“What did we see?”
“We saw Lindsey, uh, turn into a wolf. Right? I mean, one minute he was all slick, blond, movie-star Lindsey, and the next he’s this big yellow wolf ripping that asshole’s throat out. True?”
Seth sighed. “I was definitely hoping you were going to say you saw something different, because seeing that is fucking nuts.”
“Yeah, but that’s what you saw, right?”
“Yeah.”
Jazz slid his foot over the dirt, turned sideways on the log, and got serious. “The thing is, just before you walked into Lindsey’s this morning, he was telling me something about how life isn’t everything we think. How there’s other stuff going on. But he stopped when you came in.”
Seth looked up into the kid’s wide eyes. “You think he was going to tell you he’s a wolf?”
“A werewolf, yeah.”
Seth ran a hand through his hair. His head was going to explode! “Shit, Jazz, there’s no such thing as werewolves.”
“What’d you see?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re a reasonable guy.”
“It’s not reasonable to believe in werewolves.”
“After what we saw, it’s not reasonable not to.”
Seth threw up his hands. “Maybe my story really is true. Maybe a wolf did come down from the second floor.”
“And what happened to Lindsey?”
“He ate him.” He started to laugh so hard he felt like throwing up.
Jazz put a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, man, be serious.”
“I don’t know how to be.” He stared at the ground. “Do you think he was going to tell me? I mean, he might have been telling you. Maybe he would have told me.”
“I don’t know, but I think I know why he was telling me.”
“Why?”
“You know all the weird stuff with the food and my fainting and shit?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, Lindsey said it was just like him when he was a kid.” Jazz ran a hand along his own cheek. “Seth, I think he was going to tell me that I’m a werewolf too.”
“Holy fucking shit.”
Seth pulled the Kawasaki up to the front of the Vanessen estate. Jazz jumped off the back and walked around to Seth. “You not coming in?”
He shook his head.
Jazz looked up at the house. “You think all the Vanessens know about Lindsey?”
“I’ve thought about it a little. I don’t think so.”
“Me neither, so I better keep my mouth shut.”
Seth nodded.
The kid looked down at his sneakers. “Hey, Seth, are you still going to like me if I’m, you know, different?”
“Of course, I’ll always like you.” Was that true? The question was, would Jazz still like him? “But you’ll have new friends and a lot of exciting shit happening, I imagine. You won’t need me.”
Jazz stared at those sneakers like they were the secret to eternity. Suddenly he threw his arms around Seth’s neck and hugged him. “I’ll always need you.” Then he turned and ran to the front door, used his key, and was gone.
Damn. Seth blinked hard. How he wished that was true.
A half hour later, he pulled in to his parking space at his apartment. Every pebble on the ground looked different. His head hurt and his body ached. How did he live in this new world where the kid he really cared about and the man he—really cared about were something he knew couldn’t exist?
He dragged his body up to his second floor, one-bedroom apartment. He pushed open the door. The sun was fading, and it made shadows across his piece-of-shit carpet. Funny, he never cared about how his place looked. Now, he thought about that beautiful rug at Lindsey’s. So comfortable. So like the man. No, not man, the—shit, he could not say it. He dumped his keys on the table beside the door, walked into the kitchenette, and pulled a beer from the fridge.
“Can I have one of those?”
The soft voice could have been a shot from a cannon. Seth grabbed for his gun and had it in hand before he fully focused on the huge man with the silvery hair staring at him from beside the door. The closed door.
Seth held the gun but didn’t point it. “How did you get in here?”
“Doesn’t matter. Can I h-have a beer while we talk?”
What the fuck! He holstered his gun, fished another bottle out of the refrigerator, and handed it to the guy. “You’re Cole, right?”
“Yes.” The man flipped the cap from the bottle with his thumb like it was made of paper. He turned and walked into Seth’s small living room and sat in one of the two chairs. They had once been midcentury modern. Now they were just midcentury crap.
Seth took a swig and sat on the couch. “So you’re a werewolf too, right?”
The weird eyes flashed up. “Ah, all in one statement you’ve answered so many of my questions. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
“So you actually witnessed Lindsey in shift?”
“Yeah. Did he tell you?”
“No. I suspect he’s still in shock over the whole event. I heard he was protecting you and the boy.”
“You mean the boy werewolf?”
His eyes widened. “How do you know that?”
“Jazz figured it out. He told me.”
Cole sipped his beer. “So what do you plan to do?”
“Do?”
“With your knowledge?”
Seth stared at Cole. Wow. He hadn’t really thought of it like that. “I imagine there are people who would pay a lot to know about you guys, right? Governments and scientists and shit?”
“Yes. Of course.”
His eyes met Cole’s. “Does anyone think you’re human?”
Cole gave a half smile. “People see what they expect regardless of evidence to the contrary.”
“I don’t plan to tell anyone what I know. I care about Jazz a lot, and I’d never want to see him hurt. Your secret is safe with me.”
“Only Jazz?”
“You mean Lindsey?”
“Yes.”
“No, I care about him too. Hell, he saved my life. I owe him.”
“I believe he cares for you.”
“Yeah, well—”
“Too different, right? Humans and werewolves can mate, but we seldom form lasting partner relationships with humans. It doesn’t work well. For one thing, we’re too aggressive. It’s not well received.”
Seth’s breath slid out. Well received. Oh, Lindsey’s aggression had been very well received. “He’ll marry a werewolf, I guess. Right?”
“Possibly.”
Seth frowned. “What the fuck kind of dumbass werewolf wouldn’t want Lindsey?”
Cole smiled. “Lindsey is only half werewolf. Plus, he’s gay. Few werewolves accept homosexuality. Too macho.”
“But you’re gay!”
“I’m the exception, and I was lucky to find my mate. Lindsey’s never believed he’d be so lucky.”
“Well, shit.”
Cole set the bottle on the coffee table. “To business. I’m not the alpha of my pack. I can’t speak for my pack. You’re the first human who’s been aware of our existence.”