Spooking Shay Read online

  Spooking Shay

  Kiska Gray

  Copyright © 2019 by Sunny StClair

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  1. Shay

  2. Donovan

  3. Shay

  4. Donovan

  5. Shay

  6. Donovan

  7. Shay

  8. Donovan

  Epilogue: Shay

  Also by Kiska Gray

  About the Author

  1

  Shay

  It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

  And by that, I meant autumn. Fall, glorious fall. The season of cozy sweaters and crisp nights, sleeping with the windows cracked open, golden leaves and apple cider. I would milk every goddamn drip of pumpkin spice out of this thing, too, or my name wasn’t Seamus Callahan!

  I stretched out on the couch, idly flipping through Pinterest on my phone while my best friend got his ass kicked in Overwatch. I glanced up from the screen just in time to see him get splattered by a Lucio of all players. I couldn’t help but smirk.

  “Bummer.”

  “Stuff it, pumpkin-head,” Donovan grumbled, idly mashing the buttons as he waited for a respawn.

  Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention back to the task at hand—picking out the perfect Halloween costume. I wiggled in my seat, biting down on my lip. I was pumped. Halloween was my favorite holiday, the one day of the year that I could be whoever or whatever my little heart desired without any fear of judgment. If I wanted to parade around town in a mini-skirt and heels, I could, and nobody would even blink an eye.

  Not that I couldn’t pull off a mini-skirt and heels any other day, but on Halloween, I’d be applauded for my costume, not shamed for it. Maybe not heels, though… I planned on dancing and dancing in heels killed. Sexy, though? Sexy for sure. I skimmed my finger across the screen, tapped in “sexy witch costumes” and started my search anew.

  A big plastic candy bowl sat on the cushion between me and Donovan. It was filled with candy corn and a bag of those Brach’s Mellowcremes in different spooky shapes. I plucked a pumpkin between two fingers and popped it into my mouth. The sweetness danced on my tongue, a flavor all its own. I sighed with happiness.

  “These are the best, hands down.”

  Donovan shot me a grin. He held up one of the chocolate-flavored black cats.

  “These ones are my favorite,” he said with a conspiratorial wink, probably because my other-half was a sleek black feline and he loved to tease me about the fact that I was a house cat, not a panther. He gave the cat a wiggle before tossing it into his mouth. His brown eyes sparkled with mirth. I laughed it off, but my stomach launched into somersaults.

  Donovan Maverick was truly my favorite person in the entire world. End of story. Unfortunately for me, I had one hell of a crush on the guy, and it only seemed to grow stronger every day we spent together. And since that was pretty much every day?

  Yeah.

  Donovan had been the first person to welcome me into the pack when I arrived in Greymercy with little more than a backpack full of belongings and a deep well of uncertainty in my heart. He was my first friend here, and he’d taken the time to introduce me to his friends and his family.

  Then, after I graduated high school, Donovan had invited me to come live with him. Of course, I jumped at the chance. With him at my side, I felt a little more at home. A little more okay. My past might not’ve been the best, but he’d shown me what kind of a future I could reach for, and I loved him for that.

  I loved him. Period. I wanted so much more than just friends, but I was too much of a coward to come out and say it. Sure, Donovan was openly bisexual, but I’d seen the guys he dated. Masculine. Sexy. Abs-for-days. Nothing like me, and besides… I didn’t want to lose my best friend. I liked us. I liked what we had, and I wasn’t sure I could survive it if Donovan ditched me too.

  I rolled my eyes. “Did you die again?”

  “Yup.”

  “Why do you play this game if you suck at it?” I asked, curious.

  He shrugged. “I dunno, I just really like it. Besides, the first step to being good at something is to die a lot. Haven’t you heard that before? What’s it called? Practice makes perfect?”

  “Sure.” I nibbled the tip off of a piece of candy corn. “Sooo. Halloween.”

  “Yup.” He spawned back into the game, switching back to his tried-and-true. Yes, that’s right. My best friend was a Hanzo-main. “What about it?”

  “What do you think about doing a couples’ costume? For Gracie’s party, I mean?”

  Every year, our Alpha threw a giant Halloween party for the pack and all our friends, both shifters and humans alike. Everyone dressed up in epic costumes and there was always a buttload of spooky-themed foods alongside the giant hog she roasted. There was a costume contest, a pumpkin carving contest, pumpkin-cart races. It was always so much fun.

  Donovan didn’t even blink. “You mean like, Pinky and The Brain? Only if I get to be The Brain. I’ve got a bigger head than you do, you know?” He smirked. “What were you thinking?”

  “Not Pinky and The Brain, that’s for damn sure,” I muttered. He cracked up laughing, his character getting sniped in that instant. He didn’t seem to care. I swatted at him. “Shut up.”

  Composing himself, he cocked his head. “Really, though? What did you have in mind?”

  “I dunno,” I mumbled. “It was just a thought. I kind of want to be some sort of beautiful monster.”

  “Like Frankenstein?”

  I snorted. “Frankenstein isn’t even Frankenstein, he’s the doctor who created Frankenstein…or whatever. You know what I mean. He’s also not beautiful.” I slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Maybe a sexy vampire? Ooh, or a blood witch? Glitter and gemstones and blood, mwahaha.”

  “Me or you?”

  “You would be the sexiest blood witch ever,” I singsonged.

  Donovan’s smile was dazzling. “And you’d make a wonderful familiar. Here, kitty kitty.”

  I snorted again. “Bitch, I ain’t your accessory.” This time, we both laughed. “I’m totally gonna be a sexy blood witch.” Consider it done.

  He grinned impishly at me, batting his dark lashes. “And I want to be Frankenstein, but you gotta promise to help me with my costume, cool?”

  “Of course. Anything for you, D.” I reached out to squeeze his knee, my hand lingering a little longer than it should’ve, but if he noticed, he didn’t say anything. I sighed softly.

  Oh, if he only knew how much I meant that…

  2

  Donovan

  Halloween had always been a fun holiday for me. I had some really great memories of me and my little sisters dressing up and going door-to-door, ringing doorbells and holding out our pumpkin-shaped candy buckets with big grins on our faces, shouting in unison, “Trick-or-Treat!”

  Then, when our buckets were full to the point of nearly overflowing, we’d pile in our family’s minivan and go home. Ripping off our masks and ditching our fake wings and tails, we sprawled out on the living room floor and spent an hour sorting candy. Dad and Papa would always check it for anything dangerous—as well as “confiscate” our Mary Janes and our Bit-O-Honeys. We’d spend the rest of the night trading Reeses for Snickers and watching Scooby-Doo reruns until bedtime.

  Good times.

  Just because I was an adult didn’t mean I couldn’t embrace the spirit of Halloween, though. I loved it all. The candy and the costumes, the creepy decorations in everyones’ yards. Plus Gracie Ho
well, Rubydawn’s Alpha, always threw the most bomb-ass Halloween parties with pumpkin-cart races and a huge bonfire, not to mention dancing and food galore.

  I was drooling just thinking about it. Last year, my friend Jem Murphy baked a kitty litter cake. It had oreo crumbles on top, as well as Tootsie Rolls molded to look like cat turds. He’d served it in a fresh-from-the-store litter box and even brought a pooper-scooper for serving. It was hilarious. Shay had looked so offended when I offered to scoop him out a piece.

  Silly kitty.

  And Shay, he always had the best costume ideas. He’d won Gracie’s costume contest three years in a row—and for good reason. Not only were his costumes amazing and his makeup flawless, the best part was, he did it all himself. Talk about talented.

  This year, he planned on being a blood witch. I wasn’t sure exactly what a blood witch looked like, but after seeing his Pinterest board and the gauzy, sparkling fabric he’d bought? Damn. He had the tendency to look like a snack every day of the week, but on Halloween?

  The boy slayed.

  I’d known Shay was my mate since the day he came to Rubydawn, seeking asylum from his batshit-crazy parents. He’d been seventeen to my twenty-two—too young to court, but only for a little while. I settled for being friends instead. It soon evolved into best friends and later, after graduation, he moved in with me.

  That was five years ago.

  I was head-over-heels in love with the man, but too much of a coward to tell him how I truly felt. How I truly feel. I wasn’t afraid of scaring him off. I was afraid that he’d laugh in my face. I wasn’t good enough for him. I was too tall, too chubby, too scruffy. Too everything.

  A guy like Shay deserved some knock-out with a charming smile, someone who could give him the world. I was a maintenance guy for the local elementary school. Not exactly husband-of-the-year material, let’s be real.

  The funny thing was, we were practically a couple already. We had little non-date nights. We went to bars and parties together, we cooked meals together, we watched Netflix and even cuddled together. Hell, we did everything a couple did—everything but kiss—and it dragged me down. It dragged me down hard.

  These past couple of months, I’d tried dropping little hints and made some, admittedly lame, attempts at flirting, but apparently he didn’t get the memo. That, or he just wasn’t interested. It didn’t stop the wishing and it definitely didn’t squash my crush. Guess I needed to suck it up and be happy with what we had.

  “Damn it.” I grumbled as the screw went rolling across the table. Try as I might to slap it down with my hand, it skittered out of reach, right off the edge to bounce across the kitchen floor. There went another one.

  “Problems?” Shay glanced up from the sewing machine, which was surrounded by folds of silky red fabric and delicate, spiderwebbing black lace. He tilted his head to the side, a playful smile toying at his bow-shaped lips.

  Those lips…

  For a moment, I forgot what I was doing. God, why did he have to be so damn gorgeous? Chin-length, charcoal black curls cupped his cheeks, making his pale skin seem even paler, as white as alabaster. His lashes were dark and so thick that, at first glance, you’d think he was wearing eyeliner, and his eyes were the most gorgeous shade of yellow. He was beautiful and feminine and perfect. How did I ever think I could be the one to win his heart?

  Damn it.

  I sighed and forced myself to look away. “Lost another screw. Why do these things have to be so finicky?” I set the screwdriver down on the table and went to retrieve the tiny screw before it got kicked under the refrigerator like the last one. Plucking it off the floor, I flopped back down. The rickety kitchen chair squeaked in protest. “There. Now maybe I can get this wheel to stay on.”

  Shay laughed, soft and sweet. “I don’t know why you bother trying to make pumpkin-carts. It’s the same shit every year.”

  I wrinkled my nose, scowling. “Is not. This time? This time it’ll be different. I’ve got big plans for those winnings, Shay, and no one’s gonna stand between me and that hundred-dollar Red Lobster giftcard. I can taste the crab legs now. Mmm.”

  “Mhmm, and you’re gonna share them with me, riiight?” He batted those long lashes of his, looking as innocent as a kitten who’d just gotten busted knocking over his owner’s priceless vase. “I mean, you can’t eat a hundred dollars worth of crab legs by yourself, surely.”

  “Try me,” I replied.

  “Not even if I begged?”

  I paused. “Like, on your knees, begged?” Oh god, don’t give me anymore naughty ideas for my jerk-off folder. But I couldn’t stop myself from adding, “This, I gotta see.” Because I was pathetic and horny and a twisted part of me wanted—no, needed—to see exactly that.

  He blinked owlishly at me, then burst out laughing. “You’d better win first, huh, buddy? If you win…?” He bit his lip and smirked, slow and simmering. My heart kicked in my chest. “If you win, then maybe I’ll get on my knees, but not a moment before.”

  Tossing his head back with another jovial giggle, he returned his attention to his costume. The sewing machine clicked and hummed as he worked the pedal, and suddenly, it was all I could do to breathe.

  My crush had inflated so big that it seemed like my heart might burst from the pressure. It filled up the room, hanging heavy on my shoulders and weighing me down. I needed him. I couldn’t imagine my life without him. That’s why I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t lose him. It would break me.

  Shay glanced back up, meeting my eye. I hadn’t moved. I hadn’t looked away, too transfixed by my best friend’s delicate hands feeding fabric through the machine as it chugged away, stitch by perfect stitch. He paused. “What?”

  I quickly shrugged it off. “Just imagining you wearing that kick-ass dress, looking like the queen of darkness herself, that’s all.”

  He grinned and wiggled in his seat. “Mmm, me too. I’m gonna be the sexiest blood witch at that party, I promise you that. And you, my friend, will be the most realistic Frankenstein’s Monster ever! I’ve already got big plans. Xan’s agreed to help me do our makeup.” He’d already bounced to the next subject, but I got hung up on a little flare of jealousy.

  Xan. Shay’s other best friend.

  I shouldn’t have felt intimidated, seeing as I’d known the kid since he was just a dorky little pup. Xan was Gracie’s youngest son, and 100% an Omega. Sure, Omegas could and did date other Omegas, but I knew Xan. He’d always been the kind to daydream of his big, strong Alpha mate. He wouldn’t be interested in Shay. Not like that. I shouldn’t even worry, but…

  “Hello? Earth to D? Wake up.” Shay snapped his fingers.

  I smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

  He rolled his eyes. “I was asking what you thought about ordering pizza for dinner? We could see what kind of scary movies are on Netflix. Binge on super supreme pizza and watch The Grudge or something.” He grinned. “What do you think? Up for dinner and a movie?”

  My heart squeezed. “I’d love that.”

  “Good, because you’re paying,” he said with a wink.

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  3

  Shay

  It was Xan who suggested we take a trip to the craft store to get the rest of the stuff we needed for our Halloween costumes. I didn’t really want to, not when it was something I’d been planning on doing with Donovan, but Xan gave me puppy-dog eyes and I didn’t have the heart to say no.

  Craft shopping it was.

  I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me. I’d spent the last couple of days feeling under the weather. Kind of mopey. Usually, when I felt sad and alone like this, cuddling with Donovan and vegging out on crappy reality TV helped. Not this time. Lately, when I was around him, my chest felt like it might split open down the center to vomit up my heart.

  I was so boned.

  “Hey, while we’re here, let’s stop at that little donut shop. You know… The Hole.” Xan wiggled his perfectly
-plucked brows, a suggestive grin creeping across his face. “Mmm. Wish I had someone to fill my hole, if you know what I mean.”

  “Gross.” I shoved my shoulder into his, knocking him off balance. He toppled sideways and giggled like a hyena, catching himself on the railing of the steps. We scaled them and kept walking. “I don’t need to hear about your love life. I’m miserable enough,” I muttered.

  “You know what you need?” He pushed through the door clearly labeled Out and we strolled into the little donut shop. I glanced around, doing a quick sweep of the place. Pastel walls of pink, yellow and blue were dotted with shiny reflective appliqué spots—no doubt meant to be the holes of the donuts. The floors looked like glitter and confetti had been puked up and glossed over with a high-shine coating. My sneakers squeaked with each step.

  “What?”

  “You need to get laid. Live a little.” I glared at him. He shrugged, nonchalant. “Well? If you’re not gonna do anything about your crush, then you might as well try to squish it like a bug, right? I mean, if you wanted him that badly, you’d say something. Mmm. What to order…”

  I looked at the menu, but I wasn’t really hungry. “Can I just get a caramel mocha? Iced, please. Whole milk.” The cashier-slash-barista nodded, then turned her eagle eyes on my friend. She was definitely a shifter, an avian of some sort. There was just that edge about her. Even her fingernails looked as sharp as talons.

  “Give me a frozen hot chocolate, extra whipped cream, aaand… A half-dozen of your Nutella-filled donut holes, please and thank you.” Xan whipped out his credit card before I had the chance to argue. “I got this, boo.”

  Once we had our drinks, we sat down at one of the booths. Xan’s knees knocked against my own, so I tucked my feet beneath the bench and hooked them at the ankle. He pinched one of the donut holes between two fingers, holding it up to the light. It glistened with sugar and nutella oozed out of one end. Xan winked at me, then popped it into his mouth—and moaned. Loudly.