Being(s) In Love 03 - A Beginner’s Guide to Wooing Your Mate (4 page)

“Whatever.” The male werewolf next to Zeki sniffed pointedly. “Like you ever had a chance with Sheriff Neri. You can’t get two words out when he looks at you.”

Zeki turned away from both of them. “But Theo is
good
.” Protesting didn’t change the facts, but nothing, not even annoyed werewolves, had ever kept Zeki from arguing a point he believed in. “Back in school he was a good guy, is what I meant to say. It’s not right that he’s miserable.” They were saying Theo wasn’t even having sex, which was fine if he truly didn’t want to, but he must have wanted to once. He’d tried to claim his mate. He’d even dated in high school, or messed around, whatever the werewolf kids called what they did with each other out in The Meadows: experimenting with their sexuality while also learning to control their lupine impulses and strength, all with parental encouragement. Zeki had always wondered about The Meadows, and who Theo had done his experimenting with. He must have met his mate there.

“Oh right.” The first werewolf drew Zeki out of his memories of jealousy. “You were in town then, about when it happened. You’re his age, aren’t you? Slightly older?” She studied him all over again, probably picking up information Zeki hadn’t meant to broadcast. “What’s your name, by the way?”

“Zeki Janowitz.” Zeki had forgotten to give his name, but in his defense, most people who heard his name remembered it. He had a difficult name to forget.

Across the street, Theo tripped over a bucket and stumbled into the path of the hose. It must have been a real accident this time because a few of the other firefighters came over to offer him a towel and help smooth his wet hair from his face.

Zeki pursed his lips, then focused on the werewolves sitting with him. They’d returned to their blatant ogling now that Theo and the others were wetter than they’d been before. “Zeki is the magical one,” one of them offered with his eyes on the firefighters. He seemed to have forgotten Zeki had already been under discussion. “His dad works at the Flores.”

“He’s the head chef.” Zeki felt the need to correct him, then worked his jaw. The weres around him were rubbing their noses again, which had to be psychosomatic for werewolves because Zeki wasn’t working any spells at the moment. Magic didn’t have a smell, and it didn’t make noses itch. Werewolves just didn’t like the idea of something more powerful than they were in something as small as a human. They couldn’t sense worked magic, only the aftereffects or the ingredients, and it drove them crazy.

Regardless of where their eyes were, the werewolves continued to probe Zeki for gossip about himself. “You’re only in town for the summer? We don’t have any kind of real witch in town.”

No kidding
. Zeki almost said it but bit it back at the last second. “I’ve got no reason to stay,” he offered instead and made an involuntary sound when Theo slipped away from the others and headed into the firehouse through the garage. The female firefighter went with him, reaching out for him. Staring did not make either of them come out again, no matter how much Zeki wished it would.

He could have reacted better to seeing his high school crush, Zeki supposed. He might as well have been fourteen again. He should go home to mope and jerk off into a sock.

When he sighed, the first werewolf patted his arm. “You could try talking to him, if you were friends then.” She probably meant to be helpful. “He could always use a friend.”

Zeki, unexpectedly, felt his face and neck heat up. “Oh we weren’t friends. It was way more pathetic than that.” No point in lying to weres. It was
still
embarrassing to this day to know his classmates had known every time he’d gotten an erection. At least they’d all been in the same boat. Sometimes he thought they’d had it worse. At that age, and with their heightened senses, everything must have triggered arousal.

He had everyone’s attention now. Well, he had the attention of the ones not leering at the remaining firefighters. He wondered if their curiosity about Theo was so intense because Theo himself was so quiet—if he was as quiet as he’d been in school. Zeki settled his hands on the table to focus himself again. “Theo Greenleaf talked to me once in all our years of school.” It was exactly as pathetic as he’d thought to say that out loud. The whole truth was even worse. “In fact he asked me out, or started to.” The incident was one of the more humiliating episodes of Zeki’s romantic history. The time his crush had approached him, and in a blur of confusion and embarrassment, Zeki had sent him packing. “I said no,” he summed up, because the full story was too much. “I said
no
.” He still couldn’t believe it. He’d claimed he had better things to do when he hadn’t, just more studying and mooning over the guy standing in front of him.

In his defense, moments before he’d been dealing with two of his tormentors, the kind of asshole bullies who delighted in telling him either that no werewolf would ever date him or that
they
would, only to laugh and retract the statement a moment later. Theo had never been like them, but Zeki had been stinging with humiliation and fury. He’d been tired of being small and awkward and having two amazing-looking jocks tease him in order to laugh at how his stupid heart would trip at the idea of someone like them wanting someone like him.

He’d lashed out. He remembered thinking,
That’s it. Enough of this
. The school year had been ending, and he’d already been accepted to a college far away from Wolf’s Paw. He’d always been a natural magical talent, just untrained, yet they had never once respected him. He’d lost his temper in a surge of heat and electricity and pure, barely controlled magic. Magic with no focus, but enough to finally put wariness in their eyes, to make them back off and leave him alone.

He’d shouted after them, which was probably what had drawn Theo’s attention. Theo had ended up in the hall, looking at Zeki as if Zeki had secretly been a werewolf for years and never bothered to mention it.

Zeki shook away the memory, then froze as he took in the expressions on the faces around him. Not one person was staring across the street anymore. They were all staring at Zeki.

“Zeki Janowitz.” The first werewolf repeated his name in a slow, deliberate voice. If werewolves had been magic users, Zeki would have felt cursed somehow.

“Yes?” He glanced around. The firefighters were starting to pack it in. Maybe that was why everyone was now studying Zeki intently.

The first werewolf raised her eyebrows to haughty levels. “I cannot believe you would sit here and discuss this so calmly.” She narrowed her glowing wolf’s eyes. “It is an insult that you would treat all of this lightly.” She rose to her feet, so tall Zeki had to crane his neck to keep eye contact.

When she stood the others stood too, even the humans. Zeki had no idea what he’d done wrong, but of course he’d done something, and once again the entire pack—town—seemed turned against him. He thought they’d been getting along for a second there. Now he was back to being alone.

If there was some rule he kept breaking, they could at least have the courtesy to tell him what it was. If he asked, the best he would get was a shrug and that word again—instinct.

The patio was beginning to clear out, so Zeki stayed where he was, looking at the werewolf who had, briefly, seemed to warm up to him, until she finally chose to end their staring contest. She huffed and left without another word. Zeki guessed he shouldn’t have admitted to having once been rude to a werewolf who had later had his heart broken. As if Zeki had been supposed to have known that in high school. He couldn’t see the future. He wasn’t a Seer.

But he didn’t chase after her to try to convince her of that. He stayed where he was until the firehouse doors were closed again. He frowned at the fluttering pale pink banners on the streetlights and thought about Theo, and high school, and one more sugar cookie.

Chapter 2

“H
E
’
S
BACK
.”

Violet Femme skirted around Theo to get to Theo’s refrigerator. At least Theo assumed Violet Femme was their name today. It had been yesterday. When Violet chose different names to suit their mood, they usually chose names from the selection of nail polishes on sale at the drugstore where they worked. Some names flowed better than others. If Violet had been drinking, they would answer to Banana Split, which had been their favorite lip gloss flavor in middle school. But they had been Violet Femme for most of their adult life, since about the same time Violet had requested “they” as their preferred pronoun, as some pixies did.

Theo thought Violet was attached to the name but wasn’t willing to admit it. Pixies did not choose names until they felt good and ready. It was supposed to be a sign of adulthood or maturity, but even then the name might never be permanent. Pixies were nothing if not fluid.

For now, however, Theo said nothing as his best friend rooted around in his refrigerator and helped themselves to his bottle of juice. There were several more batches of dough in the fridge, which Violet would notice. Theo kept his eyes on the chilled dough on his counter, slowly smoothing it out. Violet’s presence wouldn’t slow his rhythm, although he knew why they were here. He’d been expecting a visit.

Violet gulped down Theo’s juice, then perched on the other end of his counter. Theo observed them from the corner of his eye. Violet crossed their legs and looked even smaller doing it. Pixies always seemed tiny, especially compared to weres, but they weren’t really. Something about the way they took up space confused the eye.

Violet tapped their short, silver-and-black painted nails against the countertop and leaned against a cabinet. “Did you hear what I said? I said he’s back.”

“I know.” Theo finished rolling out the dough and wondered if Violet could see the faint tremor in his hands. It made him more careful as he reached for his cookie cutter. He pressed down firmly, cutting chubby little bear shapes into the dough.

“Dammit, Theo!” Violet was not patient. Their husky voice rose with irritation, bracelets jangling as they waved their hand in emphasis. “You aren’t going to ask, are you? It’s not….” Violet heaved a breath and calmed down. “I know you want to know.” Their voice softened even more. “It’s okay to ask, Theo. I’m going to tell you anyway.”

“I know that too.” Theo stopped to stare at the number of sugar cookies arranged on cookie sheets, ready to go into one of his ovens, then cut out a few more. He had the space. His parents had arranged for him to rent this small house because of the kitchen, recently renovated for the last tenant, a Jewish tour guide who kept kosher who’d needed multiple ovens and sinks and lots of counter space. High along the wall by the door leading to his backyard was a shelf of his recipe notebooks. That and the pale blue curtains on the small window in the door were the sole personal touches Theo had added unless someone peered inside his cabinets. His cabinets were packed with flour and sugar brands, vanilla beans, cocoa powders, spices, and food colorings. His sister couldn’t make heads or tails of his system, but Theo understood it.

Violet never tried. They were more interested in the results of the baking, not the baking itself.

“Theo, how many cookies are you making?” Violet appeared to take in what Theo was doing for the first time. “I knew it was going to be bad, but, Theo. Oh Theo.”

Theo went to the ovens and peered inside, though he could usually tell by scent when something was done. “I’m going to need that space,” he warned Violet gently, and they hopped to their feet. Violet reached Theo’s shoulder today, but if they wanted to, they could look him in the eye. Theo glanced down, noting the winged eyeliner and the heavy application of sparkles along their cheekbones. Violet must have been bored at work.

In contrast, Theo’s day had been eventful. He moved before Violet could decide what to say, wishing his nostrils weren’t full of the scent of Violet’s anger on his behalf.

He went back to the ovens, taking out a tray of finished cookies and setting them down to cool for a few minutes before he put them on a rack. He put in another tray of raw dough.

“Teddy baby.” Violet refused to be ignored for the sake of cookies. Theo at last looked directly at them. Violet thought the shirts humans wore with the cheesy pictures of wolves and moons on them were hilarious, and had quite the collection.

Theo held still for another moment and then returned to his cookies.

“He came into the drugstore.” Violet began to fill him in, taking over the job of moving the cookies to racks to cool. “He got some stuff for his dad and some toothpaste for himself. I guess he’s picky about his toothpaste. He asked about ingredients for his human magic.” Theo imagined Violet giving a confused shudder but didn’t turn around. He kept pressing shapes into the dough. “His magic though… I could feel it in him. I don’t remember being aware of his magic in school.”

Theo soaked up the new information. He didn’t want to talk, but he could listen as he worked, revel in details about toothpaste brands and errands dutifully performed for a father. The facts were nice, comforting and simple. Zeki cleaned his teeth and loved his father. These were things Theo might have suspected before but hadn’t
known
. So was the news about Zeki’s increased power. Theo was happy to know Zeki was doing well.