Chapter 6
Chapter six
Ruger had long ago outgrown the compulsion to shift during the full moon, but he still felt the effects of the lunar phases. That tug near his navel, the siren call to shed his humanity and embrace his more primal instincts.
Living in a place like Los Angeles sadly hadn’t afforded him many opportunities to embrace that side of himself. Now that he had relocated to Echo Falls, he planned to take full advantage of the open fields and seemingly endless forests.
Even better, he didn’t have to do it alone.
“I do not think this is a good idea.”
Glancing at his mate from the driver’s seat of his mid-sized SUV, he smirked. “So you’ve said. About a dozen times now.”
“Yet, you do not listen.”
“I listen,” he argued. “I just disagree.”
Apart from one dinner at the castle and a stroll around the lake, Luka still hadn’t left the cabin. He didn’t seek out the company of others. He didn’t interact with anyone beyond Ruger.
And he got it. Experience had taught him to expect the worst from people. At the same time, he worried the guy’s continued isolation would only reinforce those beliefs.
No matter how many times he tried to reassure him that those perceptions had changed in the last four hundred years, he knew Luka didn’t truly believe him. Why would he when he had no evidence?
Tonight, Ruger would give him that proof.
Slowing to a stop near the curb in front of his brother’s house, he smiled at the inflatable skeletons illuminated on the front lawn. Since Remi couldn’t be bothered to celebrate his own birthday, let alone Halloween, he could only guess the decorations had been Kol’s doing.
“Your friends are weird,” Luka commented, eyeing the skeletons with an arched brow.
One advantage of him spending all day inside was that he had started picking up bits and pieces of modern language from the movies he watched. He still didn’t use contractions, and he misused quite a few terms, but he was trying.
“I know,” Ruger agreed. “Isn’t it great?”
“This is not the word I would use,” he groused. “Let us hurry so we can leave.”
Ruger ducked his head to hide his grin. It probably made him an asshole that he found the situation so funny, but the guy was kind of adorable when he was grumpy.
“We’re going to a party, not storming the gates of hell. Please try to enjoy yourself.” When he didn’t receive a response, he reached across the center console to rest his hand on Luka’s shoulder. “Are you listening?”
“I am listening. I just do not agree.”
He rolled his eyes at the jab, but honestly, he’d had that one coming. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Luka still didn’t move. “How do I exit this steel carriage?”
“Just pull the handle on the door,” he answered, gentling his tone. It was little things like this, things he didn’t even think about, that really drove home how foreign the world must feel for his mate. “Give it one hour. After that, if you really hate it, we can leave.”
Luka considered him for a moment before nodding in agreement. “That is fair.”
“Thank you.”
They met on the street in front of the vehicle, and he offered his hand, relieved when Luka took it without hesitation and linked their fingers. As they climbed the sloped driveway, he took slow, steadying breaths, hoping his mate wouldn’t pick up on his own anxiety.
He really did believe he had done the right thing in forcing Luka to come, but at the same time, he had just one chance to get it right.
At the front door, he gave a perfunctory knock before pushing the door open and stepping across the threshold. The scent of freshly baked bread and cured meat greeted him, along with the low drone of conversation coming from the kitchen.
Following the noise, he gave Luka’s hand a light squeeze when he felt him tense at his side. They just had to make it past the introductions, and everything would be fine.
Probably.
In preparation for the evening, he had asked Kol to keep the gathering small and low-key.
Entering the kitchen, he was pleased to see that his brother-in-law had taken the request seriously.
Instead of the usual small army that filled the space, he found only four males seated around the kitchen island.
“Ruger!” Kol called when he spotted him. “I thought you had gotten lost.”
“Hilarious,” he responded dryly. They were ten minutes late. Not exactly a crisis situation.
“I thought so.” Sliding off the barstool, Kol sauntered over, completely bypassing him and offering his hand to Luka instead. “I’m glad you came. It’s nice to see you again.”
Luka accepted the peace offering with a shallow nod, though he released him a little quicker than politeness dictated. “Thank you for the invitation.”
No one else approached them, though Ruger could practically see them vibrating in their seats. Especially Remi. If he had to guess, he’d say Kol had threatened them all with great bodily harm.
He’d have to thank him for that later.
“Everyone,” he said, addressing the room. “This is my mate, Luka…”
He stalled, but eventually decided to just leave it there. Knowing Luka had no surname of his own and had been forced to take his captor’s left a sour taste in his mouth.
“Luka,” he continued, shaking off the negative energy. “This is Sheriff Vander Hale and his mate, Fritz.”
Vander nodded in greeting, stoic as ever. Fritz, however, beamed like sunshine personified.
“Hi!” He gave a little wave, then slapped his hand back down to his side. “It’s really nice to meet you. Are you hungry? Can I get you something to drink? Do you like wine?”
“Easy,” Vander said, resting his hand on his mate’s shoulder with a quiet chuckle. “Breathe, pup.”
“Thank you.” Luka offered him a kind smile that transformed his already handsome face into something truly breathtaking. “I do like wine. Red if it is no trouble.”
“No trouble at all!”
Okay, not perfect, but so far, things were going better than he had anticipated.
“And this is my brother, Remi,” he finished with a sweeping gesture. “He’s an asshole, but we keep him around anyway.”
Remi flipped him off. “Fuck you.”
With an exaggerated sigh, he glanced over at Luka. “See what I mean?”
Kol, however, clearly did not appreciate their antics, sending his mate a look of pure venom. “Behave, or I’ll make you sleep outside tonight.”
“He started it!” Remi shot back, jabbing his finger in Ruger’s direction. “Yell at him.”
“Oh, my god, are you five? We talked about this.”
“But I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Shit!” Fritz yelled from the other side of the counter, his curse swiftly followed by the sound of shattering glass. “I’m sorry!”
“Damn it, Fritz.” Remi pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. “That’s the third glass this week.”
“Stop yelling at him,” Vander growled, rushing to his mate’s side. “It’s okay, pup. It was an accident.”
“I’m sorry!”
Kol sent another glare Remi’s way. “Don’t worry about it. Remi breaks shit all the time.”
“What have I broken?”
“My sanity.”
Things only continued to spiral from there. Remi yelled at Kol. Vander yelled at Remi. Fritz started crying.
And Ruger silently prayed to be struck by lightning. He dropped his head, unable to even look at Luka for fear of what he might see in his expression.
“I am so sorry.”
Technically, he really had started it. In his defense, he had only been trying to diffuse the tension and lighten the mood. He never expected for things to go sideways so fast.
Then Luka started to laugh.
It was quiet at first, a little shaky from disuse, but it quickly grew in strength and volume. A snort, a chuckle, until he finally tossed his head back and laughed right from his belly, the deep baritone ringing throughout the kitchen.
Ruger snapped his head up, stunned into inaction for a full minute before he started to laugh as well. Remi followed next, then Kol joined in, and soon, they were all falling against each other, guffawing like a bunch of idiots.
“Sorry about that. Everyone was really nervous about meeting you, and I think it boiled over a little.” Striding up to them, Remi wiped a stray tear from the corner of his eye as he shoved his other hand toward Luka. “Welcome to the family.”
“Family?” Luka asked through their bond.
He couldn’t have pried the smile from his face if he’d tried. “Of course. They’re your family as much as mine.”
Sobering, Luka accepted Remi’s hand, gripping it much less rigidly than he had with Kol. “I accept.”
“I, uh…” After a brief struggle, Remi simply shrugged. “Cool.”
“Cool,” Luka repeated, though he clearly had no understanding of what it meant.
“So, are we running or not?” Vander asked, his gaze going toward the patio door. “It’s a good night for it.”
Ruger winced. They had agreed to give it one hour, and as much as he wanted to join them, he wouldn’t break that promise for anything in the world. Even Kol and Fritz would be staying behind, it wouldn’t be fair to leave Luka with a couple of strangers in an unfamiliar place.
“Go on, taavi. I will wait.”
Gods, it was so tempting. On the other hand, maybe he didn’t have to choose.
“You could come with us.” He might not be able to keep up with a pair of cheetahs and a wolf on foot, but he could fly. “When’s the last time you really stretched your wings?”
“Would you like that?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “Come play with me in the moonlight.”
Luka brushed his knuckles along the curve of Ruger’s jaw and smiled. “Okay.”
After the other males said goodbye to their mates, they all gathered on the back deck and stripped out of their clothes, leaving them in untidy piles on the ground.
Luka undressed to his boxer briefs, but stopped there, and while he likely did it for practical purposes, Ruger couldn’t help but feel a measure of relief.
As a shifter, he didn’t have hangups about things like modesty, but he also didn’t relish the idea of the entire town seeing his mate’s dick.
“Whoa,” Remi said when Luka unfurled his leathery wings. “Badass.”
“It’s a compliment,” he translated. “It means he thinks your wings are impressive.”
“Understood.”
To Remi, he simply nodded.
Vander went first, leaping off the stairs and transforming midair so that he landed in the grass a sleek, silver wolf.
Showoff.
Remi went next, his transition smooth and efficient. Then he stretched his long limbs and arched his back before somersaulting off the deck to join the sheriff.
Watching the pair pounce and wrestle reminded him of a documentary about how some zoos raised cheetah cubs and puppies together to help boost the kittens’ confidence. Somehow, he didn’t think either of them would appreciate the comparison.
He’d have to remember to inform them when they returned from their run.
“Why are you smiling?”
He shook his head. “I’ll tell you later.”
Crouching down on the deck, he closed his eyes, purring as he felt the change rush over him. Once the shift was complete, he took his time, settling into the form before pushing to his feet.
He padded over to his mate, winding through his legs and rubbing against his muscled thigh with a playful chirp.
Luka chuckled and reached down to scratch behind his ears.
He had never allowed anyone to pet or stroke him in this form before, but he saw no reason to reject the affection. Besides, it actually felt really nice.
“Ready?”
Luka straightened and looked skyward. “Lead the way.”