I didn't have to be alone

The meat was cooked terribly. Calling it 'cooked' was more of a misnomer. Half of it was still raw and the seasoning was scarce. Despite that, the Blakes devoured it happily. I watched them eat while I picked at my steak. There was Byron with his imposing build and massive hands. He didn't bother to cut the meat or pretend to be concerned by his appearance; he simply impaled the stake with his fork and brought it up for easy access.

Then there was Emilia, innocent and flawless. I don't think any man could look at a woman like her and not be riled up on some level. Her hands moved with grace and precision as she took the meat apart and brought it gently to her lips. After a bite, she would close her eyes and seem to savor the taste. That was remarkable in itself, considering how poorly cooked the food actually was.

Nicholas was somewhere in the same refined category as the rest of his family. He sat up straight and took his food apart much more viciously than his sister. He seemed bored with the idea of taking his time so he ate quickly and put more on his plate to compensate. Unlike the others, he caught me staring. He smiled slightly in that same restrained way I've seen before. He looked at me with those stunning amber eyes for a moment before deciding that his food was more interesting at the moment. I noticed that his weird aura of desire wasn't noticeable anymore. It was kind of a relief.

"There are many kinds of shapeshifters scattered around this world. There was a time when they were all wild and stupid, so they were easily found and hunted down. That time came to an end and the herd was trimmed down to the smartest. They've learned how to mask their scent and hide from searching eyes. There are very few times where they slip up and allow detection. It's usually new additions to the pack that alert hunters to the scene. We've learned to move fast in response." I recalled the exchange I had where Hunter said that they caught on too fast. Now I realized why he wanted me to stay away from the new kids at all cost. His scent must have stuck to me more than I realized. That warning was for both of our sakes. "Your boyfriend would have to be an alpha shapeshifter, a creature that descended straight from the great wolf himself. Powerful and untamable."

Emilia spoke up once she finished her meal, "they're monsters, Jakey. Smart and dangerous creatures that are always a step away from hurting someone. An alpha like Hunter can look like anyone he wants to. We also believe they can develop telepathic abilities on some level. Can you imagine if every werewolf in the world built a pack of its own and went on a rampage? There would be almost no stopping them if they attacked at that point. They're too strong and too smart to be left unchecked." Something she said was wrong at least.

"The telepathy doesn't work like that, and I've seen him forced under control by someone else so he's not 'untamable'. It's not useful for spying if you can only see one person anyway. It's clear as day when Hunter is watching someone." Their increase in attention made me want to punch myself. These people might still kill me, yet I continued to supply information. "Or at least, that's what I think it would be like. You know... from a scientific perspective." Wow, I'm not doing well today at all.

I was worried that I might be forced to answer more questions, but then a phone rang. It was a text message for Emilia that she looked excited to receive. She turned to her uncle and said, "I've got the home addresses and the store location. The baseball captain just sent them to me." I realized that Chad's resourcefulness probably just gave the Blakes exactly what they wanted. As it turned out, that's probably the only reason I might be allowed to leave. Byron turned to me.

"You'll stay here with us for the night. Nicholas will take your phone and you'll sleep in our guest room on the third floor. I've got errands to run before the hunt and I can't have you alerting your mate beforehand. I hope you understand...but I don't really care if you don't." that last statement told me everything I needed to know about Byron Blake. Bold, broad, and hopelessly arrogant. There would be no point in trying to argue. After leaving the kitchen, I was given a tour of the home by the female twin. She tried to make it interesting and I appreciated her effort, but at the moment it all just felt like a bright prison tour.

She showed me to a room that was the size of my bedroom back home. A single bed lay against the wall far from the door. There was nothing in the room other than a barred window and a smooth wooden table. She told me that I would spend the night here and her brother would bring food while checking up on me. A pang of fear hit me when I imagined being in this room at night. The fading daylight was the only light source in the room as far as I could see. Of course, the dark didn't scare me...but the loneliness kind of did.

The door was locked behind me and I immediately forced myself to sleep by doing homework. It was already dark by the time I woke up again. A few moments in the barely lit room was all it took to make me wish I could fall back asleep. I had my headphones but no phone to actually listen to. Without any light, I couldn't even distract myself by reading. Even the usual awareness of Hunter's gaze was so faint tonight that I felt abandoned somehow. There was nothing to distract me, nothing to take me away from myself. I tried occupying my mind with memories. Things like the lessons in school, the amount of red meat I've eaten in the past month, and...earlier today.

The almost-kiss was still fresh in my mind. Even now I felt myself blushing at how much I wanted it at the time. Yet, after a moment, the memory just served as a reminder that I was alone right now and Hunter Sin wasn't concerned with me. The hours stretched on into hell and I rolled around till my face hit the white wall beside the bed. I groaned and prayed for the umpteenth time to fall asleep. A soft knock on the door interrupted it this time.

"Jake? I'm coming in." it was Nick's voice. I had seen the food he brought in while I slept and had promptly devoured it already. I listened to the locks being released and rolled around when he walked in. My breath stuck in my throat when I saw him. He was standing in the middle of the room wearing a loose white pair of pants and a polished white stone necklace upon his bare chest. His chocolate brown skin glowed ever so slightly in the dim moonlight and I could see the endlessly tight muscles that were previously hidden by his clothes. He must have been able to see my awed expression because I saw a smirk cover his face. Damn, guys like him are the reason people develop insecurity so easily! He'd closed the door behind him for some reason and now walked over to my bed. "I figured I would sleep here tonight, with you."

I was thankful for the darkness because I didn't need him seeing my cheeks redden. Without waiting for my permission, Nick climbed into the bed next to me. I didn't waste another second, and immediately shoved him off. He fell over the edge with the shock still widening his amber eyes. He silently stayed on the floor for a long moment, then... he just started laughing like crazy. He picked himself up and tried to control himself. "Glad you find that funny. This bed isn't big enough for two, and I don't need another dude laying next to me." I may be his uncle's prisoner, but I wasn't about to play nice with the kidnapper's family.

"Come on, Jake. You're still going on with that stuff? Doesn't it get tiring?" I didn't know what he meant, but I didn't get the chance to ask since he climbed back into bed with me. This time, when I reached out to push him over, he didn't budge. His body tensed and he pushed back with just as much force as I could with my one hand. It ended up doing nothing more than giving me a feel. "My sister and uncle think that I just like to go after guys who are unobtainable or taken, but they don't get it. I'm just being honest with myself. When I see someone like you, someone that acts the way you do, it catches my attention. It just so happens, that your type is usually in some kind of toxic relationship or something."

"Why are you here?" I wasn't in the mood for mind games. His gaze was making it hard to be aggressive. I'd never met someone with such a bright golden pair of eyes.

"I'm here because this is a very lonely house, and my sister's room is off limits. I'm here because I get lonely, and I want to sleep with you." I can't help but wonder how some people could be so unnormal. In the past year I've met a handful of people that weren't like anyone else, and here was one of the strangest. It was like he didn't hear how forward he was being.

"Just because you want to do something, doesn't mean you should."

"I don't plan on changing tonight, Jake. I'm not going to stop doing what I want to do or chasing my desires. Not tonight or anytime soon." His voice sounded so soft and deep in the dark room that it filled my head. "Right now I want to stay here so you're not alone. I want to wrap my arms around you so that you know it. I want to sleep with you, so that I'm the first and last thing you see tonight. Right now it's just that simple, and I don't want you to try and stop me." the desire had been radiating from him since the moment he walked in, but only now did I find it impossible to ignore.

What could I say to declarations like that? How could I respond when I truly didn't want to be left alone? I couldn't. So I turned away from him and kept quiet as he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me against his chest. It made the room feels smaller and warmer, but not uncomfortable. Nicholas Blake might have been a demon from hell or an angel on earth, but I couldn't tell. He acted like an entitled prince that was used to having his way. Either way, he was the last thing I thought about before falling asleep. Maybe it was selfish or dangerous, but at least tonight...I didn't have to be alone.

Hello there! If you've stuck with the story this far, I just want to say thank you :)

this was a longer chapter but I like the way it came out regardless.