Learning To Live [Eternal Flames 11]

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty. Come out, come out, wherever you are," the low gravelly voice said softly.

Donny hid inside the trash bin, already shifted into his feline form, praying like hell the sick f**k would give up and go away. He couldn't believe he had allowed himself to get into this mess.

This is what you get when you go against your norm, Donny. Work and home! That has been your routine for years and it has served you well. Now look at where you are. In a f*****g dumpster with hot wing bones, old fries, and what had to be piss surrounding him, all because Quinton thought it would be a good bonding experience.

"Oh, come on kitty, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to have some fun. I've never had a shifter before. You tricked me, you little furball. All that cologne hid your scent well, but now that I know, I must add you to my list. So, come out and we can play. I'll make you feel so good."

Yeah douche bag, I'm just going to strut my sexy self out of this dumpster and let you do Gods only knows what to me? I really don't think so. I may like casual s*x, but I like to choose my partners.

"You're really starting to anger me, little kitty. You don't want to do that. I might have to punish you when I get you back into my arms."

Donny did his best not to move. He didn't know who this asshat was, and honestly, he didn't want to find out. He just wanted out of this damn trash and back home where he belonged.

Shit, that's where Donny had been heading when he snuck out of the club. Quinton had been dancing with some guy and grinding on the man's c**k, while Tony was being f****d in the

back, as Donny sat in a booth swirling his straw in his diluted drink, wishing he could go home, turn on his k****e, and just immerse himself in a good book.

Deciding that is exactly what he would do, Donny had gotten up and made his way out the door.

He cursed when he realized he had left his car in the police parking lot, and with no moon out tonight, it was pitch f*****g black outside. Even with all the noise inside the club, and all the people, there was nothing greeting him outside right now but silence and seclusion.

Donny started walking quickly towards the station when a dark figure came out of the alley he was just passing and grabbed him from behind. He had kicked and tried to get away, but the guy had to be a good half a foot taller than him and twice his weight, all in f*****g muscle.

"Be still little one, and I promise you nothing but pleasure," the deep gravelly voice rasped in his ear.

"f**k you, let me go!" Donny had tried to scream, but it came out more as a whisper due to the tight hold the fucker had around his rib cage.

The arms around Donny loosened. He would have been thankful, but that's when the son of a b***h popped the buttons on his pants. Donny screeched, "Oh hell no!" and shifted into his Pallas cat form, clawed, and then bit the fucker.

The second the attacker let him go, Donny took off, but stupidly in the wrong direction. Okay, to be fair, it wasn't like he was in any state of mind to think, but the f*****g alley was a dead end.

Luckily, he slipped into the small opening of the dumpster and crawled as far to the bottom as he could get. Now here he was hunkered down, praying for a miracle.

The lid to the dumpster flew open and Donny completely froze. His breath stopped, as fear like he had never known gripped him so tight, he felt his heart may very well stop beating. This had to be what ‘scared to death’ meant. "Come on kitty, you're only delaying the inevitable."

Donny looked up, but the man's face was in the shadows. That made Donny's fear that much

worse. A faceless beast bent on getting to him and hurting him in ways he didn't even want to imagine. Then that miracle Donny had been praying for was answered.

"Hey Rory! Hey―over here!"

Quinton's voice was like music to Donny's ears. Taking a chance, Donny looked up once more, and if he had not been in his feline form, he would have gasped. His attacker had also looked up, and the dim light in the alley caught his silhouette―Fuck me, he has a lion’s face.

The bin lid dropped, and everything was dark in the dumpster.

"Quinton, what's up?" Rory asked.

Donny heard footsteps rapidly retreating, then Quinton yelling, "Son of a b***h! Asshole, watch where you're going!"

"Are you alright, Quinton?" Rory asked in concern.

Donny was terrified. He didn't know if the man that attacked him had left or not, but he had to take a chance. He shifted and cried out, "Help! Help me!"

"What was that?" Rory asked.

"I don't know, it sounds like it came from the alley that asshole just came out of."

Those words were like music to Donny's ears. It meant that his attacker had truly left. However, as much as his brain knew he was safe, for now, he found that even when he shifted, he was too scared to move. "Help!"

The lid to the dumpster lifted, causing Donny to jerk back in fear, but then the blessed voice of Rory came to him. "Donny? Donny, are you alright?"

Donny shivered, whether from the cold or something else, he didn't know.

"We need to get you out of there," Rory said gently.

Everything happened so fast, it was like walking through a dream. He felt himself being lifted from the dumpster and words being exchanged, however, nothing was really registering.

"Quinton, he's going into shock. We need to get him to a warm, safe place. Call 911 and have them meet us at the station," Rory softly ordered.

Quinton quickly did as Rory asked and Donny felt a coat being wrapped around his shoulders as he was being moved but had no clue what was going on.

* * * *

Rory rushed to the police station. His focus was on helping Donny. Rory knew that look Donny held. He had seen it up close and personal himself. Even though it had been years ago, it still seemed like yesterday.

"Pauly's on his way and Logan should be here any second," Quinton said anxiously.

Rory looked around the station, asking, "Are there any blankets or anything like that around here?"

Quinton snapped his fingers. "Pauly has something on the couch in his office for the times he works late, and Ryder comes to be with him."

Rory took the blanket that Quinton had rushed to get, then knelt in front of Donny, pulling the coat away and wrapping the blanket around the man. "Quinton, can you get me something hot for Donny to drink?”

"On it," Quinton said as he rushed to do what Rory asked.

Donny's teeth began to chatter as he gripped the blanket tightly around himself. The front door burst open as Logan rushed in with Sutton. Logan dropped the bag he was holding onto the floor as he knelt down, softly saying, "Rory, I'm going to need to get in here."

Logan went to open the blanket, but Donny whimpered and gripped it even tighter. Logan looked at Donny with such compassion, softly saying, "Donny, I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to do, but I need to check you for any injuries."

Rory leaned closer, looking Donny in the eyes, whispering, "It's going to be okay, Donny. I’ll be right here with you."

"It might be better if Donny and I went somewhere alone," Logan suggested gently.

Donny rapidly shook his head. His breathing came in fast, short pants and he looked as if he might hyperventilate.

Logan placed a hand on the man's knee, softly saying, "Hey, it's okay. If you want Rory here, that's fine. I just want to do whatever it is you want. I just figured you might want some privacy."

Quinton handed Rory a cup. "It's coffee. I put a lot of sugar in it, because I remember reading somewhere that sugar is good for shock."

"Thanks, Quinton," Rory replied taking the cup and handing it to Donny. "Here, why don't you drink this?"

Donny sipped the sweet coffee, grimacing, but not complaining. After a few moments, Rory

said, "I think Logan might be right, Donny. How about we go to Pauly's office, so you can be more comfortable?"

Donny nodded, handed Rory his cup and stood up, hissed in pain, then wrapping the blanket around his shoulders and made his way to Pauly's office, and then sat on the couch.

"Donny, I need to check you over. I know you're hurting," Logan requested, softly.

Donny stood up and dropped the blanket. Rory saw the dark purple bruises that were already turning that nasty greenish yellow color. Logan barely touched the area and Donny flinched, but didn't say a word.

"I think you have a broken rib. You're lucky that when you shifted you didn't puncture a lung.

However, since you did shift, it has started to heal, and I think in a couple of hours it might be tender, but mostly healed," Logan whispered, then looked at Donny with compassion asking,

"Did he―Did―"

"No," Donny squeaked out, then replaced the blanket and sat back on the couch.

A soft knock had everyone turning towards the door, seeing Pauly and Ryder standing there.

Pauly asked, "Hey, can I come in or are you still busy?"

Logan closed his bag, stood up, saying, "No, I'm done. Sut, can you take the bags back to the truck?"

Sut grabbed the bag, then went to Donny. "Hey, if you need to talk, call me."

Donny nodded, but didn't say anything. Rory recognized the gesture for what it was. Yes, I heard you and don't wait up for that call. Sut must have also recognized it for what it was, because he gave an audible sigh and left the room.

Logan turned to Pauly. "Can I talk to you a minute, in the hall?"

Nodding, Pauly stepped back with Ryder, and Logan followed closing the door. However, they didn't go very far before Rory heard Logan expressing his concern. "Pauly, this makes the third damn attack in less than a month. Donny got lucky. He says he wasn't raped, but still, I'm telling you we have a serial rapist on our hands here. We need help."

"Logan, I don't disagree, but this guy has been really random. He has attacked in Crystal as well as around the club. Dain and I have just brought in a couple of new deputies, but until I can hire more, we are on a skeleton crew here," Pauly answered.

"What the hell is the hold up? Destrain would allow you to bring in twenty more men if you asked," Logan argued.

"Logan, it doesn't work that way and you know it. We have to be careful who we bring into the police force, and even when we do hire them, they need to be trained and I don't have the time right now to do that training. I'm already working fourteen hours a day or more," Pauly argued.

Rory's blood ran cold when he heard Logan snapping, "Well you better find the time, Chief, because this fucker isn't going to stop. Donny got lucky, hell even the ones that were actually raped got off lucky, since they are at least still alive. However, you know as well as I do that soon, very soon, this asshole isn't going to stop at just rape. He's going to kill someone, and when that happens, that person's death and any after that, will be blood on your hands."

"Logan, that isn't fair," Ryder started to say.

They must have moved farther into the station, because their voices began to fade.

"I didn't know we had a rapist running around Crystal and Maddox, did you?" Donny asked quietly.

Shaking his head, Rory looked at Donny. "Not a clue. How are you holding up?"

Donny wiped his eyes, rasping, "I've never been so scared in my life, Rory. I mean, the guy came out of nowhere. I just wanted to go home, you know? I mean, I didn't hear anything. One second, I was walking to my car and the next, this guy was grabbing me. I couldn't breathe, and then he―"

Rory felt his heart rate pick up as he was transported back in time. Music―stars―and hands all over him―begging, "Please don't do this. No! Help!"

"Rory!"

Snapping back to the present, Rory looked up and saw Pauly standing there with Snake and

Wade. Both men looked deeply concerned, but it was his brother that had shouted his name.

"Wade, what are you guys doing here?"

Pauly sat at his desk, saying, "When Quinton called and told me there was an attack, he said that he was at the station with you and Donny. I called to tell Vik what happened, since this asshole seems to be staking out both Crystal and Maddox."

"Snake and I were at the station when the call came in. Pauly didn't know who was attacked and we weren't waiting around to find out," Wade stated firmly.

“Did you know there was a man out their raping other men?” Rory asked in an accusatory tone.

Wade looked away, but not so quickly that Rory didn’t see the guilt in his brother’s eyes. Then it dawned on Rory. It wasn’t just that he knew, but—“You all knew. The entire f*****g council knew about this fucker and you guys kept it from everyone! How could you not warn us? How could you—”

“We are doing what we can to catch the guy, Rory. We didn’t want to cause a panic,” Wade

explained.

“So how did that work out for you? Because I have to say, it didn’t do so well for Donny. He could have been raped and killed!” Rory practically shouted.

Wade’s brows drew together, and his lips tightened. “The situation was deemed classified. I may not like it, but I have to respect the council.”

“We don’t always like the orders we’re given, but we have to follow them anyway. You know this, Rory,” Snake stated quietly.

Rory looked at Snake. The man was always intense, rarely spoke a word, and one of the sexiest men Rory had ever seen. Had he been looking for someone to get to know in the biblical sense, Snake would be that man. Snake was just slightly taller than Rory's own five-eleven, with straight, jet black hair that just kissed his collar. It begged for Rory to grab and hold onto it, as the man gave him the best oral job a man could ask for. However, it was those light brown eyes that drew Rory in every time. When those eyes locked into Rory, it was like a deer in the headlights to Rory. He couldn't look away, and yet he struggled to do just that each time, because Rory wasn't looking for anyone to be biblical with―ever.

Ryder walked in with coffees for everyone. Taking the now cooled off one from Donny, and

handing him a fresh cup, then proceeding to give the rest out one by one. When everyone had their drinks, Ryder grabbed a chair and went to sit beside his mate.

Pauly kissed Ryder gently. "Thank you, baby."

Donny sat there looking into his cup, not saying a word. Pauly looked over to Donny, asking,

"Can you tell us what happened?"

Donny took an unsteady breath and nodded. Rory knew how hard this part was. Reliving a

moment in your life you would sooner forget. Gently placing a hand on Donny's knee, Rory

squeezed it, softly saying, "Go at your own pace, Donny. If it gets too rough for you, we can stop and try again later."

"Look, this guy has raped three men already. We need all the information you can give us to help catch this guy. Time is not a luxury we have," Pauly insisted.

Rory looked at Pauly snapping, "Well, that's too f*****g bad. If you are ever raped or someone attempts to rape you, feel free to go as fast as you want to, but some of u—some people need a bit of time to process shit." Turning back to Donny, Rory gentled his tone. "Now take your time."

Donny glanced at Rory, whispering, "I don't know where to start."

Rory gave Donny a small smile, saying, "How about the beginning? That's usually the easiest."

Donny licked his lips, gave off a shaky breath, then nodded as he began to speak. "As you know, Illan and Destrain came to me asking if Quinton, myself, and Tony would be willing to put a lab together here in Maddox, like we did in Crystal. I guess Destrain wants to bring in his own Tech department."

Nodding, Pauly replied, "Yeah, he wants you and Rhys to interview some guys from Denver and some new guys that just arrived for the position."

Donny sipped his coffee, grunting in agreement. Lowering his cup, Donny continued, "Tony and I haven't been getting along since he came back to work. Hell, we never got along the last time we worked together. I―I just can't seem to get past his involvement with the shifter hater group."

Donny started crying and Rory put his arm around Donny bringing him close to comfort him.

Snake made some kind of noise, but Rory ignored it. Donny needed comfort. Rory knew this.

Hell, he remembered that day he needed someone to just hold him and promise him that he

would be alright, that one day he would feel whole again. "Just take your time, Donny. It's going to be alright. I'm not going anywhere, and no one is going to rush you."

Donny sniffled and nodded, then sat back up. Wiping his eyes, he softly spoke. "Quinton got pissed and said that we needed to all work together. He suggested we take a night and go do something together. Since we were coming here, he said when we finished putting the lab

together, we should go to the club. That's really not my thing, but I figured I should at least try his suggestion. It was so loud in there and packed. Jim showed up and it didn't take long for Tony and Jim to take off to one of the back rooms. Then Quinton started dancing and I was sitting there, bored and wishing I had just gone home. I was tired of fending off the assholes, so I figured Quinton and Tony wouldn't even notice if I left. When I walked outside, it was dark. I remember thinking about the contrast from inside that club and outside in the parking lot."

"What do you mean?" Rory asked, knowing that Donny was trying to put off the ugliness of the evening, if even for a moment.

Shrugging, Donny replied, "It was lights and people everywhere inside, but outside, it was pitch black. No street lights, cars, or people ready to party. That's when I remembered my car was still here at the station. We figured we would just walk to the club since it’s right next door. The sun had just been going down when we went to the club. We never gave a thought to when we would leave."

"And there is a sense of safety when you see a police station," Rory filled in.

Nodding, Donny rasped, "Yeah, the thing is, I had this feeling―you know. It was like something telling me to get my ass back inside. I should have listened. I should have done what my instincts were telling me. I’m a f*****g cat. Cat instincts are renowned in the shifter world."

"Instinct is what keeps you alive," Snake muttered.

Rory turned to Snake giving him a pointed look, then turned back to Donny. "Hey, you did nothing wrong here, Donny."

“So this guy was waiting in the parking lot for you?” Pauly asked.

Donny shook his head. "I think he was in the alley. I took off towards the car and just as I was passing the alley, someone grabbed me. He had his arms around my middle, squeezing me so

hard I felt something pop. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't scream, I couldn't do anything. The more I kicked, the harder he squeezed, and the pain was like nothing I ever felt in my life. Then he whispered in my ear."

Donny stopped talking ad took a sip of his coffee. Rory could see Donny's hands were shaking so bad his coffee was sloshing over the side. Rory placed a calming hand over Donny's shaking ones. "It's okay, Donny. You got away. Just keep reminding yourself, you got away."

"Donny, you said he whispered something in your ear. What did he say?" Pauly asked.

"Be still little one and I promise you nothing but pleasure," Donny rasped, then started crying.

"That's the same line he used on the other three," Ryder replied anxiously.

Rory held Donny close, saying, "That's enough for now. I'm taking him home."

Donny started to struggle, and Rory let the man go. Donny pulled back, anxiously saying, "I can't go there, Rory. I live alone in the middle of nowhere. What if he knows where I live? What if he comes to my house? What if―"

"Hey! Hey! It's okay, Donny. I'm going to take you to my place," Rory quickly said.

"Radar, that's not a good idea," Snake said.

Rory turned to Snake. "No one asked you."

Wade stepped forward, saying, "I have to agree with Snake. Maybe it would be best if Donny came to the gargoyle compound. We can―"

"He's coming to the house with me, Wade. Right now, the last thing he wants is to be surrounded by men twice his size, with three times his muscle. He needs a place that is quiet, and that he can feel safe," Rory said with fierce conviction.

Gently, Rory started to lead Donny out of the room when Donny stopped and turned around,

"Something you need to know. The man that attacked me is either a shifter that can partially shift, or he wears a lion's mask."

As Rory was leaving, he heard Wade saying, "Snake, watch over them. I'm going to call Suneth and make sure he has one of his men guarding the house as well."

“f**k, this is getting more alarming by the second,” Pauly muttered.

“Baby, a rapist is always alarming,” Ryder replied.

Shaking his head, Pauly picked up the phone. “It’s not just having a serial rapist in our area, it’s the fact that if this man is a shifter, he can hide his scent.”