Fight the Tide (26 page)

But he was certain he could feel eyes on him again, assessing. In the whisper of the leaves, he was sure people were talking about him, getting closer…

Skin crawling, he slammed the door. It didn’t lock, because of course it fucking didn’t.
Adam, come back!
Parker wanted to run back to the infirmary, but realized he wasn’t sure which winding path to take.

His shaking hands were clammy, his breath short and shallow. What if Adam didn’t come back? Parker felt utterly alone and vulnerable. Shorty’s grating laughter echoed, and for a moment Parker could have sworn it was real.

The porch creaked, and his heart leapt into his throat. He listened with his ear at the door before slowly edging it open. There was no one there. A wind chime tinkled in the distance, the leaves rustling.

Parker closed the door and leaned against it, his feet braced. After reaching for the gun, at least he could breathe again.

“C
an I get
you a drink?” Connie asked as she led Adam inside a cabin similar to the one they’d just left, but situated at the top of a rise. “Something to eat?”

He shook his head. He had to clasp his hands in front of him to keep from reaching out to her. Every word she said seemed to echo inside him, resonating bone deep in a way he couldn’t understand. He watched as she turned on the stove and filled a kettle.

“I’ll go back soon and check on Jacob. Are you sure you don’t want a mug of tea?”

He nodded, and as she turned back to him, he realized he’d stretched his arm out to touch. He snatched his hand back. “I’m sorry. I—I—”

She smiled kindly. “You’ve never met an alpha before.” Grasping his hand in both of hers, she added, “Welcome.”

Peace and warmth seemed to flow from her callused hands right into his veins. He managed to find his voice, although it was hoarse. “How?”

“I don’t know exactly. Something to do with our pack instincts. You must have sensed it when you heard me on the radio, didn’t you?”

He thought of the messages, of how compelling her voice had been. “I did, but I didn’t realize what it was.” His cheeks grew hot at his foolishness. “I just knew I wanted to come here.”

She squeezed his fingers kindly. “There’s a frequency in our voices, especially strong in alphas. When I was a little girl, I’d follow my father around like a duckling. We all did.”

“He was the alpha before you?”

“Mmm-hmm. This was his idea, the island. He was something of a hippie, my dad. A billionaire hippie, so not your usual.”

“A billionaire?” She was still holding Adam’s hand, and he wanted to drop to her feet and press into her knees. But he stayed standing, looking down at her. Her head just reached his chin.

“Made his money in plastics. Used a lot of it to buy and develop this island. I took over for him when he died.”

“Uh-huh.” It was hard to concentrate on what she was saying. He just wanted to rub against her, but not in a sexual way.

“Sit. I think some tea would do you good.” She patted his hand and let go, and he barely stopped himself from grabbing her back.

As she bustled around, the kettle began to whistle. When the tea was steeping, she urged him to the couch and they sat, their knees pressing together. She said, “You’ll get used to it, and then it won’t affect you this way. So tell me where you came from.”

Adam gave her the condensed version of his childhood with his parents and sisters, living totally isolated from other wolves and told to avoid them if they ever happened upon any. Then the accident.

“Oh, you poor child. How lonely that must have been.” She squeezed his arm, and it tingled with the most wonderful, comforting warmth.

“Yes,” he choked out before clearing his throat. “Do you think anyone here knew my parents?”

“It’s possible. We’ll look into it. What happened after the accident?”

Adam told her about his foster family and how badly it had ended. He cleared his throat, working to keep an even tone. “But I made a friend in college who I told eventually.”

“And your young man. Cute one, if a little high strung.” She smiled, taking any sting from her words.

A pang of guilt flowed. He couldn’t believe he’d left Parker all alone, but the urge to follow Connie had been too strong. “I should get back to him. He’s nervous that this place isn’t what you say it is.” And maybe Adam shouldn’t have actually said that out loud, but there it was, hanging in the air.

Connie only pushed herself up with a rueful laugh and went to pour the tea. “I don’t blame him. Hard to know who to trust.” She pulled down two mugs. “But you trust him?”

“Yes. Completely. I love him. Is that… That’s not a problem, is it?”

Pulling out a bottle of milk from the fridge, she said, “Because he’s a boy or because he’s human?”

“Both?”

“Well, the answer’s no in both cases. Not a problem at all. Milk and sugar?”

“Uh, sure.” He never drank tea, but it sounded right. “I’m glad to hear it. We ran into some trouble with another werewolf in Colorado who didn’t like wolves and humans mixing.”

Handing a mug emblazoned with
Miami is for Lovers
to Adam, she resettled on the couch. “Yes, it can be controversial. Some packs have outlawed it. We became so scattered and fractured in the twentieth century. It was one of the reasons my father created this place—to bring wolves back together. To reconnect packs and give omegas like you a place to come and feel at home. Life happens, and I’m not going to tell anyone who they should love. He accepted the truth about you easily?”

Adam sipped the warm tea, not sure if he liked it or not, and thought of that night when he’d revealed himself to save Parker’s life. Thought of telling him about the accident, and how Parker had climbed into bed with him in the dark, unafraid. “He did. The initial shock didn’t last long at all. Craig and the kids took it well too. Considering how the world’s changed, I suppose it makes it easier now to tell people.”

She smiled. “That it does. We have a strict like-it-or-lump it policy here now. And by ‘lump it,’ I mean turn around and sail off into the sunset. The time has come that we’re not going to hide what we are or apologize for it.”

“Wow. I never thought… I never even imagined it.” What would his parents think? Would they still shun other wolves and hide away? “It really is a new world.”

“Don’t think it’ll go back to the way it was. The virus is running rampant. There doesn’t seem to be anyone in charge anymore, which is why I decided it was time to step up. From what we’ve heard on the radio, infrastructures have been decimated around the world. Amazing how quickly all those years of building societies can be reduced to ashes.”

He thought of the stench of Daytona Beach and nodded. “What about the terrorists who caused this? The Zechariahs?”

“Who knows? There are rumors here and there that they’re planning a second wave, but I have a feeling the first wave was a little more successful than they’d anticipated. Assuming they exist at all. This could have been the work of nature. We might never know for sure. Probably won’t.”

“If no one stops it, I guess werewolves will inherit the earth.” He held the mug in his hands, the handle feeling delicate.

“Why would you say that?”

“We seem to be immune. At least I was.”

Leaning forward, Connie peered at him intently, her tea on the table, forgotten. “How do you know this?”

“I was bitten. Badly, in the neck. But nothing happened. We met scientists who tested my blood. I’m immune—to that strain, at least.”

“Scientists?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Tell me.”

Suddenly Adam wanted nothing more than to fill her in on every detail. “We ended up at this exclusive hotel in the Rockies…”

When he finished the saga of the Pines, Dr. Yamaguchi, and Ramon, Connie sat back against the worn cushions. “We did have a report from one of our residents of being bitten on the mainland and not being affected, but we had no idea if it was a fluke or not. Finding out the hard way hasn’t been a priority. But if we’re really immune…” Her eyes shone gold as she stared into space, contemplating it.

Adam cradled his mug. “We could go ashore. Fight the infected and help the survivors.”

Connie refocused on him. “Mmm. Assuming the virus doesn’t mutate, and that immunity doesn’t vary based on genetics. Werewolves come from all backgrounds. My mother was Mexican and my father Greek.” She lifted her mug and sloshed tea on her butterfly sweatshirt, grimacing down at it. “A gift from my grandson. It’s apparently ‘ironic’ because it’s what grandmas should wear, but he says I’m a badass.”

It was hard to imagine her with fangs and claws, but strength emanated from her like a current. “I can believe it.”

Connie gave him a shrewd smile. “Well, thank you.” She took a gulp of tea, all business again. “All right, we need to think hard about a long-term plan. We can’t make any assumptions about immunity. It could prove fatal if we do, and our kind is already close enough to extinction. Right now, I think we have to concentrate on our safe haven. On helping those that respond to our radio calls.” She checked her watch. “Now, let me get back to the infirmary, and you get some sleep. That’s an alpha order. I’ll put the whammy on you if you don’t comply.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He wanted to reach out and ask her to stay and talk to him for hours—days—but he had to get back to Parker. He followed her outside and along a path, and she pointed him to the cabin. He said, “You’ll come get us if something happens with Jacob?”

“Of course. But I think time will tell. There’s nothing you can do tonight except rest up yourselves.”

“Okay. Thank you. It’s great to meet you. I can’t… Just—thank you.”

She took his hand in hers again, her eyes glowing gold. “Welcome, Adam. Welcome home.”

For a minute after she was gone, he had to lean against the porch railing to catch his breath, his eyes burning.

Pushing the cabin door open, he quietly called, “Parker? It’s me.”

Parker appeared in the bedroom door, still in his shorts, tee, and sneakers. “Well?”

“She seems great. Nothing to worry about.”

“Yet.” Parker’s fingers twitched. “It’s too good to be true. It has to be. We should go check on Jacob and make sure Craig and Lilly are okay.”

“Let’s get some sleep. Jacob’s in good hands. I really think we’re safe here.”

Grunting, Parker retreated into the simple bedroom and unlaced his shoes. “I’ll take this side.” He stripped to his boxers and pulled back the thin duvet.

“Sure. I like the right anyway.” There was so much more he wanted to say and try to explain, but Parker had already curled away from him.

It was at least an hour later when he startled awake, the rapid staccato of Parker’s pulse finding its way into Adam’s dreams. He reached out, Parker’s soft cries and whimpers grabbing at his heart.

“Shhh, it’s just a dream. Wake up.”

Parker did, gasping. He was still turned away from Adam, and he buried his face in his arm, shuddering.

“What was it?” Adam asked softly.

“Nothing,” he mumbled. “I’m fine.”

“I don’t think you are.” He trembled, perspiration beading his skin even though the night was cool. “Please tell me.” Adam pressed his lips to the back of Parker’s neck, nosing the sweat-damp hair there and spooning close.

“I’m fine,” he insisted. “Just a dumb dream.” Squirming, he turned, pressing their lips together, his thigh between Adam’s legs. He reached into Adam’s boxer briefs to take hold of his cock.

Adam groaned, pleasure sparking down his spine, his dick twitching to life at the first touch. The urge to bury himself in Parker and not think about anything else almost overwhelmed, but he broke their kiss.

“Talk to me,” he whispered.

Parker’s face creased, and he stroked up and down Adam’s length before reaching lower to caress his balls, sending a shiver of desire through him. “There’s nothing wrong with me.” He kissed Adam again before wriggling lower and licking over the head of Adam’s cock, easing down the foreskin.

Adam took hold of Parker’s shoulders. “Don’t use sex as avoidance. It doesn’t feel right.”

A slide show of emotion passed over Parker’s face—anger, incredulity, and most of all, hurt. His voice was painfully small. “You don’t want me?”

“Of course I do, but…”

“But what?” He yanked his hand free of Adam’s underwear and leaned away.

“It’s…” Adam groaned in frustration as he tried to find the elusive right words.

Parker rolled away, curling into a ball. “I’m tired anyway.”

“So that’s it?”

Glaring over his shoulder, he bit out, “You’re the one who doesn’t want to fuck.”

“Because we should talk!”

He flopped onto his back and crossed his arms, the duvet tangled around his waist. “Fine, talk.”

“What did you dream about?”

Parker shook his head. “I said it was nothing.”

“If it was nothing—”

“God, I had a shitty nightmare about some of the shitty stuff that’s happened. It was—wait for it—shitty. Why are you making a federal case out of it?”

“I’m not! I want to help you—”

“Then why aren’t you fucking me right now?”

They lay rigid, a few inches between them on the mattress. Adam clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Why? Maybe you’d rather be with another werewolf.”

He sputtered, staring at Parker’s profile in the shadows. “What? Now you’re being ridiculous.”

“Am I?” Parker’s chest rose and fell rapidly. “If there are other wolves here, maybe you’ll meet one you like better than me. One you have some wolfy connection with that I can never give you.”

Softening, Adam reached for him, but Parker squirmed away. Adam sighed. “That won’t happen.”

“You already took off on me tonight for your little rendezvous with Connie.”

“What, now we have to be joined at the hip?”

“No, but we don’t even know these people! They could be on their way over right now to murder us in our sleep and eat us for breakfast.”

“Can we just try to be positive for once?”

Nostrils flaring, Parker rolled away onto his side. “Whatever. Since
we’re
not fucking, let’s go to sleep.”