Page 61 of As The Shifter World Turns

Archer

“It’s so good to be home.” I stood in front of Sunshine Manor as Micah got my bag from the trunk of his car.

“Archer.” Ivor raced down the path and gave me a hug. “I missed you and I’ve got so much to tell you.”

“We’ll catch up tomorrow. I’m beat.” There was a hint of sadness about my fellow wolf shifter and I regretted my outburst as soon as the words left my mouth. “I’m sorry. I’d love to sit on the roof and hear all your news.” I gave him another hug. “Tomorrow. I promise.”

“Looking forward to it. You’ll appreciate having a clean apartment.”

“Huh?” I thought back to dirty clothes I’d left in the hamper and maybe even the unmade bed. It’d been weeks since I’d been in my place but I didn’t expect anyone had gone in and cleaned it. Daire did have a set of master keys but he would have asked permission to invade my personal space. He was good like that.

“There was a cleaning company here today. They were in your place ‘cause they passed me as I was coming down from Neil’s apartment. And I assumed you’d lost your keys because a locksmith changed the lock.”

Cold fingers of dread crawled over me as I listened to Ivor. This was home. Not just my physical home but also where Micah lived. Opposite me.

“What? This is some BS.” Micah came up behind me.

Ivor’s face paled and his lower lip trembled. “Sorry. I thought you’d given them instructions to do what they were doing.”

“It’s not your fault,” I told him. “Daire’s the one that runs the place.”

“Where is he?” Micah asked as he peered through the door of Apartment 1A.

Ivor shrugged. “He’s at the nursery. Been working a lot of hours. When he’s not in class, he’s there. Really likes it, I guess.”

“I’m glad but he can’t neglect his duties here,” Micah fumed.

“His parents were here today,” Ivor informed us. “I hid when I saw them getting out of the car but they didn’t knock on our door and went upstairs.”

His last words rang in my ear as I left my bag where it was and raced up the stairs two at a time. “Archer,” Neil poked his head out the door.

“Talk tomorrow, Neil,” I yelled. “I’ve got a situation,” which made me sound like a detective on my way to investigate a serious crime.

When I made it to my door, there were boxes and bags piled on the floor. I peered in one. My stuff. The ball of nausea in the pit of my stomach expanded. I jiggled the handle. Locked. Tried my key. Didn’t work. “I paid my rent while I was gone.” I tugged at my hair. Daire was my friend. If there’d been a fuck up with the payment, he would have gotten hold of me.

Micah got his phone. “I’ll sort this out. I’m part owner of the building. A very small part.” I paced the floor until the phone rang out. “Damn. Daire’s not answering. I like the guy. He’s one of my best friends but man he’s spaced out sometimes.” The phone rang. “Daire,” Micah shouted, “What the hell’s happening with Archer’s apartment?”

I put my ear to the phone as Daire replied, “Nothing.”

“Wrong. The lock’s been changed and Ivor said your parents were here earlier.”

Humans,my wolf shrugged. It didn’t matter to him where I slept, though he preferred to be near Micah.

“Fuck!” That wasn’t good and Micah put his arm around me. “I’ll call you back.”

Micah let me into his place and went and got my bag. He made us coffee while we waited for Daire to phone. When he did, we both jumped. “Yeah,” Micah yelled. “I’ve got you on speaker.”

“Oh, man this is partly my fault.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“I had dinner with my parents last week and mentioned you’d moved away for work. They took it to mean it was permanent. And Father’s assistant's kid, a hedgehog shifter, was looking for a place, and he told him there was an empty apartment at Sunshine Manor.”

Micah white knuckled the phone. “I thought they were staying out of Sunshine Manor business.”

“Yeah,” Daire sighed. “They were. They are. But I’ve been so busy, they thought they were doing me a favor by renting the apartment.”

“I have a contract, Daire.”

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