After a couple of days in Midnight, Dillon sat on a park bench in the center of the sprawling city park, sketching one of the more interesting buildings across the way. The bustle of the city was a low roar around him, the tall trees and fountain acting as a buffer. His brother sat beside him, ever watchful.
“It reminds me of New York City,” Colm said. “Of course, I’ve only seen that in movies, so there’s no true comparison.”
Dillon glanced around, lifting his head as two vampires flew past overhead. “I don’t think New York City has those.” This part of the city was clean and peaceful, but they’d already seen dark alleys and side streets that were darker, dirtier, and tempting. Eilam had warned them to avoid those areas, as had their tour guide, the lovely Wanda.
Colm chuckled, still watching the vampires flying away. “Who knows? Maybe they do.”
“I’m amazed they can be out in sunlight,” Dillon said, letting his head fall back to look up at the little patch of blue sky above.
“It might be part of the protective spell the witches put in place,” Colm said.
Dillon continued looking up at the sky. “Why you would want to live here when you could have the wild, blue open sky at home is beyond me.” He lowered his head and glanced at his brother before returning to his sketch.
“I explained why,” Colm said sullenly.
Dillon grew silent. “Do you really hate us that much?”
“I never said I hated you.”
“Apparently you do if you want to run away from your family—your roots.”
“We’re still treated like delinquents and thieves. I’m tired of people telling me I look exactly like Tymber. I’m tired of hearing his godsdamned name.”
“People are getting better,” Dillon said.
“Better would be for no one to know who I am. Where I came from.” Colm sighed. “I’m just tired of being trapped into the shadows of their evil, Dillon. Can’t you understand that?”
Dillon turned and saw the pain in his brother’s eyes. “I can. I do.”
It was then that he really saw it. They all looked a little like Tymber, but Colm had gotten the worst of it. He did look exactly like the male.
“I’ll always be seen as Tymber Junior. Hell, I had a customer call me that at the store a few days ago. It made me sick to my stomach.”
“Was that what provoked you to pack your bags, ready to leave home?”
“It was the straw, brother.” Colm looked up at the building Dillon was sketching. “When you came home and said you were heading to Midnight that very night, it felt like a sign. I’d been saving up, planning to move here. I saw my opportunity. I took it.” Colm turned to Dillon. “I can’t go back and live in that world.”
Dillon’s heart was breaking, but he knew he couldn’t force his brother to go back if he was in pain there. He knew how hard it was to live as a McCreary in Bear Mountain. A little part of him wondered if he should just stay in Midnight, as well.
He looked back up at that tiny patch of blue sky and knew there was no way he could. The city wasn’t for him. He needed to be able to run up the mountain and swim in the icy lake, shifted or not. He needed to be able to breathe, and he felt suffocated in Midnight.
“Have you heard from Eilam?”
Colm nodded. “He left word at the front desk to come see him tomorrow to discuss job opportunities.”
“And you have enough gold and silver to get you started?”
“It doesn’t go as far here, but if I can get a job as soon as possible, I should be okay.”
Dillon fought back a well of emotion. He wasn’t the type to show anything, but it wasn’t every day that his little brother decided to move half a world away. “What about Mikel?”
Their brother Mikel and Colm were closest in age and were tightly bound because of it.
“He already knows of my plan to leave.”
“And he’s okay with it?”
“Okay?” Colm paused, shaking his head slightly. “Maybe not, but he understands why I want to leave and said he supported it.”
“Since Eilam is here, perhaps Mikel, Preston, and that cat of theirs can come visit you on occasion. Isn’t Boyd from somewhere close?”
“Florida,” Colm answered.
“Yes, the cat is from Florida. Land of alligators,” Dillon said. “And a big rodent god all the humans bow to.”
Colm chuckled. “I thought you liked Mikel’s mates?”
“I do,” Dillon said. “I just never thought I’d call a cougar shifter family. But then again, I never imagined Tyler would bow to two betas, Colton would shack up with polar bears, or that our eldest three brothers were even alive—so nothing should surprise me anymore.” Least of all, falling in love with an omega.
The thought stilled his hand. He missed Cotton something terrible and couldn’t wait to go home. Midnight was most definitely not for him.
An image of Cotton’s face when he’d admitted his feelings came to mind. The love he’d seen in the omega’s eyes had nearly broken him. He never imagined feeling that much for another soul—or that he deserved to have that love offered freely to him in return.
“What’s got you smiling so much?”
Dillon lifted his head. He hadn’t even realized he’d been smiling. “Nothing.”
“That’s not a nothing kind of a smile—nor is the glowing of the eyes.”
Dillon wasn’t the sharing sort, but then, he was in a unique position where his brother had just opened up and shared with him. It felt right to peel back a layer.
“Cotton,” he murmured. “I miss him.”
“I’m sure you could find a piece of ass somewhere here in the city if you need to get your rocks off,” Colm said.
Dillon glared at his brother. “That’s not why I miss him.”
Colm grinned, tilting his head. “Oh really?”
“Cotton’s more than that to me. Yes, that’s where it started—but I’ve grown—attached.”
Colm narrowed his stare. “You’ve gone and fallen in love with an omega.”
Dillon opened his mouth to argue, but realized he was smiling once again. Instead of denying it, he knew it was time to be open about their relationship. “I love Cotton. No. I’m in love with Cotton.”
“It’s pretty apparent what he feels for you,” Colm said. “The guy’s an open book.”
That’s what Dillon liked about the omega. What you saw was what you got. Cotton was a soft spot for him to land. He felt… safe… when he should be the one giving shelter. He knew from that point on, he needed to be that male for Cotton. He needed to stand up and shout how he felt to the world, fiercely protecting the male he’d call mate.
“But… he’s not your mate,” Colm said. “So what happens there?”
“I don’t know. There have been other unattached males who’ve lived with one another for decades. There have even been triads that formed outside the bonds of fate. We’ll see our way through.”
“And if your mates… or his… show up tomorrow?” Colm asked.
“We’ll face that when it happens.” He made a few more lines to his drawing before looking at Colm. “I want to head over to the north end of the city. There was an interesting building there I saw on the nymph’s speedy tour.”
“That female had tentacles, I swear she did. You couldn’t see them, but they were there,” Colm said with a laugh.
Dillon chuckled. “Was that what I kept feeling on my ass all day?”
Colm smiled as he rose to his feet. “After you check out your building, let’s grab lunch at that deli we saw—was it over in Shiftertown?”
“The one with the huge chunks of meat hanging in the window?”
“Yeaaaah,” Colm said, rubbing his stomach. “The smells coming out of that place almost made me orgasm.”
“I didn’t need to know that,” Dillon said, shaking his head.
“But it was soooooo good.”
“It did smell pretty incredible,” he admitted.
“Then let’s hurry up so I can eat. I’m starving.”
Once he put his sketch pad and pencils away, Dillon tossed his bag over one shoulder. “My gods, let’s not let the male with the hollow leg go hungry.”