Chapter Four
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ONCE ANTHONY WAS FINISHED checking out the knot on Silas’s head and proclaimed him free of a concussion, he offered him a couple of painkillers.
After Silas told them that painkillers had never really helped him much, Solomon explained how they were of a special design.
They’d been created by a wolf shifter pack’s doctors specifically for shifter kind.
Silas had taken them with another softly spoken, “Oh,” which seemed to be his go-to word when he didn’t know how he was supposed to respond.
Craeg realized it was a pretty good indicator of when Silas needed something explained further...or time to process.
With that in mind, they all began taking turns explaining different aspects of shifters, mates, the paranormal world, their need for anonymity, and how their pod worked—led by Alpha Kaiser Roush and his brother William as the beta.
To Craeg’s pleasure, through it all, Silas never tried to leave his lap.
The more they talked, the more Craeg could see Silas’s brown eyes begin to glaze over, clearly from information overload.
“Okay, guys. That’s enough for now,” Craeg interrupted Anthony’s explanation of the Shifter Council and their role in the paranormal world. “I’m pretty sure Silas needs time to digest what we’ve already told him.”
Solomon winced, his expression turning commiserating. “Yeah, it’s a lot, buddy.” He patted Silas on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’ll get it, though.”
Silas nibbled his bottom lip as he nodded slowly.
Speaking of digesting, Craeg heard the low, unmistakable sound of a stomach grumbling—Silas’s stomach. “Hungry, sweets?” he asked unnecessarily.
His mate answered anyway, perhaps happy to latch onto a subject change.
“Yeah,” he whispered, peering at him with a sideways look.
His cheeks had begun to darken, betraying his embarrassment.
Silas seemed to need to explain, for he continued, “The sun is beginning to set. My bat can feel it.” After glancing at him again, he added, “The colony will be waking to head out to start feeding now.”
While rubbing his lips against his mate’s temple—Craeg liked the way it made the small man’s heart kick up a notch—he offered, “How about we meet outside this cave, huh? I’ll take ya somewhere to get cleaned up, and we can have a meal.
” When he sensed Silas’s hesitation, he racked his brain for a way to sweeten the deal and came up with, “Ya said you’d been livin’ as a bat for six years.
” With a smile, Craeg waggled his eyebrows.
“Any favorite foods ya been missin’, my sweets? ”
Silas opened his mouth, perhaps to answer, but he hesitated. His attention roved over the cavern’s far wall as if he was searching for...something. Then Silas’s cheeks darkened some more as he nibbled his bottom lip.
Craeg grinned, knowing something had popped into his young mate’s head.
“Anythin’,” he crooned. Taking a stab at guessing, he offered, “Fried chicken and mashed potatoes? Steak and French fries?” Craeg heard Silas’s stomach growl again, and he figured he was getting to him.
He quickly thought about what a teenager might think of, considering he probably hadn’t had much human food since then.
“Pizza?” Hearing Silas’s quick inhale, Craeg guessed he was on the right track.
“Pepperoni pizza with sausage and extra cheese, maybe mushrooms?”
“N-No mushrooms,” Silas murmured, sounding breathy with anticipation, and Craeg wondered if he could make his mate sound like that before sex. “Chicken. With onions.”
“Oh, yum,” Craeg replied before making an appreciative humming noise of his own. “Three-meat with onions.”
While Craeg had never had that combo before, there wasn’t much he didn’t enjoy on a pizza. If Silas wanted a pepperoni, sausage, and chicken pizza with onions and extra cheese, that was what his little mate would get. Craeg knew their pod’s chefs could whip up anything.
After bussing another kiss to Silas’s cheek, Craeg rubbed his beard hairs over him as he rumbled, “So, I’ll see ya outside, Silas?” He hesitated, then offered, “Or would ya like to swim with my whale?”
“I-I don’t know how to swim.”
If Craeg hadn’t been a shifter, there was no way he would have heard Silas’s whispered admission.
Huh. My mate can’t swim?
That’s okay.
Just as swiftly, Craeg spoke the thought out loud. “That’s okay, Silas.” He grinned as he told him, “I’ll teach ya.”
Silas stared at him, his brown eyes wide. Still, he started to nod.
Craeg couldn’t help taking that and running with it. “Would ya like to hold onto my dorsal fin?” He knew he was probably pushing, but he couldn’t think of anything better than swimming with his mate while in his animal form. “All ya have to do is hold your breath when I swim through the tunnel.”
When Silas winced and looked away, Craeg knew he’d pushed too hard. As much as he wished his mate would trust him to keep him safe, they weren’t there, yet. They had just met, after all, and just because Silas was a shifter, he was still learning to understand his nature.
“It’s okay, Silas, my sweets.” Craeg squeezed his upper arm before rubbing it soothingly. “I’ll meet ya outside. Okay? We’ll walk the beach together.”
Silas’s eyes widened, and he squeaked, “Naked?”
It hit Craeg then...if Silas had been living as a bat, he probably didn’t have any clothes.
Or ID. Or money. Or anythin’.
That’s okay. I’ll provide everythin’ for my mate.
Solomon chuckled and held up his backpack. “Got ya covered if you need shorts, little man.” Then he barked a laugh, before adding, “Literally.” He winked. “You can use Anthony’s shorts. They’re drawstring, and I have a towel in here that Craeg can wrap around his waist.”
Craeg gave Solomon a nod. “Thanks, man.”
After giving Craeg a mock salute, Solomon held out his hand. Anthony moved deeper into the water and wriggled about a bit in the water before throwing the wet shorts at his mate. Then the doc shifted and headed out, Seri doing the same with a grin.
Solomon fitted goggles to his face and followed them.
While Craeg hated letting go of Silas, he forced himself to. “See ya on the shore, Silas.” After getting a nod—albeit hesitant—from his mate, Craeg rolled into the water and shifted.
* * * *
SILAS COULDN’T HELP but reach out and touch Craeg after he’d shifted into his whale. He didn’t know if it was bad form or if he should’ve asked permission. Fortunately, the whale didn’t seem to mind.
In fact, the whale even stayed still, floating in place in the water, and lowing softly, vocalizing some song that Silas couldn’t hope to understand.
Still, Silas smiled and petted it a little more. Then he drew his hand back and crawled farther from the newly created lake’s shore. He hesitated for a moment, seeing the way the whale patiently watched him...waiting.
“I-I’ll see you outside,” Silas murmured, recalling that he understood words while in bat form. That meant Craeg could, too. They’d even talked about it and had some fancy word for it that Silas hadn’t understood and had immediately forgotten.
As Silas shifted back into a bat, he still couldn’t believe he was going to go with Craeg. Except, the allure of the big auburn-haired man was undeniable.
Plus...pizza. Hello!
With that thought in mind, when Silas opened his eyes and took in the much-larger cavern as a bat, he chittered at the still waiting whale. The floating mammal lowed back. Then it disappeared beneath the surface, moving away from him.
Turning, Silas let out a low echolocation squeal to get his bearings. Then he searched for the closest exit.
*
SILAS BARELY HELD BACK a moan as he stood under the hot shower’s spray. Living amongst the bats, he hadn’t had much of a chance to enjoy a hot shower. Instead, Silas made do with occasionally rinsing off in underground pools or in the ocean on a hot day.
When Silas had first flown away from the group home, he’d occasionally tried to scavenge together enough change to use a truck stop’s shower room.
He would even wash his clothes under the spray using the truck stop soap.
After a close call with a trucker who became far too handsy and didn’t want to take no for an answer, Silas had decided it wasn’t worth the hassle.
If that other trucker had walked in just a minute later...except, he hadn’t, and I got away.
Shoving the memory from his mind, Silas returned his attention to the wonderful shower. The space was large, not surprising considering how big Craeg was. There were even four spray heads—one on each of the three walls and a fourth overhead.
Craeg had shown Silas how to turn them on and off, just in case he didn’t want to be hit from all sides. That certainly hadn’t been an issue. Still, it’d been thoughtful of the handsome man.
Thoughts of Craeg and his kindness, coupled with the hot shower, invaded his mind and morphed in another direction. What would the big man look like with rivulets of hot water cascading down his skin? Would his skin flush pink with the heat or deepen to a darker bronze hue?
Gasping, Silas felt his body respond to the images filling his mind. His blood heated in his veins, and his penis hardened, extending and twitching at his groin. His balls even swelled, feeling heavy and tight.
Silas reached down and gripped his length, barely resisting the urge to stroke himself. Biting his bottom lip, he sucked in a sharp breath. He swallowed hard as his mind whirled.
While Silas had had erections as a teenager going through puberty—what boy hadn’t—he’d never responded so swiftly to just thoughts of someone. He hadn’t even responded to pictures of men or women like this. Silas shivered, even under the hot spray, as uncertainty and worry filled him.
Is this what the guys were explaining about being mates? Is this attraction normal?