Kelan's Pursuit (13 page)

“You mean, come to live there?” Cary asked.
“With
wolves
?”

“Do you have any better options?”
Kelan
asked, with a roll of his eyes.

“But you don’t even know me,” Cary said. “Why would you help me?”

Kelan
grinned. “I guess I’m a sucker for a hard luck story.”

“I’m not a charity case,” Cary protested.

“Whoa, I wasn’t offering charity,”
Kelan
said. “You’d have to work for a living, earn your keep, but if you want a fresh start, then the offer is there.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. I’d do the same for any of my friends. I realise I don’t know you, but you’re a friend of Jake’s and that’s good enough for me.”

Cary looked from Jake to
Kelan
and
back
again, his eyes wide with wonder.

“Wow. You’d really do that for me?”

“Sure.”

Cary smiled for the first time since
Kelan
and Jake had arrived.

“Thank you,” he said at last. “Thank you so much. This means a lot.”

“Well, that solves your plans for the future,”
Kelan
said. “But you need somewhere to stay right now. I don’t think you should be here even temporarily. Gill could show up at any time. My brother Cody has a spare room. I’ve been staying in it myself, but you’re more than welcome to it. I know my brother won’t mind. That is, if Jake will put me up at his apartment.”
Kelan
looked at Jake expectantly.

Jake smiled. He leant forward and gave
Kelan
a peck on the lips.

“Where else would my mate stay?”

Kelan
felt his heart soar. That was the first time he had heard Jake refer to him as his mate, and he liked it. He liked it a lot.

Kelan
looked down when he felt something brush against his legs. He smiled when he saw a jet black cat rub against him. Jake reached down to pet it and it arched into his touch, purring loudly.

“Friend of yours?”
Jake asked, continuing to stroke the sleek, black coat on the cat’s back.

Cary grinned. “Yep, this is Henry. He keeps me company here. I think he likes you.”

To confirm Cary’s words, Henry jumped up into Jake’s lap and began circling before settling himself down, making himself at home.

Kelan
chuckled. “I’d say you’re right. He has good taste.”

Henry’s head jerked up when
Kelan
spoke, as though he had only just noticed
Kelan
was in the room. He jumped up, arched his back and hissed at
Kelan
before fleeing to the kitchen.

“Uh, sorry about that,” Cary said. “I guess he’s not a fan of wolves.”

Jake burst out laughing at
Kelan’s
wounded expression.

“Cats never did like me,”
Kelan
mumbled.

“I like you,” Cary said. “And Henry will come around when he gets to know you, too.”

Kelan
nodded and smiled. He was so distracted by the cat he almost didn’t catch the strong smell that was slowly making its way through the small apartment.

“What the hell?”
Kelan
said. “Is that smoke?”

Cary sniffed the air and his eyes widened in surprise.

“Shit, yes!”

Cary ran to his apartment door, unbolted the locks and threw it open before Jake or
Kelan
could tell him not to. The corridor outside was filled with smoke. It immediately caught in his throat, making him cough. He slammed the door shut and quickly turned around to face
Kelan
and Jake.

“Fuck! The building is on fire!”

“Is there another way out?”
Kelan
asked, running through the small apartment to throw open the window in the living room.

“Yes, the fire escape,” Cary said, “but you can only access it through the bedroom.”

Smoke was already making its way under the apartment door.

“We need to hurry,” Jake said. “We’re not going to be able to breathe in here soon.”

“Come on, it’s this way.” Cary ushered Jake and
Kelan
into his sparsely-decorated bedroom.

He ran to the window and threw open the curtains.

“Shit, it’s stuck,” Cary said, fighting with the latch on the window.

“Here let me try,”
Kelan
said, gently nudging Cary out of the way.

Jake watched as
Kelan
used all his strength to pull at the latch. He cursed loudly when the damn thing broke off in his hand.

“We’re
gonna
have to smash the window,”
Kelan
said. “Cary, can you find me something?”

Cary nodded and Jake looked around the bedroom. He didn’t have much. All of his meagre earnings must have gone to rent and necessities. Cary rushed to the nightstand and unplugged a heavy bedside lamp before carrying it to
Kelan
.

“Here, use this.”

“Okay, stand back.”

Jake moved Cary back from the window and they waited at the bedroom door for
Kelan
to break the glass. The smoke was thick in the living room now and already making its way through the rest of apartment. Jake started coughing as he couldn’t avoid inhaling it. His eyes stung from the fumes and tears slid in quick succession down his cheeks.

“
Kelan
, hurry—we haven’t got much time.”

Kelan
nodded, took a few steps back then smashed the lamp against the window. The glass shattered under the pressure. He took off his shirt and wrapped it around his hand, using it to knock out the rest of the glass until the hole was large enough for them to climb through.

“Come on,” he said, holding out his hand to Jake.

Jake moved to
Kelan’s
side. He was halfway out of the broken window when he looked over his shoulder. Cary had disappeared from his place at the bedroom door.

“Oh God, Cary,” Jake said, looking desperately at
Kelan
. “He must have gone to find Henry.”

“Fuck! Climb down. I’ll get him.”

“What? No way, I’m not leaving you.”

“Please
Jake,
don’t give me shit over this. I won’t let anything happen to Cary, I promise, but I need to know you’re safe.”

Jake nodded reluctantly. “Okay, but please be careful.”

Kelan
gave a sharp nod of his head. He leant forward, placed a firm kiss on Jake’s lips,
then
turned to leave. Jake watched
Kelan
rush to the bedroom door as panic and fear coursed through his veins.

“
Kelan
!” he called out, before
Kelan
had made it through the door.
Kelan
turned to face him.

“I love you.” It had been a long time since Jake had used those words, but they felt right. He’d never meant them more than he did in that moment.

The love and affection shining back at him through
Kelan’s
eyes brought tears to Jake’s own.

“As I love you,”
Kelan
replied.

Jake started to climb down the fire escape steps. He had made it down two floors when he heard an almighty crash above him.
Shit.
It sounded as though it had come from Cary’s apartment. What the hell was he doing? He couldn’t just climb down to safety knowing
Kelan
and Cary were still inside. He would never forgive himself if something were to happen to either of them.

Jake climbed back up to the apartment and heaved himself in through the window. The smoke was thick in the bedroom and he could barely find his way to the door. He lifted his shirt to cover his mouth and nose and fought his way through the haze back into the living room.

“
Kelan
!
Cary! Where are you?” he called out. The polluted air had him coughing and spluttering.

When Jake got back to the living room, he noticed the door to the apartment was hanging off its hinges. He rushed to the door and gasped when he saw
Kelan’s
motionless body on the hallway floor.

“
Kelan
!
Oh God, no!”
Jake shouted, rushing to his lover’s side.

He knelt down next to
Kelan’s
body and checked his neck for a pulse. It was faint, but
Kelan
was alive. Thank God.

“
Kelan
, wake up!” Jake said, shaking
Kelan’s
shoulders roughly.

There was no sign of Cary anywhere in the hall. Jake got up, grabbed
Kelan
under the arms and began dragging him back into the apartment.
Kelan
was heavy and Jake had to keep stopping as coughing fits overcame him.

He managed to get
Kelan
back into Cary’s bedroom, but the difficult part proved to be lifting him to get him out of the window. Jake heaved and, finding a reserve of strength he didn’t know he possessed, he climbed out of the apartment window with
Kelan
in his arms and placed him on the fire escape landing.

Jake looked anxiously from
Kelan
back to the apartment. He didn’t want to leave
Kelan
out here alone, but he had to help Cary. He had made a promise to himself he would make it up to Cary for the way he had treated him, and he would, God damn it, if it was the last thing he ever did.

Jake covered his mouth again and fought his way through the apartment out into the hall. He still couldn’t see any actual flames, but the heat in the corridor was intense. He stuck to the wall and felt his way along to the stairwell. He was deciding whether he should go down or up when he heard an ear-splitting scream coming from the floor above.

“Cary!” Jake called out, starting up the stairs.

When he reached the next floor, Jake called out again. There was no reply. The smoke on the fifth floor wasn’t as thick as on the floor below, so Jake knew the fire had started lower, the smoke, heat and flames making their way up. There was no sign of Cary in that corridor, so Jake climbed up another floor.

“Cary!”

“Jake, no!
Go back, get out!” Cary called out.
“
Argh
!”

Fuck.
Jake had to get to Cary. Gill had him, it was obvious. Now that Jake came to think about it, Gill had probably been the one to start the fire, too. Jake didn’t know how he could fight someone as strong as Gill, but blind fury clouded his mind when he heard Cary cry out in pain once again. The sound was quieter this time, though, further away. Gill must be taking Cary to the roof.

Jake kept on climbing. At least there was less smoke the further he climbed, making it easier for him to breathe. He finally reached the top floor of the tenement building and stood in front of the roof door.

“Christ, please let him be okay,” Jake mumbled, pushing open the door.

Jake shivered involuntarily when the cold night air hit him, but he was so pumped on adrenaline, he barely noticed it. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness,
then
climbed the four narrow steps that led up onto the roof.

“Jake, no!”
Cary shouted. “Get out of here!”

Jake
span
around and gasped at the sight before him. Gill stood behind Cary, one arm wrapped around his waist, the other holding a knife to his mate’s throat. Blood poured from Cary’s nose, and the cut on his lip had re-opened.

“Well, look who it is,” Gill said, pressing the knife closer to Cary’s throat.
“Your new
fuck-
buddy.”

Jake saw blood trickle down Cary’s throat from where the knife was cutting into his skin.

“It’s not like that between us,” Jake said. “We’re just friends.”

“Don’t fucking lie to me!” Gill shouted, using the knife to point at Jake. “I know you’ve been screwing him!”

Gill’s face contorted with rage. His eyes gleamed yellow in the moonlight and, from where he stood, Jake saw a ripple pass over the shifter’s skin. He looked like a madman that had nothing to lose, a very dangerous combination.

“Gill, put the knife down,” Jake said. “You don’t want to do this.”

“How the
fuck do
you know what I want?” Gill seethed. “I want my mate! That’s what I want.”

“You had me,” Cary said. “We could have been happy
together,
Gill, but you ruined it. You ruined everything.”

Jake saw the confusion in Gill’s eyes. He thought that maybe Cary was getting through to him, but then the coldness returned and Gill sneered.

“Don’t put this on me. You should never have left me. It’s your fault I got so fucking angry all the time, the way you pranced around, flaunting yourself at any man that would look twice at you.”

A lone tear trickled down Cary’s cheek.

“That’s not true,” he said quietly. “I loved you. I never looked at another man when we were together. I didn’t want anyone else.”

“Bullshit!” Gill spat. “You couldn’t wait to get rid of me so you could start fucking around. I’m not stupid. Well, now you’re going to fucking
pay
!”

Cary screamed when Gill replaced the knife at his throat, cutting deeper into his skin and drawing more blood. Jake didn’t spare a thought for his own safety, or for the consequences of his actions. He lunged at Gill and made a grab for the knife.

Kelan
cracked open his eyes and squinted in the darkness. Where was he? And what was that damn smell, was it smoke? He jumped up hastily when the fog in his brain cleared and he remembered where he was and what had happened to him.
Gill.
Shit.
At first
Kelan
couldn’t understand who had put him out here on the fire escape, but then it hit him. It had to have been Jake. Damn it, he’d told him to stay out. He had no doubt Jake would have then gone back in after Cary, too.

“Jake!”

Kelan
climbed back into Cary’s apartment, but the smoke was thick. By the time he made it into the living room, he saw huge flames outside the apartment door.