8. Getting on all fours
8
GETTING ON ALL FOURS
Micah
I’d finally found someplace I fit in. Sunshine Manor was a motley crew of rando shifters, sure… but we fit together. And maybe that was exaggerating things just a bit, but I was comfortable here and I didn’t want to leave, and just thinking about it had me on edge.
We didn’t stay on the roof long, all of us in a pretty shit mood pretending not to be. It would've been nice if Daire had told me about the potential for having the place sold early and for sure before he let the new guy move in.
Not that I was thinking about the new guy. Nope. Not me.
And really it wasn’t fair to be so harsh on Daire. He was doing the best he could given his shit parents. And yes, I judged them all the way to the fucking moon and back. They were messing with more lives than just their son’s, and they were toxic as fuck.
I fumbled with my keys, unsure why I even bothered to lock it when I went to the meeting. Our building was secure and no one here would steal. And if they did, what would they take? Anything I had of value had been stolen when my ex decided to fuck me the unfun way on his way out of my life.
Geez. Bitter much.
“Want some help?” Archer. Great. He got to see me fumbling with my door like I was drunk.
Like he had been when he tried to kiss me.
I so wasn’t going there.
“No.” I turned around and leaned back against the door; his animal was close. So close I could see him in his eyes, just the barest tinge of yellow. “I don’t know. I think I need a run.” It would do me well to get under the moonlight. Better than being all trapped in my head not watching the Netflix show running in the background.
“Yeah. I’d like that. Thanks.” He stuck his hands in his front pockets and blushed.
How did he think that was an invitation? I played it back in my head. Crap, I had invited him—sort of.
“You aren’t going to eat my ass, are you?” I needed to get a filter; his face was turning a brighter shade of red and my cock was crossing its—something—that he would say that was exactly what he planned to do.
“I don’t hunt a lot.” He pulled in his lip with his teeth. “Where can we go around here that we won’t get in trouble?”
“Same as before. It’s ours to use whenever.” And yet another great perk of this place.
“Cool. I’m ready whenever you are.”
And off to shift we went. Neither of us said anything during the car ride. And really, that was for the best. I’d have whined about how shitty Daire’s genes were and he’d be talking about his new place, a place where I wouldn’t bump into him regularly and where he would be living with Ivor and Neil.
Which was pretty sucky of Ivor given how much Daire helped him, but also I had a feeling Daire was going to have the choice of casa de la Dad or get cut off. So maybe it was his way of making Daire feel less horrible.
“It’s a nice night,” Archer said and closed the car door. “Thanks. My wolf needs this. Is your unicorn a butt like that too?”
“You don’t know much about unicorns, do you?” He shook his head. “We don’t have a beast like you. Sometimes I wish I did so I could have someone to talk to, but that’s not how we are.” I didn’t get into how I had a make-believe beast as a child or how I still sometimes thought of my other self as that to keep the loneliness away.
His face was blank, not giving me a hint of how he was adjusting to the news. “How else are unicorns different?” He didn’t look weirded out like others had when I told them, but then again, he already had a guy and roommates and… I needed to cut it out.
“We can only mate unicorns. Other than that—same-o, same-o.” The mating thing sucked. It wasn’t like I ran into tons of unicorns. That whole too many fish in the sea saying might be true about fish shifters, but not unicorns.
“I guess all shifters have some bullshit that goes along with them.” He ripped his shirt up and over his head. “My pack alpha had my mate picked out for me at birth. I’m not even shitting you.”
He unbuttoned his pants. “Thank goodness she told him to pound salt via mating his son behind his back.”
And down went the zipper.
Don’t look. Don’t look. Avoid his crotch.
I was looking. Why did he have to be so hot?
“That was fun,” and down his pants dropped, and what was he wearing? Not underwear, his thick cock hanging there. It wasn’t even hard and it still put most men to shame.
He stepped out of his pants. “Are you coming?”
If he kept that up, I sure would be. My mind raced back through my dream the other night. I’d never admit how many times I whacked one off to that memory. And if he didn’t shift and take his fur soon, I’d be adding one more to it as soon as I could get my ass home.
“Yeah. Go ahead without me. See if I can get you.” I hadn’t thought through how much his wolf would rise to that challenge, and he was off like a shot as I fumbled with my clothes and took off after him.
I didn’t have the nose of the wolf, but I had speed and I had sight. Not sight where I could read a road sign from the top of the mountain, but I could see where his wolf had been, like he left a trail… one no one else but me could detect.
Not that it was a me skill. All unicorns had it. It was one of the many things in our tool box that kept us safe. Heck, I could look like a horse if I worked at it really hard and I was ashamed to admit there were times I did that just to have a place to run, and a farm was nearby. Younger Micah had no shame.
I followed his trail running fast and hard, the teal path getting darker as I got closer. It was obvious by the way Archer ran that he had no idea how skilled unicorns were. He was going in a straight path without once trying to set some false leads. I was going to need to teach him a few things, starting with never underestimate your predator. Not that he was in that position often. Wolves were pretty much the top of the food chain in most settings.
But he was an omega, and a hot as hell omega, and that drew a certain kind of attention, not all of it from well-intentioned people. He needed to be safer, starting with false trails or at least some circling around a tree here or there.
It wasn’t long until even I, with my shit unicorn smell, could scent him, and I pushed even harder and joined him in a small clearing. Unlike with another wolf, there was no wrestling fun for him, he just submitted, then shifted. There was too much room for injury between my horn and his teeth.
“Color me impressed.” He looked me up and down, his eyes settling on my horn. “Does that thing have like, tracking powers?”
I shifted a few feet from him.
“No tracking powers in my horn.” I chuckled. “Why didn’t you try to outmaneuver me?”
He looked to the ground. Crap. I hadn’t meant to embarrass him.
“I thought you… you're sort of like a horse, and horses are prey, not predators.” I could see his point.
“Next time you won’t be so lax.”
“Next time? I’d like that.” He kicked the dirt in front of him. “I like to play. It’s a wolf thing, but without packmates… I don’t know. This was fun.”
“Night’s not over.” His head snapped up at my words. “Your turn. ”
I jumped, shifting mid-air, and contrary to the advice he gave me, I ran a straight line to the car at top speed, arriving only moments before he did.
“Nice.” He smirked as he reached for his shirt. “Telling me how to play it all safe and then doing exactly what I did.”
“Ahh, but for different reasons, one being we had a finish line.” I didn’t have to keep him at bay, I just needed to be first to my car.
“And what if we didn’t, or what if I was someone dangerous?” Like a human went unspoken.
“Want to see something?” He nodded, and before I could change my mind, I shifted into a unicorn with my horse glimmer on.
His jaw dropped. “You are officially the most magnificent creature I have ever met.”
I neighed, then shifted back and threw my jeans on quickly, afraid that I would catch a glimpse of his ass before I was dressed and my boner would point at him like a homing beacon.
“Your wolf is pretty spectactical too.” Way to not say anything. “I mean spectacular.” He was too—the sheer strength he exuded—the grace of his movements.
His stomach growled loud enough that even if I wasn’t standing a bit too close to him and my attention wasn’t solely on his every move, I’d have heard it.
“Hungry?” I asked.
“Yeah, I need to eat dinner still.” He buttoned his jeans. “Maybe we could drive through someplace on the way home?”
“Orrrrrr… we could go someplace with less grease?” His face lit up at my suggestion. “Got a favorite?”
“Veg-onica’s!” he said without hesitation.
“I don’t know them, so I’ll need directions.” I clicked the car unlocked. “Get in, neighbor. Let’s get some grub.”
Grub was a pretty generous term. At least that was my first impression when I saw that Veg was for vegan. I didn’t need to eat meat all the time, but take away my cheese and I was grumpy.
“You’ll love this place,” he promised, and then leaned in and kissed the corner of my mouth, exiting the car so quickly I wasn’t exactly positive it had even happened.
My junk was… It was ready to go. Because a thank you peck was the same as an invitation as far as my little brain was concerned. Heck, so was a smile and being in the same building. It was getting to be ridiculous.
We went inside and there was one table left in the back, and it really wasn’t even a full table. It was half a booth where both people sat on the same side like they did in the movies.
We ordered burritos, which even I had to admit were delicious. Who knew cheese made from cashews could be so delicious? We mostly talked about work, his sounding dreadful. They pretty much expected him to be on call everyday all day, which was why his stupid phone was always going off. He wasn’t married to social media; he was owned by his damn boss, and for not enough pay if he was living in Sunshine Manor.
Everything was going great until who of all people showed up?
Kellan. And no, he wasn’t alone. He was with a new guy, and they were not just friends unless friends now inspected each other’s tonsils in public.
That was pretty much the end of our night and I could smack Kellan for being such a dirtball boyfriend slash ex-boyfriend for Ryder. Sure, Ryder let it happen, but that didn’t mean he should be a total dick. The whole “might get back together” thing was a ploy to get something from Ryder. I wasn’t sure what, but it wasn’t getting back together.
And to make matters five times worse, the next day as I was planning the staging of the building with Daire, who walked in but Ryder and Kellan, all lovey dovey and hand in hand.
I wanted to puke.
No. I wanted to punch that jerk, but it was not my business. I’d bring it up if Ryder allowed, but if I mentioned anything then and there, he’d double down on his love for the asshole.
“Heard you’re sellin’ this place.” Kellan smirked. “Maybe it was a blessing I moved out after all.”
“Do you need something?” Daire had his fists on his hips. He was kind of adorable when mad and not at all as fierce as he attempted to be.
“We were just going?” Ryder tugged his arm and they left.
“What are you doing here?” Ivor’s voice rang through from the hallway, so of course, being the mature one of the building, I went to see what was up to find Ivor, Neil, Archer, Ryder, and Kellan all out there, all eyes but Kellan’s glued to Kellan.
“Don’t you have someplace other to be?” Archer joined in. He might not know the guy, but he saw what he saw.
“We are leaving,” Ryder promised. “Where are you all off to?”
“Apartment hunting.” Neil’s voice quivered slightly. “Because… you know.”
I did know and I hated it. I didn’t want to move. No one did. There had to be a way to save Sunshine Manor.
If only I could figure out how.