by T. L. Reeve
Mackenzie held up his hand. “I’m gonna stop you right there. I don’t want or need to know about your sex life. Bad enough come the full moon everyone is outside, chasing and fucking their mates.”
Kalkin leaned forward. “Jealous?”
Mackenzie snorted, ready to lie to his sibling. Deep down, he did want what his mated brothers had with their significant others, however his time had passed and now with losing time, he’d never be fit enough to have a mate. “Not in this lifetime, or the next.”
“Liar. You realize the only one stopping you, Mac, is you,” Kalkin remarked. “You can have a life after Holly.”
“I asked you here for a reason,” he stated, hoping to change the subject. He had no desire to open up that Pandora’s box with Kalkin. So far, the family, aka Kalkin, had yet to inquire about why he’d done what he did with Holly.
“Figured as much, Mac.” Kalkin’s smirk dissipated, and the teasing glint in his eyes disappeared. The man who sat before him was all business. The Alpha. “Wanna clue me in why considering in all the time you’ve been back home; you’ve never invited me over until now?”
Just because he’d never invited them, didn’t mean they hadn’t been to his home before. Mackenzie made sure to limit the visits. Of course, all the Rafertys naturally assumed it had been Holly’s decree as to why none of them had ever been invited to their home. Pussy move or not, Mackenzie allowed her to take the blame, knowing the lies they wove could be blown apart with a single misstep.
To Kalkin’s credit, he didn’t push. Rather, his brother sat quietly while Mackenzie fiddled with his coffee cup and gathered his thoughts. How did one tell his brother, the Sheriff and his Alpha, his fears?
Mackenzie took a deep breath, raised his gaze to his sibling, and said. “I think I might be going feral.”
Kalkin snorted. “Bullshit.”
Mackenzie bowed his head in frustration and shame at his own lack of control over the last couple of weeks. He dug his blunt fingernails into his scalp as he bit back a growl of outrage before addressing the other man. “You don’t understand, Kal. I’m missing huge chunks of time at night. I try to remember, and I just can’t.” Mackenzie shook his head. “What if I hurt… Hell, Kal, what if I kill someone?”
“You’re not,” Kalkin’s assured him, his tone a mix of knowledge and promise. It made Mackenzie wonder if the other man was already aware of whatever his nocturnal activities were.
“You don’t know for sure,” Mackenzie growled. “Something isn’t right. I can feel it and, what’s worse, my senses are out of whack.”
Kalkin gave a weary sigh. “So, let’s say you’re becoming feral. What the fuck do you want me to do about it?”
“Put me down, when the time comes,” Mackenzie said without compunction.
Kalkin stood abruptly, pushing the chair back with such force it slammed into the back wall and left a mark. It would be another thing for Mackenzie to add to his growing to-do list.
“What the fuck, Mac?” Kalkin spat in disgust.
Mackenzie swore he could see waves of fury rolling off of his brother. It mixed with the Alpha pheromones, making the air heavy with the distinct scent. Mackenzie struggled to keep calm, and for the first time in a long-ass time, he felt the wolf inside of him rise quickly to the surface, yearning to challenge the man in front of him.
“I can’t ask Royce to do it,” he said, ignoring Kalkin’s outrage. “He’s already got issues when it comes to me. Having to put me down, it’ll fuck him up more.”
“No doubt, but you think it’s all right to fuckin’ ask me?” Kalkin snarled.
“You’re my brother…my Alpha, Kal,” he said, trying to calm himself down before things got way too out of hand. “We both know you’re the only one strong enough to do it when the time comes.”
Feral wolves were a tricky thing. It could be a sudden change or a slowly occurring one. It was like a disease, eating away at the human psyche until all that was left was a rabid wolf. Mackenzie worried he was suffering the latter half of it since he had hours of clarity during the day. It was the nights he couldn’t recall where he’d been or what he’d been doing. It was wearing on him.
“You done?” Kalkin bit out. The vein in his forehead pulsed, a sure sign his brother was pissed.
Mackenzie nodded.
“I’m going to say this again, Mac, and I want you to listen to me. You’re not going feral.”
He shook his head. “You don’t know if I am or not, Kal.”
Kalkin grimaced before he gave a halfhearted-amused chuckle. “Yeah, I do, and so would you if you pulled your head out of your ass for once and listened to the creature inside of you.”
“That’s part of the problem, we don’t communicate anymore. I haven’t shifted in years. I’m more man than a wolf, Kal,” Mackenzie admitted. “And now, all of a sudden, I’m shifting again. I couldn’t stop it. Worse, I can’t remember what happens when I do.”
Kalkin shook his head, studying the ceiling before he muttered what sounded like a prayer. “Gods, save me from stupid, fucking wolves.” After a solid minute, Kalkin’s gaze dropped to Mackenzie’s. “You really serious about this shit?”
“Yes,” Mackenzie assured.
Before Kalkin could respond, someone knocked on the back door. No one knocked unless they weren’t family. The Raferty clan had no boundaries.
“This should get interesting,” Kalkin mumbled.
“Come in!” Mackenzie hollered.
The door squeaked open, and the woman who filled most of his waking thoughts stepped into the house. She stumbled when she saw Kalkin, and her gaze darted between the two of them. Although human, she still possessed the need for self-preservation, and deep down, Mackenzie suspected she sensed the discord in the room.
“Did I interrupt something?” Aurora asked.
“Other than Mac proving again what a total dumbass he can be, then no, Aurora, you didn’t,” Kalkin stated.
“Oh okay.” She glanced at Kalkin warily.
Mackenzie could see the confusion in her features and the need to keep her safe rushed to the forefront. “It’s fine, Aurora. We were just wrapping up our conversation, weren’t we, Kal?”
Kalkin snorted. “Yeah, sure, if you say so, Mac.”
“I can come back,” Aurora said.
“No stay, I’m heading out, I’m going to be late for work,” Kalkin stated.
“I bet no one calls you on your tardiness, Sheriff,” Aurora teased.
Kalkin grinned. “One of the perks of being a boss.”
“Kal—”
“Later, Mac,” Kalkin said with a wave of his hand before he left.
“Urgh…he does the same thing on the phone when he calls in,” Aurora muttered, staring at the door.
“What?” He tried to focus on the conversation at hand, and not the sweet smell of honeysuckle, sweet peas, and pussy. His wayward dick twitched in his jeans and pressed against the zipper. If his dick got any harder, he’d have to adjust himself. With Aurora standing right there, it wouldn’t be an easy feat, either. He needed to focus on her face, and not what her tight little body would look like spread out in his bed.
“Hang up without saying goodbye. I guess he does it with everything. Got to tell you, I know he’s your brother and my boss, but I find it to be rude, frustrating, and it pisses me off,” she confessed.
Mackenzie chuckled. “He knows it, too, it’s why he does it.” Silence filled the room for a moment. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” Aurora smiled, and a feeling of contentment filled him. “I stopped by to thank you for last night and for getting Abby to school this morning. I really appreciate you helping me out.”
“It was nothing. You know I’m scheduled to have Abby again tonight, right?”
Her cute little face scrunched up. “Yeah, why?”
He chuckled. “Well, you could’ve told me thank you then, instead of making a special trip out here, when you should be at home, sleeping.”
“Have you ever worked the night shift, Mac?”
Mackenzie rubbed his chin. “Never. Why?”
Aurora smiled. “If you ever had, you’d know it’s next to impossible to go home and go to sleep. I need to unwind before I even contemplate going to bed for a couple hours. I normally run a couple errands or go food shopping after I drop Abby off at school. If I’m lucky, I’m heading to bed by ten or an eleven.”
“What time are you getting up at?” he asked, worried she wasn’t getting enough rest. He knew from his own experience, taking care of young children was exhausting. Aurora was by herself, he at least had, had Holly, when she chose to be involved in the kid’s life.
Aurora frowned. “A little before three, so I can get Abby from the bus stop.”
“That’s not enough sleep for you,” he grumbled, not happy she wasn’t taking care of herself.
“It’s only three days a week, Mac,” she said defensively. “I get plenty of sleep the days I’m not working.”
Mackenzie harrumphed.
“No worries, dad, I even try to take a nap when I’m home and Abby is at school,” she teased.
Mackenzie wasn’t amused, and he frowned at Aurora, who took a tired step back from him. He might be grumpy, and old, but whatever he felt for the woman who stood in front of him, it sure as fuck wasn’t anything remotely fatherly.
“I’m s-s-sorry, Mac. I was teasing,” she said, fiddling with the keys in her hand.
Fuck. Now he’d scared her.
He rushed to reassure her. “I know, Aurora. It’s okay. When you said dad, it made me think of something Riley had asked me about this morning.”
Aurora’s whole demure changed. Her shoulders relaxed, and the pinched look on her face was replaced with a warm smile. “Anything I can help with?”
“Nah, it’s just an issue at school we have to deal with.” He lied again, and he had to stop talking. More details meant he’d run the risk of her asking Riley questions, and then he’d be fucked. Aurora yawned, and he cocked a brow at the little human. “Time for someone to go home and go to bed.”
Aurora laughed. “You may be right.”
“You okay to drive home? I can take you.” Even though he knew being confined in the cab of his truck with the scent of her would drive him crazy, he’d do it, just to make sure she got home safe and sound.
“Nah. I’m good. Besides I need my car to bring Abby here and get to work.” Aurora jingled her keys. “I’ll be fine, it’s under a ten-minute drive to my apartment.”
Mackenzie nodded. “See ya tonight.”
“Yup.” Aurora gave a little wave before making her way out the back door to her car.
Mackenzie watched her slide behind the wheel and start the car. Moments later, she backed out of his driveway and headed for the apartments where she lived. Once she was gone, he locked the door before making his way back upstairs, while ignoring his raging hard-on. He knew jerking it would only make it worse, and he worried the only relief he’d find was sinking his dick into Aurora. The problem was, she was mated, and he despised the fucker who allowed Aurora to flounder by herself.
Aurora drove away from Mackenzie’s house, her gaze locked on the rearview mirror until she hit the road. She thought she saw Mackenzie’s shadow in the window, but why would he bother?
Hell, on most days, Aurora wasn’t even sure the older man liked her. She suspected he merely tolerated her. The other half of the time, she hadn’t been sure how to take him. Sometimes, he smiled at her, most times he frowned, though. Every once in a while, he’d tease her, but those were rare and far between. A great majority of the time he was grumpy as hell.
Keeley chalked it up to the fact that Mackenzie hadn’t gotten laid–Keeley’s words, not hers–in over a decade. The other woman had gone out of her way to tell Aurora the Raferty men tended to get extremely cantankerous when sex wasn’t available daily. According to Keeley, Mackenzie hadn’t had an intimate relationship in all the years he was supposedly mated to Holly. Even though Keeley had rushed to tell Aurora that it had become known—after Holly’s arrest—Mackenzie and Holly weren’t even mates and were just pretending.
To say Aurora was confused as hell, was an understatement. Especially since she knew Mackenzie continued to show up at her apartment the nights she didn’t work, in wolf form, no less to watch over her and Abby.
And he’d never mentioned it.
Of course, neither had she.
Aurora shook her head and focused on the short ten-minute drive home. She yawned, determined to put the handsome man out of her mind. She hadn’t been lying when she said it wouldn’t take long to get home. In fact from her living room window, she could see Mackenzie’s sub-division. She pulled into the lot and found her spot occupied by her asshole neighbor. The prick had a bad habit of bringing home bimbos and fucking as loud as he could. If she wasn’t afraid he was some kind of shifter, she’d have given him a piece of her mind. No one should have to hear moaning and groaning coming from someone else’s apartment. After she found a closer spot, she parked then got out and made her way up the stairs before struggling with her keys to open the door. She dropped her keys and bag on the counter as she stumbled through the door. Working extra hours had been a bad idea. As she took another step, she paused. Something wasn’t right. Aurora glanced down and let out a startled cry. Water covered the entire kitchen area and part of the ratty eat-in area where she and Abby ate and did homework together on her days off.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit!” she hissed.
Aurora prayed that the water hadn’t leaked or done damage to the apartment below. It was occupied by a sweet elderly man. If there was damage, it’d be another expense she couldn’t afford. She hurried through the water, being mindful of watching her step, so she could find where the leak was coming from. There were only two logical places to check. The disgusting ice line to the fridge or the sink. She pulled open the cabinet doors first since it was easiest, and a rush of water covered her boots.
Not caring about her uniform or the good inch or two of water covering the floor, she dropped to her knees. She reached under the piping and grabbed the valve. She gave it a turn and it didn’t budge. Oh no. She struggled with the cut off values, but they wouldn’t shut off. She needed help.
Aurora pulled her phone from her back pocket, and called the complex’s landlord/maintenance man, only to get his voicemail. The idiot was unavailable because he was on vacation, and there was no one on-call in case of an emergency. Nice of him to leave a flyer announcing his trip and not leaving someone else to do his job. Just another reason she hated living in this run-down complex. Least he could have done was leave her a number to a repair shop. She hit the end button and contemplated who to call next.
She didn’t really know anyone overly well except for Keeley, who’d most likely give her a name of a plumber she couldn’t afford. Or Dryer… Mackenzie worked construction. He’d at least know how to turn the knob thingy off to stop the flow of water She’d figure out what to do from there. Aurora flicked through her contacts until she found his name and hit send.
After three rings, Aurora started to get nervous. “Come on, Mac. Answer the damn phone.”
“Yeah,” Mackenzie finally answered, breathing harshly as if he’d just run a long distance. Aurora shivered. Images of a naked Mackenzie fucking her from behind filled her mind. What the hell was going on with her?
“Aurora, you there?” The snap of his voice brought her out of her dirty thoughts.
“Ahh, yeah. Sorry.” She cleared her throat and got down to the reason for calling him. “I need help, Mac.” She really hated how whiney and pitiful she sounded.
“What’s wrong, are you okay?” The low growl in his voice made her insides flutter with anticipation.
“I’m fine. I came home to find my sink is leaking, well, gushing water, and my landlord isn’t available, and the stupid knob is stuck,” she cried. “I have about an inch or three of water on the floor, and... I
just need some help.” She watched as more water flowed from the broken line, adding to what was on the floor to begin with.
“I’m on my way,” he said. His tone was calm, reassuring even, and she knew this mess in her apartment would be righted by him.
“Thank you,” she whispered in relief.
Aurora put the phone on the countertop and made her way toward the bathroom to gather every towel she had in the house. She didn’t have a lot of them, but what she had, had to be better than nothing.
She threw the towels on the floor, and they soaked up the liquid, becoming drenched in seconds. Aurora picked them up and squeezed the extra liquid into the large bucket she’d also found in the bathroom. Aurora was on her knees repeating the process over and over again when Mackenzie pounded on her door and called her name.
“It’s open!” she yelled, while she continued to soak up the water. She was making very little headway. As quickly as she got the water up, twice the amount seemed to take its place.
Mackenzie gave her a quick look on her hands and knees before he moved into the kitchen “After we get this fixed and cleaned up, we’ll discuss you leaving your front door unlocked, got it?”
She couldn’t see his face since he was bent down, and the top part of his big body was squeezed into the small cabinet under her sink. Probably was frowning at her like always. She glared at his back and stuck her tongue out at him. Yes, it was childish, but damn, if it didn’t make her feel better.
“Water is off now.” He stood then, towering over her.
“Thank you, and thank you for coming so quickly.”
He surveyed the old, dingy apartment, and she was sure those beautiful blue eyes of his didn’t miss the worn couch, or the beat-up coffee table or even the temperamental television that worked on occasion.
“That’s pointless,” he finally said, gesturing to the towel she was squeezing over the half-filled bucket.
“It’s all I’ve got.” She fought back a yawn as the adrenaline seeped from her. If she didn’t get to bed soon, she’d never make it through her shift.
“I got a shop vac in the truck. Let me go get it. It’ll make quick work of this mess.”
