The Human's Complicated Wolf [Nehalem Pack 5] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) by A.J. Jarrett Page B

cheeks. “Oh, baby, I’m sorry.”
    “Josh, I love you.” He covered Josh’s hands with his own. “But I don’t need your permission to do this. I feel responsible for what Ethan has done. He was fine until I got drunk and started talking about you and what you are capable of.”
    “Jensen, you can’t blame yourself for this. You didn’t force Ethan to kidnap you and hold us at gunpoint.” Josh placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. “Ethan has problems and he needs to get help for them. Nothing you said or did caused this.”
    “Maybe, but I still want to see him.”
    Josh tried for a little longer to talk him out of it, but Jensen had made up his mind. Jensen spoke to the doctor, who in return asked Ethan if it would be okay. Five minutes later the doctor ushered him and Josh down the corridor to Ethan’s room. Jensen paused at the door and turned to Josh.
    “I need to go in by myself.” He could see the flare of his mate’s nostrils as he prepared to tell Jensen why that was a bad idea, but he cut off his tirade before it got started. “Please.”
    The doctor said that Ethan had been handcuffed to the bed and Jensen had nothing to fear from the other man. Jensen squeezed Josh’s hand, trying to let him know everything would be okay then turned and walked into Ethan’s room. A nurse stood near the bed checking Ethan’s vitals. When she finished, she left.
    Ethan lay on the bed with his eyes closed. Jensen couldn’t believe how gaunt and pale the man looked. He didn’t even look like the same person.
    “Hey.” Jensen looked up to see Ethan looking at him. “I didn’t think you’d ever want to see me again after what I did.”
    Jensen pulled a chair close to the side of the bed. The room had been lit in low lighting except for the lights over the bed. They shone bright and the light reflected off the metal cuff around Ethan’s wrist. He pulled his gaze away from it. “We all make mistakes.”
    “Yeah, we do, but not everyone takes another person hostage and holds them at gunpoint.”
    “No, they don’t.” Jensen agreed. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and entwined his fingers. It took a moment for him to gather his thoughts then he gazed back up at Ethan. “Why did you do all this?”
    “I’d like to say it’s because I’m crazy, but it’d be a lie. The doctor started me back on my meds, so I can see quite clearly now.” Ethan rested back against his pillows and stared up at the ceiling. “Two years ago, doing something like this would never have crossed my mind. I was living a happy life with the man I thought I’d grow old with.” Ethan laughed but not with humor. “It’s funny how everything can change in a blink of an eye.”
    “What happened?” Jensen didn’t want to pry or make Ethan relive something he would rather soon forget, but he needed to understand what had prompted this man to do what he had done.
    “My fiancé, Jay, had gone out to pick up dinner and never came back.” A single tear rolled down Ethan’s cheek. “He got mugged on the way home, and stealing his wallet hadn’t been enough. The bastard shot him in the head so Jay couldn’t report him to the police.” Ethan turned his head to look at Jensen. “You know, the funny thing is the idiot didn’t account for the traffic cameras. The whole thing had been caught on tape. So he killed Jay for nothing.”
    Except for that one tear, Ethan looked to have no emotion for what he just told him. It was as if Ethan had grown hollow on the inside like a dying tree left alone to rot in the woods. “Ethan, I’m so sorry.”
    “Save it, Jensen.” Ethan waved a hand in the air. “You didn’t kill Jay, and your sympathy only causes me more pain. After all I’ve done to you and Josh, I don’t deserve it.”
    Not thinking twice about it, Jensen reached out and grabbed Ethan’s hand. “Yes, what you did to us was wrong, but what happened to you is terrible. I can’t image what I’d be like