Page 68 of Shiny Things

I was late, but who could really blame me? A mating male keeping to a normal work schedule was practically unheard of. But they didn’t know I was a mating male. And for the immediate future, I suspected Kim would want to keep it that way.

Each day it was growing harder to keep it a secret and to fight the urge to seal our bond. I wanted desperately to mark her as mine forever.

Dad looked at me disapprovingly as I apologized while walking into the morning meeting a few minutes behind schedule.

Sorry,I mouthed.

The first half of the day passed quickly in a blur of warnings and plans. At the rate we were moving, the Collectors would be here before we warned anyone or took any action to stop it. It was difficult not to become frustrated with the whole bureaucratic process in place, and not for the first time, I wondered what the hell I was doing here. What had I gotten myself into?

Kim didn’t care if I was some upstanding pillar of the community, so why did I feel like this was the path I needed to take to ensure our future? I was an idiot.

The only good thing about this job was that it kept me in the loop of what was happening in Ravenden. I didn’t really givea shit about most of it, but something like this was important to me being able to keep my mate safe.

“Thanks everyone for coming in this morning,” Dad told the group. “I think we have a solid plan to get the word out and lock down the flocks without sending everyone into a full-blown panic. Clarence, you’ll alert the fire station. Castor, you’ll talk to the Chief of Police to start preparing.”

They both agreed and the meeting was dismissed.

“I really need to get home and check on some things. Do you need me for anything?”

“No. Take the rest of the day, just be discreet about who you talk to. We don’t want a full panic to arise. I can’t entirely downplay this, but as of now, we don’t really have any reason for panic. There have been no signs of a Collector in the area, and I’m not sure just how reliable Westin Force intel is.”

“Dad, don’t play dumb. You know damn well they are the best of the best. If Patrick said a Collector is going to target Ravenden, then it’s going to happen. Maybe not today, but soon. It’s coming, and we have to brace for the worst.”

Reluctantly he nodded. “I need to talk to your mother.”

“You haven’t told her yet?”

“I didn’t want to spoil her fun at Ginny’s party last night.”

I rolled my eyes and nearly let out a guttural kraal remembering the shit show that was Aunt Ginny’s garden party.

“What is it?”

I sighed. I couldn’t keep putting off telling them. “I need to talk to you and Mom.”

“Both of us? That sounds serious.”

“It is.”

“What’s this about, son?”

I took a deep breath. “It’s about Kim. There was an incident last night.”

“Ah, yes. The Joe Montgomery complaint. Don’t worry. Your aunt and mother already handled it. She won’t be working for them anymore. In fact, I believe she quit, so you won’t have to worry about her anymore.”

This time I really did kraal, which stopped my father in mid step as his head whipped back towards me. His shocked expression faded into pity.

“I know you’ve always been soft for her, but a waitress? A Grimes? You can do better than that.”

I scoffed. “Your daughter is a waitress.”

“No, she’s a strong business owner.”

“Then perhaps you’d like me to call Clarence back in here so you can explain how he’s welcome to sit on your beloved Council but his daughter isn’t good enough for your son.”

All color drained from his face. “She’s Clarence’s girl?”

“Yeah, Dad, she is.”

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