Page 82 of Myths and Shifts

Another one of the Florida visitors frowned. “I’m going to point out that we still don’t know his name or ifexpertWrenhas somehow…kidnapped him?”

They were strange, even for one of us.

“Why would I kidnap my mate?” Wren frowned, looking like he thought they were weird too. “Daddy Manny saw me. He smiled at me. He knew we were mates. We fucked like rabbits. It’s not rocket science.”

My sigh was timed perfectly with Manny’s.

Was his name actually Manny?

Had Wren actually said his name was Manny or was that just what he was calling his Daddy?

Fuck it.

“I’m Pierce.” I reached over Wren and ignored his giggles. “I should remember if I introduced myself when we first met, but I can’t. I’d just met my mate, so he was my focus.”

Daddy Manny, as Wren kept calling him, smiled and looked down at my hand like it was still strange as he did his best to give mine a casual shake. “I am Toman. My mate has decided to give me the human nickname of Manny. Nicknames are an interesting human convention you have picked up.”

I wasn’t sure if that sounded derogatory or not, and judging by Merritt’s snicker and Kenzie’s frown, I wasn’t alone.

“It generally shows that you have a special connection in some way—friendship or a mate bond are examples of those—but sometimes it indicates the person’s real name is difficult for other cultures to pronounce.” Since his name seemed to be pronounced like Toe-man, I was going to assume the mate bond part. “Being little sometimes will also influence the nickname thing.”

Wren didn’t say which one it was, but he was rocking side to side and smiling. “Daddy Manny is my mate.”

He was a pain in the butt.

“We’re all glad you found your mate.” Primarily because that meant no one else had to be in charge of him any longer. “We just need to figure out what that means for the portal and your personal situation.”

Were they going to stay there?

I wasn’t going to be the one to have to explain that to his mother.

Merritt’s coughing said some of that might’ve leaked through the bond.

“You’re very laid-back about this.” Florida Man seemed suspicious about that for some reason.

Shrugging, I tried to answer in a way that wouldn’t get the strange man more worked up. “I just found out about where Toman comes from. Moments ago, actually. So I’m processing this the best I can. I had guessed that Wren had found his mate but I was assuming he was from one of the other groups I hadn’t met yet.”

Eventually I was going to learn not to make assumptions when it came to Wren or the rest of my family, but for some reason I lost brain cells every time I had to deal with them.

“He is.” Wren beamed, wiggling closer to kiss his mate’s cheek. “He’s just from a group we hadn’t thought to invite.”

No.

“That is not how we’re going to explain this.” He made it sound like we were stupid for overlooking his mate. “He made the decision not to explain his presence, so we had no way of knowing he wanted to be invited.”

This was not my fault.

“I’m just going to leave theI told you so’sout of the conversation, but this is a very good example of why we need someone watching this side of the portal.” I glanced around and was glad to see nods along with a few sighs.

The locals knew they’d fucked up six ways to Sunday and were ready to make some changes…as long as they didn’t have to be the one sitting outside with the bugs.

“I think you actually said, ‘I told you so,’ so I’m not agreeing with the whole you trying to pretend to be polite.” Florida Man was getting distracted and slightly worked up.

I was going to point that out when Kenzie spoke up and distracted everyone. “So…someone is going to tell thecoming through the portalstory, right? I’ve been patient but it seems like we’re brushing over the good parts. So I’m not going to be patient any longer. I also need to know if Daddy’s right. Are we aliens?”

The Daddy in question sighed and nodded to himself as he efficiently held up the wall while watching Toman slightly suspiciously, but that was probably to be expected.

He was definitely an alien even if we weren’t.

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