by Noah Harris
Stephan tried to say something but managed only a weak rasp. Adrian watched as the life drained from the werewolf’s eyes before releasing his face. There should have been a moment of relief, perhaps even some sort of sadistic pleasure, but there was nothing but a hollow feeling in his gut.
He had bested Stephan, with the help of his pack and Michael. Adrian had faced the specter of his past and beaten it. Yet, as he knelt there, watching Stephan’s slack face for a long moment, he hoped that the cost wasn’t too great.
That thought brought the reality of the situation to mind. Adrian stood, dashing back to Michael’s side. He crouched down beside his unmoving form and gently laid his hands on his chest. He hated fights, they always made time pass so oddly. Adrian couldn’t tell if it had been long enough for the paramedics to be on their way into the building or not.
He reached up, wiping a smear of blood and soot away from Michael’s forehead. “You remember what I said, okay? You’re not allowed to die, you hear me? You have to keep on breathing or I’ll never fucking forgive you. You got it?”
With the adrenaline draining from his body, he could feel every ache and pain. The worst was the sensation of glass being ground into his chest as he huddled over Michael. It was so much worse than when he had found Blaine’s body lying in the blood-soaked meadow beside the river. At least with Blaine, Adrian had known what he would find and that it was already too late.
“You can’t leave me, okay? Not after everything, not when you swore that you wouldn’t,” Adrian said, eyes stinging and voice tight.
Distantly, he could hear shouts as he whispered words of encouragement to Michael. He knew that the man couldn’t hear him, but it made him feel better as he held him close. Adrian kneeled, listening to the approach of hurried footsteps and men yelling orders. As he prayed silently to himself, tears streaming down his face, he could only hope they weren’t too late.
Chapter 20
Max’s eyes looked even greener in the overhead light as he watched Adrian anxiously. Adrian was ignoring his worried looks as he focused his attention on the bottle before him. The beer wasn’t agreeing with him and he was starting to wish that he hadn’t drank so much at one time. He’d been hoping that the alcohol would ease the ragged edges of his anxious thoughts, but it had done little more than fill his stomach with acid.
“It’s going to be okay Adrian, c’mon,” Max said gently.
Adrian groaned. “The more you say that, the more I start thinking you’re totally wrong.”
Max sighed. “You’re just trying to find the black lining again.”
“I feel like there’s got to be a better way to say that,” Adrian said with a frown.
“Don’t change the subject,” Max scolded him.
“Look, this was easy for Eli, okay? All of us already knew Hunter. Hell, we were waiting for the two of them to get over themselves and just start dating for ages. It’s not the same with Michael,” Adrian complained.
Max snorted. “If I thought I’d never see the day you’d actually try to settle down with someone, I sure didn’t think I’d see the day where you’d be nervous to show everyone your boyfriend.”
“It’s not like everyone doesn’t already know him,” Adrian continued.
“And everyone already likes him,” Max pointed out.
“As an allied pack leader and friendly alpha, yeah.”
Max shook his head. “Again, this is you trying to find the worst in a situation. Everything’s going to be fine.”
Adrian hoped that Max was right. With how rough the past few weeks had been, Adrian and Michael both could use a little bit of good news. “If I stop constantly predicting every terrible situation that could happen, will you stop looking at me like I’m a lost puppy?”
Max laughed. “I’m not looking at you like a lost puppy. I actually think it’s kind of cute.”
Adrian held up a finger in warning. “Do not.”
Max grinned. “Fine, stop worrying about everything and I won’t call your obviously-adorable relationship with Michael cute, deal?”
“So, this is what negotiating with a terrorist feels like,” Adrian grumbled.
He was spared from Max’s retort when light spilled into the bar from outside. Michael appeared, a crutch under one arm, with Eli right behind him. As the two men entered the bar, Eli sidled up to Michael. He didn’t quite touch Michael, but it was obvious that his pack leader was trying to make sure Adrian’s mate was steady.
“I’ve told you almost a dozen times that I am fully capable of walking unaided, Elias,” Michael told him softly, but Adrian could see the annoyance in the way his brow pinched almost imperceptibly.
“He’s an independent alpha who don’t need no help,” Adrian said as he watched them approach.
Eli glared at him. “I’m not sure I like that, because it sounds a lot like an Adrian Running Joke.”
“There’s an inferred trademark in there that I don’t like,” Adrian huffed.
“Is that where he finds a joke that he thinks is absolutely hilarious and uses it so much that it loses all sense of humor whatsoever and just becomes exhausting to hear?” Max asked curiously.
Adrian kicked at him beneath the table. “Hey! You’re supposed to be the nice one!”
“Nice doesn’t mean I’m blind or deaf!” Max protested as he tried to avoid Adrian’s flailing limb.
Hunter appeared next to Eli, making a shooing gesture at them. “Yeah, yeah, you guys are children, we know. Quit kicking and move over, I’m sure Michael would appreciate being able to sit down.”
“I’m quite alright,” Michael sighed.
Hunter pointed at a vacant spot on the bench. “No you’re not. You’ve got a broken leg, now sit your ass down and I’ll get the next round of drinks.”
Michael sat down, looking askance at Hunter. “And here I thought Elias was the alpha of your pack.”
“Technically, so is Marcus,” Max pointed out as he drained the last inch of his drink.
Eli watched Hunter fondly as he sat. “Yeah, but even Marcus isn’t going to be stupid enough to try to tell Hunter that he’s the one in charge.”
“Do I get the same wifely privilege of yelling at your pack no?” Adrian asked Michael.
Eli raised a brow. “I’m telling him you said that.”
“Oh, c’mon, it was just a joke! You don’t need to drag Hunter into this! He’ll get that look on his face and I’ll have to listen to him for a solid five minutes, maybe ten if he picks up steam!” Adrian whined.
“He’ll find out anyway,” Max mumbled.
“Because you’ll tell him,” Adrian accused.
Eli rolled his eyes. “I’ll tell him after we’ve left. That way he’s nice and tipsy and willing to forgive you, and safely a few blocks away.”
Adrian sighed. “Thanks.”
“I’m beginning to think I might have signed up to join the madhouse,” Michael said quietly.
“You have no idea,” Max said with a chuckle.
Hunter returned with a tray of drinks. “I forgot to ask, you’re not on pain meds are you, Michael?”
Michael shook his head. “I refused.”
“So how long are you going to be in the cast?” Max asked.
Michael sighed. “At least a couple more weeks. Sadly, an increased healing rate does not in fact mean broken bones heal quickly.”
Adrian eyed him. “You’re lucky that’s all you got, you idiot.”
“He’s an idiot because he got caught in the same explosion you did?” Hunter asked as he handed the last drink out.
“No, he’s an idiot because he got himself blown up more than he needed to,” Adrian replied.
Michael sipped his drink carefully. “And I told you, I’m not apologizing for attempting to get you out of harm’s way when you didn’t have the sense to duck.”
“He saved your ass, don’t be an asshole,” Hunter said with a smile.
Adrian slipped his hand beneath the table so he could
squeeze Michael’s thigh. “Okay, fine, he saved my ass.”
“And then you killed a man and shot a woman in her knee caps in order to save him,” Hunter continued.
“You really know how to take the romance right of the air, don’t you Hunter?” Adrian asked grumpily.
“What’s going to happen to her anyway?” Hunter asked.
Adrian looked up as he saw the door open, revealing Marcus and a tired Liam. “Might want to ask the cop.”
“Ask the cop what?” Marcus asked guardedly.
“What happened to my little traitor,” Michael growled.
“I need a drink before I get to talking,” Marcus said as he turned away.
“Both of you sit down. Like I wouldn’t get you drinks before you showed up,” Hunter said as he motioned to two beers sitting untouched beside his.
As they made themselves comfortable, Marcus explained. “They’re holding her on just about anything that you could think of. Trying to blow you guys up, trying to kill you guys again moments later, as well as a bunch of other shit. They connected her to the restaurant fire and I’m pretty sure they’re going to try to pin the arsons on her.”
Liam snorted. “Which is stupid as hell, but I can’t tell them that. Oh yes, it wasn’t actually this woman because we know she was the one sabotaging a friend of mine’s business dealings in a bid to wipe out the werewolves of the city. By the way, werewolves exist, surprise.”
Adrian couldn’t help but snort at Liam’s dry delivery. “I’m sure the looks on their faces would be absolutely priceless though.”
“Right before they fired me and threw me in a psych ward, sure,” Liam said.
Hunter shrugged. “Okay, so she’s locked up and they’re not going to let her out anytime soon. Why does that require a drink?”
“Because she can’t stay locked up. Not only does every werewolf in the city know what she was trying to do, Adrian injured her with non-silver wounds. We heal fast, even in human form. Someone’s bound to notice that she’s healing a lot faster than she should, because we don’t have a werewolf doctor in the jail to cover up for us,” Marcus explained.
“Wait, there are werewolf doctors?” Max asked.
Adrian blinked at him. “I— Yeah, who do you think we go to when we need to see one?”
“I just go to a normal one?” Max said hesitantly.
Eli sighed. “Wow, have we been lucky with you so far.”
Michael looked at Eli. “You haven’t taken him to one of ours?”
Eli grimaced. “It was on my list of things to do.”
Hunter rolled his eyes. “Which list? The one you always lose, or the other one that you can never find?”
“You could put one on your phone,” Michael offered.
“He’d forget it exists,” Max said with a sigh.
“Eli doesn’t do organization,” Adrian said, earning a dirty look from Eli.
Michael looked befuddled for a moment before smiling easily. “Well, it seems to work for him. The community center is still running, isn’t it?”
“It’s just his office that’s drowning,” Liam added dryly.
Hunter leaned forward. “Can we go back to the part where you were talking about how the wolves aren’t going to let her stay in jail?”
Adrian shrugged. “I’m not the least bit surprised. Like he said, she’s a security risk right now. And even if she wasn’t, they’d find a way to pull her out. If you’ll remember, werewolves aren’t exactly the gentlest of people. And we don’t deal with traitors very well.”
“They’re going to kill her,” Hunter said.
Eli nudged Hunter. “Don’t think too hard about it.”
Hunter looked at Michael. “And you’re okay with this?”
“I don’t run the other packs. The packs of this city make decisions democratically and I know full well that I would be outvoted if I attempted to sway them to a different course of action. I don’t necessarily support their choice, but I don’t feel strongly enough to try and stop them,” Michael explained.
“Which is just a really fancy way of saying ‘not my problem’,” Adrian said.
Michael reached over and took Adrian’s hand in his. “I have more important things to worry about then the fate of a woman who took advantage of my generosity.”
Adrian smiled, accepting Michael’s hand with a curl of his fingers. “Good.”
There was a pause in conversation, and Adrian looked up to see his packmates all watching him and Michael intently. Adrian looked down to his and Michael’s hands clasped around each other, then back up at his pack. His expression dared them to say anything, but for the briefest moment, he saw a smirk from Liam and a happy little twinkle in Max’s eye.
Hunter was the one who broke the silence, nudging Marcus next to him. “Move your big ass, my bottle’s empty and I want another one.”
Max looked down at his bottle and nodded. “So’s mine, but I think I’m in the mood for a cocktail.”
Hunter grinned as they shuffled out from the booth. “Ooh, let’s see if they have some raspberry schnapps. I’ve got a great drink for you to try.”
Marcus watched them leave, frowning. “He’s going to try to get those drinks for all of us, isn’t he?”
Liam looked in their direction, grimacing. “You know he is.”
“Damn it, I’m on it,” Eli said with a grumble, as if he were marching off to war.
Liam rolled his eyes, tugging on Marcus’ shirt. “C’mon, we better go back him up. You know how hard it can be to dissuade Hunter when he’s got his mind set on something. You two okay with holding down the table for us?”
Michael motioned to his leg and crutch. “I would only slow you down. Good luck.”
Adrian laughed as he watched his pack form a circle around Hunter. “They’re not going to win that fight.”
“How does a human end up having so much sway over an entire pack of werewolves?” Michael asked.
“You just wait, when you’re around him more, you’re going to see exactly why Hunter tends to get his way. If he’s not just bowling us over, he makes this puppy dog face, that usually works on us and always works on Eli,” Adrian said with a shake of his head.
Michael flexed his fingers, smiling. “Thank you.”
Adrian looked at him in surprise. “For what?”
Michael nodded at their joined hands. “You know.”
Adrian’s eyes flicked to Michael’s injured leg. “I guess I figured out the hard way that it doesn’t matter if you dare life to take you on or not, it might still come for you. Plus, it will make them all mushy and happy to think that I’ve finally been tied down.”
Michael inched his face closer to Adrian’s. “Oh? You’re telling me that I haven’t actually tamed the wild stallion?”
“I don’t ever want to be compared to a horse again,” Adrian said with a light laugh.
“Tell me what I should have said instead,” Michael dared him.
Adrian shook his head. “Fine, I’ll be the one to rephrase then. I want them to know because they’re my family and you’re going to be a big part of my life from here on out. They’ll be happy knowing that I’m happy.”
“Are you?” Michael asked, blue eyes glowing in the light overhead.
Adrian’s eyes shifted over Michael’s shoulder to where his pack was busy bickering with Hunter at the bar. Eli looked beaten already, while Liam and Marcus were still trying to make their point to a very adamant Hunter. Max was watching them from the back of the group, looking torn between worrying that it might break into a real argument and amusement at the bickering. It was the oddest definition of family, but they were Adrian’s all the same.
In his own way, Michael fit right into the group. The man had a sense of humor that would help him survive the oddities of Adrian’s packmates, but was steady enough to not be pulled along by conflicting emotions. Adrian realized that with Michael in his life, he finally had everything he had dreamed of since he was a boy.
Epilogue
The full moon swelled as it peeked out from behind the cover of clouds. Its silver light was bright enough to thin the shadows of the forest. Small creatures darted through the faded darkness, stopping only in the safety of the roots of the forest bed, sniffing the air tentatively before carrying on with their business. A faint wind blew through the branches overhead, rustling the leaves and twigs, adding to the song of the night.
A heavy rustling in a crowd of overgrowth caused the critters to scatter in fear of whatever large creature was fumbling around in the dark. Moments later, two wolves burst through the foliage with a series of yips and barks. The larger of the beasts, an ebon monster with shaggy fur, tackled the smaller wolf, taking a bundle of the animal’s light fur in its mouth and pulling them both to the ground.
The lighter wolf snapped at his larger companion, pawing at his face and yipping. Two tails swished, irregularly thumping against the ground. Loose dirt kicked up, the two wolves thrashing about as they barked happily.
The play ended with the smaller of the wolves partly pinned on his side, mouth hanging open, chest heaving. If a wolf could be called smug, the larger wolf certainly was, his tongue lolling as he panted happily. It had been a good chase, the two of them bounding and leaping through the dense wood. Although it had been meant in good fun, both wolves eventually treated it as a real competition, though what the winner would receive was undetermined.
As if on cue, both wolves began to shift and morph. Bent hindlegs straightened and forelegs grew and thickened. Paws stretched out into fingers and hands while bodies grew less cylindrical, shoulders widening and hips turning the body upright. Fur, both light and dark, rapidly disappeared, leaving only bare skin and patches of human body hair. As their tails shrunk up into their bodies, their muzzles receded into prominent noses and soft lips, their teeth dwindling to the smaller, duller, human variety. When it was all said and done, there lay only Michael and Adrian, with Michael’s taller, broader body still positioned over Adrian’s.
