by G. A. Rael
“A truce,” he answered. “I’ve tried pushing you as far away as possible, and that’s obviously not working. Since we’re kind of stuck with each other and all our cards are on the table, I figure we might as well try working together.”
Jordan was surprised by his words, and even though she wasn’t sure she believed them, she shook his hand. This time, the spark was dulled, but the warmth was greater than ever. It hummed beneath her fingertips, where his skin met hers, and she found herself thinking that Max might end up being a far more dangerous ally than he ever was an enemy.
“You have to talk to Darren,” she said, struggling to hold his gaze for a whole new reason. She preferred being afraid.
“I will,” said Max. “You have my word. But it’s gotta be on my terms.”
Jordan hated the way his words made her shiver for all the wrong reasons. She got the feeling everything Max did was on his terms. Judging from the reputation he had in town, none of his former lovers had any complaints.”
Chapter 25
Darren
“So the guy whose wife used to babysit us killed you and the new girl in town who just so happens to be the harbinger of the Biblical apocalypse brought you back to life with the help of her demon boyfriend, now you live with a fallen angel, and she's about to marry some guy who may or may not be a swarm of moths," Max recounted, slurring a little over his sixth beer that night.
Darren had been surprised when Max asked him to meet at the bar, especially considering the icy treatment his best friend had been giving him, but the meeting itself was just the first of many shocks that night. By that point, he was numb to revelations of a supernatural kind—or so he’d thought, until Max confessed to being one of them.
The only thing that kept him from slamming down his mug and walking out of the bar in disbelief was the fact that Max’s secret explained elements of Danbridge family life he’d witnessed through the years that had previously been indecipherable to Darren as an outsider. The weird superstitions, the obsession with the concept of soulmates, to the point where Max had broken up with the one woman who’d managed to tame him for more than six months because of it.
It explained the weird scrapes and bruises his friend had always shown up with, too. In their younger days, Darren had feared that Max was being abused, but as time passed, he began to realize that all the Danbridges bore those marks, especially after their prolonged camping trips. Somehow, the fact that Max was the one who’d saved Jordan’s life made it easier to swallow. It fit with his character, even if nothing else in the world made sense.
"You forgot the fact that my best friend is apparently a werewolf, but yeah, that about covers it," Darren said, nursing his sixth beer. It took a lot more to get him buzzed than it used to, but he could never tell if that was because he was undead or just an alcoholic.
“Don’t give me that look. You wouldn’t have believed me if I had told you.”
“Probably not,” he admitted. “Okay, definitely not, but still. This is crazy.”
“Hey, compared to your life, mine’s downright mundane.”
“Can’t argue with that.” He hesitated. “Which brings me to why Jordan told you any of this.”
“She saw my bandage and it unraveled from there,” said Max. Darren could tell from his tone that he wasn’t getting the full picture, but he knew from experience that pressing was the fastest way to get Max to shut down completely. "There's not a whole lot more to tell than what I've already told you on the wolf front. The Danbridge wolves have protected Cold Creek since before the town even existed. We offer protection to supernatural creatures who are willing to live peacefully, we keep the ones who aren’t at bay, and until recently, we've done a pretty damn good job of it."
"I'm not interested in the history lesson, I want to know how you fit into all of it," Darren said firmly. "How are you dealing with it?"
"It was great until Jordan came into town."
He frowned. "What does she have to do with this?"
"A lot," Max admitted. “The Moonstone, for one thing.”
“That wasn’t her fault. It was —”
“Hermes, I know. I’m not saying I blame her, but even you can’t deny that everything’s been turned on its head ever since she got here.”
Darren couldn’t deny it, but he wasn’t going to agree with it either, so he took another drink. “I still can’t believe you took the fall for me,” he muttered. One subject that pissed him off for another.
“What was I supposed to do? If I didn’t take credit, the only zombie in town was gonna be the first suspect,” he muttered. “Besides, it’s not like I don’t already have blood on my hands.”
Darren hesitated. “What else don’t I know? Off the ‘wolf front?’”
Max’s silence didn’t do anything to put him at ease.
“Max?”
“Okay, but you’ve gotta hear me out. Don’t jump to any conclusions.”
“Not doing a whole lot to reassure me right now, pal.”
Max stared down at the bar, deep in thought. “You know how my family is about finding a soulmate?”
“Yeah,” Darren said carefully. “That’s the reason you broke it off with Lauren. How could I forget?”
"It's not just superstition. It's called imprinting and it happens when we meet the person we're destined to be with," Max explained. "I thought it was all just a bunch of sappy bullshit we used to pick up chicks at supernatural bars. Hell, I've used it a few times myself."
"So what, you mean you actually imprinted on someone?"
“I…have. I did. Last year.”
"The way you say that makes me think congratulations aren't in order."
“It’s not like that. It’s not romantic or poetic, it’s this chaotic, unstoppable force that just takes over everything if you don’t keep it in check at all times,” said Max, leaning on the bar. "You know what you were saying before, about how it feels when you're near Jordan? Like you're not really a whole person until you're with her?"
"Yeah, of course."
“This is nothing like that,” Max said flatly. "It's like a bomb blew up in my face, and I've come close to the real thing enough times to know what that's like. When I was younger I asked my uncle why we couldn't just mate with whoever we wanted, especially since there's no guarantee of finding your mate early in life. He told me it was less about finding 'the one' and more about it being unfair to anyone else. I always thought that was bullshit, but now? I get it."
"It's that intense with this chick?”
"When I saw her the first time in town, I knew I was fucked,” Max sighed. “I was driving with Lauren and she was in the crosswalk when this asshole who had no business turning came out of nowhere and almost creamed her. My first instinct was to hit the gas and hit him before he could get to her, even with Lauren next to me. My girlfriend. The person I'm supposed to protect and care for, and all I could see her as was an obstacle to saving a complete fucking stranger, Darren."
He remained silent, searching for the right words to console him. When he realized there probably weren't any suited for the job, he settled for, "That's pretty fucked up."
"Yeah, but it gave me clarity," he admitted. "I understood then what my uncle meant. Imprinting isn't about love or sex or attraction, even if those things are part of it. It's obsession in its purest form. When a wolf imprints, that person becomes his true north. No matter which way the compass points, you're always trying to get to them. It's not that everything else stops mattering, it's just that nothing will ever matter more than their wellbeing. I don't even know if that makes sense, but that's the best way I can describe it."
"It makes sense," Darren assured him. "More than I'd like to admit. The question is, what are you gonna do about it?"
"I don't know," Max admitted. "What I've been doing, trying to avoid her, isn't working anymore. It's like every instinct is magnified times a thousand. She keeps getting into trouble and I keep breaking the rules to save her."
Darren frowned. His words were raising a hundred red flags, but he wouldn't let himself jump to conclusions. He couldn't handle the consequences of the worst one being true. "If she's your mate, why do you have to stay away at all?"
"Because there’s a lot of bad blood between the pack and her…friends”
“Seriously? Don’t tell me this is some bullshit werewolf drama…”
“It is. And it happens to go back generations.”
"So give me the abridged version."
Max sighed. "When my fifth great grandfather or whatever founded Cold Creek, he just wanted a safe place for his pack to live. There was a war going on, the kind they don't talk about in history books. He had a mysterious benefactor that helped them build the town and promised them safety from their enemies, but only if they built Cold Creek according to certain specifications. Of course, the help came at a price, but it wouldn't come due for generations upon generations."
As Darren listened, his blood ran cold. The glass shattered in his hands. “You son of a bitch…”
“I know this really isn’t the time, but you’ve gotta stop making these unintentional puns if you want me to take you seriously.”
“Jordan?” he snarled, barely able to restrain himself. At least the bar was empty and the waitress had gone off somewhere, so she couldn’t see the bloody mess in front of him. “You imprinted on Jordan and this is the first you’re telling me about it?”
"Why do you think I tried so hard to stay away? You think I wanted this?"
"Of all the fucking women in the world, you had to pick her?"
"I didn't choose this any more than you chose to become the thing you are now," he spat. "It's what I am, I'm just finally done fighting it. Isn't that what you've been lecturing me about for years?"
"Goddammit, Max, I meant sucking it up telling your family to stuff their unwanted advice, not moving in on my woman!”
"Your what?" he interrupted. "Last I checked, she was waking up in another man's bed, not yours. You have no idea how hard I tried to stop this. I've been to priests, I've seen witches, I quit the Guard so I'd have time to look for a way to get her out of my head. I've spent more time and effort trying to fix this than you could possibly know.”
“You should have told me,” he growled.
"I couldn't. At first, it was because you were happy for the first time since I've known you," Max said, watching Darren with warranted suspicion. "Then, you were just... dead."
"You knew when you saw me at the post office," he muttered, gripping the edge of the bar. “That’s why you acted like I was a complete stranger. Why didn't you say something then?”
"I didn't know if you knew," said Max. "That and I wasn't sure what you were. Instinctively I had a feeling, but zombies aren't supposed to exist. I had to be sure and once I was, you'd already killed that guy."
"How did you know it was me?"
Max rolled his eyes. "Animal attack is the go-to cover whenever there's a supernatural killing. That's the line we give the public, but it's as obvious to us as the difference between a Chihuahua's bite and a St. Bernard's would be to you."
"So who else knows it wasn't an animal?" he asked glumly.
"The rest of the pack."
"Which is?"
"Besides me and Uncle Lucas, that'd be the sheriff, the coroner, the deputy, and the remaining seven direct descendants of the Danbridge line," he replied.
"You've infiltrated nicely."
Max smirked. "We run things, but we try to do it quietly."
"And your aunt has no idea?"
"None of our mates do," he replied. "The information is passed down the bloodline only once we're old enough not to think it's a cool secret to share with our friends. In fact, I'm willing to bet I'm the first wolf stupid enough to spill the secret to anyone outside the family.”
"I'm honored.”
"You should be. You're also a dead-dead man if my uncle figures out it was you," Max said, glancing over his shoulder like the mayor might be there when he turned around.
“If you could smell that I was dead, what makes you think he can’t?”
"Yeah, well, let's just say being a supernatural doesn't exactly narrow it down in Cold Creek. There's been a lot of through traffic lately and the undead are hard to tell apart, lucky for you. My nose is stronger than most, but even I couldn’t tell the difference between you and a vampire. Until I saw how much flesh was missing off Lonne’s body.”
Darren grimaced. “How many more undead are there?”
"Chase has always been on Uncle Lucas’s radar, but he's kept a low profile ever since that girl went missing," he answered, his lip curled back. "My uncle asked him to join the council to keep an eye on him, same as you.”
"Do you know what Chase is?" Darren asked, leaning forward.
"No idea. He kind of smells like a vampire, but so does anything that drinks blood.”
Darren remembered the night he’d found Jordan and Chase on the balcony, frowning. “I know for a fact he does that.”
“Only problem is, Chase has a beating heart,” said Max.
“So you’re saying he’s not a vampire?”
“If he is, he’s a weird one. Besides, I know a few vampires that can shift into wolves or lions, but I’ve never heard of one that becomes a cloud of moths.”
“How many options are there?”
“You really wanna know?”
Darren thought about it for a moment. “No. I really don’t.”
"I can only cover for you for so long," Max warned. “And if you’ve killed once, trust me, you’re gonna do it again. I hate to say this, but it would be better if you left town and didn't come back."
"I can't," he said immediately.
"Take Jordan with you. Kidnap her if you have to, I'll cover your tracks," Max said, reaffirming in Darren's mind that he was still the same reckless kid with a ride-or-die attitude he had fallen in love with so many years ago, in every way except the one. Even if they were both carnivorous monsters those days, at least that hadn't changed. "Hell, maybe I'll even join up with you and be the family dog."
Darren shook his head. "I won't lie and say I've never thought about it, but it wouldn't work. She's engaged and this town is angel-proof, for the most part. If she told you what she is, I’m sure it’s no surprise that everything in Heaven and Hell is after her. Right now, they're our biggest concern. Anyway, you'd make a shitty house pet."
“My pack will figure out it was you that killed Lonne eventually," Max warned. "And don't tell me you want Jordan with that thing any more than I do."
"I don't, but I believe Chase will keep her safe," he admitted. "Safe from me, just like I'll keep her safe from him."
"You think you'd hurt her?" Max asked, frowning. It was impossible to miss the shift in his tone the moment he switched from being his friend to being Jordan's guard dog. As much as the idea of Max imprinting on Jordan enraged him, there was part of him that was relieved that there was someone else who understood the blinding drive to protect her at all costs.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I can't know for sure enough to risk trusting myself. It would be better if she isn't around me at all, but that's not possible."
"Right. The soul thing," he mumbled. "What happens if you're away for too long?"
"I get less human, and what happened in the alley is proof that that's a bad thing."
"This is a fucking mess,” Max said, raking his hands through his hair. He frowned as his scars were fully revealed for a moment before he adjusted his jacket.
"I know Jordan did that in the vault, but how did the scars heal so fast?"
Max shrugged. "Perks of being a wolf, I guess. We heal quickly to the point where we're not in danger anymore, then it goes naturally from there."
"Efficient. So, you don’t hold a grudge about that?”
“Nah. Over plenty of other shit, sure, but she couldn't have known I wasn't going to hurt her."
"Why did you go after her?"
"Look, one minute I'm running on four legs in the woods, the next I'm a bipedal monster tearing through town. I heard her call out for help and all I could think of was getting to her," Max said, leaning heavily on one arm. "I don't even remember what I did to those people. I just know they were between me and her the one moment and the next..." he trailed off.
"The next they weren't," Darren said quietly. "I wish I could say what I did to Lonne was a misunderstanding or an accident, but it wasn't. He was just there, and I was just a monster."
"Look what a pair we turned out to be," Max said, taking another drink. "Remember when the biggest drama in life was when I got caught cheating in chem and you started dating that bitch?"
"Allison," he muttered.
"Right, sorry. When you were dating that bitch, Allison."
Darren laughed a little in spite of himself. "So, what happens now? I assume continuing to ignore the, uh, imprint won't work."
"No, it won't," he said, growing serious. “I think the sound wave from the Moonstone unlocked something. When that demon attacked Jordan, she didn't even scream. I could just feel that she was in trouble and I barely made it out of my apartment before I transformed. I would’ve killed anyone else who got in my way.”
“Yeah. I know the feeling.”
Max eyed him concernedly. “You’re taking this better than I expected.”
“I’m already sharing her with four other guys,” Darren sighed. “Might as well be one in the mix I trust.”
“Somehow I doubt the others are gonna be as openminded.”
"Your uncle is closing in on both of us, we're on the verge of the Apocalypse and demons are popping up in the woods," said Darren. “Trust me, there's never been a better time to have a werewolf capable of ripping demons into confetti join the team."
"Yeah, Team Jordan," he scoffed. "Just my luck, I not only imprint on the family boogeyman but she has a fiancé and four other soulmates.”
Darren raised his mug. “Welcome to the party."
Chapter 26
Jordan
