Read Online Melbourne Heat by Elizabeth Lapthorne - Free Book Online

Or involved with someone else. Or perhaps the previous evening had been a lie from the beginning. Some kind of weird set-up, or joke.
    “You’re my mate. So when I bit your neck last night I was marking you,” Charles said in a big rush, as if trying to get it all out in one breath. “I left some of my essence in that love bite to warn other shifters off you. To let them know you were mine and to stay away.”
    For the second time in a day, Spencer knew the words being spoken to him were in English but he couldn’t make any sense out of them.
    He was Charles’ friend, but Charles had marked him. Left his… What? To warn other shifters…
    What the fuck?
    “I’m not following you,” Spencer said, at a loss as to what else he could say. “Of course we’re mates. After last night I hope we’re a damn sight more than just plain old friends. But really—”
    “Not friends,” Charles insisted. “Mates. Compatible partners. I can scent it on you. There’s something there that lets me know that you are a viable mate to me. Someone who was created to fit with me and complete me. I’m explaining this all wrong, I can tell.”
    Spencer lifted his eyebrows, caught somewhere between being flummoxed and convinced that this was an elaborate—and perplexing—joke. Were they on some stupid TV show or something?
    Charles reached out and took his hands then twined their fingers together. Gently, Charles led him out of the kitchen and they sat down together on the couch.
    “Let me try this again,” Charles pleaded. “I’m a shifter. I can change into a wolf. Unlike the natural, wild animals who only have one partner in their life, we’re built a lot like humans. There is sometimes more than one mate for any given person. Think about it. People sometimes never find their perfect partner. Sometimes they get that one perfect love that may or may not work for them where they are in their situation at that time. And extremely rarely, they might get two or even three chances at a real, deep, proper love. Not just a passing fancy or long-term relationship. Someone who really completes them, who gets them on every level and complements them.”
    After a bit of thought this made some sense. Spencer nodded and could feel himself relax. Charles wasn’t loopy. These were words and terms Spencer could understand and maybe even accept.
    “So I can sense that. On you, I mean,” Charles said.
    Spencer could hear the hope in his voice. I’m not really that crazy. It’s logical, right? He could practically hear Charles adding that to his comment.
    But it did make a twisted kind of sense. Or most of it did.
    “So you’re a shifter?” Spencer said. The words sounded odd on his tongue.
    “Yes,” Charles replied simply. “And from what you’ve described to me, this Malcolm bloke is too.”
    “And he was sniffing me, sorry, scenting me, and could tell you’d marked me,” Spencer said slowly, piecing the whole weird thing together.
    He wasn’t sold on it—part of him still expected Charles to laugh and say ‘Gotcha’ any second now. But it was nice to not be a complete moron and follow along for a bit.
    “That’s what it sounds like,” Charles agreed.
    “So if he could scent me, if Malcolm is a shifter too, why didn’t he think I was his mate?” Spencer asked in what he thought might be a logical manner.
    “He might have thought you were a viable mate,” Charles agreed, though he frowned now. “I’m not really sure how it works, but it’s not like some romantic movie. Just like you can make me happy, it’s possible there are a few other people out there who you can make happy too. It’s not an exact science, there’s some give in this. All I know is that you can be that person for me. The potential is there. You have free will and can choose, just as I can decide whether to get to know you, to spend time with you and learn about you.”
    What Charles said make sense, but Spencer could feel himself losing his