by M. D. Grimm
It was full night, but the inside lights still shone through the windows. He stopped at the front door and took a deep, calming breath. So much had happened since leaving home that fateful morning. Two days ago, he’d ventured into the forest with his brother and sister, and he felt so different. His entire safe world had been ripped apart and then rebuilt. Hunter’s face danced in his mind as he turned the doorknob and pushed against the solid wood.
It swung open to reveal a large room with throw rugs covering the wood floors, and chairs and couches along with a few folding tables filled the remaining space. A large fireplace was the centerpiece and a fire blazed cheerfully in the hearth. They didn’t own a TV, only several radios. Everyone had a cell phone and tablet yet they often grew dusty from disuse.
Glenn smiled and took another deep breath while those occupying the room looked over at him, surprise in their faces.
“Glenn!” His mother, Willow, was the first to reach him. She hugged him tightly as they were soon joined by his younger sister and brother. But his father, Douglas, stayed standing in the center of the room, in front of the fire. Glenn met his father’s eyes, and noted the relief in them. However, he also recognized the anger that was the result of his worry.
His mother let him go, her big doe eyes happy and smiling. “We were beginning to worry, Glenn. You shouldn’t be gone for so long without checking in. When Ash and Rowan came home without you—”
“He can handle himself,” his younger brother, Ash, said before slapping his back.
“Yes, but where did you get those awful clothes?” Rowan asked. She was the youngest of his siblings, and her mouth was curled in distaste as she took in what he was wearing. With her brown hair and eyes, and long legs she resembled a colt. She was only twenty-one, but out of all the siblings, she’d had the most relationships. They rarely lasted more than a month, however. She would quickly lose interest in her prospective mate and spend several months alone, enjoying her freedom. Glenn secretly doubted she would ever find a mate. She didn’t want one, that much was obvious. She was an adventurous spirit, one who often gave their parents sleepless nights.
“Well, Rowan,” Glenn said, rolling his eyes. “I didn’t really have a choice in the matter. And I don’t think I should have to be a fashion plate while cavorting in the forest.”
“Says you,” she said stubbornly.
“You must be hungry,” Willow said, disrupting the obligatory sibling argument. “Go get washed and changed and I’ll fix you something.”
“Sounds good,” Glenn said. He thought of Hunter, alone in the woods, and wanted to get back to him quickly, but he needed to take this slow. He needed to be welcomed home. He needed to reassure all of them that he was all right before broaching the subject of allowing a former knight into their home.
Phoenix help him. Now that he thought about it… it seemed a little impossible.
“Shyre and Ellias didn’t come up this weekend?” Glenn asked, speaking of his older sister and her mate. His mother had moved into the kitchen. Ash and Rowan returned to their game of checkers. His father stayed standing, watching him.
“They couldn’t make it,” his father said. “Oak was in a school play. Remember?”
“Right.” He’d forgotten. His niece of ten years fancied herself an actress and insisted on acting in any play she could. He had to admit, she was actually pretty good.
“I’ll be down in a few,” Glenn said and escaped upstairs to his room, away from his father’s all-knowing gaze. It didn’t matter that he was nearly thirty years old—his father always managed to make him feel fifteen again.
Glenn stepped into his small room, which consisted of a bed, table, and dresser, and took out his own clothes. He walked across the hall to the bathroom and locked the door. He took off Hunter’s jacket and pants, before folding them lovingly and setting them on the edge of the sink. His deer absurdly wanted to sniff them, to investigate if any of Hunter’s scent still lingered on them.
He knew his father recognized the jacket as one belonging to a hunter, just by the way it looked. And there was the fact that he hadn’t been wearing clothes when he’d left the house as a deer. He knew they’d all noticed the inconsistencies, but they waited, allowing him to get cleaned up, to become comfortable before they demanded answers.
He didn’t linger in the shower like he wanted to. He knew he shouldn’t delay the inevitable too long—it would only make it harder to speak of it when he did decide to broach the topic. He dressed quickly and placed Hunter’s clothing on his bed before heading toward the kitchen.
“Where’s Jade?” Glenn asked as he passed his brother and sister. Jade was Ash’s mate.
“In town. Getting supplies.” Ash moved one of his pieces across the board, which Rowan quickly countered. No one beat her at checkers.
“You didn’t go with her?” Glenn nudged Ash gently.
Ash snorted. “Are you kidding? She says I only get in the way. She’s a control freak, my Jade.”
Glenn grinned as he entered the kitchen. Jade and his brother were complete opposites, but so intensely in love that it didn’t matter. Maybe that was why it worked—Ash was a laid-back, easygoing guy who let Jade take the lead. And she was only too happy to order him about.
His parents were standing at the counter, having a low-voiced conversation. They broke off when he stepped inside. He took the plate his mother offered and sat at the small, intimate table near the fridge. They had a larger dining room table adjacent to the kitchen but he knew his parents wanted privacy when he explained his movements of the past couple of days. He would have enjoyed the food more if his stomach hadn’t suddenly become knotted.
His parents sat down next to him, not saying a word. The tension became deeper as he continued to eat. He didn’t look at either of them. He concentrated on chewing and how he would begin the conversation. It would probably be best to simply start at the beginning and spare no details—well, he’d leave out the part with the sex. His parents didn’t need to know those details.
Glenn pushed his plate away when he finished and gulped down the water his mother had placed in front of him. He set the glass down and looked at his mother first. Lines creased her face, but in a way that didn’t detract from her beauty. She was a petite shifter, and her hair was tawny and curled at the ends while her eyes were large and brown. Those eyes were now looking at him patiently, curiosity blatant in them.
Glenn finally looked at his father. The man was near sixty years old, and yet was as formidable as if he were twenty and at the top of his game. Thick and sinewy, Douglas was a prized buck to any hunter. But he was also smart enough stay away from hunters during hunting season.
“Okay,” Glenn began, feeling like a child who had disobeyed orders. “I need to explain a few things, and it would be easier and quicker if I could do that without any interruption. Then you can ask any questions after. Okay?”
His father raised an eyebrow even as his mother nodded. Glenn took that as consent and started with him seeing Hunter in the forest. He described how Hunter decided against shooting him, and about the mother hog. Then he continued, describing how Hunter knew he was a shifter and that he’d stitched his leg. His mother gasped but said nothing. Despite her concern, she didn’t interrupt, and he was grateful. The anxiety churning inside him made his deer freeze and tremble, as if staring at a predator. Yet his deer also wanted to fight. They both wanted to pursue what they’d started with Hunter at the stream.
His father’s eyes had begun to narrow as his story progressed, but when he revealed that Hunter was a knight, his father could no longer keep silent.
“What is a knight doing in my forest?” Douglas growled as he stood. His hands were balled into fists, and Glenn gripped his arm.
“Wait! Wait, Dad. Just listen, please! Please, I’m not done. Mom—”
“Douglas,” Willow said softly. “Hear your son out.” She was very pale, but she grabbed Douglas’s other arm.
Douglas sco
wled but sat. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Glenn. Glenn knew his father’s anger was not directed toward him (not yet); it was directed toward what he thought of as a violation of his home. His territory. The Knights had stolen Douglas’s brother after all, and he was never seen again.
Glenn throat suddenly dried. “I had the same reaction, Dad. I told him to leave, and I was about to flee but—he said he wasn’t going to hurt me. He had left his rifle behind, and he tossed away all his communication devices.”
Douglas snorted and Glenn pressed on. “Dad, he said he was confused and he looked it. He said he didn’t know what to believe. He doubted, Dad. If you had seen him, you would have believed him.”
“I doubt that,” Douglas said. “It was just a lie. He tried to trick you.”
“I thought he was,” Glenn said. “But, you see, he was an orphan. The Knights adopted him.”
Willow gasped. “Goodness.” Clearly distressed, she gripped Douglas’s arm. He cupped her hand with his, completely covering it. It was a gesture of reassurance and protection.
“He was only a kid when they got him,” Glenn said. “After finally getting a family, you have to assume he would believe anything they told him. But he doesn’t.”
“He could have lied,” Douglas said. “He could have lied from the start. About all of it.”
“Just listen,” Glenn said. His father glared at him and Glenn pressed forward. “I didn’t trust him, Dad. Not one bit. But he did leave his rifle. He got rid of any communication to the outside world. He saved me from the wild hog and stitched me up so I wouldn’t bleed to death.”
Perhaps a small fraction of Douglas’s stubbornness began to ease.
“He gave me his jacket and pants and built a fire. He asked me to tell him about shifters. He has a thirst for knowledge, Dad. He knew there was something wrong with the Knights’ teachings and wanted to know what I knew. He’s not an idiot and he’s not a thug.”
“What’s his gift?” Willow asked. She was still pale but interested.
“He has visions.” Glenn hesitated and decided that full disclosure was best. “When he saw me as a deer, he had visions of me as a human. He saw things—things that made him lower his rifle. He said he was on a rite of passage.”
“And it consisted of?” Douglas asked.
Glenn didn’t want to say it. “He had to kill a shifter.”
“I see.” His father’s voice was deceptively calm.
“But he didn’t kill me,” Glenn said. “He’s never harmed me. Not once. And he’s sworn that he never will.”
“Knights lie,” Douglas said. “And have you thought that this could all be a ploy to discover us? What if he finds us and signals his buddies—we wouldn’t stand a chance. I should call the Agency.”
Glenn’s heart jumped, his deer bleated. He’d considered that at the beginning. But—but he knew Hunter. The man had an honest heart and the way he touched him—Glenn shook off those thoughts. He trusted Hunter, and he had to convince his father that he wasn’t being fooled.
He grabbed his father’s hand. “Dad, listen to me. You know I have good instincts, right? You know neither I nor my deer trust easily?”
Douglas nodded, staring into his eyes.
“Well, I trust Hunter. My instinct tells me that he is not a threat. He is a confused young man looking for answers. I helped him find those answers. He’s my friend. I’m asking you not to call the Agency.” Glenn took another breath, readying himself for the plunge. “I want you to meet him.”
“No.” Douglas stood and turned away. He stared out the window, and Glenn turned to his mother, pleading with her silently. She gave him a look saying that if he wanted his father to cooperate, he had to convince him.
Glenn cleared his throat and stood by his father. “I know it’s a lot to ask—”
“It’s impossible to ask,” his father said.
Glenn hesitated. “Hunter is not a knight, Dad. He’s not like the ones who stole Uncle Ash.”
“Don’t speak of him,” Douglas said, seething, rounding on his son. Glenn stood his ground.
“We’re not the monsters they insist we are, Father—and that means not all of them are the monsters we think they are. It goes both ways.”
His father’s breathing quickened, and he resembled a wolf shifter more than a deer shifter. Glenn’s palms were sweating and all he wanted to do was surrender under that gaze. It didn’t feel natural to stand up to his alpha, but it was deep love that gave him the strength to do it. And the overwhelming knowledge that he was in the right.
“Meet him,” Glenn said. “Meet him and decide for yourself. I’ve been with him for days, Father, and he could have killed me numerous times.”
Douglas turned to the window again.
“He doesn’t know where we live,” Glenn said, unable to stop pushing. “I left him by the stream a mile west from here. Just… meet him. Please.”
“Why is this so important to you?” Willow stepped up beside him and touched his shoulder.
“He’s my friend,” Glenn said.
“Just a friend?” his mother asked bluntly.
His father looked at him again, waiting.
Glenn sighed deeply and it was his turn to look out the window. “No,” he answered softly.
He knew his parents exchanged a glance but he stared determinedly out the window at the surroundings. The moon was hidden by the trees, but the stars could be seen. The forest really did look so peaceful at night. He wished he were back with Hunter, in his arms, staring up at the sky, pointing out constellations.
“Tomorrow. Early. I will meet him.”
Glenn closed his eyes as relief washed over him. He opened his mouth to thank his father, but Douglas had already left the kitchen. He looked at his mother.
“You ask a lot of him,” she said.
“I know. But it’s worth it.”
Willow gave him a small smile and kissed his cheek. “I hope you’re right. Now, let me look at your wound so you don’t die of infection.”
“Haven’t died yet.”
“Shut up and sit.”
He sat.
Morning slowly dawned, and only after Hunter was certain he was still alone, did he finally take care of personal business. There was no worse way to meet a potential hostile party than with your pants down—literally. Afterward, he sat at the edge of the stream and tried to let the burble of the water calm him. The small fish slid along easily with the current, and the long-legged bugs sat on top of the water to avoid getting eaten. Their lives were so simple.
A rustle of leaves brought Hunter’s head up. He scanned the area but didn’t notice anyone. How long would it take for Glenn to convince his father to meet him? A day? A week? He was running low on supplies, and he only had his compass to help him get out of the forest.
What if Glenn didn’t come back?
Hunter shook his head, wishing he’d stop thinking those awful thoughts. He wouldn’t let that be the end. He would search and he would find Glenn, and he would convince him that they belonged together. He would fight to keep that rapturous feeling he’d felt with Glenn. The complete peace he had gained—a peace he had never known.
He wouldn’t give that up easily.
This time he heard footsteps and stood. A moment later a large buck—much too large to be just an animal—stepped out of the brush and into full view. The buck was gorgeous, with a rich pelt and solid hooves, and he was certainly one hunters would be tripping over themselves to get a shot at. His antlers were modest but they were still growing—it being just after winter—but they were already showing just how large and strong they were going to be at full growth.
Hunter stood very still, and it wasn’t long before Glenn came striding out of the brush. He was wearing his own clothes—a simple cotton T-shirt, jeans, and a light jacket with hiking boots—and he looked hot. And when he smiled, Hunter felt his insides untangle, and he managed to smile back. Glenn still smiled that way, the look t
he same before he’d left for his herd. They didn’t change his mind. Yet.
Glenn stayed beside the large buck, whom Hunter assumed was his father, but his smile encouraged Hunter. The buck turned his head, staring at Hunter with eyes of dark green—a very unusual color for a deer. Glenn had inherited those eyes. But these were harder, more appraising. Hunter stood straight and met that gaze, never once flinching, despite the fact that his mind whirled with all the venomous lies the Knights had told him. But even knowing they were lies didn’t stop the fear, the intimidation. The buck shifter could easily stab him to death with those tines.
The air suddenly shimmered and pulsed around the buck, just like it did around Glenn when he’d shifted. In a heartbeat, Hunter stared at a very large and imposing man. He was fully dressed, and that rocked Hunter for a moment. It seemed it was possible for some shifters to stay dressed even when they shifted. He never thought that was possible.
The alpha shifter wore similar clothes to his son, and Hunter inclined his head in respect.
“I am Douglas,” the alpha shifter said, still watching Hunter as if waiting for him to attack.
“It is good to meet you, Douglas,” Hunter said with dignity. “My name is Hunter.”
“My son tells me you are a knight.” The tone was accusatory.
“He’s half right,” Hunter said, struggling to keep his tone even. “I was a knight. I’ve since changed my alliance.”
“Have you?” Douglas stepped closer to him. He was taller and broader than Hunter, and Hunter braced himself.
“Yes,” Hunter said with conviction.
“What made you change your mind?” Douglas said. “After a lifetime of following their orders? Being trained by them? Having them as your family? I want the truth from you or I will call the Agency. You do know who the Agency is, don’t you?”
Hunter’s stomach clenched. The last thing he wanted was to encounter anyone from the Agency. He remembered what his mother told him about them, and while he knew everything she’d told him was false, the fear was still there.