Xavier

by Catherine Lievens

  Dominic smiled at him and nodded. “Kameron just about declared his undying love for me when I told him I had an accountant for him.” The man’s gaze moved to the other men in the room, and Xavier could see they were all nervous. It had to be because of the stalker situation. “We have to talk, though.”

  “Oh, sure. I guess you have to tell me what I’m going to do exactly and stuff like that.”

  “Emm, not exactly. Kameron will take care of that, but we have to prepare you before you accept the job. It’s not... you won’t be living with normal people, Xavier,” Jeremy said.

  “Normal people? What do you mean?”

  “I’m messing this up.” Jeremy turned to his husband. “Maybe you could tell him.”

  Denver grunted and pointedly looked at Dominic.

  Xavier was getting nervous. What the hell did they have to tell him? “What, is the group I’ll be working for a religious cult or something?”

  Dominic chuckled. “Nothing like that. Okay, it looks like I’m going to have to be the one to tell you, so I’m glad you’re already sitting down. What do you think about paranormal stuff?”

  Xavier’s eyes widened. What did this have to do with everything? “Like, ghosts and werewolves? That kind of stuff?”

  “Yes, only I’m thinking more along the lines of shapeshifters.”

  “Oh, well, I don’t know. I’ve read about them, but they were all romance books.” Xavier blushed. He hadn’t wanted to reveal he read romance, but really, how was he supposed to feel love if not in books? He’d been falling in love with Andrew, and look at the good that did him. Better to stay in the fantasy world.

  “And what do you think about it?”

  “I, uh, well, I kind of like the idea.” Xavier actually very much liked the idea of finding himself a strong, gorgeous man who would have eyes only for him. Dream on, Xav.

  “Okay, that’s good, because shapeshifters do exist.”

  Xavier just stared at the man. “Why are you making fun of me? Is this your idea of having fun?”

  Dominic held his hands up. “I’m not making fun of you. Soren, Denver and I are shifters. They shift into tigers, while I’m a lion.”

  Xavier didn’t know what to do. Was he supposed to find this funny? Or should he be scared, because it seemed the man really believed what he was saying?

  He felt the couch dip beside him and turned to find Jeremy next to him, a small smile on his face. “It’s true. I found out about them when I met Denver. I know it’s hard to believe, but they’re not dangerous, not even when they’re in their animal forms.”

  Jeremy had gone crazy too? The man chuckled, and Xavier realized he had either said that out loud or his eyes had betrayed his feelings. “I’m sorry, but... this is crazy.”

  “I know, which is why one of the three shifters here is going to shift, to show you it’s true.” Jeremy looked at the three men in question and they all tried to ignore him, their eyes looking at everything but at Jeremy. “Denver? Love?”

  Denver grunted, but his eyes were full of love as he looked at Jeremy before he started stripping. Xavier gaped at the man, both because, come on, he was getting naked in Xavier’s living room, and because the man was gorgeous. A bit too muscular for Xavier’s taste, but gorgeous.

  He averted his eyes when Denver toed off his shoes and dropped his pants. He felt his cheeks blazing, but everyone else looked as if this was completely normal.

  “You’re going to have to look at him,” Dominic said, and Xavier looked at Jeremy. When the man nodded, he slowly peeked at Denver, who was standing there buck naked except for the T-shirt he held in front of his groin. Xavier let out a relieved sigh, but the feeling didn’t last long.

  As he looked at the huge man standing in front of him, the air began moving around Denver. It was nearly imperceptible, but it was there. Then he seemed to somehow shrink and... fur... started to grow on his arms and chest, orange and black fur. It took only a few seconds, then Denver was gone, and in his place was a tiger, sitting on the carpet. A real, honest-to-god tiger.

  Xavier felt his eyes roll in his skull and his last thought before he fainted was that he was glad he was already sitting down.

  Xavier blinked his eyes open, wondering why the hell he was sleeping in his living room.

  “Oh, he’s coming around!”

  He recognized the voice as Jeremy’s, and just as he wondered why the man was in his apartment, everything came back to him. Xavier sprang up from the couch, frantically looking around the room. “A-a tiger! I dreamed that Denver transformed into a tiger!”

  He met Jeremy and Dominic’s gazes, noticing they were both worried. Jeremy pointed to the other side of the coffee table and Xavier turned to look, his breath hitching when he saw that there was indeed a tiger lying there, liking his front paw carefully. He could feel his eyes were as big as plates as he tried to talk. “Is-is that... is he... is it him?”

  The tiger looked at him and the air around it started doing that funny thing again. The tiger started growing, the fur receding into a now human-looking skin, until Denver was once again standing in front of Xavier. Xavier felt himself faint again, and thanked god he was still on the couch.

  The second time Xavier came around, he decided to keep his eyes shut until he could think about... it. There were several possibilities. He could have gone completely crazy and had hallucinations. Or maybe he had dreamed the whole thing. But what if... what if everything was real?

  Xavier’s eyes popped open. He had to see if he had dreamed everything or not.

  “You’re awake.”

  Xavier looked up from where he was lying on the couch. “Andrew, I... what happened?”

  Andrew smiled at him. “You didn’t take the news very well, and you fainted a couple of times.”

  “News?”

  “You know, about shifters.”

  “Wha-what? You knew? You’re-are you... ?” Xavier couldn’t finish that sentence.

  “I’ve known all my life, although I’m human.” A wave of relief washed over Xavier. Andrew was human, thank god.

  “But it’s... it’s not possible! How can someone change into an animal at will?” Xavier could feel he was spinning out of control, but he couldn’t do anything to stop himself. Panic was rising again, and he could feel the room close around him.

  “Breathe, Xavier. Everything is fine. I know this is a huge shock, but they’re still the same people you know.” Xavier could feel Andrew’s hand stroking his back and he tried to latch on the touch, to ground himself in reality, through it. It wasn’t an easy thing to do. Xavier still felt panicky over this life-changing revelation, but at least the room slowly stopped spinning around him as he started breathing again.

  “There you are.”

  “I... I don’t know what to think anymore.”

  “I guess you’re going to need a little time to get used to this, huh?”

  “How did you react when you found out?”

  “I’ve always known. I grew up with Dominic, remember? I saw him shift about a million times, so it’s normal for me.”

  Xavier looked around the room, relieved to see they were alone. “I... I’m confused.”

  “I know, honey. I’m sorry to throw this at you in this already complicated situation, but I need to know you’re safe. My stalker... he’s a shifter too, and you’ll be safe from him if you go with Dominic.”

  “They’re not dangerous, are they?” Xavier was going to need time to wrap his mind around all this, but he couldn’t do it if he was also waiting for the stalker to find him.

  “Absolutely not. They’re still them.”

  Xavier slowly nodded. “Okay. I’ll go with them.”

  * * * *

  Andy was tightening the last bolt when someone cleared his throat close to him. He sighed, unwilling to come out from under the car and stop working, but knowing he had to. He just preferred to deal with the cars than with the customers. />
  He slid from under the car and got up, making an attempt at cleaning his hands on the already dirty rag that hung from his belt. “Hey, Kam. What can I do for you? Car broken?”

  It was rare to see the Alpha in Andy’s garage. The man had way too many things to do, too many events to attend to, to come and visit him without a good reason. A broken car would be an excellent one.

  “Nope. I just need a favor.”

  “Oh? What can I do for you?” Andy pointed to his office and followed Kameron there, washing his hand in the tiny sink hidden by a big metallic cabinet while Kameron sat down in the one chair facing the desk. Andy wasn’t going to sit behind it—it would be too weird, since Kameron was like his boss, so he moved a stack of requests for parts and bills from the other chair. He knew he could avoid the clutter that filled the room if he would just stop printing every damn thing, but he liked having a physical proof of his work, and he found it easier to read on paper than on screen.

  “You want something to drink? I only have water and soda, but—”

  “Don’t worry about me, I can’t stay long. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to try to make several prides and packs agree on something. I need to call three different Alphas just this afternoon.”

  “Okay.”

  “So, I told you I had to ask a favor from you. You know I’ve been having problems with dealing with the pack’s finances. Not only do I hate numbers with a vengeance, but they also hate me back, and I have to deal with all the stuff Erskine did, and let me tell you, most of that was illegal. I won’t give you details because it would give you headaches. Anyway, Dominic called me last night and offered me an accountant.”

  “The Whitedell pride’s Alpha?” Andy had never really met the man. He had seen him during Kameron’s challenge with Erskine and during one of the raids they’d done against a lab, but he’d never talked with the big lion shifter, although he knew he and Kameron were somehow friends.

  “Yes. It seems he has a stalker problem on his hands, and the guy attacked a human. Since the human knows several members of the pride, they told him about shifters and asked me to take him in. That way the man will be safe, and I really need help anyway.”

  “And you need me because... ”

  “I need someone who can keep an eye on Xavier. He shouldn’t be a problem, but I don’t want him roaming the pack’s territory on his own just yet. Besides, we have to keep him safe from the stalker, although he’s not the main target.”

  “Why me?” Andy didn’t want to be a babysitter for anyone. “You have plenty of full-time soldiers to use for that.”

  “I’m doing this as a favor to Dominic, so I want the best.”

  “Ask Nick.”

  Kameron raised a brow. “You know with his job as a detective he wouldn’t have the time to do this. Xavier can come here with you every day, so you’ll always be able to keep an eye on him, and he’ll be able to work from here quite easily. You can ask Nick if he wants to share your duty when he’s not working, though.”

  Andy already knew there was no way he could say no, but hell, he really wanted to. “Fine. It’s not like I have a choice anyway, right?”

  Kameron chuckled. “Glad we see it the same way. Can you close the shop today or tomorrow?”

  “Don’t tell me I have to drive all the way to Whitedell to pick the guy up?”

  “No, but I want you to dedicate at least one day to him. Show him around the pack’s land, explain to him what living in a pack means, and for god’s sake, don’t scare him. He just found out about shifters, and from what Dominic told me, he didn’t react very well.”

  Andy groaned. “Fine, but you’re going to be the one to tell my clients.”

  “Stop whining and get back to work. You can just leave a note that you had a family emergency.” The smile on Kameron’s face faded a bit. “You know I’m asking you to do this because I trust you, right? It’s not a punishment.”

  “And you know I’m doing this for you, not for my Alpha, right?” Kameron nodded, and while Andy didn’t like his new assignment, he was glad Kameron remembered he could count on him when he needed help. Andy might grumble and bitch, but he would do anything to help a friend, including performing babysitter duty for a day. Well, more than one day, but okay. “I just hope the guy is nice, because I don’t think I could spend days with an asshole.”

  “Dominic seems to like him.”

  “Dominic is a cat. Who knows what they like? Mice? Catnip?”

  Kameron snorted. “I take it you’ve never seen the man’s mate?”

  Andy raised a brow at his friend. “Do tell me what I’m missing, please.”

  “I would if I didn’t have so much to do today.” Kameron looked at his watch. “Xavier should be arriving in a few hours. I told Denver to bring the man here. Be nice.”

  “Sure. That’s me, nice and sweet all the way.”

  Kameron narrowed his eyes, which was a thing he seemed to do fairly often in Andy’s presence. “By the way, he’s going to live in your house with you for now.” After announcing this, Kameron just walked away, not giving Andy a chance to protest, even if he didn’t want someone invading his personal space and Kameron knew it damn well.

  Andy sighed and raked his hand through his hair, forgetting that the longish strands were tied on his nape. He had to redo the thing, which gave him a few seconds to think about what he had to do to be able to close for the day. Most of the cars could wait, but he had to finish Jeannie’s. She was a single mom of three, and she needed it. He had promised to have it done today, so... he’d better get back to work.

  He really had to think about hiring help. He wouldn’t have to close the shop that way, but he preferred working on his own, always had. It was just getting harder and harder to do it because the news that he was pretty good and cheap was getting around, and he was getting more work than he could take for now. Andy knew he’d have to find shifter help, probably, and that would considerably shorten the list of people who would do. Not that he had to have wolf-shifter help, but it would be easier to deal if he didn’t have to hide that he was a wolf.

  Oh, well. It would have to wait until he was done babysitting.

  Andy slid back under Jeannie’s car and got back to work on the bolt. He knew exactly what was wrong with the thing and he could fix it even without thinking about it, so he let his hands take the lead while he thought about Xavier and what had happened to him. Andy actually felt kind of sorry for the guy. He’d found out about shifters in a difficult situation, so it wasn’t surprising he’d reacted badly, but Andy hoped he wouldn’t be a bitch about having to stay in Gillham with them.

  He was still under the car when he heard a car stop in front of the shop. Damn, it had taken him more time than he thought it would take to fix the car, and he hadn’t had the time to clean up. Oh, well. If Xavier was going to be working in the shop with him, he’d have to get used to the dirt and grease anyway. He might as well start now, right?

  Almost finished with Jeannie’s car, he figured he still had time to tighten the last couple bolts, so he kept on working.

  Chapter Two

  Xavier’s mind had been spinning for the last few hours. Well, since the night before, really, but in the end he’d gladly succumbed to sleep, where he didn’t have to think about stalkers or shifters. He knew he would have to do it, and soon, but he needed to keep things normal for a while. It was enough that he had had to leave his home, his job and the very few friends he had because of a man who, by the way, wasn’t even stalking him. He had wanted to stay home and had tried to convince Dominic and Andrew that morning, but they hadn’t budged. He shouldn’t have gone with Dominic last night in the first place, but he’d been so lost he hadn’t been able to think straight, and when he’d changed his mind this morning... it was too late.

  Xavier didn’t think the stalker would attack him again. He was kind of worried for Soren, since it was obvious the man meant something to Andr
ew, but Xavier knew Soren could defend himself. He was a tiger, after all. God, that sounded so weird! Xavier knew he would have to get used to it—or maybe not. He could find a job elsewhere and move on, leave all this craziness behind. That might be a god idea.

  Xavier looked around when the car stopped. He had been so immersed in his thoughts he hadn’t even noticed they’d arrived. He knew the wolf shifters had accepted taking him in with very short notice and that they hadn’t been obligated to do it, but he hadn’t been expecting a garage.

  The place was, well, as dirty as a garage could be. There were four cars in it, but none of them seemed to be being worked on. The air smelled of grease and fuel and it was dusty. Xavier could see the dust particles dancing in the sunlight, but before he could keep looking around, the pair of feet that peeked from under a gray car started moving.

  Xavier didn’t want to move, but staying in Denver’s car was not an option. The man had to go back to his partner and their kid, and to his job. It had already been so good of him to volunteer to drive Xavier to Gillham.

  “Everything okay?” the man grunted, and Xavier smiled. It seemed Denver was starting to feel more comfortable around him. That, or he pitied Xavier, which would be entirely possible, of course.

  It had taken only a few hours for Dominic to organize Xavier’s stay in Gillham. All Xavier had had to do had been pack a bag and call his work place to let them know he had had a family emergency and had to leave town for a while. He supposed it was true, in a way. “I’m fine. Well, I hope I will be, anyway.”

  The sympathetic look on Denver’s face made Xavier feel uncomfortable, so he focused back on the feet that had been moving and on the legs that were attached to them as the man under the car slowly made his way to a standing position. What he saw made him wish he hadn’t looked, though.