“We need three volunteers,” the President said. “If you’re interested, talk to your manager and they can help you with the transfer process. No one should feel pressure to leave. If we don’t have enough volunteers we will hire a few new people in Texas to help out. But, if possible, we’d like at least one form processer with experience to help kick off the new office. This will be an experiment to see if it improves things. If it goes well, we already have a list of other cities where we’re planning to open offices. That list is classified right now, but hopefully once we have some more details worked out we can make more locations public. For now, just know that we have openings in Texas and we appreciate any help we can get.”
The President continued to list some more developments within the Bureau of Shifter Relations, but Mia only half-listened. It was a little strange to tune out the President of the United States, but Mia had become so used to seeing him over the last few months that she no longer had the same “fan-girl” reaction that she used to have when he entered the room. Things that would have once seemed impossible for a girl from a small Northern Alaska town now seemed normal.
Mia allowed herself to steal a glance over at Calum. He was watching the President intently, and Mia wondered whether he still felt awed by being in the same room with the leader of the free world. Then she almost laughed at the thought. The Calum she had grown up with had probably never been truly awed by the President. Calum was always respectful of authority, but he had never been the type to be impressed by titles or celebrity status. He strongly believed in treating everyone with the same amount of esteem regardless of who they were. Calum’s dad had held a high leadership position in their clan, since he was close friends with the alpha. Calum could have bragged about his connections, but he never did. He preferred to keep a low profile and act like just another one of the crew. Mia sighed. She had always loved that about him. In a world where people were often power hungry and grasping for any little bit of the spotlight they could claim, Calum’s laidback attitude was refreshing.
The sound of clapping brought Mia sharply back to the present, and she realized that the President’s short speech had ended. One of the top managers for the Bureau was standing up now, thanking the President for visiting and giving instructions for anyone who was interested in a transfer to Texas. The deadline to apply was next Monday. After that, they would start to seek local Texans for the positions.
Mia saw that the shifter from Texas was bobbing his head up and down enthusiastically while the manager explained the transfer process. No doubt, he would be the first in line for a transfer. Mia glanced over at Calum again, and was relieved to see that he now had a somewhat bored look on his face. He had probably already decided he wouldn’t be applying for a transfer. Calum loved living in D.C., and he had no ties to Texas. Which meant it was the perfect place for Mia to escape to.
Mia glanced over at Angela, who was sitting unnaturally close to Calum. Mia bit her lower lip and forced herself to look away. It was time for her to stop worrying about Angela, and about Calum. As the last few hours had shown her all too clearly, he only loved her in her dreams. And she couldn’t spend her entire life living in a dream world.
It was time to face reality, and maybe that reality would involve yet another cross-country move. Mia stood as the meeting was dismissed, then headed back to her desk to fill out a transfer application. She briefly wondered whether she should do something that essentially amounted to running away. But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she pushed it away.
Sometimes, running away wasn’t the worst thing in the world. There was something to be said for new beginnings. Mia had been through a lot of new beginnings lately.
What was the harm in one more?
Chapter Five
Calum cursed as his attempt to land a dart in the middle of the dartboard went horribly awry. The dart completely missed the board and landed in the wooden wall panel next to the board. It stuck for a moment, and then fell to the ground with a tiny thud.
“Dude, what is with you tonight?” Grant asked. “Usually you hand my ass to me on a platter when we play darts. But I don’t think you’ve hit a bull’s eye all night.”
“I don’t know man. I’m a little stressed about work, I guess,” Calum said. “Things have been impossibly busy, and they keep putting all this pressure on us to speed up. But I’m working as fast as I can. We all are. Now they’re opening up local offices across the country and trying to get people to move to them. It’s voluntary for now. But who knows what’s going to happen. If they decide we have to move to keep this job I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I really don’t want to start over in another city again.”
Grant raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, there’s been a lot of moving over the last year that’s for sure.”
Calum scowled in the direction of the dartboard and took a long drag from his beer. He was tired. Not just tired from his long day at work today, but tired from the chaos of the last year. After escaping from Chicago to Michigan, then back to Chicago, and finally to D.C. to help the President rebuild relations with the shifters, Calum was ready to stop moving around. The President had made it sound like relocating was voluntary, but after the meeting Calum’s boss had cornered Calum and tried to pressure him into applying for a transfer.
“We need competent people in the new office for it to work,” his boss had said. “And you’re one of our best.”
Calum sighed. He appreciated the praise. He did work hard. But he just didn’t want to move again. He was tired. Done.
He picked up another dart and hurled it in the direction of the dartboard. Once again he missed the center, but at least this time the dart managed to lodge itself in the outer ring of the board.
“If you’re not interested in moving, then you’re definitely not going to be happy with my reason for inviting you out here tonight,” Grant said.
Calum glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. “That sounds ominous.”
Grant shrugged. “I’m moving back to Alaska.”
Calum nearly dropped his beer mug. His jaw dropped, and it took him several seconds to come up with any sort of reply.
“You’re moving back? But, what about the rest of us? What about the clan?”
Grant sighed and launched a dart across the room. Bull’s eye.
He didn’t reply for several long moments, and Calum grew impatient. “Seriously, man, what the hell? You’re our alpha! You can’t just up and leave us behind like that.”
Grant frowned. “I’m not completely abandoning you. I’m asking you to come with me.”
Calum gave Grant a look that clearly said he thought he’d lost his mind. Grant was the alpha of a rag-tag group that had formed over the last year. With five polar bear shifters, three grizzly shifters, one panda shifter, one dragon shifter, and two full humans, the group was diverse, to put it mildly. But they had been brought together by a common desire to survive the war on shifters, and, later, to save humanity by finding a cure for the flu epidemic. Although the group had originally lived in Michigan and Chicago, they were all in D.C. now, helping out with various government projects to help rebuild things after the devastation of the last year. Calum wasn’t sure if they would all stay here forever, but he was surprised to find Grant wanting to leave so soon. He was doubly surprised to find Grant wanting to move back to Alaska. Like Calum, Grant had wanted to escape from Alaska as soon as he was old enough to leave. The younger generation of shifters was unimpressed by the old-school clan rules. So many of the old rules felt outdated and unnecessarily restrictive. It was the 2050s, after all. Things had changed drastically since the clan laws were last updated over a century ago.
“I’m not interested in moving right now,” Calum said, not even trying to hide the frustration in his voice. “We’re just getting established here. I’ve been looking forward to finally having some time to relax and not worry constantly about what the next move will be. And I can’t believe you of all people would want to break up our
clan like this! You’re then one who has been ranting since childhood about how Alaska is no place for a forward-thinking shifter.”
“Yeah, I know,” Grant said. “But everyone says dumb shit when they’re young. The older I get, the more I realize that maybe our parents were onto something with their established rules of clan life. We don’t have to follow all of the ancient rules. But there is some value to structure. And there is value to family. We’ve been away from our families far too long.”
Calum’s eyes widened. “Are you going all the way back to Glacier Point?”
Glacier Point, where Calum and Grant had grown up, and where their old clan still lived, was at the far north of Alaska. The small town was at the very edge of civilization, and suffered from harsh winters and unpredictably short summers.
Grant shook his head. “Not all the way back to Glacier. I’ve accepted a government job in Kodiak. They need a staff lawyer up there to help with drafting guidelines for some new shifter compensation programs. I’ve been eager to get back into law, so it’s a great opportunity for me. So, no, I won’t be all the way back to our old clan’s stomping grounds, but I’ll be close enough that I can visit regularly. Or my parents can visit us. Kodiak is a lot closer to Glacier Point than D.C. is. And, honestly, man, Storm wants to start a family sooner rather than later. Once we start having cubs, I don’t want to be all the way across the country from the grandparents.”
Calum’s eyes widened even more. “You guys are gonna start having cubs?”
Grant laughed. “Yeah, dude. That’s generally what people do after they find their lifemate. You can’t be all that surprised. We’re not exactly youngsters anymore. Time is ticking away, and I’d rather not wait until I’m grandpa age to become a dad.”
Calum let out a long, low whistle, and then sat down on one of the barstools at the edge of the room. Grant was right. He shouldn’t be surprised. And yet, somehow he was. He was over thirty, but he still felt too young to be thinking about kids. It probably didn’t help that he didn’t even have a girlfriend. And why would he want a girlfriend? All of his buddies who had found someone always seemed stressed out about their schedules, and how to keep their women happy. Throw kids into the mix and things got even crazier. No thank you. Calum was perfectly happy with his carefree existence. He could come and go as he pleased. He could come out to the bar with Grant or the other guys whenever they were available. When they weren’t he could call Mia, who was also single, and she was usually up for a round of drinks. Calum frowned. Of course, if everyone moved away and he didn’t have any friends to call, nights out on the town would be a lot less fun. He hadn’t noticed whether Mia looked interested when the President was discussing the new Texas office that morning.
“Calum? Are you listening to me?”
Grant poked Calum, and Calum jumped, then swatted Grant’s hand away.
“Yeah, I’m listening. Sort of. I’m pretty shocked man. I can’t believe you’re serious about moving away. And, honestly, I’m pretty sure I’m not going with you. I love you and I love our little clan, but I really don’t want to move again. And I especially don’t want to move back to Alaska.”
“Don’t you ever miss it?” Grant asked. “Even just a little bit? I miss the nature, the wide open spaces…the freedom to roam. My bear gets restless here in the city. It was the same when I lived in Chicago. In a lot of ways, Michigan was like a breath of fresh air to me. I realized that I had been missing the forest more than I wanted to admit.”
Calum shrugged. “I do miss the forest. But I would also miss all of the technology of modern life if I went back to Alaska permanently. I hated being cooped up in Michigan with no access to computers at all.”
“Kodiak isn’t exactly the middle of nowhere, you know,” Grant said. “They have all of the modern conveniences there. It’s not as far behind technology as Glacier Point. And even Glacier Point is catching up. It’s pretty crazy. My dad said that all of the snowmobiles up there have pretty much been replaced by self-driving winter hovers.”
“Still. It’s not the same as a city,” Calum said, standing up and heading back to the dart board. He was feeling restless and uneasy. He didn’t know what exactly was getting under his skin lately, but he felt constantly uneasy.
Grant wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily, though. After Calum launched another dart, which again missed the bulls eye by several inches, Grant gave Calum a friendly punch on the arm.
“Is it that girl at work? What’s her name again? Angela? Are you worried you’d have to leave her behind.”
Calum gave Grant a surprised sideways glance. “You know Angela? When did you meet her? And why would I care about leaving her behind.”
It was Grant’s turn to look surprised. “You don’t remember the night you were here having beers with Mia and me and she showed up?”
Calum furrowed his brow. “Uh, yeah, I guess I do vaguely remember. She shows up here a lot. I guess it’s one of her favorite bars or something. I didn’t realize she made that big of an impression on you.”
“Calum, are you serious? Are you really that blind?” Grant asked.
Calum wasn’t sure if he’d had too many beers or if he was just reaching the point of exhaustion, but he had no idea what Grant was talking about. And he was quickly losing patience.
“Stop talking in circles, Grant. What the hell am I blind about? And what’s the big deal with Angela?”
Grant set his beer down on a nearby table with an emphatic thud. “Grant! Angela is head over heels for you. As in, she loves you. She was falling all over herself to be close to you all night. Did you not see her batting her eyelashes at you? And, while we’re talking about women who are head over heels for you, I have a sneaking suspicion that Mia has a little bit of a thing for you. She was definitely not pleased when Angela showed up at the bar that night.”
Calum squeezed his eyes shut for a second. He tried to remember that particular night, but it had blended into all the other nights he came here to hang out. So he tried to remember whether Angela had ever said or done something that made him think she was interested in him, but his mind was drawing a blank.
“You’re reading too much into things,” Calum said. “And you’re definitely reading too much into things if you think Mia has a thing for me. We’re just good friends who have know each other forever.”
“Yeah, famous last words,” Grant said. “But, uh, speak of the devil, or rather the wolf, look who just walked in.”
Calum turned his head to follow Grant’s gaze. Angela had just walked into the bar, and she was looking around as though she was looking for a friend she was planning to meet. When she caught Calum’s eyes, her face lit up and she waved.
“Hey, Calum! So funny you’re here tonight. I was just stopping by for a beer to blow off steam after work.”
Calum felt a sharp pain in his ribs as Grant poked him. “I told you so,” Grant whispered, before turning back to throw another dart at the dartboard.
Calum hadn’t ever thought that much about how often Angela showed up here. After all, he came here all the time. Why would it surprise him that someone else liked the bar a lot, too? But, now that he thought about it, it was a little strange how she always showed up dressed like she was going to a nightclub. She was wearing a tight black dress with a v-neckline that dipped much lower than anything work appropriate. She clearly wasn’t coming straight from work just to blow off steam or something. She looked like a wolf on the prowl.
Was it true? Was she actually prowling for him.
She rushed over to where Grant and Calum were standing, and started saying some nonsense about the weather. She laughed like a silly schoolgirl, and then, Calum smelled it.
Desire.
Her pheromones were a dead giveaway. She wanted him. She was hunting him. Why had he never noticed this before. Calum looked over at Grant, his eyes pleading for help. How did he get out of this? He was having a stressful enough day as it was. He didn’t want t
o spend the next hour or two trying to fend off Angela’s unwanted advances. She reached out and casually touched his arm, and he stiffened in response. How had he been so oblivious to all of this?
“I have to go,” Calum said, grabbing his beer mug and draining the last sip in one long, noisy slurp. Grant and Angela both looked surprised as Calum took a step toward the bar’s exit.
“But I just got here,” Angela said, her perfect lips turning down into a pout. Calum had never noticed how perfect her lips were before, and he hated himself for noticing it now.
“Sorry, I have a lot to do tonight,” Calum said, doing his best to ignore the laughter in Grant’s eyes.
He didn’t see much funny about this situation. His alpha, and one of his best friends, was planning to move back to Alaska—possibly taking the rest of the clan with him. Calum had just realized a woman he had no interest in was obsessed with him, which should make his workdays uncomfortably interesting. And now he couldn’t get Mia out of his head. Grant wasn’t right about Mia, was he? There’s no way the girl who was almost like a kid sister to him had a thing for him?
Calum’s apartment was only a few blocks from the bar, so he made it home in just a few minutes. He stormed inside and quickly changed into a t-shirt, shorts, and running shoes. It was late, and he was slightly tipsy. This probably wasn’t the most ideal time for a run. But he could feel his bear growing even more restless within him, and he needed to burn off some angry steam. As his feet started pounding the pavement, he felt a few raindrops hitting the bare skin on his arms. Within minutes, the few sprinkles had turned into a deluge, but Calum didn’t mind.
Somehow, the flood of water felt comforting. His lungs and legs burned as he picked up his pace. Every time his foot hit the ground a small splash rose from the soaking pavement. Calum tried not to think about Grant moving away, or about Angela flirting with him. He tried to focus on just putting one foot in front of the other. His powerful leg muscles cut through the rainy night, and he managed to calm his brain somewhat. But there was one name he couldn’t manage to completely stop thinking about.
Homecoming in a Fur Coat (The Fur Coat Society Book 6) Page 3