Page 12 of Delivered to My Mate’s Best Friend

Her face fell. “Oh.”

“Wait. Let me explain. I did expect to be part of a reverse harem, but only with my friend. Without him, I didn’t want to be. It’s a very intimate relationship, even if there is no sexual contact between the males. But it’s deep, and it’s family. Not something I’d seek out with someone I didn’t know and trust.”

We paused while our baguette sandwiches were set in front of us. After the server left again, Zephyr said, “We could try again to find Birch, that is if you wanted to.”

“I did. This morning.” Between calling and sending flowers. “No luck.”

“Then I think, since it is your family custom, we should at least check it out on the app.”

“But nothing will happen, at least I don’t believe so, since I only ever wanted that relationship with Birch.”

“Then what could it hurt to find out.”

I left my mate at the coffeehouse and went home to try to work, but if I’d been ruffled before, now, I was much more so. My mate was not only not objecting to the idea of a third, she was suggesting we check out the app instead of taking the out I offered.

What did this mean?

Chapter Eleven

Zephyr

Being mated to a shifter meant that at some point, you got shifter friends. Especially if you were human. We girls needed each other, especially in times like this where life got bumpy.

“So there it is,” I said, leaning back on the couch after telling my bear shifter friend Amy everything. She hadn’t spoken during my spiel and honestly, I didn’t know if that meant she was judging me or had nothing to say.

I needed a voice of reason. This was one of the biggest decisions of my life.

“Are you wanting me to just listen and support, or do you want my advice?”

This was why I called her. “I need advice and support. I’m happily mated, and now I’m about to get on a dating site and find another man? It feels like cheating, no matter how I look at it.”

“And yet, you’re hung up on the idea.”

“Yes.” There was no denying it anymore. Cypress telling me about his expectation of a reverse harem had planted a seed I’d watered with my thoughts.

“I think the best way to handle all of this is to be transparent through the whole thing. You don’t do anything on the app without him having access to it or even right next to you. You both get to choose the other man, no judgment from me. But him being honest is what brought you here, so that’s the trajectory you need to stay on. How did he react when you told him?”

“He was surprised, I think. He expected me to say no and throw a fit. But now that we talked, well, there’s the other thing. He only ever wanted his best friend to be in a reverse harem with him, but it’s been years. Hell, we don’t even know if Birch is alive or already mated.”

“Well, it’s a good thing he doesn’t have a name like John Smith. If Birch is on the app, you should be able to find him. But don’t limit yourself just because that’s Cypress’ idea of who he would share with. He was eleven. Things change. People change. Emotions and feelings and matings change.”

“We are going to sit down tonight and join the app together.”

“Can I say something?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“You sound excited. You get excited about things you love, Cypress. The coffeehouse. Doing things for others. Cake.”

We both laughed at that one.

“I think I am, but I’m juggling the guilt and maybe a bit of shame. In the human world, this isn’t mainstream yet.”

“When you mated a shifter, the human relationship standard flew out the window, Zephyr. Be bold. It will work out. Cypress is your fated, so you two are stuck together.”

We ended the call and I felt better.

Later that night, I got home to find Cypress already there. We had dinner and I waited for him to bring it up again. I didn’t want to sound overly eager to find another person to fuck.