by JC Holly
“Maybe I should become a chef, Spike.”
The cat was on the counter, his nose in the empty bowl as he licked at the juices from the vegetables. He looked up for a moment on hearing his name, then dipped down again and resumed what he was doing.
Luke glanced over his shoulder at the sound of a car pulling up, then smiled as Brandon came in through the door and tossed his keys onto the table.
“Well?” Luke asked, as he wiped his hands on a kitchen towel. “Did you get your job promotion?”
There was a moment where Brandon’s expression was hard to read, but it was soon replaced by a big smile. “I did, yeah. I still get to work from home most of the time, too.”
“That’s great. I’d kiss you, but I don’t want to burn dinner.”
“That’s all right. Need to check something on my laptop anyway. Will it be much longer?”
Luke glanced at the meal and weighed up the various pans. “Ten minutes?”
“Cool. Be right back.”
He watched Brandon head into the front room, then turned back to what he was doing. In the background he heard Brandon typing on his keyboard, and wondered what he was looking up. Something to do with work, he guessed.
Spike leapt off the counter and headed in to greet his owner, leaving Luke to finish the cooking. He wasn’t alone for long, though, as Brandon reappeared a moment later.
“Luke, I’ve got something to ask you, and I want an honest answer.” He colored, then glanced at the wall, clearly uncertain about something. “This might sound weird as hell, but it’s important, okay?”
Whatever was on the man’s mind, it was serious enough to wipe away his permanent half-smile. A waft of a familiar scent reached over the various food smells, and made Luke’s stomach lurch. Johnny. He turned back to his pans and started turning everything off, then moved to the table and sat down.
“What’s up?”
Brandon took in a deep breath, then nodded. “Okay. Are you human?”
For a brief moment all Luke could do was stare as his world shattered. Johnny had actually done it. He’d told Brandon an hour before Luke had intended to reveal all. Even if Luke explained that he was about to tell him himself, Brandon would just think it was him trying to cover his tracks.
Brandon folded his arms. “Well?”
Luke sighed. “Not entirely, no.”
The reply had a physical effect. Brandon staggered forward a step seemingly in surprise, and had to grab the back of a chair to keep himself upright. Luke stood to help him, but Brandon thrust out his other hand to keep him back. The movement felt like a knife in Luke’s heart.
It took a few moments for Brandon to recover, then he shook his head slowly and sat at the opposite end of the table to Luke.
“Johnny was waiting outside the office,” he murmured. “I guess he’d seen me at the garage earlier and followed, then waited till I was alone.”
“I—”
“I didn’t believe it,” Brandon said, cutting Luke off. “My search on the laptop brought up a hell of a lot of sites dedicated to shapeshifters, but even then I thought they were just Dungeons and Dragons sites or something.” He laughed, though not from mirth. “But then you said it was true, and I know you weren’t kidding around.” He looked up. “You weren’t, were you?”
Luke shook his head. “No, I wasn’t.”
For the longest time the only sounds in the room were the cooling pans of food and Spike’s claws as he walked across the hardwood floor. Brandon simply stared into space. Just before Luke spoke, Brandon stood.
“When were you going to tell me?”
“Tonight.”
Brandon snorted. “Coincidental, that.”
“I’m serious. It’s why I cooked. I was going to do everything right, then sit down and explain it all.” Luke clenched a fist under the table. “I guess Johnny figured the same and decided to try and fuck things up.”
More silence.
“I guess that makes sense,” Brandon said, eventually. “So did he give you an ultimatum last night? He sounded like he wasn’t taking the breakup well.”
Luke nodded. “He wanted to get back together. Basically suggested that if I didn’t break it off with you, he’d tell you everything. Normally I wait longer before telling someone. It’s not exactly a fun conversation to have, after all.”
Brandon met his gaze. “So let’s have it.”
“Okay. You want to take this to the lounge?”
The man didn’t answer, instead turning and walking into the other room in silence. Luke joined him and sat on one end of the sofa. Brandon took the armchair opposite, and Luke tried not to take that as a sign.
“All right.” Luke let out a slow breath. “So, shapeshifters are real, as are a number of other supernatural beings.”
“What is a shapeshifter, then? You can turn into different people? Or is it just animals? Am I even looking at the real you?”
The last comment hurt, but Luke knew Brandon was confused and a little scared, so he let it pass without comment.
“Shapeshifters can turn into one kind of animal, which is chosen by who bit them. For instance a bear shifter can only create more bear shifters. I’m a wolf shifter.”
“So a werewolf?”
“Pretty much, though the old stories make us out to be something we’re not. We don’t turn into some half-man, half-wolf creature, Just a regular wolf. Also, it’s entirely up to us when to shift, though the urge is stronger when there’s a full moon.”
“What about silver?”
“A silver bullet will kill us, but that’s because it’s a bullet. A lead one will have the same effect. We heal fast, though, so we tend to recover from pretty much anything. We’re also immune to all diseases.”
Brandon leant forward a little in his chair, though Luke doubted he realized. “And what about the shifting itself. Does it hurt?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Luke smirked. “It gets better with time, though.”
Brandon nodded, more to himself than anything, it seemed, then straightened in his chair, his hands gripping the arms tight. “So you were bit by another shifter, and that made you one. What if you accidentally bit someone? Would they become a shifter, too?”
“No. It sounds weird, but a shifter has to want to turn the person, or it won’t work. There’s no such thing as an accidental shifter, just those who chose it, and those who didn’t but were bitten anyway.”
“And which are you?”
“The second.”
* * * *
As Brandon sat and listened to Luke’s story, his confusion and anger turned into understanding and sympathy. Luke hadn’t chosen to be what he was. It had been thrust upon him by a shifter who wanted company, and soon after Luke had been left to discover his abilities by himself when the one that had bitten him was killed in a territorial dispute ten years ago.
The whole idea still seemed surreal, though. That a race of people capable of changing their form existed sounded like something from a story. Luke would no doubt prove it if asked, but Brandon wasn’t sure if he wanted proof. If he did, it meant that Brandon had spent his entire life in the dark and that disconcerted him. To think that the people in his life through the years could have been hiding similar secrets.
“Who knows?”
For a moment he thought Luke had said it, then realized it had been his own voice.
“Not many,” Luke said. “The guys at the garage, and Delilah.”
“Delilah?” Brandon closed his gaping mouth. “She knew you were a shifter, and that I was oblivious, and she still set me up with you?”
Luke nodded. “I guess she figured you could handle it.”
Can I? He stared at Luke and found he couldn’t come up with an answer. On one hand, he didn’t like being lied to, and not telling someone something so damn important was just as bad as a lie. On the other hand, Luke had told him pretty damn fast, even if it was brought forward by Johnny. They’d only had one real date, aft
er all.
“One date,” he muttered.
Luke frowned. “What?”
“I was just thinking. After only one real date, and a few times together, you trusted me with this.” Brandon half-smiled. “You could have just dumped me and moved on, and Johnny probably would have left it there.”
“Probably, yeah. But I didn’t want to dump you, Brandon. I like you, and I think we work well together.” Luke stared at his hands. “I’d like us to continue dating, but it’s all up to you, now.”
Brandon nodded. “I…” He picked at a loose thread on the arm of his chair. “This is unreal. Up until a couple of hours ago, I thought I understood the world, for the most part. Now it turns out I’ve only been aware of half the picture.”
“It’s tough, I know.” Luke smiled. “When I was first turned, I thought I was crazy. Almost checked myself into a hospital for a psych evaluation.”
“What stopped you?”
“I met a couple of guys in a bar who were also shifters, and they helped a lot. You’ve met them, in both forms.”
Brandon leant forward a little. “The wolves on the run?”
“Yeah. They got overexcited and didn’t check for people. One was hidden in the bushes.”
“Who were they? Or is that a secret?”
Luke shook his head. “It’s not a secret to those who know about us. They were Chris and Carl.”
“From the garage?”
“Yeah. All my staff are shifters.” Luke colored. “They, uh, I’m their leader. Sort of. I don’t go in for the alpha male pack leader thing, really.”
“Explains why that wolf didn’t maul you. So, not only was one shifter under my nose for the past week, there were a bunch more.” Brandon raised an eyebrow. “Probably should’ve started with that part, instead of throwing it into the conversation after I was coming down from my freak out.”
Luke smiled. “You’re coming down?”
“Was.” Brandon laughed. “Okay, yeah, a little.”
Luke’s smile faded, replaced by a serious expression. “Look, I need to know how you feel about this. I really don’t want to lose you, but just say the word and I’m gone. No hard feelings.”
Brandon stared at the man once more. The whole situation confused the hell out of him and brought up a million questions, but he didn’t want to lose Luke. That much was certain. He sighed and stood from his chair.
“I’m going to be asking you about a ton of things over the next few days, but I think I can work through this.”
Luke’s eyebrows raised, a look of hope on his face. “You mean that?”
“I do.”
“Can I get a hug, then?”
Brandon laughed and nodded, and Luke crossed the room, sweeping him into a tight embrace.
“We’ll get through it,” he promised.
“I’m sure we will,” Brandon agreed. “Though we do have a problem that can’t be fixed with questions.”
Luke broke the hug. “What’s that?”
“What to do about Johnny.”
Chapter Fifteen
Without waking his lover, Luke reached for his cell phone that lay on the side table and sent a quick text to Carl, regarding last night’s plans, then another to Delilah, telling her that he’d come out and that Brandon might need to talk to someone who went through a similar situation. She replied straight away, saying that she’d be there in an hour, then Carl replied, simply saying, “Understood. I’ll get back to you ASAP.”
His plans in motion, Luke lay back in the bed and closed his eyes. The doorbell rang seconds later, and he realized he’d fallen asleep again. Brandon stirred at the sound, opening one eyelid.
“Who’s that?”
Luke sniffed the air. “Delilah.”
Brandon’s other eye opened. “You can do that?”
“Yeah. Once I’ve met someone once, I remember their scent.”
He smirked. “How the hell did you walk into the bathroom of a club and not pass out, then?”
“Great restraint. That’s also how I didn’t recognize your scent when we met in the garage. I was trying hard not to use my nose.” Luke climbed out of bed and pulled on Brandon’s robe, then discarded it again when it barely closed. “Eh, she’s seen me in my boxers before.”
“Might as well give her a cheap thrill,” Brandon said as he pulled on the robe. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
Luke jogged down the steps, deftly leaping over the snoozing cat on the bottom step, then opened the door. Delilah stood with a tray of coffee in one hand and a bag of donuts in the other. On seeing Luke she raised an eyebrow.
“Now why can’t I be greeted by near-nude men every day?”
“I’ll let you slap my ass if that’ll help?” Luke grinned and took the tray from her. “C’mon in, cutie.”
She laughed and swatted his ass as he turned. “Well somebody’s in a good mood. Where’s Brandon?”
“He’ll be down in a minute.”
“Tired him out, did you?”
“I was a boy scout last night.” Luke led Delilah into the lounge and sat on the sofa. “We talked a bunch, then went to sleep.”
Delilah nodded. “How did he take it?”
Brandon stepped into the lounge. “Pretty well, I thought,” he said. “Given that I had my whole idea of the universe shifted.”
Luke watched as the two hugged, then scooted over so they could all sit on the sofa. Spike joined them, starting on Brandon’s lap before shifting to Delilah’s and curling into a tight ball. She scratched at his neck with her freshly painted nails.
“I remember when Luke told me,” she said as she reached for a coffee. “I’d known him a year or so, and we were getting really close, and he finally decided I was worthy of knowing, I guess.”
Luke shrugged and glanced at Brandon. “You know what she’s like. She can smell secrets. Any longer and she would have finagled it out of me somehow.”
Delilah punched him on the arm. “Hey!”
“You deny it?”
“No, but it’s rude to point it out in company.”
Luke poked out his tongue.
“Anyway,” she said, sipping at her coffee before resting it on Spike’s back. “I didn’t believe him at first, of course, but I started to realize he wasn’t lying. Everything I knew was wrong. I was never religious, but I do love my fantasy books and movies, so I had a skewed view of anything that wasn’t human.”
“Hey,” Luke said.
“Sorry. Wasn’t one hundred percent human.” She batted her eyelashes. “Better?”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes.”
Brandon cut into their bickering. “That’s how I felt, too. Still do, since it was only last night I found out.”
Delilah nodded. “Took him a year to tell me. He must like you.”
“I do,” Luke said. “A lot.”
Brandon flashed him a smile. “Plus, y’know, Johnny told me before you could.”
“What!” Delilah reacted so loudly that Spike launched himself from her lap and rocketed from the room. “Johnny did that? I’ll kill him!”
Luke put a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her. “It’s okay. I was intending to tell Brandon soon anyway. Johnny just brought it forward.”
“It’s not okay, Luke.” Delilah batted his hand away and stood. “That little jackhole tried to split you up and you’re just sitting there like it’s no big deal!”
Luke shook his head. “No, we’re not.”
“Not what?”
“Not just sitting here. I’ve already spoken to Carl, and he’s taking care of a few things in the background.”
Delilah looked at Luke, then Brandon, then the floor. “Oh. Sorry.”
“Sit down, Dee,” Brandon said, grinning. “And there’s no need to be sorry. We love that you care so much.”
We. The word sounded good coming from Brandon’s lips. If he’d any doubts before about the man not taking the news well, they were all gone now. If Delilah hadn’t been there he
would have swept Brandon into a hug and refused to let go.
“All right, so what’s the plan?” Delilah asked as she took her seat once more. “I don’t suppose Carl happens to be moonlighting as a hit man?”
Luke snorted. “Nothing so violent. We’ll just be delivering a very…confident message to Johnny. One he won’t be able to ignore. Which means we have to find him first. Hence putting my best trackers on it.”
“My best trackers,” she said. “It’s a rarity that you use pack-speak.”
“This is one of the very rare cases where I intend to exploit my authority for personal gain.”
“Oh, please. Your boys would follow you to hell and back and you know it.”
Luke allowed himself a moment of pride over that. It was probably true, too. He’d looked after his boys, and they looked after him.
“Still,” he said. “I don’t like throwing instructions around.”
As he leant to pick up his coffee, his cell phone chirped. Carl was calling. He glanced up at the other two in the room and half-smiled.
“That was fast. You two talk. I’ll be back in a minute.”
* * * *
As soon as Luke left the room, Delilah scooted closer to Brandon and leant close enough to his ear that he could feel her breath.
“You wouldn’t believe how good Luke’s hearing is,” she whispered. “How are you handling it? Honestly, now.”
He turned and leant to her ear. “Just as I said, honey. It was a hell of a shock, but I’ve slept now and things don’t seem quite so crazy.”
“Good,” she said, the whispering apparently finished with. “Once I knew, stuff started making sense. Like all the wolf sightings that happen, even though farmers report that they’ve had no extra killing of livestock. I always thought that one was weird. Turns out the wolves were getting their meat at burger joints like the rest of us.”
“And those ‘miraculous healing’ stories on the internet,” Brandon said, nodding. “I read one a couple of days ago about a man getting hit by a car going fifty. He hit the ground, then stood up and walked away.” He frowned. “Wait, can Luke do that?”