Page 79 of As The Shifter World Turns

79

THE WINDS OF CHANGE

Ivor

“I love my daughter but having an hour or two by myself eating good food and enjoying gossip charges my batteries.” I tucked into green chicken curry and rice, savoring the different spices as they flooded my mouth.

“Me too.” Archer’s pregnant belly protruded under the tee he wore.

I was suddenly reminded of Neil telling us about him taking a pregnancy test and I felt bad but I couldn’t not talk about my daughter. “Sorry, Neil, if this dredges up uncomfortable feelings for you.”

Our human friend shook his head. “It’s fine. The point of these dinners is for everyone to share what’s going on in their lives and unload. What sort of friend would I be if I told you that you couldn't do that?”

“True,” Archer agreed. “But we need to be sensitive to your feelings too.”

“Martin and I have been skirting around the subject. He’d love to have another child and Toby’s way past the baby stage. We’ll get there and I’d prefer to mate first.”

“What’s the hold up?” I asked.

“He’s a little wary of telling his in-laws that he and I are serious.”

Whoa! That seemed like a red flag to me. But they had lost a son and that was something you never got over. Seeing Martin mate again would be painful so I guessed they had to be eased into the idea.

“Have you met them?” Archer asked.

“Nope.” Neil avoided our friend’s gaze. “They know I exist because Toby told them that Martin and I share a bed most nights.”

“Out of the mouths of babes,” I noted. “Can you believe how our lives have changed since we met?” We had been so young and naive. Well, I had. I’d been right scared of my own shadow and constantly worried about not having enough money. Daire had saved my ass by charging me very little rent and Ryder had offered me a job when I lost mine. Of course, he’d given me a lot more than that in the intervening period. And now Ryder’s app, our joint idea, had turned into a money-maker.

“I’m mated to a unicorn, have a daughter and another baby on the way.” Archer popped a fry in his mouth.

“Plus you don’t have to work,” Neil observed. When Micah and Daire sold their company, none of the three had to work again if they didn’t want to. Though Daire still did his gardening videos.

“That’s going to change,” Archer noted. “I’ll go stir crazy if I don’t have a job.”

“Here’s to us.” I held up my glass and Neil did as well. Archer clinked his apple juice with our wine glasses and we each took a sip.

I wondered if we’d still be having these take out meals when we were old and gray. I hoped so, but none of us knew what the future held. “No matter where we go or what we do, we have to get together once a week even if we do it virtually or maybe that’s digitally.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Neil gulped his wine.

If the pair of them moved away, a tiny part of me would die. With the money they made from the sale of the company, Micah and Archer could do anything. But like everything else I’d endured, I’d deal with it. I had my mate and our daughter.

“Cheers!”

Daire

“What am I supposed to say?” I crumpled the piece of paper in my hand and aimed it at my herb garden but instantly regretted it. “Sorry, my babies. I didn’t mean it.”

“Enough with the plants,” Ryder complained.

Everyone was on the roof of Sunshine Manor and it wasn’t Friday. Patch and Toby were cooking up mischief at the far end of the roof. Dyani was asleep in her pushchair while Micah held Elune who was eyeing Patch. Archer was sitting with his feet up and eyes closed, while everyone else was scattered around the space.

Tomorrow was the big day. Nate and I were mating. We’d do the actual deed in private before the ceremony but I had to write vows and I didn’t know where to start. Luckily he was staying the night in a hotel with his parents and brothers or he might change his mind about spending his life with me.

“Focus, Daire,” Ivor mumbled as he took a bite from a pork dumpling. There was no grilling tonight, only Chinese takeout, as everyone needed to concentrate on what I was supposed to say tomorrow.

“I’ve been doing nothing else and I got nothing.” I tugged at my hair .

“What do you love about Nate?” Neil asked as he sat with my laptop balanced on his knees.

That was easy. There were so many things. “He has a big d…”

“Daire!” My Sunshine Manor family cut me off.

“What?” I asked, mystified.

“You were going to say heart, right?” Martin nodded. “He has a big heart.”

“Well, yeah, that goes without saying. But he also has a big?—”

Toby chimed in. “Dog starts with d and so does Daire.”

Martin grinned. “Well done, son.” And then he addressed me. “Please don’t mention body parts when you say your vows, Daire.”

“Fine.” I stomped around the roof, a noodle protruding from my lips. “He puts up with my shit. But I can’t say that.” Running my hands over my scalp in frustration, I wouldn’t have any hair left tomorrow if I didn’t come up with something profound. But I wasn’t profound. That wasn’t who I was.

“Why not?” Micah asked. “He loves you despite your flaws.”

It was okay for Micah and Ryder. They were mated and had a family and so did Martin. Well, not the mate part. Martin’s omega had passed away but he was a dad and I was sure he and Neil would mate eventually.

“I have flaws?” The expression on everyone’s face told me they didn’t get my joke. ”Kidding.”

“Speak from the heart, Daire and you’ll be fine,” Ryder suggested.

But sitting in 3B as the clock ticked toward morning, I had almost given up and decided I’d tell Nate that Patch ate my vows. He’d believe that, right?

After managing a few hours of sleep, I showered and studied the pink and blue shirt I’d chosen for the ceremony. Nate had asked everyone not to wear suits or tuxedos but to dress in the most colorful clothes they had. Neil and I had gone shopping and in a moment of madness, we’d chosen that shirt to go with gray pants.

My parents had both raised a brow when I informed them of the dress code but I convinced them to go along with it saying it was what Nate wanted. But I half suspected they’d turn up in suits with tails!

Neil, Martin, and Toby drove with me in the van while the rest of my Sunshine Manor family would come in their own cars as they had babies. I was impressed with their colorful outfits and mine didn’t seem quite so loud.

Nerves were getting the better of me as I gripped the steering wheel and drove the familiar route. Nate and I had to go inside the house to mate and then hold hands when we walked outside and everyone would gather in a circle around us.

When we arrived, I leaned against the car and stalled going into the house while I admired the trees swathed in colorful decorations and the huge sparkly banner that said, “Congratulations Daire and Nate.”

First Ryder’s car and then Micah’s drove up beside me. Everyone tumbled out and their clothes were more dazzling than Neil, Martin, and Toby’s, while Elune and Dyani wore adorable dresses and headbands .

Our friends and family lined the path leading to the house, something I wasn't expecting and Nate stood at the end waiting for me. His shirt was louder than mine and it had images on it as well as his pants. But I couldn’t make out what the pics were. But when I got closer, I froze. My feet wouldn’t move while my heart overflowed with love. It was my face. Many of them covered Nate’s shirt and pants.

And in that instant it didn’t matter if I couldn’t find the words. Without waiting for the actual mating, I ran to him. “I stayed up most of the night trying to work out what to say but any alpha who plasters my face over him is the one I want to spend my life with. I’ll screw up—a lot—but I’ll never stop loving you.”

Nate took me in his arms and planted a kiss on my mouth. “Let’s mate and then get this party started.” He dragged me inside and I yelled over my shoulder, “If we don’t come back, eat, drink, and be merry.”

“Daire!” everyone shouted, including Nate.

“Of course, we’re coming back,” Nate said. “I just have to make this grizzly mine.”

“And I intend to claim my hedgehog.”