The Altered (7 page)

“Weird how?”
Keira asked, looking a lot less frosty and a lot more
incredulous.

“I don’t know
how to explain it. He kind of stared at me, and I felt…. I wanted
to jump over the counter and just bury my face in his neck. That
sort of weird.”

Charlie
coughed and glanced down, and Keira looked as though her eyebrows
were going to disappear into her hairline. Jordan felt the colour
rising in his cheeks and suddenly wanted to be anywhere but there.
He hadn’t meant to say quite that much.

“For fuck’s
sake, Jordan. He’s a
seer
. Have you forgotten what that
means?”

“Of course I
haven’t.”

“Well, it sure
as hell seems that way.” She shrugged Charlie’s arm off her
shoulders and stood, palms flat on the table as she leaned toward
Jordan. “You wanted to scent him. People would smell you on him,
and what the hell would they think then? Hey? Of all the people to
get involved with, you had—”

“We’re not
involved
, Keira. I as good as threatened him before I left,
so you don’t have to worry about anything happening between
us.”

That stopped
her in her tracks, and her expression changed from furious to
confused in a heartbeat. “But… I don’t understand. You either like
him or you don’t.”

Jordan pushed
his chair back and stood to face her. “I did it because he made me
feel vulnerable and open, and I can’t afford that.
We
can’t
afford that. I was walking out of that library already making plans
to go in the next day, and then I realised… he’s a seer and they
can’t be trusted. No matter who he’s friends with.”

He turned on
his heel and headed out the door toward the stairs, dinner
forgotten.

“Jordan…
wait!”

Keira shouted
after him, but he was done talking about it. He was done
thinking
about it.

The
change
lurked under the surface of his skin, too much anger
bubbling through him to keep it in check.
God
, he wanted to
run so badly. Wanted to let his wolf out and forget about this crap
for a while.

It wasn’t
often he wished he was back home in Devon, but at times like this
he longed for the endless rolling hills of Dartmoor, where he could
run for hours without interruption. But it hadn’t been easy to hide
what you were in a small town, and London had offered too much for
him to turn down the opportunity. The anonymity it provided
outweighed the lack of green. Just.

He stormed
into his bedroom, slammed the door, and leaned heavily against it.
The walls felt too close, too confining after everything that had
happened this week. He might not be able to shift and run—a big
stray dog wouldn’t go down well in the neighbourhood, and he didn’t
relish the idea of being picked up by the dog warden. He could
still run, though.

Five minutes
later Jordan was pulling on his trainers by the front door when Sam
padded up to him. He looked from the shoes in Jordan’s hands to the
door and then cocked his head. Sam had no qualms about leaving the
house as a wolf.

“You thinking
about joining me?” Jordan asked. A small smile formed on his lips
despite his mood. “I’m warning you now, I’m gonna go hard and fast
tonight. You’re welcome to come if you think you can keep up.”

He grinned as
Sam bared his teeth at him before turning and going to sit in front
of the door.

“Don’t say I
didn’t warn you.”

Jordan let
them out and set off down the street at a fast pace, safe in the
knowledge that to anyone watching them, they were just a man and
his dog going for a run.

“What are your
plans for the day?” Keira greeted Jordan with a smile as he came
downstairs for breakfast. “Charlie and I can handle the gym this
morning if you fancy a few hours off?”

Jordan paused
on the bottom step, regarding her warily as she sipped at her tea.
They hadn’t spoken much since their fight on Friday night. Both of
them had needed to cool down a little before getting in each
other’s faces again. He’d known Keira long enough to recognise this
as her way of apologising. She would never say the words, and
neither would he—both were too stubborn—but he could accept her
olive branch and clear the air between them.

“Thanks,
that’d be great.”

Charlie came
up behind her then and slipped his hands around her waist. “Thank
God for that. I don’t think Sam could face going out for another
two-hour run.”

Jordan scowled
at him. He’d gone out twice over the weekend. It wasn’t as though
Sam had anything better to do. He felt guilty as soon as he thought
it, though. Thank God he didn’t say it out loud. Either Sam
couldn’t change back or he didn’t want to, Jordan wasn’t sure
which. He wasn’t positive Keira knew either. But whatever Sam’s
reasons for staying a wolf, Jordan should know better than to judge
him for it or pity him.

“Come on,
then, or we’ll be late.” Charlie tugged Keira toward the door and
waved back at Jordan over his shoulder. “See you later.”

“Yeah, see you
guys later. And thanks.”

Sam was
nowhere to be seen when Jordan walked into the kitchen, so he ate
his breakfast alone and thought about what to do with his suddenly
free morning.

The sun shone
in through the patio windows, bathing the kitchen table in the
deceptive warmth of winter sun. The sky was that rare, cloudless
blue that January hardly ever saw, and Jordan felt the pull of the
outdoors.

The pathogen
hadn’t altered him much in that respect. He’d always enjoyed being
outside when he was younger. Living where they did, his family went
out on walks and drove to the beach all the time. But now the
experience was visceral—the bone-deep need to be out in the fresh
air was almost too much at times.

In the end he
settled for a walk along the river, carefully avoiding the tourists
as they stopped every few seconds to take pictures. The air by the
water felt a little cooler on his skin, and he stopped to lean on
the railing, tilting his face up toward the sun.

Laughter
echoed around him, groups of people and couples chatting as they
made their way past. Jordan often wondered what his life would have
been like if he hadn’t been altered. He’d probably have stayed in
Devon, near his family and friends. It would have been good,
familiar. But the pathogen had made that impossible.

As soon as the
papers had reported people disappearing, his parents begged him to
go somewhere safer, less exposed. And here he was, ten years
later—with a different name, in a different place, and with
different friends.

He had Keira,
Charlie, and Sam now, but he couldn’t help thinking he’d have had a
family of his own by now if this hadn’t happened to him. Despite
what Keira said about mates, Jordan couldn’t risk their safety by
trusting someone enough to let them in.

The
unmistakable scent of coffee caught his attention, and he shook off
the depressing thoughts clouding his brain. This was supposed to be
a nice refreshing walk before spending the afternoon in the gym,
not some maudlin trip down memory lane. Coffee and a muffin sounded
like a good idea before he needed to head back, and he followed his
nose to the nearest source.

It hit him
before he’d taken two steps inside the door.

The familiar
scent of fresh-cut grass undercut with a hint of something sweet.
It reminded Jordan of warm summer days and sent a pleasant hum of
contentment through his whole body. That lasted for all of two
seconds, because then he stiffened as his mind kicked in and he
grasped what it meant.

Sure enough,
when he glanced around the coffee shop, Daniel was sitting in the
corner by the window, with his book out and his head buried in it.
He hadn’t see Jordan yet, but before Jordan could think of leaving,
Daniel’s head snapped up as if Jordan had shouted his name.

Their eyes
met, and that same curl of want and need blossomed in Jordan’s
chest. He’d already taken a step forward before he realised he’d
done it, and he proceeded to walk into the back of a nearby chair.
The impact snapped him out of
whatever the fuck that was
,
and he cursed as he righted the chair and slid it back under the
table. He wanted to know what the hell Daniel was doing to him and
then get him to stop.

Jordan turned
back toward the counter, refusing to glance in Daniel’s direction
until he had a coffee and could sit down. Bumping into chairs and
tables with a hot drink in his hand would not be fun.

He gave the
harried barista his order and shuffled along the counter to pay and
wait for his drink to be made. The spot between his shoulder blades
itched, and he knew without turning around that Daniel was staring
at him. The smell of the coffee and the other people in the room
made it almost impossible for Jordan to get an idea of Daniel’s
emotions, and he felt a little off balance, not knowing what he’d
find when he walked over to Daniel’s table.

They’d not
exactly parted on the friendliest of terms, which Jordan
acknowledged was entirely down to him, and this probably wasn’t
going to go much better. He liked being in control, needed to be,
and this thing Daniel did to him left him feeling vulnerable in a
way he hadn’t in a long time. It had to stop.

Jordan
collected his coffee and weaved through the occupied tables, making
sure to keep his eyes lowered until he stood in front of Daniel’s.
He didn’t bother asking for permission, just pulled out the empty
chair and sat down.

Only then did
he spare Daniel a quick glance.

“Oh, by all
means, have a seat.” Daniel oozed sarcasm. He gestured to where
Jordan now sat, and his lips were curved up into an unattractive
sneer. But Jordan noticed Daniel didn’t let his gaze linger on
Jordan’s for more than a split second.

Interesting.

Jordan took a
sip of his coffee while he watched Daniel fidget across from him.
He closed his book with a sigh, clasped his hands on top of it, and
then muttered a few choice words under his breath that he must have
known Jordan would hear. Jordan felt his lips twitch despite the
situation.

“Did you
actually want something? Or is this some Neanderthal attempt to try
and intimidate me?” Daniel leaned forward and dropped his voice to
barely above a whisper. “Listen, I don’t give a shit about you or
your friends. Do you think Matt would be with me if I was
dangerous?”

Jordan’s body
reacted quickly, taking him by surprise. His lips curled into a
snarl at Daniel’s words, and his fangs were nearly all the way down
by the time he got a handle on his instincts.

Daniel stared
at him, with his mouth hanging open in disbelief. “Stop it!” he
hissed, casting furtive glances at the tables around them. “Are you
crazy?”

Jordan was
starting to wonder that himself. “Are you and Matt together?”

The words
spilled out without his permission as his mind was still focused on
not throwing a half shift in the middle of Starbucks. The thought
of Daniel and Matt together made his blood boil, and that made no
sense. He didn’t want Daniel like that, and Daniel sure as fuck
didn’t want him.

Jordan took a
moment to study Daniel across the table, wondering why the thought
of Daniel and Matt being in a relationship had pissed him off so
much. In theory, everything about Daniel should want to make Jordan
keep a wide berth. But his instincts apparently thought
differently, and he let his gaze wander over Daniel’s features,
taking him in slowly.

His hair was
different
. Jordan had only seen that colour come out of a
bottle, but Daniel didn’t smell of chemicals. His eyes and lips
stood out against his pale skin, and the overall effect was
striking. He wasn’t Jordan’s usual type, but Jordan could
appreciate his attractiveness. If only Daniel wasn’t projecting
such strong feelings of derision his way.

“That’s none
of your business.”

It took Jordan
a minute to recall what they were talking about, and then he found
himself relaxing back in his seat. It wasn’t a
no
as such,
but it felt like one.

“As riveting
as this conversation is, I have shit to do.” Daniel rose from his
chair to leave, and Jordan shot his hand out to grab him by the
wrist.

“Wait.”

Daniel glared
down at Jordan’s hand, then back up, and Jordan felt himself drawn
in again until Daniel snapped his eyes closed.

“
That
.”
Jordan hissed. “What the bloody hell is that?”

Daniel stared
down at the table for a few seconds before collapsing back into his
chair with a groan. He put his head in his hands and spoke through
his fingers, his words coming out muffled. “How much do you know
about people like me? And I don’t mean the crap they say in stupid
online forums.”

Jordan
squirmed in his seat. He might be guilty of believing some of the
things written there, but he wasn’t about to own up to it. He eyed
the two tables closest to them, making sure no one was paying them
any attention, and then rested his arms on the table, leaning in
closer to Daniel.

“You can
see
.” Jordan ran his thumbs over the tips of his fingers, a
bad habit he’d picked up after he’d first changed. He still half
expected to feel the ends of his claws, even after all this time of
knowing he wouldn’t. “I don’t know how much truth there is in this,
but I’ve heard you have a grounding influence on
us
. I’ve
also heard you have some sort of mind control, which I always
thought was complete bollocks, but now I’m not so sure.”

Daniel peeked
through his fingers at that last part. “Yeah, that is complete
bollocks. But….”

Jordan raised
an eyebrow, barely holding back from telling Daniel to spit it out.
“But?”