by Sky Winters
Soon, his soft lips were pressed against my own, and we spent the rest of the night running through the woods together, the truest form of ourselves that we could possibly be.
Chapter 3
I woke up groggy a few hours later, long forgotten memories dancing in my head. My dreams had been filled of the youthful adventures that Jake and I had shared. While most of them were real, a few of them were made up, but they were still really special.
I was about to have breakfast when the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Decker, I need you to come out here, quick,” Jake’s voice exclaimed urgently.
“Why? What’s the matter?” My heart thudded. Something was wrong. Was Jake in danger?
“No time to explain. We’re outside the diner on Route 9. Hurry.”
I dressed in a blind panic and hopped on my motorcycle, speeding toward Route 9. My mind was racing the whole time. What could possibly be going on? Jake had been gone for hours at that point. Anything could have happened.
My bike skidded to a stop and I jumped off with the engine still running, looking wildly for Jake.
“Ungh!”
Something heavy hit my stomach and I dropped to the ground. It took me a moment to recover my senses, but by the time I did another blow to my head knocked me on the ground.
“How do you like that, asshole?” Walker’s voice taunted me.
I got shakily to my feet, ready to shift into my most powerful form to take him on, when suddenly I heard Jake’s voice.
“Good hit, man.”
What was going on. By the time my vision cleared, I was shocked to see Jake with his muscular arms draped over Walker’s shoulder. They kissed in front of me, a long, disgusting display meant to take me off my guard.
“What?” I whispered.
The sound of my voice seemed to remind Walker of what he was doing, and he punched me in the face again. I dropped to my knees, too surprised to even shift.
“I’ll get him from behind,” Jake said. “As usual.”
Their laughter cackled around me as Jake pushed me forward, right into Walker’s awaiting fists. Pain seared through my body, but it was nothing compared to what I felt as I began to process the truth. Jake had betrayed me. He and Walker were together now, and they had probably been planning this mutiny for weeks.
How could I have been so stupid? I had seen the signs. Jake had been acting strange for a while now. The passion in his embrace was gone. Again and again he used my body for his own gratification without caring how I felt. Again and again he had disappeared late in the night only to return almost 48 hours later with alcohol on his breath and an unapologetic smile. How could this be happening to me?
“I think you know what this means, Deck,” Jake said from behind me, his voice taunting. “I know you better than the back of my hand. All your strengths. Your weaknesses. Your strategies. With me and Walker combined, you’re nothing here.”
“Get the hell out of here while you still have a chance,” Walker said, crouching down and staring into my eyes. His eyes were wild, but he was wearing a satisfied grin.
“You’d best listen to him, Decker,” Jake said, circling around until he was finally within my sight. “It’s over. Walker’s the alpha now.”
The grey eyes that I loved so much flashed menacingly. The familiar, bright smile twisted in my direction with a menace I had never hoped to see. I had never felt so hurt.
I got shakily to my feet. Sure, I wanted to fight them. I wanted to be angry enough to shift and tear them both apart. But I just couldn’t summon the strength I needed to do so. I was too broken inside. The man I loved had been using me. Who knew for how long? And I had only myself to blame for my downfall.
And so, with my tail between my legs, I left the city where I had grown up and made a life with Jake. His mocking laughter followed me all the way to the outskirts of town, where I rode away and vowed never to look back.
Chapter 4
I was numb with shock as I drove along the winding streets. I had no idea where to go, and let my body resort to autopilot. My instincts would take me where I was meant to be.
Before long I began to realize that the roads I was on were familiar, and couldn’t help but smile to myself when it dawned on me that I had driven to the Bayou. My father had been born and raised here, and even after my parents had made the heart-wrenching decision to part ways, it had been fun to visit him here occasionally.
The familiar scent of water and earth filled me with a sense of peace, and I knew what I was there to do. I was glad I had taken the motorcycle, because a car would have been impossible to navigate on the narrow roads leading into the marshy land that my father had once called home.
After what seemed like an eternity, I made it into the familiar settlement where my father lived and parked my bike. I wouldn’t need it anymore now that I was here. It was a small place, full of warm, caring people. Who knew if any of them would recognize me.
“Krane?” a deep, confused voice said from behind me. I turned around, surprised to hear my father’s name.
“My name is Decker,” I said apologetically, turning to face him. He had long white hair and a beard like Father Time’s. I felt terrible when the man’s face fell. “Krane was my father.”
“A good man, your father,” the old man said. He spoke slowly. “Couldn’t find a more loyal friend if you tried.”
The man shrugged and turned away from me, headed back along his way.
“Wait,” I called. “Please.”
The man turned slowly and raised an eyebrow at me.
“What do you want from here, son? There’s nothing for a youngun’ like you, raised in the city life. It’s best to stay true to your roots.”
I frowned, tempted to tell the man the whole story. I was aching from the heartbreak, but I knew that I couldn’t. He wouldn’t understand about the ways of the bear shifters. And he probably wouldn’t sympathize with a gay man very much either. I shook my head in exasperation.
“Well I’m not going back, I can tell you that. Do you know of somewhere around here I can stay? I have money.”
The old man sighed and was quiet for a moment. Finally he flicked his head as if to say, “follow me.”
“It gets real damp here at night. Ain’t good for your bones if you’re not used to it,” the man said.
“What’s your name?” I asked, ignoring his insistence that I go back home.
“Arthur,” the man said, leading me slowly down a long, unpaved road. There were a few desolate structures here and there, and the whole place was surrounded by dense forest and water. I could smell the swampy air everywhere I went.
“Thank you for helping me, Arthur.”
“Your dad was a good man. But he wouldn’t have wanted you out here. You should go home.”
“Why wouldn’t he want me out here?” I asked. It wasn’t like I had anywhere else to go.
“Dangerous in these parts,” Arthur said with a heavy sigh. “No good for a boy like you. You look softer than your pap.”
“I’m not soft,” I said, prickling.
Arthur shrugged. I fumed quietly until he finally stopped in front of a big white house.
“This is the Greenwalt place. She borders strays like you. Room and board, and three meals a day. You can talk to her about what she charges. Tell her you’re Krane’s boy, might make a difference. That or she’ll run you out herself. She knew your pap too. Knows this place is no good for the likes of you.”
Arthur nodded and began his slow descent back in the direction we had come from without a word of good bye.
“Nice to meet you too,” I mumbled.
Arthur let out a sharp cackle as if he had heard me. But he was halfway down the road already. That would be impossible, unless –
“Hi, stranger,” a woman’s voice said, interrupting my thoughts. I looked up to find a slender young woman with auburn hair coming through the entrance. She walked gracefully down the wide porc
h steps to greet me. “Looking for a place to stay?”
I was surprised for a moment, especially by her attire. Did everybody in this place dress like an antique? I knew the Bayou was out of the way and a little bit slow to accept modern trends, but I hadn’t expected anything quite so classic.
“Yes,” I said, trying not to let my surprise show on my face.
“Mama’s out right now, but maybe I can help you,” she said, leading me inside. “What are you looking for exactly?”
“It doesn’t matter. Somewhere with a bed for now while I figure things out.”
“I see,” she said, grinning. She disappeared into a small room and emerged holding out a key.
“My name’s Penelope. You’ll meet mama at supper tonight. We all eat together around 6:00. Don’t be late; everyone’s gonna want to meet you.”
She disappeared swiftly, and I stared down at the key in my hand. I set my mind to finding room number 3, and tried to fight the foreboding in my chest. This was where I was going to stay now. I would have to find a way to fight my attraction to Jake and begin to make it on my own. No matter how hard it was.
Chapter 5
“Supper!” Penelope’s voice rang a few hours later, followed by the deep ding of a bell. I had showered and taken off my button up shirt. It was full of mud from Jake and Walker’s ambush. My pants were still filthy, but I had a feeling that the people around these parts were used to dirty men strutting around.
I was feeling a little too embarrassed to go down and meet everybody in my dirty clothes. Besides that, I wasn’t hungry in the least. I was too upset about what had happened with Jake, and decided to be a recluse and skip the meal.
“Come on, Mr. Decker, come and join the crew,” Penelope’s muffled voice reached me through the door, as she knocked demandingly on the door.
“No thank you,” I said glumly. I couldn’t even conceive of going anywhere for food.
“Mr. Decker, I’m afraid you have no choice if you want to stay in this house. Mama wants to meet you.”
I sighed heavily and caught a glance at myself in the mirror. I tried smoothing my hair down, but it had ideas of its own. It was a brown jungle that had grown shaggy over the past few months. I hadn’t shaved in the past few days, and thick, dark stubble was beginning to form on my face. I looked a little wild, especially in my white undershirt and dirty jeans. I was dreading the upcoming dinner.
“Mr. Decker,” Penelope said, knocking again.
“All right, coming,” I said, unable to hide my irritation.
I slipped my shoes on and opened the door. Penelope smiled at me as if nothing could be wrong anywhere in the world, and I followed her sulkily to the dining room.
I felt like it was the first day of school, and was reluctant to meet the eyes of anybody else in the room. Nobody here would understand anything about me. What was the point in trying to socialize? It was like walking into a class full of oblivious humans all over again.
“Everybody, this is Mr. Decker,” Penelope said, holding her hands in front of me as if displaying a prize on a gameshow.
“You can just call me Decker, it’s my first name,” I mumbled, daring to glance up from my personal hell and scope out the room. There were five other people sitting at the table, some men, some women. One handsome blonde man about my age was staring hard at me, and I held his gaze before he looked down at his plate.
“Nice to meet you, Decker,” a tall, elegant woman who was obviously Penelope’s mother said. She rose to greet me and smiled, the epitome of southern charm. “My name is Abigail, but if you could, call me Miss Abby. Please, join us. We’re about to have us a nice chicken supper. Do you like collards?”
“Actually, I’ve never had them,” I said.
“Oh, young man. I assure you, you have. You just can’t remember.”
I looked up at her, surprised, and she smiled mysteriously.
“Fanny, please fetch Decker here his meal.”
“Of course.”
I was surprised by the tall, pale woman standing in the corner. I had been so consumed by my own thoughts that I hadn’t noticed her. I had a feeling that was part of her job description though; just be a whisper of a person until you were called upon.
“Sit beside Alex, here,” Miss Abby said, gesturing toward the blonde man. He didn’t look up from his plate, and I sat down heavily beside him. I really wasn’t in the mood for socializing. “What brings you about these parts?”
Miss Abby’s heavy southern accent was intoxicating. It reminded me a lot of my mother.
“My father was from here,” I said quietly. “Mr. Arthur told me to let you know.”
“Oh, I already guessed that much,” Miss Abby said, her silver eyes twinkling. “But what brings you here?
I could feel all eyes turned on me, and shifted uncomfortably in my seat.
“I needed a change of scenery, that’s all.”
“Ah,” Miss Abby said, wisely dropping the question. About that time, Fanny brought out a huge plate of food and sat it in front of me. My stomach grumbled despite itself. “Well, it’s a pleasure to have you. If there’s anything you need, I’m usually in the reception hall. And my room is 16, the very top floor.”
I was surprised. Miss Abby certainly wasn’t a spring hen anymore. It seemed strange she’d insist on climbing so many stairs. But I supposed it was good to get exercise. The older you got the more you needed it.
“Now dig in, everybody!” Miss Abby said. Penelope sat down across from me and the meal began. There was pleasant chattering as everybody ate, and I took the opportunity to glance around the table at the other borders in the house. There was an elderly couple, dressed as if they had walked right out of the 1800s, round spectacles and all. Two young women were talking to each other as well, though it was anybody’s guess what their relationship might be. A very stout, middle-aged man didn’t speak at all, and focused all of his efforts on eating. At the end of the table, was a gaunt man, probably around 40 years old, who had his eye fixed hard on me.
“Disgraceful,” he muttered, spooning mashed potatoes onto his plate without taking his eyes off of me. “You had plenty of time to clean up for supper. What happened to you, boy? Who taught you your manners?”
I glowered at my plate, trying to ignore him.
“Leave him be, Eustis,” Miss Abby said sternly.
“But look at him!” Eustis exclaimed, gesturing theatrically at me. “He’s got mud up to his ears!”
“I’m sorry,” I said, looking Eustis firmly in the eye. Whether I was still the alpha of my own pack or not, I wasn’t going to let anybody else fight my battles for me. “I just arrived to town. I left in a hurry. There was no time to pack.”
Everybody at the table was silent as the information registered, and Eustis’ face became drawn.
“Quite a few of us can relate to that,” the handsome blonde man beside me said, turning to look into my eyes. I was shocked by the brilliant blue oceans that I was met with, and he smiled broadly at me.
“That’s right,” the heavy-set man grunted, taking a big bite of chicken. “Welcome to the Bayou, boy. Miss Abby’ll take care of you.”
The meal couldn’t end fast enough for me, and I practically ran out of the dining room once it was all over. Before I could make it to the stairs, however, Miss Abby called my name.
“How did you like the collards?” she asked, gliding gracefully toward me from the dining room.
“They were excellent,” I said honestly, surprised by the question.
She nodded knowingly.
“I fixed them for you same as I did when you were a boy,” Miss Abby said. “Glad to see some things don’t change.”
She smiled and retreated, leaving me in front of the stairs with more questions on my mind than I’d had when I arrived.
Chapter 6
“Decker!”
I looked up as I struggled to unlock the door to my room, and saw Alex, the handsome blonde man from dinner rushing to
ward me.
“What is it?”
Alex doubled over for a minute to catch his breath, and looked up at me with a charming grin.
“Why don’t you come here for a second? I’ve got something for you.”
I was surprised and confused, and unsure of whether or not I could trust this man. Still, something about him compelled me to follow him down the hall. He unlocked the door of his room easily, apparently ease would come with time with these old-fashioned doors, and led me inside.
“Here,” he said, opening his closet. “We look about the same size. Pick a few things to wear. We can get your jeans laundered and head to town tomorrow if you’d like. Maybe pick out something new for you to last your stay.”
I was shocked by the open display of generosity.
“I couldn’t,” I said, trying to back out of the room. “Thank you so much for the offer, but…”
“Look,” Alex said, closing the door to the room before I had a chance to escape. “Miss Abby is a proper kind of woman. She’d have my hide if I didn’t offer. And besides, I don’t mind helping out. It’s not long ago I was in your shoes.”
“Alex, really. I would rather not.”
I seriously doubted anybody here had ever been in my shoes, and struggled to find a polite way to refuse his offer. It would be nice to get out of the clothes that still reeked of muddy downtown New Orleans. Nicer than I could imagine. But I was an alpha. Taking from others was not a role I liked to play.
“Decker, man, come on. It’s really no problem. We can go to town tomorrow. I know a guy who needs some handiwork done and you can get a job to keep yourself occupied for a while. You can pay me back then.”
“Well I have some money now,” I said, reaching into my back pocket and fishing for my wallet. “I’ll pay you to borrow a couple of outfits.”
“You’re gonna need your money right now,” Alex said, his blue eye darkening sternly. “Don’t go turning down genuine generosity when it comes your way.”
I knew he was right, and sighed heavily.
“Really. I just want to be friendly. You don’t have to make it a power thing.”
I was surprised by the observation, and studied Alex. He was looking firmly at me, his handsome face creased. He seemed genuinely worried about me. But how could he be? He hardly knew a thing about me.
