Page 23 of Shifters Reckoning

“Since we don’t have a school on our premises and shifting doesn’t typically happen until puberty, most of the families lived in Willow Creek until a month or two ago. With Acheron’s activity increasing, I sent them farther away, out to towns across Louisiana. None of us knows where they all are. Our children are our future, and it seemed safest to send them away from me… particularly since Acheron hates me with specific interest. Blood grudges and all that. Besides, their absence makes the lack of modesty around here easier as well.”

“That makes sense.” I chewed my bottom lip, trying to decide how to bring up what had been on my mind. Might as well just say it. “Since my vet practice isn’t likely to open again, it’s about time I send Riley and Shannon on their way, too. I can offer them a severance package of sorts, but I can’t afford to be in limbo indefinitely.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“It’s what has to happen.”

He gripped my shoulders, turned me to face him, and cupped my chin. “If it’s simply a money issue, I have enough to tide you over. Six-Mile is well off, as am I. We are fated mates. What’s mine is yours. You don’t have to bury your life’s work or your dreams yet.”

My sigh seemed loud. That was what it was, wasn’t it? All the ways my life had been irrevocably altered, and I still couldn’t let my multidecade dream go. My heart squeezed in the center of my chest. It hurt too much to give up on the dream my parents had supported me through.

“Thank you,” I said. “That would be helpful.”

He reached for the drawer, grabbed a blank personal check from inside, and tossed it on his desk. “Fill in the amount. I’m good for it.”

“Will do.”

“What else?”

“Well, I own the building and the lot. Insurance is paid up, so it won’t cost anything until property taxes are due.” I groaned as I realized what I was saying. All the days adding up and slipping away… It was November already, and property taxes were due by the end of December. “Which is next month, apparently. So, who the fuck knows? Maybe I don’t even have to make a decision at all. It’s all about to fall apart.”

“Then let me cover Riley’s and Shannon’s salaries through the first quarter and whatever else you think you need. You can use whatever money you require to cover your minimal overhead, and you make a final decision in quarter one of the new year. Put it off a little longer.”

“Because Acheron may decide for me?”

He didn’t answer.

“Because I might be dead by next year.” My lips brushed his, and my eyes slid closed. A single tear rolled down my cheek. Fuck the mess of our lives.

He broke our kiss and brushed my tear away, his expression drawn, his eyes sad. “If that happens, then the money won’t matter anyway.”

“Because if I’m dead, we’ll all be dead.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

emma

Six-Mile

The Next Day

“Wait. You’re sneaking out of here? With that guy?”

Well, damn.

Olivia had caught me before I’d slid into the passenger seat of Joey’s work truck and slammed the door closed.

I froze and took a deep breath before I turned around to face Logan’s beta. At least it wasn’t Logan. I didn’t have the bandwidth to start my day with an argument.

“Morning,” I said, glad the area around the manor was mostly devoid of spectators who might run and tattle to Logan.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked, her voice practically a growl.

I tossed Olivia an all-too-brightly innocent smile. “Bumming a ride. What else?”

After a long night of lovemaking, Logan had disappeared from the house before dawn on a mission to decide where to put up new housing, and I’d gone out to tack an invite-to-a-late-tea note to my mother’s cabin door. Then I’d found the work truck parked in the driveway in front of the manor. It had been easy enough to secure a ride with the shifter heading into Willow Creek. Since I planned to return with my motorcycle, carpooling made the most sense.

The boards of the porch creaked as Olivia marched across them. When she reached the top step, she put her hands on her hips and scowled down at me. “Logan’s going to shit himself. Then he’s going to go alpha apeshit on everyone else.” She gestured to the driver. “He’ll be lucky if Logan doesn’t rip him limb from limb.”