Page 8 of True Calling

CHAPTER 3

Garth had been going downstairs to see if anyone had started lunch. He had been following up on another zoo issue like he had discovered when he found Chance and Micah so long ago. This one was being run by another shifter, though, and things weren’t adding up. He needed to go and check on it and see if it was something that would require him stepping in and then dismantling the owner and the fucking zoo. Garth hated zoos.

But for now, he was starving, and his dragon could eat an entire buffalo at this point. Not that he would allow him to fly out and find him, but damn it, he was hungry. He wished they had hired that cook Bo and the others had nagged him about needing.

He still didn’t understand why they felt the need for a live-in chef, but if that was what his family wanted to be happy, then that was what they would get. Besides, there was no way he could deny Linus when the little shit gave him those damn puppy-dog eyes. How a Viquita shifter could pull off that look was still a mystery to Garth, but damned if it didn’t work every time.

“Hey guys?” Garth called out.

No one answered. Garth looked in the large office Trevor used along with his mate and then did the same for the others and their mates. No one was where they were supposed to be at this time of day.

“Okay, you shits, what are you up to?” Garth asked to no one in particular.

Making his way down the long spiral staircase, he was surprised to hear voices.

“He’s here.” Chance said, sounding nervous.

Why would his quiet tortoise be uneasy?

“He’s cute.” Bo said, surprising the hell out of Garth. That man had no eyes for anyone except his mate Trevor.

Wanting answers, Garth went down the stairs, calling out, “Who’s cute?”

The six men quickly turned to see Garth standing there. The look of unease and guilt was as obvious as the scent of fear, most likely coming from Linus, permeating the room Crossing his arms, Garth raised a brow. Something was going on here and he would have answers, even if he had to use intimidation to get them. Although with this bunch Garth knew that going that route wouldn’t do him much good. “What are you guys up to?”

The knock on the front door kept them from answering, and when no one moved to answer the door, Garth dropped his arms down, saying, “I’ll get it.”

Bo gasped, then moved as if his fox was in a hurry, “No, I’ll uh... I’ll get it.”

Garth made it to the door first, “Oh, that’s okay, I think I can handle opening a door.”

Garth had truly believed those words when they were spoken, he really did. However, when he whipped the door open, he hadn’t expected to be assaulted with the scent of Cinnamon and spice, and fuck wasn’t this guy nice. That blond hair in a ponytail that had Garth wanting to slide the band off and run his fingers through, just to test if it was as soft and silky as it looked, and then the man looked up, into Garth’s eyes and those absolutely stunning blue orbs was like looking at the most gorgeous sky on a cloudless day.

“Um, hi. I... uh... I’m Berk.”

Garth couldn’t speak. He couldn’t do anything but look at the man he knew was to be his for all eternity. What the fuck? Thousands of years Garth had lived and never... never had he even had an inkling about where or who his mate might be, and after all this time the guy just walked up to his door and rang the bell?

“Uh, can... well, can I come in or, uh... I mean, I still have the job, right?” Berk asked nervously.

Garth’s brain wasn’t registering whatever it was Berk was talking about and the only word that could go from brain to mouth was, “Job?”

“Crap, please don’t tell me I don’t have it. I spent the last of my savings on the plane ticket to get here and I...”

His mate sounding scared didn’t sit well with Garth’s dragon. Immediately wanting to calm the man, Garth said, “Calm down, lovely. My name’s Garth. Why don’t you come in and we can talk about this... job?”

Berk picked up his bag and hesitated a moment before walking through the door. When he saw Bo and the others, he stopped, “Oh, uh... hi there. I’m Berk. Berk Carlos.”

Bo walked forward with his hand held out, looking at Garth anxiously, then back to Berk, “Hi, I’m Bo, this is my ma... husband, Trevor.” Then Bo pointed from one man to the other making introductions.

Why did Bo call Trevor his...? Taking in a deep breath Garth went stiff as a board. Human. No fucking way. His mate was human? Well shit.

“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m sorry I had to help my family move to another state and between settling the sale of the restaurant and the house, then getting them to Florida, it took a bit longer than I’d hoped for. If you’ve found someone else, I really understand. I’d just need a phone to call my folks and see if they can get me a plane ticket and then call Mark to come back and get me to take me to the airport.”

“Mark! Who the fuck is Mark?” Garth practically snarled. Was this Mark a boyfriend? Was he a threat to Garth’s mating? His dragon didn’t like that thought at all.

Berk swung around, quickly saying, “The uber driver.”

“The Uber driver? You’re on a first-name basis with an Uber driver?” Garth asked with a deep gravelly tone he couldn’t seem to control.