Page 8 of Fur-Ever Home

I hadn't thought to bring a coat. I always ran hotter than a human, but Denver could be cold this time of year. I took it and the two pairs of shorts that looked big enough around the waist, though they were far shorter than the board shorts I liked.

"There's a Wolf Brothers store in terminal E," he said.

The big and tall shifter clothing store would be perfect in a pinch. I was currently in terminal C. It was a ways, but doable. I thanked him and ran.

The next fifteen minutes felt like a comedy of errors as I raced around travelers, hopped over walkway rails, and made a complete spectacle of myself while trying to keep my two-coat skirt in place around my waist. I'd tied the bulky coat in the front to cover my ass, and draped Ben's little coat over the knotted arms like a loincloth to hide my private bits from view. I still got whistles and cat calls, but I no longer needed to stop and sniff them all to see if they were my mate.

I knew where my mate was! In theory. I hoped he wasn't still holding off airport security for something I had done.

I shouldn't have shifted, but that guy had stolen my mate's sweater! Why anyone thought they needed to steal clothes when they could just as easily hit up the lost and found was beyond me. Sometimes shifters, especially youngsters, couldn't control their shifts, so most places who knew about us kept a box of extra clothes.

I added to our box in Phoenix with washed, unused clothes whenever I returned home from a trip. I often packed extra clothing for that purpose. This time, I'd be leaving a few items at Orange County instead. No big deal.

I couldn't stop thinking about how lucky I was. I found my mate! That was huge! As I ran, I wondered what he wanted me to wear.

When I asked the salesperson at Wolf Brothers to show me the pants in my size, they led me to a picked-over table and sighed. "Sorry, Sir. It's brown corduroy pants or the white groom's suit on the display model."

A groom's suit, the perfect way to tell Ben he was my mate! I balked at the price, though. Even with my corporate card, I couldn't afford it.

I made Hank pay for the corduroy pants, instead. They were cargo pants with pockets on top of pockets. I loved pockets. Andthey were soft. Not soft enough to sleep in, but too soft to be sitting beside my omega on a plane thinking dirty thoughts.

The counter was littered with medium-sized stuffed wolf toys. "How much for one of these?" I asked.

"Free with purchase of," the sales clerk pointed to the sign I'd missed on the counter. The toy would have been free, if I'd just bought the suit.

"Take one." They shrugged. "The last person didn't have kids and said we could give it to charity. No offense, but you look like you could use a little charity right now."

I gave them my best smile. "Want to buy an NFT?"

Their kind and open face turned sour. "No."

"Had to ask for work." I took the toy away before the clerk could shove it in a plastic bag. I avoided them when possible.

Some friendliness returned. "Your job sucks worse than mine."

I held up the wolf and shook it, and they frowned as though they wanted it back. "Thanks. You've been great."

The trip back to Terminal C and onto the plane was much faster now that I wasn't walking against the flow of traffic. When I arrived at my seat, I found someone else in Ben's place.

"Who are you?"

"Mr. McKeeler, a word?" The kind flight attendant who had been with us since New York pulled me into the service area between the cockpit and cabin. "There's been a mix-up with your seat. We'll refund you the cost of the first-class ticket for the rest of your flights. Only the flight from New York had an available seat."

"I bought two," I reminded him.

"You did, but they're both full on this flight, and your flight from Denver to Orange County doesn't even have first class."

I didn't realize the plane would be that small. "So where am I supposed to sit?" I asked.

"There's an aisle seat in coach."

I sighed. I didn't mind coach, but I wanted to be close to my omega. I could still smell him on board, though. That would have to be enough.

He led me to the middle of the plane. "Thank you for understanding."

I still didn't understand, but the aisle seat looked like the best one in the house because I could sit down and take a load off after running through the airport for the last half-hour.

I sank into the seat with a deep sigh, and the woman beside me yanked her arm out from under mine.

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