by Dannika Dark
Hunter tiptoed into the room in his blue pajama bottoms and white shirt. He didn’t have his Sensor gloves on since it was bedtime.
Switch’s wolf gave Shepherd a cursory glance. Unable to see Hunter, who was standing behind a chair, he lifted his nose and drew in a scent. A different kind of growl settled on his tongue.
Hunter clung to Shepherd.
“I’m not letting anything hurt you,” Shepherd promised him. “We’ll go together.”
Viktor shook his head. “Nyet. The boy must come in alone.”
Shepherd clenched his jaw. “That’s not part of the deal.”
“I am here to control the situation. You do not know the language of wolves, so you must trust me.”
“He’ll tear him apart.”
“Let’s not be dramatic. Come, little one. There is someone you must meet. This is your new teacher.”
My heart pounded against my rib cage as Hunter circled around the chair, his blue eyes wide and fearful.
When Switch saw him, he whimpered and his ears went flat.
Hunter shuffled up to Viktor and cowered behind him.
The wolf barked and lowered his tail.
“You must not be afraid,” Viktor encouraged him. He reached around and cradled the boy’s head with one hand. “Animals talk to us using their body. You see how his ears are flat and tail is down? He is submitting. With cats, it’s not the same.”
Hunter didn’t seem to have a clue what Viktor meant.
Viktor furrowed his brow. “That is a friendly hello.”
A high-pitched whine sounded, and Switch yelped excitedly.
When Shepherd moved toward them, Switch swung his head and bared his fangs.
Viktor extended his arm, warning the both of us to remain still.
My breath caught when Hunter gathered enough courage to approach the animal.
The wolf crouched and lowered his head. Then he turned it to the side to peer up at the boy. I wasn’t sure that I’d ever seen a wolf smile until that moment.
“Do not be afraid.” Viktor knelt beside the two and stroked Switch’s ear. “You must show him how brave you are, and he will respect you.”
I wasn’t sure if the little kid grasped concepts like respect and submission, but then I considered how Patrick had raised him. He probably knew a lot more about those topics than most kids his age.
Switch’s wolf rolled onto his side, exposing his belly.
When Hunter squatted in front of him and touched his paw, the wolf barked playfully. You could see the joy in his face, and he licked Hunter’s hand and then his neck, making the boy giggle uncontrollably. Switch wiggled to a new position as the two got to know each other.
Hunter ran his fingers over the wolf’s ears and long muzzle, dangerously close to sharp fangs that could rip him apart in seconds.
Meanwhile, Shepherd was sweating bullets. “All right, that’s enough.”
When he moved toward them, Switch launched to his feet and shielded the boy with his body. He bared his fangs at Shepherd, and his tail shot up high.
“Get back!” Viktor shouted.
Hunter shot up and dashed over to Shepherd. He gripped his arm and desperately pulled him toward the wolf. I realized he wanted the two to get along and was acting as a mediator so his new friend would have a trusting relationship with his father.
Smart kid.
The wolf kept snarling, and when Hunter neared it, I realized he had his father’s bravery and perhaps his mother’s wisdom. He let the wolf sniff his palm that still carried Shepherd’s scent. Then he leaned over and touched the wolf’s ear. I wondered if he was using Sensor magic to convey his emotions. Kids his age weren’t supposed to know the hard stuff, but Patrick had started him young. Hunter didn’t talk out loud. When he did speak, it was to whisper in Shepherd’s ear. In many ways, Hunter was like the wolf; they didn’t need words to communicate.
After another moment, he held Shepherd’s hand. I couldn’t see Shepherd’s face but imagined he was as dumbstruck as I was. Christian and Claude were in the dining room, watching through the archways.
“Hold out your hand with the palm up,” Viktor instructed him. “Slowly.”
“I like my fingers. Why don’t you let someone else go first?”
“Gem, Wyatt, and Kira will get their turn before we leave. Everyone else will have to wait, except you. I cannot risk an accident with the boy’s father.”
Shepherd grumbled a curse word before holding out his scarred hand.
I inched forward, ready to tackle Switch’s wolf if he so much as took a nibble. I didn’t know his wolf well enough to predict what might set him off, but I sure as hell didn’t want Shepherd taking his head off with the gun strapped to his side.
Hunter stood between the two, but his eyes were on his father.
The wolf sniffed Shepherd’s palm. After a beat, he licked it and sat down.
I blew out a breath and looked at Viktor. “Why was meeting your wolf a death match?”
Viktor smirked and gripped his cardigan. “I am not easy to love.”
“You’re fine,” Christian remarked. “It’s your wolf who’s a fecking lunatic.”
Switch went back to tail wagging and cleaning Hunter’s face with his tongue.
After circling the furniture and leaving the room, I heard Viktor say, “Bring Gem and Wyatt down. Time for a little fun.”
Chapter 5
A knock at my bedroom door woke me. I blinked, staring at the inky blackness outside my window. My internal clock told me it was two in the morning, and if this wasn’t important, I was going to put Christian’s spleen on a spike. I groggily stepped out of bed, not bothering to light a candle or put on a pair of pants. As if the ice-cold floor against my feet wasn’t enough to wake me, there was more pounding on the door. Why the hell was he waking me up at this hour?
I yanked the door open. “Since when do you knock?”
Switch raised his arm and rested it against the doorjamb. “Since my mother taught me manners.”
A heady scent wafted from his body, and I wrinkled my nose. “You smell like you’ve been digging a grave.”
“Maybe my own.” His long hair covered half his face. “Can I come in?”
I turned away and trod over the white rug in front of the fireplace. The door clicked shut behind me, but Switch stayed where he was.
“Can you really see in the dark like Vampires?” he asked. “It’s like a tomb in here.”
I could make out a grainy image of everything, but I located a box of matches as a courtesy. “I don’t have to worry about stubbing my toe in the middle of the night,” I quipped, lighting a lantern affixed to the wall by the desk. “Have a seat.”
He swaggered to the bed and sat down.
“Not there, smart-ass. Take the chair.”
The bed creaked when he stood up. “You need a new interior decorator.”
I sat on the bed, facing the desk. “I like my room. I’ve got a nice painting, a warm bedspread, fake flowers—”
“And no chairs.”
I gestured to the desk chair. “That’s all I need.”
He straddled it and folded his arms over the top. “Not very cozy for guests.”
“This is my private chamber, not a bar. Since you’ll be living here now, don’t get too comfortable. I like you, Switch, but if you ever walk in without knocking, I’ll cut off your wolf’s tail.”
He smiled. “No worries. My affection for you has limits.”
“Since when?”
“Since you started cuddling up with a Vamp. Speaking of which, why isn’t he in here? Don’t you share a room with your mate?”
“We’re not mated. Not officially. I don’t even think there is an official ceremony for our kind. Bonding doesn’t really apply, and most Vampires don’t mate for life since we live a little longer than Shifters and Chitahs.”
“So I’ve heard.” He rubbed his chin against his arm while staring at my bed. “If you’ve declared your inte
ntions to each other, that’s as good as mating. Which brings me back to my question. Where is he?”
“We have flexible sleeping arrangements.”
His eyebrow arched. “How convenient for him.”
“And me. Christian doesn’t sleep. What’s he going to do, lie here and stare at the ceiling all night, lulled into boredom by the sound of my breathing?”
“I pity a man who can’t appreciate the simple things.”
I pulled the cover over my legs since his gaze was drifting south. “You don’t know what it’s like to be a Vampire. I’m only half, but on sleepless nights, time moves like molasses. It’s hard to sit still, and your mind wanders. Those are the nights we enjoy spending time together. And sometimes we sleep together.”
“Sometimes?”
“Sex and sleep are two different things. Did you come all the way up here to pry into my sex life?”
His long hair curtained his face when he rested his chin on his hands. “After my wolf met your other housemates, I went home to pack. Viktor said you’re taking off at any moment. I wasn’t sure when I’d see you again, so I thought I’d come up and visit for a minute.”
“If it’s to thank me, don’t bother. I just threw the idea at Viktor, but you earned it.”
“Actually, it wasn’t my choice to come in the first place.”
I jerked my head back. “What do you mean?”
“Crush had a hand in my decision. After Viktor and I spoke on the phone, I called Crush to tell him about the offer. He already knows about you and Keystone, so Viktor didn’t have a problem with my calling him for advice.”
“My father made you come?”
“It’s a good offer, but I had my reservations. For one, it’s not a pack. All I’ve ever known is pack life, and I don’t know if this is helping me toward that goal or taking me away from it. Your old man gave me some good advice.”
“And what was that?”
“That I should stay here and keep an eye on you.”
I chuckled and fell on my side, my head hitting the pillow. “Please tell me that’s not why you accepted the position. Your job isn’t to be my guard dog.”
He leaned back. “No, it’s not. My priority is watching over Hunter. But it doesn’t hurt to be close by, just in case you need me. Well, not me personally, but my help. Your dad says that you bottle things up and need someone to listen. He doesn’t think your boyfriend will give you sound advice, so I’ll be here if you need to talk. No strings attached.”
I rubbed my eyes sleepily. “Thanks. It’s nice having a friend around.” I yawned noisily and nestled into the covers. “How did it go with Gem and Wyatt meeting your wolf?”
His dark eyes sparkled. “From what they tell me, Gem was nervous, but my wolf has never harmed a woman. In fact, he’s quite gentle with them. Your friend with the hat wasn’t so lucky.”
“Wyatt?”
“I bit him in the ass. Not sure what he did to provoke it, but he shouldn’t have fled. Running incites the beast in me.” Switch sat up straight and grinned. “Don’t worry. He’ll live.”
Between Shepherd and Niko, I wondered which man would have the honor of putting his hands on Wyatt’s ass to heal him.
“What are you laughing at?” Switch asked.
“Nothing. I just have a tickle in my throat.”
He rose from his chair. “Anyhow, I just wanted to say that I’m here for you. I’m not keeping a torch lit in hopes that you’ll change your mind, so you don’t have to worry about things getting weird between us.” Switch lingered by my bed and gave me an ambiguous look. “He’s a lucky man. I just hope he knows how lucky.”
“I make sure to tell him every chance I get.”
Switch smiled ruefully and strode toward the door.
“Switch?”
“Yeah?”
The words caught in my throat. I wanted to tell him that someday he’d find a life mate, but those were the wrong words. Switch cared for me, but we barely knew each other. I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. Despite our fumbled attempts at rekindling our childhood friendship, we had forged a bond that I felt certain would last.
So instead I settled for the right words. “Congrats on the job. It’s a long commitment, but it’ll be worth it in the end.”
“I hope so.” He glanced at me over his shoulder before closing the door. “In fact, I know so.”
Shepherd woke up early, his nerves in a jangle. He always got restless before a big job, but this time was different. His anxiety was compounded by the fact he had to leave his son behind. He’d spent five years without his son, and now he couldn’t imagine a day without him. Hunter was turning six this year, so every moment with him mattered. Before long he would be grown and off to live his own life. Shepherd had mentally prepared himself for jobs that were dangerous or took him away from home, but he was quickly discovering that his coping skills were nonexistent.
His bags were packed, but his heart wasn’t ready to go.
Not yet.
Shepherd sat still on the edge of Hunter’s bed, not wanting to rouse the sleeping boy. His kid could snooze through the apocalypse, and it was adorable as hell.
Each day he spent with Hunter managed to lessen the guilt of Maggie’s loss. That cavernous vacancy in Shepherd’s heart had slowly begun to fill with a new kind of love he’d never known. Hunter was an extension of Maggie. Shepherd saw her in Hunter’s smile, and it forced him to think of her in an abstract way. Instead of remembering the last moments of her life, he thought about what her opinions might be on Hunter’s room or his education. It made Shepherd a better man… and a better father.
This little guy had never left Shepherd’s thoughts in the past five years. He used to imagine what his child might have looked like, what his first word might have been, what kind of ice cream he might have liked. He’d spent many nights wondering what their child would have grown up to be, and each time, Shepherd had to close those thoughts with regret for a life that never was.
And yet by some miracle, Hunter lived. He was here, sleeping under the same roof.
Alive.
The fates had truly blessed him. Hunter’s will to live was innate from the moment he was ripped from his mother’s womb, and Shepherd owed him a good life. He owed him his full protection, and that meant casting his pride aside to do what was best for him. Switch wouldn’t have been his first option, but there were too many positives to turn his back on the offer. Hunter needed more than a teacher; he needed a protector. A wolf was a good companion—a loyal one. And during his brief questioning, Shepherd sensed that Switch was a noble and trustworthy man. Maggie would have wanted to give Hunter the finest education. So far the only thing Hunter had learned at Keystone was how to tie his shoes and how to clean a mansion.
Shepherd peeled back the comforter when he noticed Hunter was a little sweaty. Maggie had known that the child within her would be a crossbreed and live the life span of a Sensor, but would he also be vulnerable to human viruses? Relics had to worry about contagious diseases, but Sensors didn’t. How much of Shepherd’s DNA would play a role in Hunter’s well-being? Only time would tell what his strengths and vulnerabilities were.
Shepherd felt Hunter’s forehead. No fever, just a little warmth from the abundance of blankets. He ran his thumb over the scar that marked his little boy’s face. It started near his left eye and curved down his cheek. That scar made Shepherd want to hit something. His son’s first moments should have been in Maggie’s arms, not hanging upside down in the grip of some maniac.
Shepherd glanced over his shoulder at the large windows. Hunter didn’t get direct sunlight in the morning, but it was bright and cheery, and sunshine flooded the courtyard. A robin landed at the base of the window, peering in before flying away.
This was the hardest damn thing Shepherd had ever done, but time was up. Viktor had sent a text message instructing everyone to be downstairs in twenty minutes. Instead of eating breakfast, Shepherd had spent every last minu
te in Hunter’s room. He didn’t consider himself a doting dad, but it was somehow easier for him to let down his guard when the boy was asleep.
A light knock sounded at the door. Shepherd stood up, his shoulders tensing until Switch ambled into the room.
“He awake yet?” Switch asked quietly. “I like to get them used to an early schedule. It helps create structure. That way he’ll always know when it’s time to eat, time to learn, and time to play.”
“Right now it’s time to sleep.”
Switch stroked his short beard with the palm of his hand and looked around the room. “Nice setup. The rest of the house looks like something out of the Dark Ages.”
Shepherd chuckled. “Viktor likes it that way. Don’t expect to have electricity in whichever room you pick out.”
Switch leaned against the dresser by the door and gazed ahead. “I should find one with a window. Do they open? My wolf likes to go out at night.”
“Not all.”
An awkward silence fell between them. Shepherd folded his arms and glanced back at Hunter to see if the talking had woken him up. But he was in the same position on his side, his teddy bear snuggled under his arm.
“Is that his favorite toy?”
Shepherd masked a smile. “Yeah.”
“I’ll make sure he has it at bedtime. Is there anything else I should know?”
Shepherd sighed, not ready to have this conversation with someone he barely knew. But he had no choice. It was only a matter of time before Switch found out, and besides, what kind of teacher would he be if he didn’t know the most important fact about his pupil? “Hunter’s a crossbreed.”
Switch’s dark eyebrows popped up. “Which Breeds?”
“Relic and Sensor.”
Switch tipped his head to the side as if unsurprised. “I’ve heard of that happening. Not very common, but it’s a shame about them losing their gifts.”
Shepherd took a few steps forward. “Yeah, but there’s something you need to know. He’s got both gifts, and that’s not something we’re advertising.”
