3. Rigg

3

RIGG

I thought the money would last longer than it did. But between the kids outgrowing clothes, food, and the car breaking down, I’d already used a third of it—and we were only a couple months in.

Grandpa Joel offered to help financially, but he was helping enough. Just being there with the kids meant I could pick up a few off-the-books jobs here and there. Working some construction or helping with the clearing of land was usually good for some quick cash. But the writing was on the wall. I had to do more.

If I’d been a useful shifter—if I’d come with a dragon or a wolf or a bear—I could’ve hunted to feed the kids. But I wasn’t. And the few times I went out and attempted to hunt, I spent the whole day getting nothing in my sight.

Animals as a whole tended not to particularly love me. I think because they sensed something was off about me.

And it made sense. My genes were made from shifters but without any of their beasts actually inside me. I never found out if I was a mistake…or their goal at the lab. And maybe it was better not knowing.

I drove into town after promising the kids I’d pick up some cookies for them and grab some more coffee for Grandpa Joel. Technically, I was doing both those things, but mostly, I was going out there to find some cell reception on my burner to see if I had any hits on the lures I’d put out on the internet. I’d intentionally chosen burners that had shit service so my house would be a dead zone. It was the safest way.

To my surprise, there was a hit—a promising one. Usually I knew two exchanges in if they were a dud, and that wasn’t the case this time.

It was hard to tell from the conversation if they were reaching out because they knew who I was…or if it was something else. Then I got the message that sealed the deal for me. Maybe I’m not your average omega. Maybe I’m a little bit of everyone…

Something about the message made me think it was a good idea to go to him. I’d never have a stranger come to me, especially not now that Connor and Lily were with me.

Worst-case scenario, it was just a random guy—and maybe I could parlay that into a little bit of money.

And yeah, it was shitty of me to go there. Stealing from people who thought they were meeting a date would hardly be my proudest moment, but hard times called for desperate measures and all that.

Who knew? Maybe they did know something—something that could help me on my mission to take down the lab. A mission that had been put on hold while I helped get Connor and Lily settled in.

The kids were talking a lot more now, giggling even. I had Grandpa Joel to thank for that. They were his whole world. He spoiled them with attention and human toys, which were much better than having them play on a tablet with crappy shows downloaded on it. I knew at least that much about parenting.

Watching him with the kids taught me so much about the father I wanted to be for them. I still had a long way to go, but each day gave me more confidence that I wasn’t messing up the entire situation.

Even though they opened up to us, they had no more information about how they came to be in the dumpster. Their dreams were pretty repetitive at this point. At first, I’d listened to everything they said when they woke up, trying to get a little bit more information, but I’d gleaned all I could from them.

And now, all I wanted was for those dreams to go away. For these children to no longer be haunted by a past that was never their doing.

If I could get this plan to work somehow—get the labs shut down—that could be a good first step toward that.

We were meeting at a bar called On Tap, and I was nervous about it. It was far too close to the lab and had enough regulars there to put me on edge. The only good thing was that I could be anyone, and I could scope out the person I was meeting with first. If they passed the test, I could shift into somebody else and meet them. If not, I could leave.

The plan was a good one, but it also required that I bring extra clothes with me. Same clothing in a different face was asking for discovery.

“Uncle Joel, I owe you. I’m bringing you back cheese sticks.”

“Oh, I love those,” he said, rubbing his belly. “And if they have those potato skins?—”

“I’m not sure.” I didn’t want to overpromise and underdeliver. “I feel like people don’t really have those anymore.”

He rolled his eyes. “Potato skins are forever.”

I hoped that was true.

I sat down with the kids on the floor. They were building a train track out of some pieces Grandpa Joel had brought over on his second trip here. They’d belonged to his son when he was a child but never wanted afterward. He’d joined the military and moved overseas. Joel didn’t say anything about what happened from there, but… he was gone now.

On some level, it was probably therapeutic to see other children playing with the old toys.

“Hey, guys, I have to go to work for a little bit.”

Connor squinted, looking at me as if I were a puzzle. “What kind of work?”

“It’s a meeting. Boring work.”

He frowned. “Then I don’t want to go.”

That was good because he hadn’t been invited. “Understood. Tomorrow we’ll do something fun—maybe bubbles.” I’d seen online how to make a bubble mix out of dish soap. I wasn’t positive it would work as well as the kind you bought at the dollar store, but we had dish soap, so it was worth a try. “All right. I’ll see you two later.”

I gave them hugs and left for the bar.

It was easy to find a parking spot, but I chose one a few alleys over because I didn’t want my motorcycle to stand out in anyone’s memory. I walked into the bar, glad there was no cover charge to get in. I didn’t have a license that would match my current face since I was wearing one I’d stolen off a billboard I saw on the way over. I didn’t think the guy was too famous, but I guess we’d find out soon enough.

The second I walked in, it was like the place was hugging me.

It smelled so good. No—not it, someone. Someone smelled so good.

I needed to get to my meeting. There was no time in my schedule to be hunting down whoever smelled so delightful.

But I was distracted. I had to at least find the source before I could think.

Weaving through the bar, I followed my nose straight to the back. The sign on a door said Employees Only, but I didn’t care. I had to find the owner of the scent that was calling to me.

When I stepped inside, I saw him. “Wolf?”

He stood up and walked right to me. He sensed it too—this need, this desire.

I thought he was going in for a hug, but instead, he reached behind me and shut the door. Then he locked it. “You’re mine,” he said before he dropped to his knees.

My jaw was open as I watched the guy I knew only as Wolf open my pants and pull out my dick. I knew I should have stopped him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. My whole body was angled toward him as he leaned forward and sucked me into his hot mouth.

“Fuck.” My fingers curled into his hair, and I held him as my hips pushed in and out. “You sure know how to greet a guy.”

He hummed around me as he moved faster. Apparently, words weren’t necessary. It wasn’t a bad first impression. Quite the opposite, in fact. I felt completely calm for the first time in my life. A casual blow job usually made my adrenaline spike in equal measures with guilt. But this time, all I felt was…complete.

With that thought, I exhaled a groan and shot my load into Wolf’s mouth, watching his eyes close as he lapped up every drop. When he pulled back and sat on his heels, the lazy grin he shot up toward me almost made me drop to my knees and return the favor.

Then I remembered what I looked like. A freakin underwear model. “Thanks, um, but I’ve got to go.”

“What?” He stood up but kept his hand on my hip. “You’re leaving?”

“Sorry.” I tucked myself back into my pants and zipped up. “That was great, though.”

It took every ounce of strength I had to step out of the small breakroom and into the bathroom so I could shift into someone else. Someone who didn’t just get a blowjob from someone who felt suspiciously like someone I needed to get to know.

In the privacy of a stall, I slipped off my t-shirt and put on a polo. Okay, Rigg. Go meet your contact.

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