Wicked After Dark: 20 Steamy Paranormal Tales of Dragons, Vampires, Werewolves, Shifters, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More

by Mina Carter

  “I see...”

  “I’m sorry about the outburst in the courtyard; it just kind of surprised me. I mean I had no clue for all those years you were hanging around the house.”

  “I understand. But you need to understand that I’m not a shifter.”

  “I know, before you got here I called Bill and asked. I was afraid that I’d blown it big time. No one’s told me yet exactly what the punishment is for letting people in on the secret without permission but it’s been hinted to be pretty bad, and I didn’t want to risk it. He said that you don’t shift. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up what might be a sore subject.” I opened the refrigerator and pulling out the makings for a salad.

  “It’s not a big deal. I came to terms with who and what I am a long time ago. I mean, yeah, it would be nice to be able to shift and to not be an outsider in my own family, but I’ve come to accept my life as it is and to be happy with it.”

  “I’m just starting to realize how difficult it is to hide something this big thing from my family. To not be able to talk about it with them. We’ve always talked about everything.”

  “How long have you known?”

  “I first shifted two weeks ago today…”

  “Wow, that’s about when I got back into town. No wonder you don’t know many of the Kindred yet.”

  “Yeah, I’ve only met a few. Let me tell you, it was a bit of a shock to realize that Bill was not only Kindred but the pack leader to boot. I’ve known him all my life and I had no clue he was anything but human. Of course I never suspected that anything but humans even existed. Spending Fridays at the clinic with Alexis has introduced me to a few more people. But I’m sure it’s going to take me a while to get to know everyone.” I pulled a few leaves off a head of lettuce and washed them before tearing them into bite sized chunks and dropping them into a salad bowl, mixing it with pre-cut salad mix.

  “I can imagine.”

  “So, enough about me and the Kindred. What have you been up to? You left here almost ten years ago and I thought you’d never looked back and you never would.”

  “Well, since you’re in on the secret now, I’ll tell you the whole story.”

  “Okay, if you want to,” I said, patiently waiting for him to begin his story.

  “I’d just turned nineteen when they decided that I would likely never shift. I’d tried several times with no luck. We had a different Second then and they couldn’t call animal forms. But we had Alexis’ grandmother and she could. She told us it’s not possible to call someone’s wolf until they’ve shifted for the first time. Something about not being able to reach the wolf until then, I don’t really understand the details of it.” I glanced over at him and found him looking sightlessly at his glass of tea on the table.

  “There are ways to help someone shift for the first time but calling their animal form isn’t one of them. We’d tried everything that we knew to do and we finally had to give up. Anyway, the Anikitos told me I was free to do as I wanted, as long as I kept the secret.

  “So I did what I’d wanted to do for some time. I joined the Army, knowing it would take me out of town. I did well but not extraordinarily so, and I worked my way up in rank some. I wasn’t on the bottom of the pile anymore but I didn’t have huge responsibilities either. I’ve been all over the world and I enjoyed what I did enough to re-up when my first commitment was over, I was content.

  “And then last year we were out on a training exercise and I took a bad fall. I fell about thirty feet off a rocky ledge, and landed wrong and the impact shattered my leg. I spent weeks in a hospital. Went through several surgeries and months of physical therapy. I still walk with a limp sometimes, especially when I’m tired or overdo it. When they decided that I could no longer perform my duties the Army let me go, gave me a medical discharge. They didn’t just dump me; I get a disability check each month because the injury was in the line of duty. It’s enough to scrape by but not enough to really live on. It’s a lot cheaper to live here than in a bigger city, so I decided to move back. Plus, my family is here and even if I’m the ghost in the closet, they’re still my family.”

  “I’m sorry that you’re family sees it that way. Bill’s given me permission to tell my parents, but I’m afraid of how they might take it, so I haven’t yet.”

  “He said you can tell your family?” Devon asked, clearly surprised.

  “No, just my parents. I’ve been expressly forbidden from telling my siblings.”

  “That makes a little more sense. Telling anyone is considered a big deal, that he gave you permission to tell your folks at all is huge,” he said. “Speaking of your siblings, how’s everyone doing?”

  “Pretty good, Brit’s married and has two kids. Cam’s got a steady girlfriend but he hasn’t brought her around the rest of us yet. Probably because he doesn’t want to hear the teasing he’s sure to get. Pace is living in Tucson, she’s got a good job there. Raine’s here though, he’s been with STPD for about three years now. And ‘Low is getting ready to start her last year a NAU. She stayed up there for the summer, taking a summer class and working as a waitress in some restaurant up there.”

  “Wow, the last time I saw Shiloh she was about eleven. It’s hard to believe she is almost done with college.”

  “Yep. You have a brother and a sister too, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, Amy and Jason are both older than me. We aren’t real close. We haven’t been for a long time.” I heard the regret in his voice and I suspected that part of their not being close may stem from his not being able to shift.

  I checked the steaks and found them thawed, so I dumped the water out and started getting them ready to go on the grill. I quickly seasoned them and carried them out and put them onto the grill I closed the lid over them, and then headed back into the house to finish the rest of dinner.

  As I walked back into the kitchen I asked Devon, “What are your plans now that you have a place of your own?”

  “I’m gonna start looking for a job. I don’t really want to go to work for the mine or for any other big company but I will if I have to. I haven’t really looked at what’s out there yet, I’ve been concentrating on getting a place of my own.”

  “Yeah,” I pulled a couple of plates out of the cabinet over the dishwasher. “I can’t imagine living with my parents again, and I’ve only been out of their house and living by my own rules for about half as long as you have. I admit, I like being able to do things when and how I want without someone coming along and telling me how I should do it.”

  “Oh, do I know exactly what you’re talking about!” He laughed, “For the last two weeks I can’t step out the door without being grilled ‘where are you going? When will you be home? Who will you be with?’ It’s like I’m fourteen again.” We both laughed at his imitation of his parents.

  “Hang on. I’ll be right back.” I grabbed a pair of tongs and went out to the grill to turn the steaks. I walked back into the kitchen where Devon was patiently waiting and asked, “I forgot to ask, how do you take your steak?”

  “However you make yours will be fine with me.” He said.

  “Are you sure? I eat mine pretty rare.”

  “All I care is that it’s hot all the way through, cold steak just doesn’t do much for me.”

  “I think I’ve said exactly that before, bloody is okay, but I just don’t do cold.” I laughed and started setting things on the table for dinner. I pulled the butter and the salad dressing I keep for guests out of the fridge and set them on the table. I gathered flatware, steak knives, napkins and salt and pepper and set them out. I grabbed a plate and the tongs and I went back out to the grill, pulling the steaks off the heat and putting them onto the plate before shutting off the grill. I carried the plate and tongs back inside with me and put the steaks on separate plates to let the meat rest while I took the salads to the table.

  I sat down and told Devon to dig in, he used the dressing I’d set out and I ate my salad dry, the way I prefer it. Whil
e we were eating our salads the microwave beeped indicating that our potatoes were done. When we had finished our salads I took our bowls to the sink and filled them with water. I pulled the potatoes out of the microwave and put one on each plate.

  “Do you want sour cream with your potato?” I asked.

  “No, thanks. I’m good.”

  “Then here we are,” I replied, setting the two plates onto the table and I sat down once again.

  Devon cut his steak and took the first bite. “Perfect. Thanks for inviting me up,” he said. “I was just starting to think about food and pizza was my most likely option, since they’ll deliver.”

  “No problem, I was just going to end up eating alone again.” We finished dinner and I picked up the kitchen while we visited some more. Once the dishes were loaded and no trace of our dinner left behind Devon and I moved into the living room to visit for a while before he called it an night, he thanked me again for dinner and left. Devon stayed on my mind for the rest of the evening, something about him seemed to draw me. As I was getting ready for bed a couple hours later it occurred to me that he would need to get reacquainted with people in town, and maybe I could arrange for him to catch up with my family.

  Chapter 13

  SATURDAY MORNING I called Mom. I wanted to ask if it would be all right with her if I brought Devon to Sunday dinner. Because I know how my family is, I made sure it was clear that I’m not dating him, or anyone else for that matter. But I thought it would give us all a chance to catch up, and I hoped, cheer Devon up some. I told her he seemed kind of lost and lonely, I was hoping that the family could make him feel more at home, more at ease. I knew my family would probably think I was bringing home a boyfriend to meet the family, despite anything I said. But I knew that Devon had spent enough time with the Daniels Clan that he could take the ribbing that was sure to occur. She told me to bring him, I didn’t tell her that he felt out of place with his own family, just that he had recently moved back to the area after being discharged and I thought we all might enjoy the chance to catch up and get reacquainted.

  That afternoon I went down to Devon’s apartment and knocked on the door. I smiled when he opened the door.

  “Hello!” I said. “How’s your day going?”

  “So far so good, come on in,” he invited. “I’m limited on seating, but you’re welcome to what I have. I haven’t had a chance to find much furniture or do any unpacking.” I saw that there were a few pieces of furniture in the apartment, bookshelves, an older, used sofa, and through the bedroom doorway I could see the foot of a bed.

  “That’s all right. I expected as much, I came bearing an invitation...”

  “Oh?”

  “I wanted to invite you to Sunday dinner at my parents’ tomorrow. The family would love to have a chance to see you again, even if Pace isn’t going to be there.”

  “Are you sure? They won’t think that you’re bringing home a boyfriend to meet the family?”

  “I called my mom this morning. I told her I ran into you last night and that you were moving back to town, I thought you might like to catch up with the family. Then I told her that Sunday dinner would be the perfect chance, as most of us are all together then, and other than birthdays and major holidays it rarely ever happens any other time. I tried to make it clear that we’re not dating, just to be safe. But honestly? They’ll probably think so anyway, you gonna let that scare you away?” I challenged.

  “If it won’t bother you, it won’t bother me,” he laughed, “I just wanted to check. If you’re sure you want me, I’d like to go. I enjoy your family. I like how accepting you all are of the differences among you and love each of you because of them, not despite them.”

  “Me too. Just a reminder, they have no clue what I am. You can’t mention anything about the Kindred to them.” We moved farther into his apartment, which appeared to be the same floor plan as mine, but without the furniture and knickknacks I’d collected to clutter it.

  “Not a problem, I’m used to keeping the Kindred secret.”

  “I didn’t think it would be, but I wanted to remind you.”

  “So, do you want me to meet you there? Or would you rather ride together since it’s the same trip for us both?”

  “Well, I go early to help mom cook and I often stay after to help her clean up, but if you don’t mind hanging around there’s no reason we can’t go together. Why take two vehicles when there’s no reason to?”

  “I don’t mind going early or staying late. I’ve got nowhere else to be and I might as well enjoy spending the time with your family.”

  “Great, I’m planning on leaving at about four thirty. I’ll stop by and pick you up on my way out.”

  “That’s fine. Should I bring anything?”

  “Just you. Mom will be thrilled just to have you. Oh... I was gonna ask. How well do you do with kids?”

  “Haven’t had a whole lot of exposure, but I do alright. Why?”

  “Britt’s got two. They’re four and one and they’ve never met a stranger who wasn’t just a new mountain to climb.” I smiled at the thought of them climbing all over him.

  “I think I can handle that.” Devon laughed, “The innocence and honesty of little ones can be refreshing.”

  “Refreshing... that’s one word for it. Though, probably not the one I would’ve chosen off hand.” I remembered more than one occurrence when little Jimmy had shouted some remark that I found more embarrassing than refreshing. “Do you need any help unpacking?” I glanced around, it didn’t look like he had had a chance to do more than carry boxes in and stack them in the front room so far.

  “I can manage. I’ll get it done eventually.”

  “Of course you can, but if you have some help it’ll go much faster, even if I just pull things out of boxes and stack them on the counter to be put away. And really, it isn’t like you dragged me in here and chained me to it... I offered.”

  “Well, if you really want to… I just managed to get it all in here. I haven’t even had time to sort what goes in what room.”

  “Let’s tackle it... We’ll see what we can get done in a couple hours, and then I’ll let you pay me for my labor by feeding me.”

  “You’ve got a deal,” He turned to grab the nearest box and carry it into the kitchen. “The boxes are all labeled as to what room they go in, so it should be a pretty easy sort.”

  “Do you want to sort them all out and then have boxes scattered everywhere or do you want to grab a box and unpack it, and then grab another, leaving all the boxes in the living room until they are gone?” I asked.

  “Let’s just unpack one box at a time. Somewhere in that stack are two or three boxes of books that go in those.” He motioned to a set of bookcases that were standing against one wall, “They’ll be heavy so be careful.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied, turning and picking up the nearest box, I got started.

  We worked for about three hours and had made quite a dent in the stacks of boxes scattered through his living room when Devon called a halt.

  “Enough for now. Let’s take a break, order some pizza and get something to drink. If I had my screen set up, I’d say screw it, let’s watch a film.”

  “Well, how about you call and order the pizza, and while we wait for the delivery we can set up the screen. Then once it gets here we can pick something and watch it.”

  “That sounds like a good plan,” he said. “What do you like on your pizza?”

  “I prefer mushrooms and spinach, but I’ll eat pepperoni and diced tomatoes too.”

  “Hmm, I’m a meat lover’s man. How about we meet in the middle and get pepperoni and mushrooms?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Let me call it in, I’ll be right back. I think the screen is rolled up in the corner next to the bookcases.”

  “I’ll look for it while you call.”

  He nodded, stepping out onto the patio attached to his apartment to make the call. I went into the living
room and started looking for the screen. I found it rolled into a tube standing in the corner, right where Devon said it would be. I started moving boxes away from the only wall big enough to put the screen on. I picked them up and stacked them easily with my still developing strength. When I found a box labeled books or films, instead of stacking them among the ones I was stacking out of the way, I put them in front of the book cases to be unpacked. Unpacking the books would be a quick job and one that would make a lot of difference in the look of the place. I also set the box labeled sound equipment in the center of the room. I was betting we’d need that to hook up the screen and watch something.

  “Wow, you were busy!” Devon came back into the house, surprised to see how much I had gotten done.

  “I figured I might as well get as much done as I could so that we can hook up the screen. Do you know where the hooks are?”

  “Sure, I dropped them in the top of the tool box so they’d be easy to find when I was ready for them.” He headed into the dining area where he left his toolbox standing open. He came back carrying three small hooks, similar to what pictures are hung with, a level, a measuring tape and a hammer.

  “Done this a few times huh?” I asked, recognizing the signs of someone who was familiar with what the job would take.

  “A few…” He measured up the wall and marked a small line with a pencil he pulled out of his shirt pocket. He moved over a couple feet and did the same thing. “Can you hold the other end of this for me?” he asked, picking up the level. I held the level at the mark he had made with the pencil. Measuring across it he marked three small x’s before lowering the level and using the hammer to hang the three hooks he had brought with him. I picked up the tube that was the screen. I handed him one end and we unrolled it, snapped it open and hung it on the hooks he’d just mounted. It hung smooth and straight as the flexible electronic was designed to do. Devon took his tools back to the tool box and returned with the knife we had been using to open boxes. He cut open the box labeled sound equipment and handed me the knife.