Several feet away he saw only one set of footprints. They were deeper than the others. He tracked them until they were replaced with tire marks. He sniffed the air. The sour scent happened to be faint but unmistakable.
Fuck. The Mongrels have him. Good thing I know where the compound is.
Gabe planned on tearing the place and the members apart until his mate was safe, then he’d make sure Kane got put behind bars or worse.
Chapter Eight
The light coming in through the dirty windows had faded. Cameron’s arms ached from being restrained behind him to the frame of the lift. His legs were falling asleep as well. But all that discomfort didn’t compare to the shards of ice slicing through his blood from the sounds of motorcycles, howling, and weapon fire on the other side of the closed garage bay door.
The gang seemed to be having a grand ol’ time whereas he was trying not to lose his mind. He couldn’t help but picture those beasts with the spooky eyes he’d encountered in his youth. One would think he wouldn’t be so scared of dogs after all the action and gore he’d seen overseas while in the Army, before he became deskbound. But with each yowl, the images of the mongrels with red eyes grew worse.
Didn’t help either that he still felt sick and the odor of the diesel, gasoline and other mechanical fluids was overwhelming and making him high off the vapors.
But why had he started feeling like crap on the trail? Maybe I ate something bad, or perhaps I got bit by some bug? Or worse yet, Kane had put something in the orange juice that he’d given him.
Though he wanted to think further on the cause and devise a way to get out of the predicament, a wall slammed down in his head, cordoning off his thoughts. He passed out.
Dreams and thoughts tumbled through his mind like strawberries and ice cubes in a blender until they all mixed together like a smoothie and he couldn’t tell one from the other.
It’d been the first trip to the canyon when he came to the conclusion he was gay. There’d been inklings through the years, but seeing the man at the fire had confirmed it for him.
Then there’d been Gabriel Dyson and their talks in his dreams where they’d spent time in tents, on hikes, in gyms. Their first kiss had been hot and heavy with lots of tongue against tongue. He’d woken with the ramifications of his first wet dream because of Gabe.
During his first year of college, he’d started dating for real. He and his boyfriend, Oliver, had been on their way to a concert when a motorcyclist cut off their car. The accident had been bad. His head had hit the passenger window. Blood went everywhere. For a time he’d thought he was dying.
Then Gabe appeared, got him out of the wreck, and said… And said…
“You can’t be leaving me. Not when I just found you again. I still have to finish claiming you.” Gabe had kissed him on his face.
Though it all had seemed so dream-like, Gabe being there at the accident, the kiss had felt real. It made Cameron think of a dog’s lick, comforting but kind of wet.
“Death isn’t going to separate us this time,” Gabe had continued. “You’re mine. You’ll always be mine. Remember me. Remember me so we can find each other again. Then we’ll travel and see the world.”
Weird that he remembered those words so well, but then he’d had a rattled brain after all.
Went into the military after that. Only dreamt of Gabe when home on leave.
Their favorite place to go in the dreams? Tahiti. The hut.
A bar brawl-like commotion outside drew Cameron out of his mind’s maelstrom. He tugged on his bonds, but it was a weak attempt to break free.
Are you here, Mate?
Could have sworn I heard Dyson … Gabe. He answered him anyway, “Yes. I’m in the garage.” He thought he yelled, but for what his addled mind knew, his call could have been just a whisper in his mind.
Dipping back into the space between wakefulness and sleep, he pictured Gabe driving into the ghost town in his pickup. After he came to a gravel-scattering stop, he hopped out of the cab, not bothering to shut the door, and rushed headlong into the few bikers left standing after their heavy revelry.
Fists flew. Gabe buried his fist into a stomach. Blows to faces looked to be teeth jarring. Blood sprayed into the air. But soon the scene changed, and instead of men engaging in street fighting, Cameron saw a tawny brown furred wolf battling a group of huge black dogs with red eyes.
Childhood memories along with his current situation inundated him, and once more he faded into oblivion.
Cameron woke to a face full of water, uneasy from the strange imaginings. In the growing light of dawn coming in through the window and through bleary eyes, he made out the form of a man standing a few feet away with a bucket in his hand.
Dumbfounded, Cameron blinked and shook his head to get rid of the water dripping into his face from his hair. Gabe dropped the bucket, hurried over and loosened the restraints. Soon Cameron was free from the bonds and in Gabe’s arms. He kissed him with toe-curling domination, pouring out his thanks and pent up stress in the lip lock. Cameron wanted to devour him, always keep him close. He forcefully kept his mouth on Gabe’s, reluctant to let him go.
Once they broke apart, Cameron wavered on his pins and needles legs and feet and put a hand on Gabe’s shoulder to steady himself. “What the hell happened?”
“You were captured by that biker gang known as the Helldorado Mongrels I’d mentioned. Unfortunately, some members, like the man you met by the name of Ken whose real name is Kane, happen to be my cousins. I believe I’d mentioned that, too, but that’s a story for later. For now, we need to get you out of their compound before they come to.”
“Come to? You mean no one’s dead out there? I could have sworn—”
Gabe put a finger to his lips. “Talk quietly.” At Cameron’s nod, he continued, “To answer your question, I had an urge to kill, but I wanted to be good for you, so I didn’t stoop to their level. Some I knocked out. Others had already been passed out, most likely from booze or drugs or both.”
“All right,” he whispered, attempting to ignore the nagging part about being good. “I hope when we’re in the clear you can answer other questions I have.”
“I’ll do my best. Can you walk?”
“I can hobble until my limbs stop aching. Sure.”
Gabe assisted him in making an escape from what the Helldorado Mongrels called their ’pound. As they headed away from the defunct town and back toward camp, Cameron’s head started to hurt. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and before he knew it, Gabe turned off the road.
Chapter Nine
“Where are you taking me?”
“To an abandoned house I know of. Figured we need somewhere private to talk, and you need some first aid. You passed out and have been asleep for the past half hour. You were talking though. Saying something about pamphlets, juice and Kane killing you. We’ll get inside, I’ll get some supplies out of storage, and you can explain your trip with Kane to me.”
They pulled up to a grayish-white, concrete and stucco building surrounded on three sides by a covered porch. Once in, Cameron collapsed onto a lumpy couch.
Gabe handed him the backpack Cameron had dropped on the trail, then left the room. He returned with a military issued Meals Ready to Eat package and water. “Here. Start eating and drink some water. Did you consume anything Kane gave you?”
Cameron put the sealed food rations on the seat next to him and nodded.
“I was afraid something like that had happened. Shit.” Gabe’s demeanor turned feral. His eyes darkened, and the muscles along his jaw and neck twitched then tensed. He picked up an old book that’d been discarded on the floor. He threw it at a window. The glass shattered and the book thumped on the wood deck. “Those assholes make me so mad. Kane could have seriously hurt you.”
Shocked at the outburst, even though it seemed warranted considering the circumstances, words fled Cameron’s mind, and he stared at Gabe with his mouth open.
“Sorry.” Gabe’s
focus stayed on the hole in the windowpane. “I didn’t mean to lose my cool. I was just so afraid and concerned for you when I realized Kane had taken you away.” He looked to Cameron. The anger had left Gabe’s eyes, and his expression softened. “I told everyone back at the camp you’d become dehydrated and needed attention. That’s how I was able to come get you without them all worrying. I figure we still have some time left before they start to wonder why we haven’t returned. As for Kane, I told them he must have panicked and tried to go for help instead of returning to the camp. So speak. Tell me what went on with Kane.”
How Gabe knew what was on his mind about the tour group was beyond him, but he was happy for the info. What didn’t make him happy was Gabe’s demanding attitude. “Say please.”
Cameron opened the water and chugged it. Not a smart thing to do, knowing he might throw up the liquid because he wasn’t sipping it, but he was too thirsty to care. He tossed the empty bottle to the floor and went after the food.
Gabe hummed, though it almost sounded like a growl. “Please.”
“Thank you.” Placated, he proceeded to explain what’d happened from their hike up to his rescue while Gabe paced around the room. “So, how is it your cousin is such a douche?”
He turned and gazed at Cameron. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the ceiling as if he were sending up a prayer to some higher power. “Regardless of whether I feel the timing is right or not, I know I have to tell you the truth before anything else happens.” He focused back on Cameron. “This deals with what I’d wanted to explain before, and I believe I need to start at the beginning. The very beginning. Let me tell you my family’s origin story. It’ll show how it brings us here together today, and hopefully answer questions about my cousins.”
“Tell away. As long as you don’t mind me eating while you do.”
“Feel free.” Gabe took another lungful of air. “Before the human race, the great wolf spirit, Tabu, decided to create friends for Mother Earth. She supplied the wise wolf with sticks made from all kinds of wood and of all sizes to carve many different people. Once completed, he planned to distribute them around the world in an even manner, so that she could visit them anywhere, and so they’d all have good places to live.
“Thing was, Tabu had a younger brother, Shinan, who wasn’t exactly evil but not angelic either. He liked to play tricks. Feeling mischievous, he found the sack where Tabu kept his wood carvings, cut it open and the people fell out in groups. The friends of Mother Earth disliked how Shinan treated them and thus started fighting with each other.
“Now this is where the popular story diverts from the truth.” Disregarding Cameron’s raised brow and snort, Gabe continued. “There were some sticks left in the sack. Mother Earth took a third of the carvings that had stuck to the interior and gave those people a special place in the southwest. Another third she gave to Shinan to be his descendants in hopes it would teach him some responsibility. Shinan blessed his people with immortality and the ability to change into animal form whenever they wished. This hadn’t pleased Mother Earth, but she couldn’t do anything about it except place a restriction on them during the super moons.”
“Restrictions on immortals?” Cameron scoffed. “With all the fantasy novels and comic books I read as a kid, I’ve never come across something like that. What? So these immortals of yours can’t use their powers then? Are mortal for a time?” Disbelief clouded Cameron’s words, but he couldn’t help it. The story he was being fed was one of the craziest he’d ever heard. “Come on, Gabe. What kind of prank are you trying to play on me here?”
“No joke. Just telling the truth as best I can. During super moons, immortal shifters are forced to change whether they want to or not, and for three days before and after that full moon, as well as during, they have to live in their animal form.”
Afraid to mention again how insane Gabe sounded and start a verbal battle, Cameron shoved a couple of crackers into his mouth and just stared at the man as if he’d grown horns.
“Anyway,” Gabe said, seeming to ignore Cameron’s glower. “The last third happened to be carvings that’d been sliced into two when Shinan cut the bag. These she gave to Tabu. When he asked why she’d given him the damaged ones, she said because they were good, and they’d become twice as many people than what she placed in the southwest and had handed to his brother. Half would be Tabu’s descendants and the other half people. He, too, had the honor of blessing the two groups how he wished.
“Being wise, he realized his descendants needed to have the same abilities like Shinan gave his group, so he blessed them with immortality and the ability to shift along with a wish he granted to the humans.” Gabe paused.
Feeling like he was in kindergarten story hour, Cameron sighed and played along. He was tired, sore and wished Gabe would get to the point. “Which was?”
“That his people would always find love, always find their other halves so that their lives would be happy and full.” Gabe strode forward and knelt in front of Cameron. He placed his hands on Cameron’s knees. “You and I are part of the same carving.”
Cameron gave a hesitant laugh, then remembered one of the dreams he had after his accident. It was along the same lines as Gabe’s family origin story.
Wait. Family origin story? That means Gabe believes himself to be immortal.
His dream meant he was a part of the story as well.
Oh, hell no.
He tossed Gabe’s hands off of him, shot to his feet and took several steps away from the tour guide. “What the hell, man? There are no such things as immortals and shifters. What kind of crazy shit are you trying to pull here? And what does any of this have to do with Kane and his gang? Why’d the bikers come after me? I’m no one to them.”
Gabe sat on the couch, pushing the empty MRE packaging out of the way. “Long ago, Shinan’s people were trouble makers, but not terrible. It wasn’t until the American Civil War when a Native American by the name of Queho cursed the land and animals that things changed. Queho made the abandoned miners’ dogs and the feral ones roaming around into what locals call hell dogs.”
Cameron swallowed down a lump in his throat. “I’ve heard of the curse. It’s part of the ghost story that frightened the shit out of my brother and me as kids.”
Gabe bobbed his head, looking like he wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure if he should. He slightly shook his head. “Okay. Well, Kane and some others were in wolf form when Queho came and worked his magic, so Shinan wolves were cursed along with other animals and shifters in the area. Afterwards, when the shifters mated, whether with their own kind or with the dogs, their offspring ended up cursed as well. Over the years the hybrids decided to band together and they formed a pack, eventually calling themselves the Helldorado Mongrels. Different shifters came to the area to find their fortune and a better life. They’d been looking for gold like in the original El Dorado, but in this canyon, also called El Dorado, they found nothing but heartache. You know, I’ve come to think they like being cursed, and they especially hate the fact that my sister and I got away before Queho changed everything.”
“So you’re saying the guy was after me because of you?”
“Partly. Somehow the Mongrels figured out you’re my other half. I also believe they feel that if I hadn’t told them about the gold and monetary opportunities back then, they never would have been in the area to search for the precious metal and been subjected to Queho’s curse. I tend to think that branch of the family is jealous that we pure breeds are left, and we haven’t turned into some kind of mutt like they have. So they do things to affect my life in hopes I’ll be so upset that I’ll poof.” Gabe made a hand gesture to indicate something exploding. “But as you can see, whatever they try, it doesn’t deter me from my path. And yes, every time they hurt you, it causes me great distress, but I have learned patience on my life journey, which ultimately always brings you and me together again. Case in point, I was the one who saved you in the mine as a teen.”
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Melting iron hot anger seared Cameron’s insides. Not only was he being forced to swallow the crap storm of a story because he was stuck in the middle of nowhere and couldn’t leave, but now he faced the source of his changed personality trait? Regardless of whether he loved Gabe or not, that Gabe had saved his life or not, he was pissed. “But you bit me! I’ve been afraid of any canine-type animal like dogs, wolves, foxes, and any other dog-like mammals, ever since then. And I loved dogs! My parents had to give Shadow away because of it. God damn you!” He went to a nearby window. Nothing but brown ground spattered with the ugly gray green vegetation surrounded the abode. Yesterday on their hike the valley floor had been beautiful. Now it was ugly.
Desolate.
Just like he was starting to feel.
Here he was, thinking he’d found the love of his life, the man with whom he’d spend his future, and the guy was delusional.
“I…” Cameron swiped a hand down his face, turned and stared at Gabe. “I don’t buy any of this. It all just sounds like a lot of bullshit story telling.”
“What else can I do then?” Gabe seemed to be asking himself. He stood and walked a couple feet in front of Cameron. “What can I do to help you buy what I’m saying?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe answer some questions? Help me understand all this on a deeper level?”
“Sure. Shoot.”
“Okay, supposing everything you’ve said is true, are you telling me that we can shift? Why don’t I know this about myself?”
“’Cause you can’t, but I can. I ended up being a Tabu descendant, whereas you ended up human. As for shifting, for the most part I can morph into wolf form whenever I want, except for, like I’d said, super moons. At that time, I head to a secret remote area with others of my kind since the shift comes upon us whether we want it to or not.”
Possessed by Him Page 7
