by Stormy Glenn
“Okay.”
Dom drew in a fortifying breath before speaking. “My birth family is from a country a long ways from here. We’ve been the ruling family there for centuries.”
“Ruling family,” Keeland said. “Like royalty?”
Dom swallowed tightly at the disbelief in Keeland’s voice. “Yeah.”
“Seriously?” Keeland let out a bark of laughter. “You expect me to believe that?”
“It’s true.”
“Isn’t that like every orphan’s dream, to discover that their biological family is royalty?”
Well, when put like that…
“He’s telling the truth,” Gabriel said from the doorway. “One of the men who was sent to guard us told us all about our family and our heritage.”
Keeland snapped his mouth closed. He stared at Gabriel for a moment before asking, “Are you sure he wasn’t feeding you a line of crap?”
Gabriel walked farther into the room, then sat on the edge of Dom’s chair. “Yeah, we’re sure.”
“Wow, okay, so…” Keeland blinked rapidly for a moment. “Do I address you as Your Highness or something?”
Gabriel chuckled. “Gabe will do.”
Dom glanced down to keep anyone from seeing the smile that crossed his lips. This situation was too tense to be laughing.
“There was a man who wanted to eliminate everyone in our family so he could rule,” Gabe continued. “That’s why Dom was so freaked out over those two men that came by your clinic. They might be looking for us.”
“No.” Keeland shook his head. “They didn’t ask anything about Dom. They only wanted to know if I had treated any wild animals recently.”
“Yeah, um…” Gabe glanced at Dom. “Maybe we should wait until Chay gets here before we get into that.” Gabe looked back at Keeland, smiling. “I called him while I was in the office. He’s on his way home. He should be here soon. Would you like some coffee while we wait?”
“Yes, please.” Keeland waited until Gabe had walked out of the room before glancing back at Dom. “So, royalty, huh?”
Dom felt his face flush with heat as he glanced away. “Yeah, something like that.”
“That must have been interesting to find out.”
“Oh, it was.”
“So, this guy who wiped your family out, he’s still after you?”
Dom grimaced. This was the part of things he really didn’t want to share with Keeland, but if he expected the man to believe him, he knew he had to tell him everything. “He’s already come after us once since Gabe and I found each other. We were able to fight his men off, but the chances of him sending more are pretty high. That’s why I was so upset about the guys at the clinic.”
“Is this guy a poacher or something?” He’d asked Dom the very same thing back at the clinic.
“Something like that.”
Well, that was clear as mud.
“Are you planning on going home?”
Dom frowned. “Home?”
“To wherever you were born.”
“Oh, maybe someday. I’d like to see it at least. Not sure I’d stay though.” Dom chuckled. “I’m not really the royalty type. I think they frown on motorcycle grease and leather.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Keeland shivered. “There’s something to be said for leather.”
Dom arched an eyebrow. Did Keeland like leather?
“So.” Keeland’s lips twisted for a moment. “I guess it was pretty weird finding out you had a brother.”
“Three brothers, and yes, it was.” Understatement of the century. Dom was still a little wigged out. “We were all placed with a guardian to care for us. Gabe is the only one whose guardian is still alive. The rest were killed.”
Keeland gasped. “By the same people who want to wipe out your family?”
Dom nodded.
“What are the police doing about this?”
“We haven’t reported this to the police. We can’t.”
Keeland stood suddenly. “Why the hell not?”
“That’s kind of what I need to talk to you about.” And he really had no idea how to do it.
“I’m listening.”
Shit.
Dom pushed his hand through his hair. He'd done it so many times, his hair was a mess, but then so was he. There was so much he wanted to share with Keeland, and he was terrified all of it would send the man running in the opposite direction. Keeland would either be frightened or think Dom was nuttier than a bedbug.
Dom wasn’t so sure that wasn’t true.
“Dom?”
Dom glanced up. “Yeah?”
“Just tell me.”
“I’m a shifter.” Dom blinked in surprise, not expecting the words to come out of his mouth. He’d been thinking them. He’d just not had any intention of saying them. “Shit.” He shoved his hand through his hair again, tugging at the ends. “There’s just no easy way to say that.”
“What exactly do you mean by shifter?”
Dom drew in a shaky breath. “I can shift into a wild animal.”
“A…wild animal?”
Dom nodded, not sure what else to say. He could tell from the cautious light igniting in Keeland’s eyes that this conversation wasn’t going as well as he had hoped. He just didn’t know how else to tell Keeland what he was.
The smile that crossed Keeland’s face didn’t reach his eyes. He stood and took a step toward the door. “So, that’s great. I’d like to see it sometime, but I really need to get going now. If I don’t get back to the clinic, things could get crazy.”
“You closed the clinic for the day, remember?”
“Yeah.” Keeland took another step toward the door. “But I really should get back.”
Dom sat there and watched as Keeland edged back, moving farther and farther away. The man was making a run for it. Dom could see it in Keeland’s eyes. Pure panic.
And he was helpless to stop him.
Oh sure, he could force Keeland to stay, to listen as Dom tried to explain that he was harmless—to Keeland, at least—but he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t force Keeland to stay when he so desperately wanted to leave.
No matter how much his heart was breaking.
“Drive safe, okay?”
Keeland’s brow furrowed and his head cocked to one side. It was almost as if he hadn’t thought Dom would let him leave. “I’ll be fine.”
Dom pressed his lips together and nodded. “Thanks for listening, Keeland.”
Keeland’s frown deepened. “Yeah, no problem.”
Dom sat there and watched as Keeland turned and walked out. He didn’t try and stop him. He didn’t even say anything as the door quietly closed behind the man he was almost positive was his mate. What could he say? Keeland thought he was nuts. It was doubtful the man would believe a word that came out of Dom’s mouth.
Dom heard a motor start up. For a moment, as the sound stayed the same, he held out hope Keeland might come back in. When it slowly faded away, he knew he was fooling himself. He sat back in his chair and just stared up at the ceiling, afraid to move, to speak, to even breathe.
He had been astounded and then excited when he discovered he could shift. It had explained so many things about his life and why he was the way he was. The world that had opened up to him had been awe-inspiring. The sights and sounds, the smells…he had gloried in it all.
And now he wondered if it was all worth it.
For a moment, he cursed this thing inside of him that made him different. He didn’t want to be different. Or at least, he didn’t want to be so different that Keeland wanted nothing to do with him. And it was clear Keeland wanted nothing to do with him. The man had lit out of there as if his pants were on fire.
“Was that your Keeland I saw leaving?”
Startled, Dom glanced toward the doorway. He hadn’t heard Chay come in. Hell, he hadn’t even heard the man drive up to the house. “Yeah, that was Keeland.”
Chay lifted an eyebrow. “He seemed to be in quite th
e hurry.”
“I told him about being a shifter.”
“And he left?”
Dom snorted. “He ran.”
“Oh.” Chay walked farther into the house, letting the door close behind him. “I’m sorry, Dom.”
Dom nodded absently. “I knew there was a possibility he’d run once he found out. I just didn’t…” Dom drew in a hard breath when his chest tightened. “I didn’t expect it to hurt so much.”
“Do you think there’s a chance he might listen after he’s had a little time to wrap his mind around this?”
“I don’t know.” And he was afraid to hope.
“Why don’t you give it a few days, then go try and talk to him again,” Chay suggested. “It can’t be easy hearing this kind of news.”
“He thinks I’m insane.”
“Wouldn’t you?” Chay asked. “You were a little easier to convince when Gabe told you that you were a shifter because you knew about me. Keeland is coming into this blind.”
That hope he’d been too afraid to feel grabbed hold of Dom like a vice grip. “You think he’d be willing to talk to me in a few days?”
Chay shrugged. “It couldn’t hurt to try.”
Dom stood, feeling just a little better. Maybe Chay was right. Maybe Keeland just needed a few days to digest everything he had learned.
“Thanks, man.” He clapped Chay on the back. “I guess I needed to hear it from someone else.”
Chay grinned as he patted Dom’s shoulder. “What are friends for if not to get you out of your head?”
Dom chuckled, knowing Chay was right. “Hey, Gabe is checking on a business card a couple of yahoos left with Keeland. Do you think you can give me a ride home? Keeland drove me here and my truck is still at the shop.”
“Sure,” Chay replied. “Let me go let Gabe know what we’re doing, and then we can head out.”
“I’d appreciate it.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?”
“No, not this time. I think I need a little time to myself.” He had a few open, bleeding wounds on his heart that needed to heal, and he was pretty sure they could only do so if he was on his own. “Maybe next time.”
He enjoyed spending time with Chay and Gabe, but sometimes it was a little hard to be around the two lovebirds, especially when he was by himself. He often felt like a third wheel. It was also hard to watch the obvious love between them when he wanted it so much for himself.
Dom chuckled lightly to himself as he grabbed Henrietta and the picnic basket, then headed out the front door. If some of his friends could see him now, they’d laugh themselves silly. He was not known for his warm and cuddly personality.
In most circles, he was actually considered somewhat of a badass. He was never unsure. Confidence and bravado were second nature to him. This uncertain, lovelorn person wasn’t someone he recognized, and he didn’t know what to think of that.
Dom placed the picnic basket behind his seat, then climbed in and shut the door. He settled Henrietta against his chest and absently petted her as he watched out the window for Chay to come out of the house.
His skin itched as if it were too tight for his body. If he didn’t know better, he’d think he had a sunburn. Maybe he needed to go for a run. Stretching his paws would make him feel better, and he knew for a fact his panther would like it.
And if he happened to run by Keeland’s house, so much the better.
Chapter Seven
Keeland glanced out the window over the sink. His skin was prickly and the hairs on the nape of his neck were standing on end. Someone was watching him. He could feel it. He just had no idea how he could feel it. This wasn’t a someone walked over my grave type of feeling. He could actually tell that someone was watching him.
It was weird, and a bit disconcerting.
He peered into the night, trying to spot who was watching him, but he saw nothing except darkness and shadows. It was times like this that he really hated living alone. The baseball bat he kept beside his bed wasn’t much of a deterrent if someone chose to break in.
Keeland sighed as he turned away from the window. It had been two days since he walked away from Dom, and he hadn’t been able to think of much else. It was making him as crazy as he'd labeled Dom. He was seeing things that weren’t there.
He wasn’t, however, stupid just because he was confused. He went through the house, making sure all the doors and windows were locked before going to his room. It might not keep anyone out, but it made him feel better.
Maybe he needed a bigger bat.
Keeland made a quick trip to the bathroom, changed into his sleeping bottoms, and then headed back into the bedroom. The moment he flipped off the bathroom light, he saw a set of vivid blue eyes staring through the window.
He forgot to breathe.
Fear flashed through him. His gaze went to the corner where he kept his baseball bat. Could he reach it in time? Would it do him any good?
Keeland glanced back toward the window. When he started to edge closer to the door, he heard a low, threatening growl. Keeland froze as it dawned on him that he wasn’t staring into the eyes of a human. This was a predator.
Keeland swallowed tightly. “Dom?”
He let out a small gasp when whatever was watching him darted away as if it hadn’t even been there. Okay, maybe it hadn’t been Dom. It probably wasn’t. Keeland’s imagination was running away with itself.
Humans did not shape-shift into panthers. It just wasn’t possible. He was freaked out and Dom’s crazy story had been spinning around in his head so much, he was starting to buy into the man’s insanity.
Keeland cautiously walked to the window where he’d seen the eyes and made sure it was locked. Before turning away, he peeked out. Whatever had been there was long gone. He wasn’t sure what it had been, but he doubted it was a shifter. They didn’t exist.
Really.
Keeland was a veterinarian. He was positive if such a creature existed, he would have heard about it. Maybe just in rumor and not actual classroom education, but stuff like that couldn’t stay hidden.
Keeland moved the bat closer to the bed and then climbed in. As he settled in, he couldn’t keep his gaze from going back to the window.
He hadn’t imagined the eyes watching him, or how vividly blue they had been. He was pretty sure he'd only seen eyes that blue twice before, and that mere thought made his chest tighten. Dom and his brother had that particular shade of blue eyes. He was afraid to even contemplate where his mind was going.
Shifters did not exist. They couldn’t, because if they did, everything he'd always thought to be true wouldn’t be, and Keeland wasn’t sure how he would deal with that. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be dragged into that crazy world if it was real.
Then again, he wasn’t sure he didn’t. The mere thought of never seeing Dom again made the knot in his stomach even tighter. The man was astonishingly gorgeous to look at. So what if he was batshit crazy? Everyone had their quirks. Keeland just needed to decide if gorgeous good looks were worth that kind of crazy.
He was honest enough with himself to acknowledge the fact that he missed Dom. Something about the man intrigued him right down to the tips of his toes, and that didn’t even begin to get into how ruggedly handsome he was. Dom made Keeland’s cock ache.
Keeland thought about jerking off to another fantasy about Dom, but he was too filled with confusion about the man. He really, really wanted Dom. He wanted to climb under Dom's skin and stay there in his warmth forever.
He just didn’t think he had it in him to be with someone he’d probably have to have locked up for his own good. It was really sad that a man that beautiful could be that crazy.
Keeland closed his eyes to keep the tears gathering there from slipping down his cheeks. If he didn’t decide what he was going to do about this situation, he would drive himself insane. He wondered if Dom would agree to go to some sort of counseling.
* * * *
Keel
and groaned and slapped at the nightstand, searching around for his cell phone. His groan deepened when he found it and glanced at the digital readout on the screen. Who in the hell called people in the middle of the night? It was from a number he didn’t recognize.
“Hello?” he asked as he answered.
“Keeland, this is Gabe, Dom’s brother.”
“Do you know what time it is?” Fucking early.
“I know, and I’m sorry, but Dom’s been hurt.”
“Hurt?” Keeland’s heart slammed in his chest as he sat up. “How bad is it? Does he need to go to the hospital?”
“I don’t think it’s that bad, but I was wondering if you could come over and take a look at him.”
“Gabe, I’m a veterinarian, not a medical doctor. I treat animals.”
“No, I know. I just…he’s being stubborn. He’s refusing treatment.”
Of course he was.
“What makes you think he’ll let me treat him, then?”
“Because you’re his ma—uh…friend. He likes you.”
Keeland huffed, knowing he wasn’t going to go back to sleep until he saw Dom and made sure he didn’t need a hospital. “Where are you?”
“My house.”
“All right, give me about fifteen minutes.” It wouldn’t take him long to dress and then drive to Gabe’s house. Keeland hung up before Gabe could say more. He quickly dressed, grabbed his wallet, cell phone, and keys, then headed for his truck.
This was mostly farm country and he was often called on to make house calls, so the back of his truck was fully equipped to treat whatever he might encounter in the field. He just hoped he wouldn’t need a lot of it for Dom.
Keeland figured about ten minutes had passed by the time he pulled up in front of Gabe’s house. He waved as the man stepped out on the porch, and then he walked around to the back of his truck. He opened the door on the medical camper and pulled out his go bag.
Some things translated from animal to human, like stethoscopes and heart monitors. The readouts might be a tad different, but a heartbeat was a heartbeat.
