Read Online The Altered by Annabelle Jacobs - Free Book Online Page A

with friends or family. Like with Matt.”
    And just like
that, Jordan felt his irritation spike all over again. “Like what
with Matt?” His voice came out sharp and accusatory.
    Daniel glanced
up at him, then down at where Jordan’s knuckles were almost white
with tension. He frowned but didn’t comment. “He was my best friend
before I changed, and when I saw him for the first time after, he,
um, wanted to cuddle. A lot.”
    The low
rumbling growl made its way up from Jordan’s chest, and he didn’t
try to stop it. Luckily, the ambient noise was enough that only
Daniel heard it.
    “Oh my God!
Are you trying to get us noticed?”
    “Carry on.”
Jordan waved his hand to get Daniel to start talking again.
    “Fine, but
calm down.”
    Daniel licked
his lips, and Jordan unashamedly thought about doing that to him.
He was swimming in Daniel’s scent now and just wanted to get
closer.
    “Anyway, after
we got through that incredibly awkward moment, it got better. I can
still calm him down, but he doesn’t want to touch me all the time.
We’re like brothers now, and it’s good. Safe.”
    Daniel’s
expression turned soft part way through as though he’d almost
forgotten who he was talking to. But then Jordan cleared his throat
and Daniel was back to frowning.
    “So what about
me, then? What are you doing to me that makes me want to t—” He
stopped, not wanting to reveal how much he wanted to grab hold of
Daniel and just breathe him in. “—makes me want to shift.”
    “I’m not doing anything. Not on purpose, anyway, believe me.”
    “Well, it’s
not me.”
    Daniel raised
his head then, just enough to meet Jordan’s gaze and hold it.
“It’s… so much stronger with you.”
    Jordan felt it
deep in his belly. “Why?” he asked, not caring how soft and
desperate he sounded.
    “I don’t know.
I… maybe it’s….” Daniel stumbled over his words, the first time
Jordan had seen him flustered, and his cheeks were tinged with
pink. “I like you.”
    Jordan opened
his mouth to object, because that so wasn’t true.
    “Not like
you as in think you’re nice, because clearly you’re a bit of an
arsehole.”
    Jordan
snorted.
    “But you’re… fuck . I think you’re hot, okay? And yours is the only
altered form I can see so clearly.”
    He said the
last bit so softly, Jordan would never have heard it if he were
fully human.
    They sat there
in silence—Daniel looking out the window at the busy street, and
Jordan watching the way his coffee swirled against the side of his
cup. “What now, then? Can we stop it?”
    “It only
happens when we see each other. So….”
    The thought of
not seeing Daniel again wasn’t as appealing as it should be. He was
stubborn, mouthy, and constantly rubbed Jordan the wrong way. And
on top of everything, he had the power to put Jordan and his
friends in danger. Not that Jordan thought he would. If he was
honest, he’d never thought that, but the possibility was still
there. Even with all that, Jordan didn’t want to let him go.
    Trying to
convey as much without sounding crazy or getting laughed at was
another thing entirely. “I don’t want to stop….” The rest of the
words refused to come out, no matter how hard he tried to force
them, but by some miracle Daniel appeared to be on the exact same
page.
    “Yeah, me
neither. God knows why, though. The last time we met, you
threatened me, and this hasn’t exactly been the most enjoyable of
conversations.” Daniel tapped the edge of the table with his
fingers, and when he deliberately met Jordan’s gaze for the third
time that morning, Jordan let himself go with it instead of trying
to fight it. He relaxed into the feeling, and immediately the tug
in his belly evened out to a pleasant warmth filling him from the
inside out.
    He still
wanted to put his hands all over Daniel, but the urge was easier to
ignore, and he wasn’t caught in Daniel’s gaze or in danger of
leaping over the table to get to him.
    Daniel