by M. A. Church
Everywhere I looked there were humans. I wanted to scream, wail, and plant my fist through something. I jerked the truck door open and climbed in. The hair on my neck stood up, and almost as if drawn, I glanced out of the driver’s window.
Lawson was staring at me from the window by his register. He looked confused and sad. The insane need to get out and go back in there hit me. I wanted to comfort Lawson, hold him close, and tell him it was all okay, that I hadn’t meant to act like a jerk.
I was halfway out of the truck before I caught myself. Almost like a moth drawn to a flame, Lawson left the register and stepped outside. He looked alarmed. My cat was yowling, an eerie sound that made me want to put my hand over my ears. Not that it would do any good.
Lawson took a step closer, and I yowled desperately. Shock followed closely. I had the insane urge to slap my hand over my mouth. Did I really just make that sound? What was I thinking? Out. Out. Out. Now.
My cat was furious, scratching at me inside my mind. This was punishment for me walking away from my mate. That yowl—that wasn’t a sound a human would make, and I knew that. Dolf would skin me for my lack of caution. If the human got near me, I wasn’t sure what I’d do.
Nothing good I’d bet. I jerked my leg in and slammed the truck door, nearly catching my foot. Not my most graceful moment, for sure. Squealing the tires, I was never so glad to pull into traffic as I was then.
Too bad I couldn’t leave what prompted my flight behind so easily.
Chapter Three
Lawson
STUNNED, I watched the sexy stranger drive off. Hell, “drive” didn’t quite cover it. More like ran off in stark-raving fear and—this confused me—disgust. What just happened?
“Dammit,” I mumbled.
“Hey, Lawson, what’s going on?”
I turned to look at my business partner, Janelle. “Well, I’m not entirely sure. There was this guy—”
Janelle elbowed me in the ribs. “Isn’t there always?”
“Hey, now, careful with that.” I poked Janelle back. “Damn pointy thing’s lethal.”
One of Janelle’s eyebrows disappeared into her short, kinky black hair. “Sweetie, that’s not what’s lethal about me.”
“Oh, I’m totally aware.”
Janelle stared into the street. “So any particular reason we’re out here staring at the pavement?”
“Well….” I ran a hand through my curls. “Can’t speak for you, but I’m out here because this guy came in, damn near passed out in the store, eyed me up, then ran off. One second he was all hot and bothered, then the next… nothing. He turned cold. So he got in his truck like he was going to leave, and then he looked at me. Just looked at me.”
“Strange.”
“I’m not to strange yet. Just wait. Anyway, he started to get back out. It was as if he couldn’t make up his mind. So I stepped outside and… I don’t know.” I gestured at the parking lot. “He damn near slammed the door on himself trying to get out of here. Oddest thing ever.”
“Oh reeeeally?”
“Well, oddest thing to happen to me today. You’re the oddest thing ever.”
“I’m the oddest?” Janelle patted my cheek. “Oh, if you only knew.” Then she frowned. “Actually….” She discreetly sniffed. “Huh.”
“Oh, now what? I know that look.” I hunched my shoulders. “Shit.”
Janelle pursed her lips, frowning at the street. “Why don’t we continue this in your office?”
“Aw, man, really? In the office? Nothing ever good comes from talking to me in the office.” Forget hunching. I was now cringing. “I don’t wanna.”
“Oh yes, yes, you do.”
“Oh God, no, no I don’t.”
Janelle took my hand and led me back inside. I stared at the back of her head. Her hair was a mass of corkscrews that barely touched her shoulders and her skin was a beautiful smooth mahogany. At five foot five, she had a rocking figure both sexes noticed, and she took full advantage of that. She was a good friend and a beautiful woman.
She was also not human.
A year after I graduated college, my job transferred me to New York City. I was crashing with friends, and we’d gone out. After drinking enough to sink a ship, dancing until I was ready to fall over, and making out with a tall, dark-skinned sexy guy named Marshell, I ended the night in his bed.
I became friends with not only him, but his sister, Janelle. The three of us spent a lot of time together over the next year. There was affection there between Marshell and me, but I knew he wasn’t the love of my life. Good thing. One night after we made love, three masked men broke into their house. Janelle was out on a date, so just Marshell and I were home. They attacked us.
Well, they attacked Marshell.
I was just collateral damage. Beat to hell and back, they left me bleeding on the floor while they tried to kill him. That was horrifying, yes. But more so was when he revealed wicked-looking fangs and blue snakelike eyes.
The sclera was a bright sky blue and the pupil was black. The top two central incisors were very long and pointy, and so were his canines. I vaguely remember him sinking those fangs into one of the attacker’s throats before I passed out.
The next thing I knew I woke up in bed, bandaged, and he and Janelle were cleaning up the mess from the attack. That day I found out humans weren’t the only beings walking the face of the earth, and there were hunters out there who wanted to kill them.
He and Janelle were Vetalas, or snakelike paranormals. They explained the Sanskrit word vetala translated into “vampire” or “zombie,” but neither was accurate. Vetalas possessed extremely strong, sharp fangs that could rip open a throat, and they drank blood.
They also had venom they injected through their fangs that could paralyze their victims when they fed. They appeared human until provoked or highly aroused, at which point they revealed sharp teeth and blue snakelike eyes. As with any so-called “monsters” there were hunters, and the hunters had found Marshell. And through him, me.
Marshell and his sister nursed me back to health. I spent another month by myself trying to come to grips with what I’d learned. After long talks—and many questions from me about my safety, among other things—we went back to what we were before.
Well, almost. Unfortunately my sexual relationship with Marshell ended up being a causality of that night, but we remained the best of friends. I lost a boyfriend but found a new family: Janelle and Marshell.
Then six months ago, we all moved to West Falls. We wanted a new beginning. I’d lived there briefly with my parents and liked the cozy little town. The three of us were living together, but I had plans to move out. Sooner or later. I just hated living alone. Not long after we arrived, we found this detail business and bought it.
I followed Janelle back to my office. She closed the door and then hopped up on the edge of my desk. “Okay, what? Do I need to sit down? Lie down? Is this going to end up being a two-Advil headache or three?”
“Might want to get the whole bottle.”
I fell into my chair. “Oh God.” Kidding Janelle was a pain in the ass, but Serious Janelle scared the hell out of me. “Coffee. Before you start, I need coffee. Actually what I need is a drink, but coffee will have to do. Want one?”
“No thanks.”
I lurched out of my chair and hurried to the coffeemaker in my office. It wasn’t Crown and Coke, but it was the best I could do. Janelle watched me fiddle with the coffee, a slight smile on her face. That was freaking me out even more.
Coffee in hand, I sat down again. “I’m ready. Lay it on me.”
“You know we consider you family, right? We care for you deeply. We take care of family.”
“Oh shit.” What was all this talk about family? “What the hell is going on, Janelle?”
“That man from earlier? The one you said almost passed out here in the store? Well, sweetie, guess what? He’s a paranormal too.”
“He’s a Vetala?”
“No.
Werecat. He’s a feline shifter. I’m not sure what kind of cat he is.”
I set the coffee down and scrubbed my hands over my face. “There’s more than one?”
“Of course.”
Of course. “Like…?”
“Oh, there are all kinds. Everything from lions to house cats.”
“I need to know this because…?”
“Because that male who almost passed out in here?” Smirking, Janelle leaned a little closer to me. “Well, hold on to your ass, Lawson. I believe he’s your mate.”
After her grand announcement, she sat back up, a smile on her face while I waited for the punch line to the joke because I knew, just knew she was kidding. She had to be. Because if she wasn’t….
“No.”
Janelle swung her leg back and forth, grinning like mad. “Yes.”
“Fuck!”
“There’ll be plenty of that too.”
I glared at her. “Not helping.”
“Sure I am. Look, you know mates are a big deal. We all want that person who’s perfect for us, a cherished life companion. They’re our balance—the other half of our souls. Finding a mate is a gift.”
“Gift?” I waved my hand at the shop beyond the closed door. “That man ran from here, Janelle. Ran.”
“True, and I don’t like that.” Janelle sniffed. “That was a tacky thing to do. Honestly that’s outside what a normal shifter would do, and that’s worrisome.”
“Worrisome? Janelle, he ran out of here. I mean, he acted like the hounds of hell were after him.”
“If they had been, he’d have never made it to his truck.”
“Whaaaa—yeah, just never mind. Really. I don’t want to know. I really, really don’t want to know. I know too much as it is.” I closed my eyes, buried my hands in my hair, and gave it a good tug. A good, hard one. “Jesus.”
“I know since you’re human, you might find this hard to believe.”
I opened my eyes. “I passed ‘hard to believe’ close to ten years ago. I know there are paranormals.” I slumped in my chair and waved in her general direction. “I mean…. Hello? I know you and Marshell. It’s not that. I just never thought the man I’d spend my life with would be anything but human. I’ve never really thought about this man much at all.”
“Well, you will now, trust me. You’ll be thinking about him and all the sexy things he can do to you a lot.”
“Would you stop already?” I was getting hard just from talking about the man who might be my mate. I wanted to scream. Actually I wanted to toss Janelle out of my office, jack off, and then scream. “Just hold up a minute. This is too much. I, ah, need to think for a second. Just… hold on.”
“Holding on.”
I glared at her. She always said that when I said “hold on.”
“You can think all you want. It’s not going to change a thing, but you go right on ahead. Have a good think, sweetie.”
“Gee, thanks.” After getting in another glare at her for good measure, I sipped my coffee, trying to get my scrambled thoughts together. Guess I needed to start with the most obvious. “Okay, first off. Why do you think he’s my mate?”
“From the amount of pheromones he pumped into the air.”
“So he found someone attractive in the shop. That doesn’t mean it was me, or that I’m his mate.”
Janelle just shook her head at me. “Don’t be dense.”
I gave her my best “Are you kidding me?” look.
“Fine.” Janelle rolled her eyes. “Tell me what happened. I mean, go through it and don’t leave anything out. Everything, Lawson. Every word, twitch, and smell you noticed.”
I started with the first moment I saw the guy, my impressions, and went from there. Yes, I found him sexy—all that long, wavy black hair, pale skin, and those slightly slanted dark sapphire-blue eyes. His face was angular with sharp cheekbones and a somewhat pointed chin.
I remembered he had stubble along his jawline with a mustache and goatee. Oh, and that body of his. I was willing to bet he was sleekly sculpted and streamlined. He had to be around my age: thirties, I’d guess. Who wouldn’t find that sexy? But it was more than that. The guy looked a little lost, a little awkward.
He stared at the store items we carried as if they were dangerous. Like they might jump off the shelves and bite him. I’d found it cute in an endearing sort of way. That changed when he started acting funny. I quickly became concerned.
Then I stumbled to a halt as I remembered the first words he said to me: “Mine.”
Janelle immediately zeroed in on my reaction. “What?”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t ‘hmm’ me. Did you remember something? You remembered something, I can tell, so spill it.”
Oh, she was going to gloat. Knowing Janelle, she’d be gloating for days. “I…. aw, God. The first word out of his mouth was ‘mine.’”
“Ha!” Janelle pointed a long red nail at me. “I knew it! Did you smell anything?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Flustered, I threw my hands up in the air. “Smell anything? Come on, Janelle. There’s a whole assortment of scents in the shop. Can you narrow that down a bit?”
“Oh, for crying out loud. Was there a scent that affected you? And yes, by affected I mean”—Janelle waggled her eyebrows—“affected.”
“Please don’t do that. My poor heart can’t take it.” The gloating was going to last for months at this rate. “Lord, I hate to admit this, I really do. But yes, there was this scent. I noticed it when I was kneeling by him. Smelled like coconut. I remember wondering if we had a new candle or something. It was noticeable but not overpowering. I liked it.”
“You smelled his arousal.”
She couldn’t be serious. I waited for her to smile or laugh, but all she did was stare steadily at me. “Arousal doesn’t have a scent. Does it? I mean, I heard about pheromones and stuff, but I never really paid that much attention to… It’s not the same as… is it? Did I really smell his arousal?”
“Yes. When we find a scent that calls to us, we don’t let it get away.”
Now I was sure I was goggling at her. Why was I just now hearing about this? She said that the way she’d say it was sunny outside. Neither she nor Marshell had mentioned it before. “That sounds a little stalkerish, just so you know.”
Janelle shrugged. “Only if you’re human.”
I glanced down at myself then back up at her. Were we even in the same conversation? “Um, I’m human.”
“Aw, I know, sweetie. Don’t feel bad, though.”
“I’d tell you to bite me, but you probably would.”
Janelle hopped off the desk. “Naw, you’re family, and I’d only bite you in an emergency. Besides, your werekitty wouldn’t like it.”
“Right. You’re assuming I’ll ever see him again.” I wasn’t touching the whole werekitty thing. I had a feeling that would go over as well as being outside in the rain with him.
Janelle walked to my office door but paused and looked at me. “Oh, you’ll see him again. Trust me.” With a wink, she walked out.
I didn’t know whether to be relieved or scared.
THE NEXT week passed in a blur and we said good-bye to October. November arrived with much cooler temperatures. I made a note to discuss Thanksgiving plans with Janelle and Marshell. Until they met me, they didn’t observe holidays, but it was something I couldn’t let go of.
It was the one holiday my entire family celebrated. All my aunts and uncles came to the house and stayed for several days. There were so many of my cousins around I always had someone to play with. Then that ended.
Now I celebrated with my adopted family: Janelle and Marshell.
It was Friday night again and my mind really wasn’t on work. All week my thoughts had revolved around that guy. I had hoped to see him again, but he hadn’t come back. It left a little ache in my chest, which was just stupid. We weren’t around each other long when we met, and then he ran off.
That hurt an
d pissed me off… and I was having doubts. Anyway, my thoughts were all over the place and I was sick of them. At the end of the workday, I grabbed my jacket and fled the office. I was the first one out of the shop. Since it was a weekday, we closed at seven. It was already dark outside. I hated this time of year.
“Hey! Man, slow down.” Marshell hurried out of the building, waving frantically at me. “Jeez, where’s the fire?”
Well, hell. I paused by my truck, waiting for him to catch up. Luckily the streetlight was nearby, so it was well lit behind the building where we parked. “No fire, just ready to go.”
“Uh-huh.” Marshell stopped next to me. “You practically ran out of there.”
“Did not.”
“Oh yeah, you did. What’s up? You’re acting odd.”
Marshell leaned against my car, his arm resting on the roof. His gray polo shirt strained across his massive chest. The man was built like a brick shithouse. Good Lord, his arms were muscular and his skin glistened in the moonlight.
His black hair was in cornrows he’d tied back. They hung down the middle of his back. I could see the concern in his hazel eyes. He really was a gorgeous man, with that strong jaw, goatee, and high forehead. At six three and two forty, there was a lot of man to drool over.
“Lawson? Did you hear me?” Marshell narrowed his eyes at me. “What’s the deal? You’ve been spacey all week.”
Damn. “Yeah, yeah, I heard you. Sorry, just had things on my mind.”
“Uh-huh. These things, do they have anything to do with why you and Janelle were in your office the other day with the door shut?”
Double damn. “Well….”
“Thought so. Come on.” Marshell grabbed my arm and tugged me along behind him.
“What are you…? Would you stop yanking on me, already?”
“Please, that was a tug, not a yank. As much hand action you’ve had going on lately, I’d think you’d know the difference.”
I finally knew what folks meant when they said they sputtered. “Oh my God, you did not just go there.”
