by Shannon West
Unable to stand it a moment longer, Jace’s nerve broke and he turned to run, realizing even as he did it that out of all the things that he could have done, this was the absolute worst. He remembered seeing a Discovery channel special once about big cats. They loved to stalk their prey and they liked it even better when their prey tried to run from them. They loved nothing better than a chase.
As Jace panicked and turned to run, he stumbled on the top step, sprawling out on the porch. Knowing the big cats would be on him in seconds, he raised his head to see certain death approaching and coming fast. He threw his arms over his head and braced for the impact, screaming in horror.
Another scream, or was it a roar, even louder and with much more volume than his own suddenly cut through the night. It was so powerful, so loud that Jace was startled enough to peer through his arms to see what it was. In amazement, he watched as yet another cougar leaped from the shadows near the trees and raced across the yard to attack. It wasn’t him the cougar was coming for, however. It was the other two cats and with a violent roar, the cat threw itself in the path of the others.
The cougar was massive, and ripped at the first cat as it reached him, spinning the cat around to face him. The smaller animal jumped back in alarm and slunk off toward the shadows as the two bigger cats attacked each other with fury. They each reared back on their hind legs and fell on each other, ripping and shredding each other’s fur and skin with their vicious teeth and claws. Jace could barely distinguish one from the other, but as the two huge animals thrashed around on the ground, it became clear that one of them—the larger cat—was winning this vicious battle. With a final swipe of a massive paw, the animal on the ground beneath it pushed the bigger cat from its chest and took off running back toward the trees.
Stunned at what he’d witnessed, Jace stood up. The slight movement must have caught the attention of the remaining cat, because Jace saw the big cougar, winded and bloody from multiple bites and scratches on its legs and chest, slowly swing its head around and stare straight into his eyes.
Though the eyes that stared back into his were cold and deadly, Jace realized, without a shadow of a doubt, that this time he was staring straight at Hawke. The big cat slowly began to stalk him, walking stiff legged with its head lowered and a low, menacing growl emanating from its chest. Slowly, Jace got to his feet and backed the few steps toward the door, never taking his eyes from the cat.
“Hawke? I know that’s you. Please…you’re scaring me, Hawke!”
The cat’s eyes were inhuman yet calculating as it continued making its way toward him, stalking its prey. Jace’s eyes filled with tears, and he slammed his fist into the porch railing next to him. “Damn it, Hawke Sutherland. Stop that right now!”
The big cat stopped, and actually turned its head as if trying to understand what Jace said. Pressing his advantage, Jace took a step toward him. “I love you Hawke, but you need to snap out of this shit right now, or…or…I’m leaving you! I will, damn it!”
The threat was ridiculous in the face of the violence the cat could inflict on him, but Jace was still reeling from shock and adrenalin and alcohol. “I mean it!” he yelled again, and then sat down hard on the porch as his legs gave way again.
The cat shook its head and Jace could see that the light was changing—dawn was almost upon them and the shift was starting. With a muffled roar, the cat turned and ran toward the woods, leaving Jace on the verge of collapse. He fell down on his back, staring up at the ceiling of the porch, and wondered if this had all been some horrible dream.
A distant roar came from the woods, and he leaped to his feet and ran inside the house, slamming and locking the door behind him. This had been no dream. It was more like a fucking nightmare, and one he would be expected to face every month for the rest of his life. He slumped down on the floor by the door and covered his face with his hands.
****
Hawke slowly climbed the back steps into his house, afraid of what he might be facing when he stepped inside. He’d come back to his human mind only to realize Jace was somehow standing in front of him, crying and stomping his foot at him. The inhuman part of his mind was still registering the word, mate, and Hawke knew, without any shadow of doubt in his mind exactly why he’d been stalking Jace.
Horrified, he rubbed his face with his hands and opened the door. Everything was quiet, but the thought of what almost happened was terrifying him. He yelled out Jace’s name as he walked in the door.
“Jace, get out here right now, damn it!”
Jace appeared in the hallway, peering out the door to the kitchen at him. He took a tentative step in the room before Hawke turned to let him have it. Hawke knew Jace was frightened of him and it broke his heart. At the same time, he was unreasonably angry that Jace had put himself in such danger.
“What in the fuck were you doing going outside? How many times did I tell you it was dangerous? How many times did I tell you to stay inside no matter what?”
“I-I know, but I heard this scream and I-uh-I needed to talk to you.”
“Bullshit, Jace! You always think you know better than anybody else! Do you think I want to wake up to find you dead on the front porch? Or I should say what would be left of you after two hungry cats got through with you! That would kill me too, Jace! Just put a bullet in my brain, it would be a hell of a lot faster! Goddamn it!”
“But it was all right. I mean, I was pretty scared at first, but you saved me. You fought that other cat for me and chased him away.”
“Oh right. Of course. And do you know why my cat chased the other one away? Because my cat wanted to fuck you, Jace! Just like the animal it is. It wanted to throw you down and do unspeakable things to you, and it didn’t want the other cat to have you!” He pounded his fist on the table and made a move toward him, but Jace shied away, taking several steps backward.
His heart sinking, Hawke knew in that moment that he’d lost him. He sat down hard on a bar stool in the kitchen and stared bleakly up at Jace. Hawke suddenly realized that Jace would never be able to get past the moment when he saw Hawke stalking him. Jace couldn’t live with a monster and was going to leave him, and there wasn’t a damn thing Hawke could do about it.
His shoulders slumping, he couldn’t quite meet Jace’s eyes. He couldn’t look into their depths and see the rejection and the fear. “I guess you want to leave now.” He shut his eyes tightly and sighed. “I guess I can help you pack—I know you’ll want to get out of here before tonight.”
Jace took a hesitant step toward him, but Hawke held up a hand when Jace opened his mouth to say something. “No, let me finish. I understand. I do. It’s killing me--but I understand. And I want you to know I won’t abandon you. I’ll give you money and always keep tabs on you wherever you are. If you need anything—anything—I want you to call me right away.”
“But…”
“But nothing, Jace. I mean it. I still consider you to be my…mine, and I always will. I can’t help that. I love you, and nothing will change it. Not ever. But if you want to get started packing, then let me try to help you now, because I might not have the strength to do it later.” He glanced up to see Jace watching him thoughtfully, those beautiful blue eyes troubled and--angry.
“Will you do me a favor and shut up?” Jace snapped, taking an aggressive step forward, his fists clenched at his side.
Hawke tilted his head in shock. “What?”
“I said, shut up. I have no intention of going anywhere, unless you’re asking me to leave.”
“Of course not, but…”
“But nothing. You’re not getting rid of me so easy. You’re not going to just put my clothes in a suitcase and put them on the front porch like my parents did!”
“No, Jace, I…”
“I’m not going anywhere. I love you and I can learn to love that damn cat.”
Hawke looked at him and smiled a slow, incredulous smile. “Do you mean it?”
“Yes, I mean it. It’s fucked up and
probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I’m going to stay.” He gave a dramatic sigh. “When I think about not being with you—hell, it would kill me too, okay? I can’t stay away from you, so it looks like I’m dead either way.” He glanced up to meet Hawke’s gaze and shrugged, a slow smile spreading over his face. “But hey, what the hell? Nobody lives forever. If you still want me…if you haven’t changed your mind…”
Hawke made a wordless sound of longing and moved toward him, meeting him halfway.
The End
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Shannon West lives in the southern United States, and is a lover and avid reader of M/M romances. Shannon began writing gay romance a few years ago, and now has over ninety short stories, novellas, and novels to her credit. Her stories have been translated into French, Italian, and even one Japanese Yaoi. Her favorite genre is paranormal and most of her characters don’t get really interesting to her until they grow a tail. Shannon loves men and everything about them, and writes Romance (with a capital R) unashamedly and unabashedly. She believes, in the words of Helen Steiner Rice that “love is the answer that everyone seeks, love is the language that every heart speaks.” But she also believes wholeheartedly in the words of Woody Allen, that love may be the answer, but “while you’re waiting for that answer, sex raises some pretty interesting questions.” Shannon mostly spends her days at the keyboard, ably assisted by her cats, Scarlett and Taz, and eluding housework, which stalks her relentlessly.
Susan E Scott lives in Northwest GA with her husband and a Labradoodle named Nicky (who just happens to be named after one of her favorite characters in a Shannon West book.) For those who are familiar with the character, it's a perfect name for him because he's very much like that other Nicky - demanding, loving and maybe a little lazy. Susan loves to fish in the lake in her backyard, but has little time for it since she always feels she should be writing. She also loves to read, MM romance of course.
Look for her on Facebook as Susan Scott, her author page on Amazon, and her soon to be updated website, susanescottbooks.weebly.com.
PAINTED HEARTS PUBLISHING
Painted Hearts Publishing has an exclusive group of talented writers. We publish stories that range from historical to fantasy, sci-fi to contemporary, erotic to sweet. Our authors present high quality stories full of romance, desire, and sometimes graphic moments that are both entertaining and sensual. At the heart of all our stories is romance, and we are firm believers in a world where happily ever afters do exist.
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