“It’s short for Clearrain. And I’m not a girl.”
“Can I call you Clearrain?” Dan asked. “I like it.”
“No.”
“Aww, why not?”
“Because only my mother calls me Clearrain, and you’re not my mother.”
“Thank God for small mercies. You’re kind of a brat.”
Clea scowled. “At least I wasn’t yelling at a wolf not to eat me only minutes ago.”
“That’s because you knew he was a guy! You’d have yelled too if he’d been a real wolf.”
“I wouldn’t have.”
“You so would have.”
Christian shook his head and pulled Clea away before he tried to pound Dan into the ground. Dan wouldn’t stand a chance, even though he was slightly taller than Clea. He was a lot slimmer and looked like a strong wind would break him in half. Clea wouldn’t have problems getting the upper hand.
Kameron’s house wasn’t far, and Christian was glad to get out of the cold. He’d had been having fun while in his bat form, but Dan and Anthony had ruined it. He couldn’t bring himself to be angry with them for it, or for trespassing. They were entertaining and harmless.
“So this is where you live?” Dan asked. “I kind of thought you lived in the forest, maybe in a cave.” He was bouncing on his feet, looking like a kid at the Luna Park. It was almost endearing, and it helped Clea forget he and Anthony had threatened him with a gun. They were lucky Christian hadn’t killed them.
Kameron rolled his eyes and climbed the porch step, one hand hovering by Anthony’s side. “Come on in.”
They all stomped their boots to get rid of the snow, then took them off and left them by the front door. Christian pressed his lips together when he saw that Dan had one Superman sock and one Spiderman one. The guy was too much to be true.
“Clea, I’ll talk to you about the job later,” Kameron said.
Dan perked up. “What job? Clearrain needs a job?”
Clea glared. “I don’t need a job. I have one. Two, actually.”
“Yeah? And what is it you do, Mr. Pointy Ears?”
“I was an enforcer until a few weeks ago.” At Dan’s confused gaze, Clea added, “A warrior for the shifter council.”
Dan snorted. “You? A warrior? You look like you couldn’t kill a fly even if you tried.”
Clea’s glare deepened. He shimmered away and Dan’s eyes went wide. Clea shimmered behind Dan and tapped his shoulder. Dan screeched and twirled around, holding his fists up as if he wanted to fight Clea. Instead, he stumbled and fell against the wall nose first.
Christian winced, because damn, that had to hurt. Clea stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he scowled at Dan. “I can kill you in twenty-four ways if I want to, so you’d better be careful with what you say.”
Dan rubbed his nose. “Twenty-four ways?”
“Twenty-five now that I think about it.” Clea leaned closer. “And they wouldn’t find a body in fifteen of those cases.”
Dan squeaked and hurried to Anthony’s side. Kameron rolled his eyes again—it seemed to be something he did often around Dan and Anthony—and gestured toward the living room. “Go sit in there and don’t touch anything. I’ll be right back.”
Christian let Dan and Anthony go ahead. He leaned toward Clea as Clea passed by him and grinned. “Twenty-five ways to kill him?”
Clea shrugged. “He doesn’t have to know I’ve never killed anyone and that I was more of a healer-transporter than a warrior. You’ve seen how he is. He calls me Clearrain!”
Christian kissed Clea’s cheek. “I like your name. It’s a mouthful, but I like it. It’s special.”
Clea rolled his eyes. “Yeah. My mom is special. A special kind of pain in the ass.”
“You are special, Clea.”
Clea snorted, but he didn’t answer. He walked into the living room instead, but stopped as soon as he stepped into it. Christian peeked and had to bite back a laugh.
Corbin was there, Jago perched in his lap. He looked like he wanted to tear Dan and Anthony’s eyes out just for looking at Jago. Or maybe it was because Dan was babbling.
“Is everyone here gay? I think I might have to move in with you guys. Really. I mean, I can’t usually manage to get a date to save my life. Not that I have a date right now, but if most of you guys are gay that shouldn’t be a problem. Unless you don’t like humans, of course, because that’s all I am. I can’t change into anything, except maybe a big slug when I eat too much and slump on the couch, but you didn’t need to know that.”
Jago looked at Clea. “Who are they?”
Clea gestured toward them. “These are Dan and Anthony. Dan’s the motor mouth. They’re humans who live in Gillham. They trespassed into pack territory because they wanted to see Kameron, threatened us with a gun, and cried when Victor tried to stop them.”
“I didn’t cry!” Dan protested.
“Right. You just screamed at Victor not to eat you.”
“It was a legitimate fear. He’s a wolf. And I don’t like you.”
“Good, because I don’t like you either.”
Jago looked at Christian. “Are they for real?”
“Unfortunately.” Christian pulled Clea along and went to sit on the couch, as far away from Dan as they could. The last thing he wanted was for Clea and Dan to try to beat each other up, and it looked like that might just happen, if the glares they sent each other’s way were any indication of anything.
“I could kill him for you,” Corbin suggested.
Dan slowly turned to look at him. “You can’t kill me.”
“Why not? My friend doesn’t like you.”
Dan looked at Christian and Clea. “He’s joking, right?”
Clea grinned. “Nope, he’s not. He’s a killer. He started training as a kid.” He leaned forward. “You should be very careful. Make sure all the windows are closed before you go to bed.”
“Well, duh. It’s January. Of course they’re closed.”
Kameron walked in, Zach behind him. They were both holding a tray. “Stop scaring the humans,” Kameron scolded.
Christian wasn’t sure if he was talking to Corbin or Clea, but it didn’t matter.
They put the trays down and Zach gestured at them. “Take what you want. There’s coffee and hot chocolate.” He waited until Kameron was sitting in his favorite armchair to sit on his lap and looked at Dan and Anthony. “So, I’m told you two trespassed on our land.”
“And he threatened to kill us with his gun,” Clea added, pointing at Anthony.
Anthony blushed and looked down, and Christian felt sorry for him. He obviously hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone. He’d been scared, and stupid. That was all. He didn’t seem to be a bad guy.
“A gun?” Zach looked at Kameron, obviously waiting for an explanation. “And can I know why you thought it was a good idea to bring two armed humans here in our house?”
“Babe, they’re not armed anymore, and really, they’re not dangerous. Anthony is more likely to hurt himself by slamming into something than actually shooting someone.”
“I can take care of them for you,” Corbin intervened.
Christian sighed. This was going to be a long conversation.
Chapter Six
Clea followed Kameron into his office. “Are you really going to let those two walk around pack territory whenever they want to?”
Kameron shrugged as he flopped into his chair. “Why not? You saw them. They’re not dangerous, and it might do the pack some good if a few of Gillham’s inhabitants actually like us and know for sure we won’t eat them.”
Clea chuckled. “I’m not sure Dan is completely convinced of that just yet. We might want to keep Victor away from him for a while.”
“I’ll make sure of it.” Kameron pointed at the chairs in front of his desk. “Now sit down and tell me what you decided.”
“I want to stay closer to the pack. Christian’s part of the pack’s security now, and I don’t want to be
away for weeks at a time.”
“So you’ll be my PA.”
“Yeah, I will. I can’t promise I’ll actually be good at it, because I have no idea what I’m supposed to do, but I’ll do my best.”
“I’ll give you Keenan’s phone number. He’s Dominic Nash’s PA, and he’s great at his job. You’ll end up talking to him often anyway, with the council and everything.”
Clea bit his lower lip. “Do you think I’ll be any good? I don’t want you to have problems because I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Call Keenan. He’ll tell you everything you need to know. If you really feel that insecure, I’m sure we can find someone to help you in the beginning. You’ll probably need it anyway. There’s a huge amount of work to do.” He grinned. “Dan told me he’s been a secretary for a number of years. He could probably help.”
Clea grimaced. “I’m not sure pairing us together would be a good idea. We’d probably end up killing each other.”
“You’d win.”
Clea grinned. “I know.”
Kameron leaned back in his chair. “Actually, that does sound like a good idea. Dan is human, and he’s lived in Gillham all his life. People know him. If he says we’re fine, then they’ll believe him. It could be a big help.”
“Apart from the fact that you don’t even know him, it looks like the town is fine with us being here. They’ve never said anything even though they’ve known about the pack for years.”
“They know about the pack, but they probably didn’t know about us being shifters until the Tom mess. We don’t know how they’re going to react to that.”
“Hopefully not like Dan and Anthony.”
“It could have gone a lot worse. Those two were just curious. They’re ready to accept us, though. You saw how they act.”
“At least they didn’t shoot anyone.”
“Yeah, Anthony definitely should be kept away from guns, or any kind of weapon.”
Clea sighed. “Fine, I’ll work with Dan. It can’t be worse than what I’d do if I were on my own, right?”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
“Ugh. Please don’t make me think about it.”
Kameron raised his hands. “All right. You need to start thinking about what we need to do with the town. That should be easier, right?”
“What do you mean?”
Kameron sighed. “If they really know about the pack, they won’t stay silent for long. We could continue to keep to ourselves, but someone is bound to talk sooner or later. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet. The last thing I want or need is to have to fight the town inhabitants. If that happens, we would have to either to move away or to take care of any inhabitant who doesn’t want us here. I don’t want to hurt anyone, Clea. I just want to live my life in peace, love Zach and grow old with him. That’s it.”
Clea sucked on his lower lip. “Well, we should find out if they actually know we’re shifters or if they just know we’re here but don’t have a clue about what’s happening in pack territory.”
“And that’s where Dan and Anthony can be useful. They know the town and the people who live there. Ask them. Ask them what everyone thinks of the pack, if they know who and what I am.”
Clea groaned. “That means I’ll have to talk to them.”
“Yep.”
Clea sighed. “Fine. When do I start?”
“Is tomorrow morning too soon for you?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“I’ll let you tell Dan we’d like him to work with the pack.”
“I hate you.”
“Aww, you know that’s not true.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that.” Clea got up. He couldn’t believe he’d have to spend so much time with Dan. What would the human be up to if he were to have free rein around pack territory? He’d probably end up pissing someone off, and Clea would have to rescue him. “Oh God, do you think Dan has a mate around here? A pack member?” Clea had no doubts he did. Whoever it was would find Dan and mate with him, and Clea would be stuck with the guy forever.
Kameron’s smile widened. “I’m tempted to throw a party and invite Dan so all the single guys can sniff him out.”
“Please don’t. I’d have to organize it, and it’s the last thing I want.”
“Right. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then.”
Clea left the office. He knew he’d have to organize that damn party sooner or later, but at least it wouldn’t be this week.
Someone screamed, and Clea ran toward the bathroom since that was where the scream had come from. Dan was standing there, his eyes wide, holding Aranck at arm’s length.
“What happened?” Clea asked.
Christian, Corbin, Jago, and Zach were there too, Kameron right behind them. A door slammed, and Nootaw barreled down the hallway, looking like he was about to kill someone.
“I’m not sure,” Dan answered. “I was on my way to the bathroom and this kid wanted me to take him, but he became... weird when I did, and he bit me!”
Aranck was in his human form now, and he looked scared. Nootaw growled and snatched the toddler from Dan’s hands, holding him close and soothing him. If looks could kill, Dan would be lying dead on the floor right now. If he and Anthony were really going to stick around, someone needed to tell them about the people living with the pack. For some reason, Clea thought it would probably be his job. As if he didn’t already have too many things to do.
Speaking of which, where the fuck was Anthony? All the people in the house were there, staring at Dan, but there were no signs of Anthony. Clea could imagine what kind of trouble he was getting himself in.
He hurried back to the living room, but he didn’t even need to get there to find Anthony. He was in the entrance, and he wasn’t alone. Quinn was holding him up by the throat, Anthony’s back against the wall. He looked scared to death, and Clea wouldn’t have wanted to be in the guy’s place.
“Uh, Quinn? Put the human down.”
Quinn turned his head to look at Clea. Clea was glad he was able to shimmer. That way he’d have a way out when Quinn tried to kill him.
“He was sneaking upstairs.”
“Umm, he didn’t know he couldn’t go up there. I still need to talk to him. If you don’t kill him first, of course”
Quinn narrowed his eyes, but he let go. Anthony dropped to the floor and slumped by the wall, his hands wrapped around his throat as he looked at Quinn with wide eyes. This wasn’t the best way to make humans think they were harmless. Of all the people Anthony could have pissed off, he had to choose Quinn.
“Why is there a human in Kameron’s house?” Quinn asked.
“We found them in the forest. Kameron wants to talk to them to find out what the town thinks of him.”
Quinn shook his head. “Who cares what the town thinks.”
“Well, considering Kameron was the one who appeared in that video, I think he’s more worried than you are about what humans might think.”
Quinn made a disgusted sound. “I’m so glad I’m leaving.”
Clea didn’t say he wasn’t the only one, but it was on the tip of his tongue. He didn’t know how Kir managed to be mated to the guy. Clea would have run far, far away if Quinn had been his mate. The guy looked like he ate Nix for breakfast.
* * * *
Christian moved in front of Clea, just in case. He had no beef with Quinn, but he would do whatever he needed to do to defend his mate.
Quinn arched a brow at him and shook his head. “Down, boy. I’m not going to attack anyone.”
Christian looked at Anthony, who was holding his throat and looking at Quinn as if he were the devil reincarnated. He might actually be right, from the little Christian had seen of Quinn.
Quinn looked at Anthony too and shrugged. “He was sneaking upstairs.”
Clea pushed Christian away and stepped toward Anthony, offering him his hand to help him get up. “Like I said, he’s human, and he didn’t know he couldn’t go upstai
rs. It wasn’t a good reason to try to strangle him.”
That explained the hand Anthony had wrapped around his own throat and why he looked about to piss himself.
Quinn snorted. “Trust me, I don’t try to strangle anyone. If I’d wanted to strangle him, he’d be dead.”
Anthony squeaked and inched to the side. He was trying to hide behind Clea, but Christian didn’t want Clea to be in the middle of this, at least not more than he already was. Quinn was a council member, so in theory, he shouldn’t hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it, but that didn’t mean Quinn wouldn’t. He seemed a bit unbalanced, and he definitely was ruthless enough to kill a human who’d trespassed.
Christian reached out and grabbed Anthony’s arm, pulling him behind himself. Anthony looked like he’d looked when he’d held the gun earlier. He was scared shitless, and Christian was sorry. Both Anthony and Dan were weird, but they weren’t dangerous, and he didn’t mind their chatting. He didn’t like seeing Anthony so scared. The guy hadn’t done anything to deserve it.
“I’m not going to do anything to him,” Quinn said.
“Good,” Clea answered.
Christian wasn’t sure whether to trust Quinn or not, but he did trust Kameron. Quinn wouldn’t be there if Kameron didn’t trust him.
“Why are you scaring everyone?” Kir asked from the top of the stairs. “Do I need to put a leash on you until we’re gone?”
Quinn scowled at him. “You try it and see what happens to you.”
Kir grinned. “Maybe I should try it then.”
Quinn stomped up the stairs and brushed past Kir. Kir learned sideways and whispered something to Quinn. It was too low for Christian to be able to hear it, but Quinn’s cheeks pinked and he left in a hurry.
Christian’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Quinn blush or do anything that makes it look like he’s embarrassed.”
Kir grinned. “He’s not embarrassed.”
“He was blushing.”
“It wasn’t in embarrassment, though.” Kir winked. “I know my way around my mate. He barks, but he doesn’t bite. Not unless I ask him to, anyway.”
Christian snorted. “Try telling Anthony that.”
Clea (Gillham Pack Book 17) Page 10