Wren

Wren listened as the front door to Scott’s flat opened and closed, not a minute later he heard tires crunch, signalling he was alone. Quickly finding his discarded suit trousers—the ones he’d been wearing Friday night when the adorable little nympho, Scott, had picked him up—he dug out his phone. It was dead. Sighing, he couldn’t believe he’d spent the whole weekend in the clutches of a man. Wren’s focus was always on his jobs—the club he owned, and the work he did for his maker. Letting his phone die wasn’t something he’d done since mobile phones were invented.

Wren was triumphant though when he searched the side of the bed Scott slept on and found a charger that fit his phone. Finally able to turn his phone on, he sighed at the amount of noise it made—emails, text messages, notifications. Ignoring them all, he scanned his contacts for one name: Mali.

“Finally came up for some air, did you?” Mali quipped as a way of greeting.

Wren had known that Mali, and Hugh had seen who he’d taken to his office on Friday night, and that they also knew he had left his club with that same man. They were all aware of who Scott was related to—even if Scott didn’t know himself.

Wren hadn’t intended to ever meet Scott, but when the cheeky little, five-foot-two, minx had sauntered up to him, bold as brass, dropping cheesy pick-up lines, everything changed for Wren—his perspective on the situation had especially changed. A few moments in Scott’s presence and Wren was hooked; he hadn’t realised how entirely he’d been drawn into the man’s orbit until it was too late.

 A part of him had thought the idea of being with Scott would be fun if future events unfolded the way he had a hunch they might. But after spending only three nights with the man, Wren didn’t want the inevitable to happen anymore. What he wanted was for Scott to keep being who he was, and for him to preferably become a stable part in Wren’s life—his boyfriend, perhaps. Wren felt giddy just thinking the word, he’d never had a boyfriend before. But for those things to happen, Wren had to get Scott away from Salisbury, before the coven found him.

For a brief moment, Wren wondered what Mali thought of him spending the weekend with Scott but, instead, decided to say what he’d intended to when he’d called Mali. “Scott said something odd before he left for work this morning.”

“What did he say?” Mali’s voice adopted a serious tone—after the long years they’d spent together, Mali knew Wren better than anyone; he didn’t need to explain the feelings he’d developed for Scott, spending more than an hour with the man had probably already tipped Mali off to the fact that Scott now meant something to Wren.

“He said he had a ‘weird feeling.’” Wren sighed, wondering if he was over thinking things. “I know it sounds like nothing, but I could practically feel the anxiety coming off of him, and he had a pale complexion too… I think they’re going to find him, Mali.”

“What did Scott say about this feeling?” Mali asked.

“Not much; he was going to be late for work, so he tried to pass it off as nothing. But I’m—I’m worried about what it might mean for him if they do find him.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone, before Mali spoke again. “I’m guessing you got more out of this weekend than you expected to…”

Wren knew his friend wouldn’t judge him for developing feelings for someone who could ultimately become their enemy, but he had to be sure Mali understood exactly what he was feeling for Scott. “He makes me…feel…things. I’m not Wren Thorp when I’m with him, I’m just Wren, and I like it…I like him.” He sighed. “It doesn’t make any sense, but even though I’m aware of that, I…I don’t want to let him go,” he declared the last part firmly.

“It doesn’t have to make sense, Wren. You feel what you feel…”

“But…three days…?”

“It happens… We’ll stop the coven from getting anywhere near Scott, then the two of you can live happily ever after.” Mali stated the words as if it were as simple a task as pouring a pint.

“You make it sound easy,” Wren said quietly into his phone, trying to hide the vulnerability he was feeling.

“I’ve known you for a long time—you saved my life, made me proud to be the man I am today. I’ve wanted you to find a special person in your life—someone who had the power to take your mind off your work for longer than an hour or two.” Mali chuckled. “You’ve finally found that; I don’t care who he has the potential to become, we’ll stop all of that from happening…” The matter-of-fact tone in Mali’s voice almost made Wren believe him but he couldn’t get the image of Scott’s pale complexion out of his mind.

“I…I want him to stay who he is now. But…the others came back…it’s too much of a coincidence, Scott moving so close to the coven.”

There was a pause from Mali’s end of the call. “Are you saying you think he’s a coven member and not a vessel for Randall?”

“The file the boss gave us said that the five members from the last cycle weren’t the only ones. What if I had this wrong, and he’s not Randall’s vessel but a coven member? We know Connor Spence isn’t from the last cycle, but he’s with them…”

“You’re speculating because Scott had a ‘feeling,’ Wren. Now that you’re away from him I think you’re getting nervous because you like him. Taking away the fact that he’s a man, you’ve never had a relationship. You’re right, it’s very coincidental that he moved here at the time he did, and who he’s related to, but I don’t want you to ruin what you could potentially have with him because of what you think might happen.”

Mali’s words sank in, enveloping Wren in the logicalness of them. “You’re right.”

“I know,” he quipped, and Wren just knew Mali was smirking. “The boss-man knows nothing about Scott; we’ll keep an eye on him like we have been and let the boss’s guys tail the coven.”

Wren knew what he was doing was risky. If his boss found out he’d suspected a coven member before the coven found him, there’d be hell to pay. But for once he was being selfish. “He’s…different…special…innocent.” He didn’t realise he’d spoke the words aloud until he heard Mali scoff.

“Innocent?”

Wren sighed. “He’s far from what I expected when we first started looking into him,” he explained. “I don’t want him mixed up with all the shit that’ll come with Randall and his brainless followers. Scott’s innocent of the coven trying to kill me. That’s what I meant.”

“He may be innocent from that, but you know his past…” Mali said quietly.

“That wasn’t his fault,” Wren said firmly, leaving no room for debate.

There was a pause before Mali said, “We’ll keep him safe, Wren.”