24. Silver
24
SILVER
A loud banging wakes me in the middle of the night. I disentangle my body from Lucas’s, hoping he didn’t hear the noise, too. Then it comes again.
Bang , bang , bang .
The clock says it’s past midnight. I grab for my phone, wondering if have a text that can explain why I have a visitor this late, but there aren’t any new messages. Lucas stirs beside me.
Bang , bang , bang .
He bolts upright, reaching out for me in the dark. “Silver, he’s here.”
Lucas doesn’t have to explain who “he” is. We both know.
I want to reassure him it isn’t Daryll. Back when we were kids, I often reassured him that the sounds we heard in the prairie weren’t his father coming after him. But this is different.
“Wait here,” I say.
“No! You can’t go out there. I’ll go?—”
I take his hand and squeeze it. “You’re pregnant, and Daryll is angry. It would be better if I went. I’m bigger than you. Also, I have combat training, remember?”
That’s a bit of a stretch. Sure, I know how to shoot a gun, but hand-to-hand combat wasn’t on the docket for me in basic training. I did what the traditional recruits called “Cupcake Camp” because I already had a degree in Cyber Security. I’m a lot more useful to the military behind a desk than in a foxhole.
Bang , bang , bang .
“I need to go. You stay here and call the cops if you hear any scary noises, okay?” I say.
Lucas shakes his head. “I’ll do it?—”
“Think of the pups, Lucas.”
That gives him pause. Before he can stop me again, I scramble out of bed and yank on some shorts and a T-shirt. “Stay here.”
As I rush through my house, I realize Daryll will be able to smell Lucas on me. He’s a gray wolf shifter and Lucas is his mate. He’ll probably know we had sex before I even open the door.
Fucking hell . This is crazy. Why didn’t I just call the cops?
“Lucas! I know you’re in there!”
Daryll’s voice is loud and booming. I think of Lucas, who hates loud noise, and anger rises within me. Who does this guy think he is? He hit his pregnant mate, and now he’s threatening him in the middle of the night.
I flip the deadbolt and open the door.
The man on my porch is a lot bigger than I remember Daryll being. His shoulders have filled out, and the mullet Link was so fond of has been shaved down to a buzz cut. He has at least a few days’ worth of scruff on his face and dark circles under his eyes. Worst of all, he reeks of cheap beer and cigarettes.
Lucas is so sensitive to smell, I can’t imagine him wanting to get anywhere near this guy.
I wait for Daryll to sniff out the situation between me and Lucas. Maybe smoking has dampened his sense of smell, because he stares at me expectantly for a full beat before his eyes narrow.
“You wanna tell me why you smell like my omega?” he snarls.
“Nope. Lucas left you. It’s none of your business.”
“Like hell it isn’t. We’re fated mates.” Daryll tries to shoulder his way through my front door, but I stand my ground.
“Get off my property, or I’ll call the cops,” I say.
“Oh, is that how it is? Go ahead. When they get here, I’ll tell them you’re a coon shifter and you’ve got my omega in your bed. Who do you think they’ll help then?”
That stops me cold. I’m far away from the relative safety of the trailer park where raccoon shifters band together when one of us is treated unfairly by the cops. So far, I haven’t had to worry about that because of my silver hair. I look like a polar bear or arctic fox shifter.
“What do you want?” I ask.
Daryll’s lips spread into a nasty smile. “There you go. Now we’re talkin’. All you gotta do is go get Lucas, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“No,” I say.
“Then maybe I should call the cops. Tell them you abducted my omega. Put him under your spell. Bet your neighbors would love to hear that. Do they know there’s a coon shifter living next door?”
I’ve always known there would come a day when my neighbors would find out what I am. I decided long ago that I didn’t care. They can think whatever they want. I’m not ashamed of being a raccoon shifter.
But I am afraid the cops will take Lucas away.
“I haven’t put my paws on him,” I say.
Daryll laughs. “Of course you haven’t. I’m not worried about that.” He leans in closer, until I can smell his rancid breath. “Even a coon shifter wouldn’t want him now.”
Anger courses through me. I remind myself that punching Daryll won’t make him go away. It will probably just make him more violent.
“If nobody would want him, then why are you here?” I ask.
Daryll rolls his eyes. “Because rent’s due next week. And like I said, he’s my fated mate. I can’t fuck anybody else, and I’m horny.”
What a charmer. I can’t believe Fate thought Lucas deserved to be with this guy.
“If you let me put my paws on him, you’d be able to fuck whoever you want,” I say.
“If I let you? Are you fucking kidding me right now? If you want to put your paws on Lucas, be my guest. Free me from my misery.”
I can’t believe this. Daryll would give up his fated mate this easily? Like he was worth nothing?
“What about the pups?” I ask.
“Oh, you gotta take those, too. It’s an all or nothing deal. I’m not paying child support.” He winks at me, like he’s telling a joke—a joke about abandoning his children.
“You’d be willing to sign away your parental rights?”
Daryll considers me skeptically. “Are you being serious?”
“Yes.”
“So you’re telling me that you want my fat, pregnant omega? And you want to adopt all three of my pups?”
I nod.
He throws back his head and laughs.
“Tell you what, Silver. That’s your name, right? I will gladly sign over my parental rights the second my bond with Lucas is over, and I can stick my dick in somebody else. That sounds like a fair trade to me. In the meantime, I need money to pay the rent. So go get him already.”
Daryll is probably drunk. He may not be willing to follow through on any of these promises when or if Lucas is ready to bond to me. But maybe it’s worth it to placate him, at least until then.
“How much money do you need?” I ask.
“Fifteen hundred.”
I don’t have fifteen hundred dollars in cash lying around. I could get it, though.
“Come back tomorrow at two o’clock. I’ll get you your money,” I say. “But only if you leave right now.”
“No way, man. I’m not falling for that. Go get Lucas.” Daryll sways a little. I bet he’ll fall asleep in a few minutes, regardless of where he is.
“Lucas isn’t coming out here. Leave now, and I’ll pay your rent this one time. If you don’t leave, the offer is gone.”
He steps back. “Fine, but I’m holding you to it.”
“Okay.”
He points at me. “I’ll get my money from you.”
“Okay,” I repeat.
“My money and my freedom,” Daryll says, slurring the last word. He stumbles down the steps and toward an old pickup truck in the driveway. I would tell him not to drive if I thought he would listen. Instead, I write down his license plate. The cops can tell him for me.
I close the door and slide the deadbolt home, relieved that Daryll wasn’t interested in fighting someone his own size.
I guess he only hits people who are too small to fight back.