by Anya Nowlan
Comet reacted far faster than his mind could keep up. He’d taken two steps past the car when he felt his body convulsing and twisting, the stag forcing its way past the barriers Comet usually kept up against it. It was rare that a shifter who’d put conscious effort into controlling its animal side would succumb so easily and so suddenly, but this time Comet didn’t have a chance of fighting it.
Nor did he want to.
He took off running after the men and in two steps, his fast, tall, strong body had warped into that of a powerful stag, with a full head of antlers, all damn sharp and deadly. The muscles rippled under his short coat, every outline clearly drawn even in the faint light of the stars as he galloped after them, covering the ground with effortless speed. The powerful hooves dug into the hard sand and dust and kicked it up behind him as he lowered his head, coming up behind the bastards.
He flung the first one he caught aside with his antlers, Comet having to shake his head to get him off the pointed ends. The man’s screams filled the night air and Comet snarled, seeing the others stumble and stop, turning around, the manic smiles disappearing from their expressions. He pulled at the dirt with one hoof and then picked another target out of the three men still standing.
“Whoah! What the hell!” one of them yelled, almost stuttering.
“Get the fuck away from me!” another screamed, his ball cap falling off his head as he tried to dodge Comet.
He wasn’t anywhere near fast enough. Comet ran him down with a few steps, crashing into him from behind and trampling him under his hooves. The next was thrown to the ground with his antlers, which left deep gashes on the man’s back and ass. The last remaining thug had dropped his fireworks and kept his hands up, muttering incoherent apologies at Comet and Rina.
“I’m sorry, man! I’m… Jesus Christ, where the fuck did you even come from?”
Comet simply huffed in response, looking to Rina for a moment to make sure she was really okay. She was staring at him with wide eyes, like she’d seen an apparition or had found herself in the middle of a waking nightmare or something of the sorts.
Not as if he blamed her. She couldn’t have had any idea who he was – she’d never seen him in his buck form.
She was still backing away from him slowly, keeping her hands up in front of her as if to calm him.
Better get this over with, fast, Comet thought.
Without a warning, he took off once more, barreling down on the remaining man while his buddies were trying to scrape themselves off the ground. He screeched like a girl seeing a spider and took off, but the man only got a few steps away before Comet basically ran over him, his hooves digging into his thighs and back.
Comet stopped a couple of feet behind him, lowering his head to stare into the eyes of the screaming man. He was clutching the back of his thigh, which was bleeding profusely now, and gawking at Comet with wide, panic-stricken eyes. Slowly, Comet raised his head and backed away a little, letting the idiots know that they could attempt to leave.
“Fucking psycho deer,” one of them sputtered, and Comet had to fight the urge to gouge out his damn eyes.
For one, he wasn’t a deer.
It took a moment for them to realize that they could leave, but the four of them scraped themselves together and limped and crawled back towards the car. Silently, Comet watched their departure, waiting until they were far enough out of earshot before returning his attention to Rina.
Spirits above, she was as gorgeous as she’d ever been, if not more. Comet remembered her as a girl with lush hips and wild curls, and now she was a woman fit to drive any man out of his mind. Comet could have stayed there and looked at her all night, but the rational part of his mind kicked him out of his self-imposed daze. Something had brought him all the way out there and it was now clear what it was.
She’d been in trouble and despite trying to tell himself that there could be nothing between them, it was apparent that fate didn’t quite agree with him on that.
Even in the darkness, he could see that she was slightly pale in the face from the surprise, and guilt bubbled up in Comet for scaring her. Maybe there could have been other ways of handling it, but the moment he’d understood that she was in trouble, he had to do whatever it took to get her to safety.
He took another step back, keeping eye-contact with her.
“I don’t mean you any harm,” Rina gasped, though there was a slight frown playing on her expression.
Maybe she too felt his presence, despite the form he was in? Maybe that was why she wasn’t running from him?
Well, either that or she was terrified of being stared down by a fully-grown stag in the middle of the Arizona desert.
Either-or.
Letting out a long breath, Comet let the shift take him. The desire to turn tail and run, not showing her who it really was who’d come to her rescue, was pretty damn hard to beat. Yet, he knew that if he’d leave now without looking her in the eye as a man, he’d never be able to forgive himself.
And there was already plenty of stuff he was atoning for from their shared past.
The animal gave in easily enough, its desire to protect her sated for the moment. Comet felt his consciousness returning to him, the beast letting go of both his body and mind. When he opened his eyes, he stood in the darkness before Rina as the man she had surely expected to see there even less than the stag.
“Hey,” he said, after the silence grew too heavy. “Long time no see.”
The grin he offered her felt awkward on his lips and the fact that her shocked expression barely twitched told him in no uncertain language that his attempt at humor wasn’t exactly well-met.
“What… Comet? What are you doing here?” she finally said, every second that Comet wasn’t touching her and holding her in his arms, feeling like complete torture.
He’d spent so damn long trying to stay away from her and now that she was right before him, he felt like he hadn’t learned a single thing about self-control. The desire to have her was still there, stronger than ever, but now it was fighting for prominence with the gut-wrenching feeling of guilt that was swirling inside him.
“I… I honestly don’t know,” Comet said, scuffing a hand through his hair and letting it rest on the back of his neck. “I was sort of tricked into coming to Seberra by one of my numbskull brothers and I just started driving. Something took me here. I guess I know what, now.”
He smiled again weakly but wiped it off his lips, seeing Rina’s frown.
She must hate me. She has every reason to.
“Was it Dash?” she asked suddenly.
“Huh?”
“Was Dash the one who got you here?” Rina elaborated, her posture relaxing a little, though she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Actually, yeah. How’d you guess?”
“It sounds like one of those things Dash would get up to. He and Ru… Or I guess Pran too…”
“I’m pretty sure they all had a hand in it,” Comet admitted with a grin, the tension between them dissipating a little. “Are you okay? Did those guys do anything to you? I swear, I –“
“No, I’m okay. It’s been a long night and I was walking down the road, trying to hitch a ride when those guys pulled up. I mean, you saw them, they were all drunk off their asses and one of them yelled something about a desert fairy and they all started chasing me with those stupid rockets. I don’t think they meant any real harm.”
She didn’t sound too convincing.
“But I’m fine, Comet,” Rina said, quieting for a second. “It feels weird saying your name out loud. I just realized I don’t think I’ve said it in… What? Eight years?”
Comet could only nod, flicking his gaze back to Rina from looking at the car that was peeling off from the side of the road. The men he’d almost gored had made the only wise decision and gotten out of there as fast as they could. Considering that they’d tried to lay a hand on his mate, it was their damn luck that he hadn’t killed each and every one of them.<
br />
Not like anyone would find them here, he thought darkly, stifling the urge to go after them.
“Eight years, yeah,” he confirmed.
“Sort of weird, don’t you think?” Rina asked, walking past him and heading back in the direction of the road.
“What exactly? There’s a lot of options here,” he said, his body moving to follow her automatically, like there was a string attached between them that tugged him along. “The fact that I showed up here? That I’m a shifter? That you’re wandering around the Arizona desert? You need to help me here a little.”
Rina gave him a look and Comet smirked. She still had all that sass he’d missed so much. And holy hell did she look good.
The closer they got to his truck, the better he could see her body, the confidence in her step. Though there was an air of tiredness to her, she was every bit the stunner he remembered her as, and more so. She’d grown into those curves of hers and while Comet had been just a teenager when they’d been together, he had to commend his past self for having exceptional taste.
She was still the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen, and he’d been all over the world and seen every kind of beauty there was.
“Sure, options galore,” Rina agreed after a moment of silence, the only sound between them the echo of their steps across the empty desert and the brief gusts of wind that kept blowing across the expanse. “But I mostly meant you showing up here. I always knew you were a shifter.”
Comet stopped mid-step, his whole body suddenly paralyzed. Rina continued on for a good few meters before she noticed that Comet wasn’t walking with her anymore. She turned around and his blue eyes caught hers. He opened his mouth to say something but no words came out.
“What?” she asked. “Oh come on now, this night’s been weird enough. I’m trying really hard not to freak out here and you’re not helping, Comet.”
There was humor in her tone when she said that, but it kind of went over Comet’s head.
All those years ago, back when shifters being ‘out’ in the world was still more myth than truth, he’d met a girl he’d fallen for. That girl had been Rina. He never told her of his background, his convoluted history that was far more complicated than that of the average shifter, what with ELF, the Frost family legacy and everything that came with it.
Everything that would come with it for the rest of his life. And hers, if they’d stayed together.
And now, there she was, telling him that she knew?
“You knew?” he stammered, and when she cocked her head to the side, looking a bit puzzled at his question, he felt his vision blurring at the edges.
She knew.
Rina
“Are… Are you okay, Comet?” Rina asked, finding it ironic how quickly the tables had turned.
It hadn’t been a minute since he’d asked her the same question, and now she was beginning to worry about his health and wellbeing. It had been a crazy, completely baffling day and insane night. Everything that had happened still felt so completely surreal to Rina that she wasn’t even sure if it was real or if she was making half of it up, but all she could do was try and stay in the moment and not let it overwhelm her.
By the looks of it, she was doing a much better job than Comet.
“I… Um. Spirits above, Rina, you knew?” he repeated, and Rina stepped closer to him, closing the gap between them.
The headlights of his truck were close enough now that she could make out his features better. The expression on his face was priceless – shock and horror and regret all mixed together into one. For a second, the absolutely overwhelming sensation of wanting to kiss him took over her. Rina had to forcefully steady her hands at her sides to keep from reaching for him.
God, he looks so good.
It wasn’t an understatement of any kind. He’d been a tall, gangly kid when she knew him, but he was all man now. Imposingly tall, thick with muscle but still lean in the kind of way that swimmers are, all strength and speed built into one. His eyes still shined bright – she’d always felt they could put the stars to shame on some nights, especially when his smile made them twinkle.
The bitterness she’d felt and nurtured over the years felt so… out of place now that he was right in front of her.
He left you. Without a word.
The reminder wasn’t needed. She was very well aware of what he had and had not done. Yet, it had always bothered her that she’d never understood his reasoning.
“I knew,” she confirmed, only a foot or so between them now. “I thought you… Well, I thought you knew I knew. That sounds stupid, but yeah. It’s sort of hard to miss, you know. Between your eight brothers and the fact that at least half of you were running around in the woods all the time. It was sort of obvious, you know? I mean, I know I’m not from Idaho, but even I can tell when a guy’s a little bit on the wild side.”
She grinned, beginning to sort of revel in the shock and awe dancing on his expression. She wasn’t being completely truthful with him, but it was close enough.
“It was your grandparents, wasn’t it,” Comet said, slapping a hand on his forehead and letting it slide down his face, before shaking his head in apparent surprise. “I knew it. They were always too clever for their own good.”
Dammit.
“Fine, you got me,” Rina laughed, feeling like that was the first time she’d really smiled in ages. “My grandma may have hinted that the Frost boys aren’t really ‘normal’,” she said, making air quotes with her fingers and rolling her eyes for good measure. “But I’d like to think I would have figured it out on my own eventually. Not that I got much of a chance.”
The words slipped over her lips before she could stop herself and both of them cringed at the same time.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” Rina said, blushing as she turned around and walked towards the road again, not entirely sure where she was intending to go.
She heard footsteps behind her and a moment later, Comet’s hand was gently on her arm, turning her around to face him. His expression was solemn and it very nearly kicked the breath out of her lungs to stare up at him now, tall and imposing and so incredibly sexy.
“No, I’m sorry. I think we have some things we need to talk about, Rina. At least, I’d like to. I know you don’t owe me anything and I don’t expect you to understand, just so you know.”
Comet seemed genuinely embarrassed as he said that, and despite the time they had spent apart, Rina found herself recognizing his little cues again. The way he shuffled his feet, the way his blue eyes flicked to the ground… Her gaze went to his hand on her arm and she noticed absently how hard her heart was beating in her chest from that small touch.
Comet caught her staring and quickly removed his hand, much to her chagrin.
“I think I’d like that,” she said, taking a deep breath before speaking. “It’s been too long and we’re both adults, right? We can talk about things like… well, adults?”
You’re supposed to be rushing to Seberra and getting over all these dumb men who keep messing up your life, Rina!
This time, though, she was willing to put her rational side on hold for a moment. She wasn’t entirely sure what did it. Whether it was the legitimate pain she could sense in Comet, or the fact that random happenstances had all played in concord to bring them together, in the middle of nowhere in Arizona, or if it was still the fact that she’d never gotten over him, but…
“I want to hear you out. If you want to tell me anything,” Rina said with a nod of her head. “Though, considering that you were running from me again, if I understood you correctly, I’m sort of surprised you want to go through with it.”
The smile that appeared on his lips was so adorably genuine that she had to fight herself not to get up on her tip toes and kiss him right on those delicious lips of his. Though he’d aged, of course, there was still some of that boyishness she remembered from the summer they’d spent together as nineteen-year-olds, running through the Idaho
wilderness and sharing stolen moments.
He’d always been too fast for his own good and she’d kept wondering how she could catch him if he kept running like that. It wasn’t until the day he disappeared that she really had to face the possibility of not being able to keep up.
“That’s great. No, that’s fantastic, Rina,” he said, practically beaming. “It’s a long story and I’m pretty sure I’m going to embarrass myself thoroughly during it, but you can’t fight fate, right?”
“Lord knows you’ve tried,” she snorted, making Comet look bashful again. “Sorry, I should stop doing that.”
“Not in a million years,” Comet retorted, giving her a long look before he brushed past her and headed to the car.
Rina turned to watch him, frowning a little as he killed the engine and then pulled a jacket out of the back seat, as well as something that she recognized as a sleeping bag when he walked back to her. Wordlessly, he draped his leather jacket – the same one he’d worn when they were together eight years ago – over her shoulders and nodded for her to follow.
“What are you planning, Comet Frost?” Rina asked tentatively, walking behind him as she slipped her hands into the jacket.
She couldn’t stop herself from taking a big whiff, breathing in his scent and reveling in it. There was something inherently masculine about it, piney and gruff with a hint of peppermint.
He still smells the same. Bastard.
That last thought came with a small, private smile as Comet appeared to pick a place he was pleased with and rolled out the sleeping bag.
“Sit,” he commanded, with a tone that allowed no argument.
“Yes, sir,” she huffed back, though she was smiling as she did so. “You want to tell me what you’re doing?”
