told them werewolves attacked the town,” Sage finished

for him. William nodded as he rested his chin on his knees, focusing
nowhere in particular, but definitely not on Sage.

“They said that was impossible and that I was just traumatized.

They stuck me in a mental hospital, trying to convince me that what I
heard wasn’t what really happened. I knew what I heard, so I stayed
adamant, and stayed locked up. As the years went by, I began to
realize that no matter how many times I protested what they said, I
wasn’t going to convince them and I was going to stay locked up. So I
started saying that maybe I was wrong. And then I started believing
that I hadn’t really heard the howls or my parents being killed. But by
then, no one believed that I was telling the truth, you know, that I
hadn’t really heard the howls. They thought it was some sort of game
to get out of there. So one night, I broke out. I wandered around for
the longest time, lost. Everything was strange to me because I grew
up in a locked facility.”

“And then you found your way home,” Sage said as he lay next to

William, his hand propping his head up.

“Yeah, it was the only place I remembered before they took me

away. Now the howls are back and I’m one of those werewolves.”
William wiped at his eyes. Anytime he thought of his mom, he got all
sentimental and remorseful that he couldn’t have saved her.

“Hey,” Sage said as he pushed up from the floor and grabbed

William, pulling him into his arms. “You’re not one of them, okay?
You’re one of us. There’s a difference.”

“Like what?” William asked, trying his best to hold back his tears.

“What’s the difference between the ones who killed this town, my
parents, and what I am now?”

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“Because we don’t kill innocent people. I’m not sure what’s going

on, but like I said before, I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

William wasn’t sure what to believe right now, but he knew the

only person he had in the world was Sage. And wasn’t that ironic? He
should hate all werewolves, including himself right now, but he
couldn’t find it in him to hate the one man who had shown him any
kind of love since that horrific night.

“We’re not all evil,” Sage said in the darkness, somehow reading

William’s thoughts. “You can’t condemn an entire race of
werewolves for the act of a few.”

William could, he had plenty of reason to, but he knew it wasn’t

in him to do that. He knew what it was like to be an outcast himself,
different from the rest. He hadn’t had a normal childhood, and he
wasn’t one to pin his anger on someone who didn’t deserve it.

“I’m tired.” William didn’t want to talk about it anymore. He

wanted to forget what happened so long ago and what was happening
now. He wanted a normal life, whatever that was.

“Okay, slim. No more talk about what happened to you.”
William could tell that Sage was placating him. He just hoped

Sage left it alone. He had grown up fighting to forget. He didn’t want
a trip down memory lane while lying in his mate’s arms.

* * * *

Isaac slammed the breaker box closed. At least that was in good

condition, which was a shocker considering the state the house had
been in. He had to admit it was shaping up to be a real nice place.

“Good?” Monterey asked as he clomped down the basement steps.
“Good,” Isaac confirmed as he looked around at the large

basement. This would be a rip-ass workout room if they got the place
into shape. The foundation was great. “I need to check the rest of the
house. We don’t need a fire after all the hard work we put into the
place.”

Sage’s Mystery

103

“I still can’t believe Sage bought an entire town. Who the hell

sells an entire town? How did he even hear about it?” Monterey
tossed the questions out one after the other.

“However he found out, it got us away from the pack. His old man

is a powder keg waiting to ignite. I could see it in his eyes. He’s got,
like, a hard-on for his cause now. You saw him. He wasn’t backing
down for no one.”

“I always knew he was a hothead, but I never took him for the

kind of guy to toss Sage out like that. Sage was his golden boy.”

“His only boy,” Isaac reminded him.
“No matter now,” Monterey said as he climbed the steps out of the

basement. “Whether he likes it or not, he’s the alpha here. He’s a born
leader, and no one can run from that.”

“True,” Isaac agreed as he left the basement. He just hoped Sage

realized that as well.

* * * *

The ax flew through the air, hitting its target dead-on. Sage

stopped to wipe his brow as he looked up at the house. It was colder
outside now, and they had cleaned the fireplace and the chimney,
making sure everything was in workable order so the house could be
heated.

The electricity was on, thanks to Isaac, and Sage had gone over to

Mayfield County and purchased a bed. He couldn’t wait for that to be
delivered. He might be a werewolf, but he hated sleeping on the floor.
He hated for William to sleep on the floor, although the guy had been
sleeping almost on top of Sage every night.

Everything felt so domesticated to him, like he had a real family.

A family that wasn’t psychotic like his father. Most of Sage’s new
family members weren’t psychotic anyway. Okay, they all were nuts,
but in a good way in Sage’s opinion.

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Sage tossed the cut wood into a wheelbarrow and then slammed

the ax into the cutting stump as he wheeled the chopped wood toward
the house. They had heat from the furnace, but with all his money
going into repairs, corners needed to be cut.

He had worked his whole life, saving damn near every penny he

had made, but it wouldn’t last much longer with all the repairs. The
town still needed to be brought back to life, so he needed to generate
some kind of income, soon.

He had an idea but needed to talk to his friends about it. William

and Patrick were cooking dinner, so Sage knew dinnertime was his
best shot at having them all in one room. He set the wheelbarrow
down by the back porch and grabbed a few logs for the fireplace.

“Smells good,” he said as he walked through the kitchen. William

and Patrick were busy making dinner, but William stopped to beam
up at him.

“Patrick’s teaching me how to cook,” he said with pride. “And if

my cooking kills you, then I have plenty of space to bury the bodies
out back.”

Sage stopped walking as his brows crinkled. “Maybe I should

order takeout.”

“He’s doing great,” Patrick said as he laid another pork chop into

the grease. “He’s a natural in here.”

William’s smile hadn’t faltered as he stuck his tongue out at Sage.

“I’m a natural.”

Sage shook his head as he left the kitchen. He sure hoped so

because he was sick to death of sandwiches. The pork chops smelled
good sizzling in the frying pan. Thank fuck the stove had been
electric. Sage was afraid to call the gas man. He might disappear, too.

Samuel hadn’t come back around, so they must have found the

electrician. Sage hoped that was the case.

Sage tossed the firewood to the side of the fireplace and then

walked upstairs to take a shower. Let someone else get the fire going.
His shoulders were cramping up on him, his muscles tight. He had to

Sage’s Mystery

105

admit, he loved the fact that everything seemed to work off of
electricity in this house, even the boiler.

A hot shower was long overdue. Washing up in cold water had

almost made his dick crawl up into his body permanently. Sage’s
shoulders slumped as the heat pounded into his sore and tight
muscles.

He growled when he heard the bathroom door open. If it wasn’t

William, someone was getting his ass kicked.

“Hey, man,” Jeremiah called from the doorway. “Something

strange is going on over in town.”

That was all Sage needed to hear. He cut the water off and

climbed out.

“Get some clothes on,” Jeremiah said as he wrinkled his nose.
“What the fuck? Do you think I shower fully dressed? You’re the

one who came barging in here. Get out.”

Jeremiah grunted as he left. Sage was seriously considering

adding a few more bathrooms on to this house. He knew it would be a
while before any of the other houses were ready for occupancy.

Sage tossed a pair of jeans on and then stuffed his feet in his

boots. He shoved his head into a sweater and then clomped down the
steps. The other men were waiting at the door. “Been hearing some
howling for the past five minutes,” Mercy said as Sage walked
outside. “Not much, but no one should be over there.”

This would be the first time Sage had heard any noise coming

from town except on the night he had shifted. One way or the other,
he was about to find out what the mystery was in Mystery.

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Lynn Hagen

Chapter Eleven

Sage stalked over to town with his four friends. Patrick had stayed

behind to keep an eye on William. He was beyond pissed right now.
His mouth had watered for one of those pork chops, but instead he
was out here in the fucking cold, hunting down werewolves. What a
shitty ending to his day.

Missing William’s first attempt at cooking made Sage want to

knock heads. He was going off of Patrick’s claim that William was a
natural in the kitchen, and Sage wanted to find out. He didn’t want to
stomp around in the cold, chasing down insane werewolves.

“Over there,” Isaac whispered as he pointed a finger at the run-

down diner. Sage’s head snapped around, seeing silhouetted figures
moving around inside the darkened building. The moon was the only
light given to them, but it was enough for him to see something
moving around.

He growled, ready to go kick ass so he could get back home and

chomp on some pork. He couldn’t figure out why werewolves were
running around a deserted town. The people were dead, long gone.
There was nothing here but ramshackle buildings. What was the
attraction?

Sage growled low and tight as he watched Brody, in human form,

walk out of the diner, a look of frustration on his face. Before he
could stop himself, Sage did his first ever voluntary shift.

It was fucking fantastic.
His bones didn’t crunch, and the shift seemed to flow smoothly all

around him. It was like a freedom he’d never felt before, not even
when he shifted with the full moon. He could finally control it.

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107

“Sage, wait,” Jeremiah quietly called out, but Sage wasn’t

listening. Brody, the bastard who had bitten William, forced him into
this life, and dragged him kicking and screaming into the life of a
werewolf. And Sage was going to make him pay.

Brody’s eyes widened when he saw Sage barreling at him, full

speed ahead. He knew he needed to question Brody before killing
him, but his emotions were riding his ass strong. Sage wasn’t thinking
straight as the man spun around and took off.

Coward.
Brody must not have been mated. He couldn’t be because he

wasn’t shifting. Good to know. Sage really didn’t want to leave a
mate behind after he killed the sorry son of a bitch. But of course, if
that person was mated to Brody, they couldn’t be worth the air they
breathed.

He could hear his friends racing to catch up, their footsteps heavy

on the ground, but Sage was only focused on the figure running in
front of him, trying to escape.

Leaping into the air, Sage tackled Brody, taking him down in one

swift move. He didn’t want to hear any damn begging or pleading. He
only wanted to hear the gurgling sound as the son of a bitch drowned
in his own blood.

“Wait!” Brody shouted as his arms flew up to protect his face. “I

can explain.”

Sage heard the low growls close by, but he didn’t care. This piece

of shit was going to pay for what he’d done to William. Two
werewolves appeared from behind the diner, but they stayed back,
watching curiously.

“You better start talking before Sage tears your fucking throat

out,” Jeremiah shouted from off to the side.

“The cure is here, buried somewhere!” Brody screamed as Sage

bit into his arm, yanking it away from his face.

“Cure for what?” Jeremiah asked.

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Lynn Hagen

“For us. For werewolves. To reverse the curse inside of us,”

Brody said as he howled in pain. Sage didn’t want to hear any more
lies. He wanted Brody’s head on a fucking silver platter.

Brody writhed in pain as he tried to scoot away. “I’m telling the

truth!”

“Is that why all those people were killed here?” Jeremiah asked as

rage began to mount in his voice, threatening to erupt. “For this
supposed cure?”

Brody swallowed as he nodded, a thick sheen of sweat covering

his face as he stared up at Jeremiah, begging with his eyes to be saved
from Sage.

“So you’re telling me that this town was slaughtered for some

fucking cure?” Jeremiah’s voice rose with outrage.

Brody’s eyes cut to Sage and then his head swung back around to

Jeremiah. “We couldn’t exactly go searching with a town full of
people. But it wasn’t the werewolves who killed the humans. We
hired other humans, greedy humans who only thought of the money,
to kill the townspeople.”

“We?”
“Me, my dad, a whole pack of werewolves wanting out of this

life,” Brody began to babble. “Admit it, Jeremiah. You want the curse
lifted as well.”

Jeremiah took a step forward, his eyes narrowing as he cut Brody

down with his glare. “Not at the expense of innocent lives!”

“Innocent?” Brody spat. “They’re humans.”
Isaac, Mercy, Monterey, and Jeremiah all surrounded Brody as

Mercy leaned forward, turning his head to spit on the ground. Sage
watched closely. Mercy was the one who was the quietest of the six.
He was the one everyone needed to keep an eye on. The man was a
thinker. “You may have been born a werewolf, but that doesn’t make
you better than humans.”

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109

Brody’s terrified look melted into a sneer as he glanced over at

Mercy. “Bullshit. It makes me ten times better than them! I was born
a freak, but I’m still superior to those rotten-ass humans.”

“Is that why you bit the human at Sage’s home?” Jeremiah asked

with a snap to his tone.

“He’s a casualty of war.”
“War?”
“There’s a war coming. Werewolves versus humans. Some think

being a werewolf is the ultimate species. They think our race should
be the one ruling the earth instead of helpless humans.”

Mercy pushed away from Brody, his eyes rolling as he crossed his

arms over his chest, studying Brody as if he were a mere irritant. “Oh,
geez. Some megalomaniac is on the loose and determined to do what,
convert every human on the planet?”

“Something like that. I don’t give a shit about him. I want the

cure, and I’m going to find it!”

Sage howled when Brody’s arm swung wide, stabbing him in his

side as he tried to roll away. Sage quickly overcame his shock of
Brody’s bold move as he fought with the sick bastard, clamping his
teeth down hard on Brody’s throat until he heard a distinctive snap.

Monterey kicked at the dirt with his boot as he placed his hands

onto his hips. “So now we know why werewolves are coming here.
Do you think it’s true?” he asked the group.

“I’ve never heard of a cure. Besides, the six of us were born

wolves, not converted,” Jeremiah reminded him.

“I’m more concerned with whoever is out there trying to explode

our population,” Isaac said as he began to walk away. “We already
have a hard enough time trying to hide who we are without someone
going around biting the shit out of every human he comes into contact
with.”

Sage slowly changed back to his human form, his clothes hanging

on him in shreds as he glared at the two werewolves still tucked

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behind the building. The werewolves gave Sage one last glance before
taking off.

He let them go. Tonight was already a clusterfuck of a mess and

Sage had no desire to kill any more of their kind, even if they were
deluded assholes.

* * * *

Santana watched as the five men walked through town, heading

back to the home they had been working on. He lifted his binoculars
to see the house more closely and saw the young human standing on
the front porch with another man.

He lowered the binoculars and then grabbed his cell phone,

punching in the code that only a handful of people knew.

“Talk to me.”
Santana slid further back into the shop as he spoke softly.

“They’re here. I’ve been watching them for a few weeks now, and it’s
them.”

“Stay put. I’ll send someone out there to confirm your sighting.”
The line went dead. Santana slid the phone back into his pocket as

he crept from the barbershop. He wasn’t sure why he dealt with the
prick on the other end of the phone. The guy was nutty as hell and in
it for the glory.

Santana was in it for revenge.
Revenge against the beasts that had killed his parents so long ago.

Beasts that had taken everything from him. He had learned long ago
that another had survived as well. William Conrad. Santana was
determined to find William and pull him in, pairing up with the man
to take down the creatures that roamed the earth, killing innocent
humans.

He shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked down the dirt

road that led out of town. His car was parked there, hidden behind

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111

some brush. He’d be back tomorrow, and soon, those foul creatures
would be no more.

* * * *

William woke with a start when he felt a hand glide over his hip

and then travel around his waist and span over his belly. Sage was
spooning behind him, his cock hard and pressing into William’s back.
The warmth of Sage’s hard chest was intoxicating as William spread
his legs, stretching one behind him and overlaying it on Sage’s firm
thigh.

Sage brushed William’s hair from his neck as he laid soft kisses

across his skin, his light shadow of a beard teasing and scraping his
flesh. William’s skin began to tingle and pulse as Sage nibbled his
way down to William’s shoulder, taking light bites of William’s skin.
Shivers of delight followed Sage’s touch wherever the large fingers
roamed.

William’s head rocked on his shoulders as he felt like he was free-

falling. Sage’s hand glided over William’s pelvis, his nails gently
scraping and raising goose bumps all over William’s body. Sage’s
hand slid up William’s belly, all the way to his nipples, his finger
circling around the hued disk and then pinching each one as he sucked
deeply on William’s neck.

Groaning, William pressed his ass into Sage’s groin, his hips

rocking as he became lost in his mate’s touch. Sage curled his fingers
around William’s wrists, pulling them above his head as he rolled
William to his belly, grinding his cock into William’s mounds.

Light kisses were placed down his back as Sage tightened his hold

on William’s wrists. He’d never had anyone love him so thoroughly
before. Sage knew every hot spot on William’s body and didn’t
hesitate to nip, lick, and suck each pleasure point.

A whimper fell from William’s lips as Sage released his wrists

and began a slow descent down his body, his lips ghosting over

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William’s skin as his cock glided down the back of William’s leg. He
shuddered as he felt the wet trail following behind Sage’s shaft.

William’s fingers curled into the blankets, clutching them tightly

as Sage’s tongue lightly trailed from one hip to the other in a
seductive manner. William was losing his damn mind. He wasn’t sure
how much longer he could lie there immobile.

He didn’t have to wait long. Sage pulled William up from the

floor and then lay on his back, keeping William’s back to him as
William straddled Sage’s groin backward, giving Sage his back as he
stared at Sage’s feet. He wasn’t sure what his mate was doing, but
damn if the man didn’t have sexy feet.

William placed his hands on Sage’s knees as his mate stretched

him, his fingers sliding in and out of William’s ass, his thumb
rimming the outer skin of his puckered hole. William’s head fell back
as he rocked on Sage’s fingers. William leaned forward, whimpering
when he felt their cocks glide next to one another. He gasped in sweet
agony as Sage pulled his fingers free. William was mourning the loss.
He wanted to feel Sage inside his body, and it didn’t matter if it was
his fingers or his cock just as long as his mate kept loving on him.

William glanced behind him when he felt pressure between his

shoulder blades.

“Lean forward, slim.”
William turned back around and leaned forward, feeling Sage’s

fingers on his hips as his mate lifted him from his seated position.
William moaned when he felt the blunt tip of Sage’s cock pressing at
his entrance. He slowly impaled his ass, gently sliding down the hard
pole until he seated himself. His fingers dug into Sage’s thighs as his
mate lifted him up and then brought him back down.

It was slow and torturous, but William wasn’t protesting a damn

thing. He’d never had sex in this position, and he found that he loved
it.

“Give me your hands.”

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113

William sat up straight, bending his arms behind him as Sage

wrapped his hands around William’s wrists. “Now lean forward
again.”

If Sage let go, William was going to fall forward onto his face. He

trusted his werewolf, though. He knew Sage wouldn’t let go. Sage
raised his legs up and planted his feet on the floor as he began to
thrust up into William’s ass. The position made Sage nail William’s
prostate on every forward thrust.

“Oh, god, Sage,” William cried out as he stared at his mate’s

knees. His cock was bouncing freely between his legs as Sage’s hips
snapped harder. William was dying to turn around and see his mate’s
face, but he wasn’t willing to make the all-consuming pleasure stop.
Although his arms were being pulled behind him, William leaned a
little further forward, grinding his ass harder as Sage fucked him
wildly.

His ankles tightened into Sage’s sides as William began to

bounce, pushing Sage’s cock further inside of him, making him
scream louder as his ass slammed down into Sage’s pelvis. He could
feel pubic hairs tickling his ass as Sage’s hands released William and
grabbed his sides in one fluid movement, catching William before he
fell face-first onto the floor.

William’s balls smacked into Sage’s as he wrapped his arms

around Sage’s knees for leverage. William could feel a golden wave
of passion and love flow between them, their bond strengthening as
Sage’s fingers bit into his skin, gripping him tightly as William
rocketed closer to the edge, his orgasm racing to his balls.

He moaned aloud with erotic pleasure as Sage snapped his hips in

frenzy. William slid forward, his fingers curling around Sage’s ankles
as he shouted his release, his mind and body exploding with such
force that William wasn’t sure he was going to survive his orgasm.

His entire body was electrified as waves of fierce pleasure shot

him forward, careening out of control as his seed jetted forward from
his cock. “Sage!” William cried out as Sage stiffened under him and

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then roared his release, slamming so hard up into William that he
feared he would be tossed across the room from the upward
momentum.

Sage jackknifed, wrapping his arms around William’s body as he

pulled him down onto his hard and sweaty chest. His mate’s breathing
was labored as he wrapped his arms tightly around William.

William blinked a few times, gasping for air as he wondered what

in the hell had gotten into Sage. He had fucked him like a dying man.
William’s brows furrowed as he felt a light weight on his finger. He
raised his left hand and cried out as he saw a golden band wrapped
around his finger.

“Sage!” William shouted and then turned over, kissing every inch

of his mate’s face. “You remembered.”

Sage cupped his face, looking deep into William’s eyes as he

smiled. “How could I forget, slim? I love you.”

As hard as he tried, it was useless. The tears came no matter how

hard William fought for them to stay away. Someone finally loved
him. It was something William had looked for his entire life. It was a
dream come true and William was the happiest man on the planet at
that moment.

“I love you, too,” he confessed as he laid his head on Sage’s chest,

his hand stuck out in front of him as he admired the wedding band. He
didn’t care that they didn’t have a ceremony. He belonged to Sage,
and Sage belonged to him. That was all that mattered in William’s
eyes.

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115

Chapter Twelve

Sage was in a great mood. The large bed had been delivered, the

electricity was on, and his house was becoming a home. It was about
damn time things were going right around here. He just prayed it
stayed that way.

“Okay, what do you want?” Monterey asked as he walked into the

kitchen, grabbing something from the fridge. “What’s the powwow
for?”

Sage grinned at his friend and gave him a wink. “We wait for

everyone.” Sage didn’t want to repeat himself to everyone who
stepped into the room. He leaned against the counter, tucking his arms
over his chest as he watched the room fill.

“Did we order pizza?” Isaac asked, being the last one to come into

the kitchen. Sage pushed from the counter, waiting for the rowdy
bunch to settle before he cleared his throat.

“I have a proposition for you gentlemen.” And he used the term

loosely. All five of his friends were good men, but gentlemen they
were not.

“Aw, geez, Sage. I’m flattered, but I think your mate would have

a problem with that,” Patrick teased as he took a seat at the table Sage
had purchased from some dime store. “Besides, you’re not my type. I
like my men a little less moody.”

“Since when?” Monterey asked as Patrick cut him a glare.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Pat,” Sage said and then

continued. “I’m proposing that each of you buy a business here in
Mystery.” That would help Sage’s pocket and make his friends feel
more at ease knowing they were a part of this town as well. He loved

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having them around and the free labor, but a man needed to feel like
he could lay roots somewhere.

“Are we talking about the same town?” Isaac asked. “The town a

mile down the road that is falling apart?”

“So,” Sage said as William walked into the kitchen, Terror close

on his heels. His mate’s finger looked great with his ring on it. Sage
was happy he had made the right decision to buy them. He was still
getting used to the weight on his finger. His thumb played over the
band as he spoke to his friends. “This house was ready for
condemning, but look at it now. You don’t have to give me an answer
right away. I just wanted to toss that idea out there.”

Sage knew he had to do something to bring some money into this

town or his dream of fully restoring it was going to be flushed down
the drain. He hadn’t expected the town to be this much in disrepair.
Hell, he hadn’t expected it to be falling down, period.

No wonder it was so dirt cheap.
That would teach him to impulse shop.
“I want the diner. I want the diner,” Patrick shouted as he jumped

up from the table, waving his hand in the air. “I call first dibs.”

“I don’t think anyone is going to fight you over it.” Jeremiah

chuckled.

“They better not.” Patrick narrowed his eyes at everyone. “No one

can cook to save their life around here.”

“This is going to be interesting,” Mercy said as he walked out of

the room.

Sage grabbed his phone as it rang at his hip. He flipped it open

and answered. “Sage.”

“Hey, Sage, it’s Samuel. I just wanted to let you know I found the

electrician. It turns out he also has a gambling problem.”

Sage grunted. “Thanks for letting me know. We have electricity,

so I won't be needing him.” And there was no way he was going to let
the guy work on his house.

“Not a problem. Talk to you later.”

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117

Sage hung up and followed the men from the kitchen.
One mystery solved.

* * * *

William swallowed hard as he walked through the town. Too

many memories were coming back to him and he didn’t like it, but he
knew the only way to get over his past was to embrace it with a new
future.

If he made good memories here, then they would replace the bad

ones. At least that was what he was hoping. It sounded logical.

“You doing okay, slim?” Sage asked as they walked into the diner

that looked as though the weeds and wildlife had taken over. William
had never seen a diner with plants growing out of the floor before.

He nodded at Sage as he wrung his hands. He could do this. The

werewolves weren’t there now, at least not the bad ones. “I’m okay.”
William walked over to the counter, seeing years of dust piled high.
He wiped his finger through it to see a faded, grimy, yellow counter
below. “But this counter has to go.”

Patrick walked over and stared at where William had swiped his

finger through the years of dust. “That is the ugliest counter I’ve ever
seen. I agree. It has to go.”

As they walked out of the diner, William saw movement over by

the woods. He tugged on Sage’s shirt and jerked his chin. The need to
run was pushing at him, but William stood his ground. He was tired of
running from his fears, but damn if it wasn’t tempting. Besides, he
had six strong men with him. What could the person in the woods do
to him?

“I suggest you come out. You won’t like it if we have to come

after you,” Sage called loudly. William moved an inch behind Sage
when a man walked out of the woods, a gun held high in front of him,
pointing it right at Sage’s chest.

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“I don’t think you’ll like it,” the man retorted. “I was waiting for

backup, but fuck it.”

“What do you want?” Monterey asked.
“Put your hands up where I can see them, all of you,” the man

shouted.

“Fuck you,” Isaac replied. “Who the hell are you to tell me what

to do?”

William screamed when the gun went off, Isaac dropping to the

ground. Sage stepped forward and then took a step back when the gun
was raised high again, aiming right at his chest. William wanted to
run to Isaac to see if he was all right, but the smoking gun stopped
him.

“I said put your goddamn hands up now!”
Everyone raised their hands, looks of impending death marring

each of their faces. William knew all the gunman had to do was make
one mistake and all five men would take him down. His nerves were
frayed as the tension mounted. William wasn’t sure what to do, but
having a gun pointed in his direction wasn’t something he was going
to argue with.

“You’re all filthy dogs. You killed my parents, and now you’re

going to pay for it.”

William’s head snapped back. This was the other survivor? He

didn’t know the guy’s name. He had just heard the doctors’ comment
on there being another person who survived the massacre.

“I don’t know where you got your information from, but it was

humans who killed everyone here,” Sage said. William was shocked
to hear this. How would Sage know something like that? This had to
be a bluff. Sage was stalling the man, buying time.

“Liar!” the man shouted. “I remember that night. I heard the

howls. How dare you try to blame humans.”

Sage shrugged, looking as though he were bored with the

situation. “I know it for a fact. Some bastard werewolves may have

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119

paid the humans to kill everyone, but it was the humans who
ultimately killed everyone who was here.”

The man looked confused, as if he didn’t want to believe that his

own race had done this. His gun wavered, and Sage took a step
forward. But the stranger quickly caught his mistake and raised the
gun high. “Don’t even think about it.”

William wasn’t sure how this was going to play out, but he wasn’t

about to let his mate get shot. He steeled his nerves and then took off
in the opposite direction of the men. He prayed his plan worked and
he wasn’t eating dirt in the next five seconds. He heard a shot and
winced, but felt no pain.

Looking over his shoulder, William saw the men taking the

stranger down and Sage coming after him. The feral look on Sage’s
face made William run faster. He had meant to distract the guy, but
now he was running from his mate.

He knew he wasn’t going to like it if Sage caught him. He yelped

when large, firm hands caught him around the waist and pulled him
from his feet.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Sage shouted as he slowed.

“You could have gotten yourself killed!”

William struggled to free himself. He had only been thinking of

Sage, wanting to save him from a bullet. His life wouldn’t have
mattered anyway if Sage was no longer in it. “I wasn’t thinking,
okay?”

Sage growled as he spun William around, his face a mask of

anger. “Don’t you ever do something that reckless again!”

He was about to open his mouth to argue when he saw the blood

spanning across Sage’s shirt. “You’ve been shot!” William felt dizzy
as he stared at the blood slowly decorating Sage’s chest. “Holy fuck.
He shot you!” And it was all his fault. If William hadn’t come up with
the plan to run, Sage wouldn’t have a bullet in him. Tears began to
fall from his eyes as he clutched tightly to Sage. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m fine, slim. Just a nick.”

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It was more than a nick. A damn nick didn’t bleed like that.

William pulled at Sage’s shirt, lifting it high as he examined the
wound. He swallowed, feeling bile rise to the back of his throat when
he saw the hole in Sage’s shoulder. “That’s not a nick!”

“I’m fine,” Sage reiterated as he pulled William back to the group.

“Get him to the house.” He growled at the men. William walked
quickly beside Sage, watching as his mate winced.

He was not fine, and William was going to kick his ass for

downplaying it. This was serious, and Sage needed to act like it was.
Damn the heroics.

Once they were back home, William raced upstairs and grabbed

the first aid kit. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with it, but it
seemed like the right thing to do. It couldn’t hurt.

“He’s gonna need more than that,” Mercy stated as he walked past

William into the living room. William stared at the white box in his
hand with the red cross displayed on the lid. His hands began to
tremble as thoughts of losing Sage engulfed him. William walked
slowly into the living room. Sage and Isaac were laid out on the floor.

“Hold him down,” Mercy shouted as he straddled Sage’s legs.

William walked around to his mate’s head and stared at the scene in a
hazed detachment. This couldn’t be real. Sage had said he was fine,
but now he was lying on the floor, sweat soaking his clothes and skin
as his jaw clenched tightly.

William dropped to his knees, his hands covering his mouth as he

rocked back and forth. He wanted to shout for everyone to stop
holding his mate down, for them to leave Sage alone. One hand flew
to his stomach, holding it there as Mercy dug into Sage’s shoulder
with a pair of pliers.

“Got it,” Mercy said as he wiggled the pliers and then pulled the

bullet free. William’s face pulled back in rage as he jumped to his feet
and went after the bastard who had done this. He leapt at the stranger
who was tied to the chair, pounding his fists into the man’s face as he
screeched.

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121

“William.” Patrick said his name softly as he pulled William from

the bloody man. The guy was a lot stronger than he looked. Patrick
picked him up with ease and took him across the room. “Take a deep
breath, shorty.”

William didn’t want to take a deep breath. He wanted to kill the

guy. His head snapped around when he heard Isaac curse the entire
room. The men were working on him now. It looked like the bullet
had hit his shoulder as well.

“Hold his ass down!” Mercy shouted as he rode Isaac like a

bronco. Isaac was fighting as Mercy tried to pull the bullet free.

William pushed away from Patrick and ran to Sage, kneeling by

his head as his mate slept. He ran his hands over his beautiful black
hair as he tried not to cry.

“He’s going to be fine,” Monterey said. “We gave him antibiotics

and cleaned the wound pretty good.”

William nodded as he glanced down at his mate. He prayed Sage

was all right, because if he wasn’t, William was going to kill the
bastard sitting there looking lost.

* * * *

Sage rolled his shoulder, clenching his jaw at the stiffness as he

sat in the bedroom. Tonight was William’s shift, and all week his
mate had been snappy and irritable. It was odd seeing William that
way when he was used to the happy little man.

Even Terror was avoiding William lately.
“Is it going to hurt?” William asked with fear in his voice. He was

sitting on the bed naked, staring at the setting sun, his eyes filled with
trepidation.

Sage pushed from the chair as he walked across the room. His arm

was in a sling, but he managed to crawl up onto the bed and pull his
mate into his arms. “I’m afraid so.”

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William nodded as he cuddled close to Sage. “And this will be the

only time?”

Sage ran his hand over the back of William’s hair, feeling as

though he wanted to kick fate’s ass. There might be magic running
through werewolves’ blood, but having William in his arms was
where the true magic lay. The man was everything to him.

“Just once, slim. You’re mated, so after this, you can control your

shifts and it won’t hurt.” He wished he could give the smaller man
more reassurance, but Sage wasn’t going to lie to him.

As the night slowly crept into the bedroom, William began to pant

and sweat. Sage repositioned himself, laying William across his lap as
he watched his mate go through his change. He ran his hands over
William’s head, knowing there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about
his mate’s suffering, and that knowledge tore at him.

William writhed around in pain, crying out as his body reshaped

into a werewolf. He clawed at his skin, his muscles straining as his
body slowly transformed. Sage grabbed William’s hands to stop his
mate from tearing his skin from his body as William jerked around.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” Sage said in awe as William spun to his

hands and knees and howled for the very first time. His mate’s head
snapped to the side, staring at Sage curiously. He leaned forward,
sniffing at Sage as he crawled up his body.

Sage smiled, allowing his mate to get acquainted with his scent in

his new form. “You keep that up, and I’m going to fuck you.”

William howled again and then smiled. “Be my guest.” His eyes

widened at his low and gravelly voice. Even that sound was sexy to
Sage. He heard loud howls coming from downstairs and knew his
friends had shifted. They were going to go for their run, and Sage
didn’t want William to miss that.

“Later, slim. You need to meet your family in their werewolf

forms,” he said as he pulled from the bed and slowly undressed.
Being shot wasn’t a fucking picnic, and Sage’s arm protested the
movements. When he was finally naked, Sage shifted. His arm wasn’t

Sage’s Mystery

123

as sore, but he didn’t have full use of it either. The range of motion
wasn’t up to par, but he would deal with it for William.

“Come on, slim. Let’s go for a run.”
William jumped from the bed, landing on his feet and smiling up

at Sage. “This is so cool.”

“I thought you might like it.” He hated the fact that William was

forced into his dangerous world, but it did have its perks. No matter
how much he had fought it and railed against the idea of William
becoming a werewolf, he was here now, so Sage was going to show
him how much fun it could be.

They raced down the steps as the others were leaving from the

back door. “Leaving us?”

Monterey turned and grinned. “Just thought maybe you two

wanted to be alone,” he said as his brows bounced up and down.

Sage snorted as he waved a hand at the back door. “Get your ass

moving.”

As they walked outside, Sage pulled in a lungful of air. It had

gotten colder and the leaves were falling from the trees, but it was a
night that Sage didn’t mind running through the forest. If William
thought Terror’s hide-and-seek was fun, just wait until he saw the
game played werewolf style.

Sage looked over his shoulder at his town that loomed in the

distance, wondering if there really was a cure. All his life he hated the
shift, but now that there was a possibility to cure himself of being a
vârcolac, Sage wasn’t so sure he wanted that.

He was going to find out Mystery’s secret, but until then he was

going to enjoy every minute he had with William.

“Coming?” William shouted as he ran with the rest of the pack.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, slim.”

* * * *

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Santana struggled against the ropes. He was freaking out big-time

and wanted to get as far away from the creatures as he could. He
knew help was on the way. He just prayed they got there in time.

Watching all the men shift into werewolves and not attack him

made him start to wonder just what happened all those years ago.
Could the guy he shot be telling the truth? Could humans have killed
an entire town?

Santana didn’t know what to think anymore, but he knew he was

going to get to the bottom of it one way or the other.

THE END

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but

lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to
find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart.

You can find her on any given day curled up with her laptop and a

cup of hot java, letting the next set of characters tell their story.

Also by Lynn Hagen

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Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 2: Avanti

Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 3: Knox

Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 4: Torem

Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 5: Hunter

Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 6: Sully

Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 7: Bald Eagle

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