Noem

by Catherine Lievens

  “Well, not yet, and he’s not a shifter, but you know what I mean.”

  “Yeah. I think I need to go home and see what’s happening with the herd. I want to be sure they’re fine. I’ll stay with them, just in case.”

  Kay looked at his watch. It was almost time for them to go home anyway, and it wasn’t like they had a lot to do. Whitedell wasn’t that big, and there were three teams of two detectives. That was more than enough to take care of all the cases they got, and from what Kay had heard, at least one of the teams was often left with no case to work on. He didn’t think their boss would have problems with giving them some free time, unless of course he wanted them in to deal with shifters. Kay had no idea how the government was going to react, but he might have to choose between his job and the pride.

  That decision would have been a given only weeks before, but things had changed. Kay knew the pride would help him if he lost his job, and Troy, Aaron and Noem were more important than being a detective, no matter how much Kay loved it. From the expression on Laura’s face, he thought she’d make the same decision, and it made him feel better.

  “We should go talk with the captain,” he said, putting his file away and getting up.”

  “Do you think we have to tell him everything? How involved we are in this?”

  “He’ll probably want to know.”

  They ignored their colleagues and made their way toward the captain’s office. When he told them to enter, Kay took a deep breath and obeyed. Captain Connery was a good man, and Kay hoped he’d be just.

  “You’re here because of the video?” he asked once Kay and Laura were both seated.

  “Yes,” Laura said.

  The captain raised a hand. “I’ll tell you the same thing I already told anyone else who asked. I don’t know what’s going on and I haven’t received orders yet, so the day will go on as it was supposed to go.”

  Kay and Laura looked at each other, then back at their captain. “That’s not why we’re here,” Kay said. “We’d like to take some days off work.”

  Connery’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward. “You want time off.”

  “Yes.”

  “Even after seeing the video?”

  There was no way out of it. “Because of the video.”

  Connery leaned back again. “You’re going to have to be more specific.”

  “It’s creating family emergencies for both me and Laura.”

  “How?”

  “My husband is an elk shifter,” Laura said.

  Connery blinked. “You two knew about this? About people changing into animals? And wait, there aren’t only wolves out there?”

  “We both knew,” Kay confirmed. “Like Laura said, her husband is a shifter, and one of my friends is too.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

  “Because they wanted to keep it a secret. They only want to live their lives, and you know as well as I do how hard it’s going to be for them now. People will hate them, hunt them, and they’re already dealing with some of that now. The last thing they need is for the government to stick its nose in. Besides, what would you have thought if two of your detectives had come up to you and told you shifters existed?”

  “You have a point. You know it’s exactly what’s going to happen now, right?”

  “I know.”

  Connery nodded. “All right. Take your days off, but if I get the order to call in all my officers... ”

  “I won’t do anything against my friends,” Kay said, because his boss had to know.

  “You might lose your job over it,” Connery warned him.

  “Then I’ll lose my job. I’d rather lose that than my best friend and my boyfriend.”

  Connery shook his head. “I don’t want to know, not yet. Go, both of you.”

  Kay didn’t wait for Connery to say it twice. He was out the door before Laura, but unfortunately for him, Grand was waiting for him. He gestured at Laura to go ahead and leave because he knew he wouldn’t be able to get rid of Grand easily.

  “Yes?” he asked once Laura was back at her desk, putting her stuff away.

  “You’ve seen the video,” Grand declared.

  “Yes.”

  “I was talking with Flynn, and you know the case I was telling you about? All those guys living together? We think they might be like this guy who changed into a wolf.”

  “Why?”

  Grand blinked as if she hadn’t expected that question. “Well, they all live together.”

  “So do other people. They could be a commune, or a sect, like we said before.” That probably wasn’t the smartest thing to suggest, and Grand and Flynn would find out about the pride soon enough. They were already suspicious after all. Kay didn’t want to do anything Dominic might not want, though, so he preferred to skirt the issue.

  “We think they’re werewolves.”

  Kay arched a brow. “Werewolves?”

  “Like the guy in the video.”

  “Okay, but what does it have to do with me?”

  “We’re going there.”

  Of course they were. “And?” Kay would call Dominic once they were out the door.

  “Want to come with us?”

  Uh. Grand was actually making things easier for him since he’d have had to stay away until they were gone if she hadn’t asked him to come along. “Sure. I’ll follow you in my car.”

  “Good. We don’t know if they’re dangerous, so the more of us there are, the better it is. Maybe Laura can come too?”

  “She’s going home. Family emergency.”

  They were out of the station ten minutes later, and Kay waited until he was in his car to take his cell phone out. He dialed Dominic’s number, relieved to find the line free.

  “Yes?”

  “It’s Kay. Grand and Flynn are headed your way. I’m coming with them, but they don’t know about me and my involvement with the pride yet.”

  “Why are they coming?”

  “They suspect you guys are werewolves.”

  “Werewolves?”

  “They saw the video. A guy who shifts into a wolf is a werewolf for them.” It would have been for Kay too if he hadn’t known the pride.

  “All right. I’ll be expecting them.” Dominic paused. “Can I ask you what side you’re on? We’ve never discussed how close you wanted to become to the pride.”

  Kay sighed. “Will the pride support me if I lose my job?”

  “Of course. You might not like it, but you’re Troy’s best friend. You’re part of the pride.”

  “It’s not only Troy. I’m also Noem’s mate, and while I know I haven’t been the best ally until now, I don’t want to lose him.”

  Dominic was silent for a few seconds, then he sighed. “All right. I’ll see you soon, and I’m glad you’ll support us. We’ll probably need it.”

  They hung up, and Kay took a moment to breathe. He had no idea what his future would be like, but he did know one thing—he’d have the pride behind him. No matter how much he’d protested about them, about mating, he knew they helped their people, and he apparently was one of them now, no matter what he’d said in the past.

  It didn’t scare him anymore.

  * * * *

  “Everyone, out, please. The two detectives who’ve been here a few times are coming back,” Dominic said. “Go back to your rooms, or to the living room. Just stay out of sight. I don’t know what they know and how they might react to the fact that we’re shifters.”

  The office was marginally emptier by now. A lot of people had left to call friends or family who wanted to know if they were shifters, or if the people they lived with were. Noem wasn’t surprised—the pride was always noticed, because so many grown men living together under the same roof was bound to raise questions. It was obvious people had wondered, and now that the shifter thing had come out, it didn’t take much for them to add the facts and come up with the truth.

&
nbsp; At least Noem didn’t have anyone he had to talk to. All his friends were either some kind of paranormal being or knew about them, so he wouldn’t have problems. And his family, well, it wasn’t like he had any intention of seeing them again, although he guessed they might be able to find him if this went around.

  His job as a nurse meant he was behind the scenes most of the time, so he hadn’t worried too much until now. People talked, though, and the last thing he wanted was for his family to come to Whitedell and demand he go back to the tribe. Dominic wouldn’t let them force him, but he didn’t need more trouble.

  “Do you think they’re going to arrest us?” Nysys asked, his voice trembling. Morin wasn’t there with him. He was in New York, talking to people he knew and trying to smooth things out, and it was obvious Nysys felt a bit lost without him.

  He didn’t usually have problems being on his own, especially not when he was with the pride, but the situation was overwhelming, and scary. Who knew what the detectives wanted from them, whether they’d leave them alone or if they’d use what they were to take them in and lock them up.

  To Noem’s surprised, Nicky wrapped an arm around Nysys’ shoulder and pulled him close. “It’ll be fine,” he said. “Being a shifter isn’t against the law, so they can’t arrest us.”

  Nysys snorted. He didn’t pull away from Nicky, leaning against him a bit more. “They could make a law. Probably will, actually.”

  “I don’t think it’ll come to that.”

  “You can’t be sure.”

  “No, but they have no idea who they’re going against. We might only be a small pride in a small town, but there are shifters in the government. Some are high placed, and it would be a problem to lose them just because of that.”

  “I’m not sure people will be as logical as you when they think about this.”

  “Of course they won’t, not right away, but some will. Some will realize that the people they work with, the ones they sell things to in their store, are the same as they were before, even though they can shift into animals.”

  “The council will do its best to work with the government and make sure no one gets hurt,” Dominic said. “I’ve already been in contact with people, and like Nicky said, some have important jobs. A few are even in the White House, and we’re hoping we’ll be able to arrange something, to talk.”

  Nysys didn’t look convinced, but then Noem didn’t think anyone was. The future was too unsure. The news had come too recently for anyone to know what they were against.

  “Come on, let’s go,” Nicky said, steering Nysys toward the door. “The detectives might suspect what we are, but it’s not a good enough reason to push it in their faces.”

  Nysys chuckled. “Let them meet the normal shifters before they meet me, right?”

  “Exactly. We wouldn’t want to scare them right off the bat.”

  “Because they’ve never seen someone with piercings and tattoos.”

  “I was thinking more about the mix of those with the pink hair and your personality. You’d scare off anyone who doesn’t know you.”

  Nysys waved Dominic’s words away. “Pfft. I’m as gentle as a lamb.”

  “A possessed one,” Nicky muttered.

  “Noem, can you stay?” Dominic asked.

  Noem’s eyes widened. Why did Dominic want him to stay? He had nothing to do with the detectives. Unless he knew about Kay, of course.

  He stayed behind and watched Nicky gently push Nysys out of the door. Benjamin and Keenan followed, and Keenan closed the door after telling Dominic to call him if he needed anything.

  Noem hovered next to the chair he’d occupied earlier and waited for Dominic to tell him why he’d asked him to stay.

  “I talked with Kay,” Dominic said.

  “I heard.”

  “He told me he’s your mate last night.”

  Noem sighed. “Yes, he is. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but you already had so many things to think about, and it’s not like this is a problem.”

  Dominic raised a hand. “I’m not angry. I just want to make sure he isn’t hurting you.”

  Noem blinked. “Hurting me?”

  “I’ve been dealing with Kay since he first came knocking on the mansion’s door, back when Troy gave birth to Aaron. I know what he thinks of paranormal beings, and I don’t want you to be hurt. He’s a good man under his armor, but it’s going to take you some work to pierce it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he pushed you away and tried to keep you at arm’s length.”

  Noem shook his head. “I’m not. I mean, he’s not hurting me. I can’t deny he said some pretty harsh things when we met, but he talked both with me and Troy since then, and I think he realized just how wrong he was.”

  Dominic didn’t look convinced, but before he could say anything else, his phone buzzed. He answered, sighing at whatever who was on the other side told him, then said, “Yes. Let them in. Make sure no Nix open the door.”

  Noem waited until he hung up. “I should go, if you don’t want them to have the proof there’s something not human out there.”

  “Do you have a hat?”

  “Uh, not here.”

  “Go get it and put it on, then come back.”

  Noem groaned. “You’re going to use me as the guinea pig of the situation.”

  Dominic grinned. “That, and Kay is coming with his colleagues. They might not trust us, but maybe they’ll trust him when they see he has no problems with you. They probably suspect I’m a shifter, but it doesn’t show, not like your ears.”

  “As long as they don’t try to shoot me.”

  Dominic’s smile widened. “I’ll make sure they don’t.”

  Noem shimmered to his room and quickly grabbed one of his hats from the first drawer of the dresser. He put it on, checked himself in the mirror to make sure his ears were hidden, then shimmered back to the office.

  He was just in time, because as soon as he was sitting in front of Dominic’s desk, someone knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” Dominic said, looking like he was about to have lunch with his mate rather than like he was about to confront two detectives who might or might not arrest his ass.

  The door opened and a man and a woman stepped in. Kay was right behind them, and his frown deepened when he saw Noem was in the office. Fear gripped Noem, because it looked like Kay was anything but happy to see him.

  He swallowed, wondering if maybe the other detectives didn’t know Kay was gay, but then Kay walked up to him and smiled, and Noem felt better.

  “I didn’t know you’d be here,” Kay said.

  “I didn’t either. It was a last moment kind of thing.”

  Kay’s gaze flickered to the hat on Noem’s head. “Nice fashion choice.”

  “Shut up.” Noem had chosen his favorite hat. It was warm and comfortable, albeit a bit lumpy, since Keenan had knitted it for him the year before. It was also shaped like a Christmas tree, complete with knitted ornaments and a knitted yellow star on top of it.

  The female detective cleared her throat, and Noem and Kay both turned to look at her. She looked at both of them, the settled her gaze on Kay. “I didn’t know you were friends with someone who lives here,” she said.

  She looked back at Noem, her eyes narrow. It felt as if she could read Noem, although he guessed she really was looking for a hint that he wasn’t human. She wouldn’t find any, not with the hat he was wearing, but it made him squirm in his chair.

  Kay shook his head and sat in the chair closest to Noem. “Noem isn’t my friend, although my best friend does live here. Noem’s my boyfriend.”

  * * * *

  Kay waited for Grand to say something, but it was Flynn who spoke first. “What is he?” he asked, looking at Noem.

  Kay needed to stay calm, even though he really wanted to punch Flynn in the face. “Like I said, he’s my boyfriend.”

  “He’s one of those werewolves?”

  “
I’m not,” Noem said. He looked comfortable and at ease, but Kay could tell he wasn’t. His smile was a little too tense, his hands clenched on his thighs. Kay reached over and took one in his, gently prying the fingers open until he could link their fingers together.

  Grand cleared her throat, obviously uncomfortable with the tension in the room. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend,” she said. She was probably trying to get the attention away from Noem, and Kay was grateful. He didn’t know why Noem was there, why Dominic had wanted him there, but he knew there was a reason.

  “It’s recent,” Kay told her.

  “It’s also not why we’re here,” Flynn added, and Kay wanted to punch him again.

  “Why are you here?” Dominic asked. “You didn’t have a good excuse for your last two visits, and I can’t think of one for this visit either.”

  “You’re a werewolf, like the guy in the video,” Flynn said. He looked convinced of what he was saying, and Kay had to give him that. Not many would have the courage to talk to Dominic like that, although Flynn didn’t really know whom he was up against.

  “I’m not,” Dominic said. “And what you saw wasn’t a werewolf.”

  “He changed into a fucking wolf!”

  “Yes, but he’s not a werewolf. Werewolves are a different species. We’re shifters. Shapeshifters.”

  The room fell silent. Kay hadn’t known what to expect when they’d arrived, but it wasn’t Dominic admitting to being a shifter. Kay expected him to deny it, if anything, to keep the pride safe for a while longer. No one knew what was going to happen now that the shifter secret was out, so maybe keeping things on the down low would have been a smarter choice, but Dominic was the alpha. He’d been guiding his pride for years. He obviously knew what to do.

  “So you’re admitting it,” Flynn finally said.

  “I am. Isn’t that the reason why you’re here?”

  Flynn obviously hadn’t expected Dominic to admit it, and he looked like he wasn’t sure what to do or say now that he had.

  “Are you dangerous?” Grand asked.

  “Have you had many animal attacks in Whitedell over the past several years?” Dominic asked instead of answering.