Chapter Nine – Inextinguishable Fire
Seeing a giant like Ryder maneuvering himself through the city maze from that distance should have seemed at least a bit odd to Danny, but that would have required having certain prerequisites such as a sound mind. He had nothing like that left, apparently, if he was so bent on going home with a possible criminal in tow and sleeping with him under the same roof, while the police were searching for the aforementioned criminal.
But all those worries and doubts were gone from his mind as he followed Ryder's bulky frame moving through the crowd, almost one head above all others. He was tall, well built, and not someone easy to miss, even in a city with millions of inhabitants like Glasstone. The street noise faded for a moment as Danny took in the shape of the man he was about to house and protect against the city's law enforcement. He had never been one to break the law, he hadn't even gotten a parking ticket in his life – because he didn't drive, but those were details – and now he was getting himself entangled into something a lot worse than everything he had ever done.
Another look at the man who had already slept at his place for one night, rearranging his life's priorities, and he didn't think of possible dangers anymore. If Ryder was, indeed, guilty of a crime – although breaking into a posh store only to scare the employees seemed like a strange thing to do – Danny would calmly explain to him why it was essential to surrender and accept a lighter sentence in exchange for his atonement and full cooperation.
Yes, that was the rational thing to do under the circumstances.
"I'm not sure it's fair that I take the small one," Vince commented in a low voice. "Are you sure you can handle this bull, Danny baby?"
"I'm sure," Danny said.
"Great. We're sharing one of those folie à deux episodes, because we're just about to break the law."
"I don't want you to get involved," Danny said. "This is my stupid idea. And where is that other guy?" he asked out loud.
Another person was trailing behind Ryder. Because they both wore hoodies and had them pulled low on their faces, they made a strange pair. Danny panicked inwardly that they were doing the opposite of what Vince thought they'd achieve by wearing those things, but the busy streets of Glasstone couldn't give a rat's ass about two hoodlums moving about. The most people did, as they poured from both directions, talking on their phones, hurrying to their works, and generally being caught in their own bubbles, was to get out of the way so they didn't get brushed against that mountain of a man by accident.
"I can't let you get in trouble by yourself. You're new to it," Vince pointed out the obvious. "Also, things have been a little too boring for me lately. And I can barely wait to interrogate the little creep." He cracked his knuckles and gave Danny a reassuring look.
Vince assumed the leader's role as soon as the two guys reached them. "Let's not dally. Danny, call work, tell them you got sick from something you ate. I'll take care of things on my end. Keep in touch all the time. I'll call every hour. If you don't pick up, I'm coming to your place and beat the shit out of your guest. Got it?"
"You are very protective of your friend," Ryder said in his low rough voice that made Danny feel all sorts of things happening on the surface of his skin. "I commend it. And I will make sure nothing bad comes to Danny. I will protect him with my body and my life if we get attacked--"
"I'm sure he would like you to do other things with your body," Vince commented under his breath.
One of this days, he'd have to strangle his bestie in the friendliest way possible. Ryder threw him a thoughtful look, making him too painfully aware of his cheeks being on fire.
"Let's do it," he said, with courage he didn't feel. "The faster we move, the better."
Vince nodded and grabbed the shorter guy by his elbow, pulling him forward.
"Hey, easy with the feathers. They're easily ruffled," the young man protested.
Danny couldn't get a good look at Ryder's accomplice because he didn't want to be rude. Unlike Ryder, whose hoodie looked too small for him, the other fugitive was swimming in his, so the hood covered his face up to his nose.
"You're coming with me," Vince said in a voice that brooked no further argument.
"Wait, I haven't even introduced myself." The guy blew into his hood, jutting out his bottom lip, in a useless effort to push it upward. "I'm Jack." He threw his hand out in Danny's direction.
Danny had no other option but to shake it. The guy pulled him suddenly close and whispered quickly. "You guys aren't serial killers or anything, right?"
"Shouldn't we be the ones to be asking you that sort of question?" Vince intervened right away, grabbing Jack by the back of his hoodie and lifting him like a mother cat would lift her unruly child.
"Point taken," Jack admitted.
Danny felt relief washing over him. Jack looked nothing like a hardened criminal. He was young, most likely younger than any of them, and wore glasses. If anything, he looked nerdy and cute.
What if Ryder went for that look? What if, underneath that benign façade, Jack was actually the mastermind behind the heist at that shop selling expensive scents? No, he shook his head, he needed to stop doing this, overthinking everything. If he made the decision to hide Ryder at his place, that was on him and no one else.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked Vince. "I could hide Jack, as well."
Vince ruffled Danny's hair. "No, if you go down for this, I'll go down with you. That's what friends are for."
"Somehow I doubt it, but it's good to know you're thinking that way." He gave Vince a short hug. "Ryder, please come with me. I suppose no one will be able to guess where you are for a while. But you will have to spend the entire day indoors. If that's fine by you."
"It's not like he has a choice," Vince intervened again.
"I can speak for myself," Ryder said, emphasizing the last word.
"Good. 'Cause, pal, Danny's waiting for some proper explanations." Vince patted Ryder hard on the back, earning him a frown in return.
Watching his best friend and the stranger that had stolen his sleep looking like they were about to throw down to settle matters between them did something funny to Danny's stomach. He quickly wrapped his arm around Ryder's. "I won't grill you like I'm the police," he said eagerly. "Vince is just, well, protective."
"Keep in touch, boys. Remember, every hour," Vince warned them once more.
"What are you going to do about your work?"
Vince waved. "I can work remotely for a day or two. Take care."
His bestie gave him one last meaningful look, before dragging Jack away. The guy in glasses waved nervously at Danny, and he waved back, trying to give the nerdy young man some reassurance. Vince wouldn't hurt him, but he would definitely put him through the wringer. Danny really pitied him, but there was nothing he could do.
***
As much as he agreed with Danny's friend's protectiveness, Ryder continued to feel unnerved by it, long after they said goodbye to Vince and Jack.
"Have you ever been in another sort of relationship with your friend?" he asked.
Danny was hanging on his arm, and it felt good. In that world full of dangers, Ryder felt as if he were the one protected, a laughable matter, seeing the physical differences between him and this human who had decided on of a whim to offer him harbor while he hid from the local police.
"What other sort?" Danny asked. "Ah, you mean, boyfriends?"
"Intimate," Ryder said shortly.
Danny guffawed as if the mere idea flabbergasted him. "No. We've always been friends. I know that it's a big thing to grow up nurturing a crush for your bestie for us gay boys, but it wasn't the case with us. We felt like brothers from different mothers. We've never wanted anything else."
"Good," he said in the same clipped manner.
"I'm sorry about holding you so tightly, but if we look like a couple, people won't find it strange that… you know, they won't think you're a stranger to this place so much."
Ryder watched as Danny caught his bottom lip with his teeth and then released it. He noticed the plumpness and pink color, and a soft whine squeezed itself out of his throat.
"Are you hurt?" Danny asked, turning his head to give him a worried look.
He wasn't hurt. The kind, gentle eyes could take his pain away, and that wasn't an exaggeration.
"No, I'm not," he replied. "Why are you helping me?"
"That's a good question, isn't it?" Danny seemed lost in thought for a moment. "I'm sorry we have to walk so much, but taking the subway or any other means of transportation might not be the best idea. I suppose that the police expect perpetrators to be on the run, such as in a fast car. And we're doing the opposite to fool them, so we walk slowly. Not that I know that much about fooling the police. I have no experience whatsoever with, you know, with this sort of thing. Oh, please, stop me from blabbering."
"Very well, stop." Ryder had no idea if that was enough, so he pulled Danny close and leaned over him. Since his companion tilted his head back to look at him in alarm, he realized that he might have acted a bit too hastily.
"You're good at this acting like boyfriends thing," Danny praised him, although Ryder could notice a tinge of sadness in his voice. "We look like we're about to kiss. Not that we have to kiss to get the point across."
Ryder had a hard time understanding the things Danny said after the word 'kiss'. He closed the distance between their lips and made them touch, silencing the other. They stayed like that for a few moments. Danny's scent all around him, comforting him. It wasn't easy to find such a pleasant human in this cesspool of bad smells and bad intentions.
He pulled away and said nothing else. His heart beat with the precision of a machine inside his chest, but Ryder had a feeling that it might have skipped a beat for a moment.
***
"Should we take the stairs?" Ryder whispered in his ear.
"No, we shouldn't, it would draw too much attention," Danny replied while stepping inside the elevator's car. "Ah, damn," he added as soon as he turned to face the downstairs lobby of the building. "Come here, quickly."
Ryder obeyed without asking why. Danny grabbed him by the front of his hoodie and pulled him close. "I'm sorry, but I must kiss you. My neighbors from three floors down are dried up prunes and prudes. Also nosy."
He had no qualms with whatever plan Danny had that included the two of them and kissing. As Danny pulled him down for a kiss and the elevator's doors closed, he had the chance to notice an elderly couple adjusting their glasses and squinting while trying to catch a glimpse of him.
Danny pulled away as soon as the car began moving. "So, so sorry. If they'd got in the elevator with us, they would've subjected us to the longest interview in your life. And they have a knack for getting the truth out of people. So the rumors say. I try not to talk to them much, and they still know where I work, and that I'm gay, two things I'm pretty sure I've never shared with them."
"I see," he said, still dizzy after their kiss. Danny had a way of pressing his lips against his mouth that made him lose his head. It was completely unintentional, and he usually had a better grip on his mind and body, but it looked like the influence of this human was quite strong.
He rested his back against the wall. He did feel tired after expending so much of his energy to climb that tall building and then get down from it with Jack under his arm, on top of everything else. A bit of rest, no, more like a lot of it, would help him get back on his feet.
"Ryder, hey, what's wrong?"
He heard Danny's voice as if through a fog. When he opened his mouth to speak, no words came out.
***
The smell of fresh sheets and something else, just as pleasant, but of a different sort, tickled his nostrils.
"You're awake," he heard Danny's voice coming from his right.
His host held a bowl in his hands, filled with something that had to be delicious food.
Ryder groaned and rubbed his eyes. "How did I get here?"
Danny sighed, but at the same time, his face lit up with a smile. "I would never have thought I had it in me, but it looks like I could carry my partner in battle in case, you know, the enemy got him good."
The enemy. That single word brought to his mind the face of his fated mate, Theodore Pembroke, a clear sign that his own brain was bent on playing tricks on him. Ryder shook his head, as if he had water in his ears and eyed the bowl Danny was holding with unhidden interest.
"You gave me a bit of a scare," Danny confessed. "A man as big as you, and you melted to the ground like you were a lump of snow. Well, you did help me while I dragged you here, I'm not going to lie. But you were pretty much out of it, and it's not like I can call the emergency services. Ah, Vince told me to give you soup when you woke up. I have no idea if that's supposed to work for what you just went through, but here you go."
Soup. Ryder knew for a fact that he and soup in general weren't particular friends, but under the circumstances his deep hunger could even use that sort of food to calm itself down a smidge. He slurped the bowl in one gulp and gave it back to Danny, who was staring at him as if he had grown a second head.
"I don't mean to impose on your kindness, but do you happen to have more?"
"Yes," Danny said and jumped to his feet, ready to serve him, a stranger, who was only bringing trouble to this house. "How are you feeling?" he asked, while filling the bowl again from a decent-sized pot. Ryder somehow doubted it would be enough to replenish the energy he had lost during today's shifting episodes. But he couldn't be as impolite as to press Danny for more right away.
"I've had better days," Ryder admitted. "How is Jack?"
Danny's face faltered for a moment. "Vince is taking good care of your friend, don't worry." He laughed softly. "And he appears to have an appetite as big as yours, despite the obvious difference in size between the two of you. You're, you know, so big." He turned abruptly toward the counter, seeming to look for something that couldn't suffer any delay.
"I am grateful for everything you're doing for me."
"Don't worry. I like to think that if I ever happen to become stranded in the woods near the place you live, you would extend the same kindness to me."
"I would. And not only me. Everyone else in my pack."
"Pack?" Danny asked, somewhat disturbed by the word Ryder had just used by accident.
"It's a way of saying," he lied. "I meant my family."
"Of course. Do you think you can sit at the table? Vince sent a special delivery, convinced that you need all sorts of macros and proteins and all that. He's into that sort of thing. You know, fitness."
Fitness. The word was not particularly familiar to Ryder, but he assumed it had something to do with how big Danny's best friend was. Even if he was only a human, Vince appeared capable of going head-to-head in a fight against a wolf. Not with any real chance of success, of course, Ryder thought with petty satisfaction.
He needed to stop thinking like that. The human called Vince was kind in the same way Danny was. Even though neither of them knew Ryder from Adam, they had offered to help him. It looked like even the merciless city had a few such people in it. He had been a lucky one to stumble upon them.
Cassandra would beg to differ. His pack members would, as well. There was no such thing as luck, they believed, only fate. And his fate was supposed to take him – down a meandering path, it seemed – to Theodore Pembroke, because that man at the top of the tower was his fated mate.
Instead, he was enjoying such strange cozy moments in the company of Danny Wilson, a human who couldn't have been further from a wolfshifter, with his soft hair, nice eyes, and slim build.
But who said all wolves had to be big and strong? Ryder chuckled at his own strange thought. Danny couldn't even be considered a puppy, let alone a wolf. If there was some animal for him out there, it had to be something completely different from a wolf. If there was a fire burning inside Danny's heart, it had to be calm and enduring.
An inextinguishable fire, Ryder thought, wondering again why such unusual thoughts were wandering through his head as they saw fit.
TBC