Page 4 of Healing His Darkness
3
ROOSTER
Finally, fucking made it, it only took what felt like forfuckever, but almost five hours after leaving Woden, I pull into my dad’s place in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. A.K.A Bumfucked Nowhere, Oklahoma. My dad is lucky I love him so fucking much. That trip only takes about three and a half hours in my truck. Having to stop to get gas and stretch my legs every hundred miles made it take a lot fucking longer.
Looking around his land, I know why he likes it here. I don’t like to admit it, but it’s actually a beautiful spot. His two-room cabin sits on about five acres of wooded land that butts up against the Yashau Creek. The cabin itself isn’t much to look at, but the land is like the perfect place for his leopard to roam. I keep trying to get him to move back to Texas, but the memories of my mother are too much for him.
She was his high school sweetheart, Lillian Hazelwood, and he couldn’t wait to make her his. With long wavy brown hair that reached her hips, rich hazel eyes, and a smile that didn’t just light up a room, it lit up the whole house. I know because once she was gone the whole house was darker, like it was in constant mourning for the loss of her smile. They got married right after graduation and I came along just one year after that. She was his mate for life, when we lost her; he lost a part of himself. I may not agree with the mate shit, but I know what losing her did to him. He believed in it down to his roots. She was his everything, and the day those fucking poachers took her from us half his soul was taken too.
Just twenty-five and her light was snuffed out, my fist clenches thinking back to that day. It was aday like any other Saturday in our house. Mom got up and made us pancakes, sausage, and eggs. Dad and I went fishing, while Mom was going to go shopping with some friends. We don’t know how it happened, but I can tell you the exact moment she left this world. We were fishing, chatting about life, when suddenly my dad bent over clutching his heart, screaming her name.
I didn’t understand what was happening, Dad started grabbing all of our fishing equipment and tossing it into the back of our truck. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he tried to usher me toward the truck calmly. When I asked him, what was wrong he just reached over the seat and squeezed my hand. I can remember looking down at my tiny hand thinking that somehow, I was helping him with whatever was going on.
No sooner, did we pull up to our house than he was yelling at me to get in the house, lock the doors, and wait for him to get back. I was going to ask where Mom was, but his voice brooked no argument. Watching from the window, I saw him rip his clothes off and shift into his cat and scream at the sky before taking off. Hours later he brought my mom home in his arms, blood covered them both. Neither of us were the same ever again, it was like our light had been snuffed out and we were left in darkness. Maybe that’s why Summer didn’t stay with me, my darkness was too much for her to live with.
“There he is!” My dad bellows from the front porch as he makes his way toward me. Just shy of fifty, not that he looks it one fucking bit. Guess those shifter genes are good for something at least. We embrace, giving zero fucks when we both separate and there are tears in our eyes.
“About damn time you come visit your old man.” I huff out a laugh, because he is far from old.
“Shiit is this it.” He whistles, taking her all in. “Hot damn she’s a beaut.”
“I know, it took me a while to get all the parts I needed, but with Stonewall’s help I was able to get her all finished up.” Stonewall is gifted when it comes to mechanics, it’s like his brain is hardwired for them. He says he’s never had any formal training, but dude knows his shit better than some of the formally trained guys I know.
“I figured as much that boy loves a good project, just like you do.” Shame washes over me, Stonewall was my best friend and I’d been an asshole to him and his mate Kam.
“What’s that look for? What happened Darryl?” How do you explain to your pops that you were close to losing your friends because they were happy? That watching them be happy made you so miserable that you lashed out at them. Yeah, my dad was about to hand me my ass.
“How about I explain things over a beer?” I’m hoping taking him to his favorite bar might help smooth over my stupidity with him.
“That bad huh?” He starts to head toward his truck.
“Alright let’s go to Dark Moon then. You can meet my friend Clay while we’re at it.” Getting in the truck, I expect him to start interrogating me as soon as the doors close, but he doesn’t say a word to me the whole way there. Instead, he cranks up the truck, puts Hank Williams on the radio, and starts off for the bar. This only upped my anxiety tenfold, causing me to bounce my leg. He was going to be so disappointed in me, and maybe that’s why I came to see him. Maybe that’s why I really came here, so he could set me straight before I lose my friends to my darkness.
While most men would have crawled inside a bottle after losing the love of their life, he worked his ass off to take care of me. He’s always been there for me, even when the shit went south with Summer, he was there for me. Of course, he tried to tell me what everyone else keeps trying to tell me, that she wasn’t really my mate, but whatever, he was there for me. When it came to dads, you didn’t much better than my pops.
Pulling up to Dark Moon, I take in the backwoods looking bar in front of me. We’re not in the middle of town, or close to the casino like I figured it would be. No, this place is off the beaten path, almost like it’s hiding. But the parking lot is packed so it must be doing something right. It gives me hope they have good food, because just as we park my stomach growls.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t stop and eat?” I swear my father is worse than some grandmas when it comes to making sure I’m fed.
“Seriously Darryl, what have I told you about not eating. It’s not good for your shifter to go hungry.” I can’t help but smile.
“I know Pops, honestly I wasn’t hungry until just now. Guess I was more focused on getting here.” Opening the door, I take in a deep breath and smell all the delicious scents coming from the kitchen.
“It smells like this place can fix my hunger problem though.” Too bad it can’t fix my other problem.
“Hell, yeah it can, Brody cooks like fucking magic.” Brody was Clay’s middle son; I’d heard about all of Clays kids over the past eight years. Dad and Clay met about eight years ago, becoming fast friends. Dad went to their house for holidays, they went fishing together once a month, and of course watched football together. I won’t lie, I was slightly jealous of how close he was to Clay and his family, but I was glad he had people in his life. Of course, I still planned on trying to get him to move back home if I could.
Walking into the bar there are three things I notice right off the bat. One, the whole place is packed with shifters, there are so many different scents it’s hard to tell what kind. Two, I’ve never seen this many different shifters in one place and not killing each other. And three, the scents coming from the kitchen are even better inside. My mouth is watering; it smells so good.
I follow my dad to the bar where we snag two empty seats at the end of the bar. It’s so crowded around the bar I don’t even see the bartender at first. When she comes to stand in front of us, my brain short circuits. Fuck me running, she’s beautiful. My dad snaps his fingers in front of my face, and I shake myself from my stupor.
“You alright son?” He looks at me like I’ve grown a second head.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just hungry.” I find my eyes going back to the bartender and I’m struck again by how fucking beautiful she is. She’s got honey gold hair, deep emerald green eyes, lush curves for fucking days. I mean the kind of hips a man could use as handles to pound into her until she screamed his name.
“Son you sure you’re alright.” I shake myself again trying to focus on my dad instead of sex in tight blue jeans bartender.
“Yeah, sorry must be tired from the ride up. I’ll take a whiskey and whatever is smelling good coming from the kitchen.” My dad ping pongs between me and the sexy bartender before he gets this knowing look in his eyes. Like he knows something I don’t, but he’s not willing to reveal his secrets to me.
