Page 2 of Bloodline Unbound

I felt Logan’s presence shining like a beacon in the distance as Tommy’s car ate up the miles. “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know where you’re going, but I’m going to the New York nest. At least until I know what the fuck that was.”

I swallowed hard, already regretting the words I was about to say. “Drop me in Syracuse on your way.”

It wasn’t smart to go back, but something was killing shifters and Caden needed to know. He didn’t like me very much but that didn’t mean I was going to put him at risk.

Tommy nodded sharply. “You got it.”

I squirmed in my seat for the entire trip.

“What’s got ants in your pants, bucko?”

“Nothing.” I shrank deeper in the seat and fisted my hands. None of my friends knew about her. Part of that was selfishly keeping Logan to myself, but I also didn’t want any of them sniffing around. I knew Caden could protect her from any of my shithole friends if they got it in their heads to try something, but I felt better keeping them in complete ignorance of her existence.

I bit down on the growl that tried to rumble through my chest.

It really wasn’t fair. It had been pure luck of timing that Caden had gotten to her first. I couldn’t help but remember her gentle touch and soothing voice as she had nursed me back from the brink of death, the way she had looked at me with those impossibly dark eyes, making me feel more seen than I had ever been in my sixty-nine years of life.

And every time I saw her, it took all the willpower I had ever possessed to stop myself from climbing straight into her arms to listen to her heartbeat and feel her fingers stroke my fur.

I shoved my hand through my hair, already grossed out by the drying sweat that clung to each strand. My clothing reeked of the scent of horny shifters and I was more than ready to strip down and shower.

“Where to?” Tommy asked as we entered Syracuse.

“Here is fine.”

He stopped the car and I slipped out, saluting him as he slammed back on the gas and zipped off towards New York. I didn’t need a map app to know where I was going. Each step in Logan‘s direction felt like I was walking home, a buoyant familiarity infusing my body the closer I got. I tried my best to avoid humans as I traipsed through residential areas, eventually coming to a stop at the little bungalow where Logan lived with my brother. Or rather, where he lived with her, since it was her house.

I swallowed down the nerves that now battled with the elation of being so close again. I knew she would welcome me, as much as I knew Caden wouldn’t. Not that I blamed him. I didn’t have a fabulous history with respecting the boundaries of his romantic relationships.

Both salvation and misery lay on the other side of that door. I just needed enough courage to knock.

It was easier said than done. I couldn’t quite decide if I would be more welcome in this form or one of my shifted ones. Logan had always been most comfortable when I was in my smallest form. A fluffy little house cat posed no threat. But I wanted to see her, wanted to feel every inch of her pressed against this one. It was an exercise in self-punishment. In this form I felt every ache, every desire, my complex brain in a human body plagued by memories and fantasies I couldn’t escape. When I was a cat, things were simpler. There I sought after my most basic needs, but everything else was muted. I couldn’t desire her in the same way, couldn’t feel the intoxicating bliss of being able to bury my face in her hair and sate the longing that never left.

She giggled on the other side of the door, the sound dipping into a moan.

Fuck.

Caden would be extra pissed if I interrupted them having sex. But that only made me want to do it more. I wanted her to be with me, not him, and I wasn’t strong enough to just listen right now. Lights were still on at other houses and someone would absolutely no way call the cops if they saw me standing out here much longer, especially if I took my cock in hand and stroked it to the sound of her coming undone.

I was still drunk enough to indulge in recklessness and knocked a pattern onto her door, waiting with bated breath.

A tiny cat head popped up under the curtains and hissed at me.

“What does he want?” Logan’s voice was muffled. “Maybe he’s hurt?”

“I can hear you through the door, Logan.” I sighed. “And I can see Caden in the window.”

When the door opened, my soul dropped fucking anchor. There she was. Perfect, bright eyed, flushed cheeks, and a beautiful smile just for me.

“Hey, Seth!”

I crashed against her in an uninvited hug, desperately needing to touch her. Her arms wrapped around me belatedly, fingers curling into my shirt.

Home.

Fucking fate.

---