27. TWENTY SEVEN
TWENTY SEVEN
Colton
When I check my phone, there’s a message from PR reminding me about the photo shoot I agreed to do today. I hope I’m not pushing Natalia to move to fast. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s my fated mate and this is what I want.
It felt so right to sleep with her in my arms and wake up to her in my bed, her hair spread out over my pillow and the sweet scents of clover, thyme, and oats perfuming my sheets.
But she was raised human. She might have taken all the shifter stuff in stride so far, but there’s got to be a part of her that feels alarmed by all the change.
Jayden is in a happy mood today. He cooed and kicked on the changing mat and now burbles to me from his bouncer as I make breakfast.
Natalia comes out of the shower looking delicious, and I want to lift her onto the kitchen counter, spread her legs, and make her my breakfast, but I also feel like Jayden is getting a little bit old to witness that!
I don’t know. How much will he remember of what he sees while he’s this young?
I have so many questions about parenting that I never even thought of before I became a dad.
Natalia twists her long hair to one side, squeezing the water out with a towel. “I think that onesie is looking a little tight on Jayden. He’s grown! Have you got things in the next size up?”
Sure enough, the buttons between his legs are bulging and his little chubby legs are showing through the holes. Come to think of it, when did his legs get those adorable little rolls in them?
I grin at her. “He has grown! All that creamy milk he’s been drinking.”
Her scent grows richer, and I have to go to her. It’s literally impossible to keep my hands off her when she smells this good.
I slide my hands over her waist and lift her onto her toes so I can lean down to kiss her lips. It’s still a long way down. She’s so much shorter.
She pushes me away playfully. “You will make it so I have to go take another shower.”
“No need for a shower. I can be on cleanup duty.”
This time I let her push me away, knowing I can’t take this further right now. I’m looking forward to the next time we can be all alone, though.
The drive to the location for the photo shoot is over in the blink of an eye. Jayden coos happily in the backseat, and I slide my hand into Natalia’s lap, turning up the volume on the stereo and basking in the rightness of the moment.
The sun is shining and there are hardly any clouds in the sky.
The location Thorpe sent me is a private homestead that backs onto the Black Pines National Park just outside town.
It’s truly beautiful up here. The rugged mountaintops jut out from their covering of pine trees like rocky crowns, and overhead a bird of prey screams. The parking lot is full of cars, and as soon as we get out, we’re bustled into two tents where we have makeup applied and someone fusses over my hair, which keeps wanting to fall into my eyes.
Jayden is dressed in the team colors in a tiny black-and-green onesie with my number on the back, which is so unbearably adorable a big warm knot rises up in my chest and threatens to bring tears to my eyes.
Then they lead Natalia out, and my heart about stops as I forget how to breathe just looking at her. She’s dressed in a tight pink skirt that hugs all her curves and makes my mouth water. Her hair is loose over her shoulders and down her back, just emphasizing her waist and the spread of her ass.
Someone nudges me. “I said, are you ready to get started?”
“Hmm? Oh! Yes.”
There’s laughter in her eyes when I turn back to her and hold out my hand. She steps forward and takes it, and Jayden reaches out his chubby arms from his position on my hip until she picks him up.
They have a big Lumberjacks banner set up, and we take photos in several positions in front of that first. Initially Jayden is settled and happy looking around from his vantage point cuddled up with Natalia.
They move us to a little grove between three huge pine trees, and he starts tugging at her top restlessly, wriggling around in her arms until I eventually take him.
I recognize some of the folks from the team’s PR department. There are lots of photographers and makeup artists and people holding umbrellas or reflector panels and a guy that keeps offering us water.
Jayden’s fussing becomes more frantic. Someone from behind me calls, “Take the baby. Let’s get some shots of just the couple.”
I’m nervous about how Jayden will react to being held by someone he doesn’t know, but the assistant photographer has a toy hat makes a silly noise when you shake it, and Jayden is immediately fascinated. I laugh at his squeal of delight. “You’ve done this before.”
She gives me a wink. “I’ve done a lot of family photos.”
The head photographer waves me and Natalia back into position. “Put your arm around her. Yeah like that. That’s nice. Just keep looking at her exactly like that.”
I can’t help it. She looks so goddam beautiful, and the awareness that she’s doing this for me, making a statement that we’re together, well it’s making me wish we had time for the mating claim this morning.
I turn myself a little more toward Natalia to hide the growing bulge in my trousers and try to think unsexy thoughts. Easier said than done with my mate in my arms.
Thankfully the photographer wants more shots in different positions, and I have to focus on his instructions. Then the makeup artist is back, waving a brush in my face and patting down my forehead to make sure we don’t look shiny in the pictures.
I can’t believe Jayden stays quiet the entire time. In fact, I don’t hear a peep from him, which is unusual.
I’m just starting to look around for him when the assistant photographer comes back with a big light on a pole.
I frown. My bull is restless, sensing something off. “Where’s Jayden?” I ask her.
The assistant photographer sets down her light and turns to me. “Oh, someone else on staff took him for a moment so we can get this shot right. The lighting has changed, and you’re going to need some help so you don’t end up with dark circles.”
“OK, but who?” Natalia has obviously picked up on my tension. Her arm grows tight around my waist.
“Oh, ah… I don’t know her name. She was just over there.” The assistant photographer frowns, her black brows pinching together. “Oh that’s weird. I don’t see her anywhere. She was just there.”
“Hang on a moment.” Releasing Natalia I step away from the photo shoot, looking over the group of people gathered around.
I see a man and a satyr who work in PR and a few people bustling around the makeup tents.
Over by the trucks in the parking lot there are more people, but not a single one is holding my son.
What the fuck?
This is not happening.
“Where is he?” I hear Natalia ask.
I run my hands through my hair, probably making a mess the makeup team will have to fix later.
Right now that’s the last thing on my mind.
The collar of my button-up shirt feels too tight.
In fact, all my clothes feel like they’re strangling me as my bull pushes beneath the surface of my skin to be let free.
“Someone find my son!”
The assistant photographer’s eyes turn into saucers ,and she stares around frantically. “Oh my god. This is my fault.”
Strangely, no one tells me to stay calm. I can’t decide whether that’s good or bad. I’m already telling myself—telling my bull—to reign in it. I can’t afford to lose my head and charge or gore someone if I let my beast take over.
I can’t scent him anywhere nearby. Natalia still smells vaguely of him, and the faintest touch of his scent lingers on the woman who held him, but in human form my senses are so dull.
With a huff of frustration, I begin unbuttoning the shirt. “I need to shift.”
Years of experience working with the shifters on the team mean that there are immediately two attendants with towels poised to cover my modesty as I tear off my clothes to make the shift quickly.
“I’ll check the tents,” Natalia calls, already moving toward them. That’s good. That’s smart thinking.
Someone has probably just taken him into the shade or behind the tent to keep him distracted. That’s all.
My bull bursts from beneath my skin enthusiastically. My body splits and reforms into the half-beast shape of my midway form, feet shaping into hooves, tail flicking from side to side, and shoulders and torso doubling in size as horns sprout from my head.
As soon as I’m in this form it feels like someone has whipped a wet cloth away from my head. I can smell a million new scents on the air, subtle hints of my own fear and worry against the acrid backdrop of my mate’s fear.
I snort as a flash of hot anger makes my vision go red for a moment, struggling to keep control of myself. She’s not in danger, I remind my bull. She’s just worried about Jayden. We’re going to clear this up and everything will be OK.
The attendants jump out of my way as I charge toward the tents, halting in front of the second one as Natalia bursts out with wide eyes. “He’s not here.”
We search everywhere on location. The head of PR lines up all the staff and every person is questioned. There’s not a single sign of Jayden.
Then I catch it.
The scent is uncomfortably familiar, covered with a ton of nasty perfume that makes the back of my throat sting and my eyes water, but it’s there. A scent I should not be smelling anywhere near my mate and child.
Siobhan.