Behind the Eight Ball

by M. A. Church

  “He said the same about you. You know, I find it interesting how much the two of you think alike,” Dolf joked.

  “You’re supposed to be on my side,” I huffed.

  “Always.” All joking vanished for Dolf’s voice. “I’m always on your side. I’ll stand beside you to the bitter end. But you have to tell me what it is you want.”

  I looked around my home. Nothing but silence greeted me. It didn’t used to be like this, but I shook off the memories. That was then and this was now. It was time to move on.

  “I… I want him, Dolf. I… oh goddess, I want my mate.” I breathed a sigh of relief. And what do you know? The floor didn’t fall out from under me and the world didn’t end.

  “Thank the goddess,” Dolf said, relief infusing his voice. “I’m going to call Dad and set up an emergency meeting for tomorrow. You need to tell our Alpha and let the other betas know.”

  “I… yeah, okay.” I scrounged around in the refrigerator until I found sandwich meat. A sandwich would take the edge off my hunger for now. “I know it needs to be done, but….”

  “But what?”

  I flashed back to the meeting we had when Dolf and Tal found Kirk, and how I acted when Dolf told them Kirk was human. “When you told us about Kirk, I said things I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry for that.”

  “Worried now the shoe’s on the other foot? I won’t lie, Heller, that hurt me. How you acted hurt not only me, but Tal too. As you know, your actions toward Kirk had me debating your removal as one of my betas once I assume the Alpha position from my dad.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry.” I put the sandwich on a plate, tucked a bag of chips under my arm, and grabbed my water as I walked to the den. “Sorry doesn’t cover it, but I want you to know I truly mean it.”

  “I believe you. You saved Kirk’s life. While words are great, you proved through your actions that I could trust you with my mate’s life. Both of my mates’ lives. How you first acted is behind us now. I’ve moved on, and you need to also.”

  I kicked back on the couch with my food. “I know.”

  “You’re going to need to talk to Lawson too,” Dolf said. “And soon. You haven’t made a great first impression. In fact, if I understand correctly, this is the second time you ran away from your mate.”

  “Oh shit, I didn’t think about how… I—I… I didn’t mean for it to seem like I was rejecting him again, it was just…. Fuck. I’ve screwed this six ways to Sunday, haven’t I?”

  “Well, you do have some ground to make up.”

  I scowled at my sandwich as if it were responsible. “I also have Marshell talking against me.”

  “In the end that’s not going to matter.”

  “Let’s hope you’re right.” I sipped more water. “Then let’s start. I have Lawson’s tag number. I’m going to run it and get his address, plus take a look around to see if there’s any… concerns.”

  “Sure. Let me know what you find. Keep in mind Lawson knows about you and paranormals. You don’t have to deal with telling him you’re a shifter, and I’d be surprised if you found anything bad on him.”

  “Probably won’t. That just leaves me explaining why I acted like an ass to him and rejected my mate. Telling him I’m a shifter might have been easier. Look, man, I’m going to get off here and eat.”

  “I’ll call in the morning and let you know what time to meet us.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks again,” I said.

  We hung up, and I finished my sandwich. I took a shower and raided the fridge again. I finished off some pork chops and mashed potatoes I had made earlier in the week. After spending hours on the computer hunting for all the information I could find on Lawson—and not finding anything worrisome—I went to bed.

  ANOTHER WEEK had passed, and I was losing my mind. My Alpha was called away that next morning. His wife’s father was in a car wreck. While he was healing well, they still flew out to check on him. Since he lived in Hawaii, they stayed a few days to enjoy the island.

  Trying to keep away from Lawson during that time was agonizing, but I needed permission to claim him. There was also the fact I had no idea how to approach him. How did one go about convincing one’s mate he really wasn’t the ass he appeared to be?

  I was so screwed.

  My Alpha and his mate finally arrived home last night, and Dolf called me first thing Saturday with a time for me to meet with Alpha Armonty and the rest of the betas. What a way to wake up. Sighing, I dressed and ate breakfast. I had two hours before I was due at my Alpha’s, so I started getting ready.

  When I pulled up in front of the Alpha’s home, Dolf’s truck was sitting in the driveway with Aidric parked behind him. Remi had parked his work truck on the street. Everyone was there except Brier. I parked on the street too. I’d just locked my door when Brier pulled up behind me and got out.

  “Hey, man, you happen to know what’s going on?”

  “Dolf didn’t tell you?” I asked.

  “Nope. Just said we were meeting.”

  “Oh.” I led the way up the sidewalk to the Alpha’s house. “Yeah, I know what’s going on, but let’s wait until we get inside.”

  “That sounds ominous.”

  “Ominous?” I frowned at Brier, then knocked on the door. “I wouldn’t say that. Surprising, maybe.”

  “Surprising? Why would you say that? For that matter why do you know and I don’t? What’s going on, Heller?”

  “Um….”

  Alpha Armonty opened the door. “Gentlemen, thanks for coming.” He moved out of the doorway so we could enter. “We’re in my office, but swing by the kitchen and get yourself something to drink and eat. We have tea, milk, water, or soda. Snacks are on the bar.”

  I managed to keep Brier occupied with food and off why we were there. Once we loaded down our plates, we moved to the office. Armonty had a large round table in his office. Dolf, Tal, and Kirk sat together, with Tal in the middle. Remi sat on the other side of Kirk, which didn’t surprise me. The two had become close friends. Brier sat next to Dolf. I took the seat next to Remi, and Aidric sat next to Brier.

  Armonty, still standing, brought the meeting to order. “Okay, as for the reason we’re here. Before I left town, Dolf informed me Sam found his mate. Her name is Janelle Foles, and she’s also a paranormal. A Vetala.” Alpha Armonty explained who and what the Vetala were.

  “Pssst.” Remi poked Kirk in the ribs while Armonty spoke. “Did you see her?” he whispered.

  “Would you hush?” Kirk murmured.

  “Tell me,” Remi whined.

  Armonty continued speaking over Remi and Kirk. “I’ve talked to Sam. Since things are so new with them, they’re not sure what their plans are. But that’s not the only reason I called us together.”

  “Naw, I didn’t see her. Dolf was in the middle of something else when this went down,” Kirk answered Remi quietly.

  “And that’s the reason we’re here?” Remi asked.

  “Oh yeah.” Kirk nodded with a glance at Heller.

  Armonty frowned at the two speaking in whispers, and they abruptly hushed. “It seems one of my betas has found his mate. Heller? Would you like to take things over now?”

  “Um….” I froze in my seat.

  Remi jerked his head toward me. “Whoa, dude. A mate? Go Heller.” Remi punched my shoulder. “Who’s the unlucky soul? When do we get to meet…. Ah, is it a him or her?”

  Aidric snickered. “As high maintenance as Heller is? It’s probably a male. A female isn’t going to put up sharing ‘mirror time’ with Heller. You all know how he likes to primp.”

  “Hey!” I glowered at Aidric. “I do not primp. Just because you look like you just rolled out of bed doesn’t mean that I—”

  Remi snorted as he gestured at Tal. “Hey Tal, you better hope it’s a guy or you may end up having to build a whole new room on Heller’s house.”

  “Huh? Wait. How’d I get in this?” Tal cocked his head at Remi. “And why would I have to do that?”<
br />
  “For his mate’s clothes, what else?” Remi asked. “Heller’s taken up both walk-ins in his master bedroom with his clothes. I know since I helped him hang some shelves in them. Mr. Clothes Horse over there isn’t going to give up his space.”

  “Well, why would I not use the space?” I rolled my eyes. “Why let it sit there empty? I needed the space, and it was there and… and it’s my damn house. I can do what I want with—know what? Bite me, Remi.”

  Dolf grinned at me. “You have enough clothes for two men. Oh, who am I kidding? You have more than Tal, Kirk, and me together.”

  “Kirk’s flannel shirts are not real clothes.” I sniffed.

  “From my flannel and me… bite us, Heller.” Kirk laughed.

  Brier tipped his water bottle at me. “Do you guys remember that time his hairdresser cut too much off the back of his hair? Jeez, you’d have thought someone neutered him when he wasn’t looking. The drama!”

  Rambunctious laugher and jokes flew around the table.

  “Okay, seriously, who is it?” Remi finally asked as they all calmed down.

  “Not sure I want to say now.” I pouted.

  “I’m not sure why we had to meet. I mean, I’m happy for Heller and all, but since when do we meet over just finding one’s mate?” Brier asked.

  I looked around the table. “‘Since when’ the mate is human.”

  After I dropped that bomb, no one spoke as silence blanketed the room.

  “Holy fuck.” Brier finally breathed, his mouth hanging open. “Human? Are you for real? Boy, talk about being behind the eight ball. I swear it’s like a fucking epidemic.”

  Kirk slammed his hand down on the table. “Are you for real? Are you really going to go there with me sitting right here? By God, are we going to do this again?”

  “Kirk—”

  “No! Just no, dammit, Dolf. This has got to stop. Did none of you learn anything when that psycho nearly killed me because I was born human? What about when he attacked Dolf for mating me? All of you were there, and you saw.” Fuming, Kirk faced Brier. “Get your head out of your ass, man, and grow the fuck up.”

  Brier held up his hands. “Okay! Okay! Hold up a minute. I, ah… I… jeez. I’m sorry, okay? You’re right. You’re totally right. I didn’t think. I didn’t mean to… It’s just… it’s an automatic response.”

  “Thus the ‘getting your head out of your ass’ remark,” Kirk snapped. “The fact you said it was an automatic response kind of proves my point also. We need to be working toward it not being automatic.”

  “Need some help removing the foot crammed down your throat?” Remi asked Brier.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” Brier turned to Kirk. “I know that doesn’t excuse what I said. But it was just out there before I even stopped to think. I’m trying, okay? We all are. I really didn’t mean it, Kirk, and again, I’m sorry. Really.”

  “I know,” Kirk huffed, calming down. “It’s just that kind of thinking is what led to me being attacked, and it pisses me off.”

  “Guys.” Aidric raised his voice. “Why don’t we let Heller speak, hmm? I think we’ve forgotten, in the middle of our surprise, that Heller has made it painfully clear he doesn’t like humans.”

  “Shit,” Remi whispered. “Heller, man, we didn’t…. Gods. I’ve never understood what your problem was with humans, but that’s your deal. What are you going to do?”

  “Yeah, the joke’s on me, isn’t it?” I said. “I’m the one who objected to Kirk, the one who acted like an ass after their joining ceremony, and I’m the one who ended up saving Kirk’s life. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised our goddess gave me a human mate. His name is Lawson Dupre.”

  “You know we’ll help in any way we can,” Tal said.

  “We will if you plan to take him as a mate,” Alpha Armonty said. “Heller, are you going to run a scan on him?”

  “Yes, Alpha, I already have, and there aren’t any red flags, not that I’m expecting any. I should mention Lawson knows what I am. He knows about paranormals and lives with two Vetalas—Sam’s new mate, Janelle, is one, and her brother, Marshell, is the other. The man doesn’t make waves. He lives close to you, Remi.”

  “What’s the address?” Remi asked.

  I rattled it off.

  “Huh, it is close by. Lots of land and privacy that far out, which is why I’m there.”

  “Heller? Does this mean you plan to claim your mate?” Armonty asked.

  I glanced around the table. There was concern on the faces of my friends, but happiness too. “As surprising as this is going to sound, I do. Oddly enough the fact he’s human isn’t the biggest hurdle I have with the man. He’s my mate, and I want him. I just have to… readjust how I think.”

  “Good, I’m proud of you.” Armonty walked over and clasped me on the shoulder. “Okay, anyone object to Heller bringing in a human mate?”

  No one objected, and I was thankful. I well remembered the last time Armonty asked this question. I was the one opposed to bringing in Kirk, and here I was, nearly a year later, standing where Dolf and Tal were.

  “Thank you,” I said. “I mean it.”

  “We’re here for you,” Kirk said. “We’ll make sure he’s made to feel welcome, even if there are some who aren’t happy bringing in another human.”

  Remi laughed. “Kirk’ll kick anyone’s ass who dares speak out.”

  “Got that right.” Kirk crossed his arms over his chest and glared at everyone at the table.

  “Down, tiger,” Dolf said.

  Kirk snorted. “That’s your name, remember?”

  “I never understood why you gave a black cat the name Tiger,” Dolf said.

  “Because you were so fierce. You attacked that mean ol’ plastic bag with a vengeance.” Kirk shivered mightily. “It was terrifying.”

  Tal snickered.

  Kirk winked at Dolf. “I might not have known it was you as the cat, but I did know that cat was bossy.”

  “Bossy.” Alpha Armonty snorted in amusement then looked at me. “Okay, Heller, we still need to inform the elders, but I’m not expecting any trouble on that front. Dolf and I will back you. After that I’ll send a message to our central territory leader.”

  “Thank you, Alpha,” I said.

  The meeting ended shortly thereafter, and I drove home, aware I’d taken the first steps in changing my life.

  Chapter Seven

  Lawson

  IT WAS a week since I’d seen Heller. There were times I swore I’d seen his truck pass the shop, but he never stopped, if that was him. I’d avoided both Janelle and Marshell as best I could during the week, which ended up not being hard to do.

  She spent the night on the phone with Sam. She had mentioned Sam told her Heller had to get permission to claim me as a mate since I was human. Would’ve been nice if Heller had told me that instead of her.

  Turned out Sam didn’t need permission since Janelle was a paranormal. Only me… the human. Then Heller’s Alpha was called out of town. It figured.

  Marshell brought someone home and proceeded to fuck him through the mattress several nights in a row. I usually was in bed by the time they showed up, so I never saw the guy. Sure heard him, though.

  I’d hear him demanding to come when I raided the fridge in the early morning hours. It sounded like Marshell had his hands full with that one. I hadn’t slept well, but Marshell’s antics weren’t what kept me up.

  I spent most of my nights trying to figure out how to approach Heller once the whole stupid permission thing was handled. Most mornings I still had no answer and looked like I was the one ridden hard and put away wet.

  It was Saturday and I stumbled into the kitchen, the heavenly smell of coffee calling to me. We were probably going to be slammed at the shop today. It always amazed me how many people had their vehicles detailed, even in winter. Granted we’d done our research before buying the place, but it still left me shaking my head.

  “Good morning.” Marshel
l smirked, standing by the counter in nothing but night pants.

  “Give me,” I snarled, reaching past him for a mug.

  “Funny, that’s what he said too last night.”

  “Oh my God, seriously?” I poured the coffee and blew on it. Marshell, the bastard, looked fresh as a daisy, even with no more sleep than he’d gotten.

  “I think he might have said that too about, oh, three in the morning.”

  “Yeah, about that.” I set the mug carefully on the counter and grabbed a towel, an evil smirk on my face as I twisted it into a weapon. I faced Marshell and lunged at him. “How is it you always find the screamers?”

  “Hey now!” Marshell danced away as I tried to swat him.

  I cracked up at how fast he put the mug down. Then I noticed the scratches on his back. “Damn, dude, did you take a wild cat to bed?”

  Marshell wagged his eyebrows at me. What was it with him and Janelle doing that? “Nope, no ‘pussy’ in my bed last night.”

  “Well, whoever he is, he did a number on you. By the way, is he still here?”

  “Naw, he left. As soon as I feed, it’ll be fine. It’s not as bad as it looks. I gave as good as I got.”

  “Ah, I see. A paranormal?”

  “Yup.” Marshell finished his coffee. “You going to shower first?”

  “You go ahead. I’m going to sip this and wake up.”

  That was the start to my day. I hardly had time to breathe after I got to work, much less talk to Janelle and Marshell as the hours passed. Then the day was over before I knew it. We closed at nine on Saturdays, and we didn’t usually get out of there until nine thirty, if we were lucky. Marshell, the dog, had already left for home.

  Marshell planned to take a quick shower, dress, and head right back out. He and Janelle arranged to meet up at some point later in the night. They both needed to feed, but I was wondering if she would now that she’d found her mate. Regardless she’d still go with Marshell because Vetalas always hunted in pairs, if possible.