by Maggie Walsh
Down in the club, only Frank and the inner pack members were still there. They all grabbed their heads in pain as the howl made its way through the club. Jesse and Taylor were headed around the stage to go to the back and grab their stuff, and then froze and grabbed their ears, too.
Jesse looked up toward the glass window of the office above as the most gut-wrenching howl continued. His eyes went wide, as he continued to hold his ears, and he looked around the club. All eyes were on him. All eyes were looking at him with disgust. Except for the one named Gabriel. His eyes were full of sadness and concern. Jesse looked at Taylor and grabbed his hand, “Let’s go, Taylor. It’s time to move on again.” Taylor nodded his head and they both took off for the dressing room.
Gabriel’s eyes went wide as he heard what Jesse said to Taylor. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed.
Chapter 3
“Where are we going this time, Jesse?” Taylor asked as they entered their apartment. It was small but clean. The living room was bright blue with a light blue rug. The couch was beige with a glass coffee table in front and two glass end tables. A light brown entertainment center was against one wall, with a TV, DVD player, some DVDs, and some books on the shelves. A small bistro set in light brown sat in one corner by the door to the kitchen. A hall led to two doors, a small bathroom and a bedroom.
They raced into the bedroom and Jesse pulled a duffle bag out of the closet and tossed it on the queen-sized bed. Then he went to the dresser and started pulling clothes out. Taylor went into the closet and grabbed another duffle and two backpacks out. He threw them on the bed, then ran back into the closet and came out with his arms full of clothes. “Jesse? Where are we going?”
Jesse was stuffing clothes into the duffle. “I don’t know, Tay, just anywhere away from here. Far, far away from here.” Jesse headed out of the room to the bathroom. He came back a few minutes later with all of their toiletries in his arms. He started stuffing them into a backpack.
Taylor was stuffing shoes into the other duffle bag. “I called a cab. It should be here soon.”
“Okay. Did you get my iPod? Oh, and don’t forget the chargers this time.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Taylor ran out of the room. He came back a minute later with the iPod and chargers in hand. He stuffed them into the other backpack. Then he took the backpack and headed out to the kitchen. Jesse zipped up the bag and one backpack and headed to the kitchen.
Taylor was grabbing water bottles out of the fridge and putting them in the backpack along with snacks. Jesse walked in. “I think we got everything. How about we just head to the bus station and see where the furthest bus goes and go there?”
Taylor headed back into the bedroom. He came back with the other duffle bag and set it next to the door with the others. “That sounds good to me. But I think it depends on where exactly that is Jesse. I mean, I don’t think we want to land in Texas, home of the homophobes, if you know what I mean?”
“I don’t know if Texas actually is home of the homophobes, but I know what you mean. And no New York.”
“We can’t go back there can we?” Taylor said with a shudder.
“Never.” Jesse winced. Just then they heard a car horn. Taylor looked out the window. “Cab’s here.” They grabbed the bags and opened the door. “Then let’s blow this taco stand,” Jesse said as he stepped into the hall. “Got the bank cards?”
“Got ‘em,” Taylor said as he closed the door behind him. On the way out they dropped their keys to the apartment in the manager’s mailbox. They headed out of the building and the cab driver opened the trunk for them. He was a short guy, about five two, a little on the chunky side, maybe sixty years old with a bald head. He helped them put their bags in the trunk. Taylor and Jesse climbed into the back as the driver got behind the wheel. “Where to, fellas?”
“The bus station please,” Jesse answered as the cab pulled away from the curb. Taylor looked back at the apartment building and huffed a small sigh. Jesse grabbed his hand and squeezed. “It’ll be okay, Tay. We always are, as long as we stick together.”
“I know, it’s just…I thought this was it. This was the place, ya know? Finally, somewhere we could stop, breathe, make a life for ourselves. Stop hoboing it around the country.”
“Hoboing it?” Jesse laughed. “Is that even a word?”
“You know what I mean, ya ass.” Taylor laughed and bumped Jesse’s shoulder with his.
Jesse went serious. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I really liked this place, too. The town is beautiful, the apartment was cheap, we had great jobs, making money, saving money. The people here were mostly nice. But that asshat Micah had to go and ruin it. Could you believe him? I mean come on, what is this? The caveman days. You mine. Neanderthal,” Jesse huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.
“You like him don’t you?” Taylor asked softly as he stared at Jesse. Jesse stayed quiet for so long that Taylor didn’t think he would answer, but then he did.
“Yes, actually, I did. It shocked me at first, ya know? That shifters really did exist,” he whispered. “When you told me at first, all those years ago, I thought you were cray cray. But the thought of having one person who was made just for you, who is totally devoted to you, who would do anything for you. Stand up for you, stand by you, protect you, love you, no matter what, for all eternity, who would never hurt you. I liked the sound of that. I thought about that a lot over the years. Hoping it was true. Hoping that I was actually someone’s mate. Wouldn’t that be great?” He sighed. “But then, it happened and I was so stunned at first, but at the same time I was so fucking happy. What a letdown. When I first heard Micah call me mate, I couldn’t breathe. I thought, wow I got lucky. Not only am I lucky enough to be someone’s mate, but God, look at him. I have never seen any man that fine before. How did I get this lucky? I mean, I’m such a fuck-up, I’m nobody. But I had to do something right in my life to get this sexy, hot-as-sin man as my mate, right?” Jesse paused for a moment, then his face turned angry. “But then he just sat there and let his friend pretty much call us whores and didn’t stand up for us. Didn’t give that asshole hell. Just let it go. Then he defended that fucktard. Then he gets all grabby and kissed me.”
“How was that?” Taylor smirked at him.
“It was the best fucking kiss of my life. My whole body lit up. This warm glow started in my stomach and then spread throughout my body. It felt like I was melting into him. Like our bodies were meshing into one. It felt like…home.” Jesse trailed off in a whisper.
They sat quiet for a few minutes, each in their own thoughts. Taylor broke the silence as he whispered, “Then what happened, Jesse? That should have made you happy.”
“I fucked up and let him in. I gave over to the pleasure, and opened myself to him, submitted to him. I let him get to me. I actually moaned. I whimpered, and that asshole smiled and laughed at me. Can you believe it? He fucking laughed at me.” Jesse’s voice was filled with hurt.
“Wait. He smiled and laughed and that’s why we’re taking off? I thought he hurt you, Jesse. I mean, like physically hurt you the way he grabbed you and held on tight. I thought you were hurt! He smiled? Oh come on, Jesse!” Taylor huffed angrily and turned away from him.
They both sat there quiet. Jesse turned and looked out his window, now feeling guilty for dragging Taylor away with him. “Just drop me at the bus station and you can go back, Taylor. It’s okay, you were happy here. Stay, make a life for yourself. I…Ouch, what the fuck!”
Taylor reached over and smacked Jesse in the back of the head while he was rambling. “We’re a team, ya ass. Where you go, I go. Now shut up about you leaving and me staying,” Taylor looked back out his window.
Jesse whispered. “He did hurt me.”
“I know,” Taylor said without looking at him. Jesse looked back out his window, staring off into the blackness of the night.
Am I wrong? Maybe I jumped too fast. Maybe I should have given Micah a chance to explain. Maybe I should have give
n Micah a chance period. Maybe…Hey, where the hell are we? Jesse started to look around. He didn’t see anything but trees and darkness. They were so caught up in their shit that neither of them noticed that the cab turned down an old dirt road, going away from town. Away from the bus station. Jesse started to get nervous. He grabbed Taylor’s hand tight and Taylor jumped. “Ouch! What the hell, Jess? What is your damage?”
“W…where are we?” Jesse stammered in a whisper, his eyes wide open with fright. Taylor looked at him with confusion. He saw the terror in Jesse’s eyes. Taylor looked around and then his eyes went wide. He turned back to Jesse. Both of them were now starting to panic. Taylor turned to the cab driver. “Hey, buddy? Isn’t the bus station back that way?” He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “I know we want to head out of town and all, but the bus would have worked out great. We don’t need a personal driver.” Taylor laughed nervously. The driver ignored them and kept driving.
“Um…Sir? Where are we going? Where are you taking us?” Jesse’s voice went high as he tried to control his panic.
“Oh hell, I think I hear banjos dueling,” Taylor cried.
“Stop that, Tay.” Jesse hissed.
“Yeah, well, this has all the markings of Deliverance,” Taylor was shaking.
“First of all, you’re too young to know that movie. Second, we’re not on a white water rafting trip. Third, we’re in a cab in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania. It’s more like the movie Wrong Turn, or Texas Chainsaw,” Jesse said, shaking, too.
Taylor whispered. “But I’m too cute to die, Jesse. I’m too cute to be hacked up into little pieces, and fed to the chickens, or eaten by some, one-toothed, backwater, abortion reject. I don’t want to be under someone’s control again, Jess. What are we gonna do?”
Just as the words left Taylor’s mouth, the road ended at a big wrought-iron gate. The cabbie opened his window and pushed a button on a call box. “We’re here,” he said into it. The gates started to open.
“We’re here? Where is here? Where have you brought us, you sick, perverted, piece of shit?” Jesse yelled.
The cab continued down the cobblestone road, the gate closed behind them. Jesse and Taylor looked around at the pitch black nothingness. Jesse started too really panic. The car continued to drive on and Jesse turns to Taylor. “We have to do something. We have to get out of here.”
“I know, but what? The fucking doors are locked,” Taylor said shakily as he tried to open the door. Jesse grabbed his door handle and tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. Jesse looked around for something, anything that could be used for a weapon. But there was nothing, even all their stuff was in the trunk. Jesse looked at the driver, then pulled his arm back and punched the driver right in the back of the head as hard as he could. The driver jerked forward and tried to get out of Jesse’s reach. Jesse jumped against the front seat, hanging half over as he fought with everything he had. He started to punch and scratch the driver as he yelled, “Let us go you motherfucker! I’m going to kill you before you can kill us, you son of a bitch!” Jesse got his arm around the driver’s neck. He grabbed his wrist with his other hand and started to pull with all his strength against the driver’s throat, trying to choke the life out of the little shit.
The cab came to a stop and the back doors flew open. Hands reached in and grabbed Taylor. He started kicking and punching anything he could come in contact with as he was screaming, “Help!”
Jesse still had a hold around the cabbie’s throat. Hands grabbed him around the waist and started pulling him back and out of the cab. “No! No! No! Let us go!” Jesse was screaming and kicking.
Then a soft, calm voice whispered in his ear, “It’s okay, Jesse, no one will hurt you here. You’re safe, Taylor’s safe. It’s okay.” He knew that voice. Who was it? Then he realized it was quiet. He couldn’t hear Taylor anymore. His eyes searched for his friend. They landed on Taylor. He was standing on the other side of the cab, hands fisted on his hips, shooting daggers from his eyes, at the guy Gabriel. Gabriel was smirking at Taylor with amusement and what looked like…lust in his eyes. Huuum, that’s interesting, Jesse thought, storing that away for later. He turned his head as the arms around his waist released him onto his feet. It was the guy from Micah’s office. Not the asshole, the other one. The hot one with the emerald green eyes and the long blond hair. Chiseled cheekbones, square jaw, broad shoulders, Yum. Are all the guy’s here made of perfection? Is it something in the water? Maybe it’s a wolf thing? “What the hell?” he asked the hottie. The cab drove away.
“Wait, our bags!” Jesse started to go after it. Raith grabbed his arm gently. “We got them. It’s okay.” He motioned to two other guys standing by Gabriel. They were holding Jesse and Taylor’s bags, smiling at Jesse.
“I’m Raith, that’s Gabriel, that’s Lexi, and that’s Crew.” Raith nodded at each in turn.
“You’re all…?” Jesse asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Wolves? Yes,” Raith answered. “This is our pack home. The Angel Pack. You’re both welcome here, and safe here. No one will hurt you. I give you my word.”
“Yeah, well, you scared the shit out of us. I thought for sure a chainsaw was in my near future, coming to chop us into small pieces.” Taylor huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’m really sorry about that. Your driver, Bob, was supposed to tell you that I wanted to talk to you before you left town. Again, I’m really sorry he frightened you. I’ll have a talk with Bob. He likes to drive around with his ear-buds in.
“That’s why he couldn’t hear us,” Jesse guessed.
“Please won’t you come inside? Are you hungry? We can make you something, anything you want. All I ask is you hear us out. Then, if you still want to go, I will personally drive you to the bus station or airport, and pay for anywhere you want to go.
“I don’t think this is a good idea, Raith,” Jesse whispered. His stomach was rolling, he felt all flush, like he was being pulled toward the house.
“Please, Jesse? Just a little of your time…Please?” Raith asked with puppy dog eyes.
Jesse huffed and threw his hands up. “Fine, we’ll listen, but then we’re out of here.”
“That’s all I’m asking.” Raith smiled and motioned toward to house. Jesse turned to the house and froze. Taylor’s jaw dropped to his chest, as his eyes went so wide that his eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. “This is your home?” Taylor asked in shock.
“Yes,” Gabriel answered.
“This isn’t a house, it’s a freaking mansion on steroids. This is the biggest log cabin I have ever seen,” Taylor said excitedly as they all walked toward the house.
Raith opened the door and stepped aside for Jesse and Taylor to enter. Gabriel, Lexi, and Crew followed, carrying their bags.
The foyer was large with a grand staircase up the middle. The floors were shiny dark wood. The interior walls were all sandy beige in color, accented by chocolate-colored molding. Off to the right was a large entryway that sat a very comfortable-looking living room. It had a large L-shaped chocolate-colored sofa. Across from the sofa was a large stone fireplace. The outer walls were rustic log cabin. A beautiful chaise lounge was by a big picture window. The room looked a lot bigger than they could see from this angle.
Raith led them to a hallway back under and behind the staircase. They followed him, Jesse and Taylor holding hands as Taylor looked around with his mouth hanging open at the sheer size and beauty of the place. Jesse was looking around shyly, but kept most of his attention on the huge men surrounding them.
They entered an enormous kitchen. The hardwood floors continued into the room. Off to the right was a glass wall along the whole length, with double doors leading outside. There was a breakfast nook with a table and ten chairs around it. In front of them was a very large island with pots and pans of all shapes and sizes hanging above it. In front of the island sat ten high stools. The top of the island and all the countertops looked like sandstone. A twelve-
burner gas range and two ovens were along the back, with a grill to the right. A sink and an industrial dishwasher was next to that. To the left looked like a very large double door refrigerator, and an even larger freezer next to that.
A hallway led away from the kitchen past the freezer, and to the left of the room was a massive oak table with chairs around it that sat twelve. The room was bright and roomy, with a very homey feeling, with everything in honey-colored woods. Even the appliances looked like wood on the fronts. It was Jesse’s dream kitchen come to life. He loved cooking, and this place looked like it would be fun to spend the day experimenting in.
Raith led them over to the breakfast nook and they all sat down. “What can I get you to drink? Jesse? Taylor?”
“Just a water is fine, thank you,” Jesse answered.
“What do you have, cutie?” Taylor asked. A low growl came from his right. Everyone’s eyes landed on Gabriel. He tried to cover it up with a cough. “What? Sorry, must be a hairball.” He smirked.
Taylor raised an eyebrow at him, “Yeah…riiight,” he said slowly. “I thought you guys were wolf shifters, not cat shifters?”
“We are.” Gabriel smirked, “And your point is?” he said with a chuckle.
“Ooookay, note to self, we need to keep an eye on this one. He’s confused, thinks he’s a pussy…cat.”
Everyone started laughing as Gabriel’s jaw dropped in shock. Laughing, Lexi slapped his knee. “Damn, I like him. Can we keep him?”
Crew smacked Lexi upside the back of his head. “He’s not a pet, you moron.”
“Although, I do like to be petted big boy. I may even purr for you.” Taylor smirked at Crew then winked. Crew’s face went pink. Lexi threw his head back and laughed, Raith chuckled as he looked at Crew’s reaction. A growl came from Gabriel again. Taylor turned his head to look at him, “Okay, sugar, I think you need a lozenge to help out that fur ball. You’re starting to turn me on, handsome.” Taylor winked at Gabriel.
Gabriel smirked at Taylor with a look of hunger and lust in his eyes. “Down, boy, before I whack you in the nose with a rolled up newspaper. I don’t even know you,” Taylor said as he patted Gabriel’s hand, then quickly pulled it away as if he’d been burned by the contact. He turned to Raith, “I’ll just have a water, too.”
