Page 129 of As The Shifter World Turns

He kissed my head. “I’ll call Archer and see if he’s still got some unused pregnancy tests.”

“Why isn’t he here tonight?”

“Oh, his dad broke a hip yesterday and is in the hospital. Looks like he might have to move into an assisted-living facility.”

“Which father? The disabled one?” Had I been so out of it that one of my best friends was going through a crisis and I had no idea?

“No, his omega dad. And his alpha father can’t look after his mate so they’ll probably both have to move from Archer and Micah’s basement apartment.”

“That’s so sad. They were so happy there.” We sat in silence for a few minutes before I continued. “We can’t ask Archer about getting the tests. He’s got enough to deal with.”

“If he’s got any in a drawer, I’ll race over and get them rather than going to a pharmacy.”

Archer picked up on the first ring. “Hey.” Neil had him on speaker phone. “I miss you guys.”

We asked him about his dad and were told he was resting comfortably.

“Is Micah within earshot?”

“No. He and Daire are still at work.”

Neil filled him in and I hid under the covers, thinking if I blocked out their conversation, maybe it wasn’t real. Archer squealed when he heard, but Neil said, “Ryder,” and he shut up. Turned out he did have a drawer full of tests, but he couldn’t leave the house because his other dad needed him there. He was upset about his mate and their situation, obviously. And also Elune was asleep so Neil went over and got them.

Neil was on the phone when I shuffled out of the bathroom and I held up the test showing two pink lines. I tossed it in the garbage and crawled back into Neil’s bed, wanting to block out the world and sleep.

“He is,” Neil whispered.

“Don’t tell anyone. Not Micah. Not Daire. And especially not Ryder.”

Daire

It was so cool working for a company that Micah and I owned, creating gardens for clients to make their houses more attractive to buyers. And now with my gardening tips videos taking off, I had to pinch myself that it was real. Doing what I loved and making money from it.

Of course, I had a lot of engagement on social media. People giving me likes and thumbs up, others asking questions. And along with the positive reactions, there were people saying I was an idiot and didn’t know what I was talking about. And I had quite a few requests for dates.

Old Daire would have accepted one, two or maybe more. I was young and had nothing to lose. But the new Daire either ignored or rejected them. My experience with Wesley had scarred me. I was so sure he was a good guy. Should have listened to Neil.

But there was one guy who’d watched all of my videos. Nate. He had a small balcony he said and wanted to grow herbs. We chatted a few times, and gradually the professional talk led to more personal questions. I was cool with that.

Until Nate asked if I’d like to meet up. This was déjà vu and memories of that dick Wesley came flooding back. He’d seen me as an easy mark and had already stolen my identity when I met him. And that wasn’t all he stole.

It’d seemed so right at the time and ended up being so wrong. And then there was the guy from college who met and mated another omega the day he met him. I had lousy luck in the romance department.

Sorry, I texted Nate.I’ve just come out of a bad relationship and I’m not ready to date again.

50

SECRETS ARE NEVER SECRET FOR LONG

Ryder

Friday on the rooftop had been a happy safe place for so long. Even when things were complete shit with Kellan, Friday nights were a reprieve. I could sit there with my friends, drink a few beers, and spend time just being me without any judgement. They all knew Kellan was a walking red flag, but on Friday nights, they used to put it aside so we could enjoy our time together.

Or at least that was how I remembered it. My life had fallen to such shit since Kellan decided to say I knocked his sorry butt up and now everything pre-then was a bit brighter than it probably had been.

Friday nights now? Now it was work. Hard work. I had to pretend I was happy to be there and not that it was my last ditch effort to get some time with Ivor, hoping the entire time that Ivor would be there and once he was, that he would stay and not race off because I made him miserable. Yeah, it wasn’t a good time anymore.

Still… I needed it, needed the connection to these people… my family.

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