Chapter 16.
‘Christian’
So maybe I shouldn’t have followed Reuben to the church.
I’ve been stuck in the house for weeks and he was being secretive, so I figured… I could bend the ‘no shifting inside the house’ rule just once. I was careful to make sure no one was around and it’s not like he’d know it was me.
Alas, I’ve learned my lesson.
By the time I return to the outer walls of the Taiga estate my paws are aching and I’m still in shock. I end up wandering in a daze through the path between the trees, past the inner wall and up the now familiar oak tree to return to my room.
I shift back into Christian, substituting the fur and claws for bones and human flesh.
I don’t feel pain when I shift, and by now it takes little thought for me to jump between forms. Still, I’m dazed as I fall back onto my bed to stare up at the ceiling, completely in the nude.
The vision of Reuben’s dick buried deeply in another man’s ass is painted on the backs of my eyelids.
He looked rabid. Desperate.
I suppose that’s how men fuck.
Suddenly, I’m not sure if I should’ve shot Olsen in the face for saying what he did.
The room feels hot. For the first time… my dick is hard. I’d been so focused on being Christian—on training and staying alive and cementing my spot on the team—that I completely forgot about… that side of people.
The night passes me by and I can’t fucking sleep. I keep seeing Reuben’s eyes. Keep seeing his cock sliding in and out of someone else’s hole. Even the guy he was fucking couldn’t control himself… Does it feel that good? Wait, but wasn’t that place a church?
Is it okay to do that kind of thing in churches?
Questions are piling into my head once again, and by the time morning comes I’ve tossed and turned myself into a sleeping failure.
Not to mention, I’ve been hard the entire time. It’s a… need I’d never felt before now.
I groan as the early morning light filters out the window. I shouldn’t have gone out after him. I don’t have time for that kind of thing.
Just focus on the objective.
I have to perform well in the next mission.
Even though I’d saved Reuben’s life, falling overboard the Millenium Star didn’t create a positive legacy for Christian like I thought it would.
But I’m certain that’s because of Reuben’s mother.
I’m not sure if winning the match was enough for her to accept me, but at least since then, I haven’t run into any trouble.
I’m mumbling some recently learned curses under my breath when I give up on sleep and drag myself out of bed.
The kitchen is empty when I attempt to revive myself with the black mass they call coffee.
I tend to stay away from the stove, but I’m able to fry two eggs at least, toast some bread and find a quiet spot at the counter.
A bright-coloured news headline is flashing across the TV, over a female reporter, and I grab the remote close by to raise the volume out of curiosity.
“—A horrifying discovery was made early this morning at Coloden Park, where the mutilated body of a young woman was found. Authorities have identified the victim as Lucy James, a student at Fortsmith University.
The grim scene was uncovered by a family walking their dog. Police believe this gruesome crime bears the hallmarks of the notorious serial killer known as The Harvester, who has terrorized the state for the past five years. If confirmed, this would mark the killer's sixteenth victim—”
Xavier rushes into the kitchen with a slam against the kitchen door that snaps my attention away. His eyes are trained on the TV and there’s a dark expression on his face as the reporter continues.
“Almost all long-term residents of Seattle are aware of this killer’s methods, who typically claims three lives within three months, targeting young women with strikingly similar features. Residents are urged to remain vigilant as the investigation continues.”
“Where’s Reuben?” Xavier’s eyes don’t leave the television and the air feels a little too tense for me to casually say, ‘he went out to fuck some blonde guy in a church.’
“Not sure,” I reply impassively. I hate that the image of him hovers before my eyes again. He’s become an even worse ghost than Christian painted onto my fucking eyelids.
Xavier doesn’t say another word as he leaves, likely to attempt to find Reuben, and my brows furrow as my eyes flit back to the screen.
I’m not sure what’s going on exactly, but there’s an inexplicable ripple of dread in my stomach, a single drop of disturbance inside me, like a warning that something is about to start.
But the news reporter has already moved on from the murder and onto another topic, a robbery somewhere in the city.
I wish for a moment I hadn’t been half-listening to it.
After a second thought, I push away from the counter to go after Xavier, hurrying down the hall and out the door.
But he’s already gone, vanished like the last tendrils of a cloud, blown away by the wind.
The dread in my stomach is gone with him, as if it never was, and I’m half-convinced the lack of sleep is making me see and feel the wrong things.
I pull my phone from my pocket, only to hover over the call log. Lucia is spending time with her parents this weekend, Reuben hasn’t returned from his night of debauchery, and I don’t know where Tobias and Gabriel are on a good day.
I’m about to head inside and resign myself to boredom when I notice a tiny person sitting on the porch, completely lost in his own world. He couldn’t be more than 12 years old, with curly brown hair and a serious look uncharacteristic of his age, wearing an impeccable blue suit.
“Hey, kid.” I crouch beside him and his head snaps to me, as if he’s only noticing me for the first time. “You unsupervised? Where’s your guardian?”
The boy blinks at me, but I can tell he’s still pretty far away in that world of his when he answers, “My mom is visiting grandma—”
He immediately turns pale and looks away quickly. “B—Baachan,” he corrects himself. His pronunciation is great.
I tilt my head, “Are you afraid of Baachan?”
He shakes his head, “She always buys me things. She’s nice to me… if I use the correct title.” He murmurs the last bit and I can’t help the smile that touches my lips when I remember the earful Reuben got for just that.
“You’re right,” I agree, “I think anyone would be scared if they upset a woman like that.”
“I’m not scared.” His glare is so icy I have to suck my cheek not to smile.
“You almost pissed yourself for calling her grandma.”
“I did not!” I didn’t think his expression could become any fiercer. “Who are you anyway? I’m not a kid!”
He must’ve really been out of it if that’s finally sinking in.
“I’m one of Reuben’s friends.”
The boy snorts, “Uncle Reuben doesn’t have friends.”
“Woah. I feel he’d be upset if you go spreading that around.”
“I don’t have to. Mama says he only surrounds himself with subordinates like you. So there’s no way he has any friends.”
Interesting. “Can’t subordinates be friends as well?”
He gives me a cold look completely unbecoming of his age, “Subordinates are subordinates. If you don’t even know that then you must not be a very good one.”
I flick his forehead without thinking and he yelps quietly before scowling, “Who taught you your manners?”
I hum, “I haven’t had anyone to teach me. Maybe you can teach me instead?”
“I have better things to do than teach you.”
“I’m sure you do,” I grin. “How about I pay you for it?”
“Mama taught me not to accept gifts from strangers,” he watches me suspiciously and I do have to praise his talent for offending people.
“It’s not a gift, it’s a trade,” I explain patiently. “I give you $20, and you can help me figure out how to use this.” I pull out my phone for him to see and the suspicion in his eyes recedes barely a fraction.
“You don’t know how to use a phone?” he deadpans.
I don’t know whose kid you are—
I stop my train of thought before it gets me in trouble, and unlock the phone, “I know how to make calls,” mostly for Lucia, the team, and the taxi place, “But I’m supposed to be able to ‘look up’ things?”
Surely that’ll save me from my own thoughts today. I saw Christian do it a few times, but I don’t know how. I still have to read through Reuben’s language too. Once I get the gist of it, I should be able to make sense of him a bit more.
The child watches me for a moment, before finally speaking, “Fifty dollars.”
I blink.
You’re haggling?!
Stars.
Before I can turn on my heels to walk away he's grabbed the hem of my shirt and there's a strange fear in his eyes that makes me hesitate.
“I—I bet you don’t want anyone to know you can’t use a phone.”
A dangerously accurate guess.
“I’ll drop it to forty just for you.” He holds out his hand as if to say ‘give me the phone’ and somehow everything about him immediately makes sense.
A lonely kid with a crazy mouth.
A smile touches the corner of my lips as I crouch back down, “Thirty.”
“Thirty-seven.”
I have to struggle not to laugh as I hand the phone over and he seems very pleased with himself as he shows me how to search for videos and information.
“So I can watch TV on this?” My brows furrow. I’d never seen Christian do it that way. “Like movies?”
“Of course you can,” the boy huffs. “Here, use this website.” He types something in and a plethora of various options pops up.
Before I can blink, I’m typing in the words ‘Syndicate’ and the various seasons and episodes show up. It’s only been ninety-five days still the deaths of the Adler Squad… yet it turns out, an entire season has come out since then.
When none of them are here to watch it with me anymore.
“You watch Syndicate?” The boy’s eyes are wide.
I feel a little heavier than I did moments ago, but I answer honestly in a soft voice, “It’s my favourite.”
His eyes immediately light up, “Did you see the part where James saved Sullivan? He ran into enemy territory and beat up all the bad guys.”