CHAPTER TWO-KIT

"WHAT?" THAT phrase of beating your head against a brick wall? Yeah, that one. Suddenly, Kit understood what that meant. All he needed was the brick wall. "I don't—"

"Shhh. Look." Gaura waved at the woods. "Listen and learn the truth you seek."

"Could you be any more cryptic?" Kit snarled under his breath.

Gaura raised one scaly eyebrow, and Kit cringed. Once again, he reminded himself that it was not in his best interest to piss off the scary inhuman deity.

"Sorry," Kit muttered softly.

Then his attention was snagged by the obvious noise of something running through the wooded area. Kit's eyes bulged as a decent-sized wild animal burst through the thicket. It looked to be some sort of feline—which meant it had sharp claws and teeth.

"Um…" Kit took a step closer to Gaura.

"You're safe."

"You sure about that?"

"Of course. We traveled back in time."

Horrified, Kit's gaze flew to Gaura. "What?"

"This is the past, Kit." Gaura waved at the felines. "Several centuries ago, in fact."

Centuries? Centuries? "What?"

"We cannot be seen or heard. We can only observe what's about to happen."

"Are you sure about that?" If anybody was going to be eaten, it most likely was not going to be the fire dragon deity. As far as the time jumping went, for the sake of his sanity, he was ignoring that little gem.

Gaura glanced at Kit. "Dear, you are much too important to Hudson and Connie. I would never jeopardize your safety. Your story has just begun."

Kit's head was going to explode, just explode all over this damn deity, and it served them right. "Say what now?" He was important to Connie and Hudson? And what was up with that "story just begun" comment? What exactly did that mean, and why did it feel like Gaura was leaving a lot unsaid?

"Shhh. Watch."

Aggravated, Kit's gaze returned to the feline—and how the hell had he forgotten about that?—who was still running toward them. It was unnerving having a wild animal making a beeline straight for them. "Ah, what kind of cat is that?"

"Lynx. Eurasian lynx, actually."

"Okay, I know what a lynx is, but I've never heard of a Eurasian—whoa!"

Another lynx, this one much bigger, came barreling out of the bush and launched itself at the other feline, landing on its back. They went down in a tangle of angry hisses and claws. Kit expected the two cats to fight, but the bigger one pinned the smaller one, then snarled at it.

Then they shifted.

"Shit. They're shifters." Both men were nude after shifting, but nudity didn't bother Kit.

They looked to be around his age and in good physical shape. He and Gaura were far enough away he couldn't make out their features, but they definitely had the typical Mediterranean skin tones and long dark hair. The bigger man still had the smaller one trapped under him.

"You do not run from me!"

"Get off me. Now."

Kit stiffened.

"You also do not tell me what to do. I am an Alpha. You are just an Omega. I am the one who will assume leadership of our people when Alcaeus steps down."

"Who is Alcaeus?" Kit asked.

"The current Alpha of their group. I'm not sure what felines call their groups," Gaura said.

"May the gods help us when that happens," the smaller one snapped.

Kit jerked in shock when the bigger man slapped the other one. "Dammit. That asshole just hit that guy, and we're going to do nothing?"

"This has already happened, remember, Kit?"

Kit gritted his teeth. He had forgotten, but that didn't make it any easier to watch. Plus, there was something about that bigger guy that made Kit's hair stand on end.

"Do not disrespect your Alpha that way."

"You're not my Alpha. You will never be my Alpha."

"Not only will I be your Alpha, you will also warm my furs. You are mine. You will always be mine."

"But you will never be mine! You say I am yours, and you use my body, but you will mate a female. She will be your mate. I am nothing more than your whore."

"I have no choice, and you know it. I have to mate with a female because I must have heirs. You cannot give me that."

"Then mate her and leave me be."

"I will not. I cannot. You are the one I want. She is nothing more than a necessity. A chore that must be done. I will not let you go."

"And I will not be second best."

The bigger man slapped the smaller man again. "You will be what I say you will be. You will stay by my side and will warm my furs, even if I must chain you there. And I will. Once I am Alpha, no one will gainsay me."

"Those furs are going to get rather crowded, don't you think?"

"That tongue of yours cuts like a knife. You are fortunate I enjoy what you can do with it, otherwise I would be tempted to remove it. Still, there are other ways to punish you for your disrespect, aren't there?"

Kit gulped. That bigger man was nothing more than an asshole, an asshole with power. Or he would soon have power. The smaller man stilled at the threat, and Kit didn't blame him. There was just something about that bigger guy that made Kit's stomach roll threateningly. And why did his voice sound so familiar? Why did both of their voices sound familiar?

"No. I'm sorry. Please, please don't."

"Then you know what to do to make me happy."

Whatever bravery the smaller guy had drained out of him quickly, and he opened his mouth. Kit looked away. He wanted to scream, wanted to pick up a branch and knock the other guy in the head with it… just do something to end this.

He enjoyed choking on a cock as much as the next guy, but this was something else entirely. This was forced, and that was not okay.

"Why are you making me watch this?" Kit demanded. "I don't understand."

"You will," Gaura answered.

The fire ring engulfed them again, and when it disappeared, they were watching what appeared to be some sort of ceremony in a village. At least Kit hadn't screamed this time.

"We've jumped ahead by a few months," Gaura said.

There were a lot of people standing behind a couple. In front of the couple was another man. It reminded Kit of a marriage ceremony. He and Gaura were still far enough away he couldn't see any facial features, but there was no mistaking what was going on.

The smaller guy was there also, off to the side. His face was blank.

"So, the asshole became the Alpha and married the girl, huh? Poor smaller dude."

"Mated her, yes. And yes, he did."

Kit watched as the ceremony ended, and the asshole—what Kit had started calling the bigger guy—dragged the girl into a nearby shack. It wasn't long before there was a sharp scream from inside.

Kit's stomach dropped.

The smaller guy stumbled off into the woods.

Suddenly, the scene they were watching sped up. It was like someone hit the fast-forward button and scenes flew past. He saw the girl flash by with a black eye.

He watched the smaller guy being dragged into a mound of literal furs, fighting for all he was worth. That scene hurried on by too, thank fuck. As they stood there in that primitive village, the days and nights marched by.

Leaves fell from trees. What grass there was died and turned brown. The people of that village looked… worn. Haggard. The seasons cycled through, and Kit could tell time had passed, although he did not know how much had passed.

"Gaura?"

"Almost there, dear."

Time slowed down and returned to normal speed finally, which Kit was grateful for. The movement was making him nauseous. It was night, and it felt like it was late. The village looked to be asleep.

As he watched, the smaller man stepped from the shack. Even from where Kit stood, there was no mistaking the desolate air around the man.

On silent feet, he walked from the village. Then he shifted into a lynx… and ran.

"What's going on?" Kit asked, although he had a pretty good idea of what just transpired.

"Wait."

Time sped up again. Night ended, and the sun rose. The village woke and people started moving around. The day moved on, and Kit watched as people went about their business.

He didn't see the smaller guy at all.

By that night, the asshole had also noticed the smaller guy was missing. The rampage he went on was terrifying. Nothing and no one was spared as he searched frantically for his missing lover. Although Kit wasn't sure lover was the right term for the smaller guy, not after what he'd seen.

"Dude ran. Good for him."

"Remember your feelings on that subject, Kit."

Unease crept up Kit's spine. His attention was drawn back to the asshole, who was still systematically destroying everything he laid hands on.

The idiot was literally tearing his village apart. He questioned people, and when he didn't like the answers he received, he resorted to violence.

"He's insane," Kit whispered as he watched.

"More like obsessed."

Another man hurried by, head bowed, and the asshole focused on him. With a few steps, he had his hand around the poor man's neck. "Where is he? Where is Michail?"

Kit's breath caught. Michail? The smaller guy was named Michail? Surely that was nothing more than a happy accident.

"Mother of all, I don't know, Alpha! I promise!"

Kit stopped breathing. He'd heard only one other person use that phrase. Ever. From the corner of Kit's eye, he saw somebody moving quickly toward the two men. Turning his head, Kit gasped. "No. No! It can't be!"

Fear froze Kit to the spot. His heart pounded, and pain exploded in his head. No way. Not fucking again. That son of a bitch was dead, dammit. That simply couldn't be Nox. But it was, only it wasn't the Nox Kit remembered. Nox looked younger and was dressed as primitively as the rest of the villagers.

"Brother! He has run."

Kit swallowed compulsively as the man he had been calling asshole released the villager he'd been choking and moved closer to where Kit and Gaura stood. For the first time, Kit got a good look at the other man's face. "No. No. That… that can't be him."

It was Lennox.

Kit swayed on his feet.

Gaura quickly wrapped their arms around Kit's waist. "You are safe. This is the past, remember? We're not actually here, and he cannot see you."

"Why? Why are you showing me this? Do you not know what they both have done to me?"

"You wanted answers. I'm giving you answers. Answers you need to protect yourself."

Lennox threw his head back and roared.

Kit slapped his hands over his ears. The unhinged anger in that sound chilled him to the very core.

"Take my hand, dear."

Gladly, Kit did as he was told. He wanted this to be over, dammit. Then he and Gaura were skimming along the ground. It was as if they were flying. That was unnerving, to say the least.

They passed through the trees and rocks effortlessly, which nearly gave Kit a heart attack the first time that happened. A little fucking warning would've been nice.

Off in the distance was an animal. It didn't take long to figure out they were trailing it. As they drew closer, he realized it was a lynx. He figured it was that smaller shifter guy. Why else would they be trailing it?

The shifter was moving at a fast trot toward the setting sun.

As they watched, the lynx came to a fast-moving creek. The feline drank thirstily, then collapsed on the bank. After a brief rest, the shifter prowled around the nearby area until he caught some animal. After he finished dinner, the lynx returned to the creek.

The moon had come out from behind the clouds. The shifter stood in a beam of weak light that filtered through the trees. As Kit watched, the shifter changed into his human form.

The blood on the shifter's mouth and chest wasn't what made Kit cry out. It wasn't the blood on his hands and arms, either. It was the fact that Kit's papa, Michail, was the lynx shifter who stood in the moonlight, covered in blood.

"Lennox claimed your father all those years ago. Your father rejected that claim and ran. Lennox never forgot. He knows, Kit. He knows who Michail is to you, and who Michail is to your mother and your biological father. This is the reason Lennox is targeting you," Gaura said. "Forcing a mating bite on you would destroy Michail. And your actual mates, Hudson and Connie."

KIT JERKED up in bed, chest heaving, strangling on a sob. Saliva flooded his mouth. Knowing what that meant, Kit kicked the sheet off and hit the floor running. He barely got his head over the commode before everything in his stomach came up.

Once he was done, Kit flushed the toilet. He hated vomiting. Simply hated it. Turning on the bathroom light, he grabbed a washcloth, wetted it, and wiped his face. Then he brushed his teeth, because yuck.

He stared into the mirror, wincing at how pale and sweaty he was, plus his hair was all over the place. He looked like death warmed over, and he felt like it too.

"Okay. That was nothing more than a dream. Just a dream. No damn dragon deity hijacked my body and took me to another realm." He shuddered. "And fucking went back in time too. Nope."

He rinsed the washcloth with more cool water and wiped his face again.

"My father isn't a shifter. So what if Papa's name is Michail. So what if he's from Greece. It was a dream. Nothing more. Just a fucking nightmare. My papa was not, was not…" Kit's stomach lurched.

Kit couldn't even go there. His papa was the sweetest, gentlest man ever. There wasn't a mean bone in his body. He wasn't abused. He just wasn't.

"Just a fucking dream," Kit snapped at his reflection once more. He was flat-out refusing to even think about Hudson and Connie being his mates.

He was not going there, because he knew what that word meant in the paranormal world. He was not someone's mate. Or two someones, in his case. Hudson and Connie wouldn't have hidden something like that from him. Would they?

One freak out at a time, thank you.

Speaking of one freak out at a time, surely his parents hadn't hidden that one of his dads was a shifter. Surely not. Surely none of them would have been so stupid as to do something like that.

Kit dropped the washcloth in the sink, turned out the bathroom light, and walked back into his bedroom.

On the floor of his bedroom lay Kit's answer… in the form of the red suit he'd been wearing. "Son of a bitch. It was real. All of it was fucking real." The truth hit him like a ton of bricks. "They did hide it."

If asked, he couldn't say if he was speaking about his parents… or Hudson and Connie.