Page 6

F ollowing the same routine as earlier in the week, I park my car at the end of the hiking trail and put my clothes into a bag I can easily carry between my teeth when I shift. I don’t always bring a change of clothes with me, but it feels a bit odd to be breaking into Blue’s cabin and looking for some sort of secret vault while being buck naked. If I was naked with Blue, the last thing I wanted to be was working.

The more time I spend with him, the more something just doesn’t add up. I’ve been putting off that phone call to Abiel because, in all honesty, I don’t want to tell him where Blue is.

He seems genuinely happy with the life he’s built himself here, and it’s not like he’s going around flashing his money, so whatever he stole it doesn’t seem like he’s cashed it in. I don’t know what to think. He’s still an enigma right now. A puzzle I’m itching to solve.

When I reach Blue’s cabin, I watch for a while hidden in the undergrowth just to make sure that he really has gone. I learned this week that he’s going out of town to meet with some friends for dinner a few hours away, so I should be safe, but you never know.

Forcing another shift that makes my muscles ache, I pull my clothes on and grab the multi tool from my bag before using it to pick the lock.

Letting myself inside, I hesitate for a moment in the doorway as I hear something move in the darkness. When something warm and furry brushes against my leg, I freeze, glancing down I exhale when I realize it’s only a cat. A fucking huge cat.

I’ve been on riskier missions in my time, but for some reason, this is making all my senses go wild. My heartbeat is so loud I swear it’s all I can hear.

Shutting the door, I make sure the curtains are closed before I turn on one of the lamps. I don’t want to light the place up like a damn beacon on the edge of a lake, but a soft lamp will probably be written off as something that Blue forgot to turn off before he left.

Thanks to my recon earlier in the week, I’d already had a glimpse of the cabin, so I already knew the inside was cozy, but it was another thing seeing it lit up.

The gentle glow from the lamp creates an intimate feel, the soft furnishings and comfortable looking couch making this cabin seem even more like a home. A place someone enjoyed coming after a long day at work, where they might kick off their shoes and sit out on the porch as the sun went down before cuddling up on the couch to read their favorite book.

Briefly, I wonder if Blue had this back at The Warren. I hadn’t seen much, if anything, on my visit, but the people I did see were all dressed very similarly. I can’t imagine there’s much room for individuality, or expressing yourself in an environment like that.

Something uncomfortable tingles at the back of my neck, and for the first time since I started this job, I wish I wasn’t a private investigator. I would give anything in this moment to just be Madoc Stirling, for the relationships I was building in this town to be real, to meet Blue as a genuine version of myself. Spying like this feels all wrong, my stomach twisting as I flip through some paperwork left on a nearby counter. The invasion of his privacy is making me feel nauseous, but I needed to give Abiel something. Anything.

Heading over to the bookcase lining one of the lounge area walls, I try to see if I can find anything out of place. I even pull out a couple of the older looking books to check if there’s a hidden panel or some secret area behind, but nothing.

Next, I check the rest of the living room, pulling back the rug to inspect for loose floorboards. Carefully, I slide out the sofa, but that turns up nothing either. I make sure everything is returned to its original position. I even examined the kitchen to see if any of the cupboards or units have false backs. If there is a vault hidden here, I’m not sure where.

The sharp sweet smell is stronger inside the cabin, and I can finally pick up the hints of his scent. Fresh snow, and green crisp apples tinged with bitterness, but in the best way. Sour and sweet. I should have suspected that’s what he’d smell like, given his sassy attitude and flirty nature.

When I open the bedroom door, the scent is stronger, with an underlying sweetness that is almost sticky like honey, and I inhale it like a greedy bear. Is he an omega? That would explain the graceful way he moves and his more slender frame.

Mine , the alpha part of my brain snarls as I move beside the bed and get down on my hands and knees to check underneath. The smell of him is stronger here, saturated into the fabric. Mine. Mine. Mine. I want to bury my face in the sheets, but I know that’s a line I can’t cross. Don’t be a weirdo Madoc , I tell myself sternly as I catch myself fisting the sheets.

My cock is hard, just the smell of him driving me crazy. The animal part of my brain fights to take control as I palm against my erection through my sweatpants, the pressure bringing me no relief.

I can’t focus like this.

All I can think about is his smaller, lithe body twisted in these sheets.

Smooth pale skin bathed in moonlight, cock hard and leaking, like mine is now just picturing it. Dark eyes staring up at me, with the corner of his mouth lifts into a coy smile that I’ve come to recognize well.

Fuck.

My hand tightens on the sheet, but it isn’t enough and I find myself grabbing his pillow and burying my face in it.

Fresh snowfall. Winter air. The ground crunching beneath your shoes while the sun warms your face. My hand is inside my trousers without further hesitation. I’d not bothered with boxers, since I had to carry everything with me in my fox form. My cock is almost painfully hard now as I wrap my hand around it and give myself a slow tug. I was going to hell for this.

Mine. Mate. Mine. Mark it. Mine.

My alpha nature demanded I take. Consume. Claim. Mark.

My instincts were running wild, feral with need, as I inhaled more of my mate’s scent. Mine. Mine. My shaft is slick with my traitorous desire, and the sounds are downright sinful as I jack myself. Faster. Faster. Fuck. He was going to ruin me and he wasn’t even here to see it.

Oh, but if he was. If those beautiful dark eyes were looking up at me...I’d go crazy. If he’d let me touch him, taste him, push inside his ass...The thought alone of being buried inside his tight heat is enough to send me over the edge.

My balls tighten, my knot threatening to expand as my release barrels into me, sucking all the air out of my lungs with it. Hot cum splashes over the pillow, thick creamy jets and bursts of pheromones begin to trickle into the room, wrapping around everything, lacing it with my desire. I was so fucked.

What the fuck was wrong with me? How could I do this? Almost 10 years working for Interpol and 3 as a private investigator and I’d never messed up this badly before. I stare down at the streaks of cum across the pillow. What on earth was I supposed to do now? The urge to leave it, let him know that I was here, and that I was claiming him is strong, and that’s how I know I need to move. Need to clean this up. The longer I left it, the more my beast demanded I do it again.

Stripping the pillowcase, I shove it into the bag I brought with me for my clothes. I wish I could say with certainty that I wouldn’t use it again to jerk off later, but I’d be lying. Opening the window, guilt beginning to pour in, I pray the room airs out before Blue arrives home.

When I finally get over my appalling behavior, I force myself to return to the task at hand. The shame I’m feeling right now isn’t going to help me close this case any faster, but it was making me realize just how much I was in deep trouble.

There’s nothing under the bed or in the wardrobe and when I pull the dresser out, I don’t find anything suspicious there either, even if it is a fucker to slide the heavy antique furniture back into place.

There’s something off about the cabin, but it’s not a secret vault. It’s that despite how cozy and homely the space is—there’s nothing personal here. There are no photos of family or friends, no artworks or prints. The most personal belongings are his clothes and his books, if they even are his and not just remnants from when Shepard’s family used to live in the cabin.

Why is there nothing that could be a clue into who Blue really is?

The bathroom turns up nothing either, and while I contemplate the attic hatch, when I put my head up through there, I see that it’s only a small crawl space with some boxes stored. The vault must be elsewhere.

My phone rings, the loud noise filling the small cabin. When I see the number, I press the button and ignore it with an eye roll. I swear it’s like he knows what I’ve been doing and the guilt unfurling low in my gut suddenly feels heavier.

But it rings again.

And again.

Unrelenting, like the man himself.

Taking a seat on the end of Blue’s bed, avoiding glancing at his clean pillow, I finally clicked the answer button.

“Mr. Stirling, I’m beginning to think that you’re avoiding me. It’s been two days since you last replied to my messages.” Abiel’s smooth voice comes down the line, making my skin crawl.

It’s clear he was used to being in charge, the authority he tries to use on me doing nothing more than rankling my alpha side. Foxes were curious, mischievous creatures. We didn’t like being kept on leashes, we weren’t dogs.

“Not at all, High Leap Abiel.” I keep my tone flat, emotionless. I’m not ready to share my findings or my suspicions, and I don’t appreciate being treated like an underling.

“In your last email, you suggested that you might have something and since then you have declined each of my calls.” The accusations are heavy in his words. He knows I’m hiding something, and he’s not afraid to call out my bullshit.

The sanctimonious tone makes the hair on the back of my neck rise, and fighting back a snarl, I scrub my face and exhale slowly.

“I’ve merely been following up on a lead.” Goddess, every time I spoke to the man, I wanted to throttle him a little more. “I’ve been a little preoccupied doing the job you’re paying me for.”

Abiel chuckles, “So, you do remember that we’re paying you for information.”

Remember? It was the only thing keeping me from telling Blue everything. I had to keep reminding myself that my mother needed me—my family—needed me to do this. Without my income, everyone else would be desperately scrabbling to make sure our mom was cared for and their families were still supported. Otherwise, I’d be on my knees on the cabin floor begging for forgiveness the second Blue came home.

“Is there something I can help you with, High Leap?”

“Your lead, was it him?” The disgust dripping from the word ‘him’ almost makes me wince. I hadn’t picked up on anything besides fatherly concern when I met Abiel in person, but this aggressive desperation had a sour taste that was starting to become more obvious. Why did he disdain Blue so much? He swung between referring to him as a wayward child, and some sort of nefarious young man led astray.

“I’m not sure yet,” I lied. Blue is the missing person they’re looking for; there’s no doubt about that, but I also know he’s not going to return unless he’s dragged kicking and screaming back to The Warren. I won’t let that happen.

The best-case scenario is that I can locate the stolen artefact or artefacts, whatever they might be, and can convince Blue to mail them or hand them to me and I can give them back on his behalf.

The Husk will never stop chasing him, not if they think he has something that belongs to them. Every interaction I’ve ever had with them told me that they were secretive species who hate outside intervention, so if they’ve contacted me, that means they are desperate. And desperate people do crazy things. I’ve seen it over and over again in my line of work, both at Interpol and as a PI.

I’m so consumed with my phone call, trying to buy myself extra time and swallow down the growing anger I feel towards Abiel, I almost miss the sound of a truck rumbling up the dirt track.

Fuck! Blue was back. I thought I’d have until tomorrow morning at least. What had happened? Cursing my own stupidity for waiting until it was late to explore the cabin, I tried to end the conversation with Abiel. “As soon as I have a confirmed update, I’ll call you Abiel.”

“Madoc, you better answer the next time I call.” He clicks his tongue disapprovingly, and I try not to picture myself pulling it out of his head. “The first time.”

“Yes.” I hiss through my gritted teeth.

There’s a moment of silence, as if he can sense my reluctance down the line. “I mean it. I am a patient man, but even I have my limits.”

“Of course.”

Dashing back through the cabin, I ignore the cat's whines and pleas for more food as I let myself back out of the front door and start walking towards the trees. At least this way, if he spots me, I might be able to claim that I was taking a late-night walk around the lake and stumbled upon the cabin, unsure who owned it. Ignorance was bliss when you were new to town.

I mean, yes, I knew Shepard owned a cabin out here but there were several cabins along the lake and on the mountain, so how was I supposed to know that this one was Blue’s?

My heart hammers away in my chest, like a hummingbird high on the anticipation as the sound of a truck gets closer.

Part of me hopes he’ll see me. There was no denying it any longer. I wanted him.

I’d enjoyed talking with him, flirting with him. Being around him was easy and felt natural to me. There was something about Blue that was open. Something that meant I couldn’t get him out of my head.

I’d started thinking about him all the time, and not just because of this job. Mine. My alpha side was possessive of him, trying to lay claim when we had no right.

I was on the road to obsession, and the worst thing was, I knew it. Every part of my sanity was telling me to get out of there, hand everything over to Abiel, and just go home to my mother. But I couldn’t make my feet move. I couldn’t leave here. Leave him. Not until I knew he was safe.

Lingering, I move slowly. A car door slams shut.

Footsteps. They falter.

“Jonah?” Turning, I see his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “What are you—stay back.”

He lifts a hand, the other one clenching his stomach. His already pale skin is even paler and covered in a soft sheen of sweat.

“Blue? Are you okay? What’s the matter?” I dash forward, but he stumbles onto the porch steps, his hand still outstretched as he wards me away. “Are you hurt?”

“No...just, just stay there.” His words are shaky as he squeezes his eyes shut and takes a long, shuddering breath. “I’m going into heat.”

You wouldn’t have known that I’d already emptied my balls once this evening the way my cock instantly fills, pressing against my already damp sweatpants. Mine. Breed. Mate.

Taking a tentative step forward with my hands out, I’m hit with that crisp apple scent I’d come to recognize as his, but it’s stronger, almost overpowering as the sweet notes seep into my skin. “You smell so good.”

“You shouldn’t be here.” He moans softly as I approach, pushing to his feet and stepping back again so that he’s almost at the front door. “Stay back.”

“Let me help you. Let me take care of you.” I mean, every word. I wanted to ease his discomfort and his pain, to see him through this rough patch of his heat season.

That line I didn’t want to cross earlier, I’m ready to jump over it to pretend like it never existed if I get to touch him, hold him, love him even if only for a few days. That’s how deep my obsession with Blue ran. I was infatuated. It was like my brain was caught up in this manic fixation, and the only thing that would alleviate it was the thing that caused it.

I step forward again until I’ve joined him on the porch. His skin glistens with sweat. How long has he been suffering?

Unsure what specific breed of shifter he was, I knew he was Leporidae and in my time working as an Intelligence Officer, I’d picked up a thing or two. So, I knew that unlike most species, they didn’t have a typical heat. Instead, they had a mating season, punctuated with ‘mini heats’. Most omegas usually managed this through the use of suppressants, but for whatever reason, Blue was struggling. I couldn't just abandon him like this.

“If you really want me to leave, I will.” I reach out slowly and cup his face gently. Alpha pheromones can bring relief to a distressed omega in heat. Very carefully, I start releasing mine, letting them wash over him in soft waves. “But if you want to explore whatever this is between us, I can help you through this.”

“Are you always a fucking good guy?” He asks with a huff as he nuzzles into my hand, absorbing my pheromones as much as he can through the skin-to-skin contact.

Brushing my thumbs possessively over the scent glands on his neck, leaving my mark on him and wishing it were like indelible ink, I huff a bitter laugh. Using your pillow to jerk off and then covering it in cum like some savage creature doesn’t qualify me as a good guy , I think to myself. “I wish, if I told you all the awful things I’ve done then you would definitely be kicking me off your porch.”

“Shut up” he growls, clearly lost to the heat haze as sanity fades into instinct and he grabs my shirt in his fists. “You’re perfect.”

Yanking me towards him, our lips crash together in a kiss that sets my entire body ablaze. Mine. Mine. Mine.

It was inevitable.

It was predestined.

There was no more denying what I felt for him than there was convincing me that the earth was flat. He was mine. He was always supposed to be mine from the first second I saw that picture of him back at The Warren. I should have known that our red string of fate may have a few knots, but I was bound to him whether I wanted to be or not.

“Jonah,” he whimpers and I wish it was my name on his lips.