by Kallie Frost
I left him in the stockroom and headed out in search of the bathroom. I stayed on the deck and followed it around the shop and down a kind of creepy alley between his shop and another. My feet echoed in the narrow space as I walked to the lone door at the end. I opened it slowly and, sure enough, it was a bathroom. There was a man at the sink washing his hands. There was something familiar about him, although I couldn't quite place it.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, realizing it was intended to be a one-person bathroom.
“No problem, I’m just finishing up,” He looked up at me. His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he recognized me as well, but couldn't remember me. I noticed the logo for Carrick’s store on his polo. “Excuse me,” he muttered as he slipped by me and out the door.
And then, I recognized him. He was clean-shaven and his hair was a different. But his voice was the same. My mouth went dry as the bathroom door swung shut behind him. I stared at it, frozen in place. Had he recognized me? Was he waiting outside the door for me? Hardly daring to breathe, I pressed an ear to the door and listened to his feet as they clomped away on the wooden deck.
It was the hunter.
All this time and he was right under our noses working in Carrick's own goddamn store. How the hell did this happen?
I waited a few beats. If I rushed after him now, he could recognize me. I waited as long as I dared, then flung open the door. The alley was empty. I raced back into the shop and to the storeroom to warn Carrick. He wasn't in it anymore! Damn it, where the hell had he gone?
I rushed back out to the sales floor, but couldn't see him. What kind of a nightmare had I just stumbled into? I raced outside. I had never been more grateful that the wardens insisted on sticking close. Kessel was in his car, trying to be inconspicuous by consulting a map. It would have worked, if not for the fact that the paper math was so archaic, it made him stick out more in my opinion. I made a mental note to remind some of these immortals that they needed to keep up with the times a little better. Imagine, a store without a website and someone looking at a paper map.
Without time to be subtle, I banged on his window. Kessel quickly popped the door open, looking all business. “What’s the matter?” he asked. He sounded unusually serious. It must have been my expression.
“The hunter is in there!” I cried. “He was in the bathroom; he works there! And I have no idea where Carrick went!”
Kessel swore and flew out of the car so fast, he might as well have been in owl form. His phone was already to his ear. “Use your bond, find Carrick, but don’t go to him, just give me the direction to head. I’m calling for back-up.”
As soon as he was distracted by his phone call I followed my senses to Carrick. Like hell I wasn’t going to go to him!
I felt like he was in the storeroom again, but he obviously wasn’t. It was then I noticed a door in the back. I looked around quickly for a weapon and spotted a rack of hockey sticks. I grabbed one, eased open the door, and peered out.
It opened out into a parking lot. Sure enough, Carrick was there. With the hunter. They were standing behind the open trunk of a van, going through boxes. As I watched, the hunter took a step away while Carrick was distracted and reached behind him for something tucked in his waistband.
I hurtled across the parking, now more thankful than ever that my knee was better. They both looked up at me in surprise. The hunter quickly recovered and drew his gun, but he was too slow. I don't know if I was faster as a shifter or maybe it was just pure adrenaline, but I was on him before he could line up for a shot. This time I didn’t mess around with threatening him; I swung the stick as hard as I could into the back of his hand. The sound of his bones crunching was followed by the gun clattering to the ground a hundred feet away
He clutched his hand with a scream. I finished the follow-through of my swing and used the momentum to strike again with all my might. This time I aimed for his head. I guess I kind of expected him to dodge. Honestly, I'm not sure what I expected. It was the first time I ever hit someone with a stick like this. Sure, I had gotten a few swings in here and there when the ref wasn't looking, but never a full-on slapshot as hard as I possibly could, aimed at someone. The impact snapped the stick, jarred my arms and shoulders, and sent the hunter flying to the ground. He didn't get back up. I stood there, jaw hanging down in shock, and clutching the broken half of the stick.
Carrick looked equally stocked. Perhaps a bit more so, considering he didn't know that it was the hunter. I adjusted my grip on the handle and raised it slightly, almost like it was a stake and wondered if I should stab the guy with it.
“Holy shit,” Kessel said from behind me. He stopped just inside my peripheral vision. “Maybe I should take up hockey.”
I exhaled a shaky breath.
“What exactly just happened?” Carrick asked, looking between me and Kessel, to the man on the ground, and in the direction of the gun.
Kessel snapped out a pair of handcuffs and went to work. The hunter groaned and I wasn't sure whether or not I was relieved that he wasn’t dead. “Brooks here,” Kessel said as he worked, “has just apprehended the hunter.”
Dev arrived just as Kessel was tucking the hunter into the backseat of his car.
“Well, this is a relief,” Dev said. “That’s him?”
“That’s him.”
Dev nodded in approval and beamed at me as Kessel summarized the encounter. “Well done, Brooks. Any other witnesses?”
“There’s an employee still in the shop, I can talk with her,” Carrick said.
“I’ll come with you.” Dev followed him in, leaving me outside with Kessel.
“You did great, Brooks, really,” he told me.
“Adrenaline and luck.”
Kessel laughed. “I’ll miss hanging around, although it’ll be nice to spend some time with my kid.”
“You have a kid?” I asked in surprise. I was positive he didn’t have a mate. Or at least not a true mate. I realized at that moment that I didn’t know if shifters ever had regular relationships or if they waited for their true mates to come along.
Carrick and Dev returned. My mate did not look happy.
“If you don’t mind me leaving my car here, Carrick, I’ll go with Kessel to bring this dirtbag in,” Dev was saying.
“Fine by me,” Carrick said.
We held hands as Dev and Kessel drove away with the hunter. Carrick pulled me into a hug and we leaned against each other for several minutes. It was finally over.
“I can't believe that just happened,” he said, pulling back to look at me.
“I can't believe the wardens didn't find him sooner,” I said in annoyance. “They almost lost me my mate twice.” I was pretty sure my hands were shaking, although I couldn't tell if it was from lingering adrenaline or from the fear of almost Carrick get shot again.
“They had no reason to look for him here,” he said bitterly. “According to Chrissy in there, he was hired a year ago.”
“What?” I yelped.
Carrick nodded grimly. “He must've got the job while his buddy was helping him hunt my brother. The wardens showed his picture around, but he was never recognized. We didn't have any reason to suspect an older employee… God, I can't believe it.”
“Well, it looks like he wears a wig whenever he's out hunting,” I said, trying to make him feel better. “I wouldn’t be surprised if his beard was fake too.”
“It’s not like I’ve been to the store at all recently, either…”
“What happens now?” I asked.
“The wardens will interrogate him to see what they can figure out, whether or not it's working alone or anything like that. And…” he hesitated. “Well, depending on what they figure out they’ll probably clear us to finally leave my parents’ house.” He broke into a smile. “We can finally move in together and set up the nursery for Wane. I love you,” he said softly. “I really do.” There was something odd about his voice. Probably freaked out by another close brush with death.
“I love you too,” I told him.
~~*~~
A couple of days later, life had nearly turned upside down. The house was abuzz with everyone getting ready to go back to their lives and their own homes. I couldn't wait to hear back from the wardens and find out whether or not the hunter had been working alone, and if Carrick and I could start our lives together officially.
It was just after sunset and we were out in the backyard together. Carrick was changed and was trying to get Wane to change for the first time as well. I didn't think he would be able to, but Carrick assured me it was possible. I supposed that since Wane could change during the full moon it must have been within his power to do so any other night.
Our first couple of full moons as a family made me nervous, because I couldn’t believe that our wolves wouldn’t hurt the baby, but I was assured it wouldn’t happen. I was especially freaked out with all the stuff about SIDS and making sure the baby stayed sleeping on his back, but I guess we were pretty good parents as wolves too. Every morning after the full moon we woke up as humans, sometimes spooning, sometimes on either side of Wane, and he was always peacefully sleeping on his back nearby.
To my delight he abruptly sprouted fur. I watched, fascinated, as he changed into an adorable little wolf puppy.
‘You did it,’ Carrick cried happily. He nuzzled the puppy and licked him, as Wane climbed to unsteady legs and stumbled a few steps.
“He can walk?” I cried in surprise. He was only just barely learning how to roll over as a human.
‘Shifters are little bit different in wolf form,’ Carrick told me. ‘Oh no,’ he added suddenly. He changed swiftly back into a human, scooped up our son, and handed him to me. Then, he stepped in front of me, almost protectively. I was getting better at understanding the strange senses that I sometimes picked up as a shifter, and I could tell now that not only was Carrick afraid of something, but he was practically boiling with alpha-ness. I wasn't quite sure how to explain it, but he was in some way I knew that he was exerting his power and authority as an alpha.
It could only be directed at the man who was now walking toward us. I had never seen him before, but I could tell that he was a shifter, and was fairly sure I was sensing omega from him as well. He didn't look outwardly threatening, as far as I was concerned. And since he was an omega, I didn't think there was anything he could really be doing that would bother Carrick so much. He stopped in front of us with a smile. His eyes drifted to Wane briefly, and his smile widened a little more, and I was sure I caught a flicker of wistfulness.
“Carrick Silvanus?” he asked.
Carrick nodded and moved a couple more inches in front of me. “You must be Chandler,” Carrick said, the tension evident in his voice.
The man, Chandler apparently, nodded. “I see my reputation precedes me,” he said with a wry grin.
“You're obviously not Elara,” Carrick said.
Chandler smiled again, but this time it looked almost forced. “Well, there are only two of us,” he said flatly. He turned to me. “I suppose that would make you Brooks?” I nodded. Carrick was practically radiating with nervousness.
Holy shit. Everything fell rapidly into place and I looked at Chandler with newfound alarm, and a bit of curiosity. This was why Carrick had been acting funny for the past couple of days! It wasn’t because he was nervous from his brush with the hunter, it was because he must've known that they would call in a dragon to read the hunter’s mind, just like he was supposed to do with me. And apparently, to erase it as well. If the hunter was taken care of, then not only did that mean that the coast was clear for the dragon to come check me out, but that the dragon would already be here in town… and it seemed that Chandler was that dragon.
I turned to my mate with a snarl. “You didn’t say he would be here so soon! You didn't think to warn me?”
“I didn't want to worry you,” Carrick said.
“Next time, worry me! I deserve to know when someone is coming to read my mind! Not to mention to determine whether or not you're guilty of anything! I've been freaking out about this for months and you didn't think to tell me that was imminent!”
“Sorry,” Carrick said, dipping his head in shame. “Next time I'll tell you, I promise.”
“I see you’ve found yourself a headstrong omega,” Chandler said in amusement.
I squared my shoulders and stared the smaller man down. “Is that a problem?”
“Not for me,” Chandler said with a grin. “And you can both relax. I swear, the tension is just radiating from both of you. First of all, I don't read minds. Although yes, I can indeed erase memories. You, however, don’t need to worry about that. For one thing, I'm not going to split up a pair of true mates, nor separate any parent from their infant, regardless of how your turning happened. Second, I already spoke with the warden present during the turning, and I know that not only was Brooks facing a potentially life-threatening injury, but that you were able to secure his permission prior to changing him. Those are both pretty important factors. And aside from a little animosity toward me, I don't sense anything from Brooks that would concern me. All in all, I am already pretty satisfied with what I've seen.”
“So, that means…” Carrick and I exchanged a nervous, hopeful look.
Chandler nodded once. “That means you're both free to go, as it were. Enjoy your family and your hunter-free lives.”
Carrick crossed his arms over his chest angrily. “I'm going to kill that bastard!” I looked at him curiously. “Rion told me that you shifted! I've been hanging out here dreading a dragon showing up. And you barely even blinked at us!”
Chandler laughed. “No, no. I did shift for your brother. His mate was still human and it's easier for me to read humans in my dragon form. Since Books is already changed, I saw no need to shift. Unless of course, Brooks wants to see me turn?” He pursed his lips in amusement and I wondered if he could sense my curiosity.
“I mean… it’s not every day you get to see a dragon…”
Chandler stepped back away from us, stripped off his clothes and bundled them into a backpack. Then he stood still. For a moment nothing happened. Then, his skin began to darken. I watched, fascinated, as he began to turn bright red. When his skin was almost completely shiny red, it began to split like it was flaky. It broke into scales just, before he began to grow. His arms and legs abruptly lengthened, his face jutted out, and red wings sprouted from his back. I was certain that my jaw dropped. A moment later, there was a dragon before us. He arched his neck and inclined his head curiously at us. His wings unfurled, shook out a little bit, and then folded back against him. He picked up the backpack in his talons and slid it over one arm.
‘Since I've already changed, I might as well get going. I do have a long flight ahead of me.’
“You're flying all the way back to the Parliament?”
Chandler shrugged, which was really strange to see a dragon do. ‘It's just a straight shot up the coast,’ he said. ‘And if I get lost, my phone has GPS,’ he added with a chuckle. ‘Anything else before I go?’
“I’d like to know what the hell the hunter was doing working in my store,” Carrick said angrily. “If you gleaned any of that before you wiped his brain.”
Chandler nodded. ‘Apparently, both hunters were journalists, and bird watchers on the side. They were here birdwatching last year and snuck into a closed part of the refuge on Eclipse.’
I hadn’t gotten a chance to go there yet, but I knew he was referring to the wildlife refuge on Eclipse Island, a large island next to Half Moon. Eclipse sheltered Half Moon, and the Silvanus Family Island, from the ocean and featured a large wooded area and popular beach. It was a nature lover’s paradise, but only a fraction of it was open to visitors. Carrick said his family sometimes went to the beach there at night when the island closed.
Chandler continued, ‘They saw someone in your family shift. It seems like they got such a good look, that they were able to fight the compulsion to f
orget about shifters and not document anything. They immediately wrote everything down and took video.’ Carrick cursed, but Chandler quickly reassured him, ‘We’re certain we have it all and have destroyed it. None of it was uploaded to the internet. The one we caught today got a job at your shop to keep an eye on you and seemed quite disappointed you were never there. The other followed your brother for his year away. I’m confident they were working alone, so I let the wardens know you can all get back to normal.’
“Thank you,” Carrick and I chorused.
‘Well, that's it, then. I'll see you gentlemen some other time,’ Chandler said.
We both nodded. I felt like a weight had been lifted from me. I knew that Carrick felt the same. I took his hand and gave it a squeeze, with a small smile. Chandler turned his massive head up to the sky and looked around. Then, with one final nod, he gave a powerful flap of his wings. The sand around us spiraled up from the wind he created. Glad that Wane was already in his wolf form, I turned him toward me to protect his face from the sand, allowing his fur to do the rest. The wind and the sound of flapping faded, and I opened my eyes to see that Chandler was making his way over our island and toward the ocean. I watched as he flew higher and higher, until he was just a speck in the dark sky.
“Aren’t people are going to see a dragon?” I asked Carrick.
“It’s dark out and he’s over the ocean.” Carrick shrugged. “I imagine he knows what he's doing.”
“Where is the Alpha Parliament?”
“Somewhere off the coast of New England,” he said. “I imagine he'll fly straight up that way.”
“And that's it then? You’re cleared of all charges? If that's what they were.”
“Yup. We don't have to worry about the Alpha Parliament anymore. Now it's just us.” He put his arm around me and our pup.
Wane began to wiggle around in my arms, and I realized that he was turning back into a human. I quickly adjusted the way I was holding him and soon I was cradling a tiny baby again. I marveled at how different his physical capabilities were in his different forms. It must've been frustrating, if he was old enough to experience such an emotion, to go from being able to stumble around and play as a puppy, to basically doing nothing as a human.