Darkest Hour Before Dawn

  "You okay, boss?" Cat asked, studying Seb as he approached.

  Seb smiled and gave her shoulder a pat. "I'm good. Wasn't expecting to be used for a bowling pin."

  "Must have learned it from Lee," Zoey said with a delicate snort. Having received PSTC and not eaten anything substantial yet, Zoey was in rare form, and as usual, Lee was the target.

  Oh boy. Here we go.

  "Fuck off," Lee grumbled before taking another swig of his Gatorade. "Not all lion Therians do that."

  "What? Use their heads?" Zoey arched an eyebrow at Lee. "Ain't that the truth."

  "Screw you, Z," Lee snarled.

  Screw was what those two needed to do before they drove everyone nuts. The only ones who seemed oblivious to the attraction were Zoey and Lee. They were always giving each other a hard time. Seb hoped his team wasn't going the route of Destructive Delta. He loved Sloane like a brother, but if he had to deal with all the relationship drama Sloane did, he might start thinking about early retirement.

  Zoey rolled her eyes. "In your dreams."

  "All right, everyone in the truck," Seb grumbled. He needed to sit his ass down. Of course, he wouldn't be doing that until he reached his office, because once he sat down, getting up would require help, and weakness was something his team didn't need to see in him.

  As soon as they reached HQ, his team escorted the perps into their holding cells, where they'd be ordered to shift back into Human form. They'd receive Postshift Trauma Care, then get processed. Seb dropped his equipment off at his locker in the armory before heading upstairs to his office, greeting fellow agents along the way.

  Beside him, Dom was quiet. Not a good sign. As the youngest of four sons born to a Cuban mother and Italian father, Dom joked he only had three volume settings--"loud," "louder," and "make sure they heard you over in Jersey." When someone told him to bring it down, he just laughed in their face.

  Finally they reached the office, and Seb gritted his teeth as he attempted to sit behind his desk. It required gripping the desk hard enough to turn his knuckles white and his good leg to ache in protest. Once his ass was in his chair, he felt marginally better.

  "Let's see it."

  "Dominic, we've discussed this," Seb replied gently, schooling his expression. "I like you, but I don't, like, like you."

  Dom was not impressed, judging by his expression. "Don't be an ass. I know that's going to be a real stretch for you, but just give it a try. Now let me see." He reached for Seb's knee, and Seb smacked his hand away with a growl.

  Next to Hudson, Seb trusted no one more than Dominic Palladino, and no one was a bigger pain in his ass. Dom was a mother hen. He fussed over the team, treated them like his baby birds, even Peyton who could easily crush Dom's skull with his bare hands. At some point, the team had lost the will to fight him on his mothering and accepted him as their surrogate father, some more begrudgingly than others.

  "I said I'm fine. Stop fussing. What're you, my husband?"

  Dom let out a snort. "Fuck no. I wouldn't marry you if you were the last dick left on the planet. I'd end up smothering you in your sleep."

  "Like you haven't tried that already," Seb said with a grunt, amused when Dom threw up his arms, cursing in Spanish, then Italian--meaning Seb was really trying his patience. Seb tried not to look so happy about it.

  "Seriously, bro?" Dom's face flushed a deep red, and he folded his arms over his expansive chest. "How many times do I have to tell you it was an accident? I knew I shouldn't have bunked with you. Is it my fault you take up so much fucking space? I could've bunked with Peyton and still had more damn room in that bed than I did with you."

  "So now it's my fault you pushed a pillow into my face while I slept?" Seb kept his features stoic, even if he was laughing his ass off on the inside.

  During one particularly bad snowstorm, Theta Destructive and several teams in Unit Alpha were forced to sleep at HQ in the sleeper bays. The agents outnumbered the bays, so teams had to share. Seb got the bed, not because he had senior status on his team, but because of his leg and lower back. Dom decided to bunk with him because, well, it was Dom and he wasn't "sleeping on the damn floor if there's a bed"--he didn't care who was in it.

  Seb held back a smile. "I don't know anyone who moves that much in their sleep and takes their pillow with them," he managed with a straight face.

  "So what? You're the one who kept trying to spoon me."

  Seb shrugged. "I'm a cuddler."

  "Fine. Whatever." With a huff, Dom marched over to his desk and dropped down in his chair. Seb grinned. Winding Dom up was too much fun. Of course, Dom gave as good as he got. Seb pulled up the file of today's incident and added his account of events. An hour later and it was time for his team's afternoon coffee run, this week being Angel's turn. The man popped his head in with a smile.

  "Hey, boss. The usual?"

  "Yeah, thanks, Angel."

  Angel nodded. He turned his attention to Dom. "Dom Corleone?"

  "No matter how many times you say it, Herrera, it still ain't funny," Dom griped. "If anything, I'm Clemenza."

  Seb and Angel looked at each other before having a good laugh.

  "What? Seb's obviously the Don, which makes me his oldest and dearest friend."

  "We haven't known each other that long," Seb reminded him, holding back a smile, "but continue."

  Dom flipped him off. "Unfortunately, I feel like I've known you for fucking eternity. Anyway, I'm also a great judge of character, have a keen eye for talent, and possess an unparalleled training record."

  "Nope." Angel shook his head.

  "I don't see it," Seb teased.

  Angel snapped his fingers. "I know. Sonny."

  "You know what? Fuck the both of you. Go get me my cappuccino, and tell Dex if he hogs all the powdered chocolate, I'm going to tell Sloane how his midafternoon coffee runs include scarfing down a frosted donut bigger than his head. Seriously. How is that dude still alive with what he eats? I've never seen a Human polish off a whole Therian-sized burger, fries, and still have room for a milkshake."

  Angel nodded his agreement. "I think whoever put him together got the parts all mixed up and gave him a Therian stomach."

  Or he got mutated by his jaguar Therian boyfriend and is no longer Human. Of course, Seb wasn't about to mention that.

  Angel went off to get the rest of the team's orders, and on his return, he was accompanied by a scowling Dex.

  "How dare you try to come between me and my afternoon donut?" Dex placed his hands on Dom's desk and leaned in to peer at him. "That powdered chocolate is mine, Palladino," Dex rasped. "Debbie brings it for me as a thank-you. I practically delivered that woman's child."

  "You stepped in as a Lamaze coach, like twice," Dom drawled.

  Dex straightened with a sniff. "That's why I said practically. You're not listening."

  "Oh, I'm listening all right. Listening to all the reasons I should call Sloane this second. Today was triple chocolate frosting with bacon bits, wasn't it?" Dom put a finger to his earpiece, and Dex all but launched across the desk to grab Dom's wrist.

  "Wait!"

  "Yes?" Dom smiled sweetly.

  Dex let his head hang in defeat. "I may have been a little hasty." He straightened and wrinkled his nose. "Fine. I'll tell Debbie I'm willing to share." With a grunt, he walked out the door, then spun on his heel to glare at Dom, a finger pointed at him menacingly. "But this isn't over, pal. I'm watching you."

  Dom waved a hand in dismissal. "Yeah, yeah. Less watching, more sprinkling chocolate powder on my cappuccino."

  Dex let out a snort of disgust before turning his attention to Seb. "Your partner's a jerkface."

  Seb chuckled. "It must be my shower gel. I think it attracts them." He thanked Angel for his coffee and told Dex to get lost.

  "I know you love me," Dex said in a singsong voice as he skipped off--literally skipped--to make mischief elsewhere. How Sloane kept up with that man was beyond Seb. He was already exhausted from the int
eraction.

  Ignoring the crazy around him, Seb got back to work on his report and enjoyed his latte. He'd just signed off on the first set of documents when he looked up at Dom. He narrowed his eyes. Why was Dom grinning? Dom leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head. Shit.

  "What did you do?"

  Dom waggled his eyebrows, and Seb's frown deepened. This wasn't good. What the hell had his asshole partner done now? Seb loved the guy, but sometimes he wanted to strangle him.

  "Sebastian Hobbs!" a familiar voice demanded.

  Seb's jaw went slack. "You didn't."

  Dom's grin got bigger.

  "You did! You narced on me?"

  "Aw, are you mad?" Dom put a hand to his heart. "Well, tough shit. You brought this on yourself." Dom jumped from his chair, smiling widely as he patted Hudson's back. "Give 'im hell, Doc." He moseyed off, leaving Seb to face one very pissed-off Brit.

  Hudson planted his hands on his hips. He had that narrow-eyed, thin-lipped glare on his face. Seb was very familiar with it. There was a time Seb could coax that stern frown away with a few strategically placed kisses. The good doctor wasn't easily deterred, but neither was Seb. He could be just as stubborn as his spirited little wolf. Especially when it concerned Hudson's happiness. Unfortunately, happy was not what Hudson was at the moment.

  "I have half a mind to give you a right earbashing. Get in my office. Now."

  Seb groaned. He waited for Hudson to turn around, but as Seb expected, Hudson didn't budge. He studied Seb, waiting. The man was too smart for his own good. Unwilling to show Hudson how right he was, Seb clenched his jaw, put his weight on his good knee, and stood. The only Therian more pigheaded than Hudson was Seb, and Hudson was well aware of it. Hudson turned, cursing under his breath, and Seb did his best not to limp as he followed him out into the bull pen.

  The agents didn't bother pretending not to notice what was going on, and the majority of them looked on in amusement. Seb had a reputation for being a hardass, albeit a fair one. His fellow agents respected him for a variety of reasons. No one would dare challenge him, disrespect him, or fuck with him. Which was why they found this situation so damned entertaining. There was only one man in this building Sebastian Hobbs didn't stand a chance against. One sole little wolf Therian who could make him quake in his boots.

  Hudson Colbourn.

  The best part? After all this time, Hudson still had no clue the power he had over Seb. His Lobito simply was who he was, and in Hudson's eyes, Seb wasn't a tiger Therian who had one hundred and thirty pounds on him or stood a foot taller than he did. Hudson was the only Therian Seb knew who didn't tremble at Seb's roar. He wagged his tail.

  "What are you smiling at?" Hudson scolded. "I'm very cross with you."

  "I was just thinking about you wagging your tail." Crap. He probably shouldn't have said that.

  Hudson stopped to gape at him. The few agents who'd heard Seb snickered. Poor bastards. Hudson turned his glare on them. It was pretty spectacular as far as glares went.

  "Something you'd like to share, Agents?"

  The huge Felid Therian agents stumbled and practically mowed each other down in their haste to get away. Seb pressed his lips firmly together to keep from laughing. For a sweet wolf Therian, Hudson could be pretty scary.

  The elevator ride down to the forensics department was a silent one. Seb knew better than to make things worse by speaking. Once they arrived, he followed Hudson out and greeted the medical examiners and agents he passed. Most noticed Hudson first before giving Seb a sympathetic look, though he was pretty sure a few of those looks meant "better you than me."

  As Chief Medical Examiner, Hudson's lab and office were the largest on the floor, taking up the whole end of the corridor. Although Hudson was part of Destructive Delta, his title and status meant he could oversee and take over any case in Unit Alpha. Sparks often had him working on several cases at once for various teams. They finally reached the last room on the right, Hudson's private office. Once inside, Hudson hit the security panel, and the door swished closed behind them. He turned to face Seb and folded his arms over his chest, one eyebrow arched before he spoke.

  "Drop your trousers."

  Chapter 2

  SEB'S EYEBROWS shot up near his hairline. "Uh... okay."

  This was starting to sound a lot like one of his fantasies, except in those Hudson didn't scowl at him. Seb unfastened his belt before pushing his pants down as far as he could--which turned out to be not very far--before he sucked in a sharp breath and straightened, catching Hudson's narrowed gaze. Seb's shirt allowed him some modesty by covering his groin and ass, leaving only the ends of his gray boxer briefs peeking out from under the hem.

  Hudson stepped up to him and tapped his shoulder. "Put some of your weight on me."

  Seb nodded, doing as asked, gritting his teeth as he sat down. The moment his ass hit the padded leather chair, the relief was instant. At least until Hudson kneeled in front of him and took hold of his pants. He carefully pulled them the rest of the way down, unaware of what he was doing to Seb. Hudson was in doctor mode. He gently but clinically undid the straps of Seb's industrial, Therian-strength knee brace. The familiarity of it, the intimacy, was almost too much. It took Seb back to a time when Hudson had fussed over him, rubbing ointment over Seb's knee when it was sore and swollen.

  The brace came off, and Seb winced at the fire that filled Hudson's bright blue eyes. It was less sexy heat and more "you're lucky you're hurt right now because I seriously want to kick your arse."

  "Oh, for the love of--look at your knee! And you're walking around like it's a minor inconvenience?"

  "It is a minor inconvenience."

  Hudson's head shot up, his expression grim. "Don't you dare, Sebastian. Or do you forget who you're talking to?"

  "Never." How could he? Even when Hudson was indignant, he was beautiful.

  "Then you damn well know better than this, don't you? Have you taken anything for the swelling?"

  Seb cringed.

  "I could throttle you right now." Hudson stood, then headed to one of the many secured cabinets around the room.

  Seb could think of plenty of things he'd like Hudson to do to him right now, but knowing what was good for him, he kept his mouth shut. Hudson returned with a familiar-looking black tactical bag and a bottle of water. He handed the water to Seb before kneeling to rummage through the bag. He found the right drugs, popped the top, and tapped it against his hand until two pills tumbled into his palm. After sealing the bottle and tossing it back into the bag, he held up the pills.

  "Take these. For the pain and the inflammation."

  "Thank you." Seb smiled at him as he took the pills, then tossed them in his mouth, followed by a swig of water.

  Hudson wasn't impressed. "Don't thank me yet. I haven't decided whether to strangle you or not. The moment I felt it, I told myself, 'He's sensible. He'll look after himself.' And then Dom called, and look at you. Sensible my arse. I have DBs in my lab with more sense."

  Seb didn't know what to say to that. As Hudson removed supplies from the bag, Seb couldn't help his dopy grin.

  "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  Their bond meant they felt the other's pain if it was significant enough. The love they shared made it so Hudson didn't have to look at Seb to know Seb was smiling at him. He could sense Seb's gaze on him, just like Seb could sense Hudson's. Always. Despite the days, the distance, they were every bit as connected now as they'd been back then, which made being apart so painful. Not calling Hudson every time Seb felt him hurting was torture.

  "You still have it," Seb said softly.

  Hudson blinked down at the black bag as if noticing it for the first time. Anyone else might have been able to hide their reaction, but Hudson's fair skin betrayed him, his cheeks blushing furiously.

  "I, um, yes."

  "Why?" Seb cocked his head as he studied Hudson. Not that he hadn't mapped out the man's features years ago. How was it possible to n
eed someone more than air itself?

  "Because I can't very well trust you to look after yourself, now can I?" Hudson's lips quirked on one side as he motioned to Seb's knee.

  Seb leaned forward. "That's only half the truth, Doctor."

  Hudson arched a thick black eyebrow at him. "Believe what you will."

  With a grin, Seb sat back. All the medication in that bag was prescription. Hudson had to order them specifically. He kept them stocked in case Seb needed them. When they'd been together, Hudson had kept a kit at home and another in his office. Years after they'd broken up, he maintained the kit.

  "Don't look so smug," Hudson muttered, removing the cap from the ointment.

  Seb wrinkled his nose. "That stuff is rank."

  Hudson chuckled. "You seem to forget that summer the cooling system and the backup generator at the morgue malfunctioned."

  "Oh God." Seb gagged just thinking about it. "You're right. That was worse. Much worse." He closed his eyes and put a fist to his mouth. He'd gone in to meet Hudson for lunch and ended up bolting out. Lunch, or any food, didn't happen for a whole day. The smell had been so potent it burned. He hadn't been able to ingest anything stronger than vegetable broth, which meant he hadn't been able to shift into his Therian form because PSTC was impossible. He let out a bark of laughter, making Hudson laugh.

  "What?"

  "Remember when Sloane thought I was fucking with him, so he dragged me and Maddock down there to see for himself?"

  Hudson gasped before laughing again. "That's right! He threw up on Sergeant Maddock's boots."

  "Yes!" Seb held on to his side, he was laughing so hard. He could still see Maddock's horrified expression. If Seb hadn't been in danger of losing what little contents he'd had in his stomach as well, he would have snapped a picture with his phone.

  "Poor Sloane." Hudson shook his head as he squeezed ointment into his hand. "He was mortified. Couldn't stop apologizing."

  "Maddock avoided standing next to him for weeks." Seb wondered if Dex was privy to that little tidbit of information about his future husband. Hmm. He might just keep that ace up his sleeve.

  Seb still couldn't believe Sloane was engaged. Had someone asked him years ago which member of his team was least likely to end up married, Seb would have said Sloane. His friend and former Team Leader believed himself too messed-up to make anyone happy for long. Seb understood where Sloane was coming from. When Seb had found out Dex and Sloane were involved, he'd been knocked for a loop. The two couldn't be more different.