Page 4 of Cider
Chapter 3
Beep. Beep. Beep.
My alarm jerked me from sleep. I turned it off, before I glanced at my phone. No texts.
It was silent in the house. No bustling noises from the kitchen, which was strange. Billy was usually doing something in there in the mornings.
Rubbing my face, I sat up. Oh man. I needed to talk to someone. First though, I needed to get dressed and head out to work.
When I stopped in the kitchen, my thermos of tea sat in the middle of the countertop with a note from Billy.
Cider, emergency at a client's house. I’ll see you this evening. We need to talk.
That wasn’t ominous at all. I crushed the note in my hand, balling it up before throwing it in the trash.
Leaving early for once, I started the walk to the rink. My fox was uncharacteristically quiet, her silence filling me as we went to work.
I looked down at my phone and sent a text off to Maya.
You talk to Billy today?
I didn’t have to wait long for a reply.
Other than he’s avoiding you?
I snorted. That hurt a little but wasn’t surprising.So, he didn’t tell you that a mate bond happened between us?
The phone rang.
“What do you mean you two are mates?” Maya’s voice had a note of excitement in it.
I hopped over a crack in the sidewalk before moving toward the woods as a shortcut to the rink. “It’s a little more complicated than that.” I sighed. “Maya, yesterday was a whirlwind. I have two mates.”
Three heartbeats.
“Well, shit.” She gave a short laugh. “You lucky fox. I’m going to need the full story.”
The rink was around the corner as I hiked up the hill. I wasn’t puffing yet, but I was going to need to sit down once I got to the store.
“When I have the full story, I promise to give it to you. Just don’t say anything to Billy yet.”
“Why don’t you come over in a few days for a session? I know the kids would love to see you. You could even bring your frenemy and brother for some bonding time.”
Maya ran a yoga studio out of her house. But with a twist. All her kids were goat shifters too. She taught yoga with goats. The kids loved it and so did her clients.
What can I say? She and her brother used their shifting abilities to make money. It was impressive. The humans loved it.
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea. I know Quinten won’t be able to say no. He loves Nico and all the others. Text me the details when you want this and I’ll have Igor watch the shop for me.”
Igor was my part time worker. She still worked for Iris’ flower shop, but when we became friends, she’d been bored, so I’d offered her the part time gig. She was also a Venus Fly Trap. She used to have an illusion spell from Iris’ mom, but thanks to a few experiments, her mom created a spell that allowed Igor to actually shift.
I’d have to call her later to set it up once Maya texted me the information. Then I would have to talk to Eirlys and my brother. That would be a fun conversation. Quinten was still a little peeved at me for the glitter catastrophe.
Not to mention that other vampire was probably there as well. My vampire mate.
I just couldn’t stop thinking about that.
“Sure thing, foxy lady. I’ll text you. Have a good day at work! Dang it, Asher, stop trying to head butt your brother!” Maya hung up.
