Chris gets a call from his girlfriend inviting him out to dinner with her friends. He never through that once he set down at that table, there would be a werewolf at the table. Werewolves and warlocks are natural enemies so this could only mean trouble for Chris. Duncan declaring that they were mates only seemed to confirm that. After all, if Chris decides to give Duncan a chance than he will lose his coven.
Duncan is left in the dark while Chris struggles with his choice. While he waits, Duncan learns that his pack might have issues of their own. Ones that might change not only change the life of Duncan and Chris but their packs and coven as well.
The phone sat on the bed with an almost haunting presence. Christopher Fraser tried not to stare at it while he pulled on his well-worn leather jacket. He had wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed. After a sixteen-hour day, at the end of a sixty-hour week, bed the only place he wanted to go. But he made the terrible mistake of answering his phone. Cursing technology, Chis threw a random article of clothing at the taunting phone. He was not so sure that phones were really helpful in his life.
Chris glanced at his reflection in the bathroom mirror to see if he looked as zombie-like as he felt. His spiked black hair was sticking up in every possible direction, his hazel eyes were almost as dark as the circles around his eyes, and his tan skin was all that saved him from the complete dead look. The choice of dark jeans and a tight blue shirt did not really help to make him look alive. Chris just couldn’t bring himself to care. Not bothering to do more than brush his teeth, Chris decided to start the long-suffering process of leaving his house. The only silver lining was the next two days all Chis would have to do was sleep. Forty-eight hours of sleep. That was the dream.
It took Chris twenty minutes to drive to the small bar on the outside of Tonic. Chris sat in his truck, just staring at the old bar. This bar had been in his family for three generations, with his older brother and their cousin currently running it. Chris had spent at least half of his life here at Fraser. At 6 PM, the bar would be quiet and almost empty. With once last glance, Chris headed inside.
As soon as Chris walked in, he noticed the wild waving right away. It was slightly annoying. There were six other people present, and it would have been impossible to not notice the group only a short walk away.
“Look, Chrissy here.” Sara sounded annoyed, and by the look she gave at his appearance, she had expected more. Sara had always had an issue with his inability to care about fashion or what he wore. During their six months of dating, she had never once said she liked one of his outfits. He was not sure she’d even said she liked anything about him.
Chris just gave his best fake smile as he looked over at the other two people responsible for him being out in the real world. He recognized Eve right away. She was a petite red head who had been Sara’s friend for two months. This happened after Sara had found out her old best friend was a two faced bitch. Chris liked Eve, but he doubted that the friendship would last, with the red head’s blunt and sarcastic personality.
The world then stopped as Chris glanced over at the last person. The man, a tall wall of muscle with buzzed copper hair and warm green eyes, was not a person Chris had ever met before. The sudden world-shaking feeling gave him a good hint why. This man was a shifter, and by the wide-eyed expression on his face, that other man had noticed he was a warlock.
While the bar was on neutral land, it was well known by the Paranormal Council that warlocks owned and often resided here. Shifters rarely entered and never stayed longer than ten minutes. The man glanced at Eve at the same time that Chis did. Eve was just smiling with a super villain look as she glanced at each man.
“This is my friend Duncan. Duncan, this is Chris.” The look in her eyes worried Chris. He started to feel like this was a setup or a trap. Even as Duncan held out his hand and Chis shook it, he noticed every small detail. Eve’s villainous smirk, Duncan’s slightly painful expression, the death grip on his hand, and Duncan’s dark glance at how Sara had placed her hand on Chris’ back.
“Let’s go sit down.” Sara tried to lead Chris to the table. She had no idea of anything. She didn’t know there was a shifter standing in front of her looking ready to kill. Of course, Sara also didn’t know he was a warlock, either. Chris felt nervous for her and himself as Duncan let go of his hand and headed over to their table without another word.
Sara continued chattering to just about anyone that would listen. Chick lacked the ability to focus on anything not all about her. Chris, instead, was focused on the way Duncan would flinch ever so slightly when Sara bumped into him, or the way that he would bite his lip, as if to keep his words in check. There was a small voice that sounded like his father’s saying shifters and warlocks do not mix. But Chris never did listen to his father. He couldn’t help the almost overpowering desire to provide some kind of comfort for this man. Just as Chris was trying to figure out this sudden internal conflict, a hand on his shoulder caused him to pause.
“Are you awake over there?” Sara’s voice had a tinge of concern but mainly annoyance, probably over being ignored.
