‘I’m making PB&J.’
Well shit. Rutley pushed himself up from the top step and turned to go back into the house. He took one step and froze as he heard the sound of distant sobbing. Someone was crying. Why?
He didn’t even breathe as he strained to recognize the voice of whoever was so upset...and then it hit him.
“Kia.” He whispered as his eyebrows slowly met in the center of his forehead. He turned his head slowly to gaze towards her apartment and felt his stomach twist into knots. Why was she so sad? Why did he feel sad? There was a part of him that wanted to knock on her door, but she wouldn’t let him in. He’d already tried countless times before. Kia wasn’t interested in seeing him again and he totally understood. It was for the better, right? Dimitri had already voiced his feelings over the situation and Kia was making it pretty damn clear she didn’t want anything to do with either one of them. He could hardly blame her.
He shoved open the front door and closed it as quickly as possible. His eyes immediately landed on the sleeping female sprawled out on their couch. She was pretty-he’d give her that, but he couldn’t really say much more until she was awake. What if she was a total bitch? What if he hated her? They definitely hadn’t thought this through.....
“Get your ass in here.” Dimitri said quietly from the kitchen.
Rutley complied and made his way into the dimly lit room to find Dimitri sitting at the table with a paper plate in front of him. There were two PB&J sandwiches waiting to be consumed and damn it, Rutley wanted one of them.
“Have a seat, Rut. We need to talk.”
Aw, hell. What did I do this time? Rutley wondered as he carefully sat down across from his alpha and stared at him.
“You didn’t do anything,” Dimitri gave him a lopsided grin as he glanced up at him. “I just think we need to talk about everything that’s happened tonight.”
“Which part exactly?” Rutley asked as he propped his chin against his fist and tilted his head a little. “The part where Breslin Douche-Dog sent humans to dice up teenage girls as a warning or the part where he practically mind fucked our dreams?”
“Both,” Dimitri blinked. “But we need to talk about a lot of other things too.”
“Well I’m all ears.” Rutley mumbled as he reached across the table to grab one of the sandwiches. His blue eyes stayed on Dimitri’s face as he bit into it and then he lifted an eyebrow. Damn that was a good sandwich.
“You know it’s pretty hard to ignore your thoughts,” Dimitri started carefully before he paused. It was almost as if he was trying to figure out where he wanted to start, or maybe there was a lot of ground he wanted to cover and he didn’t have much time to do so. He cleared his throat and gave a small roll of his shoulders. “It’s not like I’d ignore your thoughts anyway, Rutley. I know you’re worried about this....girl being a part of our pack.”
“I’m not worried,” Rutley lied. That was only partially true. There were many things he didn’t worry about: being burdened with the need for stitches should he ever decide to dive head-first into pavement again; getting sick and dying; getting beat up for his sexual preferences. Dimitri’s bite was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. “I’m seriously not.” He said reassuringly after swallowing another bite of his sandwich.
“You are lying to me,” Dimitri whispered as he shook his head. “I feel what you feel, Rutley or did you forget that? You are unhappy with having a new pack mate and you do worry about what’s going to happen when ‘Breslin Douche-Dog’ comes back.”
Well son of a bitch. Why did Dimitri always have to tap into his feelings? It was one of the things that Rutley disliked about being a werewolf. Having someone else in his head and sensing the little storms he’d prefer to keep to himself was a nuisance sometimes.
“She will be more like a sister to me. You know that, don’t you?” Dimitri asked. “Or perhaps even like a daughter. I will not be interested in her as anything more, Rutley. Is that what you want to hear?”
Rutley made a small face and shifted around in his seat uncomfortably. What exactly was Dimitri trying to get at here? Weren’t they supposed to be talking about something else?
“Rutley.”
His name rolled off Dimitri’s tongue in a way that made the beta want to melt into a pitiful pile of goo. He swallowed hard and focused on his sandwich instead. That was a mighty fine sandwich.....
It was only when he felt Dimitri’s hot breath tickling at the side of his neck that Rutley realized just how focused on the sandwich he’d been. Dimitri was behind him and his hands rested against his shoulders. Damn it.
Just stay cool. Rutley calmly told himself as his alpha’s scent overwhelmed his senses. His eyes closed and the sandwich was forgotten as he dug his fingertips into the top of the table. The wood groaned beneath his strength as a shallow breath escaped his lungs.
“You are my beta,” Dimitri declared in a voice that was barely above a whisper. “You are now the single most important person in my life, Rutley Holter. No one comes before you.”
Shit shit shit. Why was Dimitri saying stuff like that? What gave him the right to say something so damn......wonderful? Rutley had never been anybody’s most important person before. His mother loved him and his grandmother fawned over him, but they never said he was the most important person in their lives. Liam was his best friend and they cherished each other, but again he was not the most important person in his life. This was new to Rutley. It was a little unbelievable.
“Believe me.” Dimitri’s hand dipped into the collar of Rutley’s t-shirt and scalding sparks of pleasure attacked his blood. Another shuddering breath escaped Rutley as his eyes opened and he gazed at the indentions of his fingertips he’d left in the wood of their table. Oops.
“I do.” Rutley choked on those two simple words as his throat threatened to close on him. Dimitri often drove him insane with a simple gaze, but touching him was an entirely different ballgame. They hadn’t done much touching since.....that night.
Dimitri’s nose was buried against his hair suddenly and Rutley became paralyzed by the numerous sensations that attacked him all at once. He was dizzy, warm, and comfortably tingly. His head fell back against his alpha’s shoulder as Dimitri’s lips found their way to the sensitive skin just beneath his ear.
“We’re going to be just fine,” Dimitri reassured him as he nipped at the bottom of his earlobe. Shit! Did he have to do that?! “We’ll figure this out together. I will not hurt you.”
...Hurt? Had Rutley been worried about that? He couldn’t remember with the sudden need to feel Dimitri’s mouth against his own. He was hungry for him. He craved him. God, he needed him.
It was surprisingly easy to find the courage Rutley never seemed to possess before. It was almost as if his wolf gave him the final push he needed to turn his head and meet his alpha’s heated gaze. He could see the lust brewing in Dimitri’s hazel hues like a vengeful storm ready to destroy his world. Rutley released a low groan of want as he leaned in to close the distance between them.
And of course that was the exact moment in time the she-wolf in their living room decided to wake up.
Seventeen
December 23rd
Two days until Christmas morning is here and I really don’t give a damn at this point. I feel like I’m going insane and there’s nothing I can do about it. I have brought this on myself. I deserve whatever is coming my way and I’ll accept my fate.
I am not sleeping well. I’m lucky if I manage three hours each night. I spend most of my time torturing myself with listening to Dimitri and Rutley’s conversations. They worry about so much and I’m about to add even more to their plate. I’m a terrible person.
A part of me really wants to warn them, but I can’t. My death will come sooner rather than later...but maybe it’s not such a bad idea to be put out of my misery as quickly as possible. How could I do this? Why did I do it?
I shouldn’t have betrayed them. I care about those wol
ves and I’ve handed them over to their enemy. My father is going to destroy Kadenburg and everyone within it. It is my fault. It is unforgiveable.
What type of person drugs two good men and then gets them to spill their deepest secrets? And not only that, but then I decided it was entirely acceptable to sleep with them? I’ve made it more complicated than it was ever meant to be! They marked me as their mate and I’m sure they realize that by now. I’ve done an awful, awful thing and I wish I could take it back.
I can’t live with myself like this.
There’s more.....but I can’t bring myself to write about it yet. I am so ashamed.
Death would be too kind.
Kia
———————————-
“Can I at least see you?”
His question burned in her mind as Natalie carefully washed each plate and placed them in the rack near the sink. She was burying herself in work because she didn’t want to deal with Arnold Goult and his relentless pursuit of her. Well, that and she didn’t want to get fired. She really did need this job. She glanced at the mile high stack of dirty dishes and sighed. Why couldn’t he take the hint?
“You can’t see, remember?”
“You know what I mean, Natty,” Arnold grunted on the other end of the line. “Let me come see you. Please?”
“I don’t want to see you. This isn’t healthy and you need to stay away, okay? Just let it be, Arnold. Nothing good will come of this.” That was the truth, wasn’t it? They were toxic for one another. Besides, he would totally be over whatever infatuation he had with her before the New Year rolled in. Everything would go back to normal and she could get on with her life.
“Natty, please,” he pleaded. “I need to see you. We can talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Arnold. Stop calling me at work before you get me fired.”
It had been a train wreck of a conversation, but she was certain she got her point across. She just wouldn’t be around him until her hormones started behaving. Simple. Easy. It was a good plan.
“Here’s the last batch for the evenin’, Miss Natalie.” Clint Harrison said as he dropped a big crate of plates and glasses down on the counter. He sighed and wiped his hands off against his apron before he gave her a toothy grin.
Natalie returned his smile awkwardly.
“You ready for Christmas yet?” Clint asked as he leaned against the wall and glanced at his dirty fingernails.
“I’m never ready for Christmas,” Natalie replied simply as she turned on the scalding hot water and started rinsing away the disgusting muck of leftovers off each dull blue and faded red plate. “But I bought for my niece and that was the most important gift.”
“Ah, yeah. That’s Presley Goult, ain’t it? She sure is a cute little thing.”
Gross. Was he really taking on that tone about her niece? Natalie’s eyes wandered to a clean knife in the dish drain and she contemplated castrating him for a moment. She was fiercely protective over Presley, even though they’d never been close until now.
“Her boyfriend thinks so as well.” Natalie replied casually as she started rinsing dishes again.
“Oh yeah. She’s dating the youngest Bamey boy, ain’t she? It’s a real shame what happened to Liam. I liked that kid.”
Natalie’s chest tightened in a painful manner as she thought about Liam. Sometimes it was still hard to believe he was gone.
He didn’t deserve that.
“You reckon it’s true he got ate alive by a mountain lion? That’s what I heard anyway.”
Oh no. Her skin was beginning to tingle and that definitely wasn’t a good sign. Clint would shut up if he knew what was best for him.
But he didn’t. He had no idea what would happen if he kept talking about Liam’s death as if it had made the front cover of every tabloid in America. He was rambling on and on about what the sheriff had found and he was going into gruesome detail of how mutilated that poor boy’s body had been.
He disrespects one of our own. Her bear seethed. Make him be quiet!
I can’t. He doesn’t know what I am. I was absent during Liam’s death and I cannot complicate this situation.
Make him shut up or I will.
Of all the people in the world who should know better than to reveal their true nature, surely to goodness her bear would be the most aware.
Her bones stretched and cracked as her skin heated up. She could feel her head as it began to swell and it was too much. She couldn’t let Clint see what she was capable of becoming.
“I have to go,” Natalie said hurriedly as she dropped a plate back into the sink. It shattered upon impact as she whirled around and shoved past him, stumbling towards the back door. “Tell Hettie I’m sick.”
“Wait—-Natalie!” Clint called after her.
She was already halfway into the woods by the time he made it outside and her bear had taken over.
———————————
Everything was finally starting to fall into place for Louisa and she couldn’t be happier about it: Beau would be home soon and they would celebrate their first Christmas in America together; she and Greg had gone on their movie date after all and had a wonderful time; everyone seemed to be in high spirits in spite of unearthing Breslin Connor’s shady operation of mutilating humans and leaving their remains as warnings for the ursithropes.
A meeting was taking place in the local church because it was the only place big enough to house the twenty nine ursithropes currently residing in Kadenburg. Davey Berdine had arranged the gathering on short notice, but he stressed how important it was for everyone to attend. Louisa arrived with Mr. and Mrs. Bamey and immediately found Greg among the small group of large, muscular men and Urseth fearing women. She quickly discovered that being in the presence of so many bear-shifters made her miss her village.
“Hey.” Greg greeted her with a warm smile and wrapped her up in a sweet embrace as the loud commotion of everyone talking grew deafening. He kissed her temple and pulled away to study her.
“What is it?” She asked curiously as she quirked an eyebrow.
“Nothin’,” Greg drawled with a laugh. “You just keep getting prettier and prettier every time I see you.”
Her entire face burned with an undeniable blush as Mrs. Bamey giggled from behind. She turned her head to gaze at the older female and wanted to shrink away. Why did everyone think it was funny to embarrass her?
“You two are just the sweetest,” Mrs. Bamey commented before she narrowed her eyes at Greg. “But if you ever pull another stunt like that, Gregory Kress, intentional or not, I will skin you alive. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Greg replied in all seriousness. Louisa wrapped an arm around his muscular torso and beamed at the woman she admired so much. Mrs. Bamey was protective of everyone, but Louisa felt exceptionally close to her. She was a good mother and oh, how Louisa wished hers was still alive.
“Go find a seat so we can see what Davey has to say,” Mrs. Bamey added. “I’m really interested in hearing his excuse for trying to prolong the news of that poor girl’s disappearance. I can’t believe he did that.”
Louisa’s stomach twisted into sickening knots at the thought. She knew the elder ursithrope was going to be upset with her for allowing anyone else to know about what had happened, but she didn’t technically say anything until Greg picked up on Amber’s scent. He was the one who discovered she was hurt. Would she really get in trouble for Greg piecing it together on his own?
“Everybody have a seat.” A middle aged ursithrope with silver hair directed from the podium as he frowned. Louisa didn’t know him personally, but she knew his name was Luke Bishop and he was an elder for the polar bear-shifters. She wasn’t sure she liked him.
“Louisa! Over here!” Presley called excitedly from one of the front pews. She patted the empty space next to her and Lorcan and gave Louisa a bright smile. Taking Greg’s hand proudly into her own, Louisa made her way through the
dwindling crowd of standing ursithropes and joined her friend.
“What is this meeting about?” Louisa asked in a soft whisper as everyone became silent.
“I have no idea honestly,” Presley admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. “But Lorcan says only meetings like this happen when a true emergency comes up, but if you ask me, where was the town meeting when Breslin showed up a few months ago?”
Oh, she had such a good point. Louisa nodded in agreement as her dark eyes watched Davey Berdine make his way to the podium. He was much shorter than Luke. In fact, he was shorter than most ursithrope men. Why was she getting such a bad feeling about this.....?
Her fingers instinctively tightened around Greg’s as an irrefutable shiver of dread clawed its way through her lungs; whatever Davey Berdine was feeling in that moment was having a hell of an impact on her.
“What’s wrong?” Greg asked as he dipped his head towards hers. “Louisa?”
Louisa’s heart suddenly felt like it was going to pound out of her chest as she sucked in a sharp breath and glanced towards Presley. Her friend mirrored the worried expression she knew was written all over her face, and those green eyes were full of confusion and fear as Davey Berdine cleared his throat and began to speak.
“Fellow ursithropes of Kadenburg, I fear you will not like what I am about to say.”
Oh no. Louisa’s gut instincts were never wrong. Her world shifted and turned upside down as she let her free hand fall to rest atop Presley’s. She felt sick; she was going to throw up.
“Many of you have voiced concerns about what happened to a young human girl a few days ago, right here, in our town. I know that Kadenburg has not been safe for some time, but you must believe me when I say I have been doing everything possible to ensure our kind does not get hurt.”
Louisa could feel Presley’s hand trembling beneath her palm and she glanced at her again. Presley’s green eyes were dim as she glared at Davey. Did she know something Louisa did not? What was happening?
“Lou,” Greg repeated as he nudged her shoulder with his own. “What’s the matter?”
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