As The Shifter World Turns

1. Welcome to Sunshine Manor

1

WELCOME TO SUNSHINE MANOR

Archer

“Nice place.”

“Yeah,” I agreed as the taxi came to a stop behind another vehicle.

“Let me help you with your things.” The cab driver got my bicycle and a suitcase out of the trunk, while I struggled with a backpack, messenger bag, and a large box from the back seat. I’ll have to give him a big tip.

The nice place the driver was referring to was an 1800s colonial with a porch out front. It had originally been a grand house but had since been divided into apartments. There were three floors, and when I’d answered the ‘For rent’ ad, the owner showed me the rooftop garden. He’d told me he and his tenants held weekly barbecues up there.

Though describing the guy as the owner stretched the imagination a little. He was a few years younger than me. Early 20s was my guess. And he’d mentioned being late for class as he hustled me out the door last week.

There were a few raised garden beds and a small yard behind the house which led to a parking lot and an alley. Perfect place for a dog, though I hadn’t mentioned I’d like to get one when I took the tour. There’d been a lot of interest in the empty apartment and I was lucky to snag it. Saying I wanted a pooping, barking four-legged companion wouldn’t have gone down well.

“Take your hands off me, Ryder!” A man with his shirt unbuttoned charged out the front door onto the porch hefting a suitcase and almost tripped as he charged down the three stairs, staggering toward the car in front of the taxi.

He was followed by someone, who I assumed was Ryder, wailing, “Can’t we talk about this, Kellan?” They were the guys from 2A. I’d learned their names and apartment numbers last week.

“You’re stifling me. I can’t breathe. You want to know where I am every minute. And you freak when anything is out of place. That’s not living. It’s existing.”

The taxi driver and I shared a look, and he leaned on the car and folded his arms. I swear if he’d had popcorn he would have been tossing it in his mouth while watching the spectacle unfold. Whereas I was trying to look anywhere but at the couple who were going through a very public break up.

But they were between me and the house. Hoping Kellan would hurry up and leave, I counted out the fare and added a healthy tip. The driver barely noticed as he folded his fingers around the crisp notes and kept his eyes on the two men arguing.

“What are you looking at?” Kellan sneered at the cab driver, and his feverish gaze included me. The words stung, and my cheeks burned at being caught. I studied my feet, hoping to avoid any more verbal abuse. I was a reluctant witness. They were the ones conducting their private business on the street. My instinct was to say nothing, but my wolf, who was very protective of me, growled, making my chest tremble.

A change in Ryder’s tone had me glance up. He was no longer playing defense. “Well, I’m sorry, but when a person cheats it makes it kinda hard to trust them.” His voice had gotten higher and more shrill until he shrieked the last two words.

“Oh that’s right. One mistake and you’ve never let me forget it.” Kellan slammed the car door and fumbled for the keys hanging out of his pocket.

“Guys!” That was Daire, the so-called owner of the building. “Keep it down. Or take your argument somewhere else.”

“Exactly what I’m doing. Going somewhere else and leaving this dump.” Kellan flung the words at Daire, who leaned against the porch railings, one hand in his pocket. “And the hot water in this place sucks.”

Daire rolled his eyes and put a hand on his heart. “Oh no, whatever shall I do? I’m wounded you think Sunshine Manor doesn’t have adequate hot water. My day is ruined.”

I snorted with laughter at his sarcasm and slapped a hand over my mouth. That so wasn’t me, but it had my beast’s approval.

“Oh, shut it. Both of you. All three of you.” Kellan glared at the cab driver. “You too,” he shouted as he got in the car while giving Ryder the finger and took off without looking, causing a car to slam on its brakes.

My taxi guy shrugged and leapt into the driver’s seat as his phone pinged, and the radio on the dashboard squawked. “Thanks,” I yelled after him.

Ryder was frozen in place, staring after Kellan, when Daire approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll take you for a beer after work. Drown your sorrows.”

“Huh?” Ryder’s glazed eyes were fixed in the direction Kellan had driven.

Daire swiveled and studied me and my pile of belongings. A line appeared between his brows, and I imagined his brain rifling through familiar faces trying to place me. I picked up on the moment it registered. “Archer, right?”

I nodded.

“Thought you were coming Monday?”

For a moment, I considered that I’d entered a time loop last night as I tossed and turned in a small, dingy hotel. A quick glance at my watch confirmed the day. “It is… Monday?”

He quirked a brow. “You're not sure?”

“No.” I stood up straight. “It is Monday.”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Cool. I’m going to be late for class.” He stared at my belongings on the sidewalk. “Need help with those?”

“Thanks.” I slung the messenger bag over my shoulder and heaved the pack on my back. “I’ll ride the bike to work, but the rest of the stuff can go into the apartment.” If he was late for class, he should be hotfooting off to college, but he still had his arm slung around Ryder’s shoulder.

“Ryder?”

“Yeah,” the guy responded.

“You take the suitcase and I’ll carry the box.”

“No, he took the suitcase.” Ryder’s voice faltered.

“Hey man, look at me.” Daire placed his hands on either side of Ryder’s face. “The new tenant in 3A. Archer.”

Ryder’s glazed eyes focused on me. “Oh hi. You’re new here. I’m Ryder.”

“Archer.” His firm grip was a contrast to his slumped shoulders and vacant expression. Maybe that was an alpha stag thing. Daire had mentioned Ryder was a stag shifter when he’d given me the tour. I’d never met a stag and my wolf was distinctly unimpressed, though he was pleased Daire was an omega and a grizzly.

The bear shifter had pointed to all the apartments when he’d shown me around, and named everyone. He’d recited them like a kid doing times tables.

He and Ivor lived in the large apartment 1A on the first floor. Ryder and Kellan in 2A, though that was outdated now. Neil, his old school friend, was in 2B. The third floor was me in 3A and a guy named Micah in 3B.

Daire handed Ryder the suitcase, and after I locked the bike to the fence, I followed the omega and alpha up two flights of stairs.

We dumped the stuff inside my new apartment and Daire handed me the keys. “I’ll buy you a beer one night as a thank you,” I told them. “But I have to get going. First day at work.”

“We have weekly barbecues on the roof, so how about we have a welcome to Sunshine Manor one tonight? My treat. No need to bring anything.” Daire jerked his head at Ryder, who was standing in the middle of my living room looking lost. “What do you say, Ryder?”

“Yeah, sure,” the alpha mumbled.

As the three of us emerged from my apartment, the door to 3B opened and I caught a whiff of the most delicious scent. It hit me in the chest, knocking the breath out of me, and I stumbled backward onto Daire.

“Whoa! You okay?” he asked.

No , my wolf said.

I hiccuped as a man, an alpha, definitely an alpha, emerged through the 3B door. He was probably going to work, though he wasn’t wearing a suit. Smart casual was how I’d describe the way he was dressed. A navy jacket, open-necked shirt, and dark pants.

Even though I judged him to be in his mid-30s, his jaw was covered in salt and pepper scruff. I had to restrain myself from stalking over to him, inhaling his aroma, and licking him.

Go , my wolf told me.

No. I was shy, retiring Archer, the omega who got his assignments in long before the due date and stayed after class to pester the professor with questions.

And today I was starting my new job, and I intended to be there when the front door was unlocked. I didn’t swoon over alphas, particularly ones at least ten years older than me who were glowering at me.

“Micah, great timing.” Daire either ignored the alpha’s death stare or it didn’t register, just like him being late to class didn’t bother him. I’d be freaking out if that were me. “This is Archer, your new neighbor.”

Micah grunted and locked his door. “Student?” He sniffed, eyeing my bulging messenger bag.

“No. I have a job. Personal assistant,” I said proudly.

Another grunt. “I like my sleep, so no loud parties. And keep the hallway tidy.”

“Barbecue on the roof tonight, Micah,” Daire said as he skipped down the stairs.

“Why? We usually have them on a Friday.”

“It’s a welcome to the house get together for Archer,” Daire explained. “Ryder, don’t you have to be at the gym?”

“Yeah.”

“I heard your buddy stomping out of your life. Lucky you never mated. He’s a dirtbag,” Micah addressed Ryder as they went down the stairs with me in the rear. Ryder didn’t reply, though he white-knuckled the handrail. As we approached the front door, a tall, gangly omega barreled out of 1A, almost knocking me over.

“Sorry, sorry.” His hair flopped over one eye, and I noted the adorable sprinkling of freckles on his nose and cheeks. A fellow wolf. His scent announced it.

“Ivor, Archer. Archer, Ivor.” Daire introduced us with a wave of his hand. “We live together. As roommates,” he clarified.

“Why aren’t you at college, Daire?” Ivor asked as he grabbed his sneakers from the porch and hopped on one foot and then the other putting them on. “Didn’t you have an early class? ”

“I do. I did. Don’t worry about the bus. I’ll give you a ride.”

“You’re a star.” Ivor gave his roommate a megawatt smile, and to me he said, “Daire has the coolest sports car ever.”

“Nice.” I unlocked my bike as a voice shouted, “Hello. You must be Archer.” My eyes flicked up to the second floor, where a man was grinning and waving. ‘I’m Neil. Welcome to Sunshine Manor.”

“Thank you,” I replied, instantly warming to him.

“Barbecue tonight, Neil. Be there.”

Neil’s smile faded. “I might have to… you know… work.” He stumbled over the words.

Daire had informed me when he gave me the tour that Neil was human, and before I protested that it went against shifter lore to tell humans shifters existed, he explained they’d gone to school together and he’d spilled the deets one night when they’d had too many beers. “Neil’s cool,” he’d said.

“That’s my ride,” Micah noted as a car pulled up, and he pushed past me, his shoulder brushing against mine. Part of me was pleased he and his intoxicating scent were leaving, and I blinked, hoping to rid myself of the aroma that was prickling over my skin and making my head spin.

But his head jerked around and his smoldering gaze locked on mine, sending goosebumps spiking over my body. I dug my nails into my palms and clamped my teeth on my lower lip while planting my feet on the floor as his fragrance battered me. My wolf was clamoring to take his fur, begging me to let him get close to Micah and scent his beast.

But the thread of longing or loathing that stretched between the alpha and me severed and snapped, and Micah strode toward his ride.

Perhaps it wasn’t too late to cancel my lease and look for another place.