by C. C. Dado
Seth walked down to the bakery to get the ovens warming and opened the window behind the sink so it didn’t get too hot. It was still early morning, but it was already at least seventy degrees out. He could smell the morning dew burning off under the sun. He spent the next few hours preparing the backup set of baked goods for the display cases. Max had come in a little while ago to get the front ready for another busy Saturday. Seth was really glad they had high school kids helping out in the afternoons now, so they didn’t have to put in such a long day. Seth was on his last batch of cupcakes. He’d grabbed the muffin tin off the cooling rack and started filling the paper cups with batter when he heard a commanding voice pierce through the window.
“Sit.”
Seth was unable to control his response as he dropped his spatula and sat his butt hard onto the floor. What the hell was that? Not even his alpha had that type of control over him. His premonition of undecidedly awful things coming ran through his mind—this is it. He barely registered the squeak of the swinging half doors as Max walked into the kitchen from the front.
“Whatcha doing there?” Max asked, leaning across the kitchen island.
Seth stared up at Max, his eyes blown wide. “I have no idea,” he said, the cupcake tin he had somehow managed not to drop still held awkwardly in the air.
“Lie down.” The voice came through the window again.
Max looked at Seth questioningly as Seth instantly fell onto his back.
“Okay…,” Max said, obviously trying to stay calm. “That was weird, right? Did you just lie down because someone outside said to?”
Seth whined, lying on the floor of the bakery in shock, scared eyes staring toward the ceiling.
Max came around the island, rushing to help Seth up.
“Okay, I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m calling Christian.” Max pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“Wait,” Seth said, needing a moment to process.
“Umm, no. We should call Christian.” Max leaned over the sink to see out the window into the backyard. “There’s a guy out back at the house next door. I think it’s the new neighbor. Maybe he’s an evil wizard or something. Is that a real thing? Oh….” He paused. “He’s pretty hot, but like not really my type. I like them with a little more muscle, to the point where their shirts stretch just a bit across their chest and shoulders, like Christian’s do. But he’s not bad, lanky, brunet too,” he said, sounding disappointed. “I prefer blonds, and he has on glasses. Can’t say I’ve ever been a fan of a man in glasses, but they fit on him.”
“Are you seriously checking out my neighbor right now?” Seth demanded, his anxiety starting to lower from DEFCON 3 as he took calming breaths.
“No, I mean yes, but not for me. Sorry, okay. Focus. Let’s get you up off the floor. We’ll call Christian and Zeus.”
Seth let Max help him up off the ground, and he peeked out the window. “Wait,” he said again, stopping Max’s hand as he reached for the phone in his pocket. “I’m not scared anymore.”
“What do you mean, you’re not scared anymore? You just laid down on the ground because someone told you to.”
“I know. And it scared me at first too. Normally I’d still be having a full-blown panic attack in the corner, probably crying a little, but I’m not.”
“Okay, so, you don’t want me to call Christian because you’re not freaking out anymore that someone is controlling your mind?” Max sarcastically summarized.
Seth shook his head at his friend. “I meant, I’m not panicking. The voice, it makes me feel different, like in a good way, peaceful almost.”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re obviously not thinking clearly. You’ve lost the ability to make your own choices. I’ll have Christian’s lawyer draw up papers. I’ll be your legal guardian from now on.”
“If you’re ever the rational one out of the two of us, we’re both screwed, and I’m not insane, just curious, I guess. I don’t want to tell them yet.” Seth looked out at the stranger again. He was tall, his dark brown, wavy hair fell just past his shoulders, his nose was a little too big for his face, and Seth thought it was perfect. “Handsome but not too perfect.” His earlier words to Max about his preferences played back through his mind, making him take a deep breath.
Max leaned in next to him a bit to get a better look. “What is he doing out there?” Max attempted to whisper, watching intently out of the window.
“Zeus said he was a trainer.”
“Oh, Seth,” Max said, pausing to choke back a laugh with his fist. “He’s a dog trainer.” He snorted, apparently unable to hold it in any longer, “And you’re… you’re obeying his commands.”
Seth could barely make out what Max was saying past his laughter.
“Shit, I think I may die,” Max said, bent over the counter, holding his side. “This might be the best thing that has ever happened in my life.”
“I hate you,” Seth said, focusing his attention back out the window. Recalling his conversation with Zeus, the new neighbor was a dog trainer. Seth watched as the man knelt down in the grass and patted his leg for the dog to come. The chocolate lab bounced his way across the yard, ramming into the man.
“That’s a good boy.” The man’s purr sent chills over Seth’s body. His wolf was definitely awake, pulling at him to get closer.
The dog rolled over onto his back for more attention.
“Oh yes, such a good boy.” The man switched from scratching behind the dog’s ears to rubbing his belly. “You like that?”
Yes! Seth thought, gripping the counter to stop the dizziness from the instant arousal rushing through his body at the thought of this stranger touching him.
“Oh yeah, you like that, don’t you. Good boy.”
Seth’s knuckles turned white against the countertop.
“Oh my, gross. Are you about to blow a load right here in the kitchen? My eyes!” Max screeched, covering his eyes like he’d been burned with acid.
Seth’s arousal died an instant death, his face heating with embarrassment as he pulled them both out of the way of the window so they wouldn’t be seen. Seth chose to ignore Max completely, closing the window and picking up his cupcake tin off the floor.
“So, you just going to go back to baking, huh?” Max taunted him. “Okay, we can play it that way, for now. But I know things now, Seth. I’ve seen things,” Max emphasized, stealing a cookie from the morning’s batch off the counter. He pointed two fingers to his eyes and back at Seth before letting the half doors swing behind him as he left.
Seth forced himself not to look out the window again, his emotions doing somersaults in his stomach as he stirred the batter, unconsciously adding in cups of flour. He replayed the sound of the man’s voice in his head. He was human. Seth had smelled it mixed with the light scent of sandalwood in the breeze coming through the window. Why would Seth be obeying the commands of a human, or anyone for that matter? He didn’t even obey his alpha to that extent. But Seth couldn’t have controlled his response to that voice in that moment, and it had scared him—that feeling of the unknown.
When the mixing bowl was half filled with flour, Seth realized what he was doing and dumped it back into the trash. He needed answers, and there was only one group of people who could help him. Tomorrow he was going to figure out a way to talk to the elders.
Chapter 4: Meeting the New Neighbor
“YOUR USUAL, Seth?” Cora asked, wiping the nozzle of the milk steamer with a coffee-stained towel.
Seth stood in line at the coffee shop, frozen by the change in the air, the scent of roasted coffee suddenly mixed with sandalwood. The sound of footsteps making his skin tingle. He’s right behind me….
“Seth?” Cora said, again.
“Umm yeah, sorry. My usual’s fine.”
“And what can I get started for you?”
“A grande green tea,” the voice responded behind him, the man’s words dancing along Seth’s spine.
Seth stoo
d there trying not to move or breathe, doing his best impression of a statue until Cora handed him his drink. He lowered his gaze to the ground, hiding behind his bangs, and turned toward the exit, unable to walk past his neighbor without glancing up and to his horror catching his warm gaze. Seth beat a hasty retreat out of the shop, trying not to splash his hot coffee. He would have made a decent escape too, if he’d been paying attention enough to see the dog napping outside the doorway. As it was, he was able to trip over it instead of stepping on it, and the wood post holding up the awning was nice enough to stop him from falling on his face. That’s going to leave a mark, he thought, rubbing his chest.
“Are you okay?” The smooth tone gave Seth goose bumps, his wolf instantly perking up inside him. Closer…. His wolf’s reaction puzzled him. There was something about this guy that drew him in, the rush of unfamiliar feelings making him start to panic. He looked up into the warmest brown eyes and froze. Seth continued to stare at him. His glasses sat on his prominent nose, and close up he was even more compelling than through the window.
“Wow,” his neighbor said, staring into Seth’s eyes.
Seth realized his bangs had fallen to the side, showing his eyes. He instantly moved his head so his bangs fell back into his face, covering his left eye.
“I’m sorry.” The neighbor seemed to mentally shake himself. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. But you’re… striking.” A pause stretched out between them. “I’m Jack,” he said, hand outstretched.
Seth reached out and, for the briefest of moments, shook his hand before pulling away.
“Sorry my narcoleptic dog tried to kill you. I’m new in town and wasn’t sure if I could bring him into the coffee shop.”
“It’s okay, I’m fine,” Seth said, almost too quiet for him to even hear. Seth looked at the friendly smile and relaxed a little. “Animals are pretty much welcome anywhere in town. Does your dog really have narcolepsy?” Seth asked, his interest distracting his nerves.
“No, not really. Winston’s just lazy.” Jack’s almost, crooked smile brightened at Seth’s participation in the conversation, and he leaned down to pet the dog’s head. “I know this is going to sound weird, but I’m sure I wouldn’t have forgotten a face like yours.”
Seth instantly dropped his gaze to the ground, sticking his hands in his pockets.
“Hey.” Jack’s voice softened as he reached out, almost touching Seth’s arm but stopping before making contact, as if he was afraid to scare Seth away. “I meant that as a compliment.” Jack waited for Seth to look up again before continuing. “I just feel like we’ve met before. Have we?”
“Umm… no, I don’t think so.”
Jack continued to stare at him like he was trying to figure out how he knew him, and honestly Seth felt the same way, like every curve of his face was familiar, the bump in his nose, the small scar on his chin; it was like his soul recognized them. Part of Seth wanted to run, but a bigger part of him was so curious about this man that he continued talking. “I think you just moved in next door to me. My best friend and I own the bakery. I live upstairs.”
“So it’s you I have to thank for the amazing smells that have been coming out of there the last two days.”
Seth was sure he was blushing. “I’m the chef. My friend Max runs the front.”
Jack smiled at Seth. “Well, Seth, I can’t wait to see if your baked goods taste as good as they smell.”
Seth’s toes curled at Jack’s words. He was feeling it again. The need to please this stranger. He wanted to run home and bake him every fabulous dessert he knew of. The feeling scared him. “Okay, umm, I have to get going.” Seth walked backward before realizing he was going the wrong direction. He turned quickly, moving past Jack, almost tripping again in his rush down the sidewalk. He looked back when he got past the last shop to see Jack still standing there with Winston, watching him.
Well that had gone just as horrifyingly awful with a touch of amazing as Seth had expected it would if they ever met. He knew he should have gone straight to the commune, but he was so tired from staying up all night thinking about his new neighbor he’d thought caffeine might help.
As soon as Seth made it past the gates of the commune, he stripped out of his clothes, leaving them behind a tree near the gate, and shifted, running toward the alpha’s lodge, laughing to himself a little that he had no problem getting naked in the woods but was too embarrassed to have a normal conversation with a stranger. He shook his head and focused on his path. He smelled the evergreens, felt the breeze through his fur as his paws grazed and crunched the earth. He made it to the lodge in record time. Seth grabbed sweats and a T-shirt out of the wet room just off the entryway of the lodge. Christian always kept extra clothes for folks after a shift.
Realizing he had neglected to call to tell him he was coming, Seth slowed his pace as he was leaving the common rooms, and knocked on the connecting door to the alpha’s private quarters. Zeus opened the door with his larger-than-life scowl. Zeus reminded Seth of an angry teddy bear that might, or might not, rip his head off.
“What do you want?” Zeus questioned his appearance so early in the morning.
“I need to talk to the alpha.”
Zeus shook his head. “We’ve been over this before, Seth.”
“I know, but it’s really important and I wanted to visit with Max too,” Seth pleaded.
“He’s got a lot of things that are very important, and Max is still asleep.”
Seth was getting nowhere fast, so he took a calming internal breath and told the mother of all lies. “That’s even better. I didn’t really want to mention anything to you because it’s kind of private, but if it’s the only way I can get in to see him, I guess I can’t keep the secret any longer. I need to talk to the alpha because… I think Max is pregnant.”
Zeus’s doubtful expression as he crossed his arms over his chest was not promising. Seth focused on his calm, even breaths. It wasn’t a completely unbelievable lie; there was folklore of male shifters giving birth. Just because they had never seen it in their lifetime didn’t mean it wasn’t a real thing, right?
Zeus continued to stare at him. Seth could tell he was trying to scent out the lie. Finally he opened the door farther, reluctantly letting Seth pass. “He’s in his office.”
Seth walked past without responding, not wanting to push his luck on getting away with lying again. He was a big fatty-fat liar.
Seth knocked lightly on the office door.
“Come in, Seth.” Christian’s voice sounded through the door.
Seth walked up to the front of Christian’s desk, the look on his face letting Seth know he’d heard the conversation at the door.
“I’m going to be a dad, am I?”
Seth lowered his eyes, ashamed at lying again to get counsel with the alpha.
“I’m still not sure if I’m impressed or disturbed by your ability to lie.”
“Max taught me, sir,” he reminded him, hanging his head.
“So you’ve said, but Max can’t lie to me,” Christian said, obviously intrigued by it.
“Yeah, that is weird, isn’t it? Must have something to do with your bond.”
“So what is it you need, Seth? Since you are not here to talk about Max and my pretend child,” he said, leaning back into his chair.
“Umm… yeah, sorry,” Seth said, taking a deep breath of courage before continuing. “I came to ask for counsel with the elders.”
Christian rubbed the bridge of his nose like he was getting a headache, making Seth cringe before he responded, “Why do you need the elders’ counsel?”
Seth’s tongue froze in his mouth, his eyes feeling like he might cry. He looked down at the floor.
He heard the movement of Christian’s chair, followed by footsteps coming around the desk.
“I know I am your best friend’s mate, but I am also your alpha. You can say anything to me, Seth,” he said, lifting Seth’s chin.
Seth took another deep breath be
fore starting. “It’s about the new resident who just moved in next door.”
“Is there a problem with him? He was thoroughly checked out, and we didn’t see anything in his background that would be a problem,” the alpha assured him, leaning back onto his desk. “Are you saying we missed something?”
“No, no, it’s not anything like that, it’s just that he makes me feel weird.”
The alpha’s brow crinkled at Seth’s words, prompting him to continue.
“Well not weird exactly. But I find myself wanting to do things, like, for him… or maybe to him?” The last part came out sounding like a squeaky question.
“Are you sure this isn’t something you should be speaking with your mom about and not wasting the elders’ time teaching you about the birds and the bees?”
“I know about the birds and the bees, but he’s a human.”
“Shifters have dated humans before. It’s not a deal breaker.”
“This is different,” Seth said, feeling defeated.
The alpha considered him for a moment before picking up the phone and calling someone to let them know Seth would be coming.
“Go on back.”
The elders lived in a single-story lodge overlooking the lake. Seth couldn’t believe he was actually taking counsel with them. Very few people got to meet the elders. They were a treasure to the pack, and their health and welfare were protected accordingly, including full-time care from the pack mothers.
Seth walked the path leading from the alpha’s lodge back to the elders’. It was made in the same log cabin style as the alpha’s.
Even though Max had warned him about the elders, Seth wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted him. Four people sat around a card table in the middle of a large room. It kind of reminded Seth of those velvet paintings of dogs playing poker, except instead of dogs it was the oldest people Seth had ever seen in his life. Seth had heard they could still shift but didn’t do it often. When it was time for them to move on from this life, they would shift and wouldn’t come back from their wolf forms.
