by C. C. Dado
Seth looked up into that concerned face. “Is horrific embarrassment something you can die from?”
“I don’t think so.” Jack’s concern turned to a look of relief.
Seth tried to let go, but realizing the water was still just over his mouth, he quickly wrapped his legs around Jack’s waist.
“I think I like you in the water,” Jack said, leaning forward and touching his wet lips to Seth’s. His wavy hair dripped into his glasses.
“Thank you for saving me,” Seth said, initiating another kiss.
“What in the fuck was that?” Max’s scream interrupted the moment as he angrily swam up alongside him with Christian.
“I’m going to assume you’re okay,” Christian said with a sarcastic smile on his face.
“Are we in trouble?” Jack whispered into Seth’s ear jokingly, moving closer to the shore where Zeus stood, shaking his head at them.
“What is wrong with you?” Max asked. “You scared the hell out of me. Why would you jump in the water when you can’t swim?”
“I didn’t jump in the water. We were talking at the end of the pier and I climbed up on the railing. I thought it would be romantic,” Seth admitted shyly, glancing up at Jack. “But instead Winston got all up in my ass with his nose and I fell.”
Everyone stood there staring at Seth.
“You were trying to Titanic him,” Max broke the silence, snorting his laughter.
Jack was looking at Seth like maybe he thought it was sweet.
“I seriously hate you sometimes,” Seth said to Max, turning and walking out of the water, his clothes getting heavier and heavier as he went.
Chapter 12: No More Lies
THE NEXT day at Sweets & Meats was a steady stream of tourists. The store was beginning to get a word-of-mouth following, partially because of Seth’s different approach to baking and partially because Max was insane, so no one ever forgot an interaction with him no matter how short it was.
Luckily it had slowed down the last hour. Seth couldn’t wait for closing. He’d told Max to go home early, figuring mindlessly cleaning would help the time go by. He had plans to meet Jack later. They were going to watch a movie at Jack’s house this time.
Seth pulled the garbage out of the cans around the shop and headed to the dumpster in the alley outside the bakery. He was still daydreaming about the evening ahead when he noticed a person leaning up against the wall of the bakery, making him pause. It was Mrs. Stegal’s nephew, David.
“Oh,” Seth said in surprise, unease settling in him.
“Hi,” David returned, his voice causing a chill to go down Seth’s spine.
Seth wasn’t sure what to do at that point, so he took a breath and moved toward the dumpster and lifted the lid to throw the bag in. He heard the lazy footsteps coming up behind him. Even though Seth was a shifter, he was scared. He didn’t like confrontation, and he didn’t like people who reminded him of Mr. Larsen. Seth instantly closed in on himself as his old insecurities flooded him.
“What do you want?” he said, hating that his voice sounded shaky as he turned around.
“I just wanted to talk to you.” David moved a step closer, putting himself right into Seth’s personal space.
Seth felt his wolf’s power rising in him, pushing at him to be let free.
“I’ve been thinking that maybe I asked out the wrong roommate,” David said, moving his hand up to touch Seth’s face.
Seth pushed his hand away before it made contact. He was not the shy, insecure person he used to be. He felt the strength rush through him, the strength his friends and mate had shown him was his. “I don’t think either of us is the right date for you,” Seth corrected him.
“Ahh, come on. Don’t be like that. You think you’re too good for me. You all think this town is too good for me. I’m going to show you how wrong you are.”
Bile rose in Seth’s throat. “You need to leave before—”
“Before what?” David asked, cutting him off. “You know, I saw you having a good time in the park with the dog trainer.”
Disgust rolled through Seth at the thought of this man watching such an intimate moment between him and Jack. He was done with this conversation. He attempted to move around the creep, feeling his wolf pushing to protect him. The hairs on his arms got thicker, even as he mentally pushed him back.
He felt a sharp sting in his arm as he went by David. “Whaaa…?” Seth said, not understanding what had just happened.
“I think you should have just said yes,” David said, holding up the small vial with the needle sticking out the end. “But this works too. Don’t worry, you won’t even remember this later.”
Seth struggled to stay up. He was sure whatever David had given him would have instantly flattened a normal person, but Seth’s body was very different from a human’s. He could no longer stop his wolf from protecting him. He felt the shift as it started, but it felt different. It wasn’t easy as his wolf struggled to break the surface.
“What the fuck,” David said, obviously seeing the change in Seth happening.
Seth could hear him backing away. The drug was overpowering him, and fighting the drug was also fighting the shift. He was stuck somewhere between man and wolf when he heard the sweet sound of Rosetta’s vicious bark.
“Hey,” he heard Jack yell.
Then there was the sound of footsteps running away. Seth fell to his knees, leaning forward against the brick wall of the bakery.
“Seth?” Jack asked.
Seth was thankful Jack was not able to see him clearly from behind. If he could just pull his wolf ba…. He felt himself listing to the side. He reached out to the ground to steady himself and heard Jack’s stalled gasp at his half-shifted arm. “I’m sorry,” Seth said, and as the drug took him, he felt his wolf take over before he passed out.
SETH COULD barely make out someone frantically talking.
“What happened?” That was Max’s manic voice.
“I don’t know.” Jack’s voice was shaken.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
Seth felt hands on his muzzle.
“Seth? Seth?” It was Max. He sounded more scared than Seth had ever heard him, but he couldn’t open his eyes. Everything seemed to take too much energy.
“Tell us exactly what you do know.” He heard Christian speak, making his wolf feel safe.
“I found Rosetta running around town all by herself. I was going to swing by the bakery and let Seth know I was going to go bring her home and I might be late for our date, but I heard something in the alley next to the bakery. I turned and saw someone on the ground looking like they were in pain and another guy I didn’t recognize standing over them. I ran down to see if they were okay and the guy took off. When I got closer, I saw that it was Seth on the ground, but something was wrong with him, like his arms looked different and his face contorted, like the bones had been broken. And then he fucking changed. It happened right before my eyes. I know that sounds like I’m nuts, but I swear to God that’s what happened. He was just lying there on the ground, and his body was breaking right before my eyes, and then he was Solo lying on the ground like he was dead, where Seth had been. I don’t understand. I don’t know what that guy did to him.”
Seth could feel Max stroking his fur, his hand shaking.
“The guy didn’t do anything to him to make this happen,” Christian said, apparently not seeing any way out of this without telling Jack about them.
“I don’t understand. What do you mean, he didn’t do this? He did something. What’s going on? What are you?”
Seth heard the disgust and fear in Jack’s voice and whined. Finally able to open his eyes, he turned his head, begging Jack with his eyes to understand.
“Oh my God,” Jack said, getting up. “Your eyes…. It’s really you, isn’t it? You’re the same person. How could I not have known? Your eyes, they don’t just look like Seth’s, they are Seth’s, aren’t they?”
Jack l
ooked around at everyone, and stepped back, putting distance between them. He ran his hands through his hair, pulling it back in a panic. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m leaving, and I want you all gone when I get back.”
Seth was hurt and confused by the words until he noticed they were all in Jack’s house. He must have brought him here and called them.
Seth heard a door close as Christian and Max moved into his line of sight. Max reached out and petted his neck.
“Can you shift back yet?” Christian asked, touching his side.
Seth whined, not sure if his heart breaking or if whatever he had been injected with was stopping him from coming back.
“It’s okay, I got you,” he heard Christian say before the alpha lifted him up in his arms and carried him out, gently placing him in the back seat of the Hummer. Max held his head in his lap. He could hear Max crying, his hand still shaking as he caressed his fur.
THE SHIFT came naturally a few hours later. He woke in the guest bedroom at the alpha’s house, Max wrapped around his body.
“You know cuddling with you is awkward when I wake up naked,” Seth said, his voice raspy. Max’s shocked gasp was followed by a full body hug that made the naked even more awkward.
“Are you okay?” Max asked seriously, moving forward to hold Seth’s face in his hands.
Seth’s eyes started to burn as he thought about what had happened, what could have happened to him if Jack hadn’t come. Both a blessing and a curse, as he was saved and lost his mate in the same act of kindness. “I’m still feeling a little off, but I think I’m okay.”
“Christian!” Max hollered, turning his face toward the door.
Christian walked in a minute later with Zeus.
“It’s good to see you awake. How are you feeling?” Christian asked.
“I’m okay.”
“Can you tell us what you remember?”
The two stood towering over the foot of the bed.
“I went to take the garbage out, and Mrs. Stegal’s nephew was in the alley. He started talking to me. I can’t really remember what he was saying, but I remember thinking he sounded crazy. I was trying to get away from him, and then he poked me with something. I got light-headed. I don’t know what it was.”
“It was a large dose of Rohypnol. It’s a date rape drug. I can smell it on you. Zeus, find him, he doesn’t leave, ever,” Christian said to his beta, leaving no question about what that actually meant.
Zeus nodded his head in acknowledgment and walked out.
“Oh no, I’m going to rip his head off,” Max said, getting out of bed and attempting to follow Zeus.
“No.” Their alpha’s command stopped him. “I know you’re mad and want to protect your friend, but you, my wonderful omega, would never get over the things I ask our beta to do.” Christian wrapped his hand around Max’s neck, moving him forward until their foreheads touched.
Seth envied their mate bond, curling back into a ball under the covers to mourn his own.
Chapter 13: Who’s Taking Satan’s Lapdog
CHRISTIAN AND Zeus never told them what happened to David, just that it had been taken care of and they didn’t need to worry anymore. The worst part of the whole thing was that Seth wasn’t the only one affected by David’s psychotic breakdown.
Seth was still at the lodge recovering when Zeus returned with Rosetta.
Zeus stood inside the front door, holding the small shih tzu away from his body with one hand as the creature tried to eat his face. Seth would have laughed if he wasn’t so confused by the fact that Rosetta was there on pack land.
“Why do you have Rosetta?” Seth asked, walking into the living room to find Max and Christian already seated, looking somber, tears rolling down Max’s face.
“What’s wrong?” Seth asked anyone who would answer.
“It looks like you weren’t the only one David attacked,” Zeus said.
Seth sat down in the chair, preparing for what he knew was coming next, since Rosetta was here without Mrs. Stegal.
“Jack brought Rosetta home and found Mrs. Stegal in a chair in front of the TV, the back door wide open. Looks like her nephew drugged her tea. She died in her sleep. I think in his twisted mind he thought he was going to get something if both his aunt and uncle passed away.”
Seth leaned forward, hugging his knees, surprised by the sadness that washed over him. They weren’t exactly close with Mrs. Stegal, but she was a staple in the community, a crazy staple for sure, but she was a part of their town.
“What do we do?” Seth asked.
“We’ll have a service for Mrs. Stegal and lay her to rest. Everyone will be told that David has already returned to his home,” Christian said, his tone leaving no room for questions of what really happened to David. “All of their stuff will be donated to charity, and we’ll be making a large donation in their honor as well.”
“And Rosetta?” Seth asked, almost able to tune out her constant barking.
“I’ll take her for now until we find her a better home,” Zeus shocked them all by saying. “What?” he said, daring all of them to question him with a look.
“Nothing,” they all said in unison, raising their hands in surrender as they watched Rosetta continue to try to eat his face.
Chapter 14: The Truth Behind Easter Valley
SETH STOOD outside Jack’s door with his hands shoved into his front pockets, trying to control his nerves. He had seen Jack at Mrs. Stegal’s funeral. They’d even locked eyes at one point, but Jack broke the contact first, and he was gone before Seth could talk to him. It had been a few days since the service, and Zeus had told him Jack hadn’t left town, so that was a good sign.
Seth rang the doorbell, hiding behind his bangs, which he had worn down today, not sure he could emotionally handle it if Jack rejected him again.
He heard Winston bark in excitement on the other side of the door.
“I’m sorry” was the first thing out of his mouth when Jack opened it.
Jack stared at him, giving no response.
“I should have told you sooner—what I was.” Seth paused, not sure he could get through it. “What this town was, but I couldn’t. We have to protect ourselves. This whole area is owned by my pack. We created Easter Valley so we could be part of the world without risking our people.”
“The gated-off roads on the edge of town? The houses on the other side of the lake up on the ridge?” Jack asked, as it apparently all started to come together.
“It’s our commune. The only reason I live in town is because Max was having family problems and it was safer for him in town. After he moved in with Christian, I should have moved back, but I couldn’t. I felt like I needed to stay where I was.”
“Is everyone in this town like you? Whatever that is exactly.”
Seth’s shoulders deflated. Jack couldn’t even say the word. “We’re shifters, lycan shifters, and no, I’m the only shifter in our pack who lives in town. No one else who lives in town knows what we really are.”
“I guess the extensive application and month-by-month rental makes more sense now.”
Seth wasn’t sure what to say to that.
Jack crossed his arms in front of him. “I appreciate the apology, but I don’t know if I can ever get past the lies.”
“I know, and I am truly sorry I hurt you, but that is my only regret. I don’t regret any of the time I got to spend with you.” Seth stopped to take a breath.
He watched Jack run his hand through his hair and adjust his glasses.
It was over. Seth knew it was over and he’d lost his mate. He made a noise trying to hold back his hurt. He knew there was no way he would get through this without crying.
“We have this thing, in my culture it’s called mates. That’s what Max and Christian are. A lot of people go their whole lives without ever meeting theirs. It’s the one person who is the other half of their soul. That’s what you are. My mate. I don’t know how that feels for a human, but I thi
nk part of me knew the first time I heard you speak that you were my other half. It was like all my pieces suddenly fit together.” He felt the tears running down his face now. He wiped them away on his sleeve and continued, knowing he was not a pretty crier. “That’s why I can’t regret the time I got to spend with you, because it was the only time in my life I have ever felt complete.” He fidgeted with his messy sleeve, unable to look up at Jack anymore. “But I do regret hurting you, with everything in me. And for that I will always be sorry.” He finished and quickly turned away, walking toward the small white gate, feeling like he would crumble at any moment.
“Wait,” Jack said, stopping Seth in his tracks. He heard Jack walk up behind him, getting closer than Seth ever thought he would again. “You’re a shifter.” Jack stated it as a fact. “I don’t know how shifters are real. You turn into a wolf.” For a second Seth wasn’t sure if he was going to continue. “It honestly scares the shit out of me and intrigues the hell out of me at the same time.”
Seth didn’t move. He was afraid to breathe, afraid to get his hopes up.
“So you’re going to have to give me time to adjust to that, the shifting.”
“I can do that.” Seth slowly turned around to face him, not yet sure what exactly Jack was getting to.
“I have my own confession to make,” Jack said, tucking Seth’s bangs back behind his ear. “I miss you more than I can put into words, and maybe that’s because of everything you just explained to me. I’m angry still that you lied to me, but I know you did it to protect your family. Maybe we could start over?”
“I would like that very much,” Seth said, his voice catching, fresh tears blurring his vision.
“Mates, huh?”
“Yes.” Seth barely got the word out.
Jack wrapped his arms around Seth, hiding his face in Seth’s neck. “I know we’re starting over, but think I might already be in love with my mate,” he whispered into Seth’s ear.
