Page 36 of Shifting Years
"Hell no, boy. Can you imagine being a pack leaderandsheriff? One's enough and I need time to raise Wyatt." He cupped his hand to his mouth and howled. Chills raced over my skin and not because of the cold January weather. It was hearing music in an unknown language, yet sensing loneliness.
Soon, men—fit and towering over me—began to appear one by one from the shadows, with a few women joining. The heavy breathing suggested some ran. The sheriff knew I liked men but shrugged. "It's better to check all possibilities."
A line of men and a few women passed, sniffing me. Strong scents wafted over ranging from slightly sugary, to chemical cleaners and one almost like a skunk. It wasn't until a huge, muscled man with upswept hair and an untrimmed short beard approached that I stopped in mid-breath.
I smell…cookies?
His southern-accented voice drew out. "Sorry I'm late, Sheriff." He smiled but didn't get one back from the lawman. "The Omega belong to anyone?"
The sheriff glared. "Himself."
He turned. "Henry Simmons and you smell good enough to eat."
The sheriff spoke. "You smell anything, son?"
"Freshly baked cookies."
My answer got a groan from the crowd. Even the women looked sad.
Conversations from others and what I overheard told me if there was a pleasant aroma, you were meant for each other. He was cute and well, what was the point of living if you didn't have someone at your side?
Isn't this what I want?
Henry pulled me up and turned to the barn's exit with a firm hand against my back.
"The Omega, whose name is Mike by the way, didn't say yes," said the sheriff before turning to me. "In our world, sleeping together isn't just sex—it's mating for life. It's a marriage you don't walk away from."
I still wasn't sure if magic existed, but I knew I couldn't stay in the past with Todd. I had to move forward.
"I'm not mating," I said to Henry. "However, I don't mind getting to know you and taking things slow."
The big man stared with a small smile. "Of course, whatever my Omega wants."
***
A Southern spring came, and Henry offered his cabin, so I'd have a place to live even if we weren'tmated. John and Yoko weren't married and if they could do it, why not me?
We did everything couples are supposed to do, except have sex. He took me out a couple of times to Dallas, Texas and Shreveport, Louisiana. Then he gradually suggested we stay home so we could be ourselves.
He didn't argue politics or sign up for Vietnam. He didn't seem anti-war but didn't want to go. I guess that was fine since I wasn't enlisting either. Henry paid for my expenses, and random conversations alluded to a trust fund. He promised he'd take care of me, so I'd never have to worry about anything, except taking care of him.
His voice rang in my head.A good Alpha won't wait around forever.Todd was gone, and I had to make a life, didn't I? What else was there to do?
One day after getting groceries from a tiny store, I walked to the cabin with howling wolves in the distance. Nobody proved their shifting ability, but they were stronger than normal, and I heard more howls during a full moon. If this was a joke, everyone stayed in character.
Up the trail, I hiked to our cabin, and the screen door squeaked open. A whiskey scent greeted me, and his mouth twitched as if to say something. This was a moment where my life balanced on an edge. I made him wait while other couples mated right away. If I didn't say yes, then I should go. What wasthe point of being here with a willing man if I didn't take the offer?
"Let's do it," I said. "Mate."
I waited for something, but he was a man of few or rather no words. He pointed toward the bedroom like he was cocking a gun, and for some reason, I flinched when the door clicked shut behind me.
***
Everyone remembers their first time with anything. Todd's face from the bar still burned in my mind. This was sex, wasn't it? Henry didn't attack me in that way, but ithurtmore than the stories ever suggested.
He was fast, hard, and growled how I'd learn to love it. The Omega slick came, and it made it easier. That's it. Easier.
Electric energy tingling through my veins caught my attention as the wind blew into the open bedroom window. Auras I always wished I could see now appeared as swirling yellow lights. Blood red and mostly black lines orbited Henry.
