Page 11 of Omega Dragon Manny (Shifters For Hire #3)

BEAU

I didn’t know why I immediately packed a bag and left when Clark mentioned me taking a week off.

I knew I wasn’t going anywhere, at least not where he thought I was headed.

My life wasn’t with my flight. There was a reason why I never went back.

Maybe I didn’t love the fact that they still thought about me, especially the Alpha, but it wasn’t that.

I didn’t belong there.

I couldn’t imagine breaking myself away from the place I did belong, my new job, just to get some sort of break by heading to a place where I didn’t. That wasn’t going to do me any good. If anything, it would make everything worse.

Instead, I drove to my favorite spot to shift. What I needed was for my dragon to get some air under his wings and for me to clear my head. I needed a whole lot more than that, really, but it would be a start.

Clark had been right about one thing. I was overworked and tired, and I could use the rest. But I didn’t need to come all the way out here to accomplish that, and going to my flight would’ve only made matters worse.

At the time, I wanted to argue with him and really put my foot down.

But when he offered to pay for a hotel for me to stay at instead, I chickened out.

In my head, I thought maybe he was asking me because he wanted me gone.

It’s funny how easily self-doubt and insecurities could creep in. And by how funny, I meant not at all.

As far as I was aware, Clark had never lied to me, never tried to sugarcoat the truth to make things easier.

Why would he suddenly be doing that now?

He wouldn’t. But try telling past me that.

Because as I was walking out the door, I felt rejected and had to remind myself that Clark wasn’t for me.

This was a job. Nothing more, no matter what my heart told me.

I pulled off into the dirt path that led to where I’d be spending the next week. I’d stopped along the way and grabbed some snacky type foods and drinks. I doubted I’d eat any of them. My dragon was a good hunter and could get us food easily. I’d be shocked if I even took my skin the entire time.

About a mile in, I parked under some trees, climbed out of the car, tossed my keys in the back seat with my clothes, and walked far enough away so I could shift without banging into the metal.

My wings were tough, but still…if I caught them against the car at the wrong angle, it would hurt.

And if I caught them against the car at the right angle, it would dent the car.

Neither was worth being too lazy to walk a few feet away.

I fell back, letting my beast take over, and he took to the air. Usually, I stayed pretty present when we shifted, but today I was tired. I started to ease myself back, thinking maybe I’d even take a nap. But then my dragon started heading the wrong way.

Fuck! He was trying to go back to Clark. I understood the desire. I felt it too, but when we went back, it would be by car and not using wings that would get us into huge-ass trouble.

We’re not doing that. I pushed for the reins again and forced him to focus on hunting.

That sated him for a bit. We caught a rabbit, two foxes, and a raccoon.

We saw a deer too, and it would’ve been an easy fell, but they were almost too easy.

It felt wrong. The creature was distracted by a particularly luscious berry bush. What was the sport in that?

I wove through the trees, over rocks, and even landed in the river a few times, trying to distract myself from my life. But I sucked at it. I ended up back at the car, curling up in the back seat, putting a movie I’d seen a thousand times on my phone, and eventually falling asleep.

The next morning, my body hurt. I was far too young for that, even with my accommodations. My car wouldn’t even fit the triplets. It wasn’t meant for someone my size, not that anyone would call me huge.

It was time to shift again.

The cool morning air was nice against my skin and even nicer against my scales.

This time, I went for a walk. The ground vibrated with each step.

There was no hunting to be done like this, every animal within miles could feel my vibrations, but I was trying to do something different. Keep myself distracted.

I managed to keep going for hours, but finally it was too much. My head was still back at the house. This wasn’t working.

When I got back in the car this time, I turned it on and drove home.

It was Saturday night, not even close to the week off I was supposed to have, but I felt less rested than when I’d left. Would he be mad when I walked in the door? Only time would tell.

I walked in to near silence. The kids were already down for the night, based on the quiet beeps from the monitors. I stepped fully inside.

“Clark?”

He jumped up. The man had been sitting on the couch in the dark.

“I came home early,” I said.

“You need a break,” he said softly. “You need to rest. Go back to your family.”

“I did rest.” I took three slow steps closer to him.

“Did something happen while you were gone? Something at home? Was someone mean to you?”

“Nothing happened with anyone else.” I took another step. “And I didn’t go home, because right here, with you, is my home.”

He closed the distance between us. “When you left, you seemed mad,” he said quietly.

“When I left, I felt rejected,” I admitted. “And that’s not on you. It’s a shifter thing. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I didn’t like you being gone,” he admitted. “I missed you.”

It was like music to my ears. I wrapped my arms around him, allowing myself to feel something real for the first time.

“I heard what you said when you were leaving,” he whispered close to my ear.

“What did I say?”

“You said, ‘You’re not supposed to like your boss.’ But I think you were wrong. I think you are.”

There were so many things I wanted to say…so, so many, but I said none of them. Instead, I leaned in and kissed him, giving in to the attraction that had been building up inside me. His mouth opened under mine, exploring, answering, and his hands slid under the back of my shirt.

Then the baby monitor went off. One of the kids was stirring.

“Shit,” he mumbled against my lips. “I’ll be right back.”

“I got it.”

“I don’t want to pull the ‘who gets them back to sleep faster’ card, but…” He was great with the kids, but sleeping was where I shined.

He laughed softly and let go of me. “Hurry back.”

Oh, I was hurrying back.

Make no mistake about that.