“Kevin,” the teenager answered as he shook Keaton’s hand.
“I’ll take one more. If I buy them all, I’ll have to sell my business just to stay afloat,” he teased. There were about ten drawings on the table. Although Keaton could afford to buy them all, he wasn’t sure where he would display them.
“What business you got?” Kevin asked as he began to frame his drawings for Keaton to take with him. The frame was a black casing, making the picture stand out without a border. He liked that. It drew a person’s eye to the art immediately.
“What business do I have?” Keaton corrected the youth’s bad grammar gently. “I own the Jammin’ Juice Hut.”
Kevin furrowed his brows as he grabbed the other drawing Keaton wanted. “I never heard of that place. Is it in town?”
“Yes, it’s in town. If you come by, I’ll give you lunch, on the house.” Keaton took both frames from Kevin. The kid had to be around sixteen, seventeen at the most. He wasn’t even sure why he was thinking of the young man as a kid. Maybe it was because he still held those boyish looks
“I’ll do that,” Kevin replied. “But until then, why don’t you try some of my dad’s fried chicken.” Kevin pointed over toward the tables filled with various baked goods and lunch meals in a box. “He’s a pretty good cook. The boxed meals are only five bucks,” Kevin said as he glared at Kade.
Keaton liked the boy. He had spirit.
“Thanks,” Kade replied sourly. “Are the drinks five bucks as well?”
“For you, yes,” Kevin replied in a snarky tone. “A boxed meal and a drink will cost you fifty bucks.”
“Your math sucks,” Kade retorted.
“So does your attitude,” Kevin snapped. “Maybe you should—”
Keaton stared at Kevin, wondering why the young man was gazing strangely past him. Keaton turned to see the hell thingy walking toward the art festival, his strides deadly.
Oh, fuck!
He glanced back at Kevin, wondering how the guy knew who the hell thingy was.
Kevin’s head rose, his eyes filled with something Keaton couldn’t quite pin down. “I see people for what they truly are,” he said in a tone that was so low that Keaton almost didn’t catch it. “Just like your friend.” He nodded toward Kade. “I see his…you know.”
Kevin could see Kade’s snow leopard? And he still got smart with Kade? Yeah, Keaton really liked this guy. But they had bigger problems. Keaton grabbed Kade’s arms, but turned back toward Kevin. “Go, hide.”
Kevin took off toward the rec center as Keaton pulled Kade away from all the residents. There were so many attending the festival that he wasn’t sure how they were going to hide what was going on.
Keaton’s hand was soon pulled from Kade’s arm. His mate grabbed Keaton and pulled him toward the end of the parking lot. Kade had a look in his teal eyes that said he wasn’t playing around, that he was going to fight to keep them safe. The aggression was clear in his expression.
Keaton and Kade came up short when the evil creature appeared in front of them, blocking their exit. Where in the hell were Dog and Renato? Weren’t they supposed to be killing this hound?
“Going somewhere?”
“There are humans here,” Kade said as he shoved Keaton behind his larger frame.
The most haunting and diabolical laugh Keaton had ever heard fell from the creature’s lips. His skin actually crawled at the sound. “And why should I care about them? They are nothing but cannon fodder. As soon as I’m done toying with your miserable soul, I’ll go after each and every one of them.” The thing moved closer, gazing directly at Kade. Keaton smelled sulfur on the man’s breath. “Misery feeds me, and you have so much of it that I just might drown in it.”
Keaton curled his fingers into Kade’s shirt, feeling as if they were truly about to die a slow and painful death. His limbs were shaking as he held back a scream. Keaton began to feel like he was a fraud, a failure. Kade was right. He should have gone to college and made something of—No! Keaton shoved those thoughts away, but they came tumbling back, attacking him in ways he couldn’t stop the emotions from pouring through him.
He gripped Kade harder, knowing he had found the best thing in his life, even if the man couldn’t see how truly wonderful he was. Kade had so much potential. His smile lit up Keaton’s heart, making him smile every morning he woke up and thought about seeing his mate that day.
Kade was saving him from a lonely existence, whether the man knew it or not.
“You are one slippery bastard.”
Keaton wanted to pump his arm in the air when Dog and Renato came from around a small red Cavalier.
Help had arrived.
Maverick cursed when he saw the winged beasts at the art festival. It seemed the hell hounds were getting very bold—or at least the one after Kade. He leaned close to Cecil, pointing down at Xavier. “Get him the hell out of here and keep him safe.”
Cecil didn’t hesitate. He grabbed their grandson and took off toward the truck they had driven to town in. If anything stopped his mate from reaching their truck, Maverick would burn his town down in order to keep the two safe. He just hoped it didn’t come down to that.
He began to stride over to where the winged beasts had the hound trapped. As he moved closer, Maverick’s heart plunged when the hound moved quickly, damn near flying across the parking lot as he went after Cecil.
Maverick felt the fear and anger hit an all-time high inside of him as his wolf ripped from him, bones crunching and transforming as his wolf went after the foul bastard, its instincts to save Cecil and his grandson. Maverick threw his head back and let out a long and threatening howl before rushing toward the hell hound. The hound shifted into an oversized Rottweiler and bared his fangs at Maverick.
His mind was enveloped in a red haze, all rational thought gone as his large paws hit the pavement, running down the hound. The winged beasts flew up into the air, landing right in front of the hound, blocking his progression as they pulled their swords free of their sheaths.
The only thing on Maverick’s mind was little Xavier and Cecil. He would die to protect them both.
But today, he planned on killing the threat.
The hound growled, howled, and snapped at Maverick. He knew not to let the thing sink its teeth into his flesh. The hell hounds carried venom in their saliva that would kill a human, and a shifter only had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.
Maverick swung around one of the cars, leaping over top, feeling the roof crushing in under his paws as he leapt, landing on the hound’s back. They collided with the ground, both rolling a few feet apart from one another.
Dog flew toward the hound, his sword held high over his head, slicing it down through the air. But the hound was fast, moving out of the way before the sword could end the bastard’s life.
Maverick was driven forward, his immense body plowing into the hound. He was relieved when he saw the black truck pull from the parking lot, driving quickly away from town. Cecil and his grandson were safe, but that only meant he was going to make the hound pay for going after them in the first place.
He knew he had to shove his claws into the mark behind the hound’s ear. The problem was pinning him down. Swinging his head to the side, Maverick sank his teeth into the beast’s neck, shaking his head furiously from side to side.
“Release him,” Renato shouted as his sword came down hard. Maverick had seconds to move away before the blade sliced through the creature’s head, hitting the mark with deadly accuracy. The hound slumped toward the ground, lifeless. “We’ll take him away from your humans before we burn his body.”
Maverick turned to see the crowd of humans standing there, looking terrified and astonished at the same time.
Goddamn it.
This was what he had been trying to avoid for over two hundred years. He knew that eventually his town would find out about the paranormal population. It was bound to happen.
He just wasn’t ready to explain things to them. But he had to. If he wanted Brac Village to remain his peaceful little town, the residents had to be made to see that telling anyone who didn’t already know or the media would ruin not only the shifters’ lives, but the humans’ as well.
Whether he liked it or not, their secret was out. Now Maverick was going to have to call a meeting with the Ultionem and tell them what just happened.
Great, just what he wanted to do on a Saturday, meet with his super-secret club.
* * * *
“How long?” Mrs. Colbert asked as she approached the alpha. She was the sweet old woman who helped out at the local pharmacy. Her light-blue eyes searched Maverick’s face, but she didn’t back down, even though Maverick was freaking huge. “How long has this been going on right under our noses?”
“For a very long time,” Kade answered as he stepped forward. “I’ve known you since I was a small kid, Mrs. Colbert. Has any harm ever come to you? Have you ever seen one of the shifters before this time?”
Keaton could see what his mate was doing. He was trying to convince the town that they were safe, that they didn’t need to fear Maverick or any of the other nonhuman residents.
“Well, yes,” Mrs. Colbert answered honestly and with conviction. “Do you think us daft?” Her eyes narrowed at Maverick. “We’ve known for some time that this town was special. Why do you think we stayed when work was so hard to come by? Why do you think we have thrown ourselves into the rebuilding and additions to this town?”
Keaton glanced at Maverick, but he couldn’t read the wolf’s facial expression.
“We love it here.” Mrs. Colbert turned toward the other residents. “You knew as well, although no one has ever said anything. Tell me you want to turn our town into a media hotspot? Tell me you wouldn’t rather keep the secret that we’ve been keeping all along, letting us enjoy Brac Village?”
“I knew,” Kevin said as he came forward. Keaton was going to beat the snot out of the young man. He was supposed to be hiding inside the center. “I’ve always known.”
Maverick began to back away.
“Is he afraid we’ll tell?” Mrs. Colbert asked.
Kade chuckled. It was a sound Keaton wanted to hear plenty more of. “No, but when he changes back into his human form, he’ll be naked.”
“Oh,” Mrs. Colbert said, her cheeks flaming red. “Then, by all means, go get dressed.” Maverick took off toward the woods and Keaton knew the alpha was heading home.
“I knew there was something strange about this town!”
Keaton turned, but didn’t recognize the man speaking, although from his tone, this wasn’t going to be good. He knew not everyone was going to accept what was going on. He just wasn’t sure how to handle this. How was he supposed to keep the haters quiet—aside from gagging them and locking them away so they couldn’t utter a single word about what they knew?
“Don’t you dare stir up trouble, Mitchel Grace,” Mrs. Colbert warned in a no-nonsense tone. “You are just as happy living here as everyone else.”
“They ain’t right,” Mitchel growled right before he spat some nasty-looking gunk on the ground.
Yuk, chewing tobacco.
Keaton wanted to dry heave when he glanced down at the splattered mess. “They’re freaks of nature.”
Keaton had to grab Kade’s arm and pull him back. His mate looked feral. He also noticed Kevin take a step back, glancing over toward his father. He was glad to see Kevin’s dad wave his son over to his side.
“Trust me,” Kade snarled at Mitchel. “You don’t want to run your mouth.”
Mitchel spun on Kade, his eyes narrowing to two tiny slits. “What do you know? Didn’t you just get out of prison for murder?”
Keaton felt his temper flare. He had never gotten this mad this quickly in his life. “Don’t go spouting off about things you don’t know about!” he shouted at Mitchel.
“He’s a murderer, what else is there to know? I’m glad to see Brac Village is growing. It seems our esteemed mayor will let anyone live here.”
Keaton wanted to punch the man. He had no idea what he was talking about. True, Kade had killed, but for a good reason. “I’m warning you,” Keaton threatened, trying to remember his language in front of all the children that were present. “Shut your trap.”
“Why?” Mitchel argued. “All I’m telling is the truth. We all just saw what happened here today. A man turned into a wolf. Another man turned into a large dog. Two men were flying up into the air. The dog was killed. How much clearer are things?” Mitchel spat on the ground again. “We are surrounded by monsters.”
Oh, jeez.
Why did he have to go and use that word? Keaton could see the kids pushing closer to their parents. If they didn’t shut Mitchel up, he was going to stir the other people up and then they would have an angry mob on their hands.
When Mitchel advanced forward, Keaton blocked him from getting any closer to Kade—who was standing there a little too quietly. That inscrutable expression on his mate’s face worried him. Keaton was afraid Kade was dangerously close to losing it.
Mitchel’s expression was deadly as he shoved Keaton aside, sending him sprawling to the ground. He heard a large growl and Keaton knew Kade was going after Mitchel. He jumped to his feet, but it was too late. The two men were already fighting.
“Stop this at once!” Mrs. Colbert shouted. “Think of the children!”