Page 22 of Leave Me (Shift MC #1)

Chapter twenty-one

Fowler

S pending the day with Gramps at Motorvated had my cheeks hurting from laughter as he regaled me with stories from his and my dad’s youth. I’d somehow forgotten I came by my prankster ways naturally.

“Your dad hid all of my sockets and then pretended to help me find them,” Gramps told me in a grumpy tone, but I saw the sparkle in his eye at the memory. “And then I heard this knucklehead giggling in the storeroom.”

“Hey, I don’t giggle,” Uncle Clark protested.

“Fin, you were twelve, and you were cackling like a hyena,” Gramps insisted, letting a sentimental smile creep over his faux-angry expression. “The two of you were menaces.”

Uncle Clark chuckled and shook his head. “Not sure how you let him name me vice president of the club. ”

“My VP had left town for his wife, and you know Enrique’s dad was a good enforcer, but…” Gramps trailed off.

Ricky’s dad had been a brawler, but he’d also been a drunk like my father.

We all knew he didn’t have the silent strength needed to be the VP of the club and second in command of the pack.

I’d learned that he’d died driving drunk shortly before my dad decided to quit.

Ricky hadn’t said a word, so I’d have to remember to give him my condolences.

My phone buzzed, and I excused myself to take it behind the shop. Leaning against the wall and looking towards Uncle Clark’s house, I saw Hudson had texted to see how I was doing. Instead of texting back, I hit the call button.

“Hello? Is it my long-lost friend?” Hudson asked as if he were looking for me.

“Yeah, got lost in Borneo looking for your dick,” I quipped back. “Send a rescue party.”

“Ha!” Hudson barked out a laugh, and I heard the sounds of the city noise through the open garage door in the background until it sounded like he was walking to the office and closing the door. “How’s it going in the boonies?”

“Better than I expected,” I told him, and then launched into the kind reception I’d received from family, friends, and neighbors at the funeral and reunion events.

Hudson listened patiently, like he always did, though I left out the bits about Riley and me hooking up. He was asexual, though demiromantic with his mate, and he didn’t want to hear about my sex life.

“It makes me feel like shit for staying away so long.”

“You couldn’t have known. And they may not have been as welcoming even a few years ago.”

“True,” I nodded to myself, though he couldn’t see me. The silence extended between us as my unspoken thoughts lingered on Riley.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Fuck, you never miss a thing,” I chuckled and rubbed at my short beard.

“I don’t have your ability to hear heartbeats or whatever, but I know you. What’s eating at you? Do I need to come up there and kick some wolf butt?”

“No.” I laughed to hide that my throat was clogged with emotion. “It’s just…Riley.”

“Your old best friend? Before you met me, of course,” Hudson added, lightening the mood. “Is he not welcoming you with open arms?”

“The opposite, actually.” I started pacing across the paved path between the shop and the house.

I might as well get it all out. “He’s the one who made me realize I could be out and trans and people would still care about me in high school.

You know we lost touch. But then I came home and saw him, and it was like I’d never really seen him before.

You know? And he smells so fucking good, Hudson!

We hooked up, and I… I let him see all of me. ”

“Damn,” Hudson breathed out, and I could hear him leaning forward in the creaky office chair. I could imagine the way he would scrub a hand over his beard and furrow his brow in thought. Then he hit me with the question I didn’t know the answer to. “Do you think he’s your mate?”

“How could he be?” I lamented, realizing I wanted it to be true. Squatting to pick up a rock, I tossed it into the bushes with a little too much force. “We were around each other every day for years. I would have known.”

“Didn’t you say it’s more common after a shifter presents their secondary gender? Especially for you as an alpha. Like your alpha wants an omega?”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t shift, and he’s not an omega!” I cried out and then lowered my voice. Gramps and Uncle Clark had machinery going, but they’d hear a yell. “He’s almost twenty-eight; he would have presented years ago, in his teens.”

“Matty didn’t,” Hudson pointed out, and his logic struck me. Matty was twenty-one, almost twenty-two, when he had his first heat and learned he had shifter blood. “And you said yourself that Riley isn’t a full shifter.”

“Fuck. I need to think about that. ”

“You do that and get back to me. I want you to be happy.” Hudson breathed out a sigh and added, “Miss you, butthead.”

“Miss you too, man.”

Walking into the Lake High School gym again, thinking about what Hudson and I had talked about, I was anxious to see Riley. Was he my mate? And what did that mean for him and his secondary gender?

Feeling anxious wasn’t a normal emotion for me.

I’d always been self-assured, and transitioning in San Francisco meant I had grown into my confidence in a place where I was accepted.

High school wasn’t hard, academically or socially.

I was in sports, my packmates were built-in friends, and with a few exceptions, I hadn’t had to deal with much bullying.

I spent my time taking care of Riley and cleaning up after Ricky and Rel’s antics.

Memories of the boys getting pissed when I beat them in PE made me smirk as I looked around for the one person I wanted to see most. We only had one hundred or so graduates in the class, but it looked like over half were in attendance, and most of them had a plus-one.

The gym looked like it had been painted and a new floor added, but otherwise it was the same.

Rubbing at the nametag on my chest as I waited by the entrance, I was glad to see it was my chosen name, printed out for everyone to see.

I hadn’t been planning to come, but Cara had made the name tag for me after seeing me at the picnic, and I was taken aback at how much easier it had been to be in Blue Lake than I expected.

Pulling my phone out to see if Riley had replied to my message about being on my way, I saw he’d messaged back that he was leaving soon. I’d offered to give him a ride, but he said he was running late and would drive his mom’s car.

Riley had hardly left my mind since I’d seen him last, and I’d endured the subtle ribbing from Gramps after stopping to drop off a rotisserie chicken so his mom could make soup. My wolf had insisted we needed to feed Riley, and I was happy to do something that might help.

Texting that I’d made it and was inside, I hit send right as Ricky and Rel showed up to offer me a drink.

“Did you spike the punch?” I asked, sniffing the cup but not smelling any liquor.

“Naw, we’re all driving home,” Ricky shrugged, and I thought of his dad. Both of us were likely more cautious with alcoholics for fathers.

“Is Riley coming?” Rel asked with a barely repressed smirk. They had almost certainly smelled my arousal at the bar, and Riley hadn’t been subtle about his attraction, either. Still, my wolf grumbled.

Mine .

Instead of hassling my friends who hadn’t shown any interest in Riley, I only smiled back, knowing they were about to tease me. “He’ll be here soon.