Page 1 of Delivered to My Alpha Alien Lovers (Mail-Order Matings #20)

Amaris

I loved my best friend, Jenny. I did. But dinners at her house were…chaotic and I usually left hungrier than I arrived.

That was why I sat in my car outside her house and debated on whether it was too late to call in sick for dinner.

She wouldn’t believe me, of course, but still, I considered it.

None of the chaos was her fault. She had one-year-old twin shifter boys who were already popping from wolf to human to wolf again while confined in a high chair.

I might be fussy too.

The front door to Jenny and Rex’s house opened, and I smiled and groaned at the same time. I’d lost my chance. Jenny’s mate was ripped from head to toe. His shirt strained at the biceps, showing off his physique. Jenny claimed most shifters looked like him. Man, I wanted that. Not him. But someone like that. Devoted. Muscular. Hot. Mine.

Rex waved me inside, and I grabbed the peach and blackberry pie I’d baked, knowing it might not survive the wrath of the twins.

Still, they were cute, and I had been named their godmother. Jenny’s mate had sisters but they insisted I be the godmother. I was honored to assume the role.

Rex assured me this feral phase didn’t last forever. He had to remind Jenny of that as well when she was at her wits’ end.

“Hey, everyone!” I announced as Rex ushered me in. The smells of meat loaf and roast chicken wafted through the air.

“Glad you decided to come in,” Rex whispered. “Thanks for joining us. The food is almost ready.”

“What are you two whispering about? My cooking is fantastic.”

“Oh, Jenny. Come on. Everyone knows you make a mean meat loaf. Rex happened to notice I was dawdling in my car.” No reason to deny it. Jenny had probably already seen me in the car before Rex. Hell, she probably sent him to get me.

“Again? Are we that bad?” Jenny appeared in the doorway that transitioned the dining room into the kitchen. She had a spoon in her hand and a drip of some kind of sauce at the corner of her mouth.

“You’re not that bad. Stop it. But…where are the boys?”

Rex cracked up. “They are actually napping. The four of us had a big ordeal today, and they are tuckered out.”

“What happened?” I asked with alarm. Sure, the boys were wild as could be but that didn’t mean I wanted anything to ever happen to them.

“They shifted into wolves. Full, crazy shift.”

“It’s not the first time,” I said, not really understanding. “I’ve seen them shift with my own eyes.”

“This time, it stuck. We ran as wolves for a while, and they shifted back without my command. A big day, indeed.” Rex’s pride for his sons oozed from him. They were only babies to me, but they’d made a huge step in terms of being a shifter. And it was very early to shift, from what I had heard.

“Aww, that’s so cute.”

Rex swiped the bit of sauce from Jenny’s chin and planted a kiss that belonged on the pages of a romance novel, on her. I looked away to give them a bit of privacy and noticed the boys on the couch. I walked over to see them. Their limbs were tangled together as they tended to sleep. Mouths open. They were knocked out cold. What a life.

Theron and Theo were just about the most adorable things—when they were asleep.

The chubby cheeks seriously did me in. I glanced over to see Rex and Jenny still making out and whispering cute things to each other. Jenny giggled and blushed.

I sighed. If only it were so easy for humans. One look. One feeling. One mate forever.

“Let’s eat,” Jenny announced and walked back into the kitchen. As she passed him, Rex swatted at her butt.

We shared conversation over dinner, but as we finished up the meal and moved on to my pie for dessert, the boys woke up.

They toddled into the dining room. One went into Jenny’s lap and the other crawled into Rex’s. They rubbed at their eyes, and Theron waved backward at me.

“Are you hungry?” Rex asked. He didn’t have to. Those boys had boosted the whole economy when they started eating solid food.

They set both boys in their high chairs, and I helped by cutting up a couple of chicken thighs and two pieces of meat loaf—each.

Good thing Rex made solid money as a contractor.

We chatted about work and other things over dessert, and I passed on an offer of coffee. If I had any caffeine after noon, the night would be restless for me, and I valued my sleep. The boys were calmer than usual and, after a pound or so of meat each, they were ready to cuddle with their papa.

“I think I’m going to get these two into the bath before they pass out again. Thanks for coming over again, Amaris.”

He walked out, one twin in each arm, and I sighed. I wanted that. So badly I could taste it.

“You won’t find your mate or husband or whatever if you don’t get out there,” Jenny said, chuckling.

“I wasn’t—”

She put up her hand. “I know you aren’t drooling over Rex, but the idea of him and a family. You’re not being proactive about it, babe.”

“I’ve gotten out there. In there. All around there. I’m convinced there’s no one on this Earth for me.”

Jenny snorted. “There has to be someone. Look at you. You’re smart. Beautiful. Funny. A catch for anyone.”

“Maybe I need to look into space travel. There’s a chance there’s a hot alien mate with a special tail and all kinds of salacious thoughts.”

“Or…” Jenny leaned on the hood of my car, drawing out this conversation as a break from the twins. Small, but one nonetheless. “You could join the app. It’s where I found Rex. There are all kinds of shifters and monsters on there. If you’re dead set on an alien, there might be one on there for you as well.”

Her and this app.

“I promise to think about it.”

“You should. You deserve a guy who’s crazy about you, Amaris.”