“What about when your parents kicked you out? Does your grandad not know you’re gay?”
I smirked at his assumption. “I’m not gay, Charley. If I had to label it, I suppose I’m pan. I don’t care what gender or genitals my lovers have. It’s about connection for me. But yes, Grandpa does know. And he was surprisingly okay about it, for a wolf. Said being straight hadn’t done much for Mum as she’d chosen a bigoted arsehole for a husband, and he’d prefer if I had my own pups at some point, but he was also aware that adoption was a route for ‘young queer people these days’ and he trusted me to keep the company in safe hands.”
“Pups?” Charley said faintly.
“Well yeah, offspring. Wolf, remember? Pups.”
“Do you have—No, it doesn’t matter.” Another faint blush stained his cheeks. I cackled at his discomfort.
“Christ, your face right now, Charley. You’re dying to ask how we have kids, aren’t you?” The pink darkened to a deep rose, and I decided not to toy with him any longer. “We carry our young like humans, dude. Our kids can’t even shift until the onset of puberty. Jeez, we don’t give birth to a literal litter of puppies.” I elbowed him and broke into a jog. “Race you to that crest over there. The one with the weirdly shaped bush at the top.” I set off at breakneck speed. There was no way I’d win without giving myself a head start.
12
CHARLEY
Ha!Luc seemed a bit put out that he’d lost our impromptu race. Like, genuinely surprised that I’d streaked past him as soon as I’d realised he was serious in his challenge. Perhaps my turn of speed was truly a vampire thing and not my years-long penchant for long runs by myself because that way nobody could bully me or tell me I was weird. Hell, I already knew I was weird; wasn’t like I wanted that shit spelled out in neon letters by my contemporaries any more than was necessary. I wassofucking grateful school was a memory.
I smirked down at Luc, his hands gripping the bottom of his thighs, working at bringing his pants down to measured breaths, with a newfound respect. He was bloody fast, even if I had beaten him.
“So, our physical stamina, and speed. That a supernatural thing?”
He nodded, then sucked in a breath before replying, a touch sourly, “Yeah, definitely. Did you win all the races at sports day and have folks muttering about how wicked it is to dope mere children?”
My eyes popped. “Uh, no. But then I didn’t like sports day. Usually too sunny. I was very good at faking illness. Amazing what you learn to do when you’re desperate to avoid a situation.”
“Oh yeah?” Interested eyebrows prompted me to continue.
“Hot shower. Make a mug of black tea. Dunk thermometer in said tea before drinking it. Might have been known to rub my eyes a lot to make them appear bloodshot, and rub my mum’s cream blusher on my cheeks to look like I was feverish.”
Luc’s grin was wide and conspiratorial. “I’m impressed. Did your mum not suss out your devious ways?”
“Nah.” I thought about it. “Probably because I was never ill. So when I said I wasn’t feeling good, I think it might even have been a relief. She took me to the doctor’s once, because I never got sick. Said it concerned her that perhaps I had defective sensory development and wasn’t able to interpret pain.”
“And what did the doctor say?”
“Can’t remember. Something about not looking for trouble where there was none.” I rolled my shoulders and stared out across the parkland, trying to see anything beyond grass, rocks and trees. There was nothing. “I think the doctor felt she was a crank. Which is a bit unfair. They definitely weren’t great parents, but they certainly never wanted me to come to harm. And, if I’m being strictly fair, their efforts to feed me a rounded nourishing diet should be applauded. Probably why I don’t like junk food. I’m not used to it. Must have worked ’cause I was never sick, right?” I suddenly wondered if the lack of illness was due to my alleged vampire genes and not a good diet, but I didn’t want to spend more time thinking about either option right now.
I needed to keep moving. “Wanna try again and race to—” I looked around for a landmark to head for. “—that clump of trees that looks like a doughnut?”
Luc followed the direction of my finger. “A doughnut?”
“Well yeah, it’s slightly raised in the centre, like it’s stuffed full of jam or cream.” I eyed him. “Can’t you see it?”
“I can see they’re trees.” He bent and retied the laces on one boot. “Guess it’s hardly a shock your vision is as good as your speed. They’re not exactly close, and I’d have said I had exceptional eyesight.” In an undertone he added, not nastily, but like it was a constant burr in his side to be reminded, “Fucking vamps.”
“Problem for you?” I asked sassily. This part of Wales was cold, damp and bereft of the clubs and bars I loved to frequent, but it was also empty, and I could run for miles without caring who saw me. I itched to let rip. It had been too long.
Luc’s face twisted into what I’d have called a pout on anyone else. “I like to win.”
“I noticed,” I said drily. I grinned at him, feeling devilish. “If you win, and I’ll give you a head start to make it fairer, I’ll let you fuck me dry, up against a tree, when we get there.”
His breath hitched. “You’re a fucking menace,” he said finally. “What if you win?”
“You can fuck me twice.”
His sigh was loud, even in the great outdoors. “God, what’m I going to do with you, Charley?”
“Hopefully, fuck me. Get moving. I’ll give you thirty seconds.”
