The Chosen One Universe Volume Two: An MM Paranormal Fantasy Shifters Series

by Macy Blake

  “Walt!” Solomon bellowed from outside, drawing a snicker from Drew.

  Walt winked at Drew, and he was able to breathe a bit easier. He walked outside and took the plate of deviled eggs to Shaq. The ribs smelled amazing and Drew’s stomach growled as he got closer to them.

  “Hungry?” Shaq asked.

  “I am now. First burgers and now ribs? You’re spoiling me.”

  Drew had never actually seen a man looked more pleased. Shaq even looked around, almost as if he were making sure his pack had heard what Drew said. They all had pleased smiles on their faces, like he had said something really amazing. So weird.

  As the evening progressed, the pack continued to go overboard to make sure he was well taken care of. Drew still thought they were being weird, but it was also pretty sweet. Shaq gave him first pick of the ribs. Solomon nudged one of the eggs with the most filling in his direction. Teague made sure he always had something to drink. Calliope used some sort of hellhound mojo to swat a mosquito away from him in a move that would have made a ninja proud.

  The only time he escaped was when he went inside to check on Cody. The poor guy really must have been sicker than he let on, because he never even woke up. Everyone else finally packed up to leave, and Drew leaned into Shaq. “I think… well.”

  “What?”

  Shaq’s arm came around him and his big hand seemed to fit perfectly in the small of Drew’s back. “Is it okay if Cody stays? He’s still sleeping and… I mean, I can take the couch again. He can stay in the guest room. I don’t mind.”

  Shaq’s thumb stroked a slow rhythm along Drew’s spine. “Or you could stay in my room with me.”

  Drew’s thoughts immediately went to a carnal place, but he didn’t seem to get the if you say yes, you’ll get ravished vibe from Shaq. Not that he would necessarily mind being ravished by Shaq. Actually, Drew didn’t think he’d mind that at all. But there was more going on here than he understood and he didn’t want to fall for the alpha before he even understood what dating a hellhound would mean. He was crazy… but not that crazy. And he also had a sneaking suspicion that if anything happened between them, it would be far from a casual hookup.

  “I’d like that, as long as we set some boundaries.”

  Shaq beamed at him and tugged him closer. “I liked holding you last night. Can we do that again?”

  Drew leaned his forehead into Shaq’s chest. “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

  “Okay. I’m going to go check on Cody and make sure everything gets locked up. You need anything?”

  “Just something to sleep in from my bag.”

  Shaq tucked his hand against the curve of Drew’s neck and stroked his thumb over Drew’s cheek. “I’ll get your bag when I check on Cody.”

  “You sure you don’t mind him staying?”

  “He’s pack.”

  It was explanation enough. Drew followed Shaq inside and couldn’t believe that the kitchen was already clean. All the food had been devoured— he’d never seen anyone eat the amount of food the hellhounds did— so they didn’t have a ton of leftovers. Shaq and Solomon emerged from the guest room a couple minutes later. Solomon didn’t look happy about leaving Cody. Or maybe he just wasn’t happy that Cody was sick? That was probably it. It had to be weird having sick humans around. Did hellhounds even get the flu? He had so many questions. But as Shaq ushered Solomon out and locked the door behind him, he decided questions could wait. He had a feeling he had plenty of time to ask them.

  Meshaq

  Shaq normally spent his Mondays off taking care of supernatural business. There were quite a few shady characters he’d come across in his years as the goddess’s champion who needed to be checked up on. They all knew that he’d stop by, unannounced, and that he better find them toeing the line. He’d given them a chance when he didn’t deliver them to the goddess. He wouldn’t give them another. Funny thing was, most of them didn’t need the reminder. A couple of them had even become friends.

  Like Mason, for instance. Instead of his normal Monday of portal traveling to make his I’m still watching visits, Shaq called one of his former misfits to him. Drew was still sleeping soundly when Mason arrived at his door mid-morning, but Shaq had been expecting his arrival. The wolf was currently alpha of his own pack, one he’d built from other outcasts like Mason himself had once been. They’d built their own security and investigations firm and had been able to put their enhanced senses and military backgrounds to good use. Shaq had the coffee ready when Mason knocked on his door, and he led the other alpha into the kitchen.

  “Wasn’t expecting an invite to your house, Alpha,” Mason said once he had a steaming mug in his hand. “Nice place.”

  “This isn’t a social call. I need you for a job.”

  Mason paused with his mug half-way to his mouth. “I’m listening.”

  “I’m trusting you with this, Mason. More than I’ve ever trusted you before.”

  Mason set the mug down and his eyes flared blue. “I won’t let you down.”

  Shaq knew that. He’d never trust Mason in the same house with Drew otherwise. “I have some news.”

  “Quit beating around the bush already. You’re normally not like this.”

  Shaq couldn’t help but chuckle. “I normally haven’t just found my mate.”

  It took Mason a second to process his words, but when he did, the other alpha’s back straightened and he came to attention. “You what?”

  “Found my mate.” Shaq nodded his head toward the bedroom door. “He’s sleeping.”

  Mason stared at him for a long minute. “Mates aren’t… they haven’t… I didn’t think…”

  “Yeah, I didn’t either. I spoke with my goddess. Magic is changing again, Mason. And you know as well as I do what happened last time magic started changing in our world.”

  It had almost ended in the death of their friend Sam as well as Henry, the young man Shaq considered his nephew. Henry’d only been a child at the time, but the magic he’d seen in the house where Henry and Sam had been taken hadn’t been natural. It wasn’t something Shaq would ever be able to forget.

  “But this is good, Shaq. A mate.”

  The awe in Mason’s voice matched Shaq’s feelings. He still couldn’t understand why he’d been chosen to receive such an amazing blessing, but he would thank the goddess for the rest of his life for the honor.

  “I need to keep him safe, which is why I called you. New security for the house and the bar. He’s already had another pack of wolves sniffing around, and they tracked his car with some electronic thing. Solomon can tell you about it. I ran off the betas, but the alpha thinks Drew is his mate. He is not.”

  Mason nodded. “It won’t be pretty, especially not with the full moon a few days away.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of. And we normally get called out on the full moon. It really does make lunatics out of some of us, doesn’t it?”

  Even though shifters weren’t directly impacted by the moon, they did feel the pull of its magic. Humans did as well. Magic was stronger under the moon’s light, even if Shaq didn’t quite understand why. Some mysteries were meant for his goddess and her sisters alone.

  “I can get security set up and plan on getting the bar covered. You’ll have all hands on deck?”

  “Absolutely. I’m not leaving Drew alone.”

  He didn’t mention to Mason that the goddess planned on meeting Drew for herself at some point on the full moon. His instincts for protecting Drew flared again. He could hear Drew stirring in the bedroom and knew he’d be coming out soon. He could also hear movement in the guest room. Cody came out first, looking sleepy and confused. He squinted his way across the hall to the bathroom, not even awake enough to acknowledge Shaq and Mason’s presence.

  Drew popped out of the bedroom a second later and immediately noticed Mason sitting at the dining room table. He froze and his eyes darted up to Shaq’s nervously.

  “This is Mason,” Shaq said. “Mason, this is Drew.”
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  Mason stood and Drew backed up a step until he bumped into the bedroom door.

  “Nice to meet you,” Mason said. He glanced at Shaq for direction.

  Shaq bumped his head toward the back door and Mason stepped that way, putting him further away from Drew. “I’ll check around outside and put a plan together for you. Give me an hour.”

  “Um, nice to meet you,” Drew said. His voice shook, but he attempted a polite smile.

  Mason nodded and slipped out the back door. Shaq locked it behind him then crossed the room to Drew, pulling him into his arms. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay. You’re allowed to have guests in your own home. I just… wasn’t expecting anyone else.”

  “And he’s a wolf.”

  Drew’s breath caught and he looked up. “What?”

  “He’s an alpha wolf. He’s a friend, though, and more importantly, he didn’t react to you at all. Which leads me to believe that the other idiot is really going to need me to rearrange his face for scaring you like he did.”

  That got a little smirk out of Drew. “Rearrange his face, Shaq? Really?”

  “What? You think I couldn’t do it?”

  Drew scoffed but continued to hold Shaq against him. “I’m a thousand percent sure you could, tough guy.”

  “Good. Because I would. Anyone who gets near you has to come through me. And I’ve not found anything yet that can get through me.”

  Drew nudged his forehead against Shaq’s chest, marking him again. Shaq knew that Drew had no idea what he was doing, but he loved it all the same. The instincts were there, that was what mattered. He needed to find a way to explain to Drew what they were to each other, but he hadn’t found the words. He’d wanted to the night before, when Drew had curled up beside him in bed. They’d talked about nothing for hours before Drew finally stopped in the middle of a sentence. When Shaq had checked on him, he’d fallen asleep with the most peaceful look on his face.

  The bathroom door opened again and Cody emerged looking a bit worse for the wear, although more rested than he’d been the night before. He stared at them for a second, a look Shaq didn’t recognize on his face, before he looked down and away. “I’m sorry.”

  Shaq frowned down at Drew, wondering if Cody had something to apologize to his mate for. But Drew looked just as confused as Shaq was. “Why are you sorry?” Shaq asked.

  “For…um… staying at your house? And, you know, interrupting?”

  Drew made a little noise of distress. It was too low for human ears to pick up, but Shaq had heard it loud and clear. He released Drew after giving him a gentle squeeze, then went across the room to Cody. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You’re not only my employee, but my friend. You’re sick, Cody. And even if you weren’t, you can crash here whenever you want.”

  Cody shrugged but didn’t look up at him. Shaq wasn’t quite sure what to do. He looked back at Drew and his mate walked up to Cody and pulled him into a hug. “You must still feel like shit, huh? Let’s get you something to eat. You never ate last night so you have to be hungry.”

  Drew had Cody sitting on one of the kitchen stools seconds later. “Shaq, do you have a sweatshirt or something he could wear?”

  “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

  Drew gave him a look and then made a little hand gesture shooing him away. So he went into his room and found an old hoodie with the bar’s name on it. Someone had come around selling them a while back, and although none of them ever needed to wear something so heavy, he’d kept the sample. He took it back into the kitchen and found Drew searching the kitchen cabinets. “Tea?”

  “Over the stove.”

  Drew looked up at the cabinet and scowled at him. Shaq tried not to laugh as he easily reached up and snagged several of the tea tins he’d stashed up there. “Show off,” Drew griped. But he bumped his hip into Shaq’s as he passed. “Start the water for me?”

  “Sure,” Shaq said. He filled the kettle and set it on the stove, watching as Drew worked to put Cody at ease. He didn’t know exactly how it was working, but it seemed to be.

  Drew set the tins in front of Cody with a smile. “Give ‘em a sniff and see what smells good.”

  He reached out to Shaq, who realized he still had the hoodie in his hand. Drew took it from him and went around the counter to Cody. “Here, put this on.”

  “I’m fine,” Cody complained. But then he shivered and looked sheepish.

  “Yeah, you’re perfectly fine. You know, I am not good at taking care of sick people, so you’d better take what you can get.”

  Cody slipped his arms into the hoodie while Drew held it out and then wrapped it around himself. Cody was a lot smaller than Shaq so he was able to wrap it around himself almost twice. Poor guy. He was a damn fine bartender, though. And Shaq actually didn’t mind his snarky personality, at least once he’d stopped with the flirting. When they’d first met, Cody had basically offered himself to Shaq on a silver platter. But he hadn’t been interested, especially not if Cody was going to stay working for him.

  “Now which tea do you want?”

  Cody shrugged. The guy looked miserable. Shaq pulled out his phone and sent a text to Solomon. He didn’t have any meds in the house to take care of a human. Cody needed something. And what if he got Drew sick? He needed a first aid kit, medicine for a bunch of different occasions. He should call Vaughn. Vaughn could tell him what he needed. It was good having a supernatural doctor in the family. But then if he called Vaughn, he’d have to explain things to Drew and… he sent a second text to Solomon instead, telling him to check with Vaughn to see what they could do for Cody and what they needed to do to prevent Drew from getting sick.

  He was really getting worried when his sigil began to burn. With a groan, Shaq went to Drew and pulled him close. “I have to go out for a little while. You’ll be okay with Cody?”

  “Yeah, we’re fine. Everything okay? Did someone text?”

  He’d noticed that Shaq had his phone out. It was as good an explanation as any, especially considering Cody was sitting there. “Yeah. Everything’s okay. Mason’s here and Solomon’s on his way.”

  “We’re okay.”

  The sigil burned again so Shaq pulled Drew in for a quick hug, made sure to scent his neck, then hurried for the front door. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “Okay.”

  Goddess, he didn’t want to leave. He asked Mason to stay until Solomon arrived as he ran to the side of the house. He opened his senses, making sure he couldn’t be detected by any humans, and opened his portal. The moment Shaq stepped out of the flames, he knew exactly what had triggered his sigil. A bellowing voice echoed through the perfectly average suburban neighborhood.

  “If I had the wings of a buzzard, to a dead horse’s side I would flyyyyyyyyyyyy.”

  Shaq groaned and made his way through the neatly trimmed grass and found a very drunk faun singing in a backyard of a pretty, yellow painted house. “Cosmo, what the hell are you doing?”

  “Meshaq! I’m singing, my friend! Singing always makes me feel better.”

  Shaq sighed and looped his arm around Cosmo’s neck, dragging him further into the trees. He’d have to come back later to clear up any remains of exposure but for now, he needed Cosmo away from the humans before he infected them with his merriment. There were much worse ways to expose humans to their world, and at least this one was relatively easy to cover up. Hopefully none of the humans had seen Cosmo in his shifted form, since he happened to be half human, half goat at the moment. The horns on his head curled around and poked Shaq in the arm, but he continued to drag the faun away from human ears.

  “Did you like my song? I can sing it again?” Cosmo sucked in a breath and bellowed out another line. “I’d live on the blood and corrosion.”

  Shaq squeezed his windpipe, cutting off the horrifying sound. “You want to tell me why you’re shit-faced and risking exposure to a human neighborhood, Cosmo?”

  Cosmo stumbled, his mead-scented
breath souring as he breathed in Shaq’s face. “I’m not exposing myself. That’s racist. Sexist. No, speciest. I have hairy legs. I can’t wear pants!”

  Shaq sighed and kept Cosmo from falling. His hooves were normally well-suited for a walk through the woods in the middle of the damn afternoon, but they clearly weren’t up to the task of dealing with drunk Cosmo.

  “Cosmo, you were in a human neighborhood. Singing. In your shifted form. You weren’t exposing your dick. You were revealing your shifted form to humans.”

  It took a second to process.

  Cosmo pulled away from him, glaring at the empty bottle still clutched in his hand. “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Oh. Since you triggered the sigil, you obviously crossed some boundaries my friend. You know the rules.”

  That news seemed to sober up Cosmo pretty quickly. “But I didn’t… well, I mean. I didn’t do it on purpose?”

  “Yeah, I didn’t think you did. What brought this on?”

  If Meshaq had known when the goddess offered him the opportunity to become a hellhound that it would be literal decades spent being the therapist for a bunch of supernatural beings? Well, he might have taken death instead. But then he never would have met Drew, so… it was worth it.

  Cosmo waved the bottle around and began humming a happy tune. Shaq snatched the bottle out of his hand and growled. “Cosmo, don’t make me take you to the gates.”

  “Don’t take me to hell, you hellhound!”

  Shaq pinched the bridge of his nose and waited. Why couldn’t it have just been a ghoul on the loose? He’d once encountered a giant lamia that had nearly decapitated him. He’d rather deal with that than a drunk faun. “Cosmo, you’re testing my patience.”

  “Test this, you giant flea bag.”

  Cosmo kicked him in the shin with one of his hooves.

  It hurt.

  Shaq growled, his eyes flaming red. “That’s it. I’m done.”

  He snagged Cosmo by the horns and locked him into a headlock. With his other hand he opened a portal and dragged the squirming faun through it. They ended up on a huge chunk of ice in a fjord at the northern end of Alaska. Shaq gave Cosmo a shove and the faun floundered before splashing into the freezing water. His scream could very likely have woken the dead, but Shaq happened to know this area was never occupied by humans. Shaq watched him flounder with an unhealthy amount of glee.