The Shifter's Future Mate (Fayoak Romance Book 1) Read online

  I was at her side immediately. "What is it?" The smile reappeared on her face. "What’s what?"

  I saw the echo of pain in her eyes.

  "Meghan," I said in a stern tone. "I saw that. Something hurt. What’s up?"

  She started to smile but her face collapsed, her brows drew down and she bit her lip. It only lasted a moment. Her face relaxed and she looked at me again. This time I saw worry in her eyes.

  "I don’t know," she whispered. I could hear the panic edge its way into her voice.

  "The baby?" I asked, rubbing her arm.

  She shrugged and looked to the side, not meeting my gaze.

  "How long have you been having pain?"

  She shook her head, finally meeting my eyes. "Not long. Only this morning."

  "Did you tell Joseph?" As soon as I asked the question I knew the answer. If she’d told her husband she was having pain, he wouldn’t have left her side.

  She shook her head. "It started a little bit ago. He’s at work, and I didn’t want to worry him."

  "Meghan . . ." I pushed back my anger. My sister was scared and not thinking straight. I needed to get her help. I pulled out my phone.

  "Who’re you calling?" she asked, worry in her tone.

  "You need to get to the hospital. I’m calling for an ambulance."

  She reached out and grabbed my hand before I could dial, her grip was strong and her nails dug into my skin.

  "No. I don’t need an ambulance. I don’t need to go to the hospital." Her tone was firm.

  "You’re being ridiculous. You need medical attention. You could be going into labor."

  Meghan shook her head; her jaw took on that stubborn tilt. "No, call Sophie."

  "Who’s Sophie?" The longer she delayed, the more worried I became. My sister was being stubborn, and needed help. But if I forced her, she wouldn’t cooperate and things could get worse.

  "She’s my midwife. My phone is by the coffee pot. She’s in my contacts."

  I rushed over to the counter and picked up her phone as I slid mine back into my pocket. I wondered why this was the first time I’ve heard of her midwife. I thought she was under the care of a doctor. I made it a point to have dinner with my parents and sister when I came into town, and no one had mentioned this Sophie before.

  I found her number and hit call. It was answered on the second ring.

  "Meghan, is everything okay?" a calm female voice answered.

  "This is Meghan’s brother, Maddox. She’s having some pain," I said.

  There was a moment of silence, then she said, "Is she in too much pain to talk?"

  "No," I said as I glanced over at her.

  "Can you please hand the phone to Meghan?" Her voice remained the same calm, soothing tone throughout. The type of tone that made a person want to do what she said without argument.

  I handed the phone to my sister and listened as she answered the midwife. Thanks to shifter hearing, I heard both sides of the conversation. The most important part, though, was "I’ll be over in a few minutes. Stay calm. Breathe."

  My sister hung up and put the phone on the table, a look of relief on her face.

  "Gonna call Joseph now?" I asked.

  She shook her head. "No. He’s wrapping up everything so he can take time off when the little monster arrives." She rubbed her stomach affectionately. "If it’s something serious, I’ll let him know. But if I call before I know anything, he’ll freak."

  "He’s going to be pissed." I knew I’d be pissed if my mate was in this situation. Whoever she was . . . if I ever found her.

  She shook her head again. "We discussed this. Besides, you’re here. If something . . ." A grimace crossed her face, then she took a deep breath and continued, "If something is happening, you can help and rally the troops."

  I scowled. My sister was being stupid. I reached into my pocket to pull out my phone and call my brother-in-law when there was a knock on the door. It immediately opened and the voice I recognized as Sophie called out, "Meghan, where are you?"

  "Kitchen," Meghan replied with a look of relief.

  A moment later, a tall, regal looking woman with striking features strode confidently into the kitchen. She nodded at me then immediately turned her attention to my sister. My jaw dropped with surprise. Sophie was a cat-shifter. There was no mistaking the scent. Why hadn’t my family told me? They knew I was hunting for a mate, and this female shifter was my sister’s midwife. Yet no one had said anything.

  "Sophie," Megan said with a strained smile, "thank you so much for coming."

  "Anytime." She smiled gently, then directed a questioning look at me. "Who's this?"

  "Ah, right." Meghan held out her hands, one pointed at each of us. "Sophie, meet my brother, Maddox. Maddox, Sophie."

  I nodded and held out my hand. She shook it. Her hand was warm and soft, her grip was strong and firm. She met my gaze and smiled, and I noticed how her face lit up when she smiled. She was beautiful. And yet, I didn’t feel a thing. Not a twinge of interest or stirring of excitement.

  She nodded her head and turned her attention to Meghan. "Tell me what’s going on."

  My thoughts distracted me and I missed some of the questions the midwife asked Meghan. I decided that was probably for the best and let Sophie’s calm, cool, and collected voice wash over me. I got the feeling nothing rattled her. She was a soothing influence on my sister, too. I saw the tension go out of her shoulders and she relaxed.

  I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room to give my sister some privacy. I circled around the couch, running my hand along the back, the dark gray fibers smooth under my fingers. The burgundy pillows were indented, as if Meghan had been resting on the couch earlier. A rainbow-colored crocheted blanket was folded up on the side. Another project of hers, perhaps?

  I sat in the chair by the couch, and when it swung backward I jumped to land several feet away, barely missing the wooden coffee table. I studied the seat suspiciously. I should have realized it was the rocker-glider Meghan got as one of her baby shower gifts. The dark wood contrasted sharply with the light gray fabric. I reached out and poked the padding on the arm, my finger sinking in.

  Much sooner than I expected, Meghan called me back into the kitchen. I gave one more suspicious look at the chair before I left the room. When I walked in the kitchen, Sophie stood up.

  "Thank you for making a house call," I said. I’d been surprised to hear she was coming over. I’d expected her to tell Meghan to come to the office.

  "Not a problem. I share a practice with a couple other midwives. One of us is always available for house calls, especially when the little ones are about to come out into the world."

  "So it was pure luck we got the shifter midwife to be here?" I teased.

  She winked. "Of course. Actually, I like to be there for the shifter births in our practice. So even if I wasn’t on call, I would have been here."

  She turned back to Meghan and said, "Don’t hesitate to call me if you feel anything odd. That’s why I gave you my number. Call right away, okay?"

  Meghan nodded. "Thank you."

  "You’re welcome," Sophie said. "I’m off. I’ll see you at your appointment in a couple days." She turned to me. "Nice to meet you, Maddox." Then she was out the door as fast as she arrived.

  Meghan yawned, drawing my attention.

  "So, you’re okay?" I asked, needing to be sure. I knew the midwife wouldn’t leave if she wasn’t, but I had tried to ignore the conversation they had.

  She nodded. "Yeah. They call it false labor. Perfectly normal."

  "Gonna call Joseph now or do I need to?"

  She smiled. "I’ll call him, Mr. Mom. But I think I’m going to go lay down before I do. If I tell him I’m going to take a nap, he’ll wait to rush home until lunch." She held out a hand, inviting me to help her up. I took her hand and gently helped her to her feet. I worried she was going to topple over at any minute. Logically, I knew everything was perfectly normal, but she was my pregnant littl
e sister. Plus, it looked like she was going to burst.

  My sister escorted me to the front door and gave me a hug. "Rose told you about the neighborhood barbecue tomorrow night, right?"

  "Yes," I said, wondering how she knew I’d talked to Red.

  "Great, you gonna make it?"

  "I wouldn’t miss it," I said.

  She smiled and closed the door before I could ask her anything else. I walked to my truck and glanced at my watch. I still had several hours to kill before I picked up Red. I was full of energy, from the encounter with Alexander as well as the scare with my soon-to-be-born niece or nephew. Some hard physical labor would cure what ailed me.

  I quickly made a couple of calls to put things in place for tonight, then drove a few miles to the edge of town and turned right. Out here the lots were sold in a minimum of one acre. On the left side of the road was all forest service land. Primarily pine trees, but some aspen and fir popped up here and there. Houses dotted the right side of the road. I turned on the third street and pulled into the fourth driveway. The dust from the unpaved road blew down the street after me.

  I closed the truck door and studied the house. I knew there was minimal furniture inside and no electronics. No television, no stereo. No appliances. When I purchased the house years ago and renovated it, I decided my mate would want a say in those purchases. It reminded me of what you’d see in an open house. Or the sample house for a new development.

  A blank slate for someone to start their new life. Appropriate, since that’s what it was. Frustration gnawed at me at the thought. I was ready to start my new life. I’d been searching so long for my mate. Sometimes I despaired of ever finding her. I sighed. The house was going to have to remain empty for now.

  My family didn’t know about this house. Red didn’t know, either. Only the cleaning company I hired and Charlie, a handyman who checked on it regularly and did any necessary repairs, knew about this house.

  I went around to the side and opened the gate to go to the toolshed in the backyard. Charlie had mentioned during our last call that one of the trellises needed repairs, which would be the perfect distraction.

  I got out the tools and got to work. One task led to another, and I suddenly realized the shadows had gotten longer. I checked my watch. I had just enough time to run to my rented cabin and take a shower before getting Red. The last thing I wanted was to be late. I planned to give her an evening she wouldn’t forget. By the time I was done, she wouldn't remember the name Alexander.

  5

  Roselani

  I glanced up at the door to The Peach as it opened, a smile ready despite the confusion in my mind. My smile drooped a little at the corners when I saw the three women who walked inside. They tossed their hair around like horses trying to swat flies with their tails. I was sure they thought it was cute.

  I groaned inwardly at my own thoughts. I had enough going on in my head already, I didn't need a visit from my regular tormentors. The terrible trio started their nasty comments and snide remarks in high school and never grew out of it. I had struggled even more with my abilities back then and spent a lot of time bumping into things as visions overtook me.

  On one memorable occasion, it had been the almighty Heather, the leader of the group, that I smacked into. She had taken it super personally and made it her mission to harass me well into adulthood—all because of one accidental bump. Unfortunately, they were customers and I had to be polite. I swallowed my pride and prepared for their insults. I perked up my smile and walked over to greet them.

  My eyes flicked to the counter to see if Rhonda was there. She hated these three with a passion and sparks flew whenever they interacted. She didn’t feel the need to be polite and insulted them right back. I had no idea what their issue was, and she wouldn’t talk about it. I suppressed a sigh of relief when I saw her talking to a customer.

  "Welcome to The Peach. Will it be a booth, counter, or table for you three today?" I carefully kept my voice pleasant. It was so hard to act civilized with them when they complained about everything, but I gave it my best. I didn't want to make eye contact for too long, so I quickly turned to grab their menus.

  "Booth. The big one in the corner," Heather said with a demanding snap of her fingers. "Ugh, clean it first. Even from here it looks disgusting."

  I gritted my teeth but kept my smile in place. We cleaned the tables as soon as the customers left, but I popped behind the counter to grab a spray bottle and rag anyway.

  I figured she would want the corner booth on top of it all. It was way too big for three people, but it was clearly visible from the door, and she could pretend she was a queen in her throne with everyone looking at her as they entered.

  I mentally sighed. Thankfully it was the afternoon lull, so we didn't need the booth at the moment. Plus, everything about her tone dared me to tell her she couldn't have it. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. That was one hissy fit I'd rather not deal with, especially today. A lump formed in my throat as my mind drifted back to Maddox but I swallowed it and pushed those thoughts aside.

  "Follow me," I said with a cheerful smile and walked toward the corner booth.

  I heard a derisive snort behind me and soon recognized the voice of Rachael, top underling to Heather, whisper, "Why does she always smile like that? It's so weird."

  "I don't know, I think it's kind of nice," Paige, the last member of the terrible trio, whispered.

  "Don't be ridiculous," Heather snapped.

  I set their menus down on the booth's table, maybe a little harder than necessary, and stepped aside for them to slide in. I couldn't wait for my day to be over.

  "Thomas will be your server today," I said, relieved they weren't in my section. They were never as snotty with the male servers, either. "Enjoy your meal."

  My mind was all over the place as I finished up my shift at The Peach. For once, it wasn't because of wonky visions of the future tugging at my mind. It was Maddox. Again. Or should I say still?

  I frowned as I sprayed down a table. This was so unusual. Things with Maddox had always been so simple. He was the breath of fresh air that filled my lungs a few times a year. He was what kept a smile on my face. And yet, here I was, frowning so much that I was starting to seriously worry about wrinkles. I shook my head and sighed. I knew I was simply shunting aside what really bothered me. I was deathly afraid that Maddox had bad news that he was struggling to tell me.

  It was time for me to start seriously considering that maybe, after years of searching, he had finally found his mate. It was a thought that forever lurked in the back of my mind throughout our years of sneaking around. I knew he had to find his lucky lady someday. When he did, he would settle down in Fayoak, and we would pretend nothing ever happened between us. We would be friends, nothing more. The thought made my stomach uneasy, but I held out hope that it wouldn't be until I found someone who could match up to Maddox. No one had so far.

  I wiped down the table a little more aggressively. It was already far past clean and was dangerously approaching being wiped out of existence if I kept this up, but I couldn't stop myself as it squeaked as if to shout, "I'm clean, really!" in protest.

  I sprayed the table once more. Then wiped it. Then sprayed it again.

  All I could think about was when Maddox pulled me into the gift shop and kissed me like his life depended on it. Suddenly that kiss took on a whole new meaning. It was a goodbye, wasn't it? He couldn't break it to me at that moment, so he kissed me instead. He probably promised himself he would tell me later. How dare he? I sprayed the table again, it needed another, even more aggressive wipe after that thought.

  It only took me another second of thought to regret ever thinking of him that way. Maddox wouldn't kiss me if he had found his mate. He wouldn't. Yet, I couldn’t stop obsessing over the idea.

  As I thought about him finding his mate, I felt a vision tug at me. No. I fought against it. I wanted to ignore it, make it go away. I didn't want to know, but I couldn't stop a vis
ion from coming. I found myself wishing in that moment that I was anything but clairvoyant. I liked it in the moments when it kept my uniform stain free and my customers delighted, but it was hard to live your life in denial of certain things when the future popped into your head in full-color visions.

  My face twisted into a grimace as the vision rolled into my mind like fog and snuck into all the crevices of my thoughts. It was suddenly all I could see. I knew from a lifetime of experience that it only took a matter of microseconds, but the visions felt so much longer while they happened.

  The fog cleared slightly and I found myself inside a car. Maddox was driving. Meghan was there, too. And there was someone else. I couldn't make them out for some reason. I wondered if it was Joseph, Meghan's husband, or if it was someone else entirely. Maybe Maddox's mate. Dismay hit me at that thought.

  Maddox looked so relaxed. Happy. I tried to wade through the gray fog to get a good look at whoever it was. I was nearly there when I felt a hand fall on my shoulder.

  "Roselani, I think you've wasted enough of that bottle," a familiar voice clipped out.

  I tried to chase after the vision as the fog receded, but it was already gone.

  I slammed back into the present and turned to face the concerned gaze of my grandmother. I could tell from the faint purse of her lips that I had done something wrong. It was only then that I realized I was still spraying the table. I quickly stopped squeezing the trigger, but there was already a pool of blue liquid threatening to spill over the sides.

  "Oh, crud," I said with a groan. "I'll go get some more rags."

  I took one step toward the counter, but my grandmother reached out and wrapped her slender fingers around my shoulder, almost imperceptibly, yet it was enough to root me in place.

  "What's wrong?" she asked simply.

  "Oh, nothing," I lied, although I knew she saw right through me. "Did you know Maddox is back in town? For Meghan's baby." I hoped she’d buy it.