Fate: California Obscura

“We should be. Our best bet is to keep moving every few days, but I think we’ll be okay here for now.” He held me a little tighter, and after a few moments he said, “I know that’s no way to live, and it won’t be forever. This is just until we come up with a plan and figure out how to defeat the brothers once and for all.” I wasn’t sure a plan like that could be found, but I nodded anyway.

After another minute, the house came into view. It was lit up from within and looked warm and inviting. When we went inside, we found the two couples in the living room, chatting over drinks while a fire crackled in the river rock fireplace. The furniture was comfortable and understated in warm earth tones, and as I settled onto a loveseat, Elias asked, “Where’s Carter?”

“He’s in his room. There are only three bedrooms, so he took the den,” August told us.

Elias said, “I’m going to go check on him,” and after August pointed him in the right direction, he left the living room.

Tinder was leaning against his husband with one of his legs draped over August’s thigh, and he asked me, “We’ve busted out the bourbon. Want some?”

When I nodded, he poured me the equivalent of three shots and handed me a glass. “Thank you, not just for the drink,” I said. “I really appreciate all you’re doing to help us.” I turned to Griffin and Ari, who were curled up together on a fluffy area rug in front of the hearth, and added, “I’m so grateful to you two as well. I still can’t believe you cut your honeymoon short, just because you thought I was in trouble.”

“We’re family,” Griffin said, “and family looks out for each other.”

I muttered, “I just hate the fact that helping us means putting all of your lives in danger.”

“Keeping you and Elias alive is obviously the top priority for all of us, but don’t forget there’s a bigger picture here,” August said. “The brothers need to be stopped, no question.”

“If we can draw them out and separate them, we have a real shot at taking them down,” Tinder added, “and you two are the perfect bait.” He said that with a cheerful smile, and he actually had a point.

Carter and Elias joined us a few moments later. My mate settled in right beside me on the loveseat, and Carter took a club chair on the other side of the coffee table. As he poured bourbon into two more glasses, August said, “Apologies for not having anything to eat here. We’ll rectify that in the morning when the shops are open.”

I had to ask, because I didn’t really know Griffin’s friends all that well. “Will you two need to…hunt, I guess? I’m not sure how you feed yourselves.”

August looked amused. “We’ll stop off at a local blood bank tomorrow and compel a nice, cooperative human into giving us a supply.”

“Hunting is way more trouble than it’s worth. Also, in case you’re wondering, werewolves are never on the menu. Too gamey,” Tinder said with a grin. I had no idea if he was kidding. Then he changed the subject with, “This has been a long, stressful day, and I think we should hold off on making plans and discussing strategy until tomorrow morning. So, does anybody feel like watching a movie? That’s always been my go-to when I need to unwind.”

When we agreed, he got up and opened a cabinet to reveal a TV, then rifled through a drawer of Blu-ray discs and made a decision for us. As Alien began to play, Elias and I shifted around a bit so I was leaning against him, and he wrapped his arms around me.

The movie turned out to be a great distraction. For two hours, we all got to pretend we were perfectly normal people leading perfectly normal lives. Tinder had seen the movie about a million times and kept whispering key lines, then making us all jump by doing his version of a cat scare a split-second before every scary part. It would have been annoying if it wasn’t so funny.

Later that night, Elias and I returned to our room and curled up naked in that warm, comfortable bed, which was bathed in moonlight. Then we spent hours alternately kissing and talking quietly about whatever came to mind. In the hour before dawn, he traced my lower lip with his fingertip and said, “You should try to get some sleep.”

“I’m not sure I can. There’s too much on my mind.”

He pulled the blanket up and shifted around so my back was pressed to his chest. It surprised me when he began to sing. The song was in Spanish, and I didn’t know the name of it, but it was so gentle and soothing that it seemed like a lullaby.