Summer of Awakenings

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  “Oh God,” Travis held his stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  “Most of the kids are scared and scarred. They must know this is a place of safety, we will never judge them, never hurt them. They must feel safe at all times,” Caden addressed the group. “Ryder will turn eighteen while at camp; we need to throw him a party. There are also a few other children who will be having their birthdays during their time here. Most of them have not had a home for over two years. Let us make them feel welcome.”

  Chapter Three

  Will opened one eye and tried to focus. It was slightly blurry. He sat up and looked around the room. Clothing was laid out at the end of the bed and Will pulled the blankets back. He was in boxers. And that was all. His cheeks heated. Had Seth undressed him? Will grabbed for his shirt and pants and quickly pulled his T-shirt over his head.

  “That’s quite a bruise on your ribs.”

  Will started at the voice and turned to look at the doorway. Seth stood, leaning against the wall, ankles crossed.

  “I fell,” Will mumbled, scrambling to put his pants on.

  “Looks to be a few weeks old. What did you fall on?”

  “The stairs in the dorms; I lost my footing.”

  “Huh…” Seth narrowed his eyes. The bruise looked like a balled fist. In fact, he could swear he saw fingerprint bruises on Will’s back. Seth fought the anger rising at the thought of someone hurting his mate. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “So, I thought I’d take you out to see Apollo today.”

  “What?” Will turned quickly and lost his balance. He grabbed for the counter and missed. Strong arms came around him, righting him.

  “Hey, slow down there.” Seth helped Will to stand. He reached for Will’s head and Will shrank back from him again. Seth dropped his hand to his side. “Sorry,”

  Will sighed in frustration. “It’s not you; I don’t know why I keep doing that.”

  “Because you are used to it,” Seth said quietly. “I would never lay a hand on you to hurt you, Will.”

  Will opened his mouth to speak and a yelp came out instead.

  Seth followed Will’s line of sight and laughed quietly. “Jesus, he’s like a stalker isn’t he?”

  Will walked to the window. Apollo was staring at him through the glass. “What is with that horse?”

  “He likes you,” Seth chuckled.

  Will tilted his head. “He kinda freaks me out.”

  “Well, let’s go see him so maybe he’ll back off.”

  ~~

  Will met Seth outside. The guy was taller than the horse. Will walked over to Apollo and stood in front of him. The horse whinnied and smelled his hair. Will felt goose bumps across his forehead as Apollo’s warm breath traveled across his skin. He hadn’t been this close to a horse since he’d been thrown. Seth was smiling at him and Will’s heart raced.

  “He likes the way you smell.” Seth had to admit he also loved the scent coming from Will. The mate bond was strong; he already wanted to kill whoever had hurt Will.

  “It’s nothing special, just some random shampoo.” Will stared at Seth. The man’s eyes were closed and a warm breeze floated between them, lifting Seth’s black hair gently. He had the most beautiful face. “Are you okay?”

  Seth opened his eyes. Will’s hair was a shade of brown he hadn’t seen before, almost like it had blond highlights, but it was his eyes that caught Seth’s attention and kept it. “Yes,” Seth smiled and looked over Apollo at the enclosure. “Seems as if Fury wants a word, big guy.”

  “Is that the horse that tried to run me over?” Will asked, edging closer to Seth.

  “Fury wouldn’t have run you over, I can promise you that.” Seth put his hand out to Will. “Why don’t you come with me and say hello to her?”

  “Oh…I don’t know…”

  Seth leaned over, getting closer to Will. “I’d never let her hurt you.”

  Will looked into Seth’s eyes; they were chartreuse green and he found himself entranced.

  “Will?” Seth took Will’s hand gently. “You can trust me, I promise. I would never cause you harm.”

  Will nodded, slipping his hand further into Seth’s. “Okay,”

  Seth narrowed his eyes at Fury as they made their way closer, sending a mental message for her to behave. They walked to the gate and Seth reached out, running his fingers through Fury’s mane.

  “Here,” Seth helped Will to stand on the fencing. “Just run your hand along her neck.”

  Will tentatively put his hand out and brushed across Fury’s long neck. “She’s so beautiful,” Will whispered. The mare was solid white with beautiful, kind eyes. It was hard to believe this was the same horse that he’d rolled out of the way of. “How come you tried to mow me down, huh, girl?” Will smiled as Fury nuzzled his chest.

  “See?” Seth grinned. “She’s sorry.”

  Will turned to Seth with a smile. “Thanks for this.”

  “For what?”

  “I know what you’re doing.” Will got down from the fence and looked up at Seth.

  Seth turned and started walking back towards the mess hall. Looking over his shoulder, he smiled. “What am I doing?”

  Will walked behind him with a grin of his own. “You heard I was afraid of horses.”

  Seth stopped and turned to face Will. “No one had to tell me, Will. I could see it in your eyes. Believe it or not, they are just as afraid of you right now. They’ve all been abused, so trusting someone is hard for them to do.”

  Will took Seth’s hand in his; it looked so small in Seth’s much larger one. “Thank you anyway.”

  “If you want, when you want to spend time with them I’ll go with you. I mean, if that makes you more comfortable.”

  Will smiled. Walking backwards, he pulled Seth with him. “I think that’s a good idea. Have you eaten yet?”

  “No, I came to check on you first.”

  Will stopped, dropping Seth’s hand. “Really?”

  “Yes,” Seth stepped closer to Will, but left a fair amount of room. “I was worried about you.”

  Will knew his cheeks were flushing bright red; he could feel his ears warming. “Oh…”

  “So,” Seth reached for Will’s hand, but stopped before they met, waiting for Will to close the distance. “Breakfast?”

  Will looked down at the offered hand. He slid his hand into Seth’s and laced their fingers together. “Sure.”

  ~~

  “Oh my God, that is so cute!” Olivia whispered.

  They were all at the window watching Will walking up to the chow hall with Seth.

  “They’re coming!” Wyatt ran back to the table and sat down. He grabbed his toast and resumed eating.

  The rest of the kids flew back to their spots as Will and Seth strolled into the chow hall.

  “Morning guys,” Will called out to them.

  “Hey, morning, we didn’t know you were up yet.” Kory shoveled a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

  “Did you leave us any food?” Seth eyed the buffet.

  “Of course we did!” Wyatt wiped his mouth and stood up. “Well, we’re off to…do stuff.”

  “We are?” Kory grabbed for another piece of toast. “Ow!” Kory narrowed his eyes at Olivia.

  “Yes, we are.” Olivia grabbed her toast and stood as well. “We’ll see you guys later.”

  Kory followed them outside and rubbed his shin. “Damn, Olivia! That hurt!”

  “We wanted to give them some alone time?” Olivia raised her brows. She noticed Jacob making his way over. “And I think someone wants to speak with you.”

  “Hey guys, good morning,” Jacob half waved at the group.

  “Then go,” Kory drawled.

  “I don’t need a kick to the shin.” Olivia swatted the back of Kory’s head.

  “Ow, dammit!” Kory rubbed his head.

  “Something wrong?” Jacob walked up on all the kids leaving. “Was it the way I look? Or something I said?”

&n
bsp; “Neither, Jacob,” Wyatt waved. “We have stuff to do.”

  “What stuff?” Jacob tilted his head.

  “I don’t know!” Wyatt said, exasperated. “I’ll make stuff up!”

  “He’s good at that,” Sebastian grinned.

  “Come on.” Wyatt dragged Sebastian.

  Jacob watched in amusement as the guys left. “Not very subtle, are they?”

  “Huh?” Kory turned his attention to the very large - and very close - Jacob Steele.

  “They are about as subtle as a flying brick. They wanted us to be alone.” Jacob leaned against a tree, smiling at the redness covering Kory’s face.

  “Oh.” Kory licked his lips nervously.

  Jacob almost groaned. Damn, those lips were so inviting. “So, I need help today.”

  “Doing what?”

  “I’ve got a padded suit I need tested,” Jacob eyed Kory’s body. “I think you’ll fit just fine.”

  “Padded suit?”

  “Well, yes. Seth and I can’t hit you guys without some form of protection.” Jacob pushed off the tree and stood closer to Kory. “So, you up for it?”

  My dick is up, that’s for damn sure. “Yes, I can help you.” Kory shook the thoughts of a naked and sweaty Jacob from his mind. “Lead the way.”

  ~~

  The training area was huge. Riley, Caden and Wayne had spared no expense. Again. Kory could see why a self-defense class was going to be taught. A lot of the kids had been bullied to the point of hospitalization and needed to learn how to defend themselves from much bigger opponents. Jacob Steele and Seth Ralston were perfect trainers. Not only did they have the muscle, but the height as well. Kory had only faced down homophobes one night when he’d gone alone to Cuffs and Stuff while Austin and Kurt had been camping. If it hadn’t been for Jacob, he’d have gotten his ass kicked six ways from Sunday. Jacob went into the small building that served as the equipment building and came back out with a red suit.

  “Really?” Kory tilted his head.

  “Yup,” Jacob walked over to Kory. “You want me to help you put it on?”

  Kory eyed the contraption and laughed. “Yes, I’ll need help.” Kory held Jacob’s shoulders and stepped into the suit. They were inches apart and Kory had ceased breathing.

  “I need your arms.”

  “What?” Kory snapped out of his daze.

  “Arms?” Jacob held the suit out.

  “Oh!” Kory laughed and put his arms in the sleeves. He could feel Jacob behind him snapping something and the suit got tighter.

  “This feels weird.” Kory tried to step forward and was pulled back.

  “It’s hard to walk in that; I don’t want you falling on that cute face.” Jacob grinned from behind Kory.

  “You think I’m cute?” Kory squeaked.

  Jacob came around and held in a laugh. Kory looked like a red Gumby. “I think you are gorgeous.” Jacob grabbed Kory before he fell backward. “Whoa, you okay?”

  “Yes, I just need to get used to being in this thing. Give me a second and let me see if I can stand up.” Kory stopped and looked up at Jacob. “Wait, did you just say you think I’m gorgeous?”

  “You just now heard that?” Jacob chuckled. “Test the suit.”

  Kory tested his balance and figured out how he could stand without falling over. “Okay, now what?”

  Jacob pushed on the suit and Kory held his balance. “Okay, we are going to go over some simple moves and we’ll see if you can maintain your balance. Now, I’m going to come at you with a right hook. What are you going to do?”

  “Run?” Kory chuckled.

  “Running is good if things get out of hand and if you can break away. Always avoid a confrontation if you can. When I come at you, I want you to block my punch. Are you ready?”

  Kory adjusted his stance and put his arms out in front of him. “Okay, come at me.”

  Jacob swung and Kory blocked the punch, he also lost his balance and went toppling over. Jacob grabbed the back of the suit before Kory hit the ground. He pulled him back up and turned Kory around. “Are you all right?”

  Kory righted himself and held onto Jacob’s biceps. “Wow, how much do you work out?”

  Jacob chuckled. “A lot. Are you okay?” Jacob checked the snaps on the back of the suit then came back around to check the front. Kory was looking at him with his jaw hanging open. “Kory?”

  “Yep.” Kory blinked, looking into graphite-grey eyes.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I missed you,” Kory blurted.

  Jacob almost stumbled over from the shock. “What?”

  Kory straightened the best he could in the suit and looked into Jacob’s eyes. “I said I missed you. I found myself looking for you at the club and at the store. Where have you been?”

  “I…I was on a mission,” Jacob stammered.

  “Can you tell me about it? Or is it one of those things where you can tell me, but then you’d have to kill me?” Kory grinned.

  “I would never hurt you, Kory.”

  Kory tilted his head. “I get that vibe from you, like you want to tell me something but you can’t. Am I wrong?”

  Jacob ran a hand through his hair. There were so many things he wanted to tell Kory, but couldn’t – such as he was a werewolf, that they were mated, that he had feelings for him.

  “Have you ever dated?”

  “What?” Kory stepped back in astonishment and almost fell over again. Jacob grabbed the front of the suit and pulled him forward.

  “I said,” Jacob leaned in, a breath away from kissing the lips he wanted so badly. “Have you ever dated?”

  “Um, no.”

  “Ever been kissed?”

  “That’s kind of personal,” Kory mumbled.

  “So, no?” Jacob licked his lips, eyeing Kory’s.

  “Look, I went to school with a bunch of churchgoing girls, okay? They’d been taught to hang onto everything until marriage, and the girls who did go there just plain scared the shit out of me. So no, I’ve never dated and I’ve never been kissed. Happy now?” Kory knew his face was five shades of red.

  Jacob exhaled in relief. His mate was as pure as the damn driven snow. “I’m not making fun of you, Kory.”

  “It sure feels that way.”

  “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to embarrass you, I was just curious. I would love to be your first kiss.”

  Kory started at that. “What?”

  “I think you heard me,” Jacob leaned in closer. “I said—”

  “I heard you; can you get me out of this suit first? If you’re going to kiss me, I’d rather be out of the huge padded, horribly unattractive suit.”

  Jacob tilted his head. “You want me to kiss you?”

  “The suit?” Kory motioned to his body, covered in red padding.

  Jacob smiled and undid the fasteners in the back of the suit. Kory stepped out and righted his shirt. Jacob leaned over him, placing the suit on the fence. A shiver raced through Kory as their arms brushed. Jacob stepped back and searched Kory’s face.

  “You’re nervous.”

  “Of course I am. I’ve never kissed anyone. I don’t know how.” Kory covered his face with his hands. “Oh God,” he groaned. “This is so embarrassing”

  “Look,” Jacob removed Kory’s hands from his face. “I want you to close your eyes, okay?”

  “Okay,” Kory closed his eyes.

  Jacob pulled Kory’s face up gently with his fingertips and leaned in. Kory was so nervous, he was shaking. Jacob put an arm around his waist, holding him up.

  “Just relax,” Jacob whispered. Sneaking one last look at Kory’s beautiful face, Jacob closed his eyes and brushed his lips softly across Kory’s; he held back the urge to taste him further. He pulled away slowly, his thumb caressing Kory’s bottom lip. “Now you’ve been kissed.”

  Kory kept his eyes shut as he licked his lips. His stomach seemed to flip over and his hands were sweating.

  “Kory?” Jacob caress
ed the side of Kory’s face.

  “Uh huh…”

  “Was that…did I push too much? I’m sorry. If you weren’t ready—”

  “It was fine, more than fine.” Kory opened his eyes. “Thank you.”

  “Why are you thanking me?”

  “Because. Although it was a bit awkward, it was probably better than me trying to kiss a girl I’d just gone out with.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I don’t get excited by girls, not the way I get excited when I see you.” Kory turned around and covered his face. “God, I just can’t shut up, can I?”

  “It’s okay, Kory. I know what you mean. I missed you, too.”

  “You did?” Kory turned to face Jacob and peeked between his fingers. “God, I don’t know how to act. I’ve never been in this situation before. Hell, I didn’t even think about kissing a guy until I saw you. My whole life I was raised to think that being gay was bad and then I had my eyes opened really wide at camp. Visiting Kurt and meeting Wesley and Tucker showed me another side of life; one I’d never even contemplated. I don’t know how to act or what to say and I’m so afraid you’re going to think I’m just some kid—”

  Jacob grabbed Kory and kissed him. He kept his mouth firmly closed, applying just enough pressure to shut the younger man up. Once he was satisfied Kory wouldn’t speak, he lifted his head and opened his eyes. Kory’s eyes were still closed and he was panting.

  “I’m willing to wait and see how this plays out, because I want you Kory Maguire. I’ll wait for however long it takes.” Jacob placed a soft kiss on Kory’s lips before letting him go. “I have to check on a few more things, but I’ll see you later.”

  “O-okay,” Kory stood, dumbfounded. His lips were tingling and he was hard as a rock. He’d never been more turned on in his life. As soon as Jacob went around the building Kory pumped the air with his fist. He’d finally gotten kissed. By a man.

  ~~

  As the rest of the week flew by, Will observed Seth Ralston secretly. The man was gorgeous and sweet as could be. The horses loved him. More than once, Will found Seth sitting by the lake surrounded by them. He seemed to be actually having a conversation with Apollo and more than once, Will had overheard Seth having a one-sided conversation with Fury. It was cute. Seth had kept his distance from him, only checking on his condition from time to time. Will found himself looking forward to seeing Seth every morning. Just by seeing him with the rest of the group, Will could tell that the big man was caring and sweet. Kory had seen Jacob on and off but with the kids arriving soon, they were all working overtime to get it ready.