Page 325 of Secret Shifters Next Door

I nodded. “Yeah. IknowBlayne, but I’m worried I might have ruined whatever chances we might have had by rejecting him.”

April leaned back in her chair and looked overwhelmed. “Honestly? You need to talk to Blayne about all this. You’re the first one of us to ever reject their mate. I do not have a lot to go on.”

“Thanks for rubbing it in,” I scoffed.

“I know, right? If not for the wholeshe’s deadthing, I’d say we should ask the witch who cast the spell. Barring her returning from the dead like a zombie, I think you’ll need to talk to him and see where things go once all this is over.”

“I’ll talk to him tonight,” I said.

I swung by the store after leaving the coffee shop. I wasn’t sure when Blayne would get back, but I wanted to make sure I had dinner ready for him. He’d been working his ass off, and it was the least I could do.

Deciding I wanted something that would stick to his ribs, I bought chicken to fry, potatoes to mash, green beans I’d pair with bacon, and fresh bread rolls. Living in Virginia had given me some exposure to Southern cooking. If Blayne didn’t like what I was going to make, nothing would satisfy him.

Thankfully, Blayne texted when he was on his way. It was still late, but it was seven instead of ten or midnight. By the time he got home, I was almost finished with the potatoes.

“Holy God,” Blayne said as he closed the door. “What is that smell? Whatever it is, it smells delicious.”

“I made dinner,” I said, placing a big tray of deep fried chicken on the table. “I’ve gotta get the rolls out of the oven. Can you put the potatoes and green beans out?”

“Hell, yes.” Blayne looked like he was trying not to slobber as he grabbed the two pots.

After setting the rolls on the table along with a stick of butter, I sat beside Blayne. “So. How was the day?”

He shook his head and sighed wearily as he filled his plate. “It’s like I’m in military training. Tate is like a drill sergeant. Steff is almost as bad. Thank fuck, Miles isn’t in charge of that. I don’t think I could handle all three of them yelling all day.”

“A bunch of new shifters showed up today,” I said. I’d seen them when I returned from the store a few hours before. “My uncles were getting them up to speed today. They’ll join you guystomorrow morning. I’m surprised how many of Dad’s people knew about shifters. I guess Liam worked with more of them than I thought. Word must have gotten out over the years since he died. None of the guys seemed to bat an eye seeing a guy change into a dragon. Speaking of, how’s Jared doing? I haven’t seen him much lately.”

Blayne stuffed a huge hunk of fried chicken into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed before answering. “He’s all right. Tate has helped him really get a hold of his dragon. He’s in control and can shift on command.” He looked at me as he scooped a massive forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. “I still wonder if he’ll have the heart for it when we end up going against Antonio’s guys. Or if we meet up with Antonio himself. That bastard fucked that kid’s head pretty good. How was your day?”

“Me? Oh, it was fine. I had coffee with April.”

“Did your guards go along?” Blayne asked, suddenly suspicious.

“My normal guards and some extra to watch the coffee shop. Dad was a little paranoid.”

“The more, the merrier.”

I hadn’t touched any of my food. Instead, I sat there beside him, wondering how to broach the subject. I twisted my napkin nervously in my hands.

Blayne looked down at my fidgeting fingers and raised an eyebrow. “Something on your mind?”

“Huh?” I jerked my head up from where I’d been looking at the table.

Blayne laughed and set his knife and fork down. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and grabbed his glass of water. “Spit it out. Whatever is bothering you. I want to hear it.”

It was like I was a grenade, and by saying that, he’d pulled the pin. My eyes widened. I knew what was getting ready to comeblurting out of my mouth, but I had no power to stop it. It was coming, and there was no way to keep it from happening.

“Is it still possible for us to have babies?”

TWENTY-SEVEN

BLAYNE

I choked, gagging and coughing to the side of the table. It took a minute before I was able to speak again. I looked up, and Ava was blushing furiously, her head hanging low.

“Forget about it. Forget I said anything,” she said.

“No, wait.” I coughed again, clearing my throat. “I’m sorry. That…looked really bad, but you caught me off-guard. That came outta nowhere. Let’s talk about it. Where did that thought come from?”

---