A vicious snarl rent the air followed by the thump of bodies. Male voices yelled. Pulling on his last reserves, Demitri staggered back to his feet and stumbled sideways, putting himself between their attackers where they fought a pair of wolves he recognized as Frankie and his brother, Reb, and his wide-eyed, shocked-looking mate.
Demitri and Kiernan’s uninvited guests turned and fled.
For a second, it seemed like the brothers would follow them, but then soft growls from outside reached Demitri’s ears through the open window.
Frankie trotted over to him, his head down, ears forward, expression beseeching. Demitri knew the huge wolf was just trying to figure out if he was okay. Unfortunately, Kiernan didn’t know that.
“Get back,” he screamed, waving the golf club.
Demitri whimpered. He really wanted to reassure his mate, but everything was so fuzzy. He couldn’t seem to concentrate enough to shift back to human form.
Fortunately, Reb had no such problem and quickly shifted. “Please, Kiernan, calm down. We’re here to help you.”
Frankie took his cue from his brother and shifted.
“Holy shit!” Kiernan hissed. “What the hell are all of you?”
“I am sorry ye had to find out this way,” Declan said, striding up the stairs toward them. “If ye give me just a wee moment of yer time, I can explain.”
Kiernan frowned, but at least he started lowering the golf club. “How the hell can you explain? My lover turned into a wolf. And these men…” He shook his head, his eyes turning a little wild. “These men…”
“These men,” Declan finished for him, “are shifters.” He held up a hand and focused on Demitri. “How ye doing, pup? Can ye shift back, yet?”
“You talk to him like he can understand you,” Kiernan said, clearly confused.
“Aye, he can,” Declan replied. “Just because Demitri is in wolf form, doesn’t mean he’s any less sentient. A shifter is the same person when either man or beast.” He paused for a moment, lifting a brow. “I know ye’ll have questions, but first, I need ye to take a couple deep breaths. Take a moment to gather yerself while we see to Demitri.”
Demitri really wished it was his mate crouching in front of him and not his alpha, but it still felt nice to have his head rubbed. Reassuring. He whined and licked Declan’s hand.
“All right, pup,” Declan said, giving him a small smile.
“Give shifting back another go.”
It took all his concentration, but finally, Demitri felt the tingle that heralded his shift. It started at the base of his tail, worked up his spine, then out to his extremities. He gasped for breath and groaned, pleased to finally have his voice again. “Argh,” he moaned, gripping his head.
“You okay?” Frankie asked worriedly.
“Here,” Reb said, handing Declan the green-feathered dart. “A tranq dart.”
Declan nodded. “At least it wasn’t a real bullet.” He smiled at Demitri. “The affects will wear off before too long.”
Frankie wrapped an arm around Demitri’s waist and helped him to the bed. His head spun for several seconds, and he concentrated on taking slow, even breaths. Finally, Demitri’s vision cleared and he looked at his mate. Kiernan stood in the corner, his hands still gripped the club’s handle tightly—though it appeared it was just because he needed to hold something as opposed to thinking he needed to defend himself—and he stared at them all, his expression one of stark disbelief.
Declan leaned against the footboard and crossed his arms over his chest. “Alright, Kiernan. Are ye ready to ask questions? Or should we just start sharing some information with ye that ye’ll need to know?”
“How are you guys even real? Am I dreaming?” Kiernan shook his head slowly.
“This is real. We’re real,” Demitri said, urging with his tone for his lover to believe, to accept. “You asked how I could heal so fast. Well, this is how. It’s because I’m a wolf shifter.”
Kiernan looked around at all the men. His mouth opened and closed a few times, until finally he just shook his head.
Demitri struggled to his feet and took a halting step toward Kiernan, then another. Five feet in front of Kiernan, Demitri’s head once more swam and his legs gave out. To his relief, his lover stepped forward and caught him.
“I wanted to tell you,” he whispered, his head resting against Kiernan’s chest. “But I was scared you’d hate me, and I love you so much.”
He felt Kiernan’s warm breath against his neck as he spoke. “We’ve only known each other a short time. You can’t possibly love me.”
“Yes, I can,” Demitri insisted. “You’re my mate.” He slapped his hand over his mouth. “Shit,” he mumbled.
Kiernan cupped his jaw and tilted Demitri’s head up.
“What does that mean?”
“I—I, um—”
“Demitri, what does that mean?” Kiernan demanded.
“It means you’re his other half. His true love. Every paranormal has one.” Frankie paused in his explanation and grinned. “Having a shifter mate is great, because we’ll never stray and we always try to make our mate happy.”
Kiernan pulled his gaze away from Frankie and focused on Demitri. “You believe that—that I’m your…mate?”
Nibbling his lip, Demitri nodded. “Yeah. A shifter knows their mate by scent. I—I’ve known for a while.”
Sighing, Kiernan helped Demitri to the bed, easing him onto it. Then he stepped back and ran a hand over his closely shorn scalp. “Look, this is a hell of a lot to take in, okay?” Declan regarded him impassively, Frankie looked concerned, and Reb opened his mouth as if to say something. Kiernan held up his hand. “Thank you for coming and helping us against Demitri’s parents and their…whatever, but I think it’s time for you to leave now.”
Kiernan turned to Demitri. “You, too, Demitri.”
Demitri gasped, his heart constricting in his chest. “Wh-what?”
“This is a little much for me. I need some time.” Kiernan turned to Declan. “Demitri mentioned staying at a friend’s house? Do you know who that
