Full Moon Lockdown (8 page)

He brushed his fingers through his brown hair, not knowing if it was sticking up since there wasn’t a mirror, but he wanted to look a little better today to keep Sloan from worrying about him. The sound of the doors unlocking echoed through the hall, and Colin walked out at the same time Sloan did.

Sloan approached and without pause, grabbed Colin and kissed him right in the middle of the hallway. His kiss was more aggressive today, and Colin could hear the faint growl deep in Sloan’s throat. This shouldn’t have turned him on, especially with how sore he felt, but it was like his body said
fuck it
to the aches and responded to him anyway.

Sloan grabbed his hair, tugging on his strands, and heat pooled into his cock. Gods, he finally felt good for the first time in weeks, and he didn’t care if every person in this hall saw. Colin didn’t want to let the man go. Deepening the kiss, he felt himself being walked backward until his shoulders hit the wall. Sloan pressed his body into him, rubbing his hard cock into Colin’s.

Colin mewled.

Sloan growled, going for his shirt.

And then Sloan was ripped away from him, dammit.

Colin glared at Rayce and Malach who were holding Sloan by the arms. Sloan put up a struggle at first, and then with a flash of his hazel eyes, it was all gone.

“What the fuck are you two doing? Full moon's tomorrow, you both know the rules.” Malach looked back and forth between them like he expected one or both of them to answer.

Colin didn’t have an answer to give. He had no clue what came over him. It could be that Sloan had acted because of how close it was to the full moon, but him…hell, he’d been sick. Rubbing his forehead, for the first time he was questioning himself on not telling anyone why he had been sick.
Was this going to cause more harm than good to Sloan by not being seen?
Colin wearily stared at Malach, ready to spill when all hell broke loose down the hall.

Malach and Rayce took off as two Alphas began pounding on each other. The small crowd that gathered around them seemed to close in to see the action down the hall. The only ones that didn't move closer were Dalton and Knox.

Sloan grabbed ahold of his own hair, pulling it hard then turned and walked across the hall where he put his hands on the wall, letting his head flop forward as Sloan took slow, deep breaths.

Knox stood there for a moment, before commanding, “All of us, in my room now.”

Colin waited until Sloan pushed his hands off the wall and began tailing his best friend.

Colin and Sloan went to sit on the bed, but Knox stopped them. “I don’t fucking think so. You both stand.”

Colin glanced over at Sloan who shrugged and leaned his back against the wall.

“So what’s going on, you two?” Knox stood in the middle of his room, arms crossed like he was scolding two teenagers caught necking, well…never mind.

Sloan gave him a curious stare, but Colin knew it was time. Worrying his friends this long was ridiculous.

“Sloan and I have been seeing each other,” Colin confessed.

Knox snorted. “That’s not anything we don’t know, but something else is going on.” Knox pointed at him. “You’ve been sick as fuck until this morning, and you—” Knox turned on Sloan. “You practically fucked him out in the hallway and would have if no one stepped in. That isn’t like you.”

Sloan slumped over, squatting down and scrubbing his face. Colin watched his lover, feeling guilty as hell. “We had sex.” A blush crept into his cheeks at admitting his personal life to his friends.

Dalton shook his head. “So does half the residents in the compound.”

“I bit him,” Sloan mumbled.

“Bit him?” Knox's eyebrows rose damn near to his hairline.

“I bit him too,” Colin whispered. He would not have Sloan carry this on his own.

“Is that why you’ve been sick?” Dalton talked gently to him. Colin was thankful he wasn’t shouting at him. He wasn’t sure he could handle it any other way right now.

Sloan stood up. “We think so. He wasn’t sick until after we were…” Sloan rubbed the back of his neck before finishing, “together. Colin’s bite mark got infected.”

Reaching up, Colin grabbed Sloan’s hand, stilling it before pulling it down and holding it.

Dalton approached them. “May I take a look at it? I’ve helped the physicians, maybe I can help you.”

Colin slid his shirt over, revealing his mark.

“Damn, Sloan, you damn near chewed his shoulder off.” Knox was leaning over Dalton’s shoulder so he could see his wound.

“His was just as bad, but it healed.” Colin squeezed Sloan’s hand. He really didn’t want anyone seeing his bite. He felt protective of it.

“So, you bit Sloan too?” Dalton was tentatively touching it. Sloan reached over and removed Dalton’s fingers.

“Please, don’t touch him.” Sloan growled.

Dalton’s hands shot up in surrender. “Sorry. It’s almost like you two mated, but Colin hasn’t shifted yet and you didn’t tear each other’s clothes off at seeing each other. If you two were mates, you still wouldn’t have come up for air yet.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Knox stared at him, eyes full of concern.

Colin swallowed, “I’m feeling better today, so I’m going to give it a few more days. If it doesn’t heal, I’ll go to the physician. Can you two just keep this private until after the shift? I want to be there for Sloan afterward.”

Dalton looked like he was about to object, but Knox spoke first. “We’ve got your back, but you have to promise to get help after the shift if you’re not better, Colin. You won’t help anyone—Sloan or your brother who is just about to get out of the hospital—if you’re sick.”

Sloan blew out a breath. “Thanks, guys.”

Sloan reached for him and hugged him, giving him a kiss on his forehead.

Thirty-six more hours. Colin knew that if his wound didn’t heal, his friends would be dragging his ass to the infirmary. Didn’t matter, he would go willingly. He just had to be here for Sloan. That’s all that mattered to him right now.

The day of the shift and Colin was at his wit's end. His friends had been hovering over him the last thirty hours. He couldn’t even take a piss without one of them going into the bathroom with him. His wound hadn’t gotten any better, but outside the horrible achiness, he hadn’t seemed to be getting any worse.

Sloan was more aggressive than ever. No one could touch Colin or even come near him. By dinner the night before, his friends and he had to eat outside with Sloan, because he was staring down the next table of Alphas like he was going to rip their throats out. They weren’t even doing anything, but the fact that they were within ten yards of Colin was enough to send Sloan into a rage.

“You need to get a grip, Sloan,” Knox slammed his drink down.

“I’m trying,” Sloan growled.

“Go try some yoga,” Oren suggested.

“Doesn’t fucking work,” Sloan and Knox said at the same time.

Why they kept insisting the Alphas take these classes was beyond Colin. Not a single Alpha in the place believed they worked.

Sloan stood. “I’m going to go lock myself in. Knox, can you—”

“We got your boy, Sloan. Just do everything you can to relax.” Knox waved Sloan off.

Sloan embraced Colin. “That okay with you? Letting Knox watch over you? Feel like I’m going to snap.”

“I can take care of myself, Sloan,” Colin quietly protested.

“Just do it for me, please. I’ll feel better knowing you’re surrounded by friends, and maybe I can go calm down.” Sloan licked his neck. He wasn’t supposed to be doing that, just like Colin wasn’t supposed to be tilting his neck and giving him better access.

Colin broke free. “Go take care of yourself. Love you.”

Sloan nodded, and Colin watched him walk off, even his gate radiating aggressiveness.

“This is going to be bad tonight, isn’t it?” Colin grew distressed.

Knox rolled his shoulders. The man had his own change to worry about, and clearly, he was feeling it. “The problem with Sloan is that he just doesn’t flow into his shift. Think of a person jumping into a pool for the first time. How do they do it?”

“Cannonball?” Colin wasn’t sure where Knox was going with this.

“Yep, usually feet-first, creating a huge splash. My dad used to try to explain the shift to me this way: All new shifters are virtually jumping in feet first, clumsy as hell. It takes a lot of fucking practice to turn it around, going headfirst and then doing it smoothly. That’s how your shift should be. Like cutting into water smoothly. One body sliding into the next. Sloan fights it…he does a damn belly flop.”

Ouch.

“Can I help him?” Colin glanced at his friends.

“Honestly, I don’t know. He’s more aggressive, but maybe he needs a good kick in the ass. If he sees you trying your hardest to be there for him, even feeling like shit, maybe he’ll get it together. I don’t know though, they teach us just the exact opposite. To relax.” Knox stood. “Come on, let’s stick close to our rooms. Lockdown is just around the corner. And I’d like to avoid any confrontation with assholes around here if possible.”

They walked back into the building, dropping their trays off. Off to the side, Cass and Duke were eyeing them all up. Knox walked the group out of the cafeteria and down the hall.

“That’s what we don’t need. Hopefully, out of sight, out of mind for them.” Knox led them to their hall.

Brendan had been a no-show all day, and they went to check on him. There, inside his room, Brendan sat on his mattress—knees up, face covered.

“Brendan?” Dalton was the first to approach.

It was then that Colin noticed Brendan was visibly shaking. Knox and Dalton sat down next to Brendan while Oren sat at the foot of the mattress.

“I’m so fucking scared.” Brendan trembled as Dalton put his arm around him. Colin came over to sit next to Oren.

“You’ll get through tonight, and we’ll all be there to help you tomorrow.” Dalton played with Brendan’s hair, trying to soothe the terrified Omega.

“What if I don’t…” Brendan’s unspoken words hung heavy in the air.

Knox, the only one that had shifted, answered for them all. “You’ll make it. It’ll be rough, but you won’t be alone doing it. Sloan and I will be right there with you, and you'll have a lot of people who care about you to take care of you after.”

Colin could hug Knox for the kind words. As far as he knew, Sloan and Knox had barely said two words to the Omegas before he came. Not just the Omegas, they hardly talked to anyone but themselves. To see that they were trying to help out his friends made him grateful for meeting these men at such a hard time in his life. Hell, maybe Sloan and Knox needed all of them too.

They stayed there for several hours, and by the time they left, there wasn’t much time left before lockdown. Colin made one more quick check on his brother, finding him doing better every day. The only problem was that he didn’t have any memory of the night of the attack. Maybe that was for the best. Colin wished he could forget it.

When walking back with Knox to their rooms, he had about ten minutes before lockdown. Colin knew that Sloan wanted to be alone, but he wanted to do one quick check on him before he had to be separated from him for the night.

Approaching the bars of Sloan’s room caused a lump to form in Colin’s throat. The fact that Sloan felt a need to lock himself in so early was upsetting. Sloan sat with his eyes closed, head resting on the wall. The man was only wearing a pair of shorts, and Colin could see the muscles strain even when Sloan was resting.

Colin was about to leave when Sloan’s eyes slid open, offering his predatory gaze. Swallowing, Colin said, “I just wanted to say goodnight to you. I love you.”

Sloan stood, strong, imposing, muscles rippling as he approached. Did he appear bigger to Colin? Gripping the bars, Colin waited until Sloan’s hands covered his.

“How you feeling?” Sloan rumbled.

“I’m fine,” Colin lied. Actually, he was feeling pretty crappy right then, but he wasn’t going to let on about that to Sloan when he would be shifting in less than thirty minutes.

“You have my music player,” Sloan asked.

Colin nodded.

“Then, go get ready for tonight.” Sloan reached through the bars and pulled his head close. Colin’s lips parted, and he closed his eyes as Sloan’s lips met his. The kiss was hard; there was little hope right then for gentle, but it was brief.

“Love you too.” Sloan turned and made his way back to the mattress. Colin ran across to his cell, his body wreaking havoc on him. He tried to get ready for bed, wearing just a pair of shorts. His body ached, his skin was tender.

To hell with it,
Colin thought. He was going to the hospital. He'd never felt so horrible. He was about to leave when the emergency automatic door mechanism locked him inside.

Panic built. Colin wasn’t sure what the hell was going on. Fuck! His stomach. Bending over, he let out a moan of pain.

“Colin?” Sloan stood by the door of his room.

“Something’s…oh fuck.” Colin bent over, gripping his own bars.

“Colin!” Sloan screamed.

The pain was so intense. It felt like his skin was on fire, and his bones, gods, his bones. Colin let out a piercing scream as he felt his insides seize up on him. His stomach. Shooting pain started near his heart. His hands dropped from the bar, causing his arms to hang uselessly by his side. Colin could no longer hold himself up, and he fell onto the floor below.

Oh god oh gods, this could not be happening to him. Stark terror consumed him, but he knew what was happening. He was shifting.

Crack!
“Sloooan!”

* * * *

Sloan was going out of his mind. He gripped the bars, trying to shake them loose. He couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Malach!” Sloan roared.

Footsteps came pounding toward him, then Malach and several guards stood behind him. “You need to calm down, Sloan. Right now.”

“I need to get out of here.” Sloan shook the bars again.

“Are you crazy? What the hell are you thinking?”

“Sloan!” Colin wailed from across the hall.

Sloan watched Malach stiffen and deliberately turn, approaching Colin, seeing him writhing on the ground in the throes of the beginning stages of shifting.