The Baby Shift- Montana Read online

  Jealousy erupted inside Chris. His knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, going white with tension, then gray, then darker.

  Oh shit.

  Chris scrambled out of the seat and onto the asphalt, leaving the truck door hanging off its hinges.

  He was down on the ground, on all fours, breathing heavily, trying to prevent the shift.

  Of all the times for his wolf to come out, it had to be now?

  He looked up to see if Mandy had noticed that he was crawling around the asphalt like a weirdo, but her attention was still focused on Tattoo Guy, as Chris had now deemed him in his head. The other sellers in the lot glanced over at him, so Chris made like he was searching the ground, palming the hot asphalt under his rough palms like he was looking for a key. Really what he was looking for was some chill. He needed to get himself under control—and fast.

  By the time Mandy walked toward the truck, Chris was back in the driver’s seat, tapping his fingers nonchalantly on the steering wheel to the Beastie Boys song blaring from the radio speakers. His claws had retracted, and his hands once again looked human. He’d checked in the mirror on the sun visor to make sure his fangs had also receded, and there wasn’t any excess hair on his face. That was often the last thing to fade after he’d shifted. The rest of him was back to its normal only moderated hairy, upright self, but his face could stay lupine for a good hour sometimes.

  “Hey! Sorry that took so long. Was catching up with someone and lost track of time,” Mandy said as she slid into the passenger seat and closed the door.

  “No problem. Who were you catching up with?” Chris asked, trying to sound nonchalant as he put the car in reverse and slowly backed out of his space.

  “This guy that comes to my stand every week. I think he’s bought pretty much everything I sell at this point, but he keeps coming back! Says my soap is the best he’s ever tried,” Mandy said. Chris could see her smiling from the corner of his eye. He loved seeing Mandy smile, but he hated that someone else was the cause for her grin.

  “That’s cool,” Chris said, nodding as he turned onto N. 27th street and drove toward Mandy’s apartment.

  “Yeah. He, uh…he actually asked me out,” Mandy said, and Chris was glad that they’d come to a stoplight, because his heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest, and he knew he was liable to get in an accident if he didn’t have a few minutes to calm down. He could feel the wolf in him trying to rise up again, and he took deep, bracing breaths to calm down.

  “Chris? Are you okay? You look a little pale,” Mandy said, turning toward him worriedly. “Maybe we should pull over…”

  “Nope! I’m fine!” Chris said and gunned the gas pedal as soon as the light turned green. He sped toward Mandy’s apartment, which was thankfully only a few minutes down the road. He wasn’t sure he could stand to be in the confined space with her much longer than that.

  “Chris, I really think you should pull over. You look like you’re about to shift,” Mandy said, placing a hand on his arm, no doubt in an effort to calm him. Of course, it had the opposite effect. It only heightened the overwhelming feeling inside him.

  Chris shook his head and kept driving. Mandy’s apartment was only two blocks away. He could make it. He just needed to tune everything else out.

  He could hear Mandy continuing to ask him what was wrong as he pulled into a space in front of her building. He got out of the truck seconds after pulling the key out of the ignition, practically falling onto the sidewalk and running toward the brick wall side of the apartment building.

  “Chris? Chris, come on. Tell me what’s wrong. What’s making you shift?” Mandy said, placing a hand on his back. Chris arched into the touch instinctively.

  “Was it something I said?”

  Chris shook his head. He knew he needed to tell Mandy how he felt, but not now. Not when his mind was in a thousand different places, and his body was torn between wolf and human. He couldn’t get the words out, right now. And if that meant letting her go on a date and potentially falling in love with Tattoo Guy, then so be it.

  “Nothing, Mandy. I gotta go. Have fun on your date. I’ll see you next week,” he said, pushing off the wall and avoiding his friend’s wide, worried eyes as he walked past her.

  Chris walked all over the city that day, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. He’d never felt this strongly about anyone or anything before. His emotions had never been the cause of a shift. What did this mean?

  Chapter 3

  “Hey man, I’m on my way, but I’m gonna be a little late. Had to drop the triplets off at my mom’s because Emma needs to get to her yoga class. Can’t wait to catch up.”

  Chris clicked out of his voicemail and dropped the phone on the battered wooden table in front of him. He was at his and Tony’s favorite sports bar, an old school establishment with good beer choices, excellent fried appetizers, and no less than ten TV screens broadcasting pretty much every team sport carried by cable networks.

  He was on his third IPA and was so nervous his knees were shaking. After what had happened a few days ago with Mandy, Chris had decided that he needed to talk to Tony. Not to ask him permission to date Mandy—that would be creepy and antiquated—but rather to ask him what the hell was going on with him.

  Chris suspected the cause, of course, but he had to be sure. He knew that it was normal for werewolves his age to find their mates and feel instantly, fiercely protective over them, even to the point of rage and jealousy. He’d seen it happen with Tony and a few of their other friends. But Chris hadn’t expected it to happen to him so soon, and so strongly. And with his best friend’s sister.

  Sure, he’d been thinking of pretty serious thoughts about Mandy from the moment they reconnected at the farmer’s market, but those paled in comparison to what he’d felt the other day. He’d wanted to throttle Tattoo Guy. Tear him limb from limb. The anger and jealousy that had erupted inside him had been truly terrifying, and it had taken hours of walking around the city to finally calm himself down enough to go home without worrying that he was going to destroy his apartment in a blind rage.

  If this was what love felt like, it was a lot less enjoyable than the rom-coms, poets, and romance novels made it sound.

  “Chris?”

  Chris looked up from where he’d been scratching at a dent in the table to see Tony striding toward him, a beer in his hand.

  “Tony!” he said, trying to wipe the worried look off his face as he leaned in to clap his friend on the back.

  “I’m so glad you called, man. It’s been forever since I saw you,” Tony said, taking a seat on the stool across from Chris.

  “What’s u—” Tony started, but then he stopped. Chris looked up to find his friend peering at him.

  “What? Is there something on my face?” Chris asked, wiping at the beard on his chin.

  “If by something, you mean the look of worry and confusion on your face, then, yes, there is something. Spill, dude,” Tony said, his voice suddenly a lot harsher than it had been a moment ago.

  Chris had hoped they could have a few minutes of actually catching up before he started baring his soul, but his best friend clearly knew him too well. He knew that something was up, something that was far more important than checking in on the minutiae of each other’s lives.

  Sighing, Chris slowly related the whole story. Meeting Mandy again, feeling attraction and connection which, deepened with every passing week. And then, of course, he told Tony about the shifting, the swirling emotions and half-shifting thanks to Tattoo Guy.

  By the end of the sad, sorry tale, both men had finished their beers and were on their second round, a basket of chips and onion dip between them, and a plate of jalapeño poppers on the way. Emotional discussions were always easier with fried food.

  “So that’s pretty much it,” Chris said, taking a swig of his beer. “And I called you here today because I want to know if it’s what it sounds like.”

  “You mean, you want to know if m
y sister is your mate?” Tony asked, and to his credit, he only looked a little uncomfortable at the idea.

  “Exactly.”

  “Well, the short answer is yes. From what you’ve described, at least. It sounds exactly like what it felt between me and Emma. Like, my brain is feminist and knows that Emma is her own damn woman and can talk to whoever she likes, but the wolf in me is so fiercely protective over her and wants her to be mine, mine, mine all the time. The first time I saw her talking to one of her coworkers at the library, I swear, I nearly tore down the whole place. It was…not cool, but you get used to those feelings and learn how to deal with them.”

  “But they don’t go away?” Chris asked.

  Tony shook his head. “Nope. Sorry man. It’s a constant struggle, and I’m sorry to say it doesn’t fade with time. Kind of par for the course, being a wolf in love, dude,” Tony said, shrugging as he popped a chip covered in dip in his mouth.

  “Crap,” Chris muttered, tipping the bottle back to finish the last of his lager.

  “Yeah. But on the plus side, congratulations! You found your mate. Some wolves wait their whole lives for this, buddy. You should be happy. I mean, it sucks sometimes, but it’s also really fucking awesome. You’re mated for life! Woo!”

  “Yeah, except the girl doesn’t know yet. Mandy told me on Sunday that she has a date with some guy who comes to her stall every week.”

  “Oh,” Tony said, lowering his hands from where he’d been waving them above in the air, to the delight of many of their fellow patrons. “Well, then you better tell her.

  “Yeah, thanks. I know,” Chris said, letting his head fall onto his crossed arms resting on the table.

  “Don’t worry,” Tony said, patting him on the shoulder as he stood up.

  “I’m going to get us a few more beers and snacks, and we’re going to devise a plan. I mean, if there’s anyone who knows Mandy, it’s me, bro. I know exactly how to confess your feelings to her. I know all her favorite books and movies. That girl eats up romance like it’s breakfast. We’re gonna go big here. ”

  Chris picked his head up at that, watching the confident swagger of his friend as he sauntered over to the bar. He couldn’t help wondering whether, despite his obvious enthusiasm, Tony was really the best person to help him here.

  Mandy locked the bathroom stall behind her, put the toilet lid down, and sat on it. Her purse was clutched tightly in her hands, and she hastily unzipped it and dug through it, trying to find her phone.

  Once the device was in her hands, she hurriedly clicked on her best friend Mallory’s number and hit dial. It was 9 pm in Vermont right now, so unless Mallory was out on an evening hike, there was a good chance she’d pick up. And Mandy really, really needed her to pick up.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when the familiar high-pitched voice of her best friend called “hello?” down the line.

  “Mall! Thank God you picked up. I need your help!” she whispered into the phone. There was no one else in the bathroom, but Mandy still didn’t think it was right to talk at normal volume from inside a bathroom stall. It seemed wrong, somehow.

  “What’s up? I thought you were on that hot date with the guy from the farmer’s market tonight,” Mallory said, and Mandy could hear the clicking of a keyboard in the background. Mallory must be editing the photos for the company’s Instagram. She was their social media advisor, and Mandy knew they’d had a big photo shoot the day before for the new line of lavender body washes.

  “I am on the date. Or, I’m in the bathroom of the restaurant where I’m supposed to be having the date.”

  “Oh…kay. Why are you in the bathroom? Did something happen? Is the guy a total weirdo?”

  “Sort of. He hates werewolves. And all shifters. He’s spent the last twenty-five minutes talking about how much he hates the new regulations that ensure shifters aren’t discriminated against. Says that shifters are monsters and should have been euthanized so we couldn’t procreate.”

  “Jesus! Does he not know the name of your company?” Mallory exclaimed. The sound of clicking had stopped. Mandy had her best friend’s full attention now, which was good, because she needed help devising an escape plan.

  “He hasn’t put two and two together, apparently.”

  “Didn’t he notice your golden eyes? They’re a pretty dead giveaway. I mean, we all have them. They’re like the only physical feature that sets us apart from humans,” Mallory said.

  “He’s colorblind,” Mandy told her.

  “Oh. Well then. I retract my inner thoughts about him being a clueless dumbass.”

  “Oh no, he’s still a clueless dumbass. I’ve been glaring daggers at him for the last half hour and trying desperately to change the topic of conversation, but somehow he manages to swing literally whatever I say back to shifters.”

  “You don’t think…” Mallory muttered. “You don’t think he’s a hunter, do you?”

  “What, you mean one of those crazy humans who hunts us to try and eliminate our kind? I thought the government had arrested all of them years ago,” Mandy said, incredulous. Surely Mallory couldn’t be serious? She’d obviously been watching too much iZombie again.

  “Oh, my sweet, sweet Mandy. Of course, they haven’t arrested all of them! These kind of people never completely disappear. The world will always have bigoted assholes. It’s just how things are. And it sounds like you might be having dinner with one of them.”

  Mandy paled as the realization that her friend might be right set in. She’d heard about these crazies years ago, back when they’d done raids in the less well-known shifter communities of the Midwest, rounding up shifters and killing them for sport. But those people had been obvious wackjobs. Aiden, however, had seemed so nice and normal when he’d chatted with her at the farmer’s market. They’d bonded over their love of tarot cards and neo-traditional tattoos. He wore vegan leather pants and only used a shampoo that wasn’t tested on animals. He was a hipster vegetarian, not a shifter-killing psycho!

  Or maybe, Mandy’s mind whispered to her, you were just lying to yourself, latching onto the first guy who distracted you from Chris.

  “Shut up,” Mandy muttered to her stupid brain, but Mallory must have overheard because her voice far shriller than it had been a moment ago, yelled, “I was just trying to be helpful! If you don’t want my help, fine!”

  “No! Mal! Wait!” Mandy said, but the call had already dropped.

  Great. What am I gonna do now? I can’t stay in this bathroom all night.

  Mandy got up and unlocked the bathroom door. She washed her hands, reapplied her lipstick, and generally wasted time until finally, she had no choice but to open the door and walk back to her table. Except that as Mandy rounded the corner past the bathroom and back into the dining room, she saw not just Aiden at her table, but also, unbelievably, Chris.

  The two men weren’t chatting, either. They were wailing on each other, and Chris was half-shifted.

  And just like that, Mandy’s night got even more complicated.

  Chapter 4

  “You really think this is going to work?” Chris asked as he adjusted his tie in the mirror next to his front door.

  “Oh yeah. You have to talk to her before she decides on this guy. She might be your mate, but she probably doesn’t realize that you’re hers yet. It can take longer to set in for female wolves. So, you need to act fast if you want to be first in her head, you know?” Tony said, sipping at the glass of wine that Chris had poured him earlier.

  “I guess. I just don’t want to overwhelm her, you know? After a date, I always feel like I need a little time to decompress. I’m not sure I’d want a woman turning up at my door and confessing her love to me,” Chris said, shaking his head as he slipped his blazer on.

  Why he was dressing up to confess his feelings to Mandy was beyond his comprehension, but Tony had insisted that it showed deference, something that Mandy valued in a partner.

  “Okay,” Chris sighed, turning around. “How do I
look?”

  “Like you’re reading to take the plunge. But here, finish my wine,” he said, handing Chris the glass. “For a little Dutch courage,” he added.

  “I’m pretty sure that refers to gin, but thanks.” Chris emptied the glass.

  “The date started at seven, so she should be home by nine. It’s only eight now, so maybe head to a bar or something near her place to wait.”

  “Got it. Thanks for this. It’s a little weird being schooled on how to date a girl by her brother, but also, in a way, kind of progressive?”

  Tony shrugged. “I just want you both to be happy. I know Mandy’s been looking for someone for a while, and you’re my best friend, the best guy I know. I don’t think anyone will ever deserve her, but you’re as close as it gets.”

  “Thank you?” Chris said, confused as to whether he’d just been insulted or complimented.

  “You’re welcome. Now go! I’m going to chill on your couch, watch Devil Wears Prada and drink wine while my wife is away, and my daughters are being watched by their grandmother.”

  “Have fun!” Chris called as he shut the door behind him.

  The walk to Mandy’s place from his house took twenty minutes, and Chris took it slowly, meandering through the streets and enjoying the warm summer night. Summer was his favorite season. The fruits and vegetables were fresh, the days were long, and the sun never seemed to stop shining. It made up for the bitterly cold winters they almost always suffered in Montana when everyone was forced to take shelter inside and wait out the frigid temperatures.