Divine Intervention (Eternal Flames Maddox Book 7) Page 3

  Jensen was shivering and his eyes were still closed, but somehow Logan knew the man could hear them, though for whatever reason was playing possum. Lightly, Logan ran his hands over Jensen’s body, then noticed his bare feet. “Shit.”

  Turning to Sut, Logan said, “I need to clean his feet. From the look of that puddle of blood and no other cuts or abrasions, I am thinking he sliced himself on the bottom of his foot pretty bad.”

  “I would guess so and from the looks of the puddle back there and on this mattress, my guess is he lost a lot of blood,” Sut muttered as he handed an IV bag to Logan.

  Logan quickly inserted the needle. “Sut, hand me a bottle of water and clean cloth, so I can clean and check out his wound.”

  Logan took the bottle of water and soft cloth that Sut handed him and gently rinsed the man’s sole. He was lightly dabbing the bottom when Jensen hissed and drew his foot back. Logan didn’t let the man’s foot go, softly saying, “Easy, there, pretty boy. I promise I’m only trying to help.”

  “Pretty boy?” Sut asked with wide eyes.

  Logan continued cleaning the cut, saying, “Well, you call your mate what you want, and I’ll call mine what I want to call him.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Jensen had heard someone coming into the warehouse but couldn’t move. His foot was hurting him about as much as his lungs were. Gods, he felt like warmed over crap, a seriously starving piece of crap, but still a piece of crap. How the hell did he get to be so unlucky in life? Jensen had barely turned eighteen when he was removed from the home he loved. His mother had brought him to Maddox, explaining that he was to stay in this town and not wander off. He also would need to lay low until the time was right. When Jensen had asked when would that time be, his mother had said he would know. Here it had been three years―well, almost three years, and still Jensen had no idea when the time would be right, and even if it was, what was his mother expecting him to do? Jensen didn’t know how long he could keep doing this. He was tired, scared, and lonely all the time and it seemed as if his hunger was always around.

  The sound of footsteps was getting closer and Jensen knew he needed to try and move. Jensen still couldn’t believe he had stepped on that stupid board with the dumb nail in it. However, after rushing inside the building, Jensen’s lungs had seized up, he had started coughing, wasn’t looking where he was going, knocked over the stupid board, lost his balance, and then with his bare foot stepped on the stupid nail.

  Pushing himself up, Jensen couldn’t hold off his groan of pain and ended up back on the mattress. Damn, he was cold. Why was he so cold?

  Jensen closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep, as the intruder came closer to him. The second he got close enough, Jensen felt a shiver run through him. Oh Gods, it was the sexy man from the fire. If Jensen remembered right, his friend had called him Logan. Why was he here?

  “Sut, grab our shit and get in here!” Logan ordered.

  “On it!” Sut replied back.

  Jensen felt his cock harden as Logan slowly and softly ran his hands along his body. Damn, the man was really turning him on. Jensen had been doing his best to pretend he was out like a light, until Logan pushed a needle in his arm and then started cleaning his foot. Damn, that shit hurt.

  The pain was too much and Jensen tried to get Logan to stop, then Logan called him pretty boy. He didn’t feel so pretty. Then he heard something that shocked the shit out of him.

  “You call your mate what you want and I’ll call mine what I want to call him,” Logan said nonchalantly.

  “What the fuck? Seriously?” Sut exclaimed.

  Jensen’s eyes flew open in shock. Logan smiled at him, saying, “Decided to join us, have you?”

  “Mate?” Jensen asked hissing again as he tried once more to bring his foot away from Logan’s painful ministrations, then said, “That isn’t possible.”

  Logan continued to hold onto Jensen’s foot, then replied, “It is not only possible, it’s a fact. I didn’t know at first why that wonderful scent of musk and ponderosa pine could be in such a shit hole, but the second I tasted your blood, I understood immediately. It also explains my overwhelming need to find you since you escaped from the hospital."

  Jensen shivered at just the word, softly saying, “I didn’t like that place. It smelled horrible and all the sounds―I-I got scared. As for the mate thing, you have to be wrong. I can’t be your mate. Heck, I’m not supposed to even be here and m-most shifters would know their mate from the moment they met. We spent a lot of time together in your ambulance, and nothing said mate to you then.”

  Logan was looking at Jensen’s foot, saying, “That’s because the smell of smoke was overpowering the other scents in the air. However, facts are facts. Now, hush and let me finish fixing your wound. I don’t have anything to stitch you up with, but I have some butterfly strips. I’m going to put some antibiotic cream on this and some bandages, then I’m going to wrap it up. After that, we are going back to that scary place.”

  Jensen shook his head wildly. “Please no. I-I can’t go ba-back there. I’ll be okay. Just do what you need to do and go away. I’ll be fine.”

  Sut scoffed, “You really don’t know how a mating works for shifters, do you?”

  Shaking his head, Jensen softly replied, “I’ve seen some of your friends around Maddox. Nick and Jagger look me up every so often and I do know what a mate is, I just can’t believe I’m a mate to any of you. I can’t be.”

  “Are you refusing me, pretty boy?” Logan asked as he started wrapping Logan’s foot.

  Jensen scrunched his brow, asking, “Refusing what?”

  “Are you refusing to be my mate?” Logan asked.

  Jensen blinked, stammering, “N-No. I just don’t think you’re correct. Besides, what would you want with me? I’m just a street rat.”

  Logan gently set Jensen’s foot down, then bent and picked Jensen up like he was a feather.

  “What are you doing? I said I don’t want to go to the hospital,” Jensen argued as he threw his arms around Logan’s neck.

  “I know. Sut, can you grab the bag? I’m taking Jensen to the bus,” Logan stated.

  “Not a problem. I’ll meet you there in a few,” Sut responded.

  “Bus? I can’t leave Maddox. I was given or…I mean, I have no money,” Jensen argued.

  Logan raised a brow as he carried Jensen from the building, mumbling, “Uh huh.”

  Jensen wiggled to get down, but Logan had a firm hold on him. “I’m serious, Logan. I have no money.”

  “Oh, I know you’re serious about that. However, I didn’t mean an actual bus,” Logan replied as he opened the ambulance door and stepped into the back end, laying Jensen down on the gurney. “A bus to Sut and I is another word for an ambulance. Now, settle down. We have some talking to do.”

  Jensen stopped moving as Logan shut the ambulance doors, then sat next to his mate. “We need to get you to the hospital. Your lungs are healing, but I think you might do with some oxygen. The doctor is going to check out your foot, and―”

  The second Jensen heard the word hospital, he had stopped listening to Logan. Fear gripped his chest and squeezed, he couldn’t go back to that creepy place with all the smells and sounds. Tears filled his eyes and leaked down the sides. Oh Gods, he couldn’t breathe.

  The next thing Jensen knew, Logan was kneeling next to him, carding his fingers through his hair, whispering, “Hey, calm yourself, pretty boy. Just breathe for me. Come on, it’s okay.”

  Jensen drew in a shaky breath, rasping, “Please don’t make me go back there. Please! I can’t go back there. I’ll do anything, just don’t make me go back to the hospital.”

  “Hey! Hey! Okay, no hospital, but I can’t let you go back to living like that either. Not only will Logan the man go insane thinking about you living on the streets, but Logan the shifter might completely lose control and that would not be good,” Logan softly said.

  Jensen turned away, whispering, “Logan, there are things
you don’t know about me. I stay where I do for a reason.”

  “And we will talk about those reasons at length. For now, I’ll agree not to take you to the hospital, if you allow me to take you to my place.”

  Jensen opened his mouth to argue, but Logan held his hand up. “It’s A or B, no C involved. So, hospital or my home.”

  Jensen sighed, mumbling, “Your place.”

  Smiling, Logan replied, “Good. We’ll get you cleaned up, and then we can have a long talk.” Logan slid his hand slowly down the back of his mate’s head.

  Jensen loved the feeling of Logan touching him, even if it was just his hair. However, he was still having a tough time wrapping his mind around the fact that he would be someone’s mate. He knew that fate did things for a reason, but for the life of him, Jensen had no clue why she had done this.

  Logan placed his pointer finger under Jensen’s chin and lifted until their eyes met. Brushing his mate’s hair back, Logan spoke in a hushed tone, “Those Persian blue eyes, with your long black hair, are going to be my downfall. I have a feeling it is going to be difficult for me to deny you anything.”

  Sut opened the door and jumped in saying, “That’s all so sweet, but I have a question.”

  Logan sighed and dropped his head. “What is it, Sut?”

  “Well, I have a few questions actually. First, as a human, how do you know who fate blesses with mates and who is not? Two, why do you choose to live in squalor, because I know Destrain and Nick have tried multiple times to help you. And three, do you plan on accepting Logan as your mate?”

  “Sut!” Logan exclaimed.

  Sut turned fully around, saying, “What? You’re thinking with your dick and not with your brain, Logan. With all the shit going on in Crystal and Maddox lately, you can’t blame me for wanting to know what’s up with this guy. You can smell his lies as well as I can. Besides, my fox is acting odd inside me. It’s like he just wants to turn his belly to the ceiling around him. Now why is that? What about you? Can’t you feel it?”

  Logan looked at Sut saying, “My animal is fine. Actually, he’s calmer than he has been in a long time.”

  “And you don’t find that weird, Logan? I know he’s your mate and all, but something isn’t right here. He smells of human, but his energy is not right for him to be human,” Sut stated anxiously.

  Jensen sighed. “I’ve known about shifters my whole life, Sut. I can’t say I understand all about mates and I never asked Nick, Jagger, or any of you about them, because I didn’t think it had anything to do with me. I’ve just minded my own business and helped Nick once in a while when there were some problems around Maddox.”

  “And as for Jensen’s living conditions, I told Jensen we’d talk about it at our place after he’s had a chance to clean up, eat a good meal, and get some proper rest,” Logan answered.

  Sut let out a large deep breath. “I know something is up with him, Logan. Like I said, he doesn’t smell of a shifter, demon, or other paranormal. However, I don’t think he’s all human, either. Now, I don’t know why Nick and the others haven’t picked up on it, but I know what my fox is telling me and if your brains weren’t so far south right now, you would be questioning him as well.”

  Jensen started to shake. He had done his best to hide his true self and it seemed in a short time, this man knew what no one else did.

  Sut was not one to pussy foot around and Jensen closed his eyes tightly, as his body begin to shake nervously when Sut asked, “So, who are you? Or should I ask what are you instead?”

  When Jensen said nothing, Sut turned back around and started the engine. “Well, you may not want to tell me, but when we get back to the station, I have every intention of talking to Nick.”

  Jensen sat up, saying, “Sut, wait.”

  “No, I won’t wait. We have had a shit ton of crap happening around and in our town. I don’t know what this kid is up to, Logan, and I understand that he is your mate, but none of what I’m feeling makes sense. I have an obligation to―”

  “Please don’t do that! I swear I’m no threat to you or anyone in Maddox or Crystal. Heck, I’ve never even been to Crystal,” Jensen anxiously said.

  Sut shook his head. “I’m sorry, Jensen, but I can’t take a chance that you’re not a threat to us. Logan may be pissed, but he also has to understand the situation. Illan and the rest of the council are good people and they will listen to explanations.”

  “Wha―what will they do to me if I refuse to talk to them?” Jensen asked Logan nervously.

  Shrugging, Logan replied, “I don’t know, pretty boy. They might put you in one of the council cell areas until you do.”

  “Or they might just banish you from Maddox and Crystal,” Sut stated.

  Jensen’s eyes opened wide. He couldn’t let that happen. He had his orders and he could feel that what he was told by his mother so long ago was close. He had to stay in Maddox. Looking at Logan, Jensen begged, “Please don’t let him go to the council. Please!”

  Logan sighed. “I can’t do that, pretty boy. Sut’s right. I know in my gut that you are no threat to us, but if Sut feels the need to talk to the council, I can’t stop him. I’m sorry.” Logan then leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Jensen’s lips, pulling back and whispering, “I will be by your side, no matter what. You are my mate and if they demand you leave Maddox, you will not be leaving here alone. If they choose to place you in a cell until you answer their questions, I will sit in that cell with you. We are mates, Jensen. You will no longer be alone.”

  Jensen felt tears forming in his eyes. Being alone was all Jensen really knew in his life. At home, he had never been accepted by those around him. He would be what others might call shunned. He never understood it, but his mother always said the unknown was often fearful of others and that fear often caused them to run or fight against it. What if his mate found out about his abilities and turned away from him? Then another thought hit Jensen. Sut was talking about taking him to the council. Oh Gods, what if he couldn’t control his hunger? Wait―his hunger. For the first time in forever, Jensen actually felt satiated. How could that be? Gods, his thoughts were all over the place. He didn’t know what to do.

  “Logan, I think we should go to the council now. I’ll give Wyndingo a call and see if his guys can cover our area for now, and then contact Nick so he can get with the council and meet us at the council building,” Sut suggested, pulling out of the docks area.

  Jensen felt his anxiety spike once again. He couldn’t go there. He couldn’t risk hurting anyone. He had to get out of here.

  The ambulance swerved and Logan screamed Sut’s name as Jensen flew into Logan’s arms and the ambulance ran into the sidewalk and crashed into a pole.

  Jensen turned to see the air bag had deployed and Sut was lying face first on it, not moving.

  CHAPTER 5

  Jensen was crying. “Gods, I’m so sorry. I’m so damn sorry.”

  Logan didn’t know what just happened, but as soon as he checked on Sut, he was going to get some answers from his mate.

  Looking to the driver’s seat, Logan could see the air bag had deployed and Sut was on it, face first. He was breathing, but unconscious. “I need to get to Sut, pretty boy. Are you okay to move?”

  Jensen nodded, so Logan stood slightly and turned Jensen so that he was sitting where Logan had just been.

  Making his way to Sut, Logan gently assessed for injuries. Seeing none, Logan gently pulled him back to continue to look for damages. He had a cut to his forehead, but otherwise didn’t seem to have any other injuries. Taking his pen light, Logan checked Sut’s pupils.

  “Is he going to be okay?” Jensen asked fearfully.

  Nodding, Logan replied, “Yeah, but I don’t understand why he’s unconscious.”

  Sut snorted once, then twice, and started to snore.

  “Holy shit! I think he’s sleeping. What the fuck? None of this shit makes any sense,” Logan said in confusion.

  Turning to Jensen, he could se
e his mate’s look of guilt. “What’s wrong with my best friend?”

  Jensen turned away, not saying anything. Logan wasn’t about to allow his mate to get away with that shit. Something had happened just before the accident and damn it, Jensen knew what that was. “You will tell me what’s going on here, mate.”

  Fear crossed over Jensen’s features before he looked away once more. Logan felt his heart tighten, just thinking his mate could fear him. “I would never hurt you, Jensen. You can tell me anything. No matter what you are or what you can do, I will always be by your side. I just want to know how I can help Sut. If I even need to do anything. I’m at a loss here and I feel like you’re the only one that can help me, help him.”

  Jensen spoke so softly, that had he not been a shifter, Logan would have never heard him. “I eat magic. I was full moments before, which is odd, because I don’t remember feeling that way very often and normally I only do after a battle has been fought here. However, when I get overly emotional, I get hungrier. My body pulls the magic automatically.”

  “So, when Sut said he was going straight to the council you got scared and therefore, hungry? Is this also why you choose to stay homeless?” Logan asked, really trying to understand.

  Nodding, Jensen replied, “I don’t want to hurt anyone, Logan. What happens if I go to the council and get so nervous and scared that I drain the magic from everyone in the room? I could kill someone. It’s why I was sent away from my home. Everyone feared that I would destroy them. But I swear I never would have done that. Well, not intentionally.”

  Logan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He was mated to a magic siphon. “Son of a bitch, fate knows what the hell she is doing. I mean I’ve always been told that a mate is the other half to our soul and what we need in life. Fate has a way of bringing two people together that need each other.”