Chapter Five
Bradley awoke to the sound of feet rushing past the outside of the cabin. It was followed by barking.
He sat, disorientated for a moment, then remembered where he was. Instinctually, he turned to the partition wall again, imagining Terry on the other side, all sleepy and bed-warm.
“Someone get Julie!” A shout from outside.
Julie. That was Aleco’s wife, and if Bradley wasn’t mistaken it was Malec who’d called out.
What the heck is going on?
He slipped from the bed and looked out of the window. Several shifters were in their dog forms and stalking around the dead fire. There was a definite sense of unease amongst them—he could tell from their body language.
He spotted the lion shifter, in his human form, walking with his shorter mate. They had rucksacks on their backs and were quickly swallowed up by the shadows of the forest. Whatever was happening, they weren’t hanging around to be part of.
Movement opposite caught Bradley’s attention. It was Julie, rushing toward Malec’s cabin. She carried several towels and wore a worried expression.
Bradley suddenly had a good idea of what the situation was. The baby was on the way. He stood, dragged on his jeans, then went into the kitchen.
Terry sat at the table with a slice of bread and butter and a mug of something that smelled like coffee.
For a moment Bradley paused and took in the sight of him. Damn, he looked good in the morning bare chested and with his hair mussed up—better than any breakfast.
“You’re up,” Terry said, not catching Bradley’s eye.
I was up last night too .
“Er, yes, good morning.”
Terry didn’t reply. Instead he reached for his T-shirt on the chair next to him and pulled it on. He took a sip of coffee.
“Something is going on out there,” Bradley said, nodding at the window. “I think Flo is having the baby.”
“Really?” Terry’s eyes widened. “Now?”
“I guess so.” Bradley walked past Terry to the sink. He filled a glass with water and drank deep. When he’d finished he turned to Terry. “What are you doing today?”
“I have a book to read, one that Patrick has promised to me.”
“You like to read?”
“Sure, doesn’t everyone?”
“I’ll confess, it’s not something I do much of.”
“Too busy partying, huh?”
“Nah, not parties. Roaming perhaps—I’ve never been one to settle, put roots down, you know.” He wanted to add until now . That he wanted to put roots down with Terry, make a home for them. Somewhere they could hang out, make love, sleep, eat, live happily ever after, but he stopped himself.
“Roaming?”
“Yes, I’ve been a bit nomadic for the last few years. I enjoyed taking over Malec’s kennels, though, and rehoming the dogs. Gave me a purpose, and it was satisfying, you know.”
“Neo was talking about those kennels. You really find new homes for every dog in town?”
“Sure did.” Bradley smiled, one of his best, award-winning smiles that he hoped would win Terry over.
Terry frowned in return and stood, his breakfast uneaten. “I’m gonna go and get that book from Patrick.”
“Want me to come with you?”
“Er, no.” Terry shrugged and walked past Bradley and pulled open the door. He stepped out.
Bradley followed close behind, every intention of going with him. Today was the day he needed to make a difference in their relationship.
Terry turned, frowned at him and opened his mouth to speak.
A shrill female scream filled the air.
“Fuck,” Bradley said, darting his gaze in the direction of Malec’s cabin.
“The baby?” Terry said, alarm shooting over his eyes.
“Yeah, I reckon so.” Damn it, the sound had been enough to curdle blood.
It came again, echoing around the cabins and swirling into the canopy.
Several dogs barked.
Terry folded his arms around his torso as though hugging himself.
Again the scream came.
“Shit, you wanna get out of here?” Bradley asked.
“Yeah, I don’t think I can…”
“Me neither.” Bradley now understood why the lion shifter and his mate had been making a quick exit. “Let’s grab some food and leave them to it. Nothing we can do here.”
For a moment he thought Terry was going to object. But then, with a sharp nod, he agreed.
Slipping back into the cabin, Bradley hastily filled a rucksack with the rest of the loaf of bread, a block of cheese from the fridge and a couple of apples. He was just about to fasten it when he remembered Terry would need a drink. If Bradley was thirsty he could rely on shifting and drinking from a stream, but he couldn’t expect his new mate to do that.
As he filled a bottle with water from the tap he realized this was the first time he was doing something for Terry, to look after him, to care for him. It felt good. It was what he wanted to do for all of time.
A warmth went through him and an effortless smile spread on his face. He was one lucky shifter.
With the rucksack on his back, Bradley ushered Terry out of the door again.
Another wail filled the air.
Raul was pacing at the front of his cabin, fists clenched, his movements sharp.
“Oh god,” Terry said. He looked paler than usual and his eyes darted around the camp.
“It’ll be okay. Julie is with her. Anything else she needs, her mates will get.”
“I know, but I just hate the thought of someone in pain. It’s horrible.”
“I know what you mean, but it will be worth it in the end, when their baby arrives.”
“I guess.” Terry sped up, toward the faint line of a path at the east of the camp.
Bradley had the urge to rest his hand in the small of his back, offer him physical reassurance. But he stopped himself. He didn’t want to push it. He’d had a grand plan of getting Terry to join him for a walk in the forest today, and without even having to orchestrate it the situation had fallen into his lap, with a picnic, too.
As they gained distance, the sound of Flo’s labor became less and less and finally non-existent.
Terry paused and put his hands on his hips. He looked around at the stillness. “It’s beautiful here.”
“Yeah, it is.” Bradley tipped his head and sniffed the air. He couldn’t catch much in his human form but the scents of pine needles and mulch were strong.
“Don’t you want to shift?”
“No, I’m good.” Bradley paused. “Why…do you want me to?”
“Not really.” Terry looked away.
“What is it?”
“I’d never seen anyone shift before, till you did it yesterday in camp.”
“You hadn’t? Not Neo?”
“No, not Neo. He’s my cousin’s mate. I don’t know him that well and he’s never done it in front of me.”
“Oh, I see.” Damn it. Bradley shouldn’t have been so impulsive, so lax in his usual consideration for finding privacy. “Did it freak you out?”
Terry said nothing.
“I’m really sorry if it did. Malec said it would be cool and—”
“It is cool and it didn’t freak me out. I’m not a kid, you know.”
“I know you’re not a kid.” Bradley shook his head. Why the hell would the handsome man standing before him think he’d view him as a kid? Hell, the guy was sex on a stick, a walking turn-on.
“Good.” Terry paused.
Bradley resisted filling in the silence between them.
“It’s just the reason I’m here is my parents were giving me shit.”
“What about?” Bradley was curious.
Terry huffed. “Being gay, getting on with my life, career choices and all that. For fuck’s sake, I’m twenty-six, hardly a kid. Getting told what to do, hassled, it didn’t suit. I know I’m different, quiet, my social skills need some work, but…” He frowned, clearly frustrated with the situation he’d found himself in.
“So you were living at home, with your mom and dad?”
“Pathetic, isn’t it?”
“No, no, not at all.” Bradley stepped closer to him. “I’d still be bunking up with mine if they hadn’t kicked me out.” He paused. “I was different, too, not like you, but by being a shifter.”
“They’re not shifters? Your parents.”
“No.” Bradley steeled himself. “A lurking gene apparently. Been dormant since my paternal great-grandfather. I think they hoped it had been watered down by humans so much it would never appear again, and then one day, when I was thirteen, I went and shifted into a dog in the backyard. I can still hear my mother’s screams.” Bradley glanced back the way they’d come remembering another day he’d ran to escape screams.
“That’s awful.” Terry shook his head.
“They kicked me out pretty sharpish at sixteen. They said they’d always love me, that they’d offer help, but I couldn’t stay at home anymore. I was too much of a risk. If a neighbor saw me changing they’d never recover from the scandal.”
“I can see how it would be awkward to explain to most people.”
“Yeah, me too. But I was in control of when and where I shifted, so it wasn’t really a problem. I guess the problem was me.”
“You?”
“Reminded my father of old family shifter stories, some of them not so good.” Bradley forced a smile. “But that’s ancient history and I’ve never been one to live in the past. I’m all for the here and now.”
“The here and now,” Terry repeated.
“Yeah, and it’s pretty sweet, don’t you think? In the middle of nowhere, just the trees, the breeze, the odd raccoon and us. Can’t say I’m complaining about this moment. It’s damn near perfect.”
Hell, it’s spot-on perfect.
Terry eyed him with suspicion, as though waiting for another comment that maybe wouldn’t be so complimentary.
But Bradley just grinned and pointed forward. “Come on, let’s keep going. Apparently there’s a clearing with an awesome view. We can sit and eat.”
“Yeah, okay.” Terry shrugged, his T-shirt clinging to his shoulders, a dot of sweat marked the material.
Bradley wondered about suggesting he take it off but resisted. Things were going so well. He was learning so much about this man he wanted to be with forever. And everything he learned made him fall more and more in love. They’d had a similar struggle with parents for being different. Both had been sent out to make it on their own in the world.
Admittedly Terry had sought solace with his cousin, but that was okay. He’d figured it out. Found a solution to being sent packing.
“So you’re from the East Coast?” Bradley said as they stomped forward.
“Yeah, New Jersey.”
“How’d you get here?”
“Greyhound, took forever.”
“I bet it did.” Bradley held a branch back so Terry could navigate past it. “Are you glad you came?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“You only think so?”
“It’s different. Humans, dogs, cabins in the woods. All this talk of…mates.”
Bradley’s belly tightened at the word.
“But…” Terry went on. “I was in the town yesterday, they’ve got an opening in the library, for a junior assistant. I put in an application form.”
“You did? That’s great.” Bradley stopped and rested his hand on Terry’s shoulder. “I mean, seriously, that’s awesome. I really hope it works out.”
“Yeah, me too.” Terry smiled.
It was such a beautiful smile, and touching Terry while he produced it made Bradley’s heart ache with love and his body burn with desire. “So you want to stay here?”
“Yes. If I can.” Terry stepped away and the connection was lost. “What about you?”
“Yeah, I wanna stay, for as long as the pack will have me.” He resisted tagging on that he’d stay as long as Terry did, then wherever Terry went his instincts would force him to go too.
“I’m sure your invitation is open-ended.” Terry jumped over a narrow stream.
“Let’s hope so.” Bradley followed then sensed the trees were thinning. They were approaching the clearing.
Sure enough, as they walked out of the shadows a beautiful emerald-green meadow was before them. It fell away a hundred yards from the treeline and a view of a vast valley was presented.
“Wow.” Terry stopped and blew out a breath. “You don’t get this in New Jersey.”
“You like it?”
“It’s stunning.” Terry stepped forward, seemingly in a trance as he stared at the view.
Bradley barely looked at it. Watching Terry was a pleasure in itself.
When they got twenty feet from the cliff, Bradley set his hand on Terry’s shoulder again. “We should stop here. There’s no telling what kind of shape the ground at the edge is in. It could be a precipice and unstable.”
“Yes, you’re right.” Terry stopped and glanced at the grass. “Looks okay to sit on here, though.”
“Yeah, it does.” Bradley swung the rucksack from his back and set it on the floor. “Let’s eat, I’m starving.”
He sat and Terry followed suit. Bradley set to organizing the food and ensuring Terry had everything he wanted.
The sun was a pleasant change from the cool shade of the forest and within minutes Bradley was feeling hot. He set down the chunk of cheese he was working on and stripped off his T-shirt.
As he tossed it aside he caught Terry looking at his chest.
Bradley found himself glancing at Terry’s T-shirt. “Why don’t you strip off, if you’re hot, that is?”
“I’m not buff like you.” Terry pulled down the corners of his mouth.
“I think you’re perfect.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Yeah, right.” Bradley leaned forward and plucked the base of Terry’s T-shirt. “Take it off. I promise it will brighten my day.”
“You can’t be serious.” Terry frowned.
“Never more so.” Bradley tipped his chin. “I know you don’t believe it, or won’t believe it, but I think you are the cutest, most adorable, sexy man I’ve ever seen, and believe me, I’ve seen a few.”
“Why do you mock me?” Terry’s face seemed to twist in pain.
Bradley couldn’t stand it. He leaned forward, clasped Terry’s face between his hands. “I’m not mocking you.” He kissed him.
It was a hard, determined kiss. He took control, mashing their lips together then relaxing and sweeping his tongue into Terry’s mouth. He wanted the kiss to show Terry how much he loved him, wanted him, was prepared to walk on hot coals to the ends of the earth for him.
But damn it the first taste of his mate almost sent him high. The peppery sweet flavor was drug-like. Bradley couldn’t get enough.
He slid one hand around the back of Terry’s head, pleased he was returning the kiss, even if hesitantly, and his body was a little tense.
Eventually he moved his lips over Terry’s cheek, to his ear, the one with the big stud in it. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
“I do nothing.”
“You do everything.” Bradley pulled back and looked into Terry’s eyes. “And I’m going to convince you of that if it’s the last thing I ever do.”
“But you barely know me.”
“I know enough. And besides, it’s not like that for shifters. It’s instinctual, it’s mapped out in the heavens. There’s one person, shifter or human, for us all, and you, my love, are mine.”
Terry creased his brow. “But—”
“There is no but…unless you’re not attracted to me, and then I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do.”
“Of course I’m attracted to you. What dork on the planet wouldn’t be?”
“I’m not interested in anyone else, only you. If you’ll have me, I’ll be yours forever. I’ll never even glance at another guy. There will be only you, Terry.”
Terry opened his mouth but Bradley caught whatever words he was going to say in another hot, passionate kiss.
The picnic was forgotten as he held Terry close, loving the feel of his slender body and the delicate way he hugged him back.
Encouraged after a few minutes, Bradley peeled off Terry’s T-shirt.
Terry allowed it, though he clasped his hands over his chest.
Bradley tugged his arms apart. “God, you’re beautiful.” He kissed him again, pulling him close so their bare chests touched and they became as one.