"Sorry sir, but you're both here, so it's obvious it didn't happen."
The so-young Omega was right, but there were different deaths. Todd could tell him about that.
"Sosomethinghappened," said Kim. "Let me guess, you went over there to return the wallet. The minute you saw each other, itwasBrokeback Mountain. You threw yourselves at one another, getting hotter by the moment, and oblivious to the world. One thing led to another, then Todd's father discovered you making out while—"
"Okay," I said with a smile. "You watch too many movies."
His face fell. "That's what Jack says."
"I'm sorry. It was just an expression and helping pups like you is our duty, but we're not perfect." He nodded but without commitment. Against all odds, I told him something his Alpha said. In his young mind, it was gospel because another shifter said it too.
Todd slapped my butt, telling me it's his turn. "Actually," said my Alpha, "it was a bit of a calm before the storm. Something was coming like us learning about the magical world and our first experience with Disbelief. Words have power like Mike said, and I had a loaded gun. It fired right into someone's head."
***
Chapter Seven
June 1969
Todd
My white, early-sixties, open-top Chrysler convertible came to a stop outside a brick home under the evening dusk. Donna smiled from the passenger seat. I got out, opened her side, and gently pulled her up.
In the muggy air, we walked in silence over a paved walkway toward a lit house that suggested her parents were up.Good.
"I liked it," she said to the unasked question. Her slender hands rested over mine. She used her fingers as if they were feet and strolled up my biceps. "You know," she whispered, "there are advantages to dating the sheriff's son since you have to keep in shape." She stared at me, but there was some feminine message I wasn't getting.
After I didn't respond, she continued. "Early access to movies, I suppose."
"Technically a screener so we can see if it's proper to show here."
She frowned slightly. "It sounds awfully like censorship."
"No, that's what they do in Russia. We're making sure these areourtype of movies. If folks want to see what's not here, they can go out of town."
"You think they'll allowEasy Rider?"
"I don't know. They have drug use, and you know how my father hates druggies. However, they get killed at the end, so the board might see it as a good lesson."
"How awful! They were only riding their motorcycles and not bothering anyone."
"Suppose they didn't deserve it."
I'll be a police officer, and I wouldn't be the kind to harass people. The nightly news showed officers with batons hitting people at universities, and their grim expressions reminded me of my father.
Anything but that.
Donna rested my hand over hers. "If I go inside, I'm 'around people.' Gotta act proper, right?" Her smile tugged at the edge of her voice. "But out here? It's just us." She looked at me, half-curious. "I never did get why it matters so much, what other people thought about a man and a woman in love. So, kiss me?"
She leaned into the kiss first and I returned it as expected. You weren't supposed to sleep with a girl before marriage, at least not the ones you'd marry. That's what my father stressed. Kissing was allowed if not demanded.
She mumbled in confusion, and I couldn't let her suspect anything. When we got married, I'd have to do this and more. So, I kissed.Funny how what happened in that backroom bar felt more natural. That guy was short like Donna.
The night drifted away and so did she. My tongue slipped past warm lips which didn't belong to a girl anymore. Fingers softly dug into flesh while imaginary men around me looked. Without thought, I growled, warning them away. That man wasan unknown, but he wasn't theirs. "Mine," I whispered through a deep kiss.
A high-pitched gasp took me out of my imagination. Donna pulled back, her eyebrows raised, and grinned. She licked each lip slowly, tasting me. "'Mine.' Oh, I love it." She blinked fast. "We need to take you to more biker movies if that's your reaction."
I stared back with shame. "I'm sorry."
