Cade nodded. “We’ll try to be out of your hair soon, Zack. Just as soon as we can find some land to build on, we’ll move camp there and get to work. In the meantime, we thank you for your hospitality.”

Zack smiled and said something in French, and everybody laughed—all except for Gabe, who winked at Jax and shrugged, rolling his eyes. He immediately put Jax at greater ease. Cade was pulling on his arm then, urging him to follow him to the buffet. Zack and Cade went first, filling their plates. Jax pulled back a little. “Let me get Mason,” he said, and Cade shook his head.

“Alphas eat first,” he said quietly. “You’re the alpha mate now, Jax.” When Jax still hesitated, Cade gave him a stern look. “It’s protocol. Rayce will help Mason.”

As he watched, Rayce said something to Mason, who followed him to the buffet. Everyone else filed in behind them.

Jax moved distractedly along behind Cade, surprised to look down and see him heaping food on Jax’s plate as well as his own. “I can’t eat all that,” he said, but Cade ignored him, continuing to fill both their plates until Jax jerked his away and stalked back to the table. He knew he’d never be able to eat even half the amount Cade had put on his plate, and he hated to waste food. He’d gone hungry too many times in the past.

Mason sat back down beside him and Cade saw that he had mostly pizza and desserts. He glanced over at Rayce. “That’s what he wanted, cher,” Rayce said with a Gallic shrug. “He can eat healthy at dinner tonight.”

Jax grinned and looked down at his own plate, overflowing with meats and salad and all kinds of vegetables. He reached over and snagged a piece of Mason’s pizza. “Looks good to me,” he said, and noticed Cade frowning down at him.

“You need to stop stealing food off your brother’s plate and eat your vegetables. You eat too much junk.”

“How do you know what I eat?” he whispered back furiously, but Cade was already ignoring him, deep in a conversation with Zack. They were speaking entirely in French again. He glanced up to meet Gabe’s sympathetic gaze.

“I don’t know any French personally,” he said with a shrug. He grinned again. “Except voulez-vouscoucher avec moi, c’est soir?”

Jax laughed.“Me neither,” he admitted. He leaned closer to Gabe and lowered his voice.

“But this morning, I’ve noticed I almostdo. It’s like it’s right there at the edge of my brain or something.”

Connor, who sat on Mason’s other side, spoke up right away. “It’s the bloodlust. You two mated last night, didn’t you?” he said, around a forkful of green beans.

Cade heard that part of the conversation and whipped his head around. “Connor. That’s inappropriate and none of your business.”

“Well, God, Cade, it’s not like you two were quiet about it. Shit, half the motel heard you.” “That’s enough,” Cade said firmly, and Connor shrugged.

“What does he mean, Cade?” Jax said urgently. “Not about…you know. But about the French?”

“He means that once our bond is established, you’ll know French and everything else that I know. Just as I will know everything that you do. It takes a while to fully kick in, I guess.” Cade looked over at Zack. “I suppose I need to call my father and see what he knows about all this. Our grandparents had the bloodlust, everyone said.”

Zack nodded thoughtfully.“Maybe. My dad never told me much about it either, but then I didn’t even believe it was real. I thought it was just stories they made up about grand-mère and grand-père. We left Louisiana when I was just a little kid and only went back a few times for funerals and weddings. I never knew them well at all.”

“None of us did, really. They were so old by the time we were born. And neither of them talked much about it. ”

“Or anything else for that matter,” Connor said.

Jax looked up at Gabe. “So you and your mate don’t have this—bloodlust thing?” “No, thank God. We have a blood match,though, and that’s bad enough. If Zack was any more up my ass I wouldn’t be able to walk.”

Jax had just taken a big swig of the milk Cade had given him and almost spewed it across the table. He heard Cade chuckle beside him and cast a worried glance over at Zack, expecting him to be furious. Instead he was smiling. “Charming visual, Gabe.”

Gabe grinned back at him, winked and took a huge bite of his own pizza, toasting his mate mockingly with his iced tea. Jax glanced up at Cade, wondering if he’d ever have such an easy rapport with his own mate.It didn’t seem likely.

“I might remind you there’s a child at the table,” Zack continued, but still without any heat in his voice.

Jax glanced down at Mason, who was still shoveling in his food like he thought it might be snatched away. He knew his little brother had certainly heard worse, and the thought made him sad. He turned his attention back to Gabe. “So what exactly is the difference between this blood match and bloodlust?”

Gabe shook his head. “Beats me. I never even heard of the bloodlust before this morning.” “The difference is what we’re not sure about, Jax,” Cade answered. “All we have to go on is old stories and wild rumors. The blood match compels a wolf to be with a mate, not necessarily of his own choosing. His blood calls to that one person, no matter who it might be. During the mating, the wolf bites his mate, and the bond is formed by a combination of the mating itself and the bite. From that time on, the wolf can read the mind of his mate, in short snatches, if the distance isn’t too great.”

“It’s mostly images,” Zack continued. “Our wolves don’t think in language, really. For example, right now, I can taste pepperoni and hear Queen in my head. Feeling retro, baby, or channeling Freddie Mercury today?”

“Shut up,” Gabe said cheerfully, taking another bite of pizza.

“Well, your outfit today did suggest it,” Zack said conversationally, but smiled at him, even when Gabe raised his middle finger.

Cade looked back and forth between the two with narrowed eyes, but didn’t comment. He did, however, point at the green beans on Jax’s plate. “Eat,” he told Jax. “You can chat with Gabe later.”

Gabe snorted. “Alpha pair, huh? Right…”

Zack gave him a quelling look. “Gabe? You do realize you’re speaking out loud, don’t you?”

Gabe actually blushed a little as he glanced over at Cade. “Sorry,” he muttered, barely loud enough to be heard.

Cade nodded. “It’s all right. It’s just that Jax and Mason weren’t eating well when we met them. They both still need to gain back a few pounds, that’s all. I’m just looking out for him.” Gabe nodded. “Oh, it’s none of my business.”

“No, it certainly isn’t,” Zack said. “Not that it’s ever stopped you before.” Cade tried not to smile at the look on Gabe’s face, continuing his explanation. “So anyway, the bloodlust is the same, only even more intense. I actually have to have Jax’s blood to survive, just as he has to have mine, and the mind connection is a two-way one. That’s all I’m sure about so far. That and the fact that it makes us ill to be separated. Or at least that was the case for our grandparents.”

“It’s also said that Jax will be able to shift into a wolf and his wolf will be alpha, as you mentioned,” Zack added. “I think Jax and Cade are still waiting for that.” He turned to Cade. “Now, if you feel up to it, I thought we’d travel over to see Marco tomorrow. His place is only a little over an hour’s drive from here. They have more available land than we do here, and he may know of some good building spots.”

“Sounds good,” Cade replied. “The sooner the better, and I haven’t seen Marco in ages.” “Marco is the North Carolina alpha,” Gabe told Jax. “His mate is Nicky, and he’s great. He’s my best friend.”

“Yes,” Zack said. “Ah, Nicky. And you thought Gabe is spoiled rotten. Wait until you meet Nicky.”

Cade’s lips twisted, trying to hide a smile. He shook his head politely. “No, I don’t think that at all.”

Zack raised one eyebrow. “Please. I lost the upper hand a long time ago with Gabe, and I know it. With Marco, I really don’t think he ever had it, though he keeps trying.” Gabe smirked, and the conversation continued all around Jax, but he stopped paying close attention. He hadn’t gotten much sleep at all the night before because of their mating, and even though Cade made him soak in the tub that morning before they left, he was sore and achy and dead tired. He decided to close his eyes for just a second, and the next thing he knew he heard Zack speaking to Cade in a loud voice. “Better catch him, Cade. Your mate is about to take a nap in his mashed potatoes.”

Cade looked out the window as they climbed the mountain, heading toward Marco’s lodge. Zack was driving with Gabe sitting next to him in the front seat of the big SUV, while Cade and Jax sat beside each other in the back seat. They’d left Mason behind back at the lodge and Connor said he’d look out for him. He needed the rest.

Cade glanced over at Jax, pleased to see he looked much more rested this morning and the color was back in his cheeks after a good night’s sleep. He surveyed what he was wearing a little more disapprovingly though.

Jax was wearing his own version of Gabe’s tight, ripped jeans, and his shirt was too small. As soon as he could go to town, Cade intended to buy Jax some more new clothes, including jeans that didn’t look like a homeless person’s. He’d apparently borrowed some of Gabe’s eyeliner too at some point that morning, and though Cade didn’t find it in the least attractive, Jax had seemed so nervous when he’d reappeared wearing it that Cade hadn’t had the heart to express his disapproval.

They’d both slept well the night before, and though Jax had cuddled up next to him, he’d managed not to make love to the boy like he badly wanted to, knowing how exhausted, not to mention sore, he must be. He’d settled for spooning him all night, waking up with a rock-hard erection. Jax’s hand resting on his thigh at the moment wasn’t helping any, especially the way he kept sliding it nervously up and down between his knee and his groin.