Page 2 of Shifter Situations

An old friend greeted me.

We knew each other through the Supreme Alpha, and we had shared a few jobs in the past. I didn’t accept many hits, but the ones I had taken had paid my way through internships with chefs around the US and England.

I still wasn’t expecting to see him, let alone find out that he was one of my new roommates.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I grinned at the vampire.

“Aye, Mage,” Novak shouted through the house. “The gang’s all here. Who do you think the last guy is?”

“I miss the silence already,” a gruff voice replied.

I wandered past the vampire into the foyer of the rental and stopped in my tracks. The interior of the house was plain and boring.

Of course it was. We’d all just moved in.

But I expected to see boxes, bags, or… I didn’t even know. Something that made it seem like they’d moved in today, too.

The walls were cream, trimmed in white, and lacked any kind of personality. The carpet was also cream, and so were the tiles. I took my shoes off at the door because I didn’t want to leave a trail of dirt across the pristine flooring.

That shit would get old quick.

I wasn’t sure I could handle all the light colors. We needed some pictures on the walls or some fucking throw pillows. Anything to add more colors that weren’t muted and neutral.

The house was furnished, though. Even if it wasn't to my liking, I wouldn’t complain. But I kind of wanted to.

Okay. I would.

“This house is bare as fuck.”

“Then do something about it, Wolf,” the demon growled. “I can’t be fucked with interior decorating bullshit. My finals start in four days.”

“All we had in our last apartment were drawings that this asshole commissioned.” Palmer shrugged. “But who knows? Maybe if we’re nice to him, he’ll take pity on us and draw something other than eyes for a change.”

“Don’t press your luck, Mage.”

I bounced my finger between Palmer and Stone. “I didn’t know you two knew each other that well.”

“Palmer and I met a year or so ago. We’ve been living together for about…” the demon trailed off, staring at his fingers.

The mage sighed, covering his eyes with his right hand. “It’s been eight months, Stone. Ye’d know that if—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Stone interrupted, rolling his eyes. “If I stopped hiding in my room. I'm still going to stay in my room, though. I have shit to study for.”

I squinted at them. “Since we all know each other, can we skip the awkward bullshit?”

“Want a beer?” Novak asked, striding into the kitchen.

“Yeah,” I called out. “What were you saying earlier about another guy?”

Palmer didn’t look away from his book as he said, “Nate told me there might be six of us.”

If there were supposed to be six of us, and I was the fourth person, who else were we missing?

The demon and the mage were here, and they’d apparently become… sort of friends at some point. The vampire was here, which made me wonder if the fifth person was his fae friend, Vaughn.

I counted once more before I questioned them, hoping to avoid Palmer’s sarcasm. “Who’s the fifth?”

“You,” Stone answered, lighting the fireplace before huffing in annoyance.