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  For a werewolf with PTSD, the Fourth of July is hell.

  On the Fourth of July, most people are out celebrating with fireworks, BBQ, and beer. But Simon, a werewolf, is trying hard not to panic. He has PTSD, and Puck has sent him to a vampire, Zedace, to spend the night where he’ll be safe.

  Simon and Zedace had a night together months earlier, but Simon has been avoiding him ever since. With the fireworks getting louder he’s running out of time, and being with Zedace makes him feel safe, if only Zedace is willing to give him another chance.

  This is the follow-up to The Vampire’s Christmas Surprise.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Werewolves and Fireworks

  Copyright © 2017 Caitlin Ricci

  ISBN: 978-1-4874-1103-9

  Cover art by Angela Waters

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by eXtasy Books Inc or

  Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc

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  Werewolves and Fireworks

  Puck’s Pack

  By

  Caitlin Ricci

  Werewolves and Fireworks

  Since coming to Puck’s Merry Band of Misfits, as the vampires affectionately called the ragtag gang of werewolves and vampires who made this stretch of land their home, Zedace had done his best to avoid the werewolves as much as possible. It had only been a few years since the first vampires moved into the werewolves’ territory, forming a tenuous truce with them, and Zedace was the newest of the vampires to call the area near the human prison his home. Puck had given Zedace and the other vampires freedom of a sort within his pack. Armand, as Puck’s lover, of course, enjoyed the most freedom. He was allowed to move freely throughout the territory. As a new arrival, Zedace was constantly watched. He didn’t mind it so much. In fact, it felt almost like being back with the other vampires, the ones he’d left behind in favor of moving in with a bunch of werewolves.

  He kept his head down and did what the wolves told him to. There was no reason to argue with them. What they wanted was never outside the realm of what he was comfortable doing, unlike how his life had been with the vampires. He bore the marks from their punishments, even on his wrists and neck, where they were impossible to hide from others. If he’d been a better vampire, a good little boy capable of following any order without question, then he would have none of the scars. He wasn’t sure which was worse—being branded a troublemaker and a traitor by the bite marks, or what he’d done the few times he had followed orders. He had those memories with him always. It was one of the curses of being a vampire. He remembered everything from his human life and his vampire one, decades of old memories he wished he didn’t have but that he could do nothing about either.

  It was July, the fourth to be exact, and when he’d been human, it had been a day of picnics with fried chicken, getting drunk with friends on cheap beer, and watching the firework shows after the local small town parade had gone rumbling past. But that was all over now. For the past few decades, the Fourth of July had been just another day, just one like all the others, right after the next. He’d loved the holiday once upon a time, but now all of that was over.

  He went outside and sat on the porch of his small house. The land belonged to the wolves, but Puck had let the vampires put houses on it as long as they handled all the costs. His was small, barely larger than the studio apartment he’d had back in college, but with plenty of open acres around him he didn’t need much in the way of a place to sleep during the day. And, for the most part, the wolves didn’t really come out at night too often, so the vampires were able to wander around freely to talk to each other and catch up. Feeding was the only thing that was really regulated, but Zedace found that he didn’t mind that as much as he’d thought he would when first coming into their territory. The prison was ripe with hardcore criminals, many of whom were already on death row, and Armand chose which ones they would feed on each week. It was simple, easy, and it kept them all fed and less likely to attack the werewolves whenever they got too close.

  Zedace saw a werewolf come out from between some tall scrub bushes to the west of his house. The sleek gray wolf wasn’t a stranger, but he hadn’t seen Simon in a few months either. Simon had given no reason for the distance lately, either, so Zedace wasn’t too thrilled to see him now.

  “What do you want?” Zedace grumbled as Simon walked closer. He was taller than a lot of the wolves in the territory, and a lot thinner too.

  Simon joined him on the porch and stood close to him while he shifted. “I wanted to visit you, to see if you’re okay.”

  “You left my bed without a word. How did you think I’d be?”

  Simon pursed his lips, then looked west, toward the way he’d come, as if he was expecting someone there. Zedace didn’t care if there was someone—he was too busy taking in Simon again. From the first moment he’d seen Simon standing next to Puck, acting as the pack’s accountant during the busy tax season, Zedace had been interested in him. A week after meeting him, Zedace had counted himself lucky to be able to get Simon to come over to his house late one night. By morning Simon had been gone, and he’d kept his distance ever since.

  “I didn’t come here to fight with you,” Simon said, turning back to him.

  Zedace rolled his eyes. “No, you said you came to see if I’m okay. Well, clearly I am. I’m being fed regularly, and none of the other vampires pick fights with me anymore. I’m fine. You can run along and go tell your alpha.”

  Simon looked confused. “Puck? Why would I tell him how you’re doing?”

  “Because him asking you to check up on me is the only explanation I have for why you would be here in the first place.”

  With a sigh, Simon dropped down onto his knees on the porch next to him. He propped his forearms up on Zedace’s thigh and rested his chin on top of his arms. “Puck didn’t ask me to come here. He actually doesn’t care what any of you vampires do as long as you’re not making trouble for the pack. He likes that you’re here and that you’re all trying to work with us to find peace, but it’s not like he ever really worries about any of you.”

  It was so tempting to touch Simon again, and as much as he tried not to, it was too easy for Zedace to give in and run his fingers lightly through Simon’s black hair. It was much longer now, falling around his shoulders. He might have even been able to keep it tied back now that it was this long. Simon closed his eyes, looking like he was enjoying the attention.

  “Can I stay with you tonight?” Simon quietly asked him.

  Zedace had no idea why he would want to, especially after blowing him off so convincingly. “I’m sure you’ve got a couple of werewolves that wouldn’t mind warming your bed for the night.”

  Simon stuck his tongue
out at him. “Of course I do. Probably, anyway. The pack is pretty big on the whole free love as long as everyone is happy bit. Sex doesn’t have to be a big deal for us. But that’s not why I’m coming to you tonight. I want something else from you, something only you can give me.”

  Zedace bared his fangs at Simon, guessing easily enough what Simon would want. “I’m not getting kicked out of this territory just because you have some fantasy where you want to be bitten by a vampire. Fuck off.”

  Simon looked truly surprised. “Um. No. Look, this is a little hard to explain but...” Simon sighed.

  Zedace wondered what was actually going on with him.

  “I can’t handle the fireworks that are coming tonight.”

  Zedace had noticed them, but they were pretty far off in the distance. Even with Simon’s werewolf hearing, they shouldn’t have been loud enough to keep him awake overnight. “Then close your windows or something. Have the TV on tonight if they’re keeping you up.”

  Simon lifted his lips as if Zedace was annoying him. “They don’t bother me because they’re loud. I’ve got... issues with them. Serious issues. Like I can’t function. I shifted last Fourth of July and lashed out at another guy in the pack. Puck told me that I could choose to go somewhere that I felt safe, or he’d put me in a locked room where I couldn’t hurt anyone else tonight. PTSD isn’t super common in werewolves, and a lot of packs can’t handle someone like me. That’s why I’m here, actually. I got kicked out of two other packs, and Puck is giving me a chance. I can’t blow this, and being alone in a locked room sounds just like being in a cage, and I don’t want to be in a cage all night. I can’t be. So can I please stay with you tonight?”

  Zedace hadn’t thought it was possible for wolves to experience trauma like that, but it made sense, he supposed. They’d always been far closer to humans than the vampires ever were. “What happened to you?”

  Simon gazed at him with his big brown eyes looking like he was close to crying. His eyes were the first things Zedace had noticed about him. A wolf with kind eyes. Zedace hadn’t thought it was possible to find one that didn’t want to instantly turn on him. But Simon hadn’t been like that at all. His smile had been soft and easy, and he’d treated Zedace just like any other wolf in his pack right from the beginning. He’d shown no fear, only warmth and kindness.

  “I was in the Army, and we were in Iraq.” He looked away, and Zedace decided not to press him.

  Someone set off a firework in the distance. It was a good few miles away, but the sound still made Simon shiver against his thigh. “Look, I kind of need your answer soon. If you don’t want me here, I can go back to the pack house and stay there in whatever makeshift cell Puck wants to put me in for the night.”

  “You can stay here,” Zedace said quickly. He didn’t have to think about it. Simon needed something from him, and being locked away by his alpha sounded like a wolf’s idea of a special level of hell. Zedace understood that Simon was a threat to other wolves tonight, but he wouldn’t be able to stand up to a vampire. At least he didn’t think Simon could. He thought about testing that theory first but decided against it. He’d have to attack Simon to make sure that Simon wouldn’t be a threat to him, and he didn’t want to hurt Simon in the process. He didn’t know much about trauma, but that seemed like a horrible idea, even in his inexperience.

  Simon turned back to him, giving him a soft smile. “You sure? I probably won’t be much fun.”

  Zedace was positive. “Yeah, I am. Get inside. I’ll put on a movie for us to watch.”

  Simon popped up and kissed his cheek. He froze, looking like he hadn’t realized what he’d done. They weren’t friends, despite their one-night history together. But Zedace didn’t mind the kiss. He took Simon’s hand, keeping him close for a moment, before he stood up as well and gently cupped Simon’s face between his palms. He kissed Simon softly, making sure he could stop the kiss at any time if he wanted to. Simon had run before. There was no reason not to expect him to now as well.

  But Simon simply covered Zedace’s hands with his own. He opened his lips slightly, letting Zedace in.

  He took that invitation, sinking into the taste of him again, a taste he’d been so sure that he would never get again.

  Another firework split the silence of the night to the south of them, and Simon pulled away. His hand was shaking as Zedace took it and led him inside. He had a TV in the living room, and it was bigger, but he also had one in the bedroom, and the bed was far more comfortable. They’d been in Simon’s room inside the pack house before.

  Simon hesitated at the doorway. “I’m not looking for this.”

  Zedace hadn’t thought he’d be getting laid tonight either. “We can stretch out in here. Figured you might want to be comfortable tonight. One kiss doesn’t mean we’re back together, and I don’t think we ever really were to begin with. All this means is that we’ll both be in here. I’ve got some old zombie movies we can watch. They’re pretty bad, but they make me laugh when I’m having a bad day.”

  Simon took a step toward him. “You’re a vampire who watches zombie movies?”

  “I am.”

  Simon came forward and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed while Zedace put a movie in for them.

  “Do you need anything?” Zedace asked.

  Simon shook his head. “We were together. It was brief, but we were.”

  Zedace didn’t really want to talk about that night right then. “Let’s just get comfortable in the bed.”

  “Zedace...”

  He shook his head. “Not tonight, okay?”

  Simon bit his lip, looking like he definitely wanted to say more, but then decided against it as he nodded and lay down on the bed. He was above the comforter, but that wasn’t how Zedace wanted him. He got them each a bottle of water, then got under the blanket. After a moment Simon joined him there too. Zedace was on his back, watching the movie even though he’d seen it a few times already. Simon was on his side, facing away from him. But every time there was a firework, Zedace looked over at him and saw him tremble just a bit.

  When the fireworks became louder and closer together, Simon rolled toward him. He didn’t ask permission to be in Zedace’s arms. With how badly he was shaking, Zedace doubted that he could form the words at that moment anyway.

  “I’ve got you,” he whispered to Simon as he wrapped him in his arms.

  Simon nodded against his chest, and Zedace closed his eyes as he felt Simon’s tears against his shirt. He’d never known or even suspected that Simon ever had this kind of trouble. He wished he could do more, especially as Simon’s trembling continued. Zedace wanted to go hunt down everyone setting off fireworks in a ten-mile radius of the pack. Maybe then Simon would feel safer on what was supposed to be a happy holiday to be spent with family and friends.

  “What can I do to help?” Zedace asked.

  Simon shrugged. “Maybe if you talk to me.”

  Zedace had no idea what to talk about, but if it would help Simon, he was determined to try. “When I was human I was allergic to dogs. It turns out that becoming a vampire gets rid of any kind of allergies or illnesses.”

  Simon slid over his lap to lie on his chest. He pulled the blanket up around them, and Zedace tried to remind himself not to remember the night they’d shared. But it was hard. Tonight was about helping Simon. He figured he could get information from him some other time when Simon wasn’t a mess in his arms.

  The fireworks continued, and Simon growled. Zedace chuckled and rubbed his back. “Yeah, I know. I wish I could stop them. If Puck gives me permission to slaughter them all by next year, I can do that for you. Despite having been human once, I’ve got no great love for them at all. Would you like that? If everyone around us setting off those fireworks was dead?”

  Simon wiped at his eyes, and when he looked up he was smiling. It was faint, but it was there, and Zedace was glad to see it on him. “There’s my little wolf,” Zedace said affecti
onately. He hadn’t meant anything by it, but his words had still made Simon blush.

  “You’re not supposed to be like that with me,” Simon mumbled.

  It was hard for Zedace not to be. “I know. At least I won’t be expecting you to stay in the morning this time, so I won’t get my feelings hurt.”

  Simon wiped at his eyes. “I’m sorry I left like that. I wasn’t really feeling very well.”

  It was a bad excuse, and Zedace was pretty sure Simon knew that too. “Having a headache isn’t exactly a good reason for not sticking around to say bye to the person you just had sex with. I wasn’t expecting a relationship, but maybe not getting the cold shoulder would have been nice.”

  “I know.” Simon leaned back so that he was no longer over Zedace’s chest. It was no less comfortable for Zedace to have him there, and this way he really got to look at Simon too. He looked miserable, and it wasn’t just the fireworks. “It was the town’s Founder’s Day.”

  Zedace had no idea what Simon was talking about, and it must have shown.

  “Every year the humans celebrate the day the town was founded. They set off cannons and fireworks. It’s a big tradition for them.”

  Now Zedace understood what Simon was saying. “Sounds like it’s fun for them, but hell for people like you.”

  Simon gave him a quick nod. He was starting to understand, even though he hadn’t noticed the fireworks back then at all. “So you came to me that night for... what?”

  “We were friends. I thought maybe hanging out with you would help. I didn’t expect us to have sex, but I was hoping that we could.”

  Zedace didn’t regret being with him that night at all. “And what about tonight? What were you hoping for here?”

  “Mostly just not to lose my mind. Sometimes it feels like a very near thing. It’s like these gears are turning in my mind, like on one of those old gorgeous clocks where everything is supposed to be working just fine, and most of the time it is. But sometimes something just happens and my issues get triggered and the clock falls apart.” He sniffled, and Zedace sat up more so that he could give him a tender kiss. “I hate being so messed up. I would love to just be normal, just for a little while. You know?”