Page 34 of Shifter Omegaverse AU

“Did he make it to the bar first? Ray only barely got that far.”

Rowan shook his head. “We didn’t even make it two feet in the front door before someone he knew pounced on him. Last I saw, he was on the dance floor with yet another—oh look, speak of the devil.”

Milo followed Rowan’s gaze to the far side of the dance floor, where the ginger man Milo had noticed earlier was dancing up against a big guy with a woman dancing on his front.

“Oh damn,” Milo murmured, and Rowan sighed.

“To be honest, it’s for the best. Whoever he was with must have gotten him his bracelet, because I was able to get mine undetected.”

“Oh?” Milo asked, curious but trying not to be too nosy.

Rowan was holding a beer bottle loosely by the neck, and he swirled it once before taking a long drink. “Ruben wanted me to try and ‘get out there’ tonight, but I’m not really interested.”

If Milo was some sort of bug shifter, their antenna would have been twitching. As it was, their pony shuffled their hooves eagerly.

“Are you not on the market right now?” Milo asked, which sounded like something Ethel would say.

“I’m a bit wary after my last attempt at dating ended with a guy being a jerk to me for my touch…thing.”

Milo grimaced. “That sucks. I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

Rowan shrugged one large shoulder and took another swig of his drink. “It is what it is. I don’t typically have much luck with dating apps or meeting folks at bars. The few moderately successful relationships I’ve had were friends that turned into something more.”

“I feel like that’s the best way to do it, though. Never in a million years would I have been friends with Andrew. Like, if I had known Ray then, I never would have wanted to introduce them, and he only met Anabelle and Ethel once, and it was mostly by accident.”

What a shitty last person for Anabelle to have met. Milo hoped beyond hope that wherever she was now, she knew that Milo was free from him.

The music changed, and the crowd appeared to ripple as the mass of sweaty bodies adjusted to the new tempo. A wave of smells hit Milo, but their pony didn’t seem to care anymore, surrounded by a calming bubble of Rowan’s scent.

“Anabelle would have loved Ray,” Milo found themself saying, even though doing so felt like sliding their toes off the edge of the cliff. “She would have loved you, too.”

Rowan's eyes rounded, and Milo’s pony gave a very human-like harrumph. Over the past few weeks, it had become clear that Rowan didn’t see himself and all of his wonderfulness clearly. Milo wasn't sure if they were the right person to show him just how amazing he truly was, but it couldn’t hurt to try.

Unfortunately, at that exact moment, Milo’s gaze drifted back to the dance floor, and they found Ray standing alone, looking dejected.

“Oh, shit, I… Will you be here?” Milo asked, placing their mostly empty glass back down on the bar.

Rowan looked between them and the dance floor. “Yeah, go be with Ray. I’ll probably get another drink and try to find a quiet table.”

Milo snorted. “At Kickback? Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Rowan huffed, his smile small and somewhat forced.

“I promise I’ll come find you as soon as I get Ray all sorted—or maybe he’ll come back with me. Who knows.”

“Don’t let me interrupt your night,” Rowan said, all semblances of a smile gone.

“Hardly. I was settling in for a long night of people watching and eyeing all Ray’s men like a hawk.” Milo couldn’t help themself. They snickered and looked up at Rowan through their lashes. “And then my actual hawk appeared!”

Rowan’s eyes rounded once again, and Milo gave him their second salute in as many hours and hurried towards the dance floor.

Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad after all.

9

Author’s Note:

Whenever I set out to write a book, there is always one scene that starts the whole thing for me. This scene between Milo and Rowan at the bar was in my head from the very beginning. What happens with Ruben and Ray was a complete surprise to me. I had to reoutline the entire rest of the book. Thanks for that, assholes.