Free Keaton's Lessons [Brac Village 6] by Lynn Hagen Page A

we just toss a bucket of holy water over his head?”
    It sounded like a perfect plan to him. The hound thingy should shriek and shrivel. No, wait, that was The Wizard of Oz . Wrong evil being. But it was the same concept.
    “It isn’t that easy.” It was a simple statement, one that should’ve had Keaton exploring other possibilities. But he was so far out of his depth that the only thing that came to mind was calling a priest.
    He began to pace right along with Kade, feeling trapped and lacking air. God help him, he actually wanted to find a way to defeat that horrible thing outside, to stop it from mentally torturing Kade.
    “Don’t look so worried, Keaton.” Kade blocked Keaton’s pacing, placing his hands on Keaton’s upper arms and holding him still. “Help is on the way. I guess for every evil entity there is a warrior. The timber wolves are getting in contact with someone who is an expert at killing those things.”
    Keaton leaned into Kade’s embrace, needing desperately to grab hold of something solid and strong. His mate’s hands caressed Keaton’s arms, his touch so tender, so warm. Keaton nestled into Kade, laying his head on the strong shoulder, and hoped that his mate was right. If that thing out there was the cause of Kade’s moodiness, Keaton would gladly go out there and shove a spike through the son of a bitch’s skull.
    He had taken the news of shifters and vampires existing in a semi-calm state. Kade was a shifter and he hadn’t attacked Keaton. The town was full of shifters, people he knew and liked. But that hound outside was pure, unadulterated evil. There would be nothing about him to like. There would be nothing about him that made Keaton feel at ease.
    Keaton clung to Kade, balancing on the edge of an emotional chasm that he felt like he was falling into. His mind began to open, truly understanding that nature balanced everything out. There weren’t just humans in the world. Nature balanced that out with paranormal creatures. But within those nonhuman creatures was good and evil—just like with humans.
    But the paranormal evil was a hell of a lot scarier.
    “I swear to you, Keaton. I won’t let anything happen to you. We’ll get through this.” Kade’s thickly chiseled body moved until he had Keaton’s back against the bookcase. “And when that evil bastard is defeated, and these unwelcome emotions are gone,”—Kade leaned in, pressing his lips to Keaton’s ear—“I’m going to claim you and truly make you mine.”
    The growled promise made his blood feel alive, as if it were burning through him. Keaton momentarily forgot about the danger they were in as he tilted his head back, gazing up into a handsomely stubbled face. He wanted Kade to take him right here, right now. But a saner part of him leashed a collar around that thought and dragged it back.
    They were in a public place, and he was pretty sure having sex in a book aisle would be frowned upon by the people visiting the bookstore. Instead, he curled into the warm circle of Kade’s arms, drawing from the man’s steady, solid strength.
    He looked up when Kade nudged him. “I think our help has arrived.”
    Keaton turned his head toward the front entrance and inhaled a sharp breath. Two of the roughest-looking men he had ever seen came through the door, their eyes scanning until they landed directly on Keaton. He forced himself not to cringe from the penetrating stare. Why did he have a feeling that tangling with these two would end any man’s life?
    They approached as if they owned the place, their strides sure and confident, paying absolutely no attention to the small audience of customers glancing their way.
    “You spotted one?” a man with caramel-colored skin and long, thick braids asked Kade. He wasn’t heavy with muscles as Keaton would’ve thought a man fighting a hell escapee would be. His body was tight, lean, and his expression made up for any musculature he lacked. “Name’s Dog.”
    What a