CHAPTER TWO

"I got something on the camera in eastern sector four." Gage told him and he transferred the coordinates. "It's near the storage building." Gage studied the area and in the darkness it was difficult to discern what was happening. "It's not wildlife." He stated.

"What is it?" Dumas asked and glanced over at him.

"A hiker, perhaps, but something is after him. He holed up in the storage shed." Gage studied the images, concern engulfing him. "It looks like a shifter in a half shift."

"That's fucked up." Dumas was not one to minimize or sugarcoat.

"Hurry man we have to get there before that animal takes the door down." Gage felt his gut tighten at the thought of that thing getting close to the hiker. Dumas got as close as possible and then the two of them exited the vehicle and raced through the woods towards the storage building. The thing was still there when they arrived, and it looked properly shocked by their arrival.

Gage went for it barreling into its midsection while Dumas shifted and grabbed it from the ground and smacked it into the trunk of a large tree. "Don't kill it Dumas." Gage yelled. "We need to find out what the hell it is and what it was planning." Dumas held it against the tree and shouted for it to shift.

The thing continued to fight and growl and refused to completely shift either to its animal or human form. "There's something wrong with it, Gage," Dumas stated and then snapped its neck. "It was infected."

"What do you mean?"

"The shifter was diseased, out of its mind. Death was a mercy." Dumas returned to his human form and looked down at the remains of the deformed shifter at his feet.

"What caused it, do you know?" Gage remembered hearing of a disease that had infected shifters in Master Duane's territory, and it turned out to be evil scientist bullshit. "This isn't like what happened over with the DuCane Coven, I hope." He voiced his fear.

"It looks similar, but we won't know for sure until this corpse gets tested." Dumas turned his attention to the storage building and nodded his head in that direction. "Our hiker is inside." He said and Gage turned to look at the door and suddenly felt the fullness of the person's terror.

"We need to make this quick. I don't think the shifter is alone." Dumas began scanning the area.

"Fuck."

"Yes, exactly."

Harley heard the commotion outside and had no clue what was happening apart from the pounding on the door had stopped. There were more people he heard voices, but he was too scared to draw attention to himself. Slowly, one careful step at a time he made his way closer to the door. The chain lock had held, and he was unsure as to what to do next.

If he opened the door and things were not as he hoped, then he would be in a world of hurt. He slid his back down the wall to a sitting position and decided to wait it out for now. Then someone spoke.

"You're safe." The man said. "My name is Gage Miller, and I work security for Hadden Corporation of Pittsburgh. Nikolas Hadden owns this land, and you entering triggered an alarm. My colleague Dumas and I were sent in response to that alarm." He was speaking slowly and clearly and as much as Harley wanted to believe he still remembered the beast that had been chasing him and he wondered where he was now.

"I was being chased. I entered this posted land because I was trying to hide in the thick of the trees. I didn't mean any harm; I was just trying to get away." He actually entered because he was simply running blindly, and he had no idea where he was, but he didn't want to say that.

"We took care of him; he's not going to hurt you." The voice was very convincing but still Harley preferred to remain behind the chain lock. "Come out and we'll take you home." Harley didn't answer and after a few moments Gage Miller continued.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, he chased me out of my camp but seemed to be toying with me. I'm sorry I picked the lock on this structure, but I needed protection." Harley tried to explain himself.

"Don't worry about it, you're not in any trouble we just want to make sure you're okay and get you back home safely." That all sounded reasonable but there was something really not right about the thing that was chasing him and how did this man and his friend just get rid of it.

"Is that thing still out there?" He asked.

"Yes." Gage sounded hesitant. "It's not going to hurt you. I'm sorry, but we had to kill it. It isn't human." He added, and it sounded odd because he didn't say what it was, simply that it wasn't human.

Harley appreciated his honesty, but he was still not convinced of his own safety in this situation. "This lock is the only thing keeping me safe right now, so I hesitate to remove it. I don't know you or your friend or if what you're telling me is even true." He might as well be upfront with them and quit the wordplay.

"Listen, I wish we had all the time in the world to stand here and assure you in all the ways that you need, but time is not a luxury that we have. The thing that attacked you is not alone, and it is imperative that we get you out of here. Open the door and let us do our job." He wasn't angry or aggressive, just short and firm, and suddenly, Harley was compelled to believe him.

There weren't many options available, considering he was in the woods alone, no one knew where he was, and his phone wasn't working. He could grow old and die in this shed, or he could take his chances on Gage and Dumas.

"We have to get out of here, Gage." He heard who he assumed to be Dumas warning Gage, and it was then that Harley made his move. He removed the lock and the chain from the door and slowly swung it open. Standing there looking all kinds of strong, handsome, and formidable was Gage. Standing a few feet behind and to his right was another man, tall and broad and equally formidable Dumas.

The moment his eyes connected with Gage's he knew instinctively that he could be trusted. "My name is Harley." He stated and stepped out of the small structure.

"Hello, Harley, I am so pleased to meet you." Gage reached out his hand to Harley, and just as Harley was about to take it, his eyes fell upon the body that lay on the ground a few feet behind Dumas. It was hideous and deformed and covered in blood. The sight was sickening, and Harley was not good with blood. He felt himself getting lightheaded just moments before blacking out completely.

Gage was doing his best to reassure the man behind the door that he was safe and could come out, but he was having no luck. He sounded scared out of his mind, which was understandable, but like he said, they did not have the time to take this slowly. Either he came out in the next few seconds, or they were going in. The lock and chain effectively kept the shifter out, but it would not stop a hellhound.

He pleaded one last time, and if it didn't work, then Dumas was taking the door down. They had no more time to waste. Gage was relieved when he heard the lock and chain being removed and watched the door slowly open. Their eyes locked, and Gage saw that he was soft and sexy, just like his voice, and he found the whole package very satisfying. He greeted him and reached out his hand to aid him in exiting the storage building, but then life took a wild turn.

"He's going down, Gage," Dumas shouted, and Gage hurried to catch the young man before he hit the ground. Gage could hear Dumas laughing behind him as he scooped the guy up into his arms. It was then that it hit him full-faced, a mind-melting realization.

"Oh my God, Dumas." He uttered, completely shocked, and tried to process all the feelings flooding his mind and body.

"What is it? Is he too heavy for you?" Dumas joked until he recognized the stunned expression on Gage's face. "What is it?" He said in all seriousness and reached out toward the young man.

Gage stepped back, holding the man securely in his arms. He looked at Dumas, and his smile grew, and his eyes lit up. "He's mine, Dumas. Harley, the little man in my arms who fainted at the sight of blood, is my beloved. Every lovely sensation in the world is rushing through me right now. You would not believe it. It's amazing."

"I'd love to give you time to analyze your feelings, but we need to get out of here." Dumas brought him back to their current situation.

"Right." He held onto Harley, and they started back toward the SUV but had to divert when it became obvious there were many more in the woods tracking them.

"Let's go to the Lodge it's about a half mile north from where we're standing it will give us proper protection and a location to fight from." Dumas suggested. "Not sure what's out there but I get the feeling there are a lot of them."

"Good Idea and maybe we can get phone service there." Gage looked down at his newly found beloved in his arms and shook his head. "Why does Fate make it so difficult?" Gage turned and started up toward the Lodge.

"We'll keep him safe, Gage," Dumas promised. "We'll get to the Lodge and see what we're up against. Nothing is going to happen to Harley."

"That's a sweet name." Gage was getting sappy, but he was allowed. They hurried through the thick trees and brush while making their way to the Lodge through the lower entrance. The Lodge was built into the mountain in some places and, sprawled many thousands of square feet in either direction and boasted three levels including a garage level. It was an impressive structure and until the curse came to town had been used as a vacation spot and a getaway location for members and special guests.

The curse made the place the final stand of the Hadden Coven, if it came to that. Master Hadden remained in Pittsburgh with several units of guards and soldiers fighting back the effect of the evil that had taken over. His second in command Josef McQueen along with several units defended the vulnerable from among the Coven at the Lodge.

Life went on like this for months before Master Hadden found the specialist, a Charmer a mythical being to fight the curse. Gage and Dumas were stationed together in Pittsburgh defending the city beside Master Hadden. The Charmer was something that had to be seen to be believed and it was something Gage would never forget.

Now the Lodge lay empty with all members having returned to Pittsburgh and to the Hadden Center. Life was getting back to normal one day at a time but now it appears that not all the evil influence was purged. Whatever happened to that shifter there wasn't natural it was either magic or poison or both.

They ran up to the doors and Gage quickly punched in the code for the locks. That just got them through the first entry. The second required another code and a key card which luckily for them Dumas had placed into his wallet when he'd received it many months ago. Gage had tossed his into a drawer believing he would not be going to the Mountain Lodge since he was stationed in Pittsburgh and not the Mountain estate.

The door swung open, and they went inside and secured the doors. This entrance brought them to a large foyer that led to a living room the size of a hotel lobby. "Why don't you get him comfortable on one of the sofas while I do a search of the place and call in our situation and location." Dumas proposed, and Gage thought it was a good idea. "It will give you a chance to make sure he's okay and maybe connect."

"He's so scared he passed out, so connecting might be a long shot at this point." Gage shook his head, frustrated by the roadblocks already present in this non-relationship.

"Don't get discouraged," Dumas told him. "You saved him from that beast, so he's going to be grateful."

"That is a possibility," Gage stated hopefully.

"Of course, it is, and now you tend to your little human, and I'll go see what's available to us here."

"Weapons, we need weapons if you can find any," Gage called to him as he left the room.

Gage brought his beloved over to one of the large, wide sofas in the center of the room and carefully laid him down. He then took his jacket off and covered him as best as possible.

The man still wore a stricken expression and it worried Gage. The vision of the dead shifter on the heels of such a traumatic night was too much for his little beauty. He hoped that once he woke and explanations were made that Harley would be able, in time, to put the fear and the shock behind him.

Gage sat on the sturdy wooden coffee table so he could remain close to Harley. He wanted to be at hand when he came around. The poor man was probably going to take some careful handling after the night he'd endured, and Gage would have to watch his words. He tended to be too blunt, and now was not the time for impatience. He pulled out his phone, but there was still no service. Perhaps Dumas would find a location on the upper floors that might offer a connection.

The small human was quite a surprise even more so than the twisted shifter Dumas had to kill. Oddities were not uncommon in the world of the supernatural but finding ones beloved was always a shock a beautiful and welcome shock but a shock all the same. He'd just been discussing his preferences and then Fate delivered.

Harley was a handsome man probably somewhere between twenty and twenty-five with the blondest of blond hair Gage could ever recall seeing or maybe it was just a beloved thing. Everything about Harley was perfect and brought a sense of love and appreciation out of Gage.

The scent that poured off him was out of this world a combination of floral and citrus that was sharp and invigorating. Gage loved the feelings that rushed him with each breath.

His mind had been focused on getting the man to safety and being alert to the creatures in the woods but still the sensations and emotions that filled him at the touch of his beloved were quite overwhelming. Now standing guard and watching him sleep filled him with the same sense of irresistible appeal.

The emotions he was experiencing were powerful, and he loved every aspect of this new discovery. Gage wanted to know all there was to know about this man named Harley Fraser, but all he was allowed at present was a name.

It wasn't more than a few minutes before Harley started coming around. He groaned a few times and thrashed and then came awake with a violent start. He sat up and started swinging his arms.