by Noah Harris
Dante grunted. “You could have just said you were there the whole time.”
“Yeah, but it was more fun to watch your face when you realized that I’ve been here the whole time, witnessing what you do when you think you’re alone,” Liam said nonchalantly.
“So, you get off on watching other people then?” Dante asked.
Liam grinned. “Something like that. People show a lot about themselves when they think they’re alone.”
“I guess it helps when you can appear and disappear at will,” Dante said pointedly.
“You spend enough time being invisible in people’s eyes, you learn how to take advantage of it and turn it into a skill. Comes in handy out in the world,” Liam shrugged.
Dante picked himself up so he could sit and see Liam better. “The world? Does that mean you’ve been to more than just sept territory?”
Liam scoffed. “When you’re only loosely connected to a sept, there’s no reason to hang around the sept’s territory. I’ve been all over the place. There’s a lot more in the world than just this patch of earth and stone.”
“But you keep coming back here,” Dante said.
Liam cocked his head, looking intrigued. “I guess old habits are hard to break. No matter how much of a wanderer you turn out to be, home is home, even if you only see it once in a while.”
“I take that to mean you’re originally from around here, then? I don’t remember ever seeing you when I was growing up,” Dante noted.
“You’re what, just past your twenty-fifth name day? That would be why. I’m almost a solid decade older than you,” Liam told him with a laugh.
Dante blinked. “Really?”
Liam looked down at himself. “What, don’t believe me?”
Dante wasn’t so rude that he would outright call the man a liar, but he knew there was doubt written on his features. Werewolves, if they managed to live past their twenties, did tend to age well. Even Elder Marrow looked considerably younger than his eighty years. Yet, even with the resilience of the werewolf genes inside him, Dante would have expected Liam to look older than he did. It was well-known that a Loner’s life wasn’t an easy one, and a rough life brought a werewolf down just as surely as it did a human. The Loner looked as hale and hearty as Dante himself did, without hardly a trace of wear and tear on him.
“I guess I don’t have a whole lot of references to work with when it comes to Lone Wolves,” Dante admitted with a shrug.
Liam nodded in understanding. “I see, so you expected me to look like some old man because I’m a poor Loner who has to live in the world on his own?”
Dante snorted. “You don’t look ‘poor’ to me, in any sense of the word.”
“Quite the sharp eye you’ve got there,” Liam said with a wicked grin.
“I’ve also got a few sharp teeth I can show you if you’d like,” Dante told him, annoyed at what sounded like condescension.
Liam wiggled his shoulders playfully. “Is that a promise?”
Dante couldn’t help the bark of surprised laughter. “Are you flirting with me?”
Liam shrugged. “It’s not often I find a sept member who’s willing to talk to me. Even more rare is that the sept member is good-looking and still technically single.”
“Technically,” Dante said with a grin.
“Until the day comes when you formally agree to be his mate, you’re totally and completely single. So that means I can flirt with you all I want, without any repercussions. Well, no more than I would have, being a Loner and trying to hit up the honored gift of the sept anyway,” Liam told him with a wiggle of his brow.
“You like flouting the rules a bit, don’t you?” Dante asked with some amazement.
“Well, when you end up a Lone Wolf, the rules just don’t seem quite as important as they once did. That, or maybe I just like flirting with good-looking men,” Liam said.
Dante hesitated at that. “Do you, uh, mind if I ask if your status was your choice or chosen for you?”
There was a flicker in Liam’s eyes, gone before Dante could determine what it was. “I don’t mind if you ask.”
Dante chuckled. “Okay, then is you being a Loner due to your personal choice or was it chosen for you?”
“Bit of both,” Liam answered simply.
Dante raised a brow. “Is that it?”
Liam shrugged. “I said I didn’t mind if you asked. I didn’t say I was going to give you my life’s story afterward. It’s not that interesting a story anyway. Total mood killer.”
Dante cracked a smile. “I think I can understand that.”
Liam slid down from the rock, stretching as if he’d been sitting there for a while. “Your family?”
“You’re very good at knowing things about a sept that you pretend not to care much about,” Dante noted.
Liam gave a shrug. “I was a full member during the war. I left shortly after it was over.”
“You weren’t even of full age when you left?” Dante asked in surprise.
“And you weren’t of full age, or even through your first change, when your life changed so completely. Life and circumstance has a way of making people grow up sooner than they should,” Liam answered casually.
Dante found he had nothing to say to that, save for a quiet nod. He had been enjoying the playful banter between them and wasn’t sure how to deal with the sudden shift in mood. They weren’t quite sharing anything private with one another, but he almost felt a sense of kinship between them. The thread of understanding that had been absent from Noah seemed to run as strong as a river through Liam. He found it oddly comforting, even if it did bring a sense of melancholy with it.
Liam glanced around the beach. “Is this your normal hiding place I’ve intruded on?”
Dante shook his head. “Not just mine. I come here with my friend Erik a lot.”
Liam raised a brow. “To this private, out of the way location? What kind of friend is he?”
“The kind that’s like a brother, and I’ve never thought of him like that, let alone done anything with him,” Dante corrected hastily.
“A pity. Having a childhood friend to have some fun with can help pass the time,” Liam said.
Dante laughed. “We have more than enough fun without having to take our clothes off in the process.”
“Not even for a moment?” Liam asked.
Dante squinted at him. “You’re awfully curious about the possibility of Erik and I having been together sexually. Are you trying to flirt with me, or just trying to get from me to him?”
Liam chuckled, settling himself on the sand a little bit away from Dante. “I’m only teasing you. You’ve got a great face, and it makes some fun expressions when you get a little riled up.”
“There a dirty joke in there somewhere?” Dante asked with a cocked brow.
“Well there isn’t now,” Liam said in a whining tone.
Dante laughed again, liking the man’s easy wit and casual demeanor. “I’m gonna start thinking you’re just a caricature of bad jokes and innuendos.”
Liam leaned back onto his hands, kicking his legs out in front of him. “Never got in my way before.”
The wind shifted. It was cool as it blew in from Liam’s direction, off the lake. The familiar smell of the lake mingled with a deep, bold scent that took Dante a moment to realize was coming from Liam. For someone who made himself out to be a man of the world, his scent smelled of damp earth, clean water, and something Dante didn’t have a word for. It made him think of deep ravines in the earth, filled with trees that rose up to the sky, the shadows below them concealing all manner of secret things. It was an unnerving image, but oddly comforting.
Liam’s face turned toward the wind, his eyes closing with a sense of peace. “It’s been awhile since I smelled the water here.”
“Does it smell different in other places?” Dante asked as he too took a deep breath.
“You’d think water would smell just like water, wouldn’t you? But no, even if
it’s a lake only a few hundred miles away, it smells different than the one here does. I’ve smelled swamps, ponds, rivers, lakes, oceans and a handful of other types of water. Lakes have always smelled the best to me. They remind me of the home I left behind, but nothing quite beats the genuine article,” Liam said with a sad smile on his face.
“How long are you here for?” Dante asked.
“Probably for as long as the Elders will let me stay. I don’t want to risk them getting too pissy with me, or they’ll give me a hard time in the future,” Liam told him.
Dante thought it must be a lonely life, wandering the world without any real support network to fall back on. Sure, there was more freedom and the ability to choose your own path as you walked the world. It sounded good in theory, but when he thought about having to navigate the world without even the presence of Rosa or Erik by his side, he shrunk away from it. For all his wildness, stubbornness, and even disobedience, he didn’t envy Liam’s life.
Liam cocked his head so he was looking at Dante once more. “Why? Getting fond of me?”
Dante shrugged. “You’re the first Lone Wolf I’ve ever met, and I happen to like hanging around interesting people.”
Liam snorted. “Aren’t you supposed to be focused on your mate?”
“Weren’t you the one who pointed out that he’s not technically my mate until we go through the whole process of courtship? Sure, I need to follow the rules and spend time with him, but that doesn’t mean I can’t spend the rest of my time however I want,” Dante told him defensively.
“Aw, and you want to spend it with me? See? My charms do work,” Liam said with an exaggerated batting of his eyes.
Dante chucked a stray twig at him. “Don’t get too excited. My best friend has been ‘conveniently’ assigned to scout duty out in the wilds, so I’ve gotta get my entertainment from somewhere.”
Liam bowed his head down, rooting through the sand. “Charming or entertaining, I’ll take it. Can’t say no to the opportunity to spend time with more than just my own shining company.”
“People don’t really like talking to you, huh?” Dante asked.
Liam plucked a rock from the sand, cocking his wrist and tossing it so it skittered across the surface of the lake in several hops. “You could say that. I’m afforded Lone Wolf status so that I’m not considered a Rogue. Everyone treats Loners like they’re Rogues though, like I’m only a couple of steps away from saying ‘screw this shit’ and going nuts. I’m not going crazy; I just want to be left the hell alone.”
Dante watched him skip another rock. “How do you do that?”
“By not caring what other people expect me to do. Once you stop giving a shit, everything else falls into place,” Liam explained.
“I meant skipping rocks,” Dante laughed.
Liam looked at him owlishly. “You…don’t know how to skip rocks?”
Dante shrugged. “I’ve never got the hang of it. Erik was always good at it, but no matter how much I practiced, my rocks always just sink instead of skip.”
“You need a good rock is all, here, try this one,” Liam said as he extended his hand out, a thin, flat rock held in his grip.
Dante reached out to take it, the palm of his hand almost touching the tips of Liam’s fingers as he waited for the Loner to let go of the rock. Liam hesitated, his fingers moving slowly as they released their hold on the rock. Warmth spread out in the air between their outstretched hands, heating Dante’s palm. For one, absurd moment, Dante would have sworn the space between their hands reminded him of the distant horizon as a storm built. It wasn’t quite a sensation of charging electricity, but he couldn’t help the thought that there was a buildup of something in the air between them, a threat of promise.
“Dante! Boy, you really think you can hide from me after all these years?” Rosa’s voice cracked through the air behind them.
Dante jumped almost guiltily as he twisted to face her, spotting her a few yards away where the forest met the beach. “I wasn’t hiding!”
Rosa stood just away from the sand, shaking her head at him. “You and Erik have been coming down here to hide from us for as long as I can remember. You done playing nice with that Noah boy?”
“He’s not really a boy,” Dante corrected with a roll of his eyes.
“You’re all boys to me, even that one,” she said with a nod toward Liam.
The bright aura around Liam seemed to have receded as he gazed up at Rosa. “Evening, ma’am.”
“Nice to see your manners are still intact, though you wouldn’t know it from how quiet you’ve been since you got here,” Rosa said dryly.
“Not a whole lot to talk about,” Liam said quietly.
“Not to most it seems,” she said, with a pointed look toward Dante.
“Why are you hunting me down? I was a good boy and did what I was supposed to do,” Dante asked her.
“Making sure you’re not getting into trouble. And its nearly dinner time, so get your butt moving before the food burns,” Rosa chided him.
“You telling me you just left the pot on the fire?” Dante asked in amusement.
“Don’t take me long to find you when I need to. Now let’s get going,” she said with a sharp wave of her hand.
Dante glanced at Liam meaningfully. “I better get going before she stomps down here to drag me away physically. See you around?”
“Sure,” Liam said shortly, still watching Rosa carefully.
Dante jogged to catch up to Rosa, who waited until he was near before she began walking back toward the center of the sept. He gave one final glance over his shoulder, giving a small wave to Liam before they disappeared from view. It was only after they were out of earshot that he frowned at Rosa.
“You could have been a little nicer,” he scolded her.
“I wasn’t mean,” she said.
He rolled his eyes. “You’re never mean, but you could be a little gentler with people. No one talks to the poor guy, then you come along and bark at him.”
“I wasn’t barking. I’m glad he remembers his manners and that he isn’t acting like everyone expects him to. Don’t mean I need to baby him,” she huffed.
Dante thought about that for a moment. “So, you know who he is?”
“I remember him from when he was a full member, yeah,” Rosa said simply.
“Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?” he persisted.
“It’s just a thing,” she replied obtusely.
Dante sighed. “You’re one of those people who don’t like him very much, aren’t you?”
“I like him just fine. He was a good boy when he was here, and I’m confident the world didn’t change him too much,” she said.
“But you don’t like me being around him,” he responded bluntly.
“If you were anyone else, I’d say that it was a great idea. Loners have a bad reputation, and it’s not always a fair one. Liam isn’t a bad person, but he ain’t someone you need to be spending too much time around,” Rosa explained, her voice taking on a soft tone.
Dante shook his head. “If he’s not a bad person, and Loners just have a bad reputation, what’s it matter if I spend time with him? I’d have thought that would be a good thing.”
“It matters because everyone will be watching you for the next couple of weeks. Even if they don’t look as if they’re watching, and they leave you be, they’re all still be watching. That includes Noah and his pack. It could look…bad, if you were to be seen in the company of a Loner too often, when your relationship with Noah has only just begun,” Rosa said with a heavy sigh.
“What’s next, not allowing me to be friends with Erik because he might somehow make me look bad in front of Noah? You don’t even know if Noah will give a shit,” Dante said in a huff.
“I can’t speak for Noah, but I can speak for how our world works. No one will be happy that someone of your stature was seen consorting with someone as low as Liam. It’s not a kind part of our life, but it is a part of our lif
e. Noah may not care, but his pack, and his sept might. Do you really want to put your future mate in that position?” she asked.
Dante smirked at her as they approached her front door. “So, what you’re saying is, don’t be seen too often around him.”
She opened the door forcefully. “What I’m saying is, get your ass in my house so I can feed you.”
Chapter Six
The day was quickly shaping up to be a warm one, and Dante could feel the sweat beginning to prickle on his exposed skin. He wished he could pull his shirt and boots off and walk in the afternoon sun without baking in the process. If he hadn’t been walking beside Noah, he would have done just that over an hour ago. He wasn’t sure if it was proper or not for him to start stripping his clothes off during the courtship process, since he’d never actually been courted before. Werewolves weren’t exactly renowned for their modesty, but he didn’t want to risk breaking some rule that he’d forgotten by trying to cool himself off.
Noah didn’t seem bothered in the slightest by the heat. His carefully measured steps never faltered as they broke from the shade of the trees into the full intensity of the afternoon sun. Dante wasn’t sure how the man did it, in clothing that was both heavier than Dante’s own and darker in color. He couldn’t even see one bead of sweat on the alpha’s skin.
“How are you not burning up in those clothes?” Dante asked suddenly, only then realizing that Noah had been getting ready to speak.
The alpha glanced down at himself in surprise. “These? We don’t have too many light pieces of clothing in our sept. I find the warmer weather here to be comfortable. Strange, I know. You would expect someone used to cooler weather to melt under this heat, but I enjoy it. I’ll even miss it when we return to my sept.”
Dante appreciated that Noah hadn’t begun to refer to it as “their” sept. “It doesn’t get warm at all?”
“It gets warmer than the rest of the year of course, but nothing like the heat that your sept experiences. At least you have the nearby lake to cool off in if you get too hot,” Noah said with a smile.
