Page 66 of The Fated Mate Bandit

She checks out the rest of my purchases and gives me a knowing smile. “I’m loving the theme here. If you want a decked out a crib, I know a lady who makes custom furniture with bling. This is her business card. Tell her Tammy sent you.”

The business card shimmers in the light. I tilt it back and forth, mesmerizing by how shiny it is. “I like her card.”

Tammy laughs. “Yeah, she definitely understands her clientele.”

“Thank you,” I say.

“Sure thing. Congrats on… you know.”

“The litter?” I ask.

“Sure. And whoever inspired you to buy all this stuff. I hope you’re happy together.”

I glance back at my cart, and a wonderful realization sets in. Everything I picked out for the pups is shiny. Not because of some nursery aesthetic, but for another reason.

I can’t wait to show Lucas.

“Do you still want this stuff?” the cashier asks.

“Yeah, of course.”

She rings up board books with glittery covers, a set of crib sheets with a pattern of silver moons and stars, and a crib carousel in the shape of the sun being orbited by all the planets in the solar system. We probably don’t need all five of the sparkly blankets I found. My family is crafty enough that lots of people will make the pups blankets. But you can’t ever have enough blankets with shifter babies. They’re not great about keeping their diapers on, so the laundry is never-ending.

There are also chew toys. Not shiny, of course. Just the regular plastic variety. I read that wolf pups need plenty of those. I got tiny claw clippers that remind me fondly of holding Chime’s tiny raccoon form while Quin trimmed hers. And I got fifteen stuffed animals. That may seem like a lot, but according to the wolf shifter parenting blogs, a lot of the stuffies accidentally end up becoming chew toys. It’s good to be prepared.

After everything is bagged up, I take a quick photo—zeroing in on the shiny decals and board books. Then I send it to the old brother chat—before we added Lucas’s phone number.

Sequin: Oh my God! Eeeeee!

Coin: Is that what I think it is?

Cufflink: What do you think it is?

Sequin: Yes, it is! I’m coming over right now.

Cufflink: Why are you coming over?

Sequin: He started his collection!

Link: He did? But I can’t make it to San Antonio today. Silver is supposed to be at work. Why are you not at work?

I take a selfie of me in my uniform and send it off.

Me: I am at work today. I’m on my lunch break.

Tinsel: Congratulations. I don’t think I can leave the ranch today.

Sequin: No one needs to leave work. This is just for those of us who already have our collections. I’m bringing Mom and Aunt Emerald.

Me: What are you talking about?

Sequin: You’ll see when we get there.

That’s ominous.

Cufflink: Does this mean we can buy baby stuff now? Because I would like permission to buy those little sweaters they have for shifter wolf pups.

Coin: We live in San Antonio. They don’t need sweaters.

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