Two Minutes (Seven Series Book 6) (10 page)

His eyebrows arched. “Any Breed male you choose, should you choose. You can remain human for the rest of your days, or become one of us. It’s not just limited to Shifters; you can select any Breed you wish. All it requires is sex with a partner.”

“I don’t see how that would make any—”

“Please,” he said, holding up his hand, “don’t make me go into explicit detail. It’s in the sperm. At least, that’s my assumption.”

“So if he wears a condom…”

Prince rose to his feet and huffed out a breath. “Would you like some biscotti?”

“Actually, I prefer to eat crumpets while talking about condoms.”

His cheeks flushed. “A lady shouldn’t use foul language.”

“The only thing foul in my vocabulary are insults.”

“And you don’t think condoms would insult me?” He handed me a napkin with a biscotti.

“If I called you a condomhead, maybe. But discussing the nature of sex is hardly insulting. Not in a direct and personal way.” I took a bite and immediately placed it back on the tray.

“I thought you preferred this kind of food in England,” he said, still towering by the tray.

“Actually, I ate a lot of crisps and soda. Sit down and tell me more. Have you ever met any Potentials? Are there any dangers to my health by not changing, or vice versa?”

“Slow down. Give me a moment to collect my thoughts.”

I wanted to sling him around by his ponytail until he spilled the beans. Instead, I tucked my hands beneath my legs and leaned forward, trying to feign patience, wishing I had a bag of Doritos.

“I have known one Potential in my life,” he began. “This was… maybe four centuries ago, if I’m not mistaken. I was captivated by her beauty, and I preferred the company of human women.”

“Why?”

He scratched his head and then smoothed his hair in that spot. “No risk of producing accidental children.”

I knitted my brows. “I never thought of a human woman as a form of birth control. Don’t you want kids?”

“When I choose to have children—if I choose—then it will come from a bride I have carefully selected. It’s important to keep my line pure, and I will not settle for less.”

“What happened to the Potential? Did you turn her?”

“No. I hadn’t courted her long enough before a Gemini entered the picture. They’re an old, rare Breed, and I don’t know if any women exist among their kind—none that I’ve ever seen. Naturally, she caught his eye, as did the tattoo of a spade on her left wrist. I didn’t know at that time what it meant, but he presumed I did and spoke freely in my presence. I didn’t believe his story, and because he was insistent on pursuing her, I didn’t feel she was worth the fight. Geminis are not a Breed to tangle with.”

I hadn’t heard anything about them. “What happened to her?”

“She changed, of course. I wouldn’t have believed it had someone not provoked her and drawn out the signature eye color of a Gemini. I could feel her energy had changed, and all from bedding that scoundrel.”

“Did she know that was going to happen to her?”

“Perhaps. Although a devious man relies on trickery to get what he wants. She wouldn’t have been able to survive on her own without him—the human world would have rejected if not killed her out of fear she was a demon. People were executed in those times without hesitation, often without a trial.”

I stood up and moved toward the windows. In the reflection, Prince watched me, but my eyes focused outside at the dimming light. My life suddenly felt like an hourglass with a decision placed at my feet.
Do I live as I am, or do I make a choice to become something else?
No matter which way I went, I could end up regretting that choice.

“You have much to consider, little one. You can live as you are, but you will always be at risk of someone taking that choice away from you. All it requires is one careless moment of not covering your mark. Someone could have noticed it ten years ago, and an immortal has patience. They wait until the fruit ripens on the vine.”

I whirled around and waved my arms. “Don’t talk about me like I’m a grape! Everyone seems to think it’s so terrible to be human, but the length of your life doesn’t guarantee a better quality of life. I’ve seen people who lived to thirty happier than some immortals as old as the pyramids. No one is squeezing this little grape.” I was stalking angrily toward the door when he shot up from his chair and caught my arm.

“Do not make decisions in haste. If you storm out the door, you will never hear the rest.”

I shook out of his grip. “The rest of what?”

Prince traced his finger along the slope of my cheek. “That I would like to invite you to my bed. Don’t you see, little one? If you draw from my magic to become a Shifter, the purity of my power will move into your eyes, your hair, your skin, your breasts, your sex. You will be the perfect mate I’ve been seeking all these years; the only one worthy of bearing my children.”

“Most men offer to take me out on a date before they suggest filling me up with babies.”

“If you have any further questions, my door is always open. You shouldn’t have any trouble at the gate from now on.”

From now on. He said that as if my visits were going to become a regular thing. Prince was handsome, sophisticated, and he sure smelled nice, but that was a lot to dump on a girl. It didn’t really hit me until I walked out that Prince had all but given me a marriage proposal.

***

After returning home early that evening, I curled up in the chair in our quiet study. William still hadn’t come back, and Trevor had left to meet up with April and break the news in person about our meeting. Worst of all, there I was giving everyone a lecture about keeping secrets while I was hiding the biggest one of all.

What Prince had confirmed about my genetics frightened me, excited me, and made me dizzy all at once. His proposal, offer, whatever it was, left me uncertain. I’d always dreamed of marrying a prince, but who knew that could be a reality? He was attractive, polite, powerful, wealthy, and protective—all qualities a woman might desire. But did he like me? I sensed he did, but I was also skeptical of his true intentions. He’d known about my mark since I was a child and mentioned how immortals had patience. Maybe he was talking about other men, but it made me wonder if he’d been waiting all these years for his little grape to ripen on the vine.

Someone knocked on the door and it pushed open. “Hey, chickypoo. Mind if I come in?”

“Hey, Naya.”

She closed the door and reached down to wipe something off her bare foot. “The boys forgot to finish their chores today and the wood floor in the living room is in a dreadful state. I’m going to have to wear socks if I want to maintain my pedicure around here. I miss wall-to-wall carpeting.”

I peered behind her and noticed Spartacus had shoved his entire front leg beneath the door. Naya casually strolled toward the white chair in front of me. Behind it was a bookshelf built into the wall, filled with cookbooks, car-repair manuals, novels, home decorating books, and encyclopedias. She crossed her legs and studied her red nails for a minute.

“So I found a nice boy,” she began.

“I’m not sure this is a good time to play the dating game.”

“Of course it’s a good time!” she exclaimed. “No better time. You need someone to take your mind off the pack and whatever else has you hiding in here. You’re young, and you should be out having fun with other people your age.”

“Who happen to be male?”

She smiled with her ruby-red lips. “Of course. I’ve always found those of the male persuasion to be a perfect distraction. A nice date is just the kind of diversion you need to get you out of this musty room. He’s a trusted human in our world, so you won’t have to worry about keeping secrets. Isn’t that fabulous?”

Actually, it
was
kind of nice to have that burden lifted. I hadn’t known many trusted humans within the Breed world, at least none my age.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Spartacus was sweeping his paw across the floor—claws extended.

Naya twisted her ankle in small circles, causing the silver chain to slither around her foot. “Saturday.”

“No good,” I quickly said.

Her thin brow arched, and she brushed back her brown curls of hair. “And why is that?”

I was almost scared to verbalize it. With everything going on, they had forgotten. “It’s my birthday, but I already told Lexi I don’t want any kind of party. I mean it. In fact, I’ve made plans.”

Which wasn’t a total lie. Denver was a creature of habit when it came to his work schedule. He’d go in early on Friday night and come home just after midnight, heading straight to bed. That meant he’d be up in the morning after a good night’s rest instead of sleeping past noon.

We’d celebrated our birthdays together since I was around eleven or so. I wanted to keep that tradition, and maybe spending some private time together would mend our relationship. I hoped to get past the stumbling block between us and figure out where I stood with him.

Naya pouted. “Are you sure? We’ve always celebrated your birthday. Instead of pizza, we could go out to that fancy—”

“No, really. I have plans.”

“Then you’ll have your date on Sunday. No arguments. Consider that my birthday present to you.”

I smothered a laugh. “Only you would give me a man for my birthday.”

The door swung open and we both turned to look. Spartacus flew into the room like a blaze of glory—eyes wide and his gangly legs scrambling across the slippery floor.

Denver poked his head in. “Your pussy was feeling left out.”

Naya stood up and put her fist on her hip. “You’re getting less funny.”

“Why don’t you put a bell on him? It’s spooky when he creeps up on me.”

I giggled and shifted to face him. “What are you so afraid of? He’s just a harmless cat.”

“Harmless? I guess you haven’t woken up at three in the morning with him standing on your chest and licking your eye.”

Naya lifted Spartacus and planted a kiss on his head. “He does that because he wants you to love him. And I can’t put a bell on him because he ate the last one.”

“Yeah, I still remember hearing the jingle when he went to the litter box. I thought Santa had come early this year.” Denver stepped farther inside, eating soup straight out of a can. It looked like noodles, and I shuddered that it was lukewarm.

Despite the hell they gave Naya about the cat, I could tell the pack thrived on the chaos that Spartacus brought into the house. It gave them something to talk and joke about—an initiation process most new pack members faced anyhow.

“So what are you two doing all shut up in here?” he asked around a mouthful of noodles.

My gaze dragged down to his spectacular abs. Denver was built like an athlete—toned and fit. When his eyes flashed toward mine, I quickly looked back at Naya.

Unfortunately, Naya had caught the direction of my gaze and a cunning smile touched the corners of her mouth. “Maizy and I were just talking about her date.”

A noodle fell from his lips and hit the floor. Spartacus scrambled out of Naya’s arms and began licking it up.

“Date?” he asked.

Satisfaction filled her expression and she patted him on the chest. Then her hand slid down to the ridges on his abdomen. “How do you stay so toned working in a bar? You’ve always had the best abs; wouldn’t you agree, Maizy?”

They both looked at me and I turned away. “Good night, Naya.”

Her mischievous chuckle filled the room as she walked out, Spartacus sashaying behind her with his chin high.

When Denver turned to leave, I stole another quick glance. When he suddenly looked back at me over his shoulder, I turned away and studied the books close to the ceiling. An awkward moment passed before he finally shut the door.

This was a strange game we were playing, and I didn’t even know what game it was, let alone the rules.

Denver had diligently ignored his ringing phone all day, to the point where he’d shut it off.
Calls at home were usually Frank trying to get him to swap out the afternoon shift at the bar, and Denver didn’t like being bugged on his time off. Working in the daytime was less chaotic, but he made more money during peak hours.

After Maizy came home that evening from
wherever
and they had that stilted conversation in the study, he’d grabbed his keys from the nail by the front door above the letter
D
. His shift was starting soon, and he wanted to get there early and play a few games of pool. Denver hopped in his beat-up yellow truck—a classic style from last century—and switched on his phone. The moment he did, it rang.

“
The fuck?
”

As soon as he hit the main road, he glanced at the messages and saw they were all from Will. Nothing but: level red.

He dialed the number. “’Sup?”

“Denver. I need you.” William’s voice was steady, low, and scary as hell. He rattled off an obscure location, so Denver turned the truck around and headed out that way.

The full moon frosted the treetops like icing and sent chills up Denver’s spine. It made his wolf want to howl—not in song, but a cry to his pack to confirm they were safe, something wolves instinctively did. When he turned off the main road after the mile marker William had given him, he slowed down before it killed the tires on his truck. The road was barely visible beneath sticks, rocks, and the underbrush of the woods. The undercarriage squeaked as he hit potholes and bounced around in the cab. Up ahead, his headlights reflected off William’s silver BMW.

Denver cursed when he caught sight of William standing in front of the truck with blood on his hands. He looked like a zombie from one of those post-apocalyptic horror movies. Except dressed better.

“What the train wreck…”

Denver got out and approached William, slowing down the closer he got. He’d never seen such a feral look in his eyes. “What are you doing out here, Will? What’s going on?”

“I’m fucked, that’s what’s going on.” William motioned to the left at a body of a nude man.

Denver hardened his gaze. “Is that who I think it is? You better sit the fuck down and tell me what happened.”

“I prefer to stand.”

Denver raked his hands through his hair and paced in a circle. “This is so fucked up that they’re going to have to redefine
fucked up
in the dictionary with your picture beside it. Did you have provocation to fight him? When the Council finds out, you’re going to have to face his Packmaster, and you know what that means.”

Councils enforced the laws within the Shifter community, but something like this would be the Packmaster’s call. He could ask for compensation in the form of money, packmates, land… or he might want an eye for an eye, in which case the Packmaster would fight William to the death. The odds would be in the alpha’s favor. He could also demand the higher authority review the case and sentence William to Breed jail.

William had on a black shirt with a round collar except at the front where it dipped into a sharp vee. One of the open flaps hung to the side. Denver noticed he didn’t have blood on his face or matted in his dark curls of hair.

William looked at the dried blood on his hands. “Aaron wasn’t a close friend, just an acquaintance. I thought he would hit it off with Trevor; I didn’t think he’d actually hit him. He’s no different than every other Shifter out there, except that he bats for the boys. How the hell was I supposed to know?” William’s jaw tightened and his lips pressed into a thin line.

Denver scratched his chin and raised his eyebrows. “So you brought him out to the woods and offed him? Real slick plan.”

“Not quite. I know where he lives, and he happens to be a bit of a homebody.”

“
Happened
. Past tense,” Denver bit out.

“I warned him to leave Trevor alone, but not before I took a few swings. I wanted him to know what it feels like to be on the receiving end. When he struck me in the face with a closed fist, I suddenly realized what he’d been putting Trevor through all this time, and
I
was the one responsible for it.” William’s voice rose into a near shout. “It was
my
fault!” he growled. “I would never put my pack in danger…” William’s voice cracked on the last word, and he folded his arms, staring pensively at the ground.

Denver kicked a clump of dirt at the body. “Why is he in human form?”

“He pulled a knife, stabbed me, and I shifted. My wolf wasn’t as lenient in his punishments. Aaron shifted and we went at it. He must have realized I was stronger and panicked. He shifted back and went for the knife again, but it was too late. My wolf went in for the kill.”

Denver threw back his head and released a frustrated growl. “I don’t know what to do, Will. Your best idea was to bring him out
here
in the middle of bumfuck nowhere
?
”

“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve used my trunk for nefarious acts. I seem to have a little experience with hauling bodies.”

Denver pointed at him. “Now is not the time for jokes.”

“Indeed.”

“So you’ve been standing out here all day waiting for me to swing by? For what?”

William shrugged and dropped his arms to his sides. “I wanted to bury him at first, but then I realized someone’s wolf is going to sniff him up. This is unclaimed land, but you know how wolves roam across unmarked territory. My smell is all over him. That doesn’t go away for a long time.”

Denver threw up his hand and turned around. “I don’t even
want
to know how you know something like that.” Dirt crunched beneath his shoes as he headed back to the truck to grab his phone.

Man, this was all kinds of messed up. William was going to be in a world of hurt when Austin got wind of this.

“What are you doing?” William called out.

“Calling the cavalry.”

“Can we talk about it for a minute?”

Denver glared at him. “This is a hell of a predicament, Will. Not much to discuss.”

William was in panic mode. Entering the Weston pack had given him a second chance, and that was a big deal since he was a former second-in-command. He could have easily slid into another pack and regained that rank, but he’d felt it was his obligation to atone for his bad decisions. Plus, he fit right in and still had a leadership position of a different kind. This wouldn’t just dishonor him; it could mean his death.

Denver tucked the phone in his pocket. “I’m not burying a body. I’m not going to burn it, sink it in the lake, dice it up for dog food, or send him to a taxidermist so you can prop him in the window display at Macy’s. I’ll watch you, but I’m
not
participating.”

“What if I just disappear?”

Denver kicked more dirt at the body in a show of disgust. Dead or not, this asshole had hurt one of his packmates. “Then you’re running away from your problems like a chickenshit, and that reputation is a hell of a lot worse. Austin mentioned to me what pack Aaron belonged to. Have you ever met his Packmaster?”

William flexed his hands as if he were trying to repel the dried blood. “Years ago, at one of Enzo’s peace parties. He was a prick.”

“True that. He came into the bar once. Ordered all these complicated drinks for his party and didn’t even leave me a tip.
Dickwad
.”

“Think Austin will be upset?” William asked, humor softening the sharp edges of his voice.

Denver had to laugh. “What do you think? We had a feeling you’d rough him up a little, but no one told you to kill the bastard.”

“Some bastards need killing.”

“Amen.” Denver kicked another clump of dirt at the body. “Trevor might not take this so well.”

William tried in vain to rub the dried blood off his hands. “I considered that. He’ll undoubtedly never speak to me again, although he might share a few choice words over my gravesite. Say, do you think someone could plant some of those little white flowers around the tombstone?”

Denver pulled out his phone. “If the whole pack turns their back on you, then at least you’ve got me.”

William arched a brow. “Swell. I’ll have someone to bring me cheesy crackers to my jail cell. Who are you calling?”

“Wheeler. He’s good with this kind of thing. Dead bodies and stuff. If he says we tell Austin, then that’s what we do. I’ll switch off my headlights until he gets here; we don’t need a spotlight drawing unwanted attention. Since this is unclaimed territory, do me a favor and shift. I want you to piss a nice little boundary around us for some temporary privacy. That’ll stave off any curious wolves until we figure this out.”

“Got a canteen?”

***

Wheeler circled around the body, rubbing the short scruff of hair around his chin and mouth. “You know, when you called, I thought maybe this was going to be some camping shit. Tents, s’mores, fishing,” he said, glaring at William. “Nope. You had to up the ante and deliver me a corpse.”

William widened his stance and clasped his hands together, which drew Wheeler’s attention to the dried blood. Denver had switched on the headlights when Wheeler arrived so he could survey the damage.

Wheeler nodded at Will’s hands. “Why didn’t you wash that off?”

“Should I choose a stream that flows through Lorenzo’s territory or zip into a gas station up the road and frighten a few humans?”

“Denver, grab the jug of windshield wiper fluid out of my trunk,” Wheeler snapped.

Denver groaned and stalked toward the Camaro. He didn’t even look back when he heard Wheeler toss his keys at him; he just lifted his hand and caught them midair. He groaned loud enough to tune out the arguing from behind as he popped open the trunk. William was used to being the one in control, and this was one situation where he had to trust his pack to make the right decisions.

“That has chemicals in it,” William protested, eyeing the blue liquid sloshing around in the jug Denver held in his right hand.

Wheeler snatched the plastic canister from Denver. “And mayhap I don’t care. It’ll dilute your scent from the blood. You’re lucky I don’t still have a can of paint thinner back there.”

Wheeler flipped the cap off and slowly poured while William scrubbed away the dried blood. Denver realized this was going to be a long night, so he sent a text to Frank to cover his shift.

Wheeler threw the empty jug and it made a hollow sound when it hit the dirt. “Strip.”

“I can change when we get home.”

“Nothing personal, sweetheart. Strip out of those clothes that smell like a dead man.”

William reluctantly peeled off his shirt. Denver leaned against the front end of his truck and grinned at William’s sudden bashfulness.

“Are we burning them?” he asked, hopping on one foot and removing the leg of his pants that had tangled around his shoe.

Denver snorted. “Didn’t you learn anything from Smokey the Bear?”

“Get the trash bag out of my trunk,” Wheeler said, lifting the pile of clothes.

Denver frowned at his brother. “I didn’t come here to play gofer. And what the hell are you doing with trash bags in the trunk of your car?”

Wheeler stalked past him. “Hiding bloody clothes and disposing of bodies,” he grumbled.

William stood naked with his arms at his sides. Denver tried not to notice, and his gaze made an exaggerated detour to the left. The crickets were chirping, a garbage bag was rustling, and William was whistling a cheery little song.

“You seem to be taking this pretty calmly,” Denver noted.

“It changes things when someone has your back.”

“What, you didn’t think I’d show up?”

William tucked his hands beneath his arms. “Would have been nice if you’d answered your phone twelve hours ago. The mosquitoes have been a nightmare.”

“Don’t put this on me. You know I don’t like answering my phone when I’m at the house.”

“Ah, yes. Too busy playing video games.”

“Shut it.”

“When you two lovebirds are done quarreling, come help me with the body,” Wheeler said.

“Wait.” Denver hesitated, realizing if they hid the body and were caught, then their punishment wouldn’t be that much less severe than whatever William faced.

Wheeler stripped out of his shirt and tossed it on the hood of Denver’s truck. “Wait for what?”

“William marked the perimeter to keep the wolves out. We can just leave the body here.”

“He marked it, huh? Yeah, like that’ll last.” Wheeler slapped at a mosquito on his tatted arm. “We’re putting him in William’s trunk.”

“Wait a second,” William argued. “It’s bad enough I’ve got blood on the floorboard to clean, but I’ll never get the smell out.”

Wheeler laughed darkly. “I’ll take you to buy a Kia on Monday. I think your snazzy little ride has seen enough bodies in the trunk, don’t you? We’ll drive it to the human side of town and find a nice parking place for the evening. We’ll strip the plates and tags off, clean it out, and—”

“Leave it?” Denver wasn’t so sure he liked where this was headed.