Darkest Hour Before Dawn

by Charlie Cochet

  Seb was happy for them. On the job, public displays of affection between them were understated, but anyone who knew them could see how in love they were. The way they looked at each other, the subtle way Sloane reassured himself and others that Dex was his by keeping physical contact with Dex, whether by placing his hand on Dex's lower back or shoulder. The way they murmured to each other or whispered in the other's ear spoke of a tender intimacy and fierce love that was at times too painful for Seb to witness.

  Hudson's warm hands on him sobered Seb up in a heartbeat. He swallowed hard as heat spread through him. A heat that had nothing to do with the ointment seeping into his skin and everything to do with the man's searing touch. Hudson worked deftly as he massaged the medicine into Seb's knee and the muscles around it. It hurt like hell, always did, but Seb was too mesmerized by Hudson to pay attention to the pain.

  Hudson's beautiful face was a picture of focus as he took care of Seb's knee. When they'd been together, Hudson had done this for Seb every day at work and at home. No one looked after Seb like Hudson. His care was unexpected, and had it come from anyone else, Seb would have thanked them and continued to do everything for himself, like he always did. But he'd never forget the warm smile or the affection in Hudson's eyes the first time he'd gone to massage Seb's knee. Seb would never forget his words either.

  "Let me take care of you, love. I want to do that for you. Will you let me?"

  Seb hadn't simply let Hudson take care of him--he'd relished it, thrived on it. He'd put himself, his trust, everything he was in Hudson's hands. Vulnerability was something he could never afford, and he found it hard to give up control, to let down his guard. He missed Hudson so goddamn much it choked him up inside.

  "Have you been sticking to your routine?" Hudson asked.

  "Yeah." Seb's voice came out rough, and Hudson turned his gaze up. He never missed a beat, an intake of breath, a look. "It's not the same," Seb admitted. "Not like when you do it."

  "Well, I am a doctor." Hudson turned his attention back to Seb's knee.

  "That's not why." Seb leaned forward to touch him, and Hudson stilled, his breath hitching. He swallowed visibly before slowly removing a roll of bandages from the kit. Seb's gut clenched, and he sat back, returning his hand to his knee. He no longer held the right to touch Hudson when the urge struck him. Hudson might bear his mark, but he wasn't Seb's.

  Seb averted his gaze while Hudson wrapped his knee. Damn, he hated this. Their relationship had been far from perfect, and they'd argued like any couple, but it never lasted. Seb couldn't stand having Hudson mad at him, and he couldn't bear to be away from him for long. All Seb had to do was look into those bright pools of blue, and he was lost, drowning in the love he had in his heart, so he gave in. He was a pushover where Hudson was concerned. Giving in was better than fighting. He couldn't stand the fighting. It tore at his insides. The subject of their worst arguments never changed--Seb was too protective.

  Seb had given in to Hudson from the beginning, allowing him to take care of Seb like he wanted to, but when Seb tried to do the same with Hudson, he came up against a wall. It was engrained in Hudson. Stiff upper lip and all that. He prided himself on his steadfast composure, his ability to guard against any vulnerability he might feel, and his self-reliance. Just because he let Seb in, allowed Seb to see him like no one else did, did not mean he was vulnerable. He did not need sheltering. However, Seb couldn't help himself, especially after he'd marked Hudson. He needed to protect what was his. The urge had grown with every passing day until one day he'd fucked it all up.

  Hudson's hands on his calf had him drawing a sharp breath and brought him back to the present. Despite the anguish in his heart, having Hudson in the same room made him smile. Very few understood Seb's inability to move on. There was no moving on from Hudson Colbourn.

  In their years apart, Seb had several sexual encounters, but he wasn't interested in moving beyond a few nights of sex with any of those guys. None of them was Hudson. Cael had been the first to change things. Seb had let down his guard with the young cheetah Therian, and the two had become good friends since, but in his heart of hearts, Seb had known it wouldn't work, and not just because Cael was in love with someone else. No one could come close to the man before him.

  With a smile, Seb leaned forward, and this time, he put his fingers under Hudson's chin. He lifted his face, and their eyes met.

  "Hey."

  Hudson gave him a bashful smile. "Hey."

  "Thanks for helping me out."

  Hudson's expression softened, and he relaxed. "Of course. Promise me you'll be more careful."

  "I promise." Seb gave him a wink and sat back. He looked down at himself. "Guess I should pull my pants back up, huh?" He waggled his eyebrows. "Unless you don't want me to."

  "You cheeky bugger." Hudson smacked Seb's flank playfully. "Stop it." He strapped Seb back into his leg brace before standing up.

  "Admit it, you love that about me."

  "I do," Hudson said with a sigh before catching himself. His face flushed, and Seb couldn't help but tease.

  "Better get dressed, then. Don't want you distracted for the rest of the day."

  Hudson's eyebrows shot up, and he laughed. "Oh, it's like that, ay?"

  Man, he loved that laugh. Seb pushed to his feet with Hudson's help, then pulled up his pants, his grin wide. "Yeah. What is it Dex says?" Seb snapped his fingers. "That's right." He turned around and lifted his shirt. "Who's got the booty? I got the booty."

  Hudson let out a bark of laughter. "Oh good Lord. You've been spending far too much time around that man. Next thing you know, you'll be leaving a trail of gummy bears in your wake."

  "Hardly. Doesn't make my statement less true, though," Seb said, fastening his belt.

  Hudson snickered and shooed him. "Get out of my office, you scoundrel. And no more flashing your arse at me."

  Seb headed for the door. He looked at Hudson over his shoulder. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

  "Get out," Hudson ordered, the gravity lost when he chuckled. A thought seemed to occur to him, and he hurried over. "Wait. How's Julia?"

  Seb was touched by Hudson's concern, but not at all surprised. Hudson was always asking about his parents, even if he didn't ask Seb specifically. Usually Hudson sent his love through Ethan, who then passed the message on to Seb to give to his parents. "She's okay. It's been a bit of a tough week."

  "Thomas?"

  Seb nodded. His dad had his good days, not so good days, and days where his mom cried herself to sleep. Those were the hardest for Seb. She tried her best to hide it from him, but he could tell when he spoke to her on the phone or came by to check on her. Most people assumed the Hobbs boys got their strength from their father, and although Thomas Hobbs was stronger than most and had obviously passed the trait on to his tiger Therian sons, they'd inherited their strength of heart from their mother. No matter the hardship or heartache she encountered over the years thanks to her husband's condition, she never gave up on him, never turned her back on him, and never stopped loving him.

  "Do you think...?" Hudson worried his bottom lip with his teeth. "Do you think it might be all right if I called her?"

  Seb blinked at him. He quickly snapped out of it. "Yeah, I think she'd love that."

  Hudson's smile was radiant. "I will, then. Thank you."

  "Okay." Seb gave him a wink. "Have a good day, Lobito."

  Hudson shook his head as he walked back inside. "Be safe, Sebastian."

  Well, at least Hudson hadn't asked him not to call him that. His knee was still killing him, but it felt less awful. Seb couldn't keep from grinning as he walked down the hall.

  Back in Unit Alpha, his fellow agents busied themselves as he walked by, doing everything to avoid eye contact in case he had something to say to them.

  When he reached his office, it was his turn to avoid eye contact. He took a seat behind his desk and logged into Themis. Seb didn't have to see Dom to know he was gr
inning like a dope. Dom was the kind of guy people noticed when he walked into a room, either because they heard him or because his presence demanded attention. At over six foot two and almost two hundred pounds, Dom had a square jaw, full lips, and hooded, hazel eyes with long, thick lashes. His eyebrows were dark and his brown hair short and tousled, adding to his roguish look, his expression always one of boyish mischief.

  "You're welcome."

  Seb grunted. "You're asking to get that smug look knocked off your face."

  "Whatever," Dom said with a snort. "It went well. You were smiling like an idiot."

  "Only idiot here is the one sitting across from me."

  Dom gasped in mock hurt. "Ooh, ouch. You wound me, bro."

  "If only," Seb muttered, but then his earpiece beeped, and Spark's voice came over the line.

  "Seb?"

  "Yes, Lieutenant."

  "Would you come to my office, please?"

  "Of course." The line went quiet, and he stood. "I need to go see the lieutenant. Could you check on the team? Lee hasn't submitted his report yet, and I want to make sure Zoey hasn't convinced Brianna to lock him out of his desk. Again."

  Dom gave him a salute, and Seb headed out into the bull pen. Why couldn't Sparks have called him before he'd made it to his office? All the sitting and standing was doing nothing for his knee. At the end of Unit Alpha, he took a left and found Sparks's office open. He walked in, surprised when she put the room into privacy mode.

  "That's new." Sparks's office had always been secure with no need for additional security measures. This didn't bode well.

  "Yes, well, the world was a different place a year ago." She motioned for Seb to sit in the empty chair across from her desk, and he did. Whatever she wanted to talk to him about, he had a feeling it had nothing to do with his job at the THIRDS.

  "Thank you for coming."

  "Of course."

  Sparks took a seat behind her desk, her intense gaze fixed on him. "Can I assume a speech on discretion is unnecessary?"

  "Got it." Definitely not about the THIRDS.

  "We need to discuss you appointing yourself Dr. Colbourn's personal security."

  At the mention of Hudson and his safety, Seb tensed. "Have you heard from Wolf?"

  Six months ago, what they had thought was a routine callout for Destructive Delta regarding a gang execution, turned out to be much more. Wolf had tried contacting Sloane and Dex about something, but the messenger he'd used was killed before he could deliver the message, forcing Wolf to come out of hiding to deliver it himself. No one understood why Wolf would insist they protect Hudson, but no one was taking the warning lightly. Hudson had promised he'd be more careful, but he wasn't about to go into hiding or allow his life to be interrupted, especially since they had no idea who they were protecting him from. If Hudson's life was in danger, Seb wasn't about to let Hudson out of his sight.

  "We'll get to that, but first, I need you to understand the severity of the situation and what you're signing up for. Despite several attempts to appoint Dex with one of the very best doctors TIN has to offer, he refuses. The only doctor Dex trusts is Dr. Colbourn. As the first surviving Human-Therian hybrid, Dex is invaluable to TIN."

  "So because Dex is invaluable and only trusts Hudson, that makes Hudson invaluable." As messed-up as that was, Seb had been a THIRDS agent long enough not to be surprised. Organizations like TIN were all about intel and how valuable an asset was. He didn't have to be a covert operative to know how it worked. Maybe he didn't know the ins and outs, and it was probably better that way, but the implications of her words weren't lost on him.

  "There's still so much we don't know about Dex and his mutation, other than the fact he shares Sloane's DNA and is exhibiting Therian traits. We've been monitoring his activity, as has Dr. Colbourn. So far Dex has developed our strength, healing capability, speed, and metabolism. Only time will tell what jaguar Therian traits he may possess as well."

  Seb nodded his understanding. "Do you think he'll shift?"

  "We can't say for certain, but it's unlikely, as Dex was born Human."

  "So were a lot of Pre-First Gens," Seb reminded her. "My dad was Human before he became infected with the Melanoe virus. Now he's a Therian."

  "That's true. I suppose all we can do is wait. We're also monitoring the select number of First Gens who possess the same anomalies in their blood that Sloane does. Let's get to the reason I called you in here, shall we? Admiral Moros was a member of a cabal known as the Makhai--Therians intent on keeping Therians the dominant species. For decades they've been killing off Humans like Dex, who were infected by their First Gen partners. Dex is the only one of his kind that we know of. His quick thinking in seeking out Dr. Colbourn for medical attention rather than going to the hospital has kept him off their radar."

  So it was possible there were more Humans like Dex. "And this organization is still out there?" Great, just what they needed. Another, scarier, more secretive group of nutcases.

  "Although Moros was one of its founders, we have reason to believe the Makhai is still in operation. They've retreated into the shadows, most likely to regroup. However, we believe the two gang members killed by Wolf six months ago, Juarez and Turner, were working for the Makhai. It's possible they're gathering intelligence and will soon resurface." She tapped away at her desk, and the screen on the wall behind and above her head flickered to life. Surveillance images of Dowling, Juarez, and Turner popped up on the screen. "Dowling was paid by Wolf to warn Sloane and Dex that they needed to protect Dr. Colbourn. Juarez and Turner killed Dowling so he couldn't deliver the message. Wolf then killed them. As Juarez and Turner were working for the Makhai, we believe the Makhai not only arranged Dowling's murder but sent Juarez and Turner to Greenpoint."

  "Why?"

  "Intel. Moros's death is classified. According to those documents, he died by my claws."

  Seb stared at her. "Does Dex know?"

  Sparks nodded. "He wasn't happy about it but agreed that we need to keep what he is a secret as long as possible. Unfortunately, I believe the Makhai have their suspicions."

  "How do you know?"

  "As I said, Juarez and Turner were sent to Greenpoint. After debriefing Destructive Delta, it became clear that the two had targeted Cael. No matter who they were up against, they kept trying to get to Cael. I believe they were trying to get Dex to out himself."

  "Shit." Seb shook his head. If there was a surefire way to make Dexter J. Daley lose his shit, it was to fuck with his family. "Let me guess, he went all Human-Therian hybrid on their asses."

  "So to speak. Juarez and Turner may have been killed before they could relay the information to their superiors, but there's no telling if any of the other Therians in Greenpoint were plants. It's been six months, and we haven't picked up any chatter regarding Dex or his abilities. However, if Wolf felt the need to warn us, then the Makhai must know something. None of this is a coincidence. Even if they discover what Dex is, between him, his newfound traits, and Sloane, I'm confident they'll manage. Dr. Colbourn is a different matter. In the very near future, Dex and Sloane may not be available to offer their protection. Steps are being taken to assure the utmost discretion. Dr. Colbourn has no association with TIN, but at this time, we can't confirm the Makhai hasn't taken an interest in him."

  Shit. "It's his association with Dex, isn't it?"

  "Yes. Dr. Colbourn is Dex's personal physician. If they can't get to Dex...."

  "Hudson's the next best thing." Seb ran a hand over his face. Fuck, this was worse than he thought. He knew it. The moment Dex walked into Hudson's house, he'd made Hudson a target. As pissed off as Seb was with Dex, he had to respect Hudson's decision, no matter how much he hated it.

  "This is where you come in," Sparks informed him.

  "Or where Hudson steps out."

  She didn't so much as blink. "Dex and Dr. Colbourn have formed a bond due to the marks they carry from their mates."

  Seb couldn't help but flinch at
the word mates. She was fully aware of their situation. Seb might be Hudson's mate, but unless Hudson took him back, they remained two halves of a whole. Incomplete.

  "Dr. Colbourn has taken Dex under his care. Do you really believe he'll walk away now?"

  Seb clenched his jaw. They both knew the answer to that. Hudson would never turn down someone who needed him, much less a friend he cared for dearly. Seb wasn't sure what to think about the two bonding over their marks. Was that why Dex was playing matchmaker? The guy wasn't nearly as subtle as he thought he was. His heart was in the right place, but he had some real unorthodox methods. Not to mention unpredictable ones.

  "Okay. I get it. Hudson might be in danger if this cabal knows what Dex is or Hudson's association with him and TIN. That just means you're going to be seeing a whole lot more of me."

  Sparks didn't skip a beat. "How does Dr. Colbourn feel about seeing a whole lot more of you? How are you going to deal with seeing him?"

  "I've made it clear to him that I'm not going anywhere."

  "Easier said than done."

  Tell me about it. "His safety is my priority." As much as it might crush him being around Hudson, knowing Hudson was safe was all that mattered.

  "I have plenty of good operatives I can assign--"

  Seb held up a hand to stop her. "If you want to have operatives keep an eye on him from a distance, that's fine. I would appreciate someone looking out for him when I can't be around, but I'm not walking away. It'll be a cold day in hell before I leave him out there on his own to face God knows what. I'm in this, whether he likes it or not. Whether I like it or not." He wasn't unreasonable. He couldn't very well shadow Hudson every moment of the day. They had jobs to do, cases to work, callouts. Seb could hardly follow him home.

  "Very well. Dom will assume the role of Team Leader on Theta Destructive if you're called away. I'll arrange your cover." She tapped away at her desk's interface. An icon appeared on the screen. It was a pair of silver shoes. Okay. That was... weird.

  "When you see that symbol appear on any of your communications devices, you tap it. It means you have a secure, incoming message from TIN." Her grin sent a chill through him. "Congratulations. Sebastian Hobbs, you are now part of the TIN Associate Program. Your training commences next week. Austen is your liaison."