Page 3 of Warwick

It only took about half of a block before I found myself with Dominic walking beside me. I glanced at him, curious what it was now.

“That’s it? You’re not going to elaborate?” he finally asked.

I shrugged. “Do I need to?”

“It would be the polite thing to do. Especially since I’ve offered a bit of advice to you without even knowing you.”

“True. But I think I’ll keep to myself for a bit longer. Perhaps in time, if I happen to see you again, I might be more forthcoming with information. If I feel as if you are trustworthy.” I nodded to Dominic and then left him standing in the middle of the sidewalk. I knew for a fact that I would see him again. Not only would he seek me out, but I had no doubt I would be searching for the warlock as well. There was a whole lot he’d let slip in that one comment, and although I was technically on vacation, I was going to look into the local coven. For now though, it was time to secure somewhere to stay and then plan my next course of action.

Chapter 2

Cecil

This was one of the only times I ever felt at peace: when I was in my bear fur. The other was when I was at the clinic with Dr. King. When I was at work, I wasn’t Alpha Vitomir’s great-grandson. Nor was I forced to be reminded of all of my shortcomings that my parents loved to point out on a regular basis. I was too small for an omega—especially one such as a polar bear. I was too happy to simply be alive. I was such a disappointment. And apparently, I was destined to be barren—something that was unheard of for an omega.

I started shifting when shifters normally did, but I’d never had a heat cycle. It wasn’t that I’d secretly been on suppressors my entire life or anything. I just never had them. I both loved the fact but also mourned the loss of future children. I was an omega. We mated and had children. That’s what we did. Without a heat cycle, I wouldn’t be able to get pregnant. So the idea of ever having a mate and children had left my thoughts long ago because my parents had drilled it in my head that nobody wanted an omega mate that couldn’t give them children.

It was one of the reasons I was more than happy to come to Montana and get away from them. Grandfather Vitomir was a bit gruff, and Grandpa Lev could certainly put him in his place when needed, but it was Grandpa Lev who had made the decision to come to Montana easy. I hadn’t been raised around either of them, but they had checked in frequently over the years. Everyone knew that it was Grandpa Lev who was behind that more than Vitomir, but absolutely nobody was going to call him out on it. It didn’t matter though. They were active in our lives, and that had meant so much to me.

My nose caught scent of some late-fall berries, and of course, being the bear that I was, I nosed around the ground for them. I had just located the berries when a noise caught my attention. When I looked up, it was to find flaming eyes staring at me. Seconds later, there was a beast of a man standing where a hellhound had once been. “Do you need help?”

I raised my nose in hopes of scenting him, but either he was masking it, or the breeze wasn’t in my favor at the moment because I scented nothing but the dirt below my feet, the pine trees surrounding us, and the small cluster of berries that my bear had been interested in just moments ago.

“Are you lost?”

I shook my head, and since I really wasn’t in the mood for conversation, I decided it was probably past time I went to work. I turned to my left and started the trek back toward the omega clinic near the council. I had stored my clothes there when I decided to spend my lunch break taking a little walk in my fur.

It didn’t take long to get back to the clinic. I knew I didn’t have long, so I hadn’t wandered far. When the back of the single enforcer housing came into view, I gave a huff because I knew my little bit of happiness was coming to an end. My job at the clinic wasn’t difficult, and I did like Dr. King. I had thought that being around the pregnant omegas wouldn’t cause me issues, but more often than not, I found myself longing for what I could never have. Sure, we didn’t just see pregnant omegas. Those that were rescued by the council came for other things, but the majority of them were there because they’d found their mates and, of course, nature happened.

My steps slowed even more when the side of the clinic came into view. It only took me a moment longer to move in behind the small wall that was around half of the back patio. I quickly shifted and then reached for my pants. I was tugging them up when movement inside the back door of the clinic caught my attention. Dr. King quickly turned around, and I groaned.

Dr. King was used to being around shifters, but he was a warlock, and certain aspects of shifter life still seemed to make him uncomfortable. Specifically, the fact that we got naked to shift. The last thing I wanted was to make my boss uncomfortable, and I quickly grabbed my shirt and pulled it on before I opened the door. “Did you need me for something, Dr. King?” I asked.

The warlock glanced to the side and then turned completely to face me. “No. I was simply wondering if you were back yet. I have found that I am needed at the infirmary at the council building this afternoon.”

Immediately, I was concerned that the enforcers had found another group of omegas that had been trafficked, but Dr. King calmed my fears.

“I have a meeting until two with Master Edison.”

I nodded slowly. I moved toward the doctor, then past him and on to where my desk was. It only took a quick wiggle of my mouse and then me inputting my password in to wake my computer. In moments, I had the afternoon schedule up.

“Did you need me to reschedule your appointment with Jennings? He was supposed to come in at half past one.”

Dr. King groaned. “Yes, please. He’s looking for suppressors, I believe, since their little fella was born almost three months ago now. He has time though, and I really hate to do it because it’s so unprofessional, but I have a meeting, and I cannot be late for it.”

I nodded. “No problem at all. I’ll give him a call right away and take care of it. I’ll see about the other appointments this afternoon if you’re not back before them. Have fun at your meeting,” I told him before I refocused on the computer screen.

We didn’t have a whole lot going on. Things seemed to come and go in waves though, and we were probably due for another one. Dr. King stared at me for a moment before he was gone. I might be from a created one line, but I had been raised around shifters, and I was still getting used to warlocks and hellhounds popping in and out of places. Dr. King didn’t do it often, but he’d mentioned Master Edison. When a warlock had a meeting with the created warlock, even I knew you weren’t late for something such as that.

Since I needed to get to work and let Jennings know his appointment needed to be shifted, I picked up the phone and dialed. The afternoon went quickly after that. Jennings had been more than understanding, and by the time Dr. King had returned, I’d only needed to push one other appointment back by fifteen minutes. Jennings was rescheduled for early next week, and by five, we were locking up the clinic.

“Thank you again for rescheduling the afternoon for me,” Dr. King said when we were both standing outside the clinic.

“It’s no problem. Your schedule isn’t overly busy at the moment,” I told him.

Dr. King glanced down at the ground and grinned. “I see you found your shoes.”

My eyes followed, and I laughed. “Yeah. They weren’t lost though. I was just busy trying to take care of your schedule for you. I’ll see you later, Dr. King.”

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