by J. Kearston
I raise a challenging eyebrow. “So the rumor about beating me at the race wasn’t a rumor?”
He blushes, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “It sounded like a good idea at the time. Gave your suitors a goal, killed off a good chunk of them, and even if they won, you’d hate them on principle.”
I bark out a surprised laugh, my previous anger waning over the course of the conversation. “I’ll admit, flawless reasoning.”
He looks more relieved, smiling, before his expression sobers. “If you’re going to be dating though, Kahl has something he wants to tell you about the rules.”
Then he and Kaiden flee the room, throwing Kahl under the bus and I blanch, guessing where the conversation is going based on the last shitshow.
Kahl grimaces and refuses to meet my eye. “Erm, yeah, so,” he stutters. When I see Vyrian coming around the corner, sweat dripping down his bare chest, I look up to Kahl in horror, trying to signal him to shut the fuck up, but he still isn’t looking at me. “If you’re going to start dating now that you know, you can’t, well,” he takes a steadying breath and rushes out, “you can’t have sex with anyone even before you go into heat or it will mean you’ve officially mated with them, despite the lack of heat.” I cover my face with my hands as I see Vyrian fighting a smile. “But you can still do other stuff,” Kahl adds, “even if I wish you wouldn’t. Like blowjobs and stuff. Just no actual sex, sex, understand?”
I don’t even look at him, nodding my head rapidly. “Got it. Can I just ask one thing?”
I can hear the awkward reluctance in his voice as he clears his throat and tries to act like this isn’t bothering him. “Yeah, sure, go ahead.”
I peel my hands off of my face to see Vyrian wearing an amused smirk, leaning against the wall and my brother whose face is as red as his hair. “Could you kill me now, please?”
***
“So,” Vyrian drawls, leaning against my car door before I could make a hasty exit. “You’ve decided to start dating?”
I try to settle my thundering heartbeat and act like my normal self. “Apparently it’s way past time, or so I’ve heard.”
I rehash the encounter with Colton and all the current revelations I was unaware of as he leans against the car, listening patiently. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this, you probably just want your shirt back since it looks like it was your only one. Why are you half naked in my brothers’ forge anyway?”
His lip twitches with a smile that goes all the way to those blood red eyes that hold me captive. “Newbloods need jobs too. Also scored a discount on my bow, so double win.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that the next time I bring breakfast, make sure I throw in an extra.”
“Well if you’re already planning on bringing me breakfast, I should treat you to lunch. It’s only fair,” he offers, and for once, I actually accept.
“Deal. When?”
He strums his fingers on the top of the car. “Before Elias’ match. That way if it goes well, I can join you, or if it’s a bust, you have an excuse to bail.”
I can’t hide the surprise on my face. “You know about Elias’ match?”
He shrugs. “Well yeah, those brothers of yours never shut up. I’ve only worked here one morning and feel like I already know half your family’s history.”
I chuckle. “Well, that’s pretty creepy.”
He holds his hands up in surrender. “Hey, blame your brothers for this one. I just kept my head down and was trying to earn an honest living.”
“Out of curiosity, why wait for lunch until next week?”
Kaiden comes to the front door to yell at Vyrian to leave me alone and get back inside, so he rushes out, “So you have time to think on it and change your mind if you don’t really want to. I don’t want you to think you’re rushing into things with the revelation you just went through and have to date the first guy you see.”
I give him an appraising look, not being discreet in the slightest. “That’s actually really sweet.”
He laughs as he calls over his shoulder before Kaiden storms over here. “No need to look so surprised, I pride myself on not being a total asshole. Keep the bar higher than basic decency, Ezra; you’re worth jumping for.”
Kaiden smacks the back of his head and starts barking orders while I drive off, heading into town to put my winnings to good use and get some stuff for around the house we’ve been putting off.
I hit the hardware store first, picking out some lumber and stain so I can add to the library we turned our parents’ room into. It was the largest in the house to accommodate all four of them, but none of us could bring ourselves to move in there, so we compromised to turn it into a library instead.
We bracket shelves directly to the walls, running around the course of the room completely. The highest shelf near the ceiling is reserved for trinkets that remind us of them; a music box here and ornate hourglass there. Anything we see when we’re out and about that makes us pause and think Dad would have loved that goes on that shelf.
The rest are books, and we’ve filled up a huge portion over the years, but there’s still plenty of space to fill. I have enough from my winnings to justify adding another shelf around the room, about waist level. Not much longer and there won’t be space to add anymore so I can just focus on stocking them with books.
“Ezra,” a man purrs, and I turn, consciously suppressing the fireball that wants to grow in my hand. This place would rank right in the top ten for places I should not start a fire; it’s kindle heaven.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?”
He scrubs a hand over a beaded jaw. “Not yet, but I’m hoping to change that.” He extends his hand and I shake it politely. “Derrik.”
“Nice to meet you,” I politely dismiss.
Just because I got the go ahead to date, doesn’t mean I need to take up anyone offering. If they don’t do anything for me, I don’t want to waste the precious time I have as my biological clock ticks down towards doomsday and blows up my life in an atomic cloud of lust.
He falls into step beside me as I grab the brackets and some more screw before heading towards the registers. “What would you say to joining me for dinner tonight? My treat?”
I give him a polite smile. “I’m flattered, but I’m actually busy tonight. Maybe some other time.”
I get into line, and he follows behind me, still jawing away. There’s a couple of men in front of me that turn towards him with scowls. The taller of the two looks at Derrik with harsh disdain.
“Back off, Derrik,” he snarls. He glances down at me and winks. “Don’t fret, sweetheart, he won’t touch you.”
I fight off the gag at how cheesy the whole thing is. “No frets here. Just want to buy my shit and get out.”
The snarl-er lets me go in front of him to stand as a block between me and Derrik, leaving me caged between him and the guy ahead of me. Silent up until now, he looks at me strangely.
“Something’s different about you, Ez. Haircut?” he asks, mulling it over.
“Nope, just me; same as every other day,” I huff in frustration.
Even after he’s rung up and the cashier is scanning the stuff in my cart, he persists. “No, there’s something, I just can’t put my finger on it.”
I blanch, playing over the last few days in my head and debating the merit of my current theory. Elias mentioned they thought that if I wasn’t aware of what was going on, it would change things.
Did finding out about my impending deadline and accepting it was time to find mates change something?
“Likely my latest victory,” I goad, bolstering up my defenses. “The souls of those that fall at my feet give me a nice afterglow for a few days; best skin care routine in the world.”
They laugh, I fake laugh, it’s a whole mess of awkward, and I leave. I load the lumber in the back of my SUV and head a few blocks away, talking myself off the crazy ledge.
You’re being ridiculous, Ez. Colton asked me o
n a date before I knew what was going on, and I bet the majority of the town is just as aware of my birthday. They’re probably thinking the same thing as him and deciding to get bolder.
I pull into the parking lot of the bookstore, feeling better. I’ve handled assholes before, and this is no different. No means no, and if they don’t accept that, it’s one more name scratched off my list.
I should make a list.
I’ll just light them on fire if they don’t listen. Why would I want to mate someone that doesn’t listen to me? I have the best, built in self-defense system evolution can buy... as long as weapons aren’t involved.
Nope, not going down the dark rabbit hole. Not today.
I head into the bookstore feeling better and more confident. I was caught off guard, but I just need to think of this as a race. Conquer the obstacles and emerge victorious. I’ve got this.
I grab a basket, starting through the aisles and seeing what catches my eye. They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but let’s be honest with ourselves; everyone’s a sucker for some pretties. I blame it on the dragon blood, wanting to hoard all of the pretty things. Some like jewelry or gold, but I have three favorites; weapons, book covers, and my secret stash. I hoard them all shamelessly.
“Looking for anything in particular?” Nick asks, fiddling with his shirt sleeve.
Another school friend, and I’ll admit, I don’t hate being around him. He gets my love of reading, has the respectable scholarly look going for him, and wouldn’t be the worst choice in the world.
“Just adding to the collection. I’m thinking fantasy today.”
He smiles warmly. “Then follow me, we just got a new shipment that I think would be right up your alley.”
He leads me to a new display he was likely in the middle of stocking before I showed up. I run my fingers over the glossy hard covers, hoping I’m not about to drool on them. When I look up, he’s already laughing, grabbing one of each and passing them to me to stack in the basket.
“Here, I’ll carry that,” he offers. I pass it over and we fall into comfortable conversation as we stroll through the aisles.
“You seem different today,” Nick says out of the blue and I stuff back down that feeling of unease.
“Still just little ‘ol me.”
He’s already shaking his head, grabbing my arm and his expression is hard. We’ve been friends for a long time, so I give him point two seconds before I burn the shit out of his hand, not wanting my precious books caught in the crossfire.
“Fuck, Ez, you need to go home,” he says suddenly and I look pointedly at his hand on my arm, my eyes hard.
“Why?”
He releases me with an apology. “You’re starting to give off some killer pheromones, if I had to hazard a guess. I’ve been hard as a rock the entire time we’ve been talking, and I usually can at least wait until you leave before wanting to jack off.”
I step back with mixed feelings of flattered, insulted, and creeped out at the fact he’s not even blushing about admitting that. “Am I mad at you right now?” I ask honestly. “Because seriously, I’m a little confused here.”
He ushers me towards the register and starts scanning everything hastily while flicking glances over my shoulder. I turn, looking at a dozen sets of eyes near the ends of the stacks pretending to read and constantly flicking back to me.
“Why does this feel like a zombie movie right now?” I whisper to Nick.
He doesn’t smile, just takes my money and passes me my bag. When his hand brushes against mine he stifles a groan. “Please, Ez, for the love of the Fates go home,” he begs.
And a second later, he’s got a fist in his cheek, some guy shouting at him for touching me and with all of the testosterone suddenly flooding the air, I’m shocked they can still pick up on anything I may or may not be giving off. I start heading towards the door, but it’s slow going as several fist fights are breaking out all over and people are crashing into the shelves.
“If you’re going to be assholes, at least take it outside! Don’t destroy the books!” I exclaim in frustration, gesturing in annoyance.
Someone breaks away from their fight to offer to carry my bag to my car which sets off another chain reaction. Pissed off, I punch one guy in the throat and another gets a kick to the back of the knee. The bell jingles above the door the same time I catch another man in the windpipe, working my way through the chaos and towards the exit.
I’m suddenly lifted and my skin instantly heats. The man holds on regardless, not even faltering in his grip. From the new angle, I’m able to get a good kick to the side of one guy’s head and he passes out cold. I turn as I start to drive my elbow back, making sure I’ll hit the nose I’m aiming for, but I stop just shy of bashing it into his face.
“Soren?”
The massive man in question starts for the exit, his grey eyes positively murderous. He brings me flush against his body, using one arm around my waist to hold me and the other to open the door like it’s nothing. He sets me down outside and gestures to the door handles.
“You mind?” he asks, his voice low and rumbling.
Confused as all get out, I use the heat of my hands to melt the top parts of the twin, vertical handles. Crossing them in an x, I fuse them back to the opposite door so that they can’t be opened without busting them down.
“What the hell happened in there?” he asks, putting a firm hand to my lower back and guiding me to the parking lot.
“My books,” I say instead, because I apparently have my priorities vastly mixed up.
He passes me my bag and I clutch them to my chest, like they contain all of the answers. “I caught them when I startled you. My apologies,” he says, and the smooth cadence of his voice helps to keep me from freaking out.
“No, thanks for getting me out of there. And, well, Nick’s theory is,” I trail off, embarrassed.
He looks down at me and arches an eyebrow. At this point we’ve arrived at my SUV and I unlock it to set my books in the back seat, but don't get in yet.
I take a breath and look at a point over his shoulder instead of directly at him. “Pheromones.”
From my peripherals I see his eyes widen. “That would explain it,” he rumbles, and I look at him fully as his lips twitch. “I was headed down the road and something was nagging me in the back of my mind to check out the bookstore,” he laughs.
I groan. “Is this seriously going to keep happening? No wonder women don’t hold out long before picking mates,” I sigh, defeated before I’ve even begun. I perk up a bit at a thought. “Wait a minute, why didn’t you go all testosterone crazy?”
He rubs the back of his neck adorably. “I was more worried about getting you away from that mess safely than fighting.”
I catch a flash of pink and grimace. “Fuck, and I thank you by burning the shit out of your hands. I’m sorry.”
He waves me off as I dig around in my car for the emergency kit, pulling out a pitifully small packet of burn cream. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing I suppose.
“Trust me, it looks worse than it is,” he consoles as he spreads it over the tender skin.
I climb into my car, yet hesitating before I pull away. “I owe you one, Soren. Thanks.”
He gives me a half smile. “My pleasure, Ezra. Take care.”
I carry on with my errands feeling unsettled and off kilter. I pay the electric bill and decide to swing in to pick up some clothes for Elias, since I swear, the kid must wash his clothes in a woodchipper when it’s his turn.
Pulling into the store, I eye everyone cautiously, waiting for the slightest hint of their brains turning to mush. When I get the usual polite greetings, I optimistically head in, do the shopping, and checkout breathing easier.
I’m almost out of the store when a display catches my eye; beautiful, shiny pocket knives with multicolored blades. I double back, enraptured, and physically have to slap myself out of it.
Fucking Achilles heel. Ignore the
pull, Ez, don’t get distracted.
“Anything you’d like a closer look at?” a man purrs, pupils blown and my lips curl back in a snarl.
“Nope.”
I sidestep him, hurrying out to my SUV and acutely aware of the eyes following me across the parking lot. I toss my bags in the trunk, getting increasingly pissed all the while. When I hear the scuff of a shoe, I lose all patience, bringing a flame to my hand and turning around with a furious expression.
“Personal. Bubble. Step in it and I won’t hesitate to make you bald, Cody.”
I glower at the blonde haired guy that was a year behind me in school. With as obsessive as he is with his stupid hair, I wouldn’t put it past him to ask me to hit him instead. His pupils are dilated and I’m so frustrated I could scream.
He backs off and I get in the car, slapping the button for the locks instantly. I start driving home, breathing through my nose to try and calm down. It’s only been one afternoon and I’m already over this.
I’m almost home when I see Soren walking, but he hasn’t caught sight of me yet. I slow down despite knowing I should just head home. But these three newbloods showed up out of nowhere, starting a chain reaction of annoying revelations, and I can’t help but be intrigued. Twenty-three years of being bored out of my mind, and now it’s been a whirlwind of excitement in just a couple of days.
A flicker of movement in the shadows between houses draws my eyes and I roll down my window, cursing. “Watch out!”
Soren’s head whips towards me, proving I only succeed in making things worse, and the man steps out of the shadows with his gun drawn. Soren explodes in a flurry of quick, efficient motions that make my lady bits sing. Knocking the man’s arm to the side, twisting his wrist to force him to drop the weapon as a shot fires off, and slamming him face first in the grass. With a knee pressed to his back to keep him trapped, I pull over and call the police to come pick up the asshole that meant to mug the newblood.
We may be brutal, but that doesn’t mean outside of the Gauntlet we can go around killing anyone we like.
“Are you alright?” Soren asks after the man is tossed in the back of a squad car and taken away.