Page 3 of Smoke and Mirrors
The three of us seemed to have a unique bond ever since we rescued the wolf shifter and his two children from the especially sadistic carnival in Drowningville. In exchange for saving his life, he volunteered to perform a half-shifted Wolf Man act, which earned our new ragtag team of sideshow performers some serious local buzz. Each show became bigger and more crowded than the last, and they only wanted more.
However, back-to-back nightly shows took their toll on us performers. Connor was putting so much pressure on his legs during his acrobatic stilt walking, he had intense pain the last couple of nights. Thankfully, the weekend finished and Nigel, the carnival manager, gave us the next night off. A different program would go on during the slower weekday nights.
When we were decent, I opened the trailer door and tried not to smile too brightly at the beautiful pale man with golden eyes. His platinum, shoulder-length hair was wavy this morning, probably an effect of the lovely, midsummer humidity. He was dressed simply in a gray T-shirt and dark jeans but still managed to look like a model with otherworldly beauty.
“Hey, Hunt.” I bit my tongue, cringing at how I shortened his name but it was too late to take back now.
“Mornin’, Mel,” he greeted me with an easygoing smile as his gaze flickered downward shyly. “You look nice today.”
“Ahaha, seriously? I literally just rolled out of bed.” My heart fluttered like butterfly wings in my chest. “But thanks. You look nice too.” Sweet baby Jesus, why did he have to be so prettyandpolite?
“What’s this about bacon?” Connor called from behind me.
“I have some.” Hunter nodded to the bundle of butcher paper he held at his side. “Me and the kids took down a boar the other night. I’m telling you, Con, this is the most delicious bacon I’ve ever had in my life.”
“Well, get a fire goin’ and put the griddle on, boy!” He slapped my ass and hoisted himself onto the kitchen counter to start a pot of coffee, ignoring my glare in the process.
Hunter tried to politely look away but I still caught his lip bite as he tried to hold back a laugh.
“Oh, don’t get all shy, Hunt. I’ve seen you naked.” Why embarrass just myself when I could embarrass him too?
“Yes, you have.” His lips pulled back into a sultry smile. Damn it. He wasn’t embarrassed at all. Not that he had any reason to be— he looked exquisite with or without clothes on. Lithe muscles covered his tall frame, and yes,itwas very nice to look at as well. Even though I only got a quick glance because it was right after he shifted from Wolf Man to human. I hugged him after our first show together, not realizing he needed to be naked in order to shift.
It was beyond awkward at the time but now that it occurred in hindsight, I didn’t mind bringing it up for flirty banter. And apparently Hunter didn’t mind either.
We got the fire started and I carefully set up the cast iron griddle over the flames, held up by two cinder blocks.
“Where are the kids this morning?” I asked.
“Sleeping in,” he said, laying thick strips of bacon onto the hot pan. “It was a challenging hunt for them, but they did so well.” His eyes beamed with pride and predatory instinct. “They need challenges like that to grow into strong wolves.”
Another question weighed on my mind, which he seemed to sense. When he finished laying the strips of bacon, he folded up the butcher paper and moved to sit next to me. The side of his body brushed mine in a clearly intentional move.
“What if that boar was a shifter?” I said in a low voice, watching the strips of meat sizzle. “Can you tell?”
“Yes,” he said, putting a hand on my knee reassuringly. He was getting bolder with touching me lately and my insides did backflips. “We can smell if another animal is also human. Most shifters can sense it in some way.”
I blew out a breath. “That makes me feel better.”
“It is interesting to think about,” he mused. “Why other animals are okay to kill but humans are not.”
“Some humans should absolutely be killed,” I spat with more venom than I intended. “Like the ones who captured and tortured you. Predators like Syko. And the ones who’ve hurt Connor so badly.”
My mind drifted to the ex-fiancee who left him, and the woman sending him messages on his phone. I still hadn’t brought that up. Every time I thought about it, I felt immature and stupid to be jealous. She had him before he was injured, then discarded him. The text asked, “Are you ever going to talk to me again?” which indicated he wasn’t talking to whoever she was.
And regardless, I had no legs to stand on. He was encouraging me to be with other guys. What right did I have to get upset over a text?
Hunter picked up a pair of tongs and began flipping the bacon over. “I agree with you, Mel. But there are laws that protect humans and not other animals.” He ran a hand through his silky, platinum hair that could’ve landed him on a shampoo commercial. “And predators like me prey on other animals to live. It’s not that simple.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, still hypnotized by his hair.
“BABE!” Connor yelled from inside the trailer. “Come get coffee!”
“Yes, sir,” I said sarcastically as I jumped the two steps to get inside.
“Hmm, I like it when you call me sir.” He grabbed my waist and pulled me to stand between his muscular thighs for a kiss. While sitting on the counter, he was taller than me by several inches and seemed to enjoy the perspective.
“Well?” he inquired when our lips broke apart.
