Page 42 of Warwick

I chuckled. “My beast is possessive, yes. But even he understands that others will see you naked while you undress to shift. But if you shift, I’ll dress you, and it won’t be an issue at all.”

Cecil didn’t respond except to shift from his fur to his human form. In an instant, I had my mate covered from head to toe. There was snow on the ground, and although I knew the cold wouldn’t bother him for a little while, I still didn’t want him out in the cold naked.

“Do we go in this door, or should we go around to the front?”

“I’ve always used this door after I’ve gone for a run. Just because I’m not at work today, I don’t see why I couldn’t use this door.” Cecil looked down at the clothes I’d chosen for him. He was in a pair of jeans and a hoodie. I’d seen him wearing the hoodie more than once around the house, and I thought it was something that he enjoyed.

“Did I choose wrong for your clothes?”

Cecil looked up at me. “What? No. They’re great. And these are even my favorite shoes.”

I moved closer, leaned down, and kissed Cecil. He moaned, and I knew that was my cue to pull away. We had things to do before we could get tangled up in each other again. “I do pay attention. You’ve worn that hoodie twice this week, and those shoes haven’t been put away in the closet with the others.” I shrugged. “The jeans were a random pick. You don’t seem to have a favorite pair of those that I’ve noticed.”

Cecil smiled. “I do, but these are just as comfortable.”

I was going to have to pay attention, then, because as far as I could tell, Cecil had worn the same two pairs of jeans all week. But maybe not. Perhaps he had several that looked so similar I couldn’t tell them apart. I would certainly be more observant.

Cecil walked to the door, punched in the code on the keypad, and then opened it when it clicked. I followed and immediately heard talking coming from down the hallway.

“Is that Dr. King?”

“No. I’m not sure who it is. But Dr. King is going to need someone to replace me for the time being, so maybe that’s who it is.”

I followed Cecil down the hallway, and as we got closer, a string of colorful words came from the unknown speaker. When we exited the hallway, it was to find someone sitting behind the desk and glaring at the computer screen in front of them. They looked our way at our appearance, and when their eyes widened, I wasn’t sure what the next reaction would be. It wasn’t happiness though.

“Cecil!” The other man was out of his chair and coming toward us with his arms outstretched. He had his arms around my mate in seconds, and when he pulled away, I noticed his eyes were wet. “Please help. I think I deleted the entire appointment book. Dr. King has been nothing but kind and patient with me, and I really need to not mess up this opportunity. I know it’s only temporary, but we’re trying to see where I can possibly work.”

“Calm down, Todd. I’ll see if I can figure it out.” Cecil sat down, and I watched, completely fascinated, as my mate started clicking. Three clicks later, the screen went from mostly white to being filled with columns and words. “There. It’s back.”

“What did you do? I’ve been freaking out for close to twenty minutes now. I’m not sure what happened, but right after Dr. King went back with…shoot. I can’t remember who he had his current appointment with.”

Cecil smiled as he stood. “It’s all right.” Cecil looked at the computer screen. “He’s seeing Phineas.”

That name was very familiar. I tried to place it but couldn’t quite figure out where I’d heard that name before.

“How did you fix the schedule? What if I mess up again and I can’t undo it like you just did?”

Cecil smiled. “You were on a different month, is all.” Cecil pointed to the bottom of the screen with his finger. “See down there where it says October? Yours said February. It was for next February, and Dr. King doesn’t have anything scheduled that far out yet.”

Todd let out a deep sigh. “Thank you. I’ve been messing up since I got here last week. When are you coming back?” Todd looked at Cecil expectantly.

Cecil laughed. “I’m not sure.” Cecil looked at the monitor, and after typing on the keyboard, he stood back up. “By the way, I’ve just checked myself in for the next appointment, which happened to be empty.”

Todd looked from Cecil to me, then back at my mate. “Oh. That’s your mate.”

“Yes. This is Warwick. He’s an enforcer with the council.”

Todd sighed. “I would love to find a mate, but I have too much going on to even think about any of that. But it would be nice to have help with my siblings. But then again, not many want an omega that comes with younger siblings that they’re responsible for.”

I was listening absently, but Todd’s words caught my attention. “Your mate is your mate, Todd. If he’s your fated mate, then he should accept you—siblings included. If not, then that’s on him, and he needs someone to talk some sense into him. But I don’t know of any enforcer that wouldn’t accept you as their mate simply because you are responsible for your younger siblings.”

Todd looked at me with wide eyes. Thankfully, I was rescued by the sound of people coming from down the hallway that Cecil and I had come from not long ago.

“Todd, could you schedule—Cecil. I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“Hi, Dr. King. I have some questions that I should probably ask you,” Cecil said. I looked at Ramsey and his mate. Phineas. That was where I’d heard the name.

“Ramsey,” I said.

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