by
Squirrels should never travel alone.
Three months ago, Deneb Hartman lost his cousin. They were in a clearing, in their squirrel forms, when wolves attacked them. His cousin never made it back, and Deneb’s world shattered. He never did well on his own, and he’s been traveling aimlessly ever since.
Nicodemus Zervas owns a thrift shop in Doson. He’s a vampire surrounded by humans unaware of the supernatural world, and it’s lonely. For a year, he had a squirrel shifter working for him, but now he’s moved on and left Nicodemus behind. But then one day, there is a naked man jumping out of his recycling dumpster. When Nicodemus runs after him, all he can find is a squirrel.
Deneb found a nice little forest behind a thrift store to hang out in. Had he known people stayed in the building overnight, he wouldn’t have shifted where he could be seen. Nicodemus is almost sure the naked man and the squirrel are the same, but how to get him to show himself to Nicodemus? Bribe him with macadamia nuts?
Publisher: JMS Books, LLC
Editors:
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 3
Romantic Content: 4
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Tropes: Big Character / Little Character, Fated Mates / Soul Mates, Found Family
Word Count: 38000
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
Deneb slept in a hollow in one of the trees behind the thrift store. He hadn’t meant to, but when owls came hooting, it turned out he wasn’t in the mood to be turned into a late-night snack after all.
The clothes he’d gotten the day before were gone. He must be more careful in the future. He hadn’t realized people stayed in the building overnight. Someone must’ve spotted him when he jumped into the Dumpster. Or got out of it. Either way, he was glad he hadn’t shifted where anyone could see.
READ MOREHe found a pinecone to snack on. His appetite wasn’t what it had once been, but sometimes he woke up hungry. If he managed to find something to eat before the reality of his situation settled in his gut, he tended to function a little better during the day.
It was a chilly morning. The mist hovered over the ground, and the only thing disturbing the calm was a car coming closer. Deneb couldn’t see it, but it stopped on the other side of the building. It must mean it was time to start the workday.
Shortly after, a big man with black hair and olive skin walked in between the trees. It was the man who’d stolen his clothes yesterday. Deneb didn’t move, didn’t so much as breathe.
The man stopped by the tree with the hollow and looked up at it. He wore a dark sage three-piece suit with a deep wine-red tie. It fit him perfectly, and right then Deneb wouldn’t have been able to breathe should he have wanted to. Heat washed over him with a prickling sensation. Dizzying. Urgent.
So strange.
He dug his claws into the trunk of the tree he was sitting in to make sure he didn’t fall. Maybe he needed to eat more. What were the signs of starvation? Butterflies in your stomach, sweaty palms, rapid heartbeat? Check on all those. Then he looked at his paws. He didn’t have sweaty palms. His mind was playing tricks on him—which might be another sign he needed to eat more.
Ugh, he didn’t have the energy.
The man turned and walked back toward the building. His gaze appeared to be jumping from one tree to the next, but Deneb didn’t move—he was watching how the fabric stretched over the man’s ass with each step. By the last tree before the gravel took over, he turned around and scanned the canopy anew.
Deneb didn’t think he was visible where he sat, but he took the opportunity to study the man’s face. It was hard to guess ethnicity. Had he been forced to, he’d said Mediterranean, but he could be Middle Eastern, or a mix. It didn’t matter. He was walking away, and it was for the best. Deneb didn’t have time for handsome men, didn’t have the energy.
Once the small forest had fallen still, Deneb forced himself to look for more food. He wasn’t hungry, but his heart refused to slow, and he was jittery. He must be closer to starvation than he’d realized.
COLLAPSE
