Forbidden Hunger by R.L. Kenderson

Five

Chase Hemming reachedfor the door handle to head downstairs to speak to his alpha when his best friend and roommate stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist.

“You heading down?” Ranulf asked.

“Yeah. Do you want me to wait?”

Ranulf lifted a shoulder as he grabbed a pair of jeans out of his dresser. “Whatever. I’ll be down soon after if you don’t want to wait.” His towel dropped, but he didn’t make any move to hide his naked body.

As shifters, they got naked all the time before shifting so as not to ruin all their clothes. He’d seen almost all of his housemates naked, although he always made sure to turn his eyes away from his alpha’s mate. Damien was a levelheaded guy and an excellent alpha, but nobody messed with a shifter’s mate.

Tonight though, seeing Ranulf’s naked ass made Chase think of sex. But not in the way one would think.

Chase and Ranulf had what most people would probably consider a bromance. They were very close and liked to spend most of their time together, to the point where they liked sharing a bedroom. They also liked sharing women. There was a time Chase had wished he were attracted to Ranulf because then his life would be complete. But he didn’t see Ranulf that way, and Ranulf didn’t see him that way.

They’d tried, but the chemistry wasn’t there.

And while they did have solo partners, his best sexual encounters included the two of them fucking the same woman. There was just something about making a female come over and over again with your best friend.

Lately, Ranulf and he had been fucking their housemate and fellow sentinel, Raven. But it had been a few days, which was why he was thinking about sex.

“Have you spoken to Raven?”

Ranulf was finished dressing at this point. “No,” he said with disappointment.

“She’s getting close. Yet she hasn’t said anything to us.”

“I know.”

Both their phones dinged.

“That’s probably Damien,” Chase said. “We’ll have to talk to Raven after we find out why he called us home so early tonight.”

The two went downstairs and found their alpha in the living room with only Quentin and Hunter.

Chase gave them both a look that said, Do you know what’s going on?

The two shook their heads slightly. They were as clueless as he and Ranulf were.

Damien walked in and began to fill them in on what had happened earlier in the night. Both Chase and Ranulf had experience with Monica. They had attempted to go on a double date—with Ranulf and Raven being a couple and Chase being Monica’s date—but she had figured out that he didn’t like her. She had ended up drugging Raven, Ranulf, and him and ditching them. But they’d had to pretend like they hadn’t known what she had done so as not to make her suspicious, which didn’t really matter since she’d been missing for a week until she turned up tonight.

“Did you send Raven ahead of us?” Ranulf asked.

“No. She’s too close to her heat. She’s leaving for her parents’ in the morning. We can’t risk it.”

Chase’s shoulders relaxed. He hadn’t realized he’d been worried about her until he thought of her going alone, even with the cat-shifters there.

“I didn’t send anyone,” Damien said. “With Kendall out, Zane back with the cats, and me…” Damien smiled. “Well, Payton’s pregnant, and I can’t risk leaving her and our child now.”

Chase blinked in surprise. “Congrats, man.” He was shocked they knew already. Her heat must have just happened when they were away from the house last week.

“Thanks.” Damien beamed. “I know it seems early, but all the signs are there.”

Ranulf slapped their alpha on the shoulder. “We’re happy for you.”

Chase, Quentin, and Hunter nodded in agreement.

“Thanks. But we’re getting off topic. You’re the only four I have left, and that’s why I called you home.”

“Do you need us to get over there?” Quentin asked.

“No. Monica already got away.” Damien filled them in on what he’d been informed of just before they came downstairs. “But, Quentin and Hunter, I want you both to be available to help the cats with this in whatever way they need. Vance understands we’re down sentinels and has agreed to take point on this.”

“And us?” Ranulf asked.

Damien looked at him and Chase. “I’m giving you two the next few days off.”

The two best friends quickly met each other’s eyes before looking back at their alpha.

“What for?” Chase asked.

“You know.” He lifted his chin toward the stairs. “Now, why don’t you go check on Raven?”

With the meeting over, Quentin and Hunter got ready to leave the house again while Chase and Ranulf went upstairs.

When they reached the top, Chase put his hand on Ranulf’s arm. “Are we sure we should be doing this?”

“Is it not what you want?”

At one point, the two of them had joked about this very thing, but now, the reality of it made it much more…real.

Still, even with that, Chase said, “It’s what I want more than anything.”

“Me, too. So, that means we should probably go and talk to her.”

They walked to Raven’s room and knocked lightly on the door.

“Raven?” Ranulf said, but there was silence on the other side.

“Raven?” Chase asked again.

Nothing.

“Open it,” Chase said.

Ranulf carefully turned the knob and slowly pushed open the door. But there was no reason to be cautious. The room was empty.

“What the hell? Did she leave without telling anyone?” Chase asked.

“She must have. Let’s check.”

They went back to find Damien, who was in his office.

“Raven’s not in her room. Did she tell you she was leaving early?” Chase asked.

The alpha frowned. “No. Hold on.” He pulled out his phone from his pocket and looked at it. “She didn’t text or call.” He hit a few buttons, and suddenly, the phone was ringing on speaker.

“This is Raven.”

“Where are you?” Damien asked.

She sighed. “I left early to go to my parents’ house. Since I wasn’t of any use at home, I figured I might as well get settled here.”

“You didn’t tell anyone you were leaving.”

“Sorry. I didn’t think it mattered.”

“Well, it does. You didn’t leave without saying anything because you’re still pissed, aren’t you?”

“No. You were right, Damien. I wouldn’t be of any help to anyone right now.”

His brow furrowed. “That’s good to hear that you understand. Next time, let me know where you are, please. Something could have happened to you.”

Raven barked out a laugh even though the situation wasn’t funny.

“Raven,” Damien said with a tone.

“Yes, I will let you know next time. And, Damien, will you keep me updated on what is going on with Monica?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

“We’ll see you in a few days,” Damien said.

Chase looked at Ranulf. Shouldn’t Damien give her the information about what had happened with Monica?

Damien hit End and tossed his phone down on his desk.

“Why didn’t you tell her?” Ranulf asked.

“Because she doesn’t need to worry about this. She needs to get through her heat.” Damien raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you agree?”

“Yes. Yes,” Chase and Ranulf said.

“Okay.” Their alpha laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back in his chair. “What the hell are you two still doing here then?”