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“Can you see me?” he asked, even though he already knew. He just wanted to see what her reaction would be.

Her cheek ticked, and he cursed. “Goddamn, another one.”

She looked at him sharply, and he saw it in her eyes.

“That’s what you’re here for,” he said, and he made himself disappear from her sight. He had to hurry before that ability of hers allowed her to see which cabin he was going to. He stepped through the door into the cottage.

The curtains were thick and they kept out all direct sunlight, but it was hardly full-on darkness in the cabin.

He ran into his old bedroom where Ivan was staying and stepped through the closed door.

In here it was a little darker only because Vlad and Ivan had taped cardboard over the windows to shut out most of the light.

Ivan slept above the covers. There was no central air in this small cabin, and he was not used to being so hot. He never slept naked, however. He always had to be wearing something. Tonight he’d worn a pair of baggy shorts that went down to his knees.

Looking at him lying there, eyes shut in sleep, his hand resting on his chest and legs sprawled over the bunched up covers, he could have passed for human or maybe even another werewolf.

Eric contemplated not waking him but then just went to the bed.

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Ivan would want to know about this other woman who could see

spirits. She certainly didn’t have the appearance of someone who was  abused by them. Maybe there was a trick to it that she could teach  him.

Maybe Ivan was the real reason why she was here.

Eric put his knee up onto the mattress. It didn’t dip under his weight. It never did unless he was on top of Ivan, pounding into him, the entire bed shifting and shaking and hitting the wall.

He shook the thought from his mind. He didn’t need an erection right now.

As he got closer, Ivan’s skin pebbled slightly from the cold Eric’s body produced. He took Ivan by the shoulder and gently shook him.  “Hey, Ivan, wake up.”

He shook him a little more before Ivan groaned and opened his eyes. Those red orbs focused on Eric’s face, and Ivan smiled and reached for him.

Eric took him by the hand before he could grab hold of him.  “There’s a woman here who can see ghosts just like you.”

Ivan’s confusion turned into…well, deeper confusion, and he frowned. “What?”

Ivan sat up as Eric got off the bed. “A woman just drove onto the land. She could see me. I know she could. She asked for James, but

there’s no way she doesn’t want you.”

Ivan shook his head. “Vlad and I have not told anyone of our  whereabouts. Who would we tell? We have no family left.”

And if there were any of those people alive, he knew they were as  good as dead to the brothers anyway. “I know. I believe you.”

“Vlad would never speak openly of my curse either.”

“Don’t worry. I believe you. I just want you to be prepared.”

Eric didn’t realize he’d reached his hand out and cupped Ivan’s  cheek until the other man rested his hand on top of Eric’s.

Eric was too shocked and embarrassed with himself to pull away.

Ivan leaned closer and kissed him.

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Eric had never felt more alive. The press of those soft lips always sent a jolt rushing through him, like he’d touched a live wire or something. Any physical touch had that effect, really, but it was always when their mouths came together or when Ivan touched Eric’s cock that he really responded.

It was almost like he had come to life, like that electrical current

had acted as a defibrillator and brought him back from the dead.  Every pore on his body, every hair, and every nerve was awake and  thrumming. He had a heart, and it was beating once more, very  quickly.

Ivan had him, and he knew it, the bastard. Eric’s hands slid around

Ivan’s waist, dipping under the loose shorts and pulling them down just enough so that he could get a grip on Ivan’s ass. It was firm, full, and perfect.

Eric pressed him down onto the bed, laying his body over top of  Ivan’s. He pushed the shorts down even more, letting Ivan’s beautiful prick spring free. He was cut, and pre-cum pearled at the tip of his dick.

“I’ve missed you,” Ivan said on a gasp as Eric thrust their cocks  together.

Now that Eric was touching Ivan, the bed rocked slightly as he  thrust against the other man. He wanted to tell Ivan that he’d missed  him, too, but he couldn’t say anything. Not a word came out of him  because of how much he hated himself for doing this, for not having  the strength to fight back and just stop.

But those red eyes were so tempting. Vampires had the ability to  charm anyone who looked into their eyes, creating feelings that  ranged from lust and love to anger and hate.

Ivan had tried to charm Eric once or twice before. It never

worked. It was the ghost thing all over again, so he didn’t even have  the luxury of placing blame on someone else for his own weaknesses.

Ivan moaned, and he tried to raise his legs to give Eric better  access to his body, but the shorts he’d been wearing to bed were still

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around his legs.

“Fuck me, Eric, right now. Fuck me.”

He couldn’t say no. He forced his body away and began pulling at  Ivan’s shorts, yanking them off. He was ready, and so was Ivan.
 
Just  one more time to have him. One more.

He’d just managed to get them off when a knock sounded at the

door.

They both froze.

“Who is it?” Ivan called, his voice slightly higher than what was normal.

Mick, James’s second in command, answered from the other side,

his own voice sounding off, like he was embarrassed or something.  “Sorry, I know you can’t answer the front door during the day, and  when I knocked and you didn’t say anything, I let myself inside.”

Ivan took the shorts out of Eric’s hands and slid back into them.

They were a little stretched out now. “What can I help you with?”

He was so polite, even with the frown on his face as his erection wilted. Eric’s did, too. He was torn between anger at the interruption and being grateful for it.

“James wants to see you. He said he’ll be bringing someone over here in a couple of minutes if you needed to get ready.”

“I do, thank you.” Ivan’s voice came out snappy.

Guess he couldn’t hold back on his disappointment after all.

Eric listened carefully for the sounds of Mick’s retreating boots, heading out the door.

He sighed and fell back on the bed. Ivan rubbed his face and looked down at him.

“Eric—”

“I’ll give you some privacy so you can get dressed.”

“Don’t leave!”

He already had. Eric vanished from sight, at least from Ivan’s sight. Judging by the way his shoulders sagged, Eric knew he’d gotten it right this time.

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There was never knowing how long he could stay invisible in front of Ivan, not to mention that if he stayed and the air remained chilled, Ivan would know Eric was still in the room, so he had to

leave before the other man could either sense or see that he was still

there. He looked away from the bed when Ivan grabbed hold of one of

the pillows and buried his face into it.

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Chapter Four

It was actually a difficult thing, for Eric to be able to properly spy on two mediums who could sense when ghosts were nearby. Because it was only two in the afternoon, James had to bring his little meeting into the small kitchen in Ivan’s cottage. Extra chairs were brought in to accommodate the pack alpha, his beta, Ivan, a couple of other alphas, and the mysterious woman. Vlad had been wrapped inside a thick blanket and walked over with Andrew. There was no way the vampire wanted to be anywhere else when this woman spoke to his brother. Sun or no sun.

Eric didn’t blame him for being so cautious. If this woman wanted something from Ivan, or was able to show him how to keep the ghosts away from him, then Eric wanted to be around for the news, too.

The problem was the chance that Ivan might be able to see Eric even when he was trying to keep himself invisible, and there was no telling how strong that woman’s powers were.

Then there was the issue that whenever Eric got to be too close to  Ivan, he grew cold. Whether or not that was a change in the temperature in general, or just Ivan’s reaction to him, Eric didn’t know.

He found a possible solution through the ceiling. He came down from it, making sure that most of his body was still in the attic, but this way, he could look down on the party of people and listen in on them without being seen by Ivan or that Opal woman.

Mick was occasionally sending Ivan odd looks between sips of his coffee, and it was clear the other man had heard the noises Ivan had

been making. Since he couldn’t hear anything from Eric, Eric could

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only guess what was going through his mind.

Andrew had told Eli the first night that Ivan was introduced to the  pack that Ivan was not right in the head. No thanks to Eric, that was  spreading around pretty quickly.

After the refreshments had been handed out, James cleared his

throat, leaning his elbows against the table. “All right, tell Ivan here  what you just told me.”

Opal turned those sparkling green eyes to Ivan. Really, they  glittered with excitement, and Eric felt a jealous chill surge through  him.

Was she attracted to Ivan?

“As your leader has told you, my name is Opal Drew, but he  hasn’t yet told you that I am a medium.”

Ivan appeared unfazed, though still perhaps curious about her  presence and what that had to do with him. “I know.”

Opal appeared equally unfazed by Ivan’s knowledge. She just  nodded. “I see.”

Eric rolled his eyes at them. Christ, if being psychic meant playing these strange little games, then Eric was glad he was born a werewolf instead.

James and the others were the most confused during this

interaction.

“You know? How?” Vlad asked, looking between his brother and

this woman who claimed that she and Ivan were the same.

“Because”—Ivan looked to his brother, and then at Eli, before

wetting his lips and continuing on—“Eric told me she was here.”

Eli’s eyes brightened, and again, Eric felt his heartstrings tug that  his brother wanted to see him so badly and Eric couldn’t grant him  that wish, even though they were both in the same room together right

now.

Isaac was the one who shook his head. “No way.”

He didn’t say it to dismiss Ivan’s claim, however. He just seemed more or less blown away.

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No one else in the crammed kitchen really had anything else to say. They were still torn between shock and disbelief. Vlad more so than any of them.

“He told me that you saw him when you came in?” Ivan asked.

“Yes. He passed on naked, I assume?” She blushed lightly again, but she knew perfectly well that Eric died with no clothes on.

“Wait, how did you know that?” Eli asked. “I get that you can maybe see him sometimes, but—”

“His spirit is naked,” Opal stated, and Eric had to bite down on his lips to keep the humiliated groan from leaving him. “Spirits only wear the clothes they passed away in. In Eric’s case, that was nothing at all.”

Werewolves were used to seeing each other naked. That was just the way it was when a man was forced to take his clothes off prior to making the shift into a wolf, but for these people, Eric’s friends and family, to all know that he was running around with no clothes on all the time…It was too much.

“So”—Eli looked at Ivan—“every time you see my brother, he’s

naked?”

Ivan’s arms were crossed. He wouldn’t meet Eli’s eyes. “Yes.”

Eli leaned back in his chair. Shock was all over his mug. “Huh.”

“Anyway, Ivan,” Opal said, drawing the attention in the kitchen back to herself. “I came here because there was gossip going around the spirit world that another medium had been found. I take it you have been having trouble with some of these spirits that visit you?”

“Yes,” Ivan said again, his back straightening.

Here it was, and Eric was glad. She was going to tell him how he could survive on his own, how to properly fend off the ghosts so that he wouldn’t be forced to rely on Eric all of the time.

It made Eric sad to know that, when that happened, Ivan would no longer need him.