But Terry was already scrolling on his phone. “My pops is friends with Conrad Roche, who’s been mated to an alpha for decades.”
I didn’t reply. It felt dangerous. As if being with other shifters meant he would be further away from me, which was silly and irrational.
Terry smiled at me. “It would be great to talk to someone who’s been in a similar situation, don’t you think? I’ll call Pops and ask for Conrad’s number.”
Not like I could forbid him from talking to his family.Inhale. Exhale.It’d be fine. All my fears were irrational. “Okay. The bacon needs one more minute.”
Terry went to the living room and called his great-grandfather. Over the simmering noise the pan was making, I could only hear Terry’s side of the conversation.
“Hi, Pops. Do you have a minute? … I’m good. Great. Um, listen. Could you give me Conrad’s number?” A pause. “Yes, that would be awesome.” A longer pause. “No! I’m not telling him that!”
I turned the burner off, stood still, and listened, but even with my shifter ears, I couldn’t distinguish what his pops was saying.
“I promise you’ll meet him soon, okay?” I heard Terry’s steps coming closer. “Uh-huh… I met Conrad at the Bracknells’ a couple of years ago. Hopefully, he remembers me.”
He appeared in the kitchen, frowning thoughtfully. “Thank you. I can’t now, but I’ll let you know. Thanks, really. Say hi to Badger from me.”
Terry put the phone on the counter and sat down at the table.
I added the bacon pieces to the piles of eggs on our plates, and he dug in without pause.
My knee bounced up and down under the table.Calm down, for fuck’s sake.“What did he say?”
“Um. Sorry. Starvin’…” He chewed and swallowed. “Conrad Roche is mated to an alpha. I’ve met the guy before, and he’s nice. Pops is sending me his number.”
As he said that, his phone beeped.
I mulled it over. “And now what? We just call the man and ask a bunch of intrusive questions?”
“Actually, I wondered if we could invite ourselves over for a cup of coffee.”
I must have looked horrified because Terry reached out to pet my arm soothingly.
“Conrad is about seventy and a very pleasant gentleman. He’s harmless, Lothair. Why do you look like you’re about to accompany me to a funeral?”
I looked at my plate and scooped up a forkful of eggs. “I’m fine.”
“Really?”
“You said I should hang out with shifters more. So I will.” I’d do whatever he wanted to stop him from bailing on me. And wasn’t that pathetic?
“When was the last time you spent some time in the company of another shifter?”
“I’m doing it right now.”
“Other than me.”
“There were loads of them swarming us last Sunday after that asshole pushed me off the road.”
Terry let out a small growl. “Other than that.”
I shrugged. Would he freak out if I said never?
When I lifted my eyes to gauge his expression, he looked compassionate, which made me feel like shit.
“I’ll call Conrad after we’ve eaten. If he has the time for us, we’ll take my car, and you’ll wear a ball cap and sunglasses. Kim and the team will follow us to make sure nobody else is on us.”
Oh, joy.The heightened security measures. I’d almost forgotten about that.
