Roommates

by Valerie Reyes

  “So your father took it pretty well huh?” Ace asked him at the end of their meal. Chance had insisted that he pay, he said it was the least he could do after Ace had rescued his car.

  “He did, surprisingly. I was kind of surprised.” he said. Chance took his credit card back and signed, thanking the waiter. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Whenever you are.” Ace said They walked outside down the street, side by side. Every now and then their arms brushed together from the rhythm of their walking. A few minutes later when Ace reached to unlock his truck his body jerked and he slammed into the side of his truck.

  “Ace? Are you okay?” Chance gasped as Ace slid down the side of the truck with a shocked expression on his face.

  “Get down Chance, quickly.” He said, scanning the area. “I just got shot. It couldn’t have been someone who was used to shooting guns, they missed anything vital, but damn that shit hurts.”Chance immediately pulled out his cell phone to call 9-1-1 and Ace stopped him.

  “No police. No cops. They can’t find out I’m a shifter. I’ll heal, I just have to get the bullet out. Do you think you can drive?” Ace said, he was couldn’t figure out exactly where he got shot from, but he assumed the person would be coming to finish the job if they didn’t get out of there soon. He didn’t want Chance at risk and managed to get the doors open and get them inside. Chance was able to slide into the driver side and turn the car on, heading towards Ace’s house.

  “What now?” he whispered, his eyes wide. This was the closest he’d come to seeing anyone be hurt, and it sunk in how important the security he’d always had growing up had been with his father.

  “Now, we see if he follows me home. I’m guessing if he wanted to kill me, he will want to finish the job and knows what car we are driving.” Ace told him and when he saw the fear on his face he squeezed his leg. “Don’t worry, I just need you to help me get the bullet out. I can shift and take care of the rest.”

  “Are you going to kill him?” Chance asked, concerned.

  “Only if I have too. I’m not big on killing people.” Ace told him and gave him a funny look. He felt a little sick from the bullet being in him, and was thankful that it wasn’t silver, silver really hurt.

  “Do you think he’s doing it because you’re a shifter?” Chance asked a little while later, as they drew closer to his cabin.

  Ace shrugged and then let out a low groan from the pain. “I don’t know; I’ve been pretty careful over the years.”Chance couldn’t figure out who would want to hurt Ace . “What about it being one of the poachers? I get it’s your job to stop them, but maybe they want to hurt you because of trying to stop them?”

  “That’s always a possibility. There’s a lot of people who might want to harm me.” Ace sighed. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m a politician’s son. Danger is something I’m used too; I grew up having security around me my whole life. I couldn’t even go to school without a guard to watch over me.” Chance let out a sardonic laugh. “This isn’t exactly my idea of exciting fun Ace, but I’ll survive.”

  “Let’s hope we do.” Ace muttered and then stayed quiet until they got to his house. Ushering him inside, he turned all the monitors on and made sure they were looking for the tiniest movement and turned on his security cameras at the front of his house and off the back. He normally didn’t do that, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Setting an alarm, he hooked it up to his tablet so he could monitor the screens remotely.

  “Okay, we should be good. It will beep anytime it sees movement. I need you to help me get this bullet out of my shoulder now, please? I have a first aid kit on the coffee table, and some tweezers. I already got the alcohol out, just dump it on the wound, and dig until you pull the bullet out. I’ll heal properly as soon as it’s out.” Ace told him and set the tablet down on the coffee table as he collapsed on the couch to let him work on removing the bullet.

  “Oh my,” Chance whispered as he did the steps to get ready to remove the offending piece of metal. he’d never thought of himself as a wuss, but digging around in his flesh with him turning pale and shaky as he dug for it had him feeling guilty. And a little queasy. Soon, he got a hold of it and was able to work it out. Feeling relieved he dropped it on the table and went to get a piece of gauze and some tape from the first aid kit to put over the wound.

  “I’ll be healed by morning.” Ace said as he started to improve how he looked now that the bullet was out. Sighing in relief he closed his eyes for a few minutes and then opened one up when he heard the alarm beeping as a car pulled out in front of his cabin with its light off. “Bingo. There’s the person who shot me. Now we wait. Chance, I want you to stay in the back room with the monitors. It’s soundproof and it’s basically bullet proof. Go in there and lock yourself in until I tell you it’s safe.”

  “But…” Chance started to say when Ace gave him a stern look. “Okay, I’m going, I’m going. Just be careful okay?”

  “I promise I’ll be careful.” Ace told him and gave him a quick kiss before making sure he locked himself in.

  Now, he just had to deal with the intruder. Now that he knew Chance would be safe, he could focus on the dark figure sneaking up to the house. He could see the outline of a silenced pistol in the person's left hand.

  Chapter 6

  Ace went and waited by the door, waiting for them to try to get into the house. He silenced his tablet, so it wouldn’t give away his position. Chance was in the back room watching the figure grow closer to the house and felt his stomach drop. Praying Ace would be okay he tried to figure out who the person could be , in the dark it was hard to make out any features, but he’d swear… no, it couldn’t be, could it?

  That looked just like Denise, why would Denise want to shoot Ace ? Chance was confused and the urge to run out there and confront him was overwhelming. he was angry. If he’d actually shot Ace he’d shoot Denise himself.

  Walking to the side of the door, Ace turned the lights off in the main room and waited silently in the dark. He could smell them moving around outside of his house and was hoping they'd walk in the front door so Ace could just wait for him. He needed to be careful because of the gun, and they had already proven they would not hesitate to shoot .

  The doorknob jiggled quietly and then the door inched it’s way open slowly. Ace didn’t react yet, he wanted to get the intruder all the way inside, in plain view and locate the gun before he acted. No point in anyone getting needlessly injured.

  Walking inside, the intruder shut the door without looking over into the corner and completely missing that Ace was standing there. Ace realized this was an amateur., with had no idea what they was doing, and that was completely clear by how careless they were being with this whole thing.

  Ace silently snuck up and grabbed the gun . The gun went off and hit the coffee table, lodging a bullet into it. Irritated since Ace’s grandfather had hand-carved that table he elbowed the intruder in the face . The gun dropped, as the intruder stumbled backwards.

  Before anyone knew what was going to happen next, Chance walked out of the room . “Denise, you stupid idiot, what the hell is your problem, I’m calling your father. What the hell were you thinking. No, I’m not just calling your father, I’m calling my father and the police.”

  “No, don’t do that Chance.” Denise whined from the ground, her lips were bloody and she scooted up until she was sitting. Ace had the gun and had set it in the back of his waist band to keep it out of the way without having his hands be full.

  “Explain to me why you shot Ace in the first place, or I swear to god I’m going to ruin you.” Chance hissed . Ace had never seen him so angry, he was shaking and he looked so mad he was not sure what he would do about the sad looking woman leaned against the couch.

  “Because you were promised to me. “ Denise snapped. “You were supposed to be mine. I was fine with you having a fling before our wedding, but you were supposed to belong to me.” She struggled to get up. Chance stopped him and pressed
her shoulder back so she would remain seated.

  “Don’t even think of getting up.” he growled . “I’m not a prize, or a possession, or a piece of property. I’m a human being who lives in an era where people get to pick and choose who they want for mates. Even people like me and Ace. There was something about you from the moment I met you that had me wanting to run screaming in the other direction. Now I know why. You’re totally screwed up in the head and I definitely do not want you. Even if you hadn’t shot Ace , I picked Ace . I want Ace . You are pathetic. Worse than pathetic.”

  “He can’t give you what I can.” Denise said lamely, and then turned to glare up at Ace . “You ruined everything. I swear to god I will kill you.”

  “You can certainly try, but here’s a little secret,” Ace leaned down and let his eyes and face shift just enough to his bear form to traumatize the woman in front of him. “If you ever come near Chance, or me again, I will kill you myself.”

  “What the fuck man!” Denise backed up and hit the wall hard with her head as she gasped when she saw Ace turned in-human looking. Chance crossed his arms and didn’t bat an eye at Ace shifting slightly to scare her .

  About fifteen minutes later, police sirens lit up Ace’s driveway and the police came inside after Chance let them in. They took the reports, the bullet from the coffee table, the gun that Ace had taken from Denise and showed them the bullet wound that Denise had already inflicted on him earlier.

  Denise was raving about Ace being some kind of supernatural monster that had the police exchanging glances as they cuffed her and took her away. They finished taking statements and then Chance wrapped his arms around Ace’s waist.

  “I cannot believe she had such a screw loose. She was rich, good looking, could have had almost anyone she wanted. What the hell went wrong with her ?” he wondered out loud.

  “Wanting something she can’t have? The challenge of it can be mighty appealing sometimes, and some people are very poor losers.” Ace shrugged. He didn’t understand it, but he was grateful Chance was safe.

  A few minutes later, Chance’s cell phone was blowing up from texts from his father. Picking it up and calling him he tried to explain what happened. He was almost yelling into the phone about Denise’s father calling him raging that Chance had him thrown in jail. His father was angry, and wasn’t sure what was going on. After hearing Chance’s side of things, and him offering to make sure he got a copy of the police report, he calmed down and listened rationally.

  Chance spoke to him for a little while longer, explaining things, and by the end of the conversation, his father was seething again, but this time at Denise and her father, instead of Chance and Ace.

  “Your father always so quick to assume the worst?” Ace asked curiously.

  “Sometimes, especially if he doesn’t have all the facts, the one nice thing about him is he’s mostly bark and not much bite.” Chance joked and walked over to Ace and wrapped his arms around him. “So… Do you believe in soul mates, Papa Bear?”

  “I don’t believe in soul mates exactly, but I believe in mates. Our kind mates for life. We actually have a ritual that binds us together, sort of like a pagan hand fasting. It has perks.” Ace told him suggestively.

  “Even for... you know, our kind?” Chance asked.

  “What?” Ace replied. “You mean a shape shifter dating a non-shape shifter?”

  Chance gave him a playful glare.

  “Oh, you mean the gay thing,” Ace said with a smirk. “In my world that has not been an issue for a long time. Bonding is bonding.”

  “Well okay then. What kind of perks?” he asked him curiously and leaned back to look at him.

  “Oh, the kind that makes you heal faster, live longer, that kind of stuff. There is a downside though.” Ace hesitated, wondering if giving up trade secrets this soon into a budding relationship was a good idea.

  “What kind of downside?” he blinked up at him.

  “The kind where it bonds us together. For life. The kind where one of us dies, the other one will follow.” Ace told him and waited for the freak out that he assumed would follow. His reaction however was not at all what he was expecting.

  “Okay. That makes sense. Balances out the rest of it I suppose.” he shrugged. “The better question is, are you the type to go risk your life all the time or would you settle down and stop going after so many poachers? I love that you’re so happy in your job, but if you had a life partner, would you put yourself at risk?”

  “No, I wouldn’t. I would still do my job, but I would probably request to get a younger, less attached agent out here to go after the poachers and change some of what I do.” Ace admitted. He realized that the idea of hurting Chance by putting himself at risk made him rethink some of his priorities.

  “I’d appreciate that. You know, it’s funny. Your cabin, your simple life, I mean, no one’s life is perfect or simple totally, but compared to how I grew up. The dangers of being in the public view all the time, I would love to just be in the shadows now, so to speak. I want my privacy. I want to just live my life without worrying if I have the right brand of jacket. Is that odd?” Chance shook his head and put his head against his chest so he could hear his heart beating.

  Ace kissed the top of his head and squeezed him tight, just grateful that the night turned out with less traumatic results than it could have, for both of them.

  “I think that wanting to be able to be yourself and not worry what other people think constantly, or who it might effect by going into a grocery store could be a thing that people often overlook. The idea of being in the spot light constantly may sound appealing sometimes, but the reality of it? Having people catch on camera the most embarrassing moments, you spilling your drink, tripping and falling on your face, and many other things that could go wrong that happens to people every day. Only, with you, everyone would see it. Yeah, I can see the appeal of privacy and wanting to be invisible.” Ace laughed a little and shook his head. “I never did understand wanting to be front and center all the time, or hearing yourself talk. No offense to your dad.”

  “None taken, despite being a politician, my dad did get into politics because he wanted to make a difference in the world. I understand his calling, I just never wanted to do what he does. I wanted to b just have some kind of normal, quiet job with a regular small house. Okay, having a maid is nice, I won’t lie. I don’t know what I would do without a maid.” Chance blushed a little. “But, maybe in a not-so big house, doing it all yourself wouldn’t be that bad.”

  “If you need a maid to survive, I think I could compromise long-term about that.” Ace told him , “And, I do know how to clean a house myself. There’s more to life then cleaning a house. Bachelors are perfectly capable of cleaning too you know.”

  “One of many reasons to admire you.” Chance laughed. Although he admitted there were a lot more than that. He was an incredible man, a bear shape shifter, mellow, calm, everything he needed in his life.

  “You’re not so bad yourself Chance,” Ace told him and then slung his arm around his shoulders and guided them to the kitchen. “I’m hungry. Getting injured makes me hungry, do you want a glass of wine or anything?”

  “No, I’m good, I’m content to watch you eat and heal. Healing is good.” Chance grinned at him and followed him into the kitchen. “So, your house, or mine?”

  “Definitely mine.” Ace laughed. While the idea of a big house with maids and cooks and gardeners might appeal to some people, Ace was definitely happy being a loner in the woods.

  “Whew.” Chance nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”

  Chapter 7

  A few months later….

  Chance and Ace had been living together for a week, and while they’d upgraded to a slightly larger cabin, they’d kept things simple, minimal. The thing Chance had been waiting for had arrived in the mail and he was making Ace a present to surprise him .

  Their life was simple, peaceful - he had gotten used to wearing jeans and a cotton tee
shirt, working outside and walking barefoot. Looking back on the last few months of his life, he really couldn’t picture anything else making him this happy.

  “Hi baby,” Ace said as he came in. He pulled his hat off his head and walked over to kiss him in greeting. They made a point to always kiss hello and goodbye, and say “I love you” every time they parted ways. It was a ritual that Chance enjoyed having with him.

  “I have a present for you,” Chance whispered after they’d shared a few heated kisses right there in the yard.

  “A present? It’s not my birthday, what’s the occasion?” Ace asked as he handed him a little box with a white silk bow on it. He didn’t quite understand until he opened it up. Inside lay a small paper document with the words “marriage liscense” emblazoned across the top.

  Stunned, Ace just stood there for a moment staring at it as the news sunk in. Blinking up at him he started to smile and let out a loud whooping noise before picking him up and twirling him around their kitchen.

  “I don't believe this. When can we start planning? ” He asked grinning so wide Chance was surprised his cheeks didn’t split open.

  “It's real. It's legal.” Chance said. “Not just here, but all over the country. We can go anywhere and everyone has to acknowledge that we are really and truly married. Remember that thing my father said he was voting on? This was it. He voted in favor.”

  “I knew there was something special about that guy. .” Ace said laughing. Hugging Chance close to him, he felt like his world was finally complete. He had everything anyone could ever want. A loving, adoring partner , , a house that felt like a home, and a chance to live in peace together with the person he loved. He always looked forward to coming home. Because of Chance. he made his life fulfilled in ways he didn’t know a man could miss until he had it.

  “Are you ready for the next chapter in our life?” he whispered to him as he worked on undoing the buttons on his uniform. He was off duty as a ranger now, his shift was over, which meant they could get naked and have their way with each other.