Grayson closed the door to his center and smiled, feeling content with himself.

He rested a hand on his stomach, finally coming to the realization that he was pregnant. In a short time since leaving college, he’d opened his business, gotten the man he’d wanted, got married, and pregnant. It all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. He strolled to his car as he took in the scene, noticing that there were still some people milling around the market getting their last-minute shopping done.

Grayson really loved his little town and was proud to bear its name. The thought that one day Chance could take over as Mayor filled him with more pride. His grandmother and mother were right, Chance was the perfect person to take her place.

Grayson remembered the fun times he had growing up and how safe he felt. The growth that he’d seen in Vale from his childhood to recent made him value the small town for its uniqueness. It his knowledge there was nowhere the world where people from diverse backgrounds could find a home and they not be judged for who what they were and loved.

Grayson’s cellphone rang, and he smiled as he as he answered, spotting Donald’s name. The man was becoming a better friend than he was a lover and from the looks of it, he planned on staying in Vale Valley indefinitely.

“Hey Donald, what’s up?”

“Grayson, you need to get to Quintus’ place quick, it’s Chance.”

Grayson stopped and led felt as if it dropped to the pit of his stomach. “Chance? Why is he at your place? What’s wrong? Donald, talk to me.”

“I don’t know. We were about to go for a quick run when Quin smelled blood,” he started and stopped. “Look, Gray, just get to Quin’s place as quickly as possible. Your man is hurt pretty bad.”

“Okay,” Grayson said not sure how he was speaking at all a thousand and on scenarios ran through his mind all at once. He rushed to his car and got in, peeling out of the parking spot and headed straight to Quintus’s house as fear plagued him. Grayson parked in front of his friend’s home and rushed up to the front door, banging on it.

“Where is he?” Grayson asked as soon as Quintus opened the door.

“He’s in the bedroom.” He stepped inside and was heading towards where Quintus pointed. “Grayson, wait a second!”

“What?” he said, angry that Quintus was stopping him from seeing his mate.

Quintus stepped over to him and rested his hand on his shoulder. “Grayson, he was bitten.”

“What? Bitten? By who? Who would want to hurt Chance?”

Grayson backed away not waiting for an answer and went in search of his mate. He burst through one of the doors to the master bedroom and stopped. Chance was lying on the bed shirtless with bandages on one of his arms and legs. Grayson took the short, hurried steps over to the bed and sat on the edge, touching Chance’s skin only to hiss form how hot he was.

“He was bitten by a feral wolf.” He heard Donald say next to him forgetting that he was one the one that called him or that he would be at Quintus’ place.

“Oh, gods no,” Grayson cried out throwing himself on top of Chance, ignoring the heat from his lover’s skin.

He was going to lose the man he loved when they were just starting their lives together. His holistic abilities only took him so far, he could heal cuts, slashes, and broken bones but what he couldn’t heal were infected feral shifter bites. Chance’s body would go through many different changes as the infection spread through his body.

First, paralyzing the muscles and nerves, then cold sweat and fever as it slowly shut down the organs. In the last few hours of his life, Chance’s body would be racked with pain. The only way for Chance to live would be for him to be bitten by another wolf and turned into a shifter.

“Who was it?” he asked with anger boiling inside of him. He was out for blood and planned on killing the wolf, if he wasn’t already dead.

“Grayson…” Quintus started.

“Who was it?” he yelled looking back at his friend.

“Cal…calm down, baby.”

Grayson gasped and turned to look at Chance through blurry eyes. “Chance,” he whispered. His caressed Chance’s fevered, sweat soaked skin with trembling fingers.

“I was trying to catch you before you left the center.” His breath was labored with each word he spoke. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t talk, please save your strength.”

“Grayson, listen to me,” Chance begged opening his bloodshot eyes. “I love you, baby. These past few weeks have been the best moments of my life.”

“Chance, I can’t lose you. Don’t do this to me, please. Don’t give up. We can’t lose you. You have to live for us,” Grayson begged stopping anything he had to say. “I can’t do this life without you. Please, don’t leave me.” Grayson buried his forehead in Chance’s chest. “Don’t leave me alone in this world.”

“Grayson.”

He looked up when he heard his grandmother’s voice. “Nana, I can’t be without him.”

“You won’t have to if I can help it.”

"Please save him,” Grayson whispered.

“I’ll do what I can.” She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. “Chance, we don’t have a lot of time before you hit the point where even I can’t bring you back. So, I need you to listen to me. I can change you into a werewolf. In order for the infection to stop spreading, I need to bite you and use the healing properties of my saliva to turn you into a shifter. But I have to warn you, if you do this it’s going to be a long, and painful night.”

“Do it,” Grayson said without thinking.

“As much as I would love to do it from your answer, grandson, I can’t. It has to be Chance’s decision, or it will be for nothing and he will be feral just like the wolf who bit him.”

“Chance, please, tell her she can do it. You promised me forever the night you gave me this,” he said showing his collar. “Don’t take back your words and let me face this world without you by my side.”

Chance’s eyes drifted to his neck and back to his face. They gazed into each other’s eyes and tears pooled in the corner of his lover’s eyes. His chapped lips trembled as he tried to speak.

“Do…do it.”

Relief washed through Grayson at hearing Chance’s words. “You heard him, nana, he wants to live.” He kissed Chance’s lips. “Thank you,” he whispered against his lips as tears of joy ran down his cheeks. He pressed his forehead to Chance’s, chanting the words continuously.

“Okay, I need you to leave so I can get started.”

“No,” Chance said. “Ne…need him to stay.”

“I never planned on leaving,” Grayson told him.

“Okay, then let’s get started,” his grandmother said.

He moved to the other side of Chance and waited as his grandmother stood and took off her coat. It was then he realized that she was dressed as if she was going to a party. As Mayor, Rosemary attended a lot of wedding ceremonies, rituals, and functions, only reserving Christmas day for her family.

Rosemary got back on the bed, and he watched as she half shifted. Her dark hair lengthened down the middle of her back, curling at the ends, her bright green eyes seemed to glow as her canines came down, touching her bottom lip. Short hairs sprang up on her arms, shoulders, and face.

Grayson turned Chance’s head so that his lover was facing him. “I’m going to make you so proud,” He told his lover as his grandmother bit into his flesh. Chance closed his eyes and screamed loud, almost shattering his eardrum from the pain.

Normally, a human being turned wouldn’t experience excruciating pain, but when it was one being changed because of a feral bite it was different. After a few minutes, Chance’s screams stopped, and his grandmother pulled her head from Chance’s neck and howled, his blood staining her lips and chin.

She snapped her head in his direction. “It is done.”

Rosemary stood and walked out of the bedroom, leaving him and Chance alone. It will be a long night for them both.

Chance moaned as he slowly cracked his eyes open and looked around the unfamiliar room, trying to remember what the hell happened the night before. His head ached as if he had been out drinking, something he hadn’t done since he was in his twenties. He reached up and touched his forehead and touched a wet cloth, taking it off he looked at the thing in confusion.

“You gave us a scare last night, young man.”

Chance snapped his head towards the sound and saw Rosemary standing at the door. He went to move but realized something was holding him down. He looked over to his left, seeing Grayson lying on his shoulder. He traced the outline of his eyebrow, and at the light touch, his boy opened his eyes. They widened, and Grayson sat up quickly.

“You’re awake, how are you feeling?”

“A bit achy,” he answered still trying to remember what happened. He was only getting bits and pieces, but it wasn’t

“You will be for another day or two while your body tries to adjust to all the changes it’s going through,” Rosemary said as she walked into the room.

“What happened?” he asked sitting up with Grayson’s help. “I’m not getting a clear picture.”

“You were attacked and infected by a feral wolf,” she looked down, and Chance saw the sadness on her face and guessed she knew who it was that attacked him.

“Who was it?”

“Jafaris,” she answered.

Grayson gasped just as Chance spoke. “What? What the hell did I ever do to him?”

“You’re awake,” Chance said looking at his very tired lover.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” Grayson whispered caressing his upturned cheek.

“I’ll try not to,” he said pulling Grayson down for a kiss.

“This is what love is,” Rosemary said getting their attention.

“You said Jafaris bit Chance why?” Grayson asked his grandmother.

Rosemary sighed. “I knew he was hurting after Ermaline died. I knew the gaping hole that’s left in your heart when the person you promise to spend the rest of your life with is taken from you. So, I let him deal with his grief the way he needed to, as time passed, he had started to become reclusive. I didn’t sink into a depression the way he did because I had my family to hold me together. But I tried to be there for him as much as I could.”

“What about Mark?” Grayson asked.

“Mark and Jafaris are oil and water. Jafaris never liked that Erma took the boy into the coven and treated him like a son. Out of all her strays, Mark was her special child. In some ways, she saw herself in Mark. But that was one of the things he loved about her. Things were starting to look better, and he was starting to look better. When I told him it was time for me to turn the reins over to someone new, he became enraged.” She paused, and Chance never saw Rosemary look so unsure of herself for what she was about to say to them.

Chance reached over and touched one of her hands, encouraging her to continue. “Go on,” he told her.

“Everyone knows how magical this town is,” she said after a few moments of silence. “But the magic was centered around the connection of the residents. The town feels everything we do. From our joys, sadness, and our love for each other it thrives on our happiness and love. It’s how newcomers are able to see it’s magic.”

“I said it before, and I’ll say it again, creepy,” Chance said, and both Grayson and Rosemary chuckled.

“Yeah, it can be, but Erma might have been a bit of a horror flick nut. I might have indulged her, but it was another way for Erma to collect strays, but I saw the good in it because no one should be without love or a home. I think when the magic of the town chose Chance as its new protector and not Jafaris, he saw it as a betrayal of the love that Erma had for the town. I missed the signs of when a wolf would start to become feral, and I failed to protect you. And I’m sorry, Chance,” Tears streaked down her face. “I’m so sorry because I wasn’t able to stop him.”

Chance sat still, unsure what to do. He’d never seen Rosemary Vale, the pillar of Vale Valley, break down in tears, even when her sister died, she remained strong and unmoving. Looking at her in that second, he saw a woman who knew how to hide her pain even from those closest to her.

Instead of saying anything, Chance pulled her to him and held her, letting her cry, showing her vulnerability. He looked at Grayson who was smiling at him, and Chance saw proudness in his boy’s eyes. Opening his arms, Chance held on to the two Vale’s who were important to him for many different reasons. He kissed Grayson on the crown of his head and leaned back, closing his eyes only to open it seconds later.

“Don’t think you can boss me around because you saw me cry,” Rosemary said not moving from her spot.

A smile graced his lips, and he could hear Grayson chuckling. “Wouldn’t think of it, Madam Mayor.”

“Not for long.”

They all quieted down as Chance drifted back to sleep.