4. Zeke

Chapter four

Zeke

Getting rousted from the pool area by a security guard while my dick was still hanging out of my pants hadn't been my finest moment, but discovering a billion texts, photos, and a video from Fabian right afterward had been the real low point. Apparently, I should've looked around and maybe I would've noticed my damn cousin lurking on a balcony overlooking the pool. Fabian was really proud of me for following his orders to loosen up and enjoy myself, but still.

And yeah, okay, I didn't entirely regret seducing Sacha. He was a sweet guy simply trying to understand himself, but that little bit of hungry aggression just beneath the surface when we'd kissed? Lord, that had pushed me to do way more in public than I should have. As it was, the security guard had trained his flashlight on the two of us and had us scrambling to zip our flies. How embarrassing …

I knew I should delete my entire text exchange with Fabian. Shouldn't save the photos or the video. Shouldn't even look at them. I knew, but I was a weak man who'd just rediscovered why sex was amazing.

I'd looked at the photos in the elevator and had watched the video in my room. The camera work wasn't great, but the sound effects were orgasmic. Literally. I could hear myself and Sacha coming. I'd gone and taken another shower, letting the moment play through my mind over and over.

It was morning now, and I wasn't sure how to handle things. Sacha had sprinted away into the night like he didn't want the guard to be able to identify him, so we hadn't exactly exchanged numbers or made plans to see each other again.

Not that I wanted a repeat.

Well, not entirely.

What I really wanted to do was make sure Sacha was alright. He'd said afterward that he was fine and kissed me like he was definitely really fine, but in the bright light of a new day? I knew how that could feel, and if Sacha was freaking out, I wanted to help him through it.

Deep in my heart, I knew I was a caretaker, and I wanted to care for Sacha. There was just…something about him that tugged me in. As a friend. Sex was sex, and didn't have to mean anything more than I wanted it to. That wasn't the start of a relationship. Obviously. Of course not.

Thrusting thoughts like that out of my mind, I got dressed and psyched myself up so I could hold my head high when facing Fabian. And anyone else Fabian had shared with. Ugh, god, this was going to be awkward and embarrassing.

But down in the restaurant, Fabian did nothing but give me a big grin and fluttery finger wave. Matt was blushing, but that was practically his natural state nowadays. No one else did anything telling as they greeted me or directed me to an open chair at one of their tables. Even when I ordered sausage with my breakfast, not a single person had anything to say about it.

Was it possible Fabian hadn't told anyone? I could hardly believe it.

"I've taken three showers since I've been here," Charlie said beside me. "The water pressure is orgasmic. And those shower heads?" He made a decidedly sexual moan.

Across the table, I saw Duncan shift in his seat. Every man at the table was staring at Charlie actually. Lips got licked and cheeks flushed. Charlie was a gorgeous little thing, and now I realized I'd sat down at a table full of tops who were all hoping to snatch a twinky bottom.

"Were you able to do that shopping you wanted to do?" I asked Charlie pointedly.

Charlie cocked his head at me. "Shopping?" he asked before sucking on the straw in his orange juice. A couple of throats got cleared around us.

"For supplies?"

"Oh! Oh, yeah," Charlie said on a chuckle. "Practically bought out the place."

Well, at least he was ready for the salivating wolf pack surrounding him. Did he notice the reaction he was having on the table? When Charlie waggled his auburn eyebrows at me before darting his gaze at a few of our seat mates, I thought maybe Charlie knew exactly what was happening. Was he cultivating the attention? He was a hell of a flirt, if he was.

As we were finishing our meals and sipping our coffees, Fabian stood up and clinked his fork on his water glass to gain everyone's attention.

"It's lovely seeing all your bright-eyed faces here this morning," Fabian said with a smile. "You have until noon to do whatever you'd like. That's when you'll need to meet back here in the lobby so that we can go into the forest for a picnic—" he gave a happy little wiggle "—and then a hiking tour of the area with a local expert who's going to tell us all about the werewolves ."

There were several gasps, though I couldn't tell if they were because of the werewolves or the hiking. Could go either way with this crowd.

And that explained why there was a series of werewolf novels in that magic shop. Some places played up legends of Bigfoot or witches or disappearances, but it seemed that Lupassilva, Colorado, was into crazed killers who followed a lunar calendar. I rolled my eyes and drank the last of my coffee. At least the picnic would be nice.

"Come on," Fabian said, suddenly appearing at my elbow.

"Where are we going?" I got up thinking we might be about to do behind-the-scenes wedding things.

Fabian made me bend my arm so that he could hold onto it before leading the way from the room. "We're going back to The Magic Shop for tarot readings," he said with a bounce in his step.

"Oh. Okay."

Fabian frowned up at me. "It's a wedding gift from the shop owner. I told him I'd recommend him to everyone else if he gave me a good reading. I think he needs the business, so be nice."

I zipped my lips and let myself be led back toward the shop. Fabian was a big proponent of helping small businesses, so going back to aid the shop owner made sense. And he did love his fate and destiny and all that. Requiring that the reading be a good one said how much he understood about tarot, but hopefully, the shop owner wouldn't mind indulging the groom-to-be.

Forgoing our coats, Fabian led me through the lobby and outside. Maybe now would be when he mentioned last night? But he didn't say a thing, seeming to be on a mission to drag me across the street and into The Magic Shop.

This time The Owner was front and center, hands clasped behind his back, and his odd outfit the same as yesterday's. Dude really leaned into his role.

"We're back!" Fabian called with a big smile. "Here for our tarot readings."

The Owner barely smiled at us. "The grooms, I presume?"

"Oh, no, Fabian's one of the grooms. I'm his hostage."

Fabian pinched my arm.

"I mean, cousin."

"Ah," the shop owner said and seemed to perk up a bit. "Excellent then."

"I'm the bride ," Fabian corrected, "and you're the maid of honor. If we're going to be heteronormative, we're going to do it right."

And with that sorted, the shop owner led us over to a sturdy black table that looked like it had been there forever but definitely hadn't been at the head of the main aisle yesterday. That there were only two equally chunky chairs, had me hesitating to take one.

"If you'll explore the shop," The Owner said with a sweeping gesture of his arm, "I'll be able to focus on the…bridegroom." There was a twinkle in the man's sable eyes.

"Oh, sure." I deposited Fabian in one of the chairs before wandering off. Maybe I could get lost again and take too long to be found, meaning I wouldn't have time for my own reading. What a shame …

I quickly found himself back in front of the volumes of Lupescu family history. I selected the first volume and opened it to a random page.

The Lupescu pack was driven from Europe in 1742 by order of Pope Pius VII to combat the overwhelming presence of the devil in Eastern Europe. Seventy pack members lost their lives during their evacuation to the coast. On 17 May, the survivors sailed from Constan?a to America aboard The Bestia de Mare. Due to brutal storms, instead of landing in Boston, The Bestia de Mare landed in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Some sixty pack members decided to remain there, while the other seventeen continued into the wilderness of America to settle in what would become Colorado. They called the place where they made their home Lupassilva, or Wolf's Forest, and successfully integrated with the local Cheyenne people.

I jerked back, frowning. Was this some kind of fictionalized version of Sacha's ancestors? Genealogists and historians were serious about facts and sources and references, but this was talking about pack members being hunted down during a Catholic purge. This book was ridiculous!

Putting it back on the shelf, I turned around and gave an involuntary holler when I found the shop owner standing behind me. "You're next," he said ominously.

With a sigh, I followed him back to the table. Fabian was there with a big grin, so I assumed his reading had gone well.

"Do let him know," Fabian said to the shop owner, "if you see any more gorgeous blonds in his future."

And there it was. I clicked my tongue at my cousin, who just giggled and left the shop.

"Take a seat." The shop owner gestured to the chair nearest me.

Sitting down, I realized I felt a little nervous about this. Maybe I should've asked for good news only, too, but the shop owner was already shuffling the deck, so it might be too late to ask. I shifted in my seat and braced myself for bad news.

The shop owner turned over cards without saying a word, lining them up, stacking them, and it looked to me like he was building something. None of his movements seemed anything but planned, like he knew exactly which card was next and where he would put it. I had done one reading before, at a fair, and the woman doing it had made a production out of placing each card. The shop owner wasn't doing anything like that and, when he'd finished selecting and placing cards, he sat back and stared at me.

Glancing down at the cards, I wasn't sure what to do. Was I supposed to recognize something about them? I knew the Death Card didn't mean death, but that was about it. I couldn't be expected to do my own reading.

"Of course not," the shop owner said.

"Pardon?"

"Your trust has been broken. Betrayal, pain, fear… You're in limbo and desperate for a way out."

"Well, I, um…" I cleared my throat uncomfortably and shifted in my seat. I'd mentioned being done with love yesterday during the whole love potion gift thing, so it was possible—

"Great change is coming for you. The unknown will be revealed to you, and you will play an important role in the future. Be still, accept, and all will become clear."

"Um…"

"You will calm the beast."

"I'll… What?"

"Accept and trust and everything you need will be yours."

I blinked at him. Was that it? That was a riddle not a reading, and I didn't understand a word of it. Not at all wanting to dive deeper, I smiled politely at the man. "Okay. Thanks."

The shop owner suddenly set a clearly labeled tip jar on the table. It was stuffed with twenty-dollar bills. Apparently, only Fabian's reading had been free. Begrudgingly, I fished my last twenty from my wallet and crammed it into the jar. Fabian definitely owed me for this crap.

I pushed my chair back and stood. "Did you at least give Fabian the good news he wanted?"

"I did. He had nothing to worry about."

"Great. So just me getting riddles then?"

"I was as clear as I could be."

"Right."

I didn't bother with anything else, just turned around and walked out. Only when I was outside did I realize something was wrong with my shoe. Balancing on one foot, I lifted the other for a look at the bottom and discovered a tarot card. I pulled it off, brushed it clean, and saw that it was The Moon card. Feeling a little bit bad now, I went back into the shop to return it.

The shop owner, table, chairs, and the rest of the tarot deck were all gone. How the man had moved that much heavy furniture in, like, fifteen seconds was beyond my understanding. And though I did feel bad about somehow getting the card stuck to the bottom of my shoe, I wasn't about to go running around the place trying to find that man.

I went over to the checkout counter and left the card there before walking out again. What a bunch of baloney.