Chapter One
Mike
On one white cloth-covered restaurant table lay a borrowed book of French poetry. On another, I had left lipstick. On the third, I placed a tube of superglue. In an hour, shifters would come and findtheitem they needed. If not right away, then eventually.
What's this?
Grey, wrinkled hands pulled a cloth corner to my nose. If we served mostly humans, the dank mildew embedded in the fibers wouldn't be an issue.
"Todd!" Shifter ears said he had snuck in for an early morning sausage. "Doctor Keller told me we're supposed to watch your diet."
A deeper yell came from inside our restaurant. "Well, I'm having some. If he wants someone to eat oatmeal, he can eat it himself."
I mouthed 'Okay.' We had our fair share of disagreements, but when there's more time behind us than in front, why argue?
A good thought, but it didn't last as the mildew scent filled my nostrils. I walkedcalmlyinto the white brick building. "What happened to the linens?"
The tall Alpha I shared my bed with for decades stared off. Years back, he'd flash back to Vietnam, but that disappeared as did other things. He had a huge bald spot, I made sure to nevermention, and only looked sixty, thanks to our shifter abilities. I lostallmy hair and stayed as short as ever. In other words, a common wolf couple.
"I must have forgotten to bring them in last night," Todd replied sheepishly. He finished a mouthful of blueberry sausage. "Sorry."
There weren't many other restaurants like mine in Whispering Hills. A sports bar and a few hangouts, butMike's Placeis the romantic spot where mates can get to know each other.Safer than depending on scent if you ask me.
"They don't stink much," he said.
"Not to you, but Omegas have better senses. Everyone knows that."
"…and emotional," he mumbled around the last mouthful of sausage.
"What did you say, Love?"
His shoulders rose and he whispered, "You're edgy today, and I don't know why. I'll take them for an emergency wash before the restaurant opens."
Oh, again? It's that time?My hand went out and searched for somethingneeded. Older shifters get a bonus power, at least that's the theory. Near our thirties, the universe drops a gift and not a pup. Some wolves, like Mary, are immune to poison. Her Omega senses fear. One terrible governor saw the future. Todd never figured his out, but it exists because it must.
"Tea," I said. "Yes, that's it."
He pointed to a big glass jug of sun tea, a Southern favorite.
"No. Something soothing like chamomile. Boozemaybeand chocolate chip cookies."
His dark, forest-green eyes thinned. "Another one, now? We're busy."
"The heart has no schedule."
"Okay, fine, like I'm going to argue with Bayou ladies. How long we got?"
"I don't know…"
The tiny bell outside the front entrance dinged and from the timid steps, an Omega. The soft, snotty sniffs confirmed it, not that Alphas never cry.
The short, young Asian man, but really a kid, was Kim. I had seen him and his bright red mohawk around town, but I didn't know much more. He turned his amber-brown, bloodshot eyes toward us and spoke with a faint California surfer accent. "You guys are Todd and Mike, right?"
"Yes," we said in unison.
"Mary, uh, the pack leader. She, well, told me to tell you…" His neck muscles tensed. "I heard you two used to argue a lot so, you know. Well, my Alpha and I have been having problems, and I'm the only one who tries—" Tears burst from his eyes. "I hate that man!"
Because I'm the Omega, I laid my hands over his shoulders while he wiped away tears. Whatever arguments he had would multiply with an Alpha's smell. Jealousy went in other directions too. Todd wasmineand only I got to touch him.
