Love Hurts [Eternal Flames 12]

CHAPTER 1 He stretched and yawned, trying to wake up. Yesterday had been a long one trying to set up the new hangar and airfield. Flyer never thought he would be given carte blanche on what he wanted, or thought was needed, to set up a private airport, but that was exactly what he had been given by the paranormal council. The paranormal council. He still got a kick out of that. Sure, he knew shifters existed because of the years he spent as a SEAL with Shadow and Bullseye, but to find out they had their own governing body was a trip. Not only that, but now he found himself living in Crystal with his Commander, Wade, and the rest of the team, and working for the council. Technically the guys all worked for the Crystal Police now, except for Wade and Rory, who were born and raised in Crystal and owned their own business there, and Flyer officially worked for the Crystal Fire Department, on their search and rescue team, but they all worked for the council. With most of them being some kind of flying shifter, like dragons and phoenix, they didn’t usually have too much call for a fly-boy like him, but they decided he would be a great addition to the team because of the dangerous terrain in these parts. Nobody could very well show up to rescue lost humans as a dragon without someone freaking out, so that’s where Flyer came in. When he wasn’t spending time out at the construction site for his airport, he was hanging with Jett, Finn, Morgan, Zev, and York over at the firehouse, training. And yesterday was a brutal one. Daytona had shown up and took him out into the mountains, so he could get a firsthand look at some of the areas they would have to deal with. Not that he was out of shape, because he wasn’t. Being a SEAL, then part of their Black Ops group, he had to stay fit, but the hike had pushed him to his physical limit. Now all Flyer wanted to do was stay in bed all day and sleep, maybe watch some Netflix. His body was sore in places it hadn’t been sore in forever. He only wished it had become that way from another form of physical exertion. Damn, it had been too long since he got laid. Maybe he should head into Maddox tonight and hit that club and find himself some male company? Flyer sighed when his phone beeped, alerting him he had a message from Wade. Damn it. Now what? Flyer rolled over, but before he could reach for his phone on the nightstand, he hissed in pain, “What the f**k!” He felt something move next to him and the little prick of a needle that had impaled his hip was removed. Flyer had a good idea what it was, and he was not happy. The little critter kept sneaking into his house, following him to the construction site, and even showed up at the firehouse on occasion. Flyer grabbed the blankets and threw them back, exposing himself and the cute little porcupine that lay next to him. Spike was his name, and he was one of Timmy and York’s zoo animals. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a zoo and more like an exotic animal farm at this point with the way York kept buying his little mate animals. For some reason Spike liked Flyer and had become attached to him. Everywhere he went, Spike was either there already or soon followed. It was getting a little frustrating. “What are you doing here?” Flyer asked harshly. When the little rodent only looked up at him with those sad soulful eyes, and twitched his nose so adorably, Flyer couldn’t stay mad at him, even though his hip now stung. Flyer reached down and carefully slid his hands under Spikes front and lifted him by the armpits, being careful of his quills and those sharp claws, then held him up above him as Flyer laid back on the pillows. “Okay, bud, what am I going to do with you? You can’t keep sneaking in here, dude. And in my bed? That’s just wrong. What if I had rolled over on top of you?” Flyer asked. Spike’s eyes seemed to light up and he started chattering and squeaking frantically in the way he usually did. Flyer smiled as he listened to Spike go on. Sometimes the little noises he made actually sounded like the porcupine was speaking in a childlike voice. It was too f*****g adorable. “Whoa, hold on there, chatterbox, I have no idea what has you so riled up. Is it because I kind of did roll onto you? Well, I’m sorry for that, but it’s your own damn fault you know. You’re the one who surprised me. And you nicked me with one of those wicked quills you have.” Spike stopped chittering and put his paws in front of his mouth. If Flyer didn’t know any better, he would say Spike looked like he understood what Flyer was saying and was giving him a guilty look. The cutie nibbled on his paws as his head dipped and he wouldn’t meet Flyer’s gaze. “Oh, now don’t look so sad, buddy. You’re too cute for that. But you gotta stop sneaking up on me, dude. Especially in my bed. One of us is likely to get hurt. Now, I am going to put you down and you can explore while I take a shower. Then we’ll find something for you to eat before I take you back to Timmy,” Flyer said, then gently placed Spike back on the bed. He rolled over and sat up, then grabbed his cell phone and looked at the message that had come in. “s**t. Something's going on with Rory, and Donny was attacked last night at the club in Maddox. Wade wants us all to meet up. Okay, little dude, don’t get into anything while I shower. I don’t have time to fool around.” Flyer stood, then carefully lifted Spike off the bed and placed him on the floor before heading to the bathroom. He opened the glass door and adjusted the water to the perfect temperature, then he stripped out of his sleep pants and stepped under the spray, allowing the hot water to cascade over all his aching muscles. Flyer moaned as the heat washed over him and the water pounded against his skin. Damn that felt good. Grabbing the shampoo, Flyer squeezed some into his palm then replaced the bottle and began scrubbing his hair. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander as he enjoyed his shower. He wondered what the hell had happened to Donny. Not that he knew the guy that much, but he had talked to him over at the police station a time or two. The cutie was one of the flirtiest people he had ever met, well, besides himself, and Donny was hot as sin, but he wasn’t quite Flyer’s type. Donny was a good-looking man with his Asian features and twinkish build, but Flyer liked his men a little more...well, less maintenance. He wasn’t really sure Donny was high maintenance, but he did seem that way. The guy was the medical examiner and smart as a tac. He was also fierce and had a sharp tongue. Which intrigued and amused Flyer, especially when Donny was using that tongue to lash out at someone else. A small chuckle escaped as he stood under the spray, allowing the water to rinse the shampoo from his hair. Then he began to wonder what happened. He grabbed the soap and started cleaning himself as his mind filled with questions. What the hell happened to Donny? What kind of attack was it? Had he been mugged? Beaten up? Ra...raped? Oh s**t. Stop thinking like that asshole. Just get ready and get going. A tiny groan sound came from behind him, and Flyer spun around to find Spike standing in the shower behind him, looking up at him with a strange look in his eyes. His fur and quills lay flat against his body as some of the spray hit the porcupine, wetting him. “Come on! Really, little dude? If you needed a bath you should have waited until I took you home. Damn it, I hope you don’t smell like wet dog. I sure don’t want that stink in my house.” Spike moved closer and Flyer took a step back. Suddenly he slipped. He reached out for something to grab onto but came up short as he fell and landed on his ass with a splashing thud. “Son of a b***h!” Flyer panted heavily as his heart raced and he looked at Spike, narrowing his eyes. “One of these days your sneaking around is going to get one of us killed,” Flyer mumbled, then grabbed the edge of the soap ledge and used it to help lift himself off the wet tiles. Once he was standing Flyer went under the spray again and let the water rinse him. When he was done, he shut off the water and opened the glass door, then stepped out. He reached for a towel, then froze and looked back at Spike who was scurrying out of the shower stall. “How did you get in there, little dude?’ But Spike didn’t answer him, he only stood there dripping water on the floor as he stared at Flyer. “Well, I was in a hurry, so I probably forgot to close the door behind me. Come on over here, cutie, let me dry you.” Flyer wrapped his towel around his waist, then grabbed a second off the rack and squatted down in front of Spike. The porcupine sat back on his haunches and raised his paws, once again putting them in front of his mouth. Flyer sighed, then put the towel over Spike’s head and began drying him too. Once they were both dry, Flyer went to the sink and brushed his teeth, then began to shave. Every once in a while, looking in the mirror at Spike who just sat there staring at him. It kind of gave him the creeps a little to have someone, well, something watching him, but he couldn’t think about it now. He needed to get a move on if he was going to take Spike home, then get his butt to the War Room. It was a special room Wade had built onto the back of his auto garage where he and Rory worked from when their Black Ops team had a mission. Now that they were all in Crystal, including their government contact, Admiral Savage, Wade had added onto the room making it large enough to accommodate them all with their own desks, computers, and a large conference table where they could all sit around and strategize. With them now meeting there a lot to try and figure out who had set them up on their last mission, and who had tried to kill Savage, Wade wanted it more homey and comfortable. Flyer finished in the bathroom and headed back into his bedroom where he quickly dressed, then headed out to the kitchen to grab a quick bite and a cup of coffee. Trailing after him was his new porcupine shaped shadow, who was only a few steps behind. God he was never so grateful to have a coffeepot with a timer, so he could set it up the night before and it would be ready for him when he walked in the next morning. Flyer poured himself a cup, then turned and leaned against the counter as he slowly sipped on the hot goodness. His gaze landed on Spike. Flyer just stared at the creature as Spike walked around his kitchen, rubbing the side of his body on the legs of the chairs and table, as well as on the walls in a few spots, then the lower cabinets. “Are you marking your territory, little dude?” Flyer asked with a chuckle. Spike stopped what he was doing and again gave him that cute look like he was guilty. Flyer shook his head as he sighed heavily. He placed his mug on the counter, then squatted down so he was eye-to-eye with Spike who stood six feet away. “Look, Spike, I have no idea what’s up with you or why you keep following me, but I can’t have you here, man. My life is too crazy to have a pet. And what about Timmy? He loves you and would be heartbroken if you left him. Now after I feed you...something, I’m taking you back home and you need to stay there.” Spike ran forward and stopped right inside the V of Flyer’s spread knees. Then he stood up on his hind legs and placed his front paws on Flyer’s thighs as he started chattering again. Flyer was shocked to hear a pleading tone to whatever the porcupine was saying. Then when he met the little animals gaze, he could see what looked like longing in his eyes, but none of that could be right. Spike was a porcupine after all, not some human. He didn’t have the same expressions or even emotions as a human had. After another few minutes of Spike chatting and Flyer not having a clue what he was saying, Flyer reached out a hand and carefully brushed the back of his finger over the top of Spike’s nose and up his head. Making sure to go in the same direction as his hair, hoping he wouldn’t get zapped by any of Spike’s quills. “I’m sorry I don’t know what you’re saying, little dude, because I really wish I did, but that’s not the point here. I can’t keep you, and I can’t have you around here all the time. I have to be ready to take off at a moment’s notice, and at times I could be gone for days. It just wouldn’t be fair to an animal. You need to be somewhere you’re taken care of and loved. So, how about I get you a...what do porcupines eat? Oh, veggies right? Okay. Let’s get you a couple of carrots and I’ll grab a quick bite, then back to Timmy you go, okay?”