Summer of Awakenings

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  “Yes, Riley named him Apollo. He was rescued by Riley. If you look close enough, you can see he’s been abused. When he first came, he was emaciated and covered in ticks. Whoever had him before had whipped him as well,” Stuart explained.

  Will’s heart ached. “That’s awful.”

  Stuart nodded. “It’s been a really long road with him; he’s hard to get close to. As it is, we probably won’t use him on the trail rides.”

  “I don’t ride, so I won’t have that problem,” Will smiled, chuckling.

  “Well, let’s get back to the main hall. We have work to do there as well.”

  ~~

  Over the next three days, they made sure everything was in order, getting the refrigerators stocked and all the amenities put in order. By the time bedtime would roll around, Will fell into his bunk and was out before he had time to flick off the light.

  The camp was coming along and he was looking forward to seeing the kids arrive. The camp had been the one thing that had kept him going. That and his friendship with Kory Maguire. His ex-boyfriend, Gary, had been calling a lot more lately and Will had never been so happy to leave his phone and his ex behind. Gary had been a little abusive. All right, a lot abusive, and when he’d told Will he’d moved on, Will had never been so happy.

  Now he knew he may not have gotten out from under Gary’s thumb after all. The guy was coming around his work and causing problems. He’d had to talk to Caden Fournier, his employer, about it for fear of getting fired. Caden had assured him his job would always be there, and said if he needed anything, to call anytime night or day.

  Will stretched in bed and stepped onto the cabin’s cold wood floor. The sun had risen and was warming the earth below. He took a quick shower and stepped out to look in the mirror. His short brown hair was wet and dripping down his cheeks and brown eyes looked back. Will sighed at his reflection.

  “Someday, I’ll have a normal life.”

  “Wakey, wakey!”

  Will grinned to himself in the mirror and cracked the bathroom door open. Kory was walking around the cabin.

  “I’m up, freak.”

  “Good! Breakfast awaits and the head honchos are coming today.”

  “Riley’s coming?” Will smiled.

  “Do you have a crush?” Kory tilted his head. “You know Mateo will rip your eyeballs out.”

  “No! Sheesh…Riley’s fun, that’s all.”

  “Well hurry up! I’m hungry.”

  By the time they headed out towards the main house, most of the guys were up and dragging ass with them. They had a little over a week to get the camp up and running. It was a test, of sorts. A kind of ‘put your money where your mouth is.’

  Will knew he wanted to work with teens; after what he’d been through in middle and high school, he wanted to be there for bullied kids. It had taken a bit for him to get closer to Kory, as Kory had been one of those kids who had been raised not to like gays and to believe being gay was wrong. Now he knew Kory wasn’t like that anymore – and had probably not really bought into it much. The chow hall was ridiculous. More log picnic tables spread over the massive dining hall and a long row of food covered one wall.

  “Damn, it’s like a buffet,” Kory laughed, admiring the long rows of food.

  “Yeah?” Wyatt grabbed a plate, heaping scrambled eggs onto it. “Then chow down.”

  Talk flowed around the table as they settled in for breakfast. Lance Walker had arrived the night before and had taken a tour with Wyatt. Will thought having straight guys at the camp had been a strange idea, but then having straight guys who accepted gays was a plus. It would show the kids who were coming that not all straight people thought the same way. The fact that they were football players made it even better. God knew he’d been tormented by the football team in high school. Will was brought out of his thoughts by Kory’s elbow in his side.

  “Riley has arrived,” Kory whispered.

  “Will you knock it off?” Will laughed, shoving Kory over.

  A loud squeal reverberated around the chow hall and Will turned on the bench to see two little boys running toward them.

  “Uncle Wyatt!” one of them screamed.

  “Hey, little man!” Wyatt stood up as Gage plowed into him, almost knocking him over. “How are you doing, kiddo?”

  “I misthed you!” Gage hugged Wyatt hard.

  Wyatt smiled as Ethan made his way over more slowly. Ethan had formed a tight bond with Tristan Miles of the California pack. Wyatt was pretty sure Tristan and Scott would be adopting Ethan. Tristan was a completely different man with the little boy. When Wayne had found the two boys hidden by rogues in the mines of Arizona, he’d been afraid Pierce Barnes had bitten them, turning them rogue. After testing, the two boys were found to be just fine, although Pierce had killed their parents. Wayne had taken them in, and now the boys thrived under the tutelage of Wayne and Conner.

  “Ethan,” Wyatt nodded his head and kept a serious face. Ethan cracked a grin and Wyatt put his free arm out. “Come give me a hug.”

  “Okay,” Ethan groused.

  Wyatt snickered at the grin on Ethan’s face. “Faker.” Wyatt hugged the little boy close.

  “Hi, Uncle Bastian!” Ethan put his hand out and Sebastian shook it.

  “Little dude,” Sebastian winked.

  “Good morning campers!” Riley eyed all the guys eating breakfast. “How are your accommodations?”

  “Seriously?” Sebastian laughed. “I feel like I’m at a resort!”

  “Good,” Caden rubbed his palms together. “I want these children to feel spoiled.”

  “Well, you’ve accomplished that,” Wyatt grinned. “Morning, uncles.” Since he had met nearly all of these men through his three brothers, Wyatt just called them all “uncle.”

  Wayne kissed the top of Wyatt’s head. “Morning. How is everything? Running smoothly?”

  “So far so good,” Sebastian nodded, taking a bite of his toast.

  “Good. Riley, Caden and I will take a look around and make sure the construction team did their jobs well.”

  “Yes, and I want to see Apollo,” Riley grinned.

  “I saw him this morning,” Will said. “He’s beautiful.”

  “Would you like to visit with him? Up close and personal I mean?” Riley grabbed a piece of toast off of Wyatt’s plate. Chewing thoughtfully, Riley regarded Will. “It would be good for him to be around other people.”

  “I wanna see ’pollo!” Gage giggled.

  “Oh, I don’t know…” Will started.

  “Nonsense! Come on!” Caden pulled Will up, dragging him to the door.

  Kory laughed as Will’s bewildered face went out the door with Caden and Riley tagged along with Ethan and Gage.

  “Well, now,” Wayne eyed the men at the table. “Who’s giving me a tour?”

  Kory wiped his mouth off and stood with his plate. “I will.”

  “I’ll go, too.” Colin grabbed his own plate.

  “Good, let’s go.”

  ~~

  Will couldn’t have fought Caden Fournier if he tried. The man had one goal in mind and Will was going along for the ride. The stables were beautiful - built with logs and with horseshoes hung above the door. Inside, the horses each had their own stall with plenty of room to walk around. The two boys, Gage and Ethan, were running around in the pasture with the horses.

  “We fenced in acres,” Riley said, running his hand over the nose of one of the horses. “They can run for miles.”

  “And they still come back?” Will asked in amazement.

  “Well, yes,” Riley turned with sadness in his eyes. “All of these horses have come from abused owners. They were placed in a shelter until someone came along to help them. It’s hard work to gain their trust, but we have had them for almost a year.”

  Riley left out the fact that not only had Wayne worked with the horses, but Conner and Aidan had, too. The ability to speak with other animals made assuring the horses they would be very well take
n care of much easier. Besides, Seth Ralston had been working with them as well, explaining to them that children would be around them.

  Will looked down at the last stall and saw it open. Apollo, the large black Arabian was wandering the stables. “Does he just… roam?”

  Riley grinned at the stallion. “He’s a force of nature. His first owner hadn’t realized how stubborn Arabians could be. He tried whipping Apollo at first, and then when that didn’t work he withheld food. When Apollo still wouldn’t take to a saddle, the man put him out to pasture, so to speak.”

  Will sidled closer to Riley and took his hand as the stallion started making his way closer to them. His heart pounded against his ribcage as the animal came to a stop right in front of him. Will stood stock still as the stallion sniffed him out. A puff of warm air blew his hair up as the stallion rubbed his nose through it.

  “He seems to like you,” Caden smiled, watching Apollo sniff out William Cooper.

  “I…I see that…”

  Riley eyed Will. “He won’t hurt you.”

  “I was…I was thrown off a horse when I was younger. I haven’t gotten back on since.”

  “Oh, well, one of our men is very good friends with Apollo. Maybe he can help you overcome your fear?” Caden called to Riley. “Has Seth arrived yet?”

  “I’m not sure.” Riley looked at his watch. “I know he spent a few nights in Spokane, but he should be on his way.”

  “Seth?” Will asked curiously.

  “Oh, he’s one of the self-defense instructors,” Riley provided.

  Will choked in surprise. “The Navy SEAL guy?”

  “Why, yes,” Caden said in amusement. “He is very good with animals.” Caden contained a chuckle, as Apollo almost bowled Will over smelling him. The horse had taken a liking to Will. Caden raised his eyes to Apollo and asked a mental question about Will. Apollo tilted his head, huffing quietly. “Well,” Caden adjusted his jacket. “We should finish breakfast? We did not let you finish eating, William.”

  “Oh, okay,” Will smiled at Caden and Riley. “I’ll see you there?”

  “Yes, we shall join you soon.” Caden watched as the younger man headed back towards the mess hall.

  As soon as Will was far enough away, Riley raised an eyebrow at Caden. “What was that about?”

  “Apollo seems to think William is lost somehow. He has been hurt as well.”

  Riley turned to Apollo. “Is that right, big guy? Maybe you can heal him, huh?”

  “We have hundreds of children who need healing, Riley. We will take as many as we can and help as often and as much as possible.”

  Riley looked over the cabins. Hundreds of kids would be coming. All of them hurt, angry, alone, confused. It would take more than a few months to heal all of them, if any of them.

  “We’ll do our best,” Riley turned to Caden with a look of determination. “And we’ll keep doing it.”

  Caden walked out of the stables and whistled to Ethan and Gage. “Come on boys! It is time to eat!”

  Riley laughed as Ethan and Gage raced back to the stables, both pushing the other one out of the way to get there first.

  “I believe Gage has taken a liking to Wyatt,” Riley grinned as the boys jumped over the fence in one leap. Their werewolf abilities were manifesting more quickly.

  “Yes, and Wyatt and Preston have fallen in love with him.”

  “They will have families,” Riley sighed happily.

  Caden chuckled. “If Tristan Miles gets his way, he will have Ethan.”

  “I don’t think Ethan will complain.”

  “No, I would think not,” Caden grinned.

  “Food?” Gage came to a sliding stop in front of Riley.

  “Yup, let’s go munchkin.”

  Chapter Two

  Most of the day was spent getting the cabins ready. Sleeping bags were rolled out and pillows propped. The only thing the campers had to bring was clothing, and even then, the men had provided clothing for the kids at camp if they needed it. Kory walked through the aisles and aisles of clothing. Jeans, shirts, sweaters, shoes, socks and it went on and on. Kory grabbed a few more pillows and set out to his cabin. The rest of the guys were throwing the football around and he smiled at Lance Walker. The guy was straight, but cute. Kory shook his head; only one man made his heart race.

  Dropping the pillows off in his cabin, Kory continued on to the archery range. He went about setting up the hay bales and attaching targets to them. Kory stood with the bow in his hand and eyed the furthest target. Pulling back the string, he took a deep breath then released. The arrow struck the target right below the bull’s eye. Kory smiled. Loud clapping startled him and he turned quickly. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things.

  “Well, that’s a good hit,” Jacob Steele grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. Kory Maguire was still drop-dead gorgeous. Although, for some reason his hair was orange. Jacob had missed him.

  “Jacob?” Kory tested the name on his lips.

  “So you do remember me,” Jacob smiled, motioning to the target. “Have you been practicing?”

  “So you are the self- defense teacher?”

  Jacob nodded, making his way closer to his mate. God, he’d missed him. “Yes, Seth and I. Are you planning on taking the course?”

  Kory hadn’t thought about it, but he was thinking about it now. Jacob Steele hadn’t changed one iota. He was still beautiful. The graphite-grey eyes were smiling at him in amusement. Kory realized he was nodding his head, and his mouth hung open. Closing his mouth, Kory raised his eyes to Jacob’s.

  “Yes, I guess so.” Kory tilted his head. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you at Cuffs and Stuff.”

  “Were you looking for me?” Jacob stepped closer. Kory didn’t step back.

  Kory’s cheeks heated. “Maybe,” Kory looked at Jacob shyly. “What if I was?”

  “I would have asked you to dance.” Jacob took another tentative step forward; again, Kory didn’t step back. “Would you have accepted?”

  Kory looked up at the imposing man in front of him. Jacob Steele had to be over six foot two at least. His chest was massive, the pectoral muscles tensing as he waited for Kory’s answer.

  “I would have said yes,” Kory finally said. Jacob’s lips lifted in a smile.

  “Yeah?”

  Kory nodded. Being this close to Jacob was making his hands tingle and his dick throb. His erection was rising in his jeans and Kory tried hiding his rising desire. Lord, what was wrong with him? He found Jacob attractive, that was a given; but kissing a man? Kory tilted his head looking at Jacob’s lips. They looked soft and inviting. A smattering of stubble covered Jacob’s chin. Kory wanted to reach out and touch it, see if it was coarse or smooth on his hands.

  “Are you all right?” Jacob asked, keeping his laughter in check. He could almost hear Kory’s gears turning in his head.

  “Oh, yeah. Just…um…thinking.” Kory swallowed hard, his eyes drifting southward, eyeing what Jacob was hiding in those faded blue jeans.

  Jacob motioned to Kory’s hair. “I know it’s been a while, but I don’t remember your hair being that, um, particular shade.”

  Kory blushed and grinned. “It was an experiment gone awry. I’m going to change it back eventually.”

  Jacob crossed his arms and looked Kory over from head to toe. “I don’t know. It kind of suits you.” Jacob smiled as Kory blushed. “Well, I’ve got to get back to the athletic compound; I’ve got to get all the gear set up. So, maybe I’ll see you later?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Kory forced his eyes back up to Jacob’s. Those eyes looked so familiar.

  “See you later Kory Maguire,” Jacob winked before turning and heading towards the sports complex.

  “Yeah, bye.” Kory watched Jacob’s ass as he retreated further from him. “Damn, that’s nice,” Kory chuckled. He straightened up as Jacob looked over his shoulder with a smile. “Shit,” Kory whispered. Had Jacob heard him? He couldn’t have. Kory stood th
ere with what he knew was a ridiculous smile on his face. Yeah, he could see himself kissing Jacob Steele.

  ~~

  Will walked around Deer Lake taking in the pristine scenery. Forest stretched out for miles around and the air was crisp and clean and smelled of pine. He hummed along to the music on his iPod as he watched the horses run along the water’s edge. He stopped and sucked in a breath as a white horse flew out of the forest with a man atop it. They moved together fluidly, the man’s muscles flexing as his thighs gripped the horse’s sides. It was like a scene from a movie and Will couldn’t look away.

  Short black hair was swept up by the wind and the man’s strong hands clenched the reins. Will could see the man waving and waved back. It took a few seconds before it registered that the man wasn’t waving, he was warning him. Will turned to see another horse heading right for him. He dove out of the way and hit the ground with a loud grunt, hitting his head. Will lay there, trying to regain his breath as stars lit up behind his eyes.

  Seth jumped from his horse and ran to the man on the ground. “Are you okay!?”

  Will tried to sit up and moaned, lying back down. “I think so.”

  “Can you open your eyes for me? I’m sorry about that; I was trying to get Fury back to the stables.”

  Will cracked open one eye. The man who was perched above him was movie star material. Gorgeous head of black hair, arresting green eyes, strong square chin and high cheekbones. Holy shit, the guy was huge. He had biceps as big as Will’s thighs and broad shoulders.

  “Who are you?” Will tried to sit up again.

  “I’m Seth Ralston. I’m working at the camp. I’ll be running the self-defense class.” Seth ran his hand over Will’s head. “That’s pretty bad; we should get you back to the camp and get the first aid kit.”

  “It’s not so bad.” Will tried to stand up. Nausea hit him full force and he lost his footing as the world tipped sideways.

  “Whoa,” Seth grabbed the man before he fell. His scent assaulted him and Seth sucked in a breath. He was holding his mate in his arms. His mate. Seth closed his eyes, willing himself to stay human.