“Assimilated? What does that mean?” he asked sharply.

“It means you’ll be staying here with us, and you’ll become one of us. You’ll have to let your parents and friends know about it eventually, of course, once you’ve settled in a bit. You’ll have a good life here though, and I think you’ll be happy one day. I hope so anyway.”

Good life? As a prisoner?Was he serious? Before Kevin could even figure out a response to this, he heard a noise at the door. It was Tucker, holding Kevin’s dinner tray in his hands, and he looked furious. “So much for your promise to let me be with you when you explained things to him. Are all your promises lies then? Are any of you people even able to tell the truth?”

Gavin crossed over to him and tried to take him in his arms, but Tucker pulled away in anger. He went over to put the tray down on the bed and stood beside Kevin protectively, his body vibrating with emotion. Gavin followed him and turned him to look at him.

“You misunderstood, Tucker. I haven’t exactly explained things yet. I was just telling him he has to stay with us. I thought maybe we should explain things a little at a time.”

Tucker rolled his eyes. “Because that will make any of this acceptable to him? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Tucker, I’ve been speaking with Marco and Zack. Both of them were quite clear that they’d never go along with just letting him go back to Florida. There’s too much at stake. He’ll have to join the pack. I should have waited for you, but I saw an opportunity and…” He sighed. “And I’m sorry.” Again, he tried to take Tucker in his arms and again, Tucker shied away from him.

“No.” He turned back to Kevin and took his hand in his. “I’m sorry I got you into this. I know you came here out of concern for me, and I promise you I never meant for any of this to happen. I should have called you sooner. I should have reassured you more often.”

Gavin tried again to put an arm around him and this time Tucker let him, even leaning against him a little. “You were sick for a long time, honey. It’s not your fault.”

“Sick? What was wrong with him?” Kevin asked, narrowing his eyes. “Did you do something to him?”

“No.” Both Tucker and Gavin spoke at the same time. Tucker put a hand on Gavin’s chest and turned to face Kevin. “Right after our ceremony, something happened. I was…attacked by some of the same killers who were operating in Florida. It’s hard to explain, but I will explain it all to you, Kevin. I promise. It’s just that it’s going to be hard for you to believe. It was for me at first. There’s just so much…I mean it goes against everything we ever believed about the world…about everything…” His voice trailed off, and he seemed completely at a loss.

Kevin looked back and forth between them. “Okay, if this is supposed to reassure me—”

Gavin spoke up. “We’re not trying to scare you, Kevin, but Tucker’s right. All of this will be difficult for you to believe. I’m no good at explaining this. When I told Tucker the first time, he passed out.”

“Okay, what exactly is about to happen? I demand to know the truth. I’m not understanding any of this, and you’re freaking me out.”

Tucker opened his mouth to speak, but Gavin cut in. “There are only two ways to proceed from this point, Kevin. Neither is a great option, but it’s all we have. We thought about trying some drugs on you that would wipe away your memories, but that method is risky in that it’s unpredictable. It could wipe away all your memories. The risk is too great, in my opinion, and we don’t want to risk harming your mental faculties. The other thing we can do, and the thing we’ve decided on is to join you to someone in the pack. You’d become their mate, like their husband, and stay here with us. Once you’ve settled, you’d be free to come and go as you pleased, so long as your mate agreed. You’d be like Tucker, in a way. Fully a member of our pack.”

“Your pack? Mate someone? I can’t even fathom what you’re talking about.” He shuddered and gazed over at Tucker then down at himself. “Do I have it on me, Tucker? I feel like I got the crazy all over me, and I need to wash it off.”

Tucker allowed a surprised chuckle to slip out. Even Gavin smiled a little. “I know it sounds outrageous, Kevin. You don’t understand fully yet, and I can’t explain it more right now. It would be too much to for you to take in. The day after tomorrow’s the full moon. Maybe afterward…”

“What happens on the full moon? You talk like you’re all vampires or some shit.” He got a horrified look on his face. “Is that it? You think you’re vampires or creatures or something? Tucker, tell me you haven’t been sucked into this.”

Tucker shook his head. “I haven’t been sucked into anything, Kevin.” He turned back to Gavin. “He’ll never believe it until he sees it for himself.”

“See what? What are you talking about?”

They both gazed back at him, Tucker nervously twisting his hands and Gavin with a speculative expression. Gavin finally spoke. “Day after tomorrow, Kevin. Can you trust us just a little until then? We’ll take you to our ceremony. We have one each month on the night of the full moon. Everything will be explained to you then.”

“Hell no, I want to know now. I want to know what craziness you’ve made Tucker believe.”

Gavin shook his head. “Later.” His voice held that hint of steely determination and command Kevin had heard earlier. He doubted he could budge him further.

“Tucker, you can visit more with Kevin in the morning, but for now I’d like you to come with me.” Gavin held out his hand.

Tucker took the hand, smiling at Kevin, probably trying to reassure him. It wasn’t working. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning, Kevin. Try to get some rest if you can. There are extra blankets in the closet if you need them.”

They left together and Kevin sat on the bed for a few minutes before he put the tray down on the floor. He was hungry, but he still couldn’t get the idea of being drugged completely out of his head. Tucker wouldn’t drug him deliberately, but it seemed to him that Tucker wasn’t in charge of much of this. He got up and moved restlessly to the window. There was a steel mesh screen bolted to the window. So much for trying that as a way out of the room. Gazing across the yard, he saw that the outside lights were still on, lighting up the grounds of the complex. The woods outside the light seemed so dark and thick. He was reminded of the Robert Frost poem—

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep…

Exhausted, he rested his head against the cold glass, and tears stung his eyes. What the hell had he gotten himself into? Would he ever be able to go home?

A brief knock on the door made him turn to see Richard coming in with a small tray. He dashed the moisture from his eyes, but he thought Richard noticed him doing it. He stood by the door and looked meaningfully at the still full dinner tray on the floor. “I was afraid of that. Stubborn. Pigheaded…” He came farther into the room and held out the smaller tray toward Kevin. On it was an apple, a banana, several unopened packets of crackers and a wrapped piece of soft cheese, along with a canned cola. “Here, you have to eat. I figured maybe you’d know this was all safe.”

Kevin took the tray and couldn’t resist a brief glance up into those dark eyes. “Thanks. There. Is that any improvement in my ‘manners’?” He smiled a little when he saw the blush begin on the big man’s cheeks.

“Sorry about that. I lost my temper, but you don’t need to get sick or not sleep well because you’re hungry. You can carry this defiance shit too far.”

Kevin took a bite of the apple. “Well…thanks.”

Richard nodded and turned to leave. When he got to the door, he turned. “I’ll come back in the morning. I usually take an early morning walk. I’d like you to go with me. You need to see things are not as bad here as you’re thinking, and it’ll get you out of here for a little while.”

“Whatever,” Kevin replied.

He frowned and went out, but just before he closed the door, he leaned back in. “Goodnight, Kevin.” The door closed gently behind him and Kevin heard the door locks snick to. Locked in, of course. He popped the lid on the can of soda and took a long sip. Well, it had been an interesting trip so far, to say the least. Maybe even life changing. He couldn’t wait to see what happened next, except for the cold chill he got every time he thought about the word assimilated.

It was like something out of some science-fiction series. Some of his favorite Star Trek and Doctor Who episodes were the ones with the Borg and the Cybermen, who went around sucking the humanity from people, saying in their robotic voices, “You will be assimilated.”

That image almost brought a smile to his face. Almost. He took his tray over to the armchair by the window—also locked, of course—and chewed thoughtfully on his apple, staring out onto the compound. Just exactly what kind of craziness had he stumbled onto here? And what was in store for him the day after tomorrow on the night of the full moon?

* * * *

Sunlight shone through his windows early the next morning, waking Kevin up. He stretched, then got up and wandered into the bathroom. He’d slept a lot better than he thought he would. All that adrenaline had exhausted him, he supposed. Staring at himself in the mirror over the sink, he decided he looked pretty rough. He was unshaven and badly in need of a shower. He turned the water on in the big tiled shower and used the toilet. Then he stepped under the hot stream and let the water just soak him for a while. It felt good running down his back and he stood under the spray for several minutes, using the shower gel already there to clean himself. He got out and dried off on fluffy, expensive-looking towels, then looked through the drawers in the vanity. There he found toothbrushes still in the wrappers, toothpaste and even a new razor. After making use of all of it, using shower gel to help soften his beard, he felt a hundred percent better. He heard someone come in the door, and he came out to see who it was.