Page 13 of Shifter Mates for the Single Mom

I found a Beer Barn and pulled into its parking lot, double-checking my wallet before going in. The whole place was humming like the inside of a refrigerator case, but it still had that sweaty, barely air-conditioned feeling to it. At least the air in there was moist. I continued mulling the situation as I picked up several six-packs of different hot-weather brews: everything from Mexican Brown Ale to Hefeweizen. I actually had to use one of those little carts to keep from risking dropping an avalanche of longnecks.

He’s doing the classic abuser thing. She cuts him off, and he becomes obsessed with revenge. Hurting her, hurting her son, killing them both. Murders six guys practically in front of her just to terrorize her.

I’d seen a lot of abusive men over the years, and I hated every one of them. I was tired of half our business being angry ex-husbands, angry ex-boyfriends who fucked up their relationships, got dumped, and then forced their ex-partners to hire us for safety. We’d only been in business a year, and I’d already seen too much.

I drove home lighter in the pocket and heavier in the cab, with six-packs stacked up in the passenger footwell beside me. It was hard not to get angry on Madelyne and Aidan’s behalf. He was a good kid, and she was one of the hottest, kindest women I’d ever met. Plus, my Alpha was down bad for her, and I was already attracted.

It’s not just a matter of Matthias being a fucking monster, either. How the hell could anyone get a taste of a woman like that and not fight like hell to keep her? Do right by her? Man, I am so sick of these fucking scumbags.

But it wasn’t like I could wave my hand, roll back time by a year, and step in before the piece of shit ever met her. No, we had to deal with the situation, and because of the paperwork I’d just signed on behalf of the company, we were technically responsible for protecting the whole town from Matthias and his people.

Maybe we’ll get lucky and find where they’re hiding. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait for him to come to us, and that’s not gonna be fun at all.

When I got home, I saw all three of my Packmates hard at work. Nathan was up on a ladder installing the new cameras. Bela was up on another ladder installing motion-sensitive lights. Ulf was keeping watch and gave me a nod as I drove in the gate.

I scooped up one six-pack of each of the different flavors and brought them inside. When I went inside, I was treated to the sight of Madelyne’s heart-shaped ass bent over the cooler as she replaced the ice packs.

“Hey there!” I said cheerfully. She straightened and gave me a smile.

“Hi. I couldn’t stay asleep, so I’m finding ways to make myself useful. How was town?”

“Tiny, cute, and hot as fuck. Kinda like you without the tiny part.”

She gave me a little half-smile. “Are you flirting with me, Jamie?”

I didn’t even blink. “Yes.”

“Well, thank you. Though I should probably be focusing on work right now. The others are out there baking themselves for my sake. You guys don’t get sunburns, do you?” I gave her half the six-packs, and we started laying them into the cooler to chill.

“Uh, well, we get ‘em, but they don’t last more than half an hour. Shifter healing’s good stuff. Also helps us recover from other things fast.” I gave her a wink. Shifter refractory periods were notoriously short and were becoming something of a legend online.

She laughed–a good sign. I was being a little over the top, deliberately. Testing the waters. If her smile had faded or gone stiff instead, I’d know she wasn’t interested. But her cheeks looked just a touch pink, and not because she’d been out in the sun.

“You’re blushing,” I teased.

“Oh, well, between you and Nathan, I’m just not used to all the attention.”

We finished up and straightened, and I gave her a naughty grin. “Well, you’d better get used to it, because all four of us have the same taste in women.”

Her eyes widened and I turned, leaving her with that as I went out to join my team and start back up on work.

SIX

MADELYNE

“You should really be sleeping,” Nathan said with gentle reproach when he came in for fresh beers and saw me folding laundry on the couch. “What’s up?”

“My dreams aren’t good,” I admitted. “I did get a couple of hours while you guys were working. It’s easier with you here, don’t think otherwise, but I guess my brain’s still… processing.”

Processing trauma. Matthias’ rage. Those bodies. The “note” the sicko left me. It was all in my dreams and wouldn’t let me go. But this was temporary–it had to be. It would fade, like my dreams of Ben’s loss had faded.

One day, I wouldn’t even remember what it was like to be with Matthias. I wouldn’t remember loving him, I wouldn’t remember believing him, and even the things that were giving me nightmares now would one day be just a memory.

“That’s normal. Ben used to have dreams about Afghanistan, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, yeah, he did. For a while, I had to wake him up from nightmares a few times a month. He said they used to be weekly, and before that daily. He talked about it like a wound healing.”

“That’s it exactly.” He came over and sat down next to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I almost dropped the shirt I was folding but caught myself after a moment. “It’ll go away.”

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