Not all things that look too good to be true are wrong.
Dallas is back in Gillham. He left the town and the pack after he was rescued from the lab, but he hasn’t been able to go back to fully living his life, and he hopes changing will help. He’s eager to work for Kameron and be the pack’s doctor, even with the new problems the pack has.
Hamilton is Morin Glass’ best friend, and he wants answers. He’s seen the news about the man who became an animal, and he knows Morin and his boyfriend have to be somehow involved. He travels to Whitedell to get an explanation, and once there, he finds more than he was expecting.
Hamilton doesn’t seem to have problems accepting shifters, and Dallas is glad even if hesitant, but that doesn’t mean their life is easy. Hamilton’s life is in New York, and he has to make a decision. Being with a shifter could be dangerous for him. Humans might know about them now, but it doesn’t mean they accept them. What does the future hold for Dallas and Hamilton—and for the pack?
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Dallas
Copyright © 2016 Catherine Lievens
ISBN: 978-1-4874-0778-0
Cover art by Latrisha Waters
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Dallas
Gillham Pack Book Sixteen
By
Catherine Lievens
Dedication
To Tanya and Robin, and to my family.
Chapter One
“I’m still not sure coming was a good idea, to be honest,” Dallas told Jared as they made their way toward Jared’s infirmary.
“I don’t know. I understand why you think that, of course, but maybe now is the perfect time to make sure the pack has an infirmary. I’m sure you’re expecting trouble.”
Dallas nodded. The entire pack was waiting for the other shoe to drop after what Tom had done. They were still dealing with what remained of Tom’s council, and as if that wasn’t hard enough, they were waiting for someone from the government to drop in and arrest Kameron, or something like that. Dallas wasn’t sure the pack would survive without Kameron, no matter how strong and capable Nick was as a beta. Kameron had guided the pack through a lot of things since he’d become the alpha, and everyone loved him. Well, mostly everyone, but the exceptions didn’t matter.
“Have you heard anything yet?” Jared asked as he pushed open a door.
“Not yet. I’m not exactly privy to a lot of information, though. I’ve had so much work, what with setting up the infirmary and the fight with the other council.” The infirmary hadn’t been ready, but Dallas had had to deal with the wounded anyway. Luckily for him, the hospital and Jared had helped, and he’d been able to transfer the badly wounded to more appropriate structures.
“I’m sure Kameron will tell you if something happens. From what I was told, the humans are very cautious, but then I wouldn’t expect anything different. They did just find out about shifters. They don’t know what we want or how to deal with us.”
They stepped into Jared’s infirmary, and Dallas looked around. He liked what he saw, and he wanted the same thing in Gillham. He was getting it, actually, but he wanted to make sure he knew how to deal with it. He’d worked in hospitals all his life, both before he was kidnapped by the Glass Research Company and after he’d been released. He loved his job, but he was glad he’d be able to slow down, although that wasn’t a certainty just yet. He’d thought working in the pack’s infirmary would mean a slower rhythm, more time to finally be able to focus on other things, but he’d obviously chosen the wrong moment to accept that job. He wouldn’t back out, though. He was never one to back out of challenges.
“How many patients do you usually have?” Dallas asked Jared.
“I have at least one pride member in here every day. It’s usually small cuts, children who get hurt while playing, things like that. Then, of course, there are the pride members who get injured while fighting the hunters, but that’s exceptional.”
The big room was empty of patients, even though Dallas could hear people talking in another room, probably a private one. “So you don’t have a lot of people working with you.”
Jared shook his head. “No. There’s me and Noem, and Adrian helps when I need him, but he usually doesn’t. He spends more time focusing on his research.”
Dallas had heard about Adrian. Who hadn’t? He was one of the few humans who’d become a shifter, and he’d been the one to do it to himself. Some thought he was a genius, some that he should be killed for what he’d done to humans and shifters alike, but no one could touch him, not while he was under Dominic Nash’s protection. Dallas didn’t have an opinion—he knew better than most what one had to do in desperate circumstances. He wasn’t innocent either, and he certainly hadn’t wanted to do what he’d done. He’d wanted to survive, though, and he’d done just that.
“So Jago and I should be enough?” Dallas asked, wanting to steer his thoughts away from the past.
“You should, especially now that Tom has been dealt with.”
“I’m not sure it will be as easy. Tom might be out of the picture, but he left us with a mess, and the rest of his council isn’t exactly easy to deal with. We’ve been having problems ever since we took Tom in.” And Dallas had had to take care of more wounds than he liked to see on an everyday basis.
Jared gestured toward an open door, and Dallas headed that way. He entered what had to be Jared’s office and sat in front of the desk while Jared rounded it, sitting in front of him. “You should probably get yourself a Nix nurse or doctor,” Jared said, tapping his finger on his desk. “I’m sure we can find someone from the hospital. Most of them would be over the moon to be able to work with the pack.”
Dallas had seen firsthand how popular the pack seemed to be. That popularity wasn’t something isolated either—all the shifter groups led by a council member seemed to be just as popular. Apparently, working with one of them looked good on a résumé, not that Dallas would know anything about that. He’d never worked with the pack, even though they’d rescued him from the company. Kameron had been the one to approach him with the proposition of manning the infirmary.
“I’d rather not have to work with someone who wants to be there just for the fame,” he told Jared.
Jared grinned. “I know all about that. You wouldn’t believe how many applications I get every week.”
“How did you find Noem?”
“He’s been working with me ever since he arrived in Whitedell almost two years ago. I know I can trust him and that he’s in it because he loves what he does. This is his home, not just a job.”
Dallas thought about the Nix who lived in Gillham. There weren’t any who were actually pac
k members, none that he knew of at least. He hadn’t spent much time with the pack since he’d stopped living there, though, so he couldn’t be sure. He did know some Nix lived in the enforcers’ building. Every enforcers’ team had to have a Nix with them so they could be healed quickly in the field. Those Nix had to have basic training, but Dallas wasn’t sure he wanted to train anyone, not right now. The only alternative would be asking someone from the hospital, and he knew a few people he could trust, but he wanted to check the Nix in the pack first, just in case. They lived there, and they knew how the pack worked and its members.
“I can help you when it comes to the everyday things,” Jared said, “but I’m sure you know as much as me. Kameron wouldn’t have chosen you if you didn’t know what you’re doing.”
Dallas nodded. “I was just curious to see how you did things. Our infirmary is finished, and we just have to start business. Jago doesn’t particularly want to work there, though, so I thought you might be able to give me a few names of people who could work with me.”
Jared sucked on his lower lip as he thought. “I could ask around, but I stopped working at the hospital before most of the Nix started working there. I could ask Noem, though.”
“I was thinking that maybe one of the Nix enforcers would work, but I’m not sure they’d want to leave the enforcers to do it.”
“You could ask. Things change fast enough in our world that some of them could want to step down from the enforcers and find a more stable job. And of course, both Noem and I will help if you need us.”
Dallas nodded even though he had no intentions of calling Jared. The pride had too much to deal with already, and they both knew the hunters wouldn’t stay away for long, especially now that the government knew about them. Dallas didn’t think anyone was actively trying to stop them, at least not anyone who wasn’t a shifter, but he didn’t think the government could accept a militia group that meted its own justice for long. The hunters would have to strike soon if they wanted to get away with it, and the last thing Jared needed was to be away from the pride. Besides, Dallas didn’t have patients yet, not since the battle. He knew he’d have some as soon as the infirmary opened, though. No one liked having to go to the hospital, especially for small things, and Dallas didn’t blame them. It felt like something could happen anytime, and no one wanted to be away from the pack if something did happen. Not even him.
* * * *
Hamilton resisted the urge to throw his phone against the windshield. He threw it on the passenger seat of his rental instead, swearing at Morin. “That fucker. How could he never tell me? And why the fuck isn’t he answering his phone? Asshole.”
Hamilton wanted to strangle Morin, but he’d refrain until he had answers, and he wanted a lot of them. Things made a lot more sense now that he knew about people becoming animals.
He was pretty sure Morin was one of them, and if he wasn’t, then his boyfriend had to be. Nysys was way too weird to be human. Of course, getting answers probably shouldn’t have been enough for him to climb onto a plane and fly from New York to the middle of nowhere in Wyoming. Finding out about werewolves wasn’t Hamilton’s only problem, though, so there he was. He only had a duffle bag full of clothes, fifty dollars in his wallet, and his computer. Oh, and the phone he’d been tempted to destroy because the guy he considered one of his best friends wasn’t answering. But at least Michel wouldn’t be able to find him for a week or two, which was what Hamilton needed.
He probably shouldn’t have left New York in such a hurry, but Michel had become a bit too insistent for Hamilton’s taste, and he’d felt a vacation would be nice. He’d fly from Wyoming to his parents’ for Christmas, and he’d go back to New York after the holiday.
He wouldn’t admit it to Morin, but Hamilton missed him. They used to see each other once a week, sometimes more, and even though they couldn’t have been more different, they fit together. Only as friends, but they did. Then Morin had met his boyfriend, his father had disappeared, and things had gone to hell.
Hamilton didn’t mind Nysys, even though he thought the guy was probably the weirdest person he’d ever met. Things made a little more sense now that Hamilton knew the guy might be half animal or whatever. He wasn’t going to let that push him away from Morin, not when Morin was one of the most important people in his life, even though they’d barely seen each other over the past year.
Hamilton snorted at himself. He sounded like a whining little girl. Morin would have a good laugh if he could hear him. If Hamilton actually ever managed to find him, that was. He wasn’t even sure where he was going. He knew Morin half-lived in Whitedell, a small Wyoming town, but that was about it, and he wasn’t sure what he’d do once he got there, since Morin wasn’t answering his phone.
He could call Nysys, but he was kind of scared by just the idea of doing that.
When the first sign for Whitedell appeared, Hamilton sighed. He was going to have to call Nysys and get directions to their house, but he’d try something else—anything else—before he did.
He parked in front of a coffee shop on the town’s main street. It was cute, in a small town kind of way, and definitely not what Hamilton was used to. He steeled himself before exiting his car, because if he got stares in New York, he was going to get ten times the amount of them in Whitedell. Not a lot of people were as tattooed as he was. His tats were visible even though he was wearing winter clothes because his hands were tattooed, as was his neck. Someone was bound to notice.
Hamilton got out, swearing at the cold. He didn’t know why he’d thought Wyoming wouldn’t be as cold as New York, but it was, and he hated the cold. He stomped his way to the coffee shop and slipped inside, taking his hat off and raking a hand through his hair to straighten it. Not that it would do much good, but he was still going to try.
He looked around, and no one was looking at him. He arched a brow and made his way toward the girl behind the counter. She was chatting with a guy, and he was nodding at her words. They were all smiles, and Hamilton looked away. The guy sitting at a table on the right was staring at the girl, and it would have been creepy and menacing if he hadn’t obviously been in love with her. Hamilton could tell just by the way he watched her.
She handed the guy she was talking to two coffees, and he turned. Hamilton let his gaze linger because the guy was cute. Not quite twinky, but small, with dark hair, and so very young. Too young for Hamilton, but that didn’t mean Hamilton couldn’t look.
He watched the guy pass by him, hoping he wasn’t going to get gay bashed for doing it. Morin had never talked about the town being homophobic, but the guy at the table looked like he could kick Hamilton’s ass if he were so inclined, and Hamilton didn’t want to pop up on Morin’s doorstep missing teeth.
To his surprise, the small guy with the coffees went to sit with the guy at the table, and Hamilton realized how wrong he’d been. He wasn’t going to get bashed because the guy at the table hadn’t been making heart-eyes at the girl behind the counter. No, he’d been looking at the small guy, and now that they were sitting together, he reached for the small guy’s hand and kissed the palm before taking his coffee.
Hamilton realized he was staring when the guy at the table looked at him with an arched brow. He shook himself and went up to the girl, ordering a coffee and waiting for her to start preparing it before asking, “Hey, do you by any chance know where I could find a guy called Morin Glass?”
The girl looked at him like he was crazy. “I know Whitedell is a small town, but it’s not like everyone knows everyone. Never heard of him, sorry.”
Hamilton tapped his fingers on the counter. “What about a guy named Nysys? You can’t miss him if you see him.”
The girl smiled. “I know Nysys. Pink hair, lots of piercings and tattoos, right?”
Hamilton nodded. “Yeah, that’s him. Can you tell me where I can find him?”
The girl—Anne, Hamilton read the name on her tag—cocked her head. “Why do you wan
t to find Nysys? Is he in trouble?”
“No, I’m just a friend.”
“And you don’t know where to find him?”
“Yeah, well, he’s not expecting me. I’m actually a friend of his boyfriend, and I came from New York to see them. It’s a surprise, so I can’t exactly call them and ask them for directions, you know?” Hamilton gave Anne his best smile as he talked, hoping it would be enough for her to cave in and give him something. Even if it wasn’t an address. He’d be fine with a direction or something. North, South, he’d do with whatever he was given if it meant not having to call Nysys.
Anne worried her lower lip as she finished getting Hamilton’s coffee ready and handed it to him. He took it with a smile and a thanks, then waited for Anne to make a decision.
“Look, I don’t want to tell you anything because it’s not my place. Nysys is a client, that’s all, but you can go ask those guys at the table. They live with him.”
He turned to look where Anne was pointing, and he wasn’t surprised in the least when he saw it was at the small guy with the coffees and his boyfriend. Hamilton sighed. He was pretty sure the guy at the table had noticed him looking at his boyfriend, and he really didn’t want to get pounded into the coffee shop floor. Maybe calling Nysys wouldn’t be too bad. He couldn’t really be that weird all the time, right?
He tilted his coffee at Anne and started to leave. Even though he’d have to face the guy at the table sooner or later if he really lived with Nysys, Hamilton wasn’t feeling up to it right now. He’d leave, call Nysys, and tell him he was coming. Once he had his hands on Morin and some answers, he could deal with the guy.
“Taylor said you’re looking for Nysys and Morin,” a voice said from behind Hamilton.
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