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"Uh...." Jack closed his mouth and shook his head. "All right. I'm confused."

"What I do with feelings he can do with thoughts," Marius explained.

He could tell the moment Jack figured out what he was saying because color slowly started to fade from his cheeks. "Oh."

"I can make you have happy thoughts," Jeremy offered, sounding completely serious. "I can make you fall in love."

"You can make people think they're in love. It's not the same thing," Marius quickly corrected him. "And you can do a whole lot more than that."

Jeremy lifted his brow, and he looked like he was about to say something more, but Marius tried to ignore him, choosing to focus on Jack instead. He was pale as he looked between them.

"Not my fault your boyfriend in college went crazy," Jeremy grumbled.

Marius pursed his lips. "He thought he was schizophrenic. He tried to kill himself. His family committed him for years."

Jeremy had the good sense to hang his head for a moment. But his brief moment of humility and shame didn't last. "So? He didn't deserve you anyway. And all I wanted to do was ease Jack's mind."

"Artificially doesn't count," Marius griped.

"Like you haven't done it to him too, Marius. Don't lie to me. I know you better than that."

Marius flushed and looked away from his brother. He wouldn't let the man's words affect him. Ignoring him was a much better option for them both.

Jack pursed his lips and leaned forward. "What were you telling me, Marius?" he asked.

Frowning, Marius looked up at him. "Do you really want to know?" Jack nodded, and Marius only hoped telling him was the right thing to do. "I asked Jeremy here to get rid of the men that attacked you. I didn't tell him anything, though. Nothing at all," he quickly added.

Jack's mouth fell open. "Get rid of them? As in...?"

Jeremy scooted closer to them. "Right now my plan is to put certain negative thoughts in their heads. It's not as hard to do as it sounds."

Jack didn't look convinced. "And then what? They'll leave me alone?"

Marius closed his eyes and held his breath, waiting for Jack's reaction when he heard the rest of it.

"Of course they will," Jeremy said, his voice saccharine-sweet. "Because they'll be dead."

Jack's sharp intake of breath made Marius flinch, but he forced himself to open his eyes. What could Jack be thinking as he looked between them? One brother who could screw with how people felt and another who could kill by placing thoughts in their minds.

"Jack.... It's not...." His voice trailed off. He couldn't give the man any kind of a.s.surances or plat.i.tudes. The best he could do was simply shrug and hope Jack would let him explain before storming out of his life. Then again, what was there really to explain?

"How will you find them?" Jack asked Jeremy. Marius was instantly surprised. His voice was faint, but it was calm, and though his hands trembled he didn't move from his spot on the bed. Taking a chance, Marius reached for him and nearly sighed aloud when Jack allowed him to hold his hand.

"It's not hard. I've already been to your apartment. I know their smell. I can track them through that." Jeremy looked sure of himself and pretty proud. As well he should. Marius knew his brother was a great tracker and plenty of people could benefit from his skill. If he actually applied himself and came out as a werewolf he could do a lot of good and be a real a.s.set to search and rescue units all over the world like many others of their kind had done recently. Just last year a group of werewolves was credited with bringing down an entire human trafficking ring in Central America.

Jack dropped his head, and his hand tightened in Marius's. "You were in my apartment? So you saw-"

"Yes." Jeremy shot Marius a look and nodded. Marius didn't know what the look meant, only that he had a flare of unneeded jealousy that Jeremy knew something about Jack that he didn't. He hoped he'd know in time, but with the very real possibility that Jack would never want to see him again after this, he somehow doubted it. And it was that fear more than anything that made him want to tackle Jack to the bed and hold him tightly as he tried to explain everything so that it would somehow make sense to a human. This is who they were, what they did. Marius wanted Jack protected, and so he'd gone to his brother for help. He may not like Jeremy sometimes but they both knew the value of each other and had used the other more than once for selfish means. This was one time he wasn't being selfish, though. He wanted this done for Jack, no one else. He wanted the fear and dread erased from Jack's dark eyes and knew that Jeremy could help that along dramatically.

Jack took a deep, audible breath and slowly nodded. "How will I know when you're done?" he asked.

Jeremy grinned at him. "Oh, you'll know. It'll be on the news. I guarantee that. I don't like leaving doubt with anyone."

Marius turned to his brother. "Thank you. For doing this. For coming over."

His stunned look wasn't exactly what Marius expected from his brother. "You asked, I came. You said you wanted to help your friend out."

Nodding, Marius let it drop. He'd always had an uneasy relationship with Jeremy. Maybe someday they could fix that, but right now he wasn't Marius's priority. Jack was.

"So it'll be over soon," Jack whispered, seemingly to himself.

Jeremy nodded. "Later today."

Marius watched Jack, looking for any signs of revulsion or fear. He certainly would be feeling them himself. But instead, Jack looked almost... relieved.

"So I suppose that's it, then," Jack said, pulling his hand out of Marius's. "And I can go home again."

Jeremy shrugged. "Yeah. If they were the only thing keeping you here, then sure, you can go now."

And there they were: the words Marius knew would be coming but that he didn't want to hear. Of course he knew, rationally, that Jack wasn't going to live with him forever. But he hated the finality of this moment. Not wanting to let either of them see how he felt about what Jack had said, he quickly scrambled off the bed and began stripping his clothes as he walked, until he was naked, and then covered in fur, as he shifted into the large wolf that hid within him. He heard Jack and Jeremy talking behind him, but he couldn't make out their words through the heavy pounding of his heart as he took off through the doggy door and into the backyard.

The sun was coming up. Just another day in the world. Only it wasn't like that for him. Inside, Jack would be getting his things together to go back home. Marius wondered if he'd even say good-bye. Or if he'd even let Jack find him long enough to do it.

Chapter 19.

IRRITATED WITH WITH Marius, Jack picked up his car keys and left the house. His old beat-up car stood in Marius's unused driveway, waiting for him to go home. To get his life back together. He didn't know why Marius had taken off like he had. He only knew that it had really upset him. Jeremy was no help either, leaving shortly after his brother. And Jack had lain in bed, staring up at the ceiling as the sun rose in the window across from him. He'd thought a lot during that time and came up with some pretty big moments of understanding. And it would have been nice to have Marius there to share in them. Marius, Jack picked up his car keys and left the house. His old beat-up car stood in Marius's unused driveway, waiting for him to go home. To get his life back together. He didn't know why Marius had taken off like he had. He only knew that it had really upset him. Jeremy was no help either, leaving shortly after his brother. And Jack had lain in bed, staring up at the ceiling as the sun rose in the window across from him. He'd thought a lot during that time and came up with some pretty big moments of understanding. And it would have been nice to have Marius there to share in them.

Screw it. He'd just go see him.

He shoved his keys into his pocket and walked across Marius's backyard until he came to the back of the rescue. It was there, as his fingers touched the red brick wall of the building, that he started to lose his nerve.

"Jack?"

He looked up, surprised and glad to see Marius standing across from him, a trash bag in one hand.

"I was just taking out the trash and heard you walk up," Marius explained. "Did you need some help getting ready to go home?"

His voice sounded flat, and he looked away quickly. Jack frowned at him. "What if I didn't want to go back there?"

Marius didn't look back at him. "Then.... I don't know. Where would you like to go?"

Jack took a deep breath and tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. If his stomach could stop churning for a moment that would be great too. "What if I didn't want to go anywhere? What if I wanted to stay with you?"

Marius looked up at him, his bright eyes wide. "What?"

Jack stepped closer, forcing his leaden feet to move as he reached for the other man. "Could we do that? Could we try it?"

"Try what?" Marius asked. He reached for Jack's outstretched hand, taking it quickly in his own.

Jack lifted his chin and caught Marius's gaze. "Being together. I want to. To be with you. To stay with you."

"If this is just about your apartment-"

Jack quickly shook his head and pressed his chest against Marius's. "It's not," he whispered. "This is about us. About me. About not wanting to be afraid anymore. You said that you would wait, and I believe you. But I want this too. And it may take time, and I don't know how fast I can go, and I can't promise that I'll never freak out again, but I don't want to walk away from you either. I can't."

Marius gave him a soft smile and pressed his forehead against Jack's. "Thank you."

"For what?" Jack asked, bringing his free hand to Marius's side.

"For giving us a chance." Marius dropped the trash bag to the ground, put his knuckle under Jack's chin, and lifted his mouth to meet his in a soft kiss that held the promise of so much more to come.

About the Author.

CAITLIN R RICCI was fortunate growing up to be surrounded by family and teachers who encouraged her love of reading. She has always been a voracious reader and that love of the written word easily morphed into a pa.s.sion for writing. If she isn't writing, she can usually be found studying as she works toward her counseling degree. She comes from a military family and the men and women of the armed forces are close to her heart. She also enjoys gardening and horseback riding in the Colorado Rockies, which she calls home with her wonderful fiance, their dog, and their blue-tongue skink. Her belief that there is no one true path to happily ever after runs deeply through all her stories. was fortunate growing up to be surrounded by family and teachers who encouraged her love of reading. She has always been a voracious reader and that love of the written word easily morphed into a pa.s.sion for writing. If she isn't writing, she can usually be found studying as she works toward her counseling degree. She comes from a military family and the men and women of the armed forces are close to her heart. She also enjoys gardening and horseback riding in the Colorado Rockies, which she calls home with her wonderful fiance, their dog, and their blue-tongue skink. Her belief that there is no one true path to happily ever after runs deeply through all her stories.

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