“Come on, Kraig. It’s me,
Deke. You know me. You blooded me just a few hours ago, remember? Listen to my
voice. Feel me. All you have to do is take my hand. That’s it. I’ll help you
with the rest.” I stuck my arm under the bed and then pulled back hastily when
Kraig hissed.
My mistake. He wasn’t ready
yet. “Do you remember that time when we were about ten? Well, Park and I were
ten. You were still single digits and tiny as can be. Park and I were playing
keep away, and you got so mad. That throw I flubbed? I knew you’d get the ball.
I didn’t expect you to get under the porch though.
I resisted the urge to rub my
ass. “Man, your mom didn’t even wait for our dads. She skinned our butts for
being mean to you, for letting you get dirty in your new school clothes, and then
a few more just to make sure we’d never forget.”
“’Member that,” Kraig said
hoarsely.
“Yeah? What else do you
remember? Anything good?” I slid my hand just under the edge of the bed.
“Going down to the creek.”
“Oh, I loved that. Don’t seem
to have as much time for it anymore, but maybe we can plan out a picnic.”
Kraig inched forward. “Really?”
“Yep. But we can’t do that
under the bed. Can I help you out of there?” I held my breath and turned my
hand over, inviting his touch instead of trying to grab him.
“I’m sorry,” he said. His
voice broke.
“Nothing to be sorry for. Let’s
get you out, and I’ll get you a glass of water. I bet you’re thirsty.”
Hate radiated through me, and
I wished I could slash that doctor’s throat again when Kraig got to his feet.
He was hunched over, like he was trying to make himself smaller, and he refused
to look at me. Shivers wracked him.
“How about a shower?” I
suggested.
“Together?”
That wasn’t my first thought,
but I wouldn’t turn down any opportunity to get naked and wet with Kraig. “Sure.
Then I have some lunch for us.”
“You didn’t eat?”
“I wanted to wait for you.”
Kraig stared up at me. “Alphas
don’t do that.”
“Maybe other alphas don’t.” I
shrugged. “I do. Besides, you need to eat. I ordered roast beef sandwiches,
your favorite.”
“Hot?”
“Probably just warm now, but
we can go down and heat them up.”
The burst of energy was gone
by the time Kraig was clean. I scrubbed him dry and then ran a towel over myself.
“Back in bed. I’ll bring lunch in here.”
“What about crumbs?”
“I’ll risk it.” I slid the
tray with our sandwiches on the bed and then went back for the milk and juice. “Here.”
I handed him a plate with a thick sandwich of homemade bread piled high with
warm roast beef with some carrots on the side—definitely his mom’s doing. “Eat
as much as you can. We’ll find a way to flush the carrots.”
“You gotta wrap them up in
toilet paper like a ball, but not so big you clog the toilet. That’s bad.”
I chuckled. “I’m guessing that’s
personal experience talking? I never heard that story.”
“The next day all she served
me was carrots. I still hate the things.”
Gross. “I don’t blame you.” I waited
for Kraig to try his sandwich before I picked up my sandwich and took a big
bite. The juice from the spiced meat had soaked into the thick, dense slices of
bread. “So good,” I moaned.
I polished off my sandwich and
a little more than half of Kraig’s. He’d eat more once he was used to eating
regular meals again. The carrots went into the garbage can, and I pulled out
several tissues to cover them. I’d have to take that out before my subterfuge
was discovered.
Kraig was already falling back
asleep. I began to stand up to put the tray away, and he snagged my arm. “Stay?”
I hesitated. “I don’t want to dream again. You keep the darkness away.”
My heart clenched. “Anything
you need,” I promised him. I put the tray down on the floor and crawled back in
the bed. It wasn’t cold so I pulled the lighter blanket up from the foot of the
bed. I curled around Kraig, surrounding his cool skin with my warmth.
He crashed hard, but I dozed,
aware of the quiet noises as some of the streak moved around the house and
grounds outside. Nothing sounded out of the place, so I sighed and nuzzled my
cheek against the soft fuzz of Kraig’s hair.
My doze had deepened to a hard
sleep that left me disoriented when my phone rang. I’d left it on the
nightstand, so I had to roll away from Kraig to get it. “What?”
“Alpha, we have a problem.”
I sat up and cleared my
throat. “What is it, Park?” I expected him to say I was monopolizing his
brother, or that his mom was inbound like a full steam ahead maternal
locomotive.”
“I wasn’t just running wild
when I was out in the backwoods,” Park said. “I established our boundaries, and
then realized there’s a neutral zone to our south. A trail runs through it, and
I met a few unaffiliated werekin as they traveled past us.”
“And?”
“One of them just showed up on
my doorstep.”
“Tiger werekin?” Not many
werekin would violate our borders unless they were equally as strong.
“Nope. His herd left him
behind when they headed to the wilds. He’s been wandering, and he’s heard some
things....”
I ran a hand over my head. “What
aren’t you telling me, Park?”
“He’s a human werekin, and he’s
not been treated well. You’re a little much, especially right now.”
Park was angling for
something, and it wasn’t like him not to just say it. “What do you want me to
do, Park?”
TBC
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