Page 29 of Claiming Xan (Shifters of Greymercy #7)
XAN
River had woken up early, leaving me alone in bed. When I finally did get up, he’d been quiet all morning, pacing the floors when he thought I wasn’t paying attention, but I was, and I was worried. About him. About us. The past couple of weeks had been so good.
Too good? Was he having second thoughts?
Even now, he just stared down into his bowl of oatmeal, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed, lost somewhere in his thoughts. My heart knocked heavy in my chest as I took a bite of my breakfast, but it tasted like sawdust and not the sweet, sugary porridge that it was.
Finally, I reached over and laid a hand on his arm. “River? Is everything okay?” I hesitated, then asked, “Did I do something wrong?”
Immediately, his expression tightened into one of concern. “What? No. It’s… It’s nothing,” he said, shaking his head.
Why, then, was his jaw so tight that it could’ve been wired shut? Why did his forehead scrunch when he looked at me?
It was my turn to frown. “Talk to me? What’s going on? You’re acting weird today and I’m worried…”
He blew out a sharp exhalation. “You don’t have anything to be worried about, Xan. I’ll take care of it,” he promised. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Figure what out?” I repeated, damn near a plea. I gripped his hand and rolled my lips together, staring up at him, into the depths of his two-toned eyes. “Please? Let me in? Maybe I can help.”
After a moment, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He dropped his forehead into the butt of his palm and rubbed at his temples with two fingers. “I’ve been thinking about money. A lot.”
He sighed. “I’m going to be a dad—not only that, but I’m an Alpha who can’t provide for his kid.
Not without a job. I’m honestly kind of kicking myself for turning your mom’s offer down, because I could be banking money right now, but I didn’t feel comfortable working for her anymore.
But in order to get a job, I need to be able to drive. ”
All the tightness that had wound up in my body like a tightly-coiled spring slowly began to ease. River wasn’t leaving me. He wasn’t about to cut me and the baby loose and skip town. He was worried about how he was going to provide for us.
“Oh, River,” I murmured. “You don’t have to worry about that. Sure, babies are expensive, but Mom won’t let us?—”
“No,” he barked, turning sharp eyes on me. “I don’t want to rely on Gracie for this. She already considers me unfit to be your mate! Who knows what she’ll think when the baby’s born. She’ll probably walk on eggshells anytime I hold it.” He growled under his breath, his lip curling.
My heart ached for him.
I squeezed his arm. “Hey, we still have months. There’s plenty of time for me to teach you how to drive.” Then I flashed him a teasing smirk. “But you actually have to try this time, big guy.”
River rolled his eyes with a huff. “Driving is hard, and besides, last time, your heat was driving me batshit insane. Being stuck in the car with you was torture.”
Oh. Right. I ducked my head, a smile still playing over my lips. “Sorry. Well, you could start applying for jobs and I could drive you if our schedules don’t conflict? And if they do, I’m sure Nevin would be more than happy to take you. He just recently learned to drive himself.”
“The blind leading the blind.” River made a face.
It was obvious he didn’t like the idea, but he didn’t argue.
“It could work.” His voice was soft, but a bit rough.
“Just until I get my license though, and buy a working vehicle. It doesn’t have to be a Mercedes.
Hell, I don’t even care if it has air conditioning, so long as it’s dependable. ”
“It’ll work out,” I promised him, already feeling ten-times lighter now that we’d cleared the air. River must’ve felt the same, because the tension in the hard lines of his shoulders eased.
He began to eat.
I stuck my spoon into my oatmeal. “So, what kind of jobs are you thinking about trying? Have you started looking?”
We chatted about possibilities over breakfast, but all too soon, it was time to go to work. I didn’t want to leave, but I had to. We both couldn’t be out a job, after all.
“See you soon,” I promised, kissing River goodbye before heading out the door and driving to the mall.
It wasn’t a long drive, by any means, but it was the dead of summer, so you could bet your sweet ass I had the AC cranked to high and the tunes blaring all the way to work. River was crazy to consider a vehicle without a working air conditioner.
By the time I waltzed through the front entrance of The Candy Jar, humming Shania Twain’s “Honey I’m Home”, I was feeling pretty good.
Of course, TJ was there and my spirits faltered a little when he looked me up and down, made a face, and said, “Looks like someone is in a good mood.” Like it mattered to him. What the hell was his problem, anyway?
Annoyed, I planted my hands on my hips and met his gaze head-on. “As a matter-of-fact, I am, and so long as someone doesn’t ruin it, everything’ll be great. Thank you very much.”
Our boss, Roger, rolled his eyes, then grabbed a stack of invoices off the counter and shuffled off into the back room. His office door snicked shut with an audible click , and my other coworker for the day, a shy Omega named Angie, giggled.
TJ huffed out a, “Whatever,” then stomped off to another part of the candy store to no doubt stock some jars or something. Didn’t know, didn’t care, so long as he wasn’t bothering me.
“What’s his deal?” Angie asked, hiking a thumb in the direction TJ went.
She was pretty new—both to the job, and to Greymercy—and she didn’t have a clue about what all had gone on between me and TJ the past several months. She was a sweet girl, if not a bit naive, but I didn’t mind filling her in.
“Honestly? I have no idea,” I admitted, wiping the perspiration off my brow with the back of my hand, then wiping my hand off on my jeans. “He’s been harassing me to go on a date with him since I started working here, and whenever I turn him down, he gets all butt-hurt.”
Angie’s hazel eyes fell to my rounded belly. “But you’re…”
“Yeah, I know.” I waved a hand. “And I’m mated now, too. He doesn’t seem to care. I don’t know if I’m just a conquest at this point or what, but it’s hella annoying.”
“Weird.” She wrinkled her nose. I couldn’t help but smile; it made her look a little bit like a bunny rabbit. “So when are you due? Can I ask? Is that rude?”
“Nah.” I laughed. “Early March.”
“Oh dang, so close to the month of love!” she exclaimed. “It would be cool to have a baby born on Leap Year, wouldn’t it? Then it would technically only have a birthday every four years. That’s fun.”
“My luck, it’ll cling to my womb till the end of March.” I tipped my chin towards her, curious now. “But enough about me—what about you, Angie? Do you have an Alpha? Kids? Spill the beans, girlfriend. We’re coworkers now, so that means I’m officially allowed to put my nose in your business.”
She shook her head, biting down on her bottom lip. “N-Nope. Not yet, anyway. But there’s this girl…”
“A girl?” I leaned in, bouncing my brows. “Ooh, gossip? Do tell.”
She giggled again and covered her reddening face with both hands, like she was embarrassed to even admit it. Then she peeked out from between her fingers. “Oh, she’s wonderful. A breath of fresh air. So kind-hearted and sweet, and everyone whose ever met her loves her.”
“Including you.” I smirked.
She blushed an even deeper shade of pink, if that was possible. “Including me,” she admitted softly. “But I don’t think she’s noticed me. Not like that. She’s nice to everyone, so what makes me any different, you know?”
“Then make her notice you,” I told her with a sharp, affirming nod. “Be bold. Stand out from the crowd for once.”
She blinked. “How, though?”
“Buy her flowers! Ask her out!”
She gasped, staring at me. “B-But… I’m an Omega!”
“So what?” I retorted. “The Alpha-centric bullshit is so last season. It’s time for us Omegas to take the bull by the horns and tell our Alphas exactly what we want.”
“Did you?” She barely squeaked out the words.
I glanced over. “Huh?”
“Did you…with your Alpha?” she asked. “Tell him what you wanted, I mean?”
This time, I grinned. “Sure did, and you can too. If you like her? Show her. Flowers. Girls love flowers, even Alphas. Trust me.”
She ducked her head. “I’ll try.”
Roger chose that moment to pop his head out of the office to bark, “Less yapping, more working. Thank you.”
“Yes, sir,” I said in the sweetest tone I could muster, but after the door closed, I rolled my eyes and mouthed the word “Alpha-hole” to Angie.
She giggled, and the two of us got to work.