Escape is Only Temporary [boyxboy]

Chapter XIII

 ~Friday 10th June 2016~

"Don't touch that," Shepherd didn't even need to look up from the mixture that he was bottling to know that Reece was reaching out to something he shouldn't. He had gained the instinct from raising the twins in his store, constantly on the alert in case they decided that looking just wasn't enough. Evidently, they had gotten that from their father.

Normally, Reece was relatively well-behaved in the store. He would linger behind the counter, collecting things whenever Shepherd instructed him or just sitting there and looking pretty. Shepherd had noticed that less humans wandered into his store when Reece was there, as though they could sense the wolf's presence before they even got to the front door. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Shepherd wasn't losing business, not from those particular humans. It made working just a little bit less painful.

"Why?" Shepherd arched an eyebrow, finally lifting his eyes from his task and meeting Reece's across the storefront. Why? Shepherd hated that question. Kai had gone through a phase of asking why whenever Shepherd gave him any sort of instruction. It drove him mad. And, of course, Reece understood then and there that that was a button he could press over and over again to get the reaction he wanted. Smug bastard.

"Because you'll taint it," Shepherd narrowed his eyes when Reece kept his hand where it was, lingering close to one of the bottles lining the higher shelves in the store. That was supposed to be out of reach, however, with Reece being irritatingly tall, it was easy for him to touch. Shepherd decided that actions were clearly louder than words, so touched a Wakaath on his hip discreetly. For a moment, he still held eye contact with the wolf, waiting for one to break, until Reece finally just ignored his warning entirely and lifted the bottle from the shelf. Then promptly let out one of the most embarrassingly high-pitched screams as tiny spiders scuttled from the shelf and down his sleeve.

"Get them off!" Shepherd howled with laughter, watching as Reece hopped around the store, tugging off both his jacket and t-shirt, swiping away at any of the spiders he could still see. When Shepherd had finished with his fun, he tapped the same marking on his hip a second time, causing the offending insects to flicker out of existence. Phantoms.

"I did warn you," Shepherd chuckled to himself one last time, enjoying the sight of Reece standing there, shirtless and furious, glowering right at him, "and, just like your sons, you didn't listen. Actions have consequences, even for a big, bad alpha like yourself," Shepherd returned his attention to the mixture he was spooning carefully out of the wooden bowl in front of him whilst he listened to Reece redress himself. If he was honest, it was warm enough outside that Reece probably could have remained comfortably without a shirt on, and Shepherd had assumed he might. Some defiant act in retaliation for Shepherd's punishment.

Shepherd looked up after a moment, unsure of why Reece was remaining so quiet. He thought there would have been some sarcastic quip thrown right back, continuation of the humour tossed between the two, yet Reece was silent. He was holding his chest, grimacing, his tanned skin having turned a sickly pallor. Shepherd watched for a moment, wondering what had happened. Nothing in the store was truly harmful, not anything out of the locked boxes in the back room anyway, and the spiders were illusions. It wasn't like they could have actually caused any harm to Reece.

"Shit," Shepherd rushed around the counter when Reece dropped to his knees, drawing in broken and shallow breaths, "Reece? Reece, what's happening?" The second that Shepherd laid his hands on Reece's shoulder, crouched beside him, the man slumped to the floor entirely. Eyes rolled to the back of his head, muscles convulsing uncontrollably, breaths forced out in harsh pants. Shepherd began to panic. He ran through the scenario once again in his mind whilst he rolled Reece onto his side, not wanting the man to choke on his own tongue. The bottle he had lifted was poison, but it shouldn't be lethal to him, and Shepherd made sure to clean the glass outside meticulously. Nothing should have been hurting him like this.