Well, David may not have been a stripper-gram, but it looks like Austin gets to be a play stripper in this awkward situation.
I could tell Erin was unsettled by all this. The question is, why is she unsettled? Is it the whole supernatural being real? It can’t be easy for a human to accept something they thought was a myth to be real. I could understand that. I suppose there are other reasons to be unsettled, especially with my son standing in her living room in his underwear. Nudity is not something humans are as causal about as werewolves. But if either of her twins has a wolf spirit, she’ll have to get accustomed to it as they will be nude every time they shift back. And given their excitement about all of this, they will often be shifting. I should feel more concerned with my son standing in her living room in his boxers. But I’m not. Austin is only doing what I asked, proving that werewolves are real. Beyond that, he has a mate. If I still had my wolf, I’d have done it myself. I probably would have been more embarrassed than Austin. I may have been raised that nudity is normal but getting naked in fron
When I took this job, I thought moving to Oregon would be a great new start for us. I researched the fuck out of Portland and was so happy to see it was a quirky and accepting place. It looked like a place that accepted what most would call weird or abnormal. I didn’t think it was to this extent! Werewolves! My children are werewolves! My boss is a werewolf! My coworkers are werewolves! The owners of my company are… you guessed it, WEREWOLVES! But it’s not just that. They are the Alpha and Beta! Whatever the fuck that means in the werewolf community. Alpha would be the leader, and Beta would be second in the group based on the old standard of how wolf packs were previously defined. Of course, those terms have gone the way of the dodo as scientists have studied further and felt the previously described hierarchy isn’t accurate. This is just a lot to take in, and while it may seem minor in the grand scheme of life, the fact that people at work heard Hale telling me we can’t be more th
It’s a good thing I’m excellent at compartmentalizing things. I can evaluate and stress over what happened with Erin in the yard later. I don’t have the time to mentally face the fact that I kissed someone who isn’t Jen. Jen was the only woman I ever kissed. She was my first and was supposed to be the last and only. But again, I can overthink and mentally kick myself over that later. Right now, my focus is the safety of Erin and her children. I can’t begin to fathom why Alpha Logan would appoint me as their guard. Someone with a wolf would be a much better choice. Erin and the kids wouldn’t even have to know they were here, just having them stay in wolf form in the wooded area by the house. At least then, if Dane shows up, they would truly be protected. I have no idea what Dane’s gift, if any, is. If he shifts, I have no wolf to fight back with. Yes, I still do my training. Losing my wolf wasn’t a good enough reason for Alpha Logan to let me out of pack training. I’ve still had to tr
I know I was the one that sent my kids to their rooms, but now that it’s just Hale and me, I’m feeling nervous. The last time we were alone was the first time we met in person, back when neither of us knew the other was who we’d been talking to on Kindred Spirits. I don’t count him sitting at my table in the office cafeteria as being alone, given we were in a room full of people, many of whom were werewolves, and heard every embarrassing word. Remembering that conversation, if you could call it a conversation, brought up some questions, I’d like to have answered. I will not let any residual embarrassment about this situation stop me. This is my house, damn it, and I’m not going to sit here awkwardly pondering all the possible answers when I can ask and get answers from him directly. “I’m sure you probably have more questions. Ones that River and Sage didn’t think to ask. I can’t imagine how you must feel learning all this. So if you have any questions, I’ll answer to the best of my a
I don’t do well in uncomfortable or embarrassing situations. I usually react in one of two ways in those situations. More often than not, I retreat and avoid the problem letting the embarrassment fade before either acting like it didn’t happen or addressing it. The other, which occurs less often, I show my Shelton genes aren’t as weak as my father believes. That means I will speak up and speak more bluntly. Sometimes when I do that, it makes things worse because often, my blunt words come off as me being an asshole. The rare times I’ve reacted more like a Shelton, I’ve gotten punched. Thankfully that wasn’t the case with Erin. I think I embarrassed her by catching her off guard. But she handled it with grace moving forward despite her embarrassment. Talking like this wasn’t easy. It was easier to talk to Erin when it was in the app. It felt less overwhelming, less like I was an exposed nerve. It’s never easy to talk about Jen and how I still feel about her. So add having to speak not
I don’t even know where to begin with processing all of this. I knew there would be a lot about Dane I didn’t know. I didn’t know he was a werewolf when we dated, so I’m sure there was a lot related to that he kept from me. I just wasn’t fully prepared to hear all this. I knew Dane was different, more aggressive, and unstable than the man I knew. Now that I know he’s that way because he lost his mate, I’m unsure how to feel about it. Do I feel bad for him? I mean, in a way, I do. His soulmate died. The thing is, Hale lost his soulmate too and isn’t deranged and aggressive. He lost his wolf, staying alive for his son’s sake. Dane isn’t clinging to life for River and Sage. He’s clinging to life rather than following his soulmate because he got a taste of power and wants to keep it. He didn’t even know about them without looking for me. And when I think that he’s here because he wants to use my kids, it pisses me off. All the sympathy I had for his loss goes out the window. I don’t car
I took my time going room by room to ensure all windows and doors were locked. I saved checking the windows in River and Sage’s rooms for last. Something told me going into either of their rooms wasn’t going to be an easy in-and-out experience. And since I’m dealing with teenagers, I didn’t just walk in. I knocked. Goddess knows how many times after he turned ten, I got screamed at for not knocking by Austin. “Come in, Daddy Hale.” River taunted me when I knocked at their door. Her kids will give me a migraine. I can feel it. If anything more serious develops between Erin and me, I fear for our sanities putting her twins with my son and his mate in the same space. It was scary enough to have them and Austin in the same room earlier. Then add Suzie, who is closer to River and Sage’s age, and it’s a new level of headache. “Just ensuring your windows are locked before I set the alarm.” I explained as I made my way over to their windows. Thankfully they were both already firmly locked.
Okay, I’m going to wake up any minute now. There is no way any of this is real. Men like Hale are not real. They are more fairy tales than werewolves. He’s kind and patient with my kids and treats them like anyone else. He doesn’t talk down to them and has never once misgendered them. I don’t think anyone outside of me has ever treated them that way, and even I might baby them a little because they are my babies. And if his way with my kids isn’t enough to make me believe I’m in a dream, he finds me attractive. I saw how he looked at me when he entered my room. I also saw the subtle movement in his pants. Have I mentioned I like Hale in those sweatpants? This is another reason this has to be a dream. I’m having some weird fantasy dream about my boss; he’s too hot to be into me. That’s the only explanation. For him being into me, kissing me, and saying he wants to date me. But also for this whole craziness about werewolves. Only my imagination would put me in a fantasy world where wer