by Cree Storm
Norton owned his own restaurant and Marla had worked the front, greeting and talking to all the customers and doing the books. Yeah, they had been wonderful, and they had given him a purpose... something he could say was his true calling in life.
When Berk had first gone to them, he was eleven years old. He had already been in seven different homes by then. It seemed his unwillingness to talk seemed to unsettle foster people. The thing was, Berk wasn’t trying to be difficult, he just didn’t have much to say. In truth Berk was kind of afraid to open his mouth, for fear he would start crying and never be able to stop.
Here Berk was, twenty years old, and he still had never really allowed himself to mourn the loss of his parents. He had cried once... at their funeral as they were being lowered, but he had learned the first day of being a foster kid to never, ever, let people see him cry. Johnny had said the first sign of tears and Berk would find his ass kicked by other kids in no time. He had to be tough, or he needed to blend into the walls. It was the only way to get through the system intact. Since Berk was a mere three feet eleven inches tall and weighed about seventy pounds soaking wet at the time. Not that today’s five feet six inches and one twenty-five was any better... but it meant then what it still meant now... his fighting sucked big fat hairy monkey balls. So, Berk had gone for the blend into the wall part.
It had worked with the kids, but kind of freaked out the adults so he was shuffled from place to place until he met Nort and Marla. They had taken him in, and Marla discovered something not many foster parents did... Berk was smart... like, really smart. Being an ex-schoolteacher, Marla had decided that the public system wasn’t a good fit for Berk. She said it was too slow for the potential he had and decided to home school him. However, because she worked in the restaurant with Nort she did his schooling there and when they were on break or done for the day, Berk would have to stay and wait for them to finish before going home, sometimes helping bus tables, even though Marla said it wasn’t necessary. The thing was, Berk didn’t mind, and it didn’t seem right to watch her scurry around doing so many things when he could help.
One day, when on a break from his lessons, Berk had gone into the kitchen to get something to drink and Nort was putting together the dough for the fresh bread they served at every table. He was working and dancing and singing to some old R&B song looking so at peace Berk was almost envious.
Nort had taken a big fluffy ball of dough and plopped it on a wooden surface that was covered in flour. He grasped the side of the dough and folded it into half towards himself and then used the palms of his hands to push it down multiple times, before turning it about a quarter way and repeating the process, every once in a while adding a pinch of flour onto the board. It was mesmerizing. Then Nort made it into a ball and placed it into a greased bowl only to grab another fluffy ball and start all over again.
When Nort had noticed Bret’s interest, he had asked if he wanted to try it. Without hesitation, Berk was there working with Nort and learning how to make bread. Berk had discovered his love for cooking on that very day.
It was so much fun, and it didn’t take long after that for Berk to get into the routine of rushing through his lessons with Marla as quickly as possible, and then make his way into the kitchen to help Nort out. Nort taught him not only how to make bread, but fresh pasta as well as the correct way to cook meats, how to make pestos, aioli sauces, and so much more.
Berk had become Nort’s sous chef and then for his thirteenth birthday, Nort had given Berk his own iPod and showed him how to work it. It wasn’t long before Nort had Berk at his own station, helping him cook as Berk danced around and truly enjoying his life for the first time in what seemed like forever.
It was because of Nort and Marla that Berk discovered his love of cooking and nineteen eighties music. Toss in some R&B, blues and even some Country and Western, and Berk was in a whole other world or awesomeness.
It was when he turned fifteen that Berk had noticed he liked boys over girls. He was scared to say anything, but he needed to tell someone. He didn’t want to be one of those people that hid who they were only to be miserable because of it. He already had been holding in his feelings about his parents’ death. Add this into the mix and Berk just didn’t think he could do it. The weight of it was too strong on his shoulders.
It was terrifying. Berk had heard about kids being kicked out of homes by their own parents for being gay, and here he was about to tell his foster parents. With a shaky voice and trembling body, Bret admitted his feelings for guys. His foster parents had surprised him by hugging him and telling him it was okay. People couldn’t choose who to love and if he preferred men, that was fine by them, but they expected to meet anyone he chose to be with. They wanted to make sure that the man in Berk’s life deserved such a good boy like him.
It was then that Berk realized how truly blessed he was. So many in the foster system were given raw deals, and here Berk was given the gift of Nort and Marla.
Berk had succeeded so well with his new life that he found himself not only graduated by sixteen, but Nort and Marla had given him full tuition to culinary school, which he had been so successful in he had graduated from that and was given a scholarship into pastry school. It was unbelievable to accept his degree in both with Nort and Marla clapping, cheering and screaming his name.
Berk had thought he would be working in the restaurant with Nort and Marla, but it was on graduation day they told him of their plans to retire and move to Florida. Berk had been disappointed, but he understood their need to enjoy life while they could.
Berk knew that since he had graduated top in his classes he could have any job he wanted, but Berk had always wanted to be part of a family and when he got a surprise letter in the mail, offering him a job as a live-in chef for a large family, there was no way he could turn them down. He had called the number provided and spoke to a guy named Zotol. He was the man hired to assist in finding the chef and Berk had told him he wanted the position, but wouldn’t be able to start right away. He requested that he be allowed to start after he got Nort and Marla set up in Florida first.
Between selling the restaurant and then packing the house and getting it ready for sale, then driving the moving truck to Florida to help set them up in their new beach-side home, it had taken Berk a full month to make that happen. Now here he stood, looking at a mansion, too scared to move.
“Hey buddy, are you getting out or what?” The Uber driver asked as he popped the trunk and took out his bag.
Drawing in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Berk shook off his fear and nodded, saying, “Yes. Thanks for everything.”
The driver handed him his bag, looked at the place Berk was to call home, “This is a nice place. Don’t know much about the fellas living here, but then again no one does. They don’t come to town much. Are you sure you’re going to be alright?”
Nodding, Berk replied, “I’m the new chef. I’ll be fine.”
The man handed him a card, “Well if you need out of here, you call me, and I can be here in fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks.” Berk replied, taking the card and reading it. Mark Lancaster, Uber driver. Call me if you need me. “Thanks Mark. I appreciate it.”
Mark gave him a quick nod and got back in his car and took the horseshoe drive back down the mountain.
“Well, Berk. Your next chapter in your life is about to begin. Ready or not here we go.” Berk said as he picked up his bag and made his way to the front entrance.
CHAPTER 2
“Oh goddess, Bo, is he here yet?” Nolan asked as he held his mate Linus close to his side.
Shaking his head, “No, but he should be soon.”
“Are you sure he’s coming? I mean, did that guy Zotol... I mean, is he sure this is the one we’ve been searching for?” Micah asked, sounding just as nervous as Bo was.
“I read what Zotol said to all of you. He said that this guy, Berk Carlos, is definitely his mate and that we needed to make room fo
r a personal chef. My mate, as well as Linus went to Garth and got him to agree to hire a chef. Berk was hung up on some personal business but should be here today.” Bo said for about the tenth time.
Sighing, Chance said, “I sure hope so, because I don’t know how many more excuses, we can give to Garth about why the chefs he’s brought in are unacceptable.”
“Well, that one tattooed guy gave me the creeps. I wasn’t kidding when I said he didn’t make me feel safe.” Linus admitted quietly.
“And I really was honestly afraid that the last one had so much hair we would be picking it out of our teeth with each meal.” Micah grumbled.
His mate Chance laughed with everyone else, then leaned in kissing the man. “Be honest, my love. You didn’t like the guy because he was flirting with me.”
Micah growled low, “It was unprofessional.” He then pulled his mate on top of his lap. “And you’re mine.”
Chance laughed and kissed his mate. The two started getting a bit more hot and heavy than Bo was comfortable with. “Okay, you two. Enough of that. We don’t need you guys going at it just as Garth’s mate arrives. We want to make a good impression.”
Chance pulled back from his mate, saying, “We don’t even know if this guy really is Garth’s mate. Just because this Zotol guy says so doesn’t make it so.”
“We don’t even know the guy’s name that’s supposed to be coming. How’s that going to look when the man shows and we’re like… Hey there. You’re going to be our new chef? So, what is your name again? Come on, Bo, the guys going to know something’s up.” Nolan said with his typical eye roll.
“Berk Carlos. I just got done talking with Xolin, Zotol’s mate. He said that Zotol just got done checking on things and the guy is in an Uber now, due here any second.” Trevor said, walking up to his mate Bo and giving him a tiny kiss on the lips.
“Xolin? Zotol? How do we even know these guys are on the up and up? I mean come on, Bo, they’re on the internet for shit sake. You know you can’t trust the internet.” Nolan argued.
Nolan had a really hard time trusting people. However, when your own parents tried to kill you, that could mess a person up. Nolan had lived on the streets by the age of thirteen just trying to eat and stay alive after that. Until Garth had rescued him and brought him here... to the mansion... to his new home. Just like he had done for the rest of Bo’s family.
His own mate Trevor, had been sold to a sadistic bastard as a sex slave and had managed to escape. He had run smack dab into Garth and was brought to the house where Bo had already been since Garth had found him scrounging for food in dumpsters and sleeping in dark, dank alleys.
Micah had been a young dugong when Garth had brought him home. The poor guy had been in a zoo of all things and not a very good one, expected to swim around and perform during feeding hour. Micah had scars from the abuse he was put through while being kept there, or maybe it was when his mom had been killed when they had been swimming in the ocean, Bo wasn’t really sure, and he didn’t ask. What Bo did know was, by the time Garth had brought him there, Micah was almost dead, and they had damn near lost him more than once.
The really crazy thing was that Garth had found Micah’s mate at the same zoo. He was one of many animals in an exhibit dedicated to unique creatures. Chance was a tortoise, but not just any tortoise. Chance was a Galapagos giant tortoise. He was known as the oldest and largest tortoise in the world and people came from all over the world to get an opportunity to pet him, and small children were permitted to take him for a ride for the right price like he was a fucking pony. That shit still pissed Bo off. Garth had not only taken Chance the hell out of that shit hole, but he had gotten the damn zoo shut the fuck down. However, of all of them, Linus had been the worst off.
He had come from an abusive home and witnessed his father kill his mother in a drunken rage. Linus had been put into foster care and was sexually abused until he ran away a few years after that and then was forced to work the streets to eat. When a pimp saw him working what he considered “his” street, he had stabbed Linus and damn near killed him.
Once he had been released from the hospital, again the system took him in and again he was placed into a home, however, this one was something only talked about in movies... if you were into those kinds of movies. This couple was taking in kids and forcing them into a sex ring where they were rented out night after night. When not “working” they were chained to a bed. It had taken Linus a few years to work up the courage to attempt an escape and he had run until one day Garth found him shivering in the rain, trying to sell himself for some money to buy himself something to eat. Bo would never forget the day Linus arrived in their home. Nolan had scented him as his mate immediately, and refused to leave his side for a moment, even though Linus refused to allow the man to touch him. Hell, whenever anyone touched him whether by accident or just to place a hand on the guy’s shoulder Linus would shrink away and start to shake, so bad Bo thought he might fall apart. Bo had almost cried, if he was the crying type... which he wasn’t, no matter what. He would always say it had to be allergies.
It had taken close to two years for Linus to start to trust Nolan or any of them for that matter and another two before he finally accepted Nolan as his mate, and although it had taken even longer for him to build his trust with the rest of them, Bo knew that they had that and so much more. Linus was the sweetest of them all... even if he was also the shyest. He was also the youngest, which meant he was coddled and looked after more than any of the rest as well.
Bo was brought out of his musing when he heard his mate saying, “...I hacked into their system and got the information I needed to dig around and find out just who this Xolin and Zotol are.”
“You did what?” Bo gasped. “Damn it, Trevor, I’ve told you that shit is going to get you arrested or sought after and hurt.”
Trevor rolled his eyes. “And I’ve told you. I’m not that stupid mate of mine. I know what I’m doing, and no one can trace my search back to me. Now, do you want to know what I learned or not?”
“I do.” Linus quietly said from his mate’s lap.
Bo sighed, “Fine, what did you learn?”
“Well, not much about Zotol. That man must be one of those archaic types that doesn’t do social media. However, Xolin is a completely different matter altogether. His name is Xolin Wyllt.”
“Wyllt? Why do I know that name?” Chance asked.
Smiling, Trevor said, “Because Wyllt is the surname to one, Myrddin Wyllt, otherwise known as...”
“Merlin!” Chase gasped.
“Isn’t he that famous wizard that helped King Arthur get that sword?” Linus asked his mate.
Nolan kissed his mate lightly, saying, “That was a cartoon, Sweetums, however, he still was or is a very powerful wizard.”
“Yes, he is, and his son is said to be even more powerful than Merlin.” Trevor said.
“Wow. That is so cool, and this is the guy that’s supposed to have helped find Garth’s mate?” Micah asked.
Nodding, Trevor replied, “Yes, and when I searched a little deeper, I found out that Xolin is mated to one, Zotol the Adventurer, a Jinn that has been around as long if not longer than Garth.”
“Damn, and that man’s been around for thousands of years.” Chance said in awe.
Again, Trevor nodded, “Yep. So, I think between a Jinn and a great Druid wizard that descends from Merlin, we can safely say they would know how to find a mate if they were so inclined to do so.”
“But why are they doing this? What’s in it for them?” Linus asked nervously.
Bo said, “Good question.”
Trevor looked thoughtful, then said, “I don’t know for sure, but from what I could see on Xolin’s Facebook stuff and other social media, the guy is a true romantic and sweet guy. He posts a lot of those cute kitten posts and loves movies like, “The Notebook” and “A Star is Born” and things like that.”
“And if Zotol’s mate asks to do this, the man is
going to be like any other mate... make the man happy.” Bo said with a snort.
Trevor cuddled into his mate’s side, “Well you make me happy, so I guess you might be right.” Then his features changed, and Bo recognized and felt worry coming from his mate.
“What else is there you’re not telling us?” Bo asked.
It took Trevor a moment, and then he murmured, “It’s about Berk Carlos.”
“Oh gods, I knew it. He isn’t coming. All the preparations and planning and he isn’t coming? What the fuck man? Why not? He asked for some time to handle some personal shit and we gave it to him...”
“Bo!” Trevor shouted, cupping his mate’s face. “It isn’t that. Stop freaking out. Berk is coming. That’s not why I’m concerned.” Trevor insisted.
“Then what’s the problem, Trev? I have to say I’m getting a bit freaked out myself with how you’re acting.” Micah said, tucking his mate in closer.
Sighing heavily, Trevor whispered, “He’s human.”
“Say again?” Bo asked.
Trevor looked directly in his mate’s eyes, “Berk Carlos is human.”
“Human?” Linus gasped.
Nolan held his mate close to him, “It’s okay, baby. No one is going to hurt you ever again. Remember, I promised you this on my very soul.”
Nodding, Linus rasped, “I know. No, but he’s human. Humans can’t be trusted. I’ve never met a human that was. You know that.”
“I know, baby, but if Berk is Garth’s mate, I have a feeling that he might be different. Fate would never give Garth a mate that would harm any of us. We’re Garth’s family.” Nolan softly said.
“Be that as it may, this is going to get messy. If this guy doesn’t know about the paranormal world, then we are not only going to have to face telling him about it, but explaining to Garth what a human is doing here in the first place.” Chance said with a sigh.
Shaking his head, Bo replied, “I don’t think we’re going to have an issue with Garth. Once the man smells mate, nothing will matter beyond the fact that the other half of his soul is here. The problem is going to be making sure Berk sticks around long enough to allow Garth to claim him.”
