Mission Primal (Men of the Pack Book 1) Page 3

  “Problem, Adam?” he asked calmly, a faint half-smile evident. He still didn’t look up from his book to meet Adam’s gaze.

  “No,” Adam replied defensively. “What makes you think that?”

  “Well, you are practically vibrating out of your seat over there. And if you don’t stop chewing that nail, you’re going to draw blood.” Adam dropped his hand back to the table top and clenched his fist tight, glaring silently Ben’s way. Ben exhaled loudly and closed his book, returning the stare.

  “I’m not a mind reader, Adam. You have to speak with your words if you want me to know what you’re thinking,” Ben continued quietly. “While I find your glaring to be intriguing, I haven’t been around you long enough to assign meanings to your different angry expressions.”

  Adam huffed out a laugh at that, causing Ben to break out in a crooked half-smile.

  “Fine,” Adam pathetically whined out in a high-pitched girly voice. “Can I please, pretty please see your motorcycle tonight, Ben?” He folded his hands under his chin and batted eyelashes to add extra emphasis to his request.

  “Of course, Adam,” Ben replied, putting one finger in his ear and wiggling it back and forth. “We can still get together, just as long as you never ask me for anything in that voice again.” Adam laughed out loud at that, flashing that amazing smile again.

  “Thor on a motorcycle, now this I gotta see,” Adam murmured, grabbing Ben’s phone and inputting his contact information and address.

  Ben’s face shot up, eyes wide in shock. “What was that?”

  “Oh, please. Don’t tell me you don’t know how hot you are, not that I would normally notice, mind you. Your resemblance to some sort of Greek god seems to have overcome the normal surge protector on my brain. I keep waiting for some modeling agent to walk up and offer you a spread in GQ.”

  Surprisingly, Ben felt himself blushing. While he thought of himself as good looking and had been told that by many a female shifter, having Adam say it for some reason was unexpected…and decidedly awesome.

  Adam continued on, failing to notice Ben’s flummoxed expression, “Oh, but don’t come to up to my door tonight, though. I’ll meet you at the crappy little park down the street. You’ll see it on the right. Just keep going past my house.”

  “What’s the matter? Afraid your parents might like me?” Ben asked, cheekily. Adam paused and barked out a harsh laugh that held not an ounce of humor.

  “No chance there. There’s just Charles the sperm donor anymore, anyway. He’s an ass and doesn’t like anyone, even me,” Adam replied. Adam’s gaze dropped back to his open book, no longer making eye contact.

  “It’s just easier to meet up that way, but if it makes you uncomfortable, no big deal. We can do it some other time,” Adam continued, his tone much more subdued. Ben could see just the mention of his father had Adam’s self-protective wall slamming back in place. He couldn’t stand to watch Adam hide behind it again.

  “No, no, it's fine, no problem. I’ll see you at the park at eight. It’s a date,” Ben replied, smiling.

  Chapter 5

  Adam

  The rest of Adam’s day went by in a blur. He couldn’t have said what happened in the rest of his classes. Thankfully, his teachers all knew him well enough by now to leave him alone and didn’t call attention to the fact that he hadn’t heard a word they had said. He was truly thankful he didn’t have any exams for the rest of the day. He may not seem like it, but Adam took pride in his almost perfect GPA and would hate to foul it up now this close to graduation. Having been secure in his valedictorian spot since the end of sophomore year, Adam already had his commencement speech written. He would hate to have wasted all that effort.

  Adam thought back to the moments after lunch, watching Ben almost swagger down the middle of “C” hall on the way to his English Lit class. Ben smiled at people as they walked past, even people Adam was sure Ben didn’t know at all. Ben carried himself with such confidence, like a force of nature almost. Adam was still confused by Ben’s choice to sit with him at lunch. Obviously Ben had no problems making friends, so was it pity? Adam frowned and pinched his bottom lip between two fingers. He thought that must be the case. Adam was “the nutter” after all and pitiable.

  Adam figured Ben was just being a nice guy and he was embarrassed about the exchange on the bus this morning. Still, that didn’t explain why Ben had offered to get together with Adam tonight. He found himself chewing on his thumbnail again as he turned the thought over and over in his brain. He stuffed his hand in his pocket to try and make himself stop. He’d tried several times over the years to break the habit of chewing his nails when he was stressed, but nothing had worked, even the nasty paint-on stuff and Tabasco his mom had tried years before. Finally, he’d given up even trying and came to accept the terrible shape his hands constantly stayed in. It’s not like he had anyone else to notice or care anyway, so what did it matter?

  Ben’s last comment still kept running through Adam’s head. What did he mean by “It’s a date.”? Like it’s a date on the calendar or it’s an appointment they made or it’s a date date? He was truly clueless. What confused Adam even more is that he didn’t know for sure which option he really wanted. He’d always thought of himself as straight, even though he’d never had a chance to test that theory in years. Back before Adam had walled himself off from the world, he had “gone with” a few of his female classmates to the extent that any 12 year old could be in a relationship. They held hands in the hall between classes and sat together at lunch, giggling more than talking. There had been one kiss under the bleachers with his last “girlfriend” which he remembered as just being wet.

  If he had to analyze it more, Adam would really have thought of himself as asexual before today. No one had ever brought any sort of reaction out of him along those lines. Absolutely no one. But maybe with Ben there was something, just maybe. There was definitely something intriguing about Ben that he hadn’t expected when he first met him, even his innate beauty notwithstanding. On first impression, Ben gave off an air of just being another brainless jock. Adam expected to see him with a girl on each arm and a fan club of devotees following his every move. But Adam had seen something more than that in their interactions today. Especially the way Ben kept digging and wouldn’t give up, no matter how hard Adam pushed him away.

  And then there was the aforementioned innate beauty. Damn, but Adam couldn’t stop staring today, even when he wasn’t making eye contact, his eyes were on Ben, cataloguing every feature. His eyes were an unusual golden hazel color he’d never seen on anyone else. His strong jawline and happy smile, composed of plump, and what he imagined would be kissable lips. His ash blonde hair was streaked with lighter strands like he spent most of his days out in the sun. Adam wanted to know how that hair felt when he ran his hands through it. No, he wanted to know what that hair felt like when he clenched his fingers in it and pulled…Nope…not going there.

  Adam forced himself to try, really try, not to think that way about Ben. But he dropped his head down on his arms in the last class of the day, banging his forehead silently on the hard tabletop. He was so confused and he’d only been around the guy for less than a day. How could the way he saw the world change so much in such a short time? The last bell of the day rang and Adam was no closer to clarity despite all the mental energy he had devoted to his confusion. It was then that Adam knew he was well and truly fucked.

  Adam was strangely disappointed, therefore, when Ben failed to make an appearance for the bus ride home. He had assumed since he rode the bus in the morning, Ben would be riding the bus home again after school. Adam tried to shrug it off, berating himself internally for caring whether Ben was there or not. The internal monologue of self-doubt and negativity started up again and persisted the rest of the ride home. By the time he reached his stop, Adam had himself almost fully convinced that today was just like every other day. Being alone was still the best thing ever.

  Having supposedly made
up his mind about his true feelings, Adam did his best to enter his house silently, but his efforts were in vain as he saw Charles sitting in his recliner watching the front door. He’d obviously been waiting for Adam to arrive home. Adam did his best to hide the cringe as he shut the front door behind him. He slowly slid his backpack off his shoulder onto the coat rack flanking the front door.

  “Welcome home, son. Have a good day? Anything exciting happen at school today?” Charles asked, like he cared. Adam wasn’t fooled. His father’s eyes were as dead as ever and the reek of vodka was fragrant on the air.

  “Um, no, nothing special,” replied Adam, heading for his room.

  “Hold it! Did I say I was done talking to you?” Charles barked. Adam froze, waiting for the next shoe to drop.

  “There’s some chores you need to get to. The kitchen, the bathroom, and my towels need washin’. I know you know what to do and you better do it right or there will be hell to pay, got it?” Charles said, glaring.

  Adam stood silent in the entryway, head down, accepting the way his afternoon was going to go. Adam nodded once and headed off to start the second normal part of his day, house bitch. Charles grunted in approval and reclined back in his chair. His left hand held the TV remote, his right another drink. He laughed at something on the television, the sound causing chills to climb up Adam’s spine.

  Two hours later, Adam was just finishing folding the last load of towels. He wondered how the asshole had managed to use 14 towels in seven days. He knew it wasn’t showering, as Charles was not known for his personal hygiene. Sometimes, Adam was sure the laundry he washed for his father had never even been used, just unfolded and thrown on the floor, just to make Adam have to work harder. His father had some interesting notions about unnecessary work building character, which was ironic considering how much of a deadbeat Charles truly was.

  “Goddamit!” Charles yelled out from the front of the house. Adam’s back stiffened, dread filling his chest. Chills ran down his spine, causing goosebumps to break out on his forearms.

  “Adam, you dumb fuck! Get in this kitchen right now!” Charles yelled.

  Adam thought about running, but knew it would only delay the inevitable. And, it would make it even worse when he did finally come crawling back. Even if he was lucky enough to stay out long enough for Charles to have passed out, his father had a good memory and would pay him back tenfold the next time he saw Adam. Adam slowly walked toward the kitchen, his heart threatening to pound out of his chest. As soon as Adam entered the kitchen, Charles grabbed him by the back of the neck pushing him toward the stove.

  “What kind of clean do you call that, huh? That doesn’t look clean to me. I wouldn’t cook shit on that nasty stove!” Charles growled, practically into Adam’s right ear, causing it to hum uncomfortably. His grip on his neck was so tight, tears sprung unbidden to Adam’s eyes.

  ‘Just breathe. Just breathe. He can’t really hurt you,’ Adam repeated to himself while his dad continued to yell about the quality of his work. Tears always made it worse. Adam had learned the hard way over time that showing any sign of vulnerability did not earn him sympathy in his father’s eyes, only more disgust. He saw weakness as a sickness that could only be cured by beating it out. Adam breathed deep and pushed down the pain again, his face remaining stoic.

  Adam saw a speck of what looked like dried on soup on the edge of one burner. Nothing else. But he knew better than to argue.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll reclean it, I-I-I just missed it,” he stuttered as Charles squeezed his neck harder, likely leaving finger –shaped bruises behind.

  “Damn right you will,” Charles snarled releasing his neck with a shove that had Adam falling over onto the stovetop. He barely caught himself before his face made contact with the stove’s control panel. He straightened and reached under the sink for the cleanser and towels.

  Charles stood angrily in the doorway, like a sentinel, arms crossed and feet planted wide watching as Adam painstakingly cleaned the stovetop again. He went so far as to clean it a third time for good measure, hands shaking as he buffed the old mustard yellow stove to as much of a shine as he could manage.

  Charles, finally satisfied the job was done to his specifications, huffed and went back to his recliner. Adam put away the cleanser and towels, leaning on his hands at the edge of the sink, head down, just breathing. The laugh track on the television sitcom Charles was watching blared through the house, adding a macabre tone to the scene that had just played out. Adam didn’t know how much more of this he could take.

  If only he could hold out a few more months until graduation, he would be out of here forever. Adam kept his head down, hiding the smile he felt surging forth as he thought of the acceptance letter hiding in his nightstand. He’d been so pleased when he’d gotten the award letter announcing his acceptance with a full academic scholarship to University of Alabama. While it wasn’t where he had imagined going to college in happier times, it had the two most important features to Adam now. One, it was free. Two, it was away from here.

  Adam had wished for someone else to share the good news with when the letter came, but there had been no one. It was the only time in years he had let himself dream for a normal life, with parents who loved him. He’d thought at least his mom had cared but she had proved her true colors years before when she up and left, leaving him on his own with his bastard excuse for a father.

  Adam’s phone buzzed in his pocket, startling him out of his melancholic stupor. Pulling it out he found an unknown number had texted three simple letters that brought a smile to his face.

  OTW

  Chapter 6

  Ben

  The rest of Ben’s day had gone much differently than Adam’s. Not only had he done his best to pay attention in classes he had no clue about, but in fifth period, he’d been forced to introduce himself to the entire class by his new History teacher which, of course, he’d found surprisingly mortifying. He was still riding the high of his lunch with Adam and then had to stand in front of a room full of strangers and mutter through the profile of lies he’d created for his back story.

  He hadn’t had enough practice running through the details, so he had uh’d and um’d enough he was sure he looked brain damaged. Finally, his teacher had taken pity on him saying, “Well, isn’t that nice. You can go find a seat now, Benjamin.” The tone of her voice confirmed his suspicions of just how stupid he had made himself look.

  Unfortunately, he realized the entire History class weren’t strangers, only about twenty of them. One he had already met this morning on the bus, and she met his eyes, grinning widely, obviously loving his embarrassing display. Ben found himself seated in front of Julie Perkins, the bitch from the bus who’d spoke so nastily about Adam just a few hours before. He flinched as she blatantly rubbed her hand up his back and squeezed his shoulder. Obviously, she had a different interpretation of the success of their interaction that morning. The lecture started as Ben dug through his backpack looking for his pen. One appeared in front of his face, Julie waving it back and forth in offering.

  “Thanks,” he said in a whisper as he looked back to meet her gaze.

  “No problem, cutie,” Julie replied, winking.

  Ben quickly returned his gaze to the front of the room, trying to pay attention. His shoulders stayed hunched up close to his ears. He could still feel Julie’s stare boring into him from behind. Finally, the bell rang again and class was finally over. Before he could escape, however, Julie grabbed his arm firmly.

  “Ben, wait, I wanted to talk to you for a minute.” He turned back to her and waited for her to continue, keeping his expression as blank as possible.

  “So I was wondering what you’re doing tonight. I was thinking we could get together and I could help you get up to speed in your classes. I’m sure I could help you with anything you might need,” she offered, suggestively.

  “Um, thanks for the offer, but I already have plans with Adam tonight. He’s offered to help me out, too.
”

  “Adam? Adam Harris?” Julie asked, mouth hanging open unattractively. Ben just stood there silently, refusing to answer.

  “Seriously, he offered to help you? And you accepted? That guy’s a total sociopath, Ben. You really shouldn’t be hanging out with him. He’s unstable,” Julie pressed on. “Come on, it will be fun. Just you and me. You could come over and we could work at my house. My folks will be gone all night. In fact, they are gone for the whole weekend. We could have so much fun together,: she purred. She was practically petting him now, the way she was running her hands along his arms and shoulders. Her voice reminded him of nails on a chalkboard.

  Damn, where’s a teacher when you need one? Ben grabbed her hands as gently as possible and removed them from his body. He stepped back, putting some space between them. He guessed in his previous life B.A. (Before Adam) he would have found her hot, but now she just annoyed him. Ben scowled, unable to contain his irritation any longer. Fuck it. He wasn’t here to make friends or get laid. He had a mission to complete and this stupid girl was getting in his way.

  “Julie, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Adam as far as I can see. Maybe it’s you that has the problem,” Ben said coldly. Julie’s expression slowly morphed from shocked to pissed.