Summer of Awakenings

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  “Are you Superman?” Elijah asked.

  Jacob held Elijah closer to him. “Yes, and it’s a secret.”

  ~*~

  Seth’s hand froze. The sound of Will’s cry of pain was in his ear as if he’d been standing right next to him. His body broke out in a mass of goose bumps as fear penetrated every part of him. Will was in danger. Seth ran out of the stables only to see Apollo running across the grass. The mental message from Apollo sent, Seth ran back into the building and grabbed rope. He ran by Apollo and threw the rope over his back.

  “Take me to Will!” Seth shouted and then shifted.

  Will did everything in his power not to look down. His arms were aching from trying to keep his grip on the rock. Every time he’d get a foothold on something it would break off, and leave him dangling again.

  “Oh, God, I’m going to die,” Will moaned. He closed his eyes and thought about Seth. He’d never even gotten to make love to him. God, how stupid had he been? He should have thrown himself at Seth and made love to him. “I swear if I survive this I’m having sex, dammit,” he mumbled.

  The ground was starting to ease back on the shaking and Will tried again to grab a higher rock. He stretched his hand out only to almost lose his grip on the one rock that was saving his life. His muscles quivered, starting to wear down; he wasn’t going to be able to hold on much longer. The rolling effect from the quake began and Will started feeling queasy. A soft whine came from above his head and he looked up to see a pair of green eyes staring at him. Jesus, it was the biggest wolf he’d ever seen.

  “Great, now I’m someone’s meal.”

  The wolf moved out of sight and Will rested his head against the wall of dirt in front of him. The rolling finally came to a stop and he let out a sigh of relief. His arms were cramping from holding his weight and he knew he was soaked in his own blood from the open wound on his arm.

  “Will!”

  Will’s head shot up and he looked for any sign of Seth. “Seth! I’m down here!”

  “I’m here, I’m going to help you, okay?” Seth motioned Apollo over to the large crevasse that had formed in the ground. He grabbed the rope and threw it down to Will. Tying the other side to Apollo, Seth sat down and threw his legs over the side.

  “I’m slipping!” Will screamed.

  Seth jumped in and extended his claws, grabbing the earth right next to Will’s head. He put his arm around Will’s waist and pulled him into his side.

  “Let go, I’ve got you.”

  “Are you sure?” Will looked down again.

  “I’ve got you, Will. I won’t let go.” Seth tilted his head up and whistled. The rope tightened and then they were being pulled up. Seth used his free hand to puncture the dirt wall and help Apollo pull them up.

  He knew he was going to have to explain it to Will, since the younger man was staring at him wide-eyed. They reached the top and Seth pushed Will over the edge. He climbed over the top and stood up. Will was moving backwards away from him, eyes so wide Seth thought they’d pop out of his head. He realized he hadn’t retracted his claws yet.

  “What…what are you? Wolverine?”

  Seth sighed and pulled his claws back in. “I’m a werewolf.”

  “A…werewolf,” Will said slowly.

  Seth hung his head. “Yes, I’ll understand if this is too much for you.” Seth felt a body slam into him and then Will’s lips were on his. He immediately put his arms around him and opened his mouth to Will’s insistent lips. A loud moan travelled into his mouth as Will’s legs wrapped around his waist. Seth ran one of his hands into Will’s hair, delving into the younger man’s mouth, tasting every inch of him. Their tongues entwined, breaths mixing. He couldn’t get enough of Will’s taste.

  “Seth…” Will moaned.

  “Are you all right?” Seth rested his forehead against Will’s. “When I heard you—”

  “You heard me? Where were you?”

  “At the stables.”

  “How did you…?” Will tilted his head.

  “Werewolf hearing.” Seth put Will back down on the ground and caressed his cheek. “You’re my mate, Will. I feel what you feel; I felt your pain, your fear.”

  “Mate? Like…wolves?”

  “Yes,” Seth smiled pulling Will into his chest. “God, you scared me.”

  “I…belong to you?” Will furrowed his brows in confusion.

  “Only if you want to, Will. I’m not going to pressure you. I’ll explain everything to you, but for now we need to get back to the camp and make sure everyone’s okay.”

  Will’s eyes went wide again. “Oh God, the kids!”

  Seth looked up to see Fury nervously pacing. “She didn’t leave. When I got here she was pacing over the spot where you were.”

  Will looked over his shoulder at Fury and smiled. “Well, take me back to camp then, girl.”

  Seth took Will’s arm gently. “You’re bleeding.”

  “We’ll fix it later, now come on.”

  ~*~

  Wayne threw the sign off his back and checked on Riley. Caden threw another piece off the other side of them. Riley seemed fine, his breathing was even and Wayne couldn’t sense any damage to him.

  “Riley?” Wayne smoothed the hair from the young man’s brow. “Are you okay?”

  Riley’s eyes fluttered open. “What the hell was that?”

  “An earthquake,” Caden said, extending his hand to Riley. “We must check on the children.”

  Wayne turned to see Brock running towards them.

  “Brock! What happened?”

  “The craft building! Some of it came down on top of Colin and Nikolai!”

  “Shit!” Wayne looked at Riley.

  “I’ve got this,” Riley said. “Go, guys!”

  ~*~

  Nikolai coughed and tried to move his leg. He was pinned under the craft table. Colin was under him, his forehead still seeping blood. Nikolai covered the wound with his hand and applied pressure.

  “Colin, talk to me.”

  “My head hurts,” Colin moaned.

  “I know. I’m sorry; I have to keep pressure on it. Do you have pain anywhere else?”

  “My back and my right leg.” Colin opened his eyes to see Nikolai right in his face. In fact, he was still lying on top of him.

  “I know what you’re thinking and I can’t get off you,” Nikolai motioned to the side. “I’m pinned.”

  Colin looked around Nikolai’s shoulder; his left leg was pinned by a large log right at his lower thigh. Blood was seeping through Nikolai’s jeans.

  “We have to get you out from under that!” Colin tried to move and felt Nikolai’s hand on his head.

  “Don’t move. You could be seriously hurt.”

  “And you’re not?” Colin studied Nikolai’s face. He was pale. “You’re losing too much blood, Nik.”

  Nikolai tried to smile. “But you’re safe, and that’s more important.”

  “Stubborn ass,” Colin mumbled. “We have to find a way to get you out.”

  Nikolai could hear shouting coming their way. “I think help has arrived.”

  Colin heard the shouts and let out a breath of relief. Nikolai’s hand slid from his forehead and his head fell off to the side. “Nikolai!” Colin shouted. He tried to find a pulse in Nikolai’s neck but couldn’t. “Help us! Hurry!”

  ~*~

  Jacob ran with Caden and Wayne as Colin’s panicked shouts came from inside the craft building. He’d made sure Kory and the kids were all right before heading off to see if anyone needed help. More shouts came from the craft building and Wayne ripped the door off. Caden ran into the room, throwing logs off to the side. They found the crafts table and saw a massive pool of blood crossing the floor.

  “Colin!”

  “Wayne! Hurry! Nikolai’s losing too much blood and I can’t find his pulse!”

  Wayne lifted the table off and threw it to the side.

  Jacob picked Nikolai up and cradled him in his arms. “I’m taking h
im to the infirmary.”

  Caden bent and assessed Colin. “You need stitches; this is bad.”

  Colin pushed Caden’s hand away. “Forget about me! Help Nikolai!”

  “We will help him,” Wayne picked Colin up. “You need help, too.”

  “He saved my life,” Colin whispered. “Please help him.”

  “We will.”

  ~*~

  Riley ran to the mess hall and checked on the kids. Most of them were under the large tables, huddled together. Skylar had a group of them in his arms. Olivia was under the table next to Skylar with her own group of kids. Lance, Sebastian and Travis were huddled under one table, trying to keep the campers calm. Food was all over the floor as well as glass and wood from the ceiling. The main building was the one Riley had insisted be built to withstand a damn tornado. He hadn’t expected a damn earthquake. Riley bent down and put his hand out.

  “It’s okay, it’s over now.”

  Skylar crawled out from under the table with one of the younger campers in his arms.

  “Well, that was fun.”

  Riley hugged Skylar and ran a hand through the younger man’s hair. “I’m so glad you are all right. I’ve called the buses back and you guys will be going to the camp in Alaska while we clean this place up.”

  Skylar frowned comically. “But I loved it here.”

  Riley laughed and hugged Skylar again. “You’re not fooling me anymore, Skylar. I know you loved it here and you’re making friends. I’m so happy you came.”

  Skylar blushed slightly and turned his face away.

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  Riley helped Sebastian out from under the other table and assessed all the children. He noticed dried blood on Sebastian’s arm.

  “What happened?” Riley asked, looking over Sebastian’s skin.

  “Oh, nothing,” Sebastian narrowed his eyes at Riley. “Just a little scratch.”

  “Ah, I see,” Riley grinned, getting Sebastian’s unspoken message.

  Riley’s cell phone rang and he looked down at the caller ID. Mateo was calling. Uh oh.

  “Hi, babe,” Riley said as cheerfully as he could.

  “Hi babe??” Mateo roared. “That’s all? What the hell? I just got a call from Wayne! A 6.5 earthquake just hit your location!”

  “I’m fine; Wayne and Caden took good care of me.”

  “What does that mean!?”

  “Um,” Riley moved off to the other side of the room. “I’m fine, that’s all that matters right?”

  “Riley, we are going to have a baby; I don’t want anything to happen to you—”

  “It won’t; I’m in good hands. How’s it going at the other camp?”

  Mateo had to smile on his end. Riley thought he was so clever.

  “Nice try, sweetie.”

  “Oh, look at that! Alexander is calling! Gotta go, babe! Love you!” Riley switched lines to hear Alexander talking a mile a minute. “Slow down, Alexander! What is it?”

  Alexander took a deep breath. “You are having twins.” The line went silent and Alexander looked at his phone. “Riley?”

  “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Riley asked, his hand shaking.

  “I did the ultrasound myself. The other baby was hiding behind the boy. I did not know there were two until today. You are having a boy and a girl.” The line went silent again and Alexander sighed in frustration. “Riley? Are you there?”

  “A boy?” Riley stammered. “And a girl?”

  Alexander smacked his forehead. “I did not tell you the sex, did I?” Alexander heard silence. “Riley?”

  “Um, this is Skylar. I think Riley fainted,” Skylar grinned, looking at an unconscious Riley on the floor.

  Alexander chuckled. “Let Riley know I will not tell Mateo. Riley can give him the good news himself.”

  “Sure,” Skylar nodded. “I will.” Skylar hung up and crouched down next to Riley. He smacked the side of Riley’s face softly. “Hello? Wakey, wakey.”

  Riley opened his eyes to see Skylar grinning at him. “How long was I out?”

  “A minute? The dude on the phone said he wouldn’t tell Mateo. I guess you get to tell him? What’s going on?”

  Riley sat up and rubbed his face with his hands. “Mateo and I are going to have twins.”

  “And…you’re what? Not happy about that?” Skylar frowned.

  Riley looked up quickly. “Are you kidding me? I’m ecstatic!”

  “So, why the fainting spell?”

  Riley opened his mouth then closed it. He couldn’t tell Skylar that the chances of having a werewolf child were now doubled. Riley smiled.

  “Just surprised. And we’ve waited so long.” Riley looked around the main building then back at the kids. “Let’s get you guys packed.” Riley stood up to see Sebastian smirking. “You knew!”

  “Later, Riley. We’ll talk later.” Sebastian raised a brow and grinned. For months he’d been dying to tell Riley and Mateo about the double blessing, but he’d promised Wayne that he would not abuse his gift of sight and he intended to keep that promise.

  “I’m so going to kick your ass!” Riley laughed.

  ~*~

  Nikolai opened his eyes and saw a blurry Sebastian sitting next to the bed. His brows pinched in thought and he tried to recall what happened. There was an earthquake and Colin had been hurt. Colin. Oh God.

  “Colin’s fine,” Sebastian leaned over, looking into Nikolai’s eyes. “I had to give you my blood. You were seconds from dying. Are you fucking crazy?”

  “Colin’s okay, though? Right?” Nikolai sat up expecting to feel pain, but felt fine. He looked over at Sebastian, who shrugged his shoulders.

  “Werewolf blood heals all.”

  Nikolai looked around the room. “Where am I?”

  “We had to give you the blood to save your life, so we had to airlift you out to keep the secret. If you had been walking around after an injury like that it would have looked fairly suspicious,” Sebastian smiled. “Colin was transferred to the hospital but he’s fine. It was just a precaution.”

  “Were any of the other kids hurt?”

  “Nope. Will took a shot to his kneecap, though. It was bruised, but not broken. I think Seth slipped him some blood while he slept. The kids will be on their way to the camp in Anchorage while we try to repair the damage done to Camp Pride. Oh, James Jacobs called; he said if you’re up to it he’s got a mission for you.”

  Nikolai rolled out of bed. “I’m good to go.”

  “Don’t you want to see Colin?”

  “And how would I go about doing that? Suspicious, remember?” Nikolai sighed and kept his back to Sebastian. “He’s made it perfectly clear what he thinks about me. Again. This doesn’t change anything; he’ll always see me as a whore.”

  Sebastian stood up and made his way around the bed to Nikolai’s side. He took his friend by the shoulders. “You saved his life; that has to count for something.”

  “I don’t want him to be nice to me or date me because he feels he owes me. When Colin agrees to go out with me, it will be because he wants to.”

  “Nik…” Sebastian hugged his best friend.

  “I love you, Bas. Thanks for being my friend.”

  Sebastian grinned. “Always.”

  Chapter Seven

  Will cracked one eye open and braced for pain. There was none. He sat up and checked his arm and fingers. Perfectly fine. He looked down at his kneecap and saw it wasn’t even bruised. He knew he’d injured himself. Will looked around the room and smiled at Seth asleep in the chair across from him. He looked so beautiful.

  The events came back to him and his eyes widened. Seth was a werewolf. He wouldn’t have believed it unless he’d seen it for himself. He stared at Seth in the chair. He was wearing tight-fitting jeans and a muscle shirt. Tattoos of barbed wire snaked around both biceps.

  “Seth?” Will whispered. He smiled as Seth’s eyes opened slowly. Those stunning green eyes smiled at him.

  “Hey,”
Seth stood up and made his way over to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like a million bucks. How long have I been out?”

  “About twelve hours?”

  “Did you do something to me?”

  “I gave you some of my blood. It has healing properties.”

  “Well it works, that’s for sure. Even some of my old injuries don’t hurt.”

  Seth palmed Will’s face. “Don’t be mad; I had Alexander – our doctor – look into your medical files. Every injury you ever had from Gary is now gone.”

  Will touched his ribs. “You mean…?”

  “They’re healed. The ones that Gary broke show no signs of fracture anymore. I’ll have Alex update your records. And I highly doubt Gary will come near you ever again.”

  “Why?” Will tilted his head.

  “Because I’m yours and you’re mine.” Seth kissed Will’s forehead. “It’s my job to keep you safe and I plan on doing my job very well. After we are done here, I’m going home with you. I’m going to find Gary and make sure he knows who I am.”

  Will reached out and ran his fingertips over Seth’s lips. “So, am I a werewolf now?”

  “No. The blood heals but doesn’t change. I’d have to bite you for that to happen.”

  Will flushed. “Bite me?”

  “I would never do that unless you asked me.”

  Will looked up at Seth. “I couldn’t understand why I felt I could trust you. Now I get it.”

  “It’s the mate bond; it’s very strong, even in humans. I would never hurt you Will, not ever. I’d die first. I’ll protect you above anything else.” Seth cupped Will’s face in his hands. “You are mine.”

  Will nodded. “I am.” He licked his lips. “I…want you.”

  Seth felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. “Like…?”

  “Sex. I want you to make love to me.”

  “Are you sure?” Seth searched Will’s eyes.

  Will nodded. “Yes. You have done it before, right?”

  Seth smiled. “Yes, but for once I’m really looking forward to it.”

  Will laughed and crawled into Seth’s lap. He straddled him and pressed up against the heat coming from the much larger man. “You have too many clothes on.”