Page 7 of Omega Dragon Manny (Shifters For Hire #3)
BEAU
It had been a few weeks since I started working for Clark, and things were going better than I could have dreamed.
The children were amazing. Sure, there were challenges that came with balancing three all the same age.
That was a given. Keeping everybody diapered, fed, and well-rested took a lot of juggling, but we’d settled into a routine, and they were adjusting well.
I felt so bad for them. They’d been through so much in their short lives…being rejected by their alpha father, losing their omega father, and then starting a brand-new life away from everything they knew. They say kids are resilient, and they are, but I hated that they needed to be.
Things with Clark were…interesting. We were attracted to each other, there was no denying that.
More than once, I overheard just how attracted he was to me as he handled things himself.
There’d been some flirting around that, but this was my job, and I was at least attempting to keep it professional.
I appreciated that he was doing the same as well. That didn’t mean I didn’t have moments in the shower when I was having inappropriate thoughts about him. He was human though, and I was pretty sure he didn’t hear me the way I could hear him, which was really well.
I’d been getting up with the kids in the middle of the night, something Clark assured me I didn’t need to do, that it wasn’t part of my job. But unlike him, during the day, when the kids napped, I could grab some Z’s if I had to. He needed to have all his brainpower for his job.
He tried to explain to me once all that he did, and I’d be lying if I said I understood it. But he was working toward partner, and that was a really big deal. I didn’t want my desire for a full night’s sleep to get in the way of his goals.
Because I’d been getting up at night, he’d been giving me some extra time off.
I always told him I was running errands or going to grab a coffee, but really what I was doing was taking my wings.
I don’t know why I hid that from him. He knew who I was…
what I was. Heck, he found me at a shifter employment agency.
But we never talked about it. It felt just a little too personal.
Today was the first gorgeous day of the week, the rain having come down nonstop for three days straight.
It was the perfect day to take the kids to the park or around town, probably both.
When I first started working here, I’d convinced Clark to get a triple stroller.
They were awkward and not great for stores, but they were perfect for roaming around town.
We’d already put it to good use despite the rain.
I got everyone in their seat, and we took the long way to Main Street. I was loving the air, which was finally less heavy. Rainy days and my dragon did not get along.
“We’re at the corner now, guys. That means I need to stop and look both ways,” I said aloud.
I’d been annotating my trip the entire way.
It was something I learned when I was training to be a manny — talk, talk, talk to the kids to help their language development.
I’d gotten so used to it that I caught myself annotating to myself when I went to shift.
All three of them fell asleep before we reached the center of town. I pushed the stroller over to the side and threw a swaddle blanket on top to give them some privacy and let them continue their slumber.
The scent of coffee roasting tickled my nose, and I found myself headed toward our little coffee shop.
They roasted in small batches, and their coffee was absolutely delicious.
I went inside, navigating the stroller through the tiny space, ordered my favorite latte, and backed up to leave, unable to fully turn the stroller around.
Someone opened the door for me, and as I went to thank them, I recognized them by scent. It was Kenny. My whole flight flashed through my mind. He was one of the dragons I’d left behind.
In my flight, on the first full moon after our 20th birthday, we had a choice to commit to the flight or to leave.
I chose to leave.
Leaving didn’t mean we couldn’t see our families, but it did cut us out of the community support and employment opportunities.
Flight life wasn’t for me, and I’d never turned back, although I was sure the Alpha would have allowed me to if I’d wanted.
He’d tried to negotiate with my father a couple of times to have me as a mate.
It was a thousand percent the reason why I’d immediately chosen to go to the human world when the time came.
He wasn’t an alphahole or anything. He just wasn’t a match for me, even if he was considered a prize by most, being powerful, rich, and gorgeous.
On paper, he was the trifecta of alphas.
“Hey, I didn’t know you were in this town.”
“Yeah. I’m getting a coffee.” I didn’t want to admit that I lived here, or worked here, or anything. I left that life and didn’t want to become their afternoon tea.
“You know Alpha Jason has been looking for you.”
“Well, he can keep looking. I left, according to our customs. I’ve got a new life. And if I had wanted to accept his offers, I would have.” I was far more snappy than I needed to be, but I couldn’t help it. The thought of leaving these three little ones and Clark stirred up my dragon.
I’d been lucky about the negotiations with my father. Historically, a lot of dragons would have been promised behind their backs, but my parents weren’t like that. They always believed we should have the right to choose how we lived our lives.
This was where I belonged. Even if I wanted to leave, I didn’t think I could. My life was better because Clark and the triplets were in it. No way was I giving up that until I had no choice.
“It was nice to see you,” I said, needing to go because my dragon was feeling cornered.
I backed the rest of the way out of the shop and walked to the park, where a couple of nannies I often saw there were waiting.
“It’s been days.” Sally waved. “I was beginning to think we were going to need to build a boat.”
“Wait, was that a crack at me?” Noah, the manny to a family of a six-, five-, four-, and three-year-old, said.
“It wasn’t, but I suppose it could be.” Sally chuckled.
And just like that, the conversation about my past was over and I was back where I belonged.