Shad

by Catherine Lievens

  “He’ll be fine. We’ll find a way.”

  “I want to believe you, Gabriel, but it’s getting harder and harder.” Darin bit his lower lip and looked down. “It could’ve been me. Why isn’t it me? I don’t have a mate.”

  “Neither did Shad when he was infected. You can’t blame yourself for this, Darin.”

  “I know.”

  Gabriel took his brother-in-law’s hand and squeezed. “I have to go check on Shad.”

  “Come by later. I’ll have cupcakes for you and Shad.”

  “What kind?”

  “Gingerbread.”

  “Yeah, I’ll definitely come by.”

  Gabriel left Darin to his cupcakes and made his way upstairs. He still turned some heads as he passed, but he ignored them. No one said anything, except for a little girl who asked her mother if she could pet the kitty when he passed by her on the stairs.

  Gabriel softly snorted at her words and waved away her mom’s apology without stopping. He was on the stairs leading to the attic when he heard the voices indicating Shad wasn’t alone.

  Gabriel knocked before entering, just to tell the men inside he was there. Shad was on the bed, and Dominic had moved a chair by Shad’s side and was sitting in it, his arms crossed on his chest.

  “Do you want me to come back later?” he asked.

  Shad shook his head. “No, I have to tell you this anyway. The mole contacted me.”

  Gabriel climbed on the bed and pulled Shad close, not caring one bit about the alpha watching them. He kissed his mate’s forehead. “What does he want?”

  “He set up a meeting, three days from now.”

  Gabriel looked at Dominic. “Are we ready for this?”

  “Yes. Nate and I will be close by, don’t worry.”

  “Catch him. Shad needs his meds.”

  “I know.”

  Dominic left soon after that and Gabriel slid under the covers next to Shad and hugged his mate close. “How are you feeling?”

  Shad huffed. “I’m fine, I’m fine. You don’t have to ask every five minutes.”

  “I think it’s been almost ten minutes, actually,” Gabriel teased.

  Shad chuckled and Gabriel felt smug at having made his mate happy, even if only for a few seconds. “So, do you want to stay here, or would you rather go downstairs?”

  Shad arched a brow. “And you’d let me?”

  “Sure. As long as I carry you down the stairs, of course.”

  “I can walk on my own.”

  “Consider yourself lucky I’ll put you down once we’re there.”

  Shad huffed. “Fine. Take me downstairs, please. I’ve had enough of these four walls.”

  It didn’t take long for Gabriel to bundle Shad and carry his too-light weight downstairs. He chose to put his mate down in the kitchen, where his brother was, and where the oven kept the temperature toasty.

  “Are the cupcakes ready?”

  Darin looked up from the bowl he was mixing stuff in. “Nope. You’ll have to wait.” His gaze softened at the sight of Shad. “Hey, bro. You’re here for the cupcakes?”

  “Of course I am,” Shad answered.

  Gabriel settled at the kitchen table and started looking through the pictures he’d taken lately. He already knew he’d use some of them as gifts for Christmas, but he had to choose them carefully.

  He lost himself in his work, lulled by Shad and Darin’s soft voices, until Keenan’s voice broke through his concentration. “And here’s the kitchen.”

  Gabriel looked up to see Keenan enter, followed by a blond, blue-eyed guy. He looked vaguely familiar, but Gabriel was pretty sure he hadn’t actually met him yet.

  The guy’s gaze swept around the room and they stopped—of course—on Gabriel. His eyes widened and Gabriel rolled his eyes and waved at him. “I’m Gabriel. No, I wasn’t born like this. No, I can’t actually shift. I’m pretty much stuck with my ears and tail, so get used to it.”

  “How did that happen?”

  “You know about the Glass Research Company?”

  “Some.”

  “It was them. That’s all you need to know.”

  The guy grimaced and strode to Gabriel, offering him his hand. “I’m Taylor, Sebastian’s brother.”

  Gabriel shook his hand and gestured to the chair in front of his. “Sit down. Or do you have to be somewhere else?”

  “Nope. Keenan was showing me around, that’s all.”

  “Are you going to be living here?”

  Taylor smiled. “Yeah. I should’ve gotten here months ago, but I decided to go on a road trip instead. You know my brother?”

  “Not well. I’ve been pretty... solitary until recently.”

  “Has to do with your little problem?” Taylor gestured at Gabriel’s ears as he spoke.

  “Yes, but I’m trying to get over it.”

  And Gabriel felt he was doing pretty well, considering everything.

  * * * *

  Shad was due another appointment with Noem, even if he’d already seen the Nix that morning. Dominic and Gabriel had both insisted on upping the number of appointments since he’d be meeting the mole soon, and while Shad didn’t actually mind it, he wished he could do without.

  He slowly walked to the infirmary, helped by Darin. Gabriel had wanted to come, and while Shad usually didn’t mind him, he felt like he needed some space, to see other people outside of Gabriel’s room.

  “How are things going with Gabriel?” Darin asked, winking at Shad.

  Shad blushed lightly. “Good. He’s very sweet and caring.”

  Darin poked Shad’s arm. “Come on, you know what I meant, and it wasn’t how sweet Gabriel is.”

  “I’m not giving you details about my sex life!”

  Darin pouted. “Why not? I have to live vicariously through you. I don’t have time for a sex life.”

  “You could make time.”

  Darin sighed. “After the shop opens. I have too many things to do right now.”

  “And you’ll have even more when the shop opens. You really should take a break. Go dancing, I don’t know, but do something that’s not pouring over books and accounts or baking.”

  “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

  Shad shrugged. “Or you could bypass the heart and go straight for his dick.”

  Darin snorted. “Trust you to be romantic.”

  “You know I never was.”

  Darin gave Shad a curious glance. “Not really, but I thought maybe being with Gabriel had changed that.”

  “He’s the most romantic between the two of us.”

  “Huh. So... have you thought about claiming him?”

  Shad had done little else, really. He thought about claiming Gabriel—and being claimed by him—daily, even if he knew he’d made the right decision by deciding to wait until he was cured, or at least not about to die. No matter how much he like Gabriel, or exactly for that reason, Shad couldn’t mate with him, not with the risk he might end up being a widower so soon.

  “Yes, I’ve thought about it, and no, I won’t do it. We won’t do it, not yet.”

  Darin nodded and opened the infirmary door. Noem was medicating Melissa’s knee while the little girl was sniffing, so Shad just smiled at him and walked to the bed he now thought of as his. After spending so much time in the infirmary, sitting on the same bed every time, it kind of was his, really.

  “Just let me finish this up and I’ll be with you,” Noem told Shad.

  “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Noem nodded and turned back to Melissa’s knee. The office door opened and Jared’s head poked from the opening. “Oh, I thought I’d heard you.”

  He stepped out, quickly followed by Adrian. Shad felt a bit uncomfortable with the man, even if Adrian was technically his brother-in-law—or maybe exactly for that reason. He was also Shad’s doctor, or one of them anyway, and he’d spent too much time
poking and prodding at Shad’s body for him to be comfortable in Adrian’s presence.

  Shad was surprised to see how excited Adrian was. Could it mean the docs had found a way to cure him? Shad didn’t want to hope because he didn’t want to be disappointed, but he couldn’t help himself.

  “Is it already time for your appointment with Noem?” Jared asked.

  “Yes. Gabriel insisted I come again even though I was here this morning. He’s pretty anxious over this.” Shad couldn’t tell Jared the real reason he was there already, and this was close to the truth anyway. Gabriel was anxious, and not just about Shad’s health.

  “We should ask him to come,” Adrian said.

  Jared sighed. “Sure. Call him, come on. You know you want to.”

  Adrian beamed and took his cell phone from his pocket. The conversation was brief and Gabriel strode into the infirmary only minutes later. He made a beeline for Shad’s bed, his tail swishing behind his back in nervous movements. “Is everything all right? Shad?”

  Shad shrugged. “I’m fine. They didn’t even examine me.”

  “We have something to tell you,” Adrian declared. He was almost bouncing by now, and it was unsettling, because Adrian was usually so calm and quiet.

  Shad looked around the room and noticed Melissa and her mother were gone. Noem was nowhere to be seen, so Adrian and Jared could spill the beans.

  “All right.” Gabriel settled on the bed next to Shad and took his hand.

  “I’ve been working on your problem ever since you came here, Gabe, and I think I might have found a way to help.”

  Shad was so not expecting this to be the news Adrian had been so happy about. Of course, it made sense since Gabriel was his brother.

  “How?” Gabriel asked.

  “As weird as it might be, I think mating would help.”

  Shad tilted his head to the side. “Actually, it’s not that weird. Everyone knows mating usually helps with illnesses, although generally not the worst ones. Why do you think it’ll help this time?”

  “We think the mating agents in Shad’s saliva might see the change in Gabriel’s genetics as a disease and heal it, at least partially.”

  Adrian’s gaze went from Shad to Gabriel, but his happy expression fell when he saw Gabriel didn’t look as enthusiastic as he was. “What’s wrong?”

  “We can’t mate, you know that.”

  “But...”

  “It’s not that we can’t,” Shad added. “It’s that I don’t want to, not until you can tell me I’m not about to die. I won’t make him go through the breaking of a mating bond when we know it’s a more than a plausible possibility.”

  Adrian sighed and rubbed his face. “I know, I know. We’re trying, Shad, We really are. But even with your blood, it’s hard because the disease was created taking different viruses and bacteria and sticking them together. The ones who did this were good, very good.”

  “And you’re better. You can do it,” Gabriel declared, patting his brother’s arm.

  Adrian gave him a tight smile. “I hope so. We’ve been able to identify a rare strep virus as the most present one, but it was mixed with something else to make it so that it could infect shifters, and we want to be sure of what it is before we try treating it.”

  “Nothing new for me, then.” Dang, that hurt. He’d really hoped they’d found a solution.

  “Technically, no, but it’s still a big step forward. I already asked Morin to look into finding a strong antibiotic that works on shifters. If we still can’t identify what the strep is mixed with, we’ll start giving you that and see how it goes.”

  Shad actually hoped to have the meds he needed soon. He hoped the information Dominic had crafted would be enough for the mole to cave in and give them to him. With those, he was sure Jared and Adrian could figure something out. Even if they weren’t able to eradicate the disease, at least Shad would be fine because he’d have the meds.

  Noem came in from the supply room. “Do I have to come back later?”

  “No, no. Shad, lie down and—”

  “Pull your shirt up. I know.”

  Jared gave him a rueful smile. “You know the drill, although I hope it won’t be for much longer.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  Adrian, Jared and Darin moved away slightly to give Noem space. Noem worked fast, putting his hands on Shad’s stomach and working his magic. Shad felt better after it, but he knew the sensation wouldn’t last long. He was used to it, though, so he just shrugged the desperation away as well as he could and tried to focus on the fact that if he played his cards right, he’d feel better soon.

  Gabriel helped him up and Shad rearranged his clothes. They said goodbye to the docs and walked back to the kitchen, but Shad’s mind was already on the meeting with the mole. Dominic and Nate had been able to reduce the list of suspects by talking with the pride members and checking the security videos, but they still had no idea who it was, and it made Shad uncomfortable. To know that someone he thought was a friend, or at least a distant family member was spying on them and waiting to hurt them... it didn’t really help him deal with his illness. Especially not after he’d seen the list of the remaining suspects and seen that Darin’s name was still on it, along with Jayden’s and some others.

  Shad couldn’t believe his brother would do something like that. Darin might do what Shad had done—spying and relying information—but he wouldn’t do it to Shad’s detriment. If anything, he’d do it to help Shad get better, and that wasn’t what the mole was doing.

  No, it had to be someone else. Besides, Shad would’ve recognized his brother’s voice, and probably Jayden’s too.

  Probably.

  * * * *

  Once they were done in the infirmary, Darin led everyone back in the kitchen. “I want to bake a new batch of cupcakes. The ones I did earlier are already gone.”

  “Which ones?”

  “Peppermint and mocha.”

  “Sounds good.” Gabriel was already wondering if he’d be able to taste one, and from the look Darin gave him, he was pretty sure his brother-in-law knew exactly what he was thinking.

  Taylor was still in the kitchen when they got there. He looked dazed as he listened to Jayden talk about frog reproduction. Gabriel didn’t even want to try to understand Jayden in that moment, especially when he went from frog reproduction to explaining a new creature he’d discovered in one of his books and it sounded like a mix between a frog and a bird. Gabriel really hoped that book was one of the bad ones, because he hoped no creatures like that lived on the same planet as him.

  Gabriel sat in one of the chairs, as far away from Jayden as he could, and pulled Shad onto his lap. “So, what do you think?”

  “About the frog-bird creature?” Shad asked with a smirk.

  Gabriel slapped his mate’s thigh lightly. “No, about what Jared and Adrian said.”

  “About you or me?”

  “Both.”

  Shad put his head on Gabriel’s shoulder and looked up at him. “Some of it is great, and some of it makes me feel guilty.”

  Gabriel frowned. “Guilty? Why?”

  “Because you’d already be back to normal if you could mate with me.”

  Gabriel shook his head. “It shouldn’t be the only reason we mate, though. I mean, even if I didn’t have to get rid of the tiger parts, I’d want to mate with you.”

  “I know that. It’s not the only reason I want to mate with you.”

  The words were on the tip of Gabriel’s tongue, and he wondered if it was too soon to say them. Most people would have thought so, but he’d been watching Shad for so long, and actually being with him had only strengthened the feelings Gabriel had started to develop before.

  “I love you,” Shad whispered, low enough that no one but Gabriel could hear him.

  Gabriel was stunned. He knew he loved his mate, but he didn’t think Shad had already fallen for him. Still, he wasn’t about to try to
make him change his mind. Shad was an adult, and he knew better than anyone else, what he was feeling and for who.

  Gabriel leaned toward Shad and captured his lips, giving him a kiss that would have led to more if they hadn’t been in a public space. As it was, it took Taylor clearing his throat right beside them before Gabriel finally released Shad.

  Taylor smirked and went back to sit with Jayden. The weasel shifter was smiling at them, not at all disturbed by the PDA, but Adam, Jeremy’s son, was now sitting beside him eating a cupcake, so Gabriel restrained himself.

  He leaned his forehead on Shad’s instead of kissing him again like he wanted to. “I love you too,” he breathed, keeping his voice low. Not that everyone else living in the mansion hadn’t already realized what he felt for Shad, but Shad deserved to hear it. He deserved that and so much more, things Gabriel couldn’t give him—not yet, but he would.

  Shad kissed Gabriel this time, lips pressing together and tongue tangling, at least until someone made a strangled noise beside them. Gabriel sighed and gave Shad one last peck before looking at whoever had disturbed them again.

  Brad, the new computer guy, was standing at the kitchen entrance with a travel mug in his hand, staring. Gabriel arched a brow at him, silently asking if Brad a problem with either PDA or gay couples, but the smaller man just looked away and hurried to the coffee machine.

  Gabriel frowned. He’d kept an eye on Brad since the man had arrived, in a non-stalker kind of way, of course. He couldn’t say Brad had done anything he shouldn’t have, but something bugged him about the man, and he couldn’t quite put a finger on what that something was.

  Gabriel was distracted by Jayden leaving with Adam, hand in hand. They were talking, of course, and Gabriel heard something about sand castle and pumpkins. He didn’t even try to think about why they should talk about that in the same conversation, but he wasn’t surprised.

  “I’m sorry I haven’t presented myself yet,” Shad said, talking to Taylor. “I’m Shad.”

  Taylor moved closer to them and they shook hands. Gabriel idly listened to their conversation, but half of his focus was on Brad.

  Brad had started making coffee because whoever had finished the pot hadn’t started a new one, and his movements were curt. He also winced every once in a while, like he was in pain when he moved in a certain way.