by Parker Skye
Ryan stood there gaping, hands loosely clutching the keys, unsure how he had been so thoroughly screwed by people he had considered friends. Izzy quickly grabbed the keys from his hand and headed for the door, yelling, “I’ll drive!” over his shoulder.
Ryan’s phone called out turns from its mapping application every few minutes so they wouldn’t get lost. The robotic female voice was the only conversation for most of their trip. Ryan sat tensely in the passenger seat, refusing to break the silence. Even Izzy’s unshakable happy mood seemed to be wilting under the power of Ryan’s obvious displeasure.
“You know I didn’t mean to end up with you, right? It’s not like I have a choice in the matter either, Master,” Izzy said almost sheepishly, reaching up with one hand to fiddle with the small silver hoop in his lower lip.
“What does that even mean? I don’t even fully understand what the hell you are, Izzy!” Ryan almost shouted.
“You know what I am, Master. You’re just too stubborn to admit it,” Izzy replied, his gaze still focused on the road ahead.
“So what? You’re a genie? That’s ridiculous! Next you’ll be warning me ‘there be dragons up ahead’,” Ben said in his best pirate voice.
“Nope, no dragons. Not here anyway,” Izzy replied, still calm and collected. “And it’s D'Jinn, not genie. I’ve always hated that word. My species is D'Jinn pronounced like ‘gin’ as in ‘I could so use a gin and tonic right now’. Which, believe me, is the absolute truth. Genie is so 1980’s.”
“Well thanks so much for the grammar lesson,” Ryan said sarcastically as he continued to stare. He waiting for Izzy to start laughing and admit to his teasing, but after a few more moments in silence, he exhaled loudly in defeat. “So now what? You owe me wishes or something? God, I feel so stupid for even pretending to believe any of this,” Ryan said, putting both hands over his face.
“Hey, it’s no more unbelievable than werewolf shifters. Open your eyes, Master. There’s a lot more to this realm than you’ve seen before but that doesn’t mean it can’t exist.” Ryan’s head flew up in shock at Izzy’s casual mention of werewolves. A soft growl rumbled in his chest in response to the possible threat of exposure.
“Oh, please. I could tell you were werewolves from a mile away. I’m D'Jinn, remember. Don’t worry, Master. No one else could tell and I won’t be spilling your secret anytime soon. Your safety is now my responsibility, too, in case you weren’t aware,” Izzy said, parking the SUV in front of the garish supercenter. These places always made Ryan’s skin crawl. As Izzy started to get out, Ryan placed a restraining hand on his forearm, causing the D’Jinn to turn back and close the door again.
Ryan felt the need to keep one hand on the D’Jinn, as if reassuring himself there was nothing sneaking up on him. He blew out a sigh of exasperation and asked, “Let’s say I believe any of this. Tell me what this means. What am I supposed to do now? And why can’t I tell anyone about you?”
“Oh, you tried that, huh? Figures with werewolves. They have such a hard time keeping secrets from each other. Must be the pack mentality,” Izzy said, a faint smiling making another appearance. “Alright, here’s the rules. First, I owe you three wishes and no wishing for more wishes, that doesn’t work. There are some things I can’t do like making someone fall in love or bringing someone back to life. Also, I don’t kill people. Not in my job description. When all three wishes are granted, our time together ends and I go back to the lamp, never to darken your door again.”
“So what were you doing back at that motel? Was someone there your last master?” Ryan asked.
“Yes, but I can’t tell you anything more than that. I have rules of my own I have to follow. It’s like some bizarre HIPAA rule or something,” Izzy responded. “Do you get it now, Master? I’m a D'Jinn and we are tied together until all of your three wishes have been granted. There is nothing else going on here; no secret objective on my part. I’m not out to cause problems for your pack mates or interfere in their lives. This is all I am. This is my eternal existence. There is nothing else but this for me. As the saying goes, your wish is my command, Master.”
“Geez, that sucks,” Ryan said.
Izzy’s frustrated groan echoed through the cab of the SUV. He grabbed two handfuls of platinum spikes and pulled, further deconstructing his disheveled look. “What sucks about it? I just told you that you get three wishes and they can be almost anything. How is that a negative?” Izzy practically yelled.
“No, I meant it sucks for you, Izzy. It’s got to be lonely, just existing to grant wishes to random strangers, never having a life of your own,” Ryan added, unable to hide the sadness from his gaze. “I’m sorry I was giving you such a hard time earlier. I just didn’t understand. I thought you were trying to pull one over on my friends. You know, like some sort of long con. They can be a little too trusting sometimes,” Ryan said.
“I still can’t believe this is happening,” Ryan continued after a moment of staring out the side window blankly again. A full body shiver flowed down Ryan’s form and he turned back to Izzy, a wide smile replacing his former frown. “Well, we’ll just have to back the best of it, right? It seems like we are stuck with each other for a while. Maybe this time will be better for you. I know that I’ll do anything I can to make your life easier while you are with us, at least. Deal?”
Izzy sat silent, shock evident in his expression as he grasped Ryan’s outstretched hand in the offered shake. Ryan smiled, strangely happy at how the tables had turned, taking in Izzy’s now highly confused demeanor. Ryan pushed his door open, saying, “Come on, let’s go shopping, Izzy.” Izzy shook his head as if to clear the fog clouding his brain and followed close behind.
Chapter 6
Izzy
They probably bought way too much food, but with wolves you never knew. And, Izzy did love to cook after all. It was one of the few things that brought him joy throughout his long existence. Ryan ended up having to return to the front of the store for a second shopping cart when they filled up the first with bedding and the other supplies needed to stock a house for five instead of two. Now the second cart was close to overflowing as well, but this time with enough food to feed a small army.
“Man, I should never go to the store when I’m hungry. I don’t know where we are going to put all this food in Ben’s tiny kitchen,” Ryan said, having difficulty cramming the last bag into the back of the SUV.
“I’m pretty sure most of this is going into your stomachs so I don’t think we have to worry about long term storage,” Izzy replied, his usual wide grin firmly back in place. He admitted to himself that once he and Ryan had cleared the air between them, he had enjoyed their shopping excursion more than expected. As things stood now, he hoped Ryan didn’t already have his wishes planned out. He wouldn’t mind hanging out with him for a while longer.
“You’re probably right about that,” Ryan laughed out. “Especially Adam. That boy can pack away some calories.”
“He’s still evolving. The caloric cost must be pretty high for that,” Izzy casually commented as they climbed back into the truck. Ryan eyed Izzy suspiciously again as they pulled out of the lot.
“How did you know that? I’m sure none of us said anything about his status on the trip.” Izzy briefly looked over to meet Ryan’s distrustful gaze, replying simply, “D'Jinn, remember?”
“So you're omnipotent, too? I’m not sure how comfortable I’m going to be with that,” Ryan admitted.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Master. I’m not omnipotent. I can just see the makeup of people easier than most. When I first saw Adam, he was still mostly human. Now he’s almost half and half. When his mix fully settles out, he’ll stop eating quite so much. Until then, we better have a big grocery budget,” Izzy said with a smile.
“Can you not call me that? It’s creepy,” Ryan commented.
“Call you what? Master?” Izzy asked, honestly confused.
“Exactly. Call me Ryan. Master sounds like some chee
sy BDSM role-play,” Ryan said, returning to looking out the window, as if trying to memorize every aspect of his new territory.
“I’m not sure I’m allowed to do that. I’ve never called my master anything else before,” Izzy replied, his voice fading off into a whisper. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tight, his knuckles were white.
“Well, try. I’m not going to answer to that. If you have to address me directly, you better call me something else if you can’t call me by my name,” Ryan replied, crossing his arms over his chest as if the matter was settled.
Before Izzy had time to come up with another argument, they were pulling back into the garage. Their alone time was temporarily at an end as the other three shifters came out to help them unload. The mattresses and bedding were dispersed to their planned locations. The brrr’ing of inflating air mattresses eliminated any semblance of peace for a while.
While the others worked to get their sleeping places ready, Ben joined Izzy in putting away the groceries. Together, they came up with something to throw together for dinner. Izzy had thought ahead in the store and planned a huge batch of chicken stir fry, quick and full of protein, yet voluminous enough to be satisfying to four bottomless pits. As Izzy made quick work of chopping vegetables, Ben put the rice on to boil.
“You know you don’t have to cook all the time for us, right?” Ben asked as Izzy’s knife flew. Ben’s eyes were wide in awe at Izzy’s knife skills. Izzy smiled internally knowing his prowess in the kitchen was one of his most impressive features. “I mean, we all love your cooking, but it’s not just your job. We can all pitch in. We talked it over while you were gone and we don’t mind if you stay until you find a place of your own that’s more permanent. But, we don’t want you to feel like it’s your duty to prepare all our meals. We know you have other things going on, just like the rest of us.”
Izzy felt the prickle of guilt at his growing list of lies. He had absolutely nothing else going on, but Ben didn’t know that. Once the wolves all went to sleep, Izzy had planned to finish the glamour charm he had already started on them, conveniently causing them all to forget why he was supposedly with them. When they woke up tomorrow morning, all the wolves would remember was Izzy was a welcome part of their group and seemingly always had been. Only Ryan would remember the truth.
Damn, why did these guys have to continue to be so nice? Didn’t they realize they were inviting a demon into their midst? No, no, they didn’t. Because he was good at his job. That’s all this was, another job. The sooner he remembered that, the sooner things could get back to normal.
Izzy forced back the unwelcome negative emotions from his expression and smiled his bright smile again, his right index finger reaching up to play with the hoop in his lower lip. “But I love cooking. I would do this all day if I could. And nothing makes me happier than feeding people and watching them enjoy it.”
“That’s great, and we will all gladly eat your cooking whenever you feel like making the effort, but it’s not solely your responsibility, okay? If there is a time you just don’t feel like it or have to work late or something, don’t worry. We can all hold our own in the kitchen. Well... except for Adam. He’s pretty bad. He can burn water if you don’t keep any eye on him in the kitchen,” Ben replied, dropping his voice to a near whisper at the mention of Adam’s atrocious cooking skills.
“I heard that!” Adam’s voice called out from the guest bedroom where he was helping Logan put sheets on his air mattress.
“I know you did, babe. That’s why I said it,” Ben laughingly replied, his voice its usual soft timbre, fully aware that his mate could still hear him perfectly well with his new and improved wolf’s hearing.
Izzy joined in the laughter and started tossing the vegetables into the now steaming wok. He felt the connection between the mates and would have been able to tell they belonged to each other even if they were strangers he spied at a distance. The bond between them glowed golden like a lifeline. In that moment, Izzy wondered what it would be like if there was a mate out there somewhere destined for him. He shook the thought out of his brain with a snap of his head, reminding himself that down that train of thought, only pain would be waiting.
Chapter 7
Ryan
“Man, Izzy, I think you could make shoe leather taste like heaven. This is the best chicken stir fry I’ve ever had in my life,” Ryan practically gushed as his fork scraped the last vegetables from the bottom of his bowl. “Is there any more?”
“Of course. I made extra to pack for lunches tomorrow, but I can come up with an alternative,” Izzy said, smiling widely as he stood and held out his hand for Ryan’s bowl. Ryan could see in the way his violet eyes glittered and danced how much Ryan’s praise meant to the D'Jinn.
“You don’t have to serve me, Izzy,” Ryan said, refusing to hand his bowl over. He stood up and circled the bar, gently pushing Izzy back into his chair with one hand as he walked past. He didn’t fail to notice the blush creeping up Izzy’s cheeks, though he wasn’t sure the cause. Ryan still couldn’t get a good read on the D'Jinn. Whether from embarrassment or enjoyment, the pink tinge to Izzy’s cheeks had faded by the time Ryan turned back from filling his bowl at the stove.
“I don’t mind serving you, Mas...uh, Ryan,” Izzy croaked out, obviously having to force Ryan’s proper name past his lips. Ryan rewarded him with a blinding smile. The flush instantly spread up Izzy’s neck again. Ryan had to fight himself to look away, strangely intrigued by the hot bloom of Izzy’s pale skin.
“While I’m glad you don’t mind, it’s still not your job and I’m perfectly capable of serving myself. You worked too hard making this fabulous meal. The least you deserve is to sit and enjoy it in peace,” Ryan replied. He sat back down on the barstool flanking Izzy’s and continued to moan and groan as he demolished his second helping with just as much gusto as the first. Izzy looked on, fascination evident in his gaze.
“Geez, Fearborn, can you knock it off with the noises? I feel like I’m trapped in a bad porno. The only thing we need now is a pathetic seventies soundtrack,” Logan let out a groan himself, but not from pleasure. “It’s bad enough I have to watch the mates over here make goo goo eyes at each other, but do I have to listen to you make sex noises at your dinner, too?”
Ben sprayed water across the small table that the other three shifters had crammed around, hitting Logan square in the face. Ben coughed and tried to wave an apology as he fought not to laugh even harder at his brother’s shocked expression. Logan pulled up the hem of his T-shirt and wiped the water from his face, glaring hotly at his younger brother.
“It’s your fault. You made me laugh when I’d just taken a drink,” Ben finally choked out in between bouts of coughing. Adam dissolved into a fit of giggling, his head cradled on his folded arms where they rested on the table. Logan sat back and crossed his arms firmly over his chest as he looked alternately between them. It was as if he couldn’t decide who deserved his glare the most.
Ryan fought not to join in, knowing it would just piss Logan off more, but he couldn’t help it. The silent shaking of his shoulders as he leaned over his bowl broadcast through the room for any shifter with a nose to notice. He could feel Logan’s eyes focused on his quivering back like the laser sights of a sniper rifle.
“Well on that note, since I’m obviously outnumbered, I think I’m done,” Logan said, trying to hide his own smile as he rose from the table, dishes in hand. He made quick work of rinsing his dishes and put them into the dishwasher. “Thanks again for the great meal, Izzy. I’m going to finish the shower Ben started for me and go to bed. I’m bushed,” Logan continued, waving over his shoulder to the group as he stalked from the kitchen.
Ryan focused on Logan’s retreating form, moaning even more obnoxiously as he finished the last bites of his meal. Logan extended both middle fingers high overhead in a salute as he continued stalking down the hall. Still smiling, Ryan looked over at Izzy, surprised to find the D'Jinn staring back intently, a look
of intense concentration on his face.
“What?” Ryan asked. Izzy shook his head faintly and turned towards the living room, refusing to keep eye contact.
“Oh, nothing. I’m tired too. I think I’ll shower in the morning. You can leave the dishes. I’ll do them in the morning when I get up.” Izzy put his own bowl and silverware in the dishwasher and went to find the bag of toiletries in the backpack he’d magicked into creation during the last few moments of their car trip.
With only one bathroom, they were going to have to improvise on arrangements for some aspects of general hygiene. Izzy stood near the kitchen sink brushing his teeth while Ryan buzzed around him straightening up the remnants of their meal.
“Really, Ryan. You don’t have to do that. I can clean up the kitchen in the morning. It’s my mess,” Izzy said, his words garbled around a mouthful of toothpaste. Ryan aimed a wink his way and gently hip-checked him from in front of the dishwasher door.
“Nonsense. You cooked, someone else cleans. That’s the rules in my house anyway,” Ryan replied as he wiped off the counter with a sponge.
Logan’s “Shower’s free!” echoed down the hall and Adam leapt up, a look of challenge in his gaze as he ran from his mate. Ben’s faint growl was easily audible as he practically overturned the table in his effort to catch Adam’s fleeing form. Logan, wrapped only in a towel, barely cleared the doorway to his room before he was pushed out of the way. The bathroom door slammed hard enough to shake the rafters. Adam and Ben’s laughter sounded hysterically from the other side. The instantaneous quiet that followed left no doubt to what was going on behind that door.
Ryan turned back to wiping down the stove, chuckling again at Logan’s muttered complaint regarding ‘death from blue balls’. Logan’s door snicked shut and quiet filled the tiny home once again. Ryan finished loading the last of the dishes into the dishwasher and turned it on. Thankfully the dishwasher was an almost silent model as Ryan felt his energy flagging as well. He didn’t think the faint whooshing of the water would do much more than soothe him further into sleep once he hit the hay.