“Logan, are you okay?” Finn’s concerned voice rang in his ears.
“He–he…” Logan stuttered. “He wants to eat him.” He pointed from Trevor to Quinn. “And he has weird teeth.” He turned his attention back to Trevor.
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All heads turned to Quinn when Logan pointed at the man.
Quinn’s eyes went wide, then a mischievous grin lightened the hard edges of his face.
“Oh really?” Quinn asked Trevor.
“What? No. How the hell?” Trevor’s hands were frantic as he tried to explain.
Lawson let out a low whistle. “Looks like someone is hot for the teacher.”
“Fuck off, Lawson.” Trevor snapped at the man.
“How did you know what I said?” Trevor asked him. “I didn’t say anything out loud. It’s impossible for you to know what I was thinking.”
All eyes turned toward him, and Logan took a step back. “I heard what you were thinking,” he whispered. Logan’s gaze flickered from man to man as they gaped at him. Yeah, he was a freak, but so was the little guy wanting to suck on Quinn’s neck.
Shit, then he knows I’m a vampire.
“What?” Logan mumbled. He began to sway on his feet, then someone shut out the lights.
“So you want to bite Quinn?” Lawson asked Trevor as he trailed behind Finn, apologizing for freaking his mate out. “Nice.”
“Shut up, Lawson.” Trevor barked at the man. He was angry that he let the cat out of the bag before Finn had the chance to explain things to Logan. Trevor knew how crazy it was to hear about the paranormal world because it wasn’t too long ago that he was in Logan’s shoes.
“Trevor, it’s okay. You’re probably just attracted to Quinn because you spend so much time together. It’s only natural.” Lawson placed his hand on the back of Trevor’s neck and gave him a gentle
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squeeze. “But, dude, did you really have to go and spill the beans to Logan like that? The poor guy fainted.”
Trevor pushed Lawson’s hand from his neck. “It’s not like I planned it. The man can read minds. How was I supposed to know?”
“You guys, it’s okay, really,” Finn said as he pushed open his bedroom door. “Trevor, I know you didn’t mean to, and I didn’t even know about my mate’s little magical ability, so don’t feel bad.”
Trevor breathed a sigh of relief. Finn didn’t blame him.
“Lawson, when you get a chance will you call your brother? I need to speak to him about his mate’s pack.”
“Sure. I’ll go call him now,” Lawson said as he turned to walk away. Trevor followed. “Oh by the way.” Lawson stopped abruptly causing Trevor to run into his back. “Dude, my brother and Garrett are on the outs right now so I’d refrain from referring to them as mates. Lachlan might get pissed.”
Finn nodded his understanding. Trevor continued to follow Lawson down the stairs. He was lost in his own thoughts and embarrassed by what happened outside. It wasn’t that he didn’t find Quinn attractive, because he did, he just didn’t think of the other man that way.
It was hard for Trevor to explain even to himself. Him liking Quinn came in phases almost. Like some days he found the man irresistible then others he wanted to punch Quinn in the face. It was like his heart and brain were at war with one another.
“Hey, little dude, I’m sorry for teasing you.” Lawson wrapped his arm around Trevor’s neck and rubbed his knuckles against his scalp as they made their way back down the stairs. “You’re just like a brother to me, and it’s funny to watch you get all tongue-tied. But seriously, Quinn’s a good guy and a looker. You should ask him out.”
Trevor playfully shoved Lawson in the arm. “Ask Mr. Uptight out? No thank you. I’d rather go up against an army of Dark Warriors than subject myself to an evening with that guy. We’re like oil and water. We don’t mix.”
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Lawson laughed then headed into the front seating room to call his brother. Trevor was hungry and detoured to head toward the kitchen.
When he rounded the corner, he saw Quinn standing in the hall’s entryway staring at him. If Trevor wasn’t mistaken he saw a flash of hurt shine through the man’s dark eyes.
Before he could say anything, Quinn turned and walked away.
Pain sliced through Trevor’s chest at seeing Quinn turn away from him. It seemed the man was always leaving Trevor. But he couldn’t understand why he cared.
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It would appear his mate had a knack for fainting at the drop of a hat. Finn carefully laid Logan on top of his bed. He finger combed Logan’s hair out of his face. The man’s complexion had paled a bit, but Finn attributed that to the vampire revelation he just got.
“I’m sorry, honey. I wanted to tell you everything before something like this happened,” Finn whispered softly to his mate.
“But it would seem I’m not the only one keeping secrets.”
Finn didn’t want to split hairs of who was hiding more things from the other, but finding out his mate could read people’s minds was a big shock. And he couldn’t help but wonder if Logan had been able to read his thoughts. Because if so he got a lot of X-rated visuals.
Finn couldn’t contain his laughter, and Logan began to stir. He slowly opened his eyes, and Finn smiled down at his sleepy mate.
“You okay, honey?”
A grin tugged at the corners of Logan’s cheeks, then it was as if a wall fell down and any and all joy at seeing Finn vanished. His mate sat up so fast he knocked heads with Finn.
“Ouch,” Logan said as he rubbed his forehead while Finn did the same.
“Are you okay?” Finn asked. “I’ve been told on several occasions I have a very hard head.” He was trying his best to lighten the mood, but it wasn’t helping.
Logan dropped his hand back to his lap and stared helplessly at Finn. “What’s going on, Finn? Part of me is saying I should be running from you and this house, but I can’t bring myself to get up and walk out the door.”
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God, he wished they weren’t having this discussion right now.
“The men living in this house work for the CPB, which stands for the Council of Paranormal Beings. Our division is called the Warriors of the Light. We fight against the evil paranormal beings of the world.
Kind of like police do in the human world.”
A long silence passed before Logan nodded his head and spoke.
“So what you’re telling me is that you fight against made-up creatures you see on TV shows?” Logan spoke slowly as if he was dealing with a crazy person. He also scooted farther away from Finn.
“It’s true. Trevor is a vampire and so is Quinn. Lawson, he’s a shifter. A lion to be exact. Plus there’s more paranormal beings residing in this house you’ve yet to meet.” Finn inhaled deeply, preparing for more disbelief to come from his mate.
“I know how this must sound to you, but it’s the truth. What do I stand to gain by lying to you?” Finn didn’t wait for Logan to respond.
“At one point or another, the men in this house, and for that matter, all vampires and shifters alike, were touched by magic.” He held up a hand when Logan opened his mouth to speak.
“Let me finish.” He waited for Logan to nod his understanding.
“Magic is as old as time, and there are some beings that use that magic for evil, and witches prefer the bad over the good. They’re a bunch of cruel, self-righteous assholes who take pleasure in others’
pain. And I can’t speak for everyone, since they all have their own story to tell, but for me I was turned by a witch who caught me kissing her son. Said I was poisoning him with my unnatural ways.
When her son ran away from home, she blamed me. Said I was no better than a snake on the ground needing to be skinned. Next thing I know I’m slithering on the ground trying to get away from her.”
The memories of that day still caused him to have nightmares. His only saving grace was that he was turned into a rattlesnake whose venom was lethal to other paranormals. When the woman went to stab him with a pitchfork, he struck, biting her on the ankle. She died
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within seconds, and with her his only chance of trying to figure out what he had become.
“So you think you’re a snake?” Logan’s voice came out shaky.
“I don’t think, I know. I’m a rattlesnake shifter. That means I can become my second nature, which is a rattlesnake.”
“Oh.” Logan’s eyes rounded to the size of saucers. Then out of the blue his mate started to laugh uncontrollably. “Right. You almost had me. Vampire? Shifters? Rattlesnakes? Witches?” Logan said between gulps of breath. “Did I fall down the motherfucking rabbit hole, or am I dreaming? Because no way is this true.”
Finn very slowly stood from the bed. Denial was a common reaction for a human to have when they found out their lover was not cut from the same cloth. He would just have to prove to Logan he was what he said. If not, his mate would just think he was insane.
Finn tugged his shirt up over his head and let it fall to the floor then he concentrated on shifting into his half-rattlesnake, half-human form. The sight of him like this could be scary to some people, especially his mate. He’d still have his arms and legs. The only difference was his skin would be covered in light-brown scales and his nose would elongate, giving the appearance of a rattlesnake’s head.
Unlike his paranormal counterpart the rattlesnake, Finn could see perfectly out of his eyes. He didn’t have to go by smell, body heat, or motion to see objects in front of him. His heightened senses did help him, but he didn’t have to rely on those alone. His forked tongue was like that of a rattler, long and split at the tip. He could flick it out and taste scents in the air.
A shimmering flickered across Finn’s skin, and he could feel himself changing. His glowing, tan skin bled into different shades of brown. Scales linked together, spreading over his body. As his nose grew, his hair receded until only a smooth head remained. He blinked his eyes, and his tongue came out to taste the air between him and his mate.
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He heard Logan’s quick inhale of air as he stared at Finn. Shock had his mate gaping at him like a person would do at an exhibit in the zoo.
“You weren’t lying,” Logan whispered.
Finn stepped closer to the bed and took a seat at Logan’s side.
“No, I wasn’t.” His voice had a slight hiss to it when he spoke.
Logan stared in awe at what he had become. But Finn felt safe saying his mate wasn’t afraid. Quite the opposite. Logan appeared to be intrigued by what Finn had become.
“I can’t believe what I’m seeing.” Logan hesitantly moved his hand forward and brought it up to stroke Finn’s cheek. “I should be frightened, but something in me is saying not to fear you”—Logan waved his hand around in front of him—“or any of this.”
Finn rubbed his nose into the palm of Logan’s hand. When he was in snake form like this, his skin became extremely sensitive. “It’s because we’re mates.” His tongue darted out to lick across the inside of Logan’s hand. Logan giggled from where Finn touched him.
“Mates?” Logan tilted his head to the side, his eyes burrowing into his. “What exactly does that mean?”
Shifting back into his human self, Finn proceeded to explain to Logan what being mated meant. To be soul mates bound together forever until death separated them. A powerful connection not meant to be taken lightly or to ever be broken, unconditional love with your best friend to last an eternity.
“Oh.” Logan’s mouth rounded as he said the word. Finn watched as emotions played across his mate’s face before he spoke again.
“That actually sounds really nice and sweet. But on the other hand, too good to be true. How can we be certain we won’t fall out of love?”
At the skepticism his mate spoke, Finn flinched as if he had been hit. But a part of him understood his mate’s misgivings. Logan had lost his family at an early age, and the only constant in his life had
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been his best friend, Leo. Finn couldn’t fault his mate for feeling wary about the situation thrown at him.
“I guess nothing is ever guaranteed in life, especially since you’re mated to a warrior and I put myself at risk with every mission I take.”
He tried to soothe his mate’s doubts by hiding behind a smile. “But I know people who have been together for hundreds of years, and they’re just as in love as the day they met.”
“I understand that, but how can you be for sure it will be the same for us?” Tears pooled in Logan’s eyes, and Finn wanted to hug him close and take away the doubts plaguing him.
Running his hand through his mate’s hair, Finn leaned forward to kiss Logan’s forehead. He breathed deep, taking in Logan’s spicy scent. Feeling the slight shudder run through Logan’s body as he started to hiccup from the tears that began to fall, Finn had no choice.
He had to ease that pain the only way he knew how.
“Because I love you, Logan.” Finn gently turned Logan’s face up to his. “Call me crazy, insane, completely off my rocker. But I want you to know how I feel. I’m over a hundred years old, and I’ve never been in love like I am with you. You’re like the air I breathe. Without you in my life, I couldn’t exist.”