by Amelia Jade
“I can’t believe we almost got to see a shifter fight!”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “Carly, trust me when I tell you that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve seen it happen.” Her voice softened. “I’ve seen the aftermath too. It’s not all glamor and big men with muscles throwing down like you see on television. That is all staged compared to the real thing. In the real thing, there are no rules, and nothing to stop each party from taking cheap shots.”
Carly looked at her. They all knew that Rachel had witnessed something horrible, but she didn’t talk about it often. When she did, they all paid rapt attention to her, in case she let something else slip about the fight.
“And if they shift,” she said softly, shaking her head, knowing that the expression on her face had to be full of doom and gloom. “Trust me, you really don’t want to be anywhere near that.”
Her friend swallowed hard, and the room fell silent. Damn, she’d done it again, sucking the life out of the get-together. It was the day after Michelle’s bachelorette party, and the bride-to-be was still sleeping off a hangover. Rachel on the other hand, was meeting with one of her support groups. Carly and Angela were the only two in it who had been there last night, and they’d been talking about the incident all day.
“But those boys who came to stop it, they were mighty fine, weren’t they?” Angela said into the silence.
It took Rachel a moment to realize Angela had been hinting at something with her statement.
“Pardon?”
Angela grinned. “I saw you stare at one of them. You can’t fool me that easily.”
“Umm, what do you mean?” Rachel swallowed nervously. They’d all been in the bathroom, hadn’t they?
“I was watching from the doorway,” Angela said. “I saw you looking and following the one. He’s pretty hot.”
All the other women were looking eagerly now.
Rachel shook her head. “I mean, I guess Hector’s kind of hot, but aren’t they all?”
Too late she realized her mistake. The other women gasped and tittered. It was crazy, why were they acting this way? They never did that. Not to this extent at least. Something was obviously setting them off.
“Hector is it?” Carly teased. “Already have his name?”
Rachel shook her head. “Look, it’s not like that.”
The words brought almost immediate laughter from the other seven women seated in the few chairs and on the singular couch, or otherwise sprawled on the floor. They were having one of their thrice-weekly meetings. Rachel often hosted them, as she was centrally located.
All of the women present had come from the same situation. They also were all in various stages of pregnancy. Some were a little less than Rachel; others were on the cusp of giving birth. Elle was expecting any day now, in fact, and she was careful to keep her laughter down, not wanting to shake herself too badly.
“It’s never ‘like that’ when asked about it,” Angela said. “Which means it always is like that. So come on, spill the beans. How long have you been keeping it a secret from us?”
Rachel’s jaw dropped open. “Whoa now. I’m not keeping anything a secret from you. We met, true. He was the guard who interviewed me after the fight happened. I had to go to the embassy and give a statement. Hector was on duty, so he spoke to me. I swear to you that’s all that has happened since that day.”
Which wasn’t entirely true, and that knowledge must have shown on her face too, because her friends immediately called her a liar once more. They made all sorts of comments about what she and Hector must have been up to, some of which made her ears burn at the vulgarity of it all.
“You’re all disgusting,” she said, unable to keep the smile from her face. “I can’t believe you’re suggesting I’ve been doing some of those things with Hector, and that I wouldn’t tell you!”
There was more laughter from all around, but she waved it down. “Okay, in all seriousness, that’s the only time we’ve talked. Last night was the first time I’ve seen him since then. He’s tried to arrange something, but the timing is always bad.”
“Bad?” Angela said, scoffing at the excuse. “How is it bad? You literally have no life, like the rest of us. Any time should be good!”
The others concurred readily, telling Rachel in no uncertain terms that she was being ridiculous.
“He always tries to schedule it while I have a meeting,” she said, her voice firm. “I’m not going to skip out on you to go on a date. It’s not who I am.”
The others smiled. “Oh Rachel.”
“Don’t give me that,” she shot back lightly. “You know how much these groups mean to each of us, how much better things have been since we started them. But you aren’t the only group I’m in, or that I run. There are almost three hundred of us here, each of whom could benefit from our support, even if it’s just getting out and talking. I’ve been busy putting together as many of these as possible, so that no one feels left out.”
“I guess,” Elle responded. “I mean, I know they’ve done wonders for making me feel comfortable here in town, among other things.”
The others nodded, acknowledging the truth of the statement. They’d all found themselves duped by a human corporation that had promised them many things, all in exchange for bearing the child of a shifter. They’d coated the purpose in flowery terms designed to ensure the women thought they were helping save a shrinking race.
As it turned out, it was anything but. The Institute, as it was called, had in fact been using them and their ability to reproduce to infuse the human genome with shifter DNA, creating as many half-breeds as they possibly could. The eventual end goal was the extinction of shifters, so that humanity could reign supreme.
But the plot had been exposed, and some rogue shifters from Cadia had brought the corporation down, exposing it to the human public and eliminating its leaders. The downfall had been swift and explosive. But that had left nearly three hundred human women in various stages of pregnancy without any of the support or care that the Institute had promised them.
So the shifters of Cadia had taken it upon themselves to provide that support. They’d come together and built housing for the women in record time, all while organizing various donation funds to help support them with weekly budgets for food and the like. Rachel hated to have taken the charity, but without it she would have had nowhere to go, nowhere to turn. She’d quit her job and had no money to afford rent, let alone food and medical care for her and the child.
Cadia had saved them all. It wasn’t a perfect solution by any means, but it was what they had, and they were making it work. The budget wasn’t much, but it allowed her to eat, and several new clinics had been established, bringing in various physicians to care for the women pre- and post-birth. In essence, she owed everything to them.
That didn’t mean the transition had been easy. The women had all been moved en masse to Cloud Lake from the Institute facility where they’d been living beforehand, and had had to come to grips with their newfound situation. Grouping together had seemed like the natural way to do things.
“But Rachel, the groups are all up and running now,” Angela said. “They can afford for someone else to host, so that you can miss one to go on a date.”
She hesitated in replying. It was probably true; some of the groups could run themselves now without her. But she always tried to be around, to help out in any way she could. If she was out with Hector and something came up, she wouldn’t be available to assist.
“Stop it,” Carly said. “I can see you half-panicking in there.”
The other women nodded. “Seriously, Rachel. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard as it is,” Elle said. “You need to relax. To take a break. So miss a group or two, and go on a date with him. He’s plenty handsome, and who knows. Maybe you’ll end up like Erika or Kelly.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice,” she said quietly.
Both of the aforementioned women had found mates, or life partners,
among the shifter population. They’d moved out and into houses with their mates. She’d even heard that Erika had given birth just recently in the past few days to a boy. The name hadn’t yet worked its way out to her, but she was so excited. It was the start of a new chapter. As more of the women gave birth, the dynamic in the complex of buildings where they all lived was sure to change, and Rachel couldn’t wait until they could have playdates with their babies instead of just bitching about how bloated they felt.
Dealing with messy diapers and vomit would be a change. Maybe not a completely welcome one, but the other half of it—the smiling, happy babies—would more than make up for it. She rubbed her stomach once more. Though she had nearly two and a half months to go, being one of the last to conceive before the Institute was shut down, Rachel was still excited to meet her own young one. For as long as she could recall, she’d wanted to be a mother, and now she was one. Or would be, soon enough.
“To do that though you need to actually talk to him. See him. Basically go on a date with him.”
“I’m starting to get the idea that maybe you don’t want me here, and you’re just using this an excuse to get rid of me,” she joked.
The others all laughed.
“Dang, she figured us out,” one of them said.
“Guess we’ll have to get rid of her the old-fashioned way,” Angela said, giving her best evil look to the assembled group.
“What’s that? Lay a trail of food and wait for me to walk into your trap?” she joked.
More laughter followed.
“She might know of our plan, but the best thing is, she’s going to fall for it anyway!” Elle said.
Rachel looked around the group. “You really don’t have that high of an opinion of me, do you?!” she asked, joining in with the laughter, knowing that they were teasing her.
“So, you’re going to stop avoiding him and give him a shot, right?” Elle prodded. “Unless you can provide a good reason why he doesn’t deserve one?”
She couldn’t, and they knew it.
“I guess.” Even though she reluctantly caved, a burst of nervous excitement rushed through her, sending butterflies through her cramped stomach. “I can’t believe you guys are making me do this.”
Someone snorted, she couldn’t tell who, distracted by movement in her belly.
“We’re not making you do anything,” Angela said with a smile. “You’re just too stubborn and shy to do this on your own, so you need our help.”
“I never said that!” she protested, but none of them believed her.
“Oh knock it off!” one of the other girls shouted, her words garnering nods from the rest of the assembled women.
“Okay,” she said, caving for good this time. “The next time he asks me, I’ll say yes. But,” she said, looking around the room, “I’m not going to him. He has to ask me. It’s been a couple of weeks. He might not do it again.”
“Yeah he will!” Angela assured her. “Shifters don’t give up that easily.”
Rachel wasn’t so sure she agreed, but a noticeable part of her wanted Angela to be correct. Now that she’d agreed to it, she wanted him to ask her again, so that she could say yes.
But would he?
Chapter Four
Hector
“Now this is the life!” Gray crowed as they flopped down on some of the ultra-comfortable couches in the combination lounge and kitchen of the embassy.
“Gonna retire on us and walk away into paradise?” Hector teased, finding his own seat.
“Hell no,” Gray assured him. “I love my job. I just also love not having to do my job.”
“So how is this any different than normal?” he said, ducking the half-hearted swing Gray launched at him. “Am I right?” he asked, turning to the third member of their party.
“Yeah,” Martin rumbled, a tight smile creasing his face as he nodded in agreement.
Hector eyed him, wondering not for the first time how much longer it was going to take Martin to feel at home. He’d been a member of the guard detail for long enough that he should be starting to feel comfortable enough to at least joke with them. Unless he wasn’t the joking type? That would be terribly boring. Both he and Gray were trying their best to include him, and Martin seemed to be making an effort. It was just slow going. Very slow.
“So if I don’t do my job, then how is it that I’m senior to both you two?” Gray taunted.
“Because you’ve been slacking at the job for longer than either of us?”
Gray considered the answer, then shrugged. “Okay, I’ll allow that.”
The two of them shared a laugh, while Martin’s smile grew tighter. But at least it stayed in place. That was progress at least. Maybe by the time their mini-leave was up they’d get a true laugh out of him.
“We have a full forty-eight hours or more of freedom. What do you wanna do with it?” Gray asked.
Hector considered his answer. They had been relieved of duty while Andrew, the Cadian ambassador to Cloud Lake, traveled back to Cadia for some meeting or another. Something boring. Whatever it was, he’d chosen to walk to the outskirts of Cloud Lake under their protection, and then fly back. Which meant the three of them were off duty until he returned, anywhere from two days or more hence. Freedom was right.
“Tonight, I’m thinking we hit one of the bars, indulge a little too much, and try not to make complete fools out of ourselves.”
Gray grinned. “Sounds good to me. I’m sure Kelly will just love that, but I’ll spend all of tomorrow and whatever other time I get with her to make up for it. Do you think a booking at that new massage and whatever place that opened up will help?”
“I’ve heard of that one,” Martin said. “I know the owners actually. Stopped to say hello one day while patrolling as they were putting some stuff inside.”
Hector’s eyebrows went up. That was the most he could recall hearing from Martin in one go.
“That was nice of you,” Gray said, and he could hear the cautious encouragement in his friend’s voice as he tried to get more out of the other man. “Would you recommend it?”
Martin nodded.
So much for being more talkative. Hector wondered if he’d just used up his chatty quotient for the day. Or maybe even the week. The effort must have taken a lot out of him because Martin looked away, taking himself out of the conversation for the meantime.
“Yeah,” Hector said, glancing over at him, wondering for the thousandth time how to make him more comfortable so that he could just be part of the gang. He was nice enough when he spoke; it was just that he rarely talked. “I think that will do,” he said to Gray. “Maybe a couple’s massage and let her get her hair done. Women love that shit, especially when you pay and surprise them.”
“Yeah. And Kelly certainly deserves it, she’s amazing to me. Did I tell you about how the other day, when you were out on call and had to wake me up several hours early, when I came home, she’d ordered pizza for me and had it waiting?”
Hector could see the love in his friend’s eyes, and he found himself distinctly envious, wanting nothing more than to be able to experience what Gray had with his mate Kelly. The two of them were an amazing pair, perfectly in tune with each other. He’d seen them together numerous times, and there was no better way to describe their relationship than “in sync.” They thought similarly, felt similarly, and acted similarly, so that they just sort of flowed easily as one. It was a beautiful synchronicity that Hector wanted so badly to have for himself as well.
“How is Kelly doing anyway?” he asked.
“Good!” Gray said, always happy to talk about his mate. Brag about her was more correct, but if there was anyone who had deserved a mate more than Gray, Hector wasn’t sure. He was glad his friend had found someone as awesome as her, and was willing to put up with it. For now.
“Yeah?”
“Yep. Closing in rapidly on the due date. Few more weeks at most, and the little guy will be here.”
“Awww, that
’s cute. Have you decided on a name yet?”
Gray beamed. “Actually, yes!”
Hector’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? I know you were struggling to come up with something.”
“True,” Gray admitted. “I wish one of us could have been like ‘I like this,’ because I’m sure the other would have just agreed. But nothing was coming to us. But it did.”
He sat there and just stared at Gray, not willing to give him the satisfaction of asking again what it was. Eventually Gray caved and rolled his eyes.
“You’re as much fun as he is,” he joked, pointing at Martin, who was just sitting there listening to them.
“Well that’s a compliment if I ever heard one!” Hector said, lifting his chin in Martin’s direction, letting him know he had his back. Martin tilted his head in return. The two of them just looked at Gray and waited.
“Fine,” he caved with mock anger. Almost immediately though the smile returned. “We’re going to name him Kayven.”
“Kayven,” Hector repeated, testing the name out. “I like it. Going to use her last name?”
Gray coughed. “We’re still discussing that one.”
Hector laughed. It was a longstanding joke that nobody knew Gray’s last name. Not even Kelly. Truth be told, the longer it went on, the more Hector began to believe Gray that he truly just did not have a last name. He was simply “Gray,” that was it. There was no need for anything more.
“You want him to just grow up being Kayven?”
Gray shrugged. “Sure. Once he’s old enough, he can decide what he wants to do.”
“Could make his life growing up difficult.”
The head of the ambassador’s guards leaned forward and a growl filled the room, resonating from deep within his powerful chest. “I think he’ll be okay.”
Hector smiled. “When he’s younger, sure. But once he gets older, you’re going to have to let him fight his own battles. Otherwise you’ll just make life worse by coming to the rescue every time.”
Gray rolled his eyes. “I know that, Hector. I’m not going to baby him. Except when he’s a baby.”