A Lion for Christmas (10 page)

Books Available by Zach Collins

Stratum Series

Wasted Time – Book One

Enough Time – Book Two

A Lion for Christmas – Book Two ½

Twisted Time - Book Three – Coming Soon

Meridian Warriors Series

Co-Authored with Jana Leigh

Xander and Dre – Book One – March 28, 2013

You can contact me at:

Email:
[email protected]

Excerpt from Enough Time

Stratum Series Book Two

by Zach Collins

Prologue

“Uh….Ian could you come into the office for a minute,” Trent asked his best friend, as he stared at the large muscular man who was staring at him intensely.

“Sure, give us a minute guys,” Ian replied and nodded to the man he now called his husband.

Trent frowned when Ian’s mate had to pull the large man from the room they were standing in. When his best friend showed up, and called him after being gone weeks with only one prior phone call, he had been pissed. Not that he needed to check in with him, but he was his boss, and also his friend. It was bullshit that he was doing this right now.

Trent paced around his friend’s apartment, looking at the boxes and the things that were being packed. His best friend was leaving. It sucked, but he could live with it. What he couldn’t live with was the fact he and his friend had been fired from their jobs at the University, for stupid shit. Then his friend announcing it didn’t really matter because he was moving to another
Stratum
, whatever the hell that was, and Trent was on his own. Ian had started this shit, and he was going to be left alone to finish it. Being fired was the least of his worries. His reputation and his fucking life were turned upside down, just because he refused to admit his friend was a thief. Now it didn’t really matter, according to his friend. He didn’t need the job, he was moving.

Great, dandy, and where the fuck did that leave him? Being fired from his job, being accused of thievery and covering up a crime was like having his career implode right in from of him. In addition, Ian was spewing creepy weird shit, which pissed him off. He was going to have to go back to Ian’s father and ask for a job. It was pathetic.

Shit, he hadn’t been on his own since he met Ian
. They were best friends. It was strange how it all came about. They met in college and were the only two gay men on the floor. They were not attracted to each other at all. They were like brothers. Trent finally had someone to talk to and not feel as if he was being judged. His family disowned him and his childhood friends shunned him. When he went to college, he had hoped to start a new life, which he did. Meeting Ian had been the best thing that ever happened to him. Ian’s family took him in and treated him as though he was a long lost family member.

When the Dean of the College came to him, told him Ian was suspected of stealing and being involved in some kind of smuggling ring, Trent had laughed. Then they showed him the proof. A tape showed Ian reaching for a stolen artifact that had surfaced. Trent assured the Board of Regents that Ian would never have stolen it. Instead, they had accused him of covering for his friend, so he told them to fuck off and walked out of the University. Never actually thinking they would fire him too. He left to try to prove his friend’s innocence, but when he had been unable to find him, his anger had grown.

Ian called him to say he was in Ireland,
great, fine, if that’s where the hell he really was
. However, it wasn’t. Trent knew his friend had lied to him, but he never thought he’d gone mad. In the past hour, Trent tried to get his friend away from the people who he came with. If he could talk some sense into him, maybe they stood a chance.

Trent thought Ian was being influenced by a cult. At least, that’s what these men appeared to be like. Blake, the leader, was very charismatic, and the rest of the men seemed to do everything he said. It was more than a little strange. Two of the men even bowed to Blake,
what in the hell was that about?
Then there was the large man who was looking at him with such intensity, he felt like a bug under a microscope. When he got close to anyone, the man had stepped forward as if in warning to the other men. He had no idea what was going on. Maybe they were going to try to brainwash him too. At this point, anything was possible.

He may need to send Ian to one of those deprograming groups. The movie he had seen was the one where they took the person, secluded him or her somewhere and deprogrammed them.
It was ugly and could be actually painful. When a cult got their hooks into you, it could screw you up.

Hell, now he was out of a job
, and although he had a lot of money saved up, there was no way he would be able to survive unless he found another one
. How was he going to get help without money?
Ian’s parents would
not
be able to be brought into this. That would be a political nightmare.
Shit
.
He had been the Head of the Department, how did that slip through his fingers so quickly?
The assholes never even wanted to listen to him. It was as if they had made their minds up before they even saw the video. Maybe their insurance would cover this if he could prove to the Regents that Ian was brainwashed
. Crap, he was kidding himself.

Trent had to accept the fact they were probably happy that Ian and him were gone. They had been the only two gay men on the faculty. It was sad to think they would be happy to see them go if it were for that reason only. Trent really thought that Ian and he had finally found a home where they would not discriminated against. Maybe he was wrong, but it was feeling a little like a fucking set up.

His mind was going a mile a minute, trying to think of a way out of this mess. When they arrived to the study, Trent paused and made sure the door was locked behind him. Ian raised an eyebrow at him.

“Trent, let me tell you a little story,” Ian laughed, slapping him on the back.

“Dude, I really don’t need story time, I need to find a fucking job, and you need to get help. Man, this is beyond crazy,” Trent said warily.

“Maybe I can help you with that, well, at the least the job part. As for the other, we will talk about that too, but you have to keep an open mind,” Ian laughed, and waited for his friend to nod in agreement before he continued, “Okay, I told you part of the shit that went down a few weeks ago. Let me tell you the rest. When I was at the Museum that night, something happened, something strange and fucking unbelievable. The coin everyone is accusing me of stealing was not an artifact. It was a transport device, used by people in different
Stratums
.”

“Ian, did they drug you or something?” Trent asked his best friend worriedly and looked into his eyes. “Cause I swear if they did, I will kick their ass and make them sorry for ever fucking with us. I think we need to call someone, and get him or her over here right now. We can have you away from these guys in a few minutes.”

Trent pulled his cell phone from his pocket and began to search the Internet with it to find what he was looking for.
How in the hell did you search for ‘deprogrammers’?
He just typed in what he thought would pull up the information as Ian pulled the phone from his hands.

He laughed and slapped his best friend on the back of the head. They had been together for so long
that
he forgot sometimes they were friends because he thought of Ian as family. His friend had the benefit of having a supportive family, while Trent didn’t. In fact, his family was a bunch of fucking lunatics and pricks. Trent had gone home with Ian on all breaks and holidays, just to avoid staying in the dorms by himself.

Trent had not told Ian the extent of his abuse as a child. It was easier to tell Ian that his family didn’t like gays and kicked him out when he came out to them. It was true, even if his father had always suspected. When Trent went to a gay pride parade, his father flipped. Trent knew he still bore the scars of that beating. Since that day, the beatings became more frequent. He could almost hear his father telling him as he whipped him that he was unnatural, a freak. Telling Trent all he had to do was accept that being gay was not an option, find a cute girl, fuck her, and then marry her. Then all would be right in the family.

His mother ignored it. When Trent had asked for her help, she smiled, told him to do what his father asked and it would be all right.
Bullshit, he had tried, it was not all right
, he chose a girl and tried to do what was asked of him, but it had been awkward. His brother told his father what the girl had said at school the next day. That had been the last straw. He refused to change what he was in order to please his parents. Therefore, he endured the beatings, but made sure his grades were exemplary, which paid off when he graduated and then received acceptance into a prestigious college.
Fuck them
,
he borrowed and worked to be where he was today. Finding Ian and his parents had been a godsend. They gave him something he needed, support and acceptance.

Even though his friend’s parents loved Trent, there had been a time when they thought Ian and Trent were actually dating. Both of the men had laughed and set them straight. From their first meeting, it was as if they were long lost brothers. His parents accepted Trent and welcomed him into the fold of their family. He was surprised a little, since Ian’s father was in politics. It was bad enough Ian was gay, but to have his friend in the limelight also, had been unheard of.

Only the strongest men of character could withstand the backlash from having a gay son or daughter in the world of politics. Ian’s father and mother had supported Trent, just the same as they had done for their own children. For that, he was going to make sure Ian was taken care of.

Trent frowned at his friend and clenched his fists. Maybe if he knocked him out, he could make the call and escape through the window. The fire escape was right there. Trent was strong enough to make it down carrying his friend, which was one thing he knew for sure. His strength from working out would enable them to make a run for it.

“Bro, they didn’t drug me. I’m telling you the truth. Listen. There are seven different
Stratums
, ours, which they refer to as the
Human Stratum
, not too pressed for the imagination. Then there are the
Wizards, Witches, and Warlocks Stratum
, that is where Blake, my mate is from. He is the King of the
Stratum
, and I know it sounds crazy, but I will come back to this. I haven’t met Shifters yet, you know from the
Shifter Stratum
. Yes, I said
Shifter
, then there are the
Elves
, the
Trolls
, the
Paladin
, and the
Fae
,” Ian said slowly.

“Okay, I get it. Let’s call your parents and talk to them about this, I mean this is a big thing for you to be leaving for, what did you call it?
Stratum
. And mated to the King, well that is awesome,” Trent said easing toward the phone Ian set on the table. He had heard not to make sudden movements when talking to someone who had a psychotic breakdown, or was under mind control. His friend had, there was no other explanation. Trent looked into his friend’s eyes for any indication he had gone mad. There was none, only an amused gaze that was beginning to freak him out.

Shit
, all this time he had been covering for his friend. Thinking he was just having fun with a new man. Really hoping his friend had found someone who he could spend the rest of his life. He trusted his friend’s call because Ian had never given him cause to think he was unstable. He knew this man and there was nothing he could not do. He was like Superman without the cape and he had told him that. Trent liked to think he was a lot like Ian.

He would make sure his friend had the best care. These men were obviously taking advantage of him.
Well, that was fucking gonna stop.
Trent was going to call Ian’s parents first, and then he would call the police to deal with these assholes. When Trent ran out of options, calling Ian’s parents was the only thing he could do.

“Trent, knock it off and listen. Blake is the King of the
Trivet
or
Wizard
Stratum
, and he is a Wizard. I am trying to tell you this shit fast before Logan, Blake’s brother, has an aneurism. When I went to the Museum and grabbed ahold of the guy with the coin, we ended up in this other place. It looked a lot like New York but in a strange, freaky ass way. You will see, but listen first. The mate thing. I am Blake’s mate, which means I am the King’s Consort. I am heading up the Education Division there and I could really use your help. However, that will also be explained later. Mating, with Wizards is like crazy, they give you power, you also share their life span and everything. Some of the
Stratums
have been around long before this one.
Humans
are behind the power curve a little on some things.

“The man who was staring at you was Logan. He’s Blake’s brother, and the head of the
Stratum’s
security, a real big deal. I don’t know if he has a title, we can ask. Anyway, he’s your mate,” Ian said. “I need you to go to your apartment and pack some stuff. We really don’t have a lot of time for explanations. Nevertheless, there’s something going on. Someone has decided they are going to try to take over all the
Stratums
and it is a mess, once again something you have to hear about later, we just don’t have the time to fuck around here.”

Trent nodded as if he was listening to everything his friend was saying, which he was, just not believing any of it. Ian had seriously had a break from reality. He needed help and quick. He knew Ian’s father would make the arrangements quickly. Then Trent was going to wait to call the police because he was going to beat the shit out of the guys who did this.