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100 JC Holly
rational, relaxed conversation, and end it with a hug. Instead he was
trudging along a street in a foul mood with snow up to his calves.
The next corner brought yet more sidewalk, as did the next five.
The turn after that led him to a cafe he d spent more than a few quiet
afternoons in. His first thought was to continue on past, but he caught
a scent coming from the cafe that he literally couldn t ignore. The
alpha of his pack, Roger Creek, was sitting inside.
Grant s years as a shifter had taught him much about pack
politics, and while it wasn t necessary to acknowledge the presence of
someone who outranked you, Grant had always considered it pretty
damn rude not to. It beat soggy legs and wet feet, too. After a glance
up and down the street, he jogged across the road and headed into the
cafe.
Creek sat at the back of the small room, a table to himself, and
smiled the moment Grant entered.
 Grant! Come and have a coffee.
Grant returned the smile, though it was a damn sight harder than
usual, and joined his alpha at the table.
 So, Creek said, still smiling.  Why do you look so damn
miserable?
 I guess I didn t hide it as well as I thought.
 Not at all, no. Creek waved to the barista and ordered a coffee
for Grant, then turned back to face him.  Man trouble?
 Very much so. We just had the talk.
Creek nodded solemnly, then glanced across the room before
patting Grant on the hand.
 Hardest conversation you ll ever have. Beats death, unexpected
pregnancy, unemployment, moving out of the country. The older
man shrugged.  But it has to be done. I assume he took it badly.
 Honestly, I m not sure. Grant rubbed at his damp hair.  He
kicked me out before he formed a decision.
 Ah. Then you need to get back in there as soon as possible.
Grant raised an eyebrow.  I was thinking I d let him think first.
Cabin Fever 101
Creek shook his head.  That used to work just fine, but in a world
where a thousand facts and twice as many myths can be found with a
few taps of a keyboard, you need to be there to keep things straight.
The barista appeared with Grant s drink, but Creek took it instead,
dumping the contents into his own cup, then shooing Grant away with
a hand.
 I mean now, Jamison.
Grant chewed his lip, then stood.  You re right. Thanks, boss.
The alpha smiled.  I like seeing my people happy, and Tom
makes you happy. Don t mess this up.
Grant nodded and headed back to the sidewalk, this time with a
specific destination in mind.
102 JC Holly
Chapter Fifteen
Tom sat back from the laptop and blew out a long breath. His
searches for  werewolf and  shapeshifter had delivered myths,
rumors, far too much fan fiction, and almost no actual facts. Every
time he thought he d found something solid, another website disputed
it and went in a completely different direction.
 Shouldn t have kicked him out, he said, as he stood.
If there was one person he could trust lately, it was Grant. He d
have told Tom everything he wanted to know. Hell, it was in his best
interest to, if he wanted the relationship to go anywhere.
Tom headed back to the kitchen and poured himself a fresh cup of
coffee to replace the stone-cold one he d absentmindedly left on the
counter. As the machine began to work its magic, he turned and once
again stared at the door Grant had left through.
I m a moron. I panicked and made him go away when I should
have just taken five minutes to calm down. He d told himself the same
thing a thousand times in the last hour. What had he been thinking?
Grant had come to him with something huge, and Tom had shooed
him off like he was a dog he d caught sniffing around his garden.
And it was something huge, Tom now realized. The idea that
Grant had been imagining the whole thing lasted as long as it had
taken Tom s heart rate to slow. Grant was a shapeshifter, and he d
entrusted that information to Tom, a man he d known for a relatively
short amount of time. Who knew how many times he d done it in the
past, only to have the other man run a mile or worse?
 And I did exactly what he d feared, Tom muttered.
Cabin Fever 103
So frayed were his nerves that the knock at the door nearly gave
him a heart attack. He jumped in surprise and threw an arm out,
managing to knock a coffee cup to the hardwood floor, where it
smashed into a hundred jagged pieces. He glanced at the mess, then at
the door, and made a choice, leaving the cleaning for later. After all,
Grant was back.
As soon as he reached the door, though, he realized he was wrong.
There were two people visible in the frosted glass, and the low voice
he heard was certainly not Grant s. It was too late to walk away and
pretend they weren t there, though. If he could see them, they could
see him. With a gritted jaw, he pulled the door open. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]