Ward and Casey turned around, watching them with questions in their eyes and triggering a new round of laugher in Nolan.
“What’s so funny, love?” Casey asked as he held his hand out. Nolan grabbed it, grateful to let go of the wall.
“We, uh, we were discussing Christmas presents, and I think Jamie found the perfect one to give to a mate.”
“Can you tell me what it is?”
Nolan snickered. “No, but if you’re a good boy I might buy you the same thing.” Nolan looked over and saw Keenan winking at him and mouthing “It vibrates!”
Nolan had to suck in a deep breath to stop laughing. People were starting to look at them funny, and while he didn’t really care, he didn’t want to attract too much attention. They already got more than enough of that because they were openly gay.
He buried his face in Casey’s neck, taking in his mate’s scent and hoping that it would calm him, but the vicinity of Casey’s body and the thought of buying him a butt plug triggered a whole new type of problem.
Nolan’s dick started to plump in his jeans from the image that popped in his head of Casey on all four with the plug showing in his butt. Nolan couldn’t help but lick a path form Casey’s neck to his ear, grateful that he was at least partially hidden by their scarves and heavy jackets. Casey shivered under his ministrations, but they were interrupted by someone clearing his throat behind them. Nolan groaned before pecking a last kiss on Casey’s jaw. It wasn’t like they would have done anything—it was too damn cold for that, and he didn’t want to risk freezing off his nuts.
Nolan looked up to see who had interrupted, and froze. On the other side of the street a man was getting out of his car. Nolan recognized him right away—he would never forget the man who had helped him escape from the lab, even if he was trying to disguise himself. His short dark hair was hidden under a heavy woolen hat but Nolan recognized the strong, straight nose and the deep brown eyes that were looking carefully around before he slipped in a small alley.
Nolan tore away from Casey and started running. He didn’t know why, but he needed to talk to the man, to ask why he had decided to help him, to thank him for giving him the life that he now had. Nolan heard his friends shouting behind him before they started following, their footsteps muffled by the snow as they reached the alley. Someone grabbed Nolan by the wrist and jerked him to a stop.
“What the hell are you doing?” Casey hissed.
“He’s there! I saw him!” Nolan said, indicating the alley. They were effectively blocking the guard’s only way out.
“Who’s here?” Ward asked, his eyes hard, probably thinking it was one of the scientists.
“The guard who helped me. I saw him getting out of his car and walking in there.”
Ward nodded and looked at Casey before talking to the rest of them. “Jamie, take Keenan and go back to the car. Call Dominic and tell him what happened. Nolan, did that guy ever see you in human form?”
Nolan had to think about it. While in the lab he had tried to stay in his cat form as much as possible. It had been easier to deal with the feelings he had been experiencing at the time, and he’d managed to avoid being raped by the guards that way, too. He had seen some of them doing just that to some of the shifters in human form. “Yeah, I think he did, at least once or twice when he brought me some food. I remember I shifted and tried to talk to him since he was the nicest one in there, but he ignored me. I thought that meant he wouldn’t do anything, but he probably just didn’t want to be discovered.”
“Okay, come with us then, but stay behind Casey.”
Ward started stalking the man and soon Nolan heard a scuffle and muffled sounds. Ward appeared a few minutes later, his hand on the guard’s arm. It surprised Nolan that the man wasn’t trying to run away or to fight back, but it might have been because of his arm. He was holding it close to his body as if it was broken or hurt.
They stayed in the alley’s relative privacy as Ward asked Nolan to come near them. Understanding dawned in the guards eyes when he recognized Nolan.
“What are you going to do to me? I helped you!” he snarled, low enough to avoid drawing attention to them.
“I’m not going to do anything to you! I just wanted to thank you!”
“That’s why you send this guy to capture me?”
Okay, this wasn’t going well. Nolan hadn’t actually thought when he had followed the man, so he hadn’t thought about why he was doing it and what he was going to say. “What’s your name?”
The guard looked stunned, but he answered. “I’m Craig. What about you? I saved you, but I don’t know anything about you.”
“I’m Nolan.” He looked at Ward. “Dominic is going to want to talk to him, right?”
“I’m afraid he is.” Ward turned to Craig. “But don’t worry, we won’t hurt you.”
Craig opened his mouth to answer but in that moment a squeak came from under Craig’s coat. He tightened his arm around the coat, and now that Nolan looked better he could see there was a bundle there, and that Craig was protecting it with his arm.
“You’re doing it again, aren’t you?” he asked softly. “You’re saving another shifter.”
Craig looked at them as if trying to decide if he could trust them, then slowly moved his coat aside to reveal the small animal under it. Nolan gasped. It was a white weasel. Its coat was pure white under the grime, and its eyes were so full of fear it hurt. Its fear was also floating in the air around them, and Nolan remembered how it had been to be in the small shifter’s place.
A car stopped at the beginning of the alley and Nolan turned around, watching as Bryce and Nate stepped down from it and started walking in their direction. He was glad they were here, but he hoped they weren’t going to hurt the man who had saved him from the pain and degradation.
About the Author
Catherine lives in Italy, country of good food and hot men. She used to write fantasy as a child, but it was reading her first gay erotic romance novel that made her realize that that was what she really wanted to write.
After graduating from college in English language and translation, she divides her day between writing, reading, taking care of her son and reading some more.
You can find her on Facebook and Twitter or on her website: authorcatherinelievens.wordpress.com
Email: [email protected]
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