by Jools Louise
“What’s wrong, old man? Chaz not putting out?” Callahan asked tauntingly, following them into the front room.
“Chaz doesn’t need to tell you, dork,” Chaz piped up, sitting comfortably on one couch, wearing sweatpants, a black T-shirt, and multicolored socks in rainbow hues. “Not jealous, are you?” He smirked.
“What’s putting out?” Moe asked curiously, running to jump on Chaz, then snuggling in.
“Moaning and groaning and stuff,” Flint told him, grinning at Callahan’s groan.
“Okay, chaps. Quit teasing your brother,” Kathleen said, fixing them all with a warning look, borrowing one of John’s favorite words. “Harvey, set up the movie while I make Callahan a coffee.”
Callahan looked abashed. “No, that’s okay. You don’t have to go to any trouble,” he protested.
“Callahan, sweetie, do be quiet,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “Now, how do you take yours? Unless you prefer another beverage?”
He shook his head, exchanging a grin with Drew. “No, ma’am. Coffee, white, no sugar would be fine.”
“Sherman got me a super-duper machine for Christmas,” she said. “I can do latte, just about, and I’m an ace at espresso.”
“Just regular, thanks,” he retorted. “I get all the fancy coffee I need at the café.”
Sherman finally released Drew, who smacked him upside the head, bouncing the man’s dreadlocks. “Are you done, dweeb?” Drew asked sarcastically.
“Not even close, squirt,” Sherman drawled but headed over to sit beside Chaz, hauling both him and Moe onto his lap. Moe giggled, then squealed in delight when the biggest kid of all tickled him.
“So childish,” Drew responded haughtily, beckoning Callahan to another couch. They settled down together, ignoring the catcalls as Callahan hooked his mitt around Drew’s and lifted it for a kiss.
“Childish,” Callahan agreed airily. “Next one to say another word won’t get muffins or sweet treats from the café for a month.”
The threat worked instantly, with everyone looking alarmed, then zipping up quickly.
“Good one,” Drew whispered, kissing Callahan’s cheek.
“It’s a gift,” Callahan said smugly, then dragged Drew in for a cuddle.
“I need more leverage,” Drew murmured, shooting a sour look at the comedians in the room.
“Yeah, good luck with that!” Sherman said, grinning wickedly.
“Maybe I’ll put something on his Shifter Network profile,” Drew added, hearing Callahan snigger. “’Wanted: Personality Transplant for Delusional Halfwit.’”
“Quit while you’re ahead, squirt,” Sherman warned, the kids all laughing at Drew’s sotto voce comment. “I can still teach you a thing or two.”
“Yeah, just not the internet,” Drew replied, flipping him off. Sherman was a bit of a technophobe, and Drew loved to irritate him by tweaking the man’s Shifter Net page.
“Drew!” Kathleen returned with a tray of beverages, and some snacks from Café Anglais.
“Sorry, Mom,” he said, flushing. “But they’re asking for it.”
“Dude, if you go all kissy-kissy in the hallway, in front of this lot, what do you expect?” Chaz said, laughing. “It’s like putting up a neon sign, saying, ‘Tease me, please!’”
Drew huffed irritably, then livened up when a large latte came his way. “Thanks.”
“Taste it first,” Kathleen said dryly. “You’re the guinea pig. I used that syrup stuff that’s supposed to taste like caramel. Here you go, Cally. Regular white.” She winked as he laughed, while Drew eyed his own coffee warily.
“Does this mean we’re dating?” Callahan murmured, kissing Drew’s ear.
“Do you want it to?”
“Oh yeah,” Callahan said, nuzzling Drew affectionately. “I reckon we’re mates, don’t you?”
“Oh yeah,” Drew mimicked, tapping his mug against his new boyfriend’s.
“No kissing,” Stu complained, sticking two fingers down his throat as he entered the room. “We’re too young to see all that lovey stuff. Bad enough when Sher-bot and Chazman get together.”
“Sher-bot?” Callahan asked, chuckling.
“He’s more cyborg than shifter,” Flint said, giggling.
Sherman rolled his eyes, obviously used to the nickname. “Yeah. Funny, dipstick.”
“Childish,” Drew and Callahan said in unison, grinning.
* * * *
Callahan enjoyed his evening, the camaraderie leaving him with a warm glow as he left the house. It was a long time since he’d had such a fun evening, completely innocent, in a family atmosphere. In fact, he couldn’t actually remember being included in family time like that. He tended to keep to himself since he’d arrived in Sage. He and Bryce were good friends, and they’d moved into their own apartment a couple of years ago after surviving the cult’s evil regime and being left to die in a bunker.
Before that, his life hadn’t exactly been a bed of rose petals, either. Orphaned young, he’s spent time in foster care, then wound up on the streets, unable to find work since he’d struggled at school. He’d kept it a secret, but he’d been taking his own classes, trying to pass his GED. Apparently, he was dyslexic, and after John had suggested it might be worth looking into, he’d taken extra tuition from Maizie, who was teaching him privately. She’d gone out of her way to educate herself about the condition and had been pretty cool about not telling the whole town. Only John knew. And Bryce, who he’d known since childhood, sharing a dorm at the group home he’d lived in until he was about thirteen.
He tensed slightly as he walked along, sensing he was being observed. With all the shenanigans going on, it wasn’t exactly surprising. It made him edgy, though.
A moment later, he whirled as someone ran up behind him, then slumped in a heap when something hard smashed against his forehead.
* * * *
Drew followed Callahan, needing to know he was okay, arriving just in time to see Callahan being attacked. Screaming for help, he leaped forward, running at the hooded individual who shifted suddenly to defend himself. Drew did the same, roaring loudly, his African lion form big and muscular. His adversary was no slacker, either. An African lion, too, with a pale gold mane, he went for Drew with vicious intent.
Snarling, Drew lashed out angrily, enraged by the assailant’s cowardly attack on his mate. He defended himself, bellowing out another roar, claws raking at flesh, his fangs biting deep, trying to get purchase in the creature’s thick mane. He found himself on his back, all four feet paddling like windmills, then got a foothold and threw his attacker off him. A second later, the lion fled into the darkness, limping slightly, as the sound of running footsteps approached.
“Drew!” Sully aka Skull, one of the town’s deputies, arrived.
Drew shifted, panting, and winced at the claw marks along his flank. Callahan lay on the ground, motionless, a large cut on the side of his head. “Ambulance.” He knelt beside his boyfriend, stroking his hair gently.
“On its way,” Sully said. “Sorry I didn’t get here sooner. I lost him, then heard the commotion.”
“You were following him?” Drew asked, indicating the direction of the assailant.
“Yeah. Caught him loitering near Callahan’s apartment block. He followed Callahan from there, obviously up to no good. CCTV only goes so far, and we lost sight of him.”
The ambulance arrived, Leo jumping out. “Dangerous times,” he commented in his usual gruff way. The guy had been a nurse at the hospital, now turned paramedic and first responder. Mated to the town’s head physician, Lex, Leo’s bedside manner could be considered blunt, occasionally sarcastic, but he was someone Drew trusted implicitly. He’d helped Drew and his brothers immensely after their rescue from their father’s brutal kidnapping.
“Hey, Leo,” he said. “Yeah. That’s why I followed him. Wanted to make sure he was okay.”
Leo shot him a droll look. “And get a goodnight kiss?” he drawled, assessing Callahan, who w
as groaning now, returning to consciousness.
“You and Callahan getting it on?” Sully asked, grinning.
“Don’t you two start,” Drew protested. “I’ve just had an evening with the Muppets. They’ve been teasing us all night.”
Sully and Leo both chuckled at that. “You should get your own place, dude,” Sully suggested, shaking his head. “You won’t be able to strut your stuff in that household.”
“I like living there,” Drew said, shrugging. “I love my family.”
Leo eyed him shrewdly. “Kathleen won’t mind,” he said. “She’d want you to test your wings if you felt you wanted to.”
Drew flushed, looking at his feet…and remembered he was naked now, after shifting. “Don’t suppose you have a spare smock, do you?” he asked, spying one of the other medics, Lucy, standing there grinning at his embarrassment.
“Yeah, frostbite is nothing to sniff at,” Sully said sympathetically.
“Here, pee-wee,” Lucy said, throwing some hospital scrubs at Drew.
“You shouldn’t even be looking,” Drew told her sourly, dressing quickly. She chucked a pair of white clogs at him, as well.
“Can’t help it,” she retorted, giving him a salacious once-over. “Not every day a girl gets a free strip show.”
“Yeah, well, I’m taken, so quit window-shopping,” he shot back. She rolled her eyes, fanning herself while batting her eyelashes teasingly.
“Then quit shaking it about all over the place,” she said, smirking.
“What the hell happened?” Callahan said, grimacing in pain.
Leo continued assessing him, then eased him upright and helped him into the ambulance. “Louis and Doyle are after him,” he said. “Cullen’s doing a sweep using the cameras. We’ll pick him up.”
“Why the hell did he attack me?” Callahan asked, rubbing his head. He looked sick and pale.
“You didn’t recognize him?” Drew asked.
Callahan shook his head gingerly. “He was wearing a mask and hoodie, and hit me before I turned properly.”
“We have his clothing,” Sully said. “Shredded, but we can still run forensics. We’ll know soon enough.”
He placed the ruined garments into an evidence bag.
“We need to check you out more thoroughly,” Leo told Callahan. “And you’ll probably need someone to check on you through the night.” He waggled his brows teasingly, which had Callahan sighing resignedly.
“This is just going to keep on running, isn’t it?” he said. “The whole town will be watching my courtship with Drew.” He snorted. “Watch and learn, bro. Watch and learn.”
Drew saw the humorous look that came his way and flipped Leo off, then groaned when Sherman and Chaz came running up. “Fuck! Now I’ll be in trouble.”
“Didn’t you tell them where you were going?” Sully asked dryly. “Oh, boy.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me.”
“Drew, what the hell?” Sherman roared, eyeing up the situation. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
Drew squared up to his brother, unafraid of the behemoth glaring at him. “Callahan was walking home alone. At night. I wanted to make sure he was okay.”
“And you didn’t bother to let anyone know?” Sherman shouted, tugging at his dreads in frustration. “Your mother’s worried sick after hearing there’d been an attack, and you not in your room.”
“You know what? Fuck you,” Drew retorted. “This is my mate. I’m a Warrior, and I have training. I’m not some little kid anymore. I’m well aware of the dangers in town. Fuck, my own father’s behind most of it.”
“His name’s Rodrick Ambrose,” Sully interrupted, glancing at his phone. “Cullen just texted me.
“Who the fuck’s that?” Drew asked, still irritated.
“My former employer,” Callahan said quietly, looking sick.
Drew rushed forward, into the ambulance. “Why would he attack you?”
Callahan looked glum…and utterly defeated for a moment. “Because I wouldn’t do tricks for him anymore.”
They all looked at Callahan.
Drew gathered his mate into his arms, holding him close. “Then we’ll just have to send him a firmer message,” he said. “You’re mine. You’re not for sale.”
Callahan choked slightly as though holding back tears. His eyes gleamed with a mixture of shame and relief at Drew’s reaction.
“You’re not disgusted?” he asked shakily, swallowing hard.
“Nah,” Drew replied, kissing Callahan’s bruised temple, then licked at the wound gently, adding his healing saliva. “We’ve all got our histories, don’t we? I was a punching bag and unwilling druggie. I care about who you are now. Not then. Like I said. You’re mine.”
Callahan’s tears fell slowly, and he relaxed in Drew’s embrace. “Yes. I’m yours.”
They both ignored the high fives exchanged between Sully, Sherman, and Leo. Fuckers.
Chapter Five
“A little coincidental that all this shit is going down. Especially since Daniel is linked to all kinds of stuff related to Drew and his brothers. Then, the second they declare they’re a couple, suddenly Callahan gets attacked by his former employer.” Cullen sat with Ryder, Sully, and Sheriff Pace at the café, discussing the events of the previous night.
“Trouble?” Jay Hastings, John’s brother, wandered over, looking tired. Cullen eyed him worriedly. The guy was grieving deeply after the loss of his sister, Jayne. John was just about coping, but Jay had been hit hard by her death. And he’d just heard, very recently, that there’d been an attack at the prison where Nikolai Petrovsky resided. He was connected to her death. Nikolai had died in the assault…perpetrated by a black-and-white spotted leopard. Jay and John were snow leopard shifters. Cullen knew that John wasn’t responsible since he was the one who’d asked Cullen and Drew to look into the attack, but Jay was another story.
“Hey, Jay,” Sully greeted, his own gaze wary as he viewed the man’s haggard appearance. “When isn’t there trouble in Sage? Home of free shifters, and attractive to every shifter-hating motherfucker on the planet.”
They all chuckled at that. Sage did seem to attract a certain element.
“I heard Callahan was assaulted last night,” Jay said, sitting down with a coffee and a freshly baked chocolate and orange muffin.
Cullen studied him. “Alfie?” The guy was the source of most intel, working at the salon in the mall.
Jay smirked. “Alfie, Fly, and Kaden,” he said. “I had to visit the mall this morning. Needed a new toaster oven. Those three could gossip the hind legs off an ass.”
“News travels fast,” Sully agreed dryly.
“It does when you’re mated to David, who’s best friends with Alfie, who works at the hottest salon in town,” Ryder said with a grin.
“Guilty,” Sully retorted, unabashed.
“Who’s this Rodrick Ambrose?” Jay asked, a slight edge to his voice.
“We’re looking into him,” Pace said gently, at odds with his usual manner. “So far, all we can ascertain is that he knew Callahan. No connections that we can find to any of our usual list of enemies.”
Jay got up, leaving his coffee and muffin on the table, and left the café abruptly without saying another word. He’d been doing it a lot lately. His mind seemed far away. One moment he was fine, the next he was on another planet entirely.
“He’s not right, is he?” Cullen said sadly. “He’s hurting. Badly.”
“Yeah. I heard about the hit at the prison where Nikolai ended up,” Ryder said grimly, staring after Jay.
“You think it was my brother?” John asked, causing them to jump since he’d stalked up so quietly and was standing right behind Ryder.
Pace looked up, watching John carefully. “It’s a possibility,” he said. “Unless you know something about it.”
John looked back, his expression as blank as an unpainted wall. “Nikolai deserved to die,” he said. “You and I both know what he was doing. Fr
om inside prison. He was planning something.”
“And now we have no idea what that was,” Ryder declared.
“He deserved to die,” John repeated austerely. “One less psychopath is fine with me.”
“Ice might take exception to someone killing his brother,” Ryder replied calmly.
“Perhaps Ice gave permission,” John shot back, eyes narrowed to laser sharpness. “Perhaps if you’d let me interrogate him, we’d know what he’d been planning, without all these fucking games.”
“Did you kill him?” Pace asked bluntly. “No one would blame you if you did,” he added, glaring at Ryder.
“He threw a grenade into my house, with the express intention of killing my daughter, Primrose, and anyone else that got in his way,” John stated coldly. “He murdered thousands of innocent shifters in Russia, unchallenged for years. He was responsible for the death of my sister. But for him contacting Moriakovsky, that bastard would never have come to Sage. Nikolai Petrovsky is dead. End of discussion. Does it matter who killed him?”
“It does if that person is out of control and has gone rogue,” Cullen said quietly. “Talk to Jay, please? Before he attacks the wrong person. He’s on the edge, you can see that. Even if he isn’t responsible for Nikolai’s death.” Cullen knew that was the truth, had seen the text John had sent days before. And had viewed footage of the attack on Nikolai Petrovsky. Despite his knowledge that the perpetrator was neither brother, he also knew that Jay was in a bad way. It wouldn’t take much to send him over the edge.
John stared at him for long, uncomfortable seconds before turning away. “I’ll get you more coffee,” he stated, ignoring the request.
Cullen sighed, rubbing his face wearily. “We need to find out what the fuck Nikolai was up to,” he said grimly. “Before all hell finally does break loose on this town. I’m worried. John is not someone to mess with, and if there’s more attempts against his family…”
“If it was my sister or any member of my family, I’d do the same,” Sully said in a low growl. “Maybe it’s time we took more of a stand against these fuckers. We’re playing by human rules. We’re shifters. We have our own way of dealing with murdering scum.”