by Kate Wendley
“You’re not into her? Huh. She’s a cute girl. Too young for me, but I think she’s your age. What are you, twenty five? Twenty six? I thought you guys were hitting it off.”
“We are… agh! I just need a place to stay.”
Zach smirked. “Want me to call her? See if she has room?”
“No!” Vince stared around the room, wondering if it was just him that found this crazy. Sebastian and Anthony gave each other a look before stifling a smirk and rolling their eyes.
Sebastian mumbled through a muffled chuckle, “Jeez Zach. Give the guy a break.”
Anthony said, “Sometimes you just need to let him talk until he tires himself out. Or try and distract him somehow. He likes feathers. And balls of yarn.”
Zach laughed out loud. “Oh come on! Don’t tell me you didn’t notice those two all over each other during the show.”
Vince looked around the room again, this time everyone smirking and doing their best to look at anything except Zach or Vince.
Zach pulled out his phone. “All right. Let’s see if Ed’s around. I’d have you stay in my room, but we’re in and out of there this time of night so you might not get much sleep. Ed’s got lots of space though.”
He hurriedly said, “He’s not here. He’s, uh, with my mom.”
“Oh. Oh!” Zach perked up and Vince cringed.
“I just need somewhere to crash.” He quickly amended, “Somewhere other than Penny’s. A couch, a dark corner, underneath a bed, inside a closet. I don’t care. I just need sleep.”
His stomach growled and Zach said, “And you need food.”
He waved it off, but Zach gave Sebastian a meaningful look and he instantly stood up. “Any requests?”
“No man, really. I’m fine. I can’t eat any more tonight.”
“Steak and fries it is.” He was out the door before Vince could tell him no.
Zach said, “So are you ok staying at Ed’s?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll be out of your hair right away in the morning anyway.”
“You make it sound like we don’t want you here. Didn’t you know? You’re stuck with us, dude.”
Anthony and his father shared a chuckle while Vince shook his head at the craziness he was now becoming a part of.
**
Zach had been going to put Vince up in Ed’s spare room, but there was junk all over the bed. “Take Ed’s bed instead.”
“I can take the couch.”
“The bed will be more comfortable.”
“And the couch won’t smell so much like another man’s bed.” He sniffed the air for added effect.
Zach almost looked like he was going to argue, but stopped himself. “Good point.”
Vince threw his jacket over the back of a kitchen chair. “So, uh, I heard you guys don’t go around telling other people’s secrets.”
Zach looked confused. “Yeah. And?”
“And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t go around talking about how I can’t shift.”
His sudden soft, calm voice irritated the hell out of him. “You will. We’re working on it.”
“Don’t treat me like a fucking child. Just because I’m handicapped doesn’t mean I’m an invalid. I can take care of myself just fine.”
Zach’s jaw tensed and they locked eyes, but he curtly bobbed his head. “Understood.”
Vince slipped out of his shoes while Zach found a pillow and blankets, and in the meantime Sebastian arrived with bags of food. He brought way more than Vince could eat by himself, which was apparently the point. The guys sat down while he stood there and watched.
Sebastian looked up from a spoonful of chili. “It’s lunchtime for us.”
Vince dropped into his chair and bitterly ate the food Sebastian brought because he actually was still hungry, but he hated them both just a little bit for acting like they needed to take care of him. And the food was good, too. Assholes.
He didn’t like being catered to like this, and especially not by a bunch of dudes, but he supposed it could be worse. It could be much, much worse according to some of his mom’s old stories.
And he hated to admit that it was kind of nice to feel like he had a new group of friends, even if they were the alphas, so he ate the food and quit being mad about it. Actually, he wasn’t all that mad about eating. Maybe more food really was all he needed to heal himself.
Zach said, “Hey, did you get into it with some wolves tonight?”
He stared at Zach, wondering if he was going to get chewed out for punching that guard.
“At the show.”
He stared dumbly at him for a few seconds. “Oh. Those guys that almost knocked Penny out? Yeah, I grabbed the one dude’s elbow before he could cold cock her in the face.”
Zach nodded, though he got a small frown. Sebastian kept eating and didn’t appear to be paying much attention, though Vince got the feeling that was the furthest thing from the truth.
Zach said to Sebastian this time, “Something’s riling up some of your wolves lately.”
Sebastian scoffed. “Just lately?”
“You know what I mean.”
He grunted in response.
Zach looked like he wanted to say more about it, but he turned to Vince instead. “I want to try to force you to shift.”
“What?”
That got Sebastian’s attention, too.
“I’m your alpha. I can force my pack to shift. I want to try it with you.”
Sebastian nodded like that was a good idea, then went back to eating.
He cautiously said, “Ok. When? You don’t mean now, do you?”
Zach looked like he was still thinking it through in his head as he said, “Let’s do it at full moon. The pull will be strongest on you then. It might be the extra boost we need.”
They stared at each other for a brief moment until Zach looked pleased with his decision and went back to eating.
The guys didn’t linger once they finished their food, and as soon as the front door closed behind them, Vince slipped out of his shirt, turned the light off, and found the couch by the light of the microwave clock. He wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to sleep now that there was a possibility he might shift for the first time ever two weeks from now. If it worked, would that be the end of all his problems? Would his shakes and exhaustion go away once he was able to be a full shifter?
He dropped onto the makeshift bed on the couch and was glad to finally be off his feet. He fell almost instantly asleep.
**
Vince wasn’t sure if he was awake or dreaming, then jumped out of bed and somehow found the bathroom before throwing up.
God he hated this feeling. He’d known better than to eat all that food last night, but he was always so damn hungry. It wasn’t fair that he could never fill his belly without his body staging a revolt.
He threw up three times, then dry heaved six or seven times before his stomach finally calmed down. He panted for a while, not wanting to move too far away in case more wanted to come up, but he was pretty sure he didn’t have anything left in him by this point.
He jerked in surprise and almost knocked his head against the wall when he realized Ed was standing in the open doorway in just a pair of boxers.
“You ok?”
Vince’s hands shook as he stood up and turned on the water in the sink to rinse his mouth out. “Yeah man. Just had too much to eat last night.”
Ed’s big eyebrows frowned.
“Thanks for letting me stay here. I, uh, didn’t know you were coming back home.”
Ed rubbed the back of his neck, looking totally uncomfortable with the conversation. “Your mom’s a real nice lady, Vince. You’re lucky to have someone like her watching out for you.”
“Yeah.”
“You need anything?”
“Got a spare toothbrush?”
Ed opened a closet door between them and handed him an unopened package.
“Thanks.” Vince fumbled with the plastic wrapp
ing, but refused to ask for help. He finally got it out and angrily tossed the packaging towards a small garbage can. He missed, of course.
He leaned down to pick it up, but Ed said, “Don’t worry about. I’ll clean the place up tomorrow. You get some sleep.”
He wanted to tell him to go to hell for thinking he needed someone to take care of his messes, but he was too tired, so he just brushed his teeth and stumbled back to bed.
**
Vince reluctantly opened his eyes and reached for his phone to turn the alarm off. Damn. It was already seven fifteen in the morning. He sat up and turned to see Zach in the kitchen with bags of food. Vince threw his blanket aside and pulled his shirt back on. His stomach grumbled loudly, but he didn’t dare eat. He joined Zach in the kitchen anyway, hoping to figure out where to get some caffeine.
Ed stumbled in to join them, still in his boxers, but at least he’d put a shirt on. His eyes were practically shut as he started making coffee as if he’d done this a thousand times before. Thank God.
Zach situated food around the heavy oak table. “You look like hell.”
Before he could say anything, Ed’s bass voice chimed in. “He was throwing up early this morning. A lot.”
“What? Why?”
Vince got busy putting his shoes on. “Too much food last night. It never sits right in my stomach. I told you guys I can’t gain weight.”
He looked up to see a mortified look on Zach’s face.
“Is there anything that does sit right in your stomach?”
He shrugged. “It was just too much. I should be able to eat a little something later today.”
“What about a protein shake?”
“A twigs and leaves drink? No thank you.”
Zach rolled his eyes and left the table. “You like peanut butter and chocolate?” He started opening random cupboards until Ed tiredly shooed him away and took over. He pulled out a blender and started adding ingredients that at first didn’t look all that appealing. He put in a scoop of powder, some kind of watery looking milk, then peanut butter and dry cocoa.
“Jeez. I’m not a charity case. I can take care of myself.”
Ed blended away while Zach said, “I never said you couldn’t, but you and your mom look beat. I hear you make the big decisions for you guys, and if you don’t want help, fine. But damn man, look at your mom. She needs a break. You guys have too much going on. We can help with that, if you let us.”
He glared at him. He made it sound like Vince was hurting his mom by not trusting all these strangers and letting them take over their lives. It was tempting, sure, but he was still getting to know everyone. If they gave everything up only to find out things weren’t what they thought in the family, they’d have a damn hard time going back to the real world. It’d been hard enough to find his job at the bookstore with such flexible hours, let alone the duplex they rented that hadn’t had the rent raised in years. And his mom’s jobs… He didn’t want to have to start from scratch if this all fell to hell here.
“What’s in it for you?”
“For me?”
“Yeah, you. All of you.”
Zach sat back down across the table from him. “The more people we have in the community, the more resources we all have for whatever we need.”
“Like what?”
“Anything. We have jobs here you know.”
“You want us to work here? That’s what’s in it for you?”
Zach almost smiled, then said, “For me personally, I’d just like a bigger pack. Most of the shifters here are wolves. So yeah, I’m selfish and want the jaguars to stick together. Or at least not be such strangers. Is that so bad?”
Vince tried not to frown as he reached for the cup of coffee Ed offered, ignoring the freshly blended protein shake now sitting in the middle of the table. It felt like the symbol of a new life that was up to Vince to either accept or reject.
He scowled and looked away from it as Zach started in on his awesome smelling breakfast. Ed dug into his own food while Vince’s stomach tensed in pain.
“Does Sebastian do all the cooking downstairs?”
“He runs the restaurant. Him and Jade. Oh yeah, you need to meet the rest of the pack. Jade’s jaguar. She’s also Sebastian’s girl. I’ll set something up for you to meet everyone.”
He locked eyes with Zach. How far down the rabbit hole Vince went with all the family stuff was up to him now and he knew it. He desperately wanted to be healed, but if he agreed to meet the rest of the pack, would it be admitting he wanted to join the family? Would he constantly be smothered with their attempts to help him do everything as if he really was handicapped? And if he didn’t join, would his chances at figuring out what the hell was wrong with him go up in smoke?
He clenched his jaw when another stomach pain shot through him.
Zach said, “Please try the protein shake.”
He was too tired to be thinking about all this heavy stuff this morning, and the coffee was still a little too warm, but he knocked it back so he could get out of here and have time with his own thoughts. He stood and slid his jacket on, then grabbed the cold shake. “I’ve got to get to work.”
“You don’t have to, you know.”
He felt for his keys in his pocket, then headed for the door. “Thanks for everything.”
Chapter 14
Penny’s alarm shocked her awake. She lay in bed all snug and warm for a few minutes, then got up and went through her routine of opening the curtains in all the rooms to get the fresh feel of warm sunshine on her face. When she pulled back the living room curtains, her gaze flicked to movement down in the parking lot. She squinted as she focused her blurry eyes. Was that Vince walking to the parking ramp? That dog!
She fumed as she wondered who he’d ended up spending the night with. Elsa’s face immediately came to mind. That freaking tramp. Penny was going to claw the hell out of her at the next full moon.
She shook she was so mad as she got ready for work. She thought of all the creative ways she was going to tell Vince where he could shove it. When she finally couldn’t take it anymore, she texted him.
‘Hey.’
It took him a few minutes to reply. ‘Good morning.’ The smiley face he sent with it only ticked her off even more. The stupid, two timing loser.
She texted back, ‘Want company for lunch?’ No time like the present to give him a piece of her mind, but it had to be face to face. She didn’t go for all that passive aggressive crap that some girls did.
He immediately replied, ‘Sure.’
After finding out what time his break was, she hurried off to her own job at the NFWA office. She had to run all over town some days anyway, she was sure she could get Ronnie to let her take a long lunch break today. Now she just needed to think of the most rotten, gross thing she could to bring Vince for lunch…
**
She was furious by the time she got to Peach’s Books. There was no way she was going to let Vince walk all over her by ditching her for Elsa, only to act like nothing happened. What a jerk.
She found him inside the busy store helping a customer. When he finally noticed her, the smile in his eyes pissed her off even more. He guided his customer to a stack of books, then made a beeline for her.
“Hey beautiful. Let’s get out of here, quick.” He tried to put his arm around her shoulder, but she shrugged out of it as they walked out.
That stupid, sexy smile faded as he held the door open for her. “You ok?”
“Yeah. I parked over here. Food’s in the car.”
She spared a glance into his eyes, and he looked like he knew something was wrong, but he was quiet as he followed her.
She didn’t like his worried expression as she unlocked the doors and settled in behind the wheel. It was hard to even look his way as he slid in the passenger seat and closed his door.
“What’s wrong?”
She handed him his bag of food rather than answer him.
He gave her a look, yaw
ned, and opened the Styrofoam container in his lap. The smell of warm garlic quickly filled the car.
He sniffed the noodles and took a cautious bite.
She sarcastically said, “Something wrong with the food?”
He chewed and swallowed it down without a single grimace. Great. He actually liked it. “No. My stomach’s just a little touchy today.”
It was then that she noticed his lightly trembling hands. She noticed it last night, too. When the show was just about over. She thought he was just really excited, and maybe a little nervous.
“Does that happen a lot?”
The sudden intensity of his mood as he faced her was unnerving. “Does what happen a lot?”
“Getting a touchy stomach.”
His tension quickly eased as he stabbed his fork into the noodles again. What was going on?
“Yeah, sometimes. Doesn’t help that I didn’t get enough sleep last night.” He quickly added, “Not because of you. I had fun hanging out with you.”
Fun. Yeah, that’s what every one of her guy pals always told her right before they gave her the let’s just be friends speech. She was the fun girl, not the serious, settle down with type of girl. Maybe Elsa was.
Before she could give him a piece of her mind, he said, “I was going to go home last night, but I called my mom before I left. She and Ed were hanging out and she sounded so happy. I didn’t want to interrupt her night, so I asked Zach if he could put me up somewhere instead. I slept on Ed’s couch. Or tried to. I think I got a few hours sleep at least.”
Her stomach dropped. Not only had he not cheated on her, he’d stayed in Brookhaven because he wanted his mom to have fun. Penny was such a bitch…
“Here. Have my lunch. It’s probably better than those noodles.”
He frowned in confusion. “What? The noodles are fine. I’m not a picky eater. Keep your lunch.”
Oh God, she felt terrible. “What’s your favorite food? I’ll bring it to you next time.”
He smirked. “Fish.”
“Fish?”
“Yeah. I haven’t tried a lot of different kinds, but so far I love them all.”
She curled her lip. “Ew. Do you know how polluted the ocean is, not to mention that fish are over-farmed, and don’t get me started on the nuclear reactor spill in Japan that’s still spewing radioactive water into the ocean. And factory farmed fish end up swimming around in their own feces all day. Gross.”
