Omega Phoenix: Claimed

Her Shifter Harem’s Babies 1

Layla Heart

Omega Phoenix: Claimed (Her Shifter Harem’s Babies 1)

Copyright © 2020 LAYLA HEART

All rights reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without express written permission of the copyright holder.

This book contains sexually explicit content which is suitable only for mature adults.

ISBN: 9789493139190

NUR: 343

Edition: 20200828

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Blurb

Cyra, a rare Omega phoenix shifter, has had a rough week, to say the least.

First, two playboy Alphas, a hydra and a griffin, start showing up at the cafe she works at. Their teasing getting her all hot and bothered, no matter how much she tries to ignore them. And then she accidentally accepts to play a princess at a spoiled shifter kid’s birthday party, where her crappy old car promptly breaks down. Luckily, or maybe she’s just cursed, a cerberus and a centaur Alpha are there to save the day and give her a ride home.

For years, Cyra has managed to hide herself from other shifters, pretending she’s human. Because she doesn’t want her parents to marry her off to a rich Alphahole, Alpha asshole, for money and status or to be kidnapped and bred like some other rare Omega shifters. She wants her freedom, to be able to make her own choices, and both of those things are taken away the moment she’s mated. Once she’s claimed by an Alpha, she’ll become that Alpha’s property, and she refuses to live like that.

But now everything she’s worked so hard for is falling apart around her. Money is tight, and with her crappy car constantly needing repairs, she won’t be able to afford the medication she needs to stay hidden from shifters, especially with the mating season only weeks away.

So she makes a reckless decision and takes the cerberus and the centaur up on their offer to be their date to the yearly Night Gala, an exclusive shifter event for bachelor Alphas, Betas and Omegas, though it’s not uncommon for humans to attend too, as ‘dates’ or serving staff. Their offer is too tempting, one night of boring chats while looking pretty, and all her money problems will be solved.

That is, until the hydra and griffin Alphas also appear at the Night Gala and everything goes to hell…

This is the first book in the Her Shifter Harem’s Babies series, a paranormal Omegaverse reverse harem #WhyChoose story. This book may include any of these elements: steamy scenes, ‘I need tissues NOW’ moments, cries of ‘why, oh, why’ and cliffhangers that make you bite your nails (and curse the author).

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Author note

I’m not a US or a UK author and this story does not take place in the US or the UK, so it will use a mixture of both. Most of the spelling and grammar will be in UK style, but a lot of US slang is used.

I want to specifically note that the spelling of griffin is used over the spelling of gryphon, and cerberus is spelled without a capital at the start because it’s used as a noun to describe mythical three headed dog creatures and not used as a proper name.

Thanks!

Happy reading!

1

Cyra

Stepping behind the counter, I try to pull my skirt down as inconspicuously as possible. Why was this the only clean skirt I had this morning? I should have done laundry last weekend, but instead, I spent it all binging a new series that just came out on Netflix. It was my first weekend off in weeks and I felt like not being too responsible for a few days. Of course, I now pay for that lapse in judgement.

“Two coffee, black, one hot chocolate and three apple pies for table fifteen.” I put the order into the system while Audrey, the other waitress on staff, starts making the drinks. I grab the slices of apple pie, putting them onto plates on my tray.

It’s pretty calm in the cafe, even though it’s a beautiful day. I don’t mind because it means I don’t have to keep running all over the place the whole time, which is good with a misbehaving skirt. But it also means that the manager will get annoyed because we’ll have made less money, she’ll probably come up with some ridiculous idea as to how we should have gotten more customers. Some days just... Some days just won’t be crazy busy, that’s life.

Audrey puts the cups on the tray. “Here you go.” She smiles as she glances around, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Are you even wearing shorts or something under that skirt?”

“Hush.” I nudge her out of the way as I take my tray to the table with the two ladies and the young girl.

They come here every Friday afternoon. I’m pretty sure that they’re three generations of the same family, grandma, daughter and granddaughter, since they all look pretty alike. They all have the same bright eyes and dark brown hair, though both of the older women have some grey hairs in theirs, which makes them look sophisticated for some reason.

I put on my best smile. “Here you go.” I put everything down in front of them, then I stand back slightly. “Anything else I can get you?”

The oldest woman smiles at me, she’s always so kind to us. “No, thank you. We’re good.”

“Okay. Let me know if you need anything.” I turn around and find a table to clear. I quickly load the cups and plates om my tray and make my way back to the counter.

As I’m putting everything away in the dishwasher, Audrey steps close again. “You didn’t answer my question. Are you or aren’t you wearing shorts? Or at least big undies?” Big undies? What the...?

“Aud,” I whisper loudly, trying to not make the sweet ladies look our way or overhear us. “Don’t even dare to check, or whatever you’re coming up with in that brain of yours. No. I’m not wearing shorts. Why do you think I’m trying not to bend down?” I roll my eyes at her. Now she knows, she’s going to use that knowledge against me, purposefully get me in situations where I’ll have to bend down, because she’s mean like that.

“Risky.” Audrey laughs, her eyes shining with glee. “You trying to impress someone?” But before I can answer she walks off to greet a new family who just walked in. Oh! Her! It’s that I like her and she’s a good friend, or I would not have put up with her as long as I have...

I’m not trying to impress anyone. Impressing people is the furthest from my mind as can be. I don’t want anyone to look at me with interest. Though, try to get Audrey to understand that, she loves the attention from the boys... I don’t. I’d prefer to get no attention from any boys, at all, ever.

If I could stay single for the rest of my life, I’d be happy with that. No matter if people think it’s weird, it’s much better than the alternative.

I’m an Omega phoenix shifter, which is not just rare, it’s almost legendary in how few of us exist in the world. But, here I am, phoenix shifter and Omega at the same time. That’s not just one reason but two reasons for people to want to control me.

It doesn’t matter if I’m pretty or ugly, or how smart I am. Just those two things alone are enough to make certain people lose their mind over the thought that I’m still alone, unmated, and not popping out babies every year for the last six years at the age of twenty-five. And my parents are definitely part of that group of people.

It’s only because I’m too stubborn to give up that I’m still free of an Alpha. I graduated high school with really good grades and I was able to persuade my parents that getting mated at eighteen would be a bad idea; too young, much too young, and too inexperienced to make a good mum.

So they let me go to college, which I purposefully chose to be as far away from home as I could manage. Living away from them, living a life I chose for myself, has been such a good experience that I don’t ever want to go back, no matter what. Before I went to college, I had an idea of what freedom could be like, but it has turned out to be even better than I could imagine. If this is what Alphas, Betas and humans get to live like, why would I ever go back to a life where my every second of every day is dictated by an Alpha, just because I’m an Omega?

Of course, it’s not all easy. I have to take medication to make sure that other shifters won’t be able to recognise me as a shifter, and the yearly heat suppressants I have to take during mating season are always hell, but it’s better than the alternative. It’s not easy to hide myself and I always have to be really careful that I don’t get close to people. The medication works both ways, shifters can’t find me, but I can’t sense them either, so I can’t get close to anyone in case they’re an Alpha or a Beta and they might claim me for themselves. If that happens, then all of this is over, and I don’t want it to be over.

I knew an Omega in college, she got abducted right off the campus grounds. She was also using medication to suppress her shifter side, but she’d forgotten to take it one morning. It was late fall, right before the mating season started and she got found out. She was also some rare shifter type, a dragon, I think, and someone took her. Someone found out and they took her, right off the street, in broad daylight.

It was a big deal, the whole campus was in chaos for a couple of days. The Omega’s parents came to the college, trying to find her, and the cops got involved, both shifter and human, but they couldn’t find her. In the end, it turned out that a local shifter family had her and that their Alpha son had already mated her. Just like that.

She was taken from the street and before the end of the day she’d been mated by a total stranger, forever bound to him. Last I heard, she’s had two kids in two years time, and she never leaves the house with either her Alpha or an Alpha or Beta from his family with her.

I’m not letting that happen to me. Never. I want my own life. I don’t want to be some baby machine for some random family. I like my freedom and to be able to keep it, I need to make sure nobody finds out what I am.

Humans are aware that shifters exist, and most shifters try to appear as normal and human as possible when they’re out and about, because lots of humans still fear shifters. Which isn’t unfound, not exactly. Some shifters, especially some of the Alphas... They tend to have a habit of showing off in dangerous ways. Ways which can be deadly to humans who are standing around when they show off. If you thought that human teenage boys were annoying, that they’re always taking risks, you’ve not seen what Alphas get up to... Ugh.

Speaking of Alpha devils...

The door to the cafe opens and two guys saunter inside. They’re tall, broad and pretty handsome. But I also know that they’re shifters, so any appreciation of their body ends right there. They’re not exactly quiet about being shifters and everyone knows about them.

The Alphas walk to one of the tables in the back, which has a view of the whole cafe, and sit down. Their eyes roving over the people here, like they’re sizing up the other guests, before they relax some, probably not spotting any other Alphas, and start talking to each other.

Zack and Spence, two Alphas from local super-rich clans, they’re a few years older than me. Zack’s a hydra shifter, not just a dragon, a hydra. Yes, that’s seven heads instead of just one, and he needs every last of them for his big ego. Spence is a griffin shifter. Part eagle, part lion, all of the danger.

They’re famous, or infamous depending on how you look at it, for being ladies men, picking up and dropping girls left and right. Exclusively human girls, since picking up the wrong Omega shifter girl might get them more ‘responsibilities’ than they want.

I have no idea why, but they’ve been coming to this little cafe every day for the last week, like they’re using this as a new place to pick up girls or something. Tough luck for them, since this is mostly a place for families, not clusters of giggling girls, who they’d probably prefer.

I try to get Audrey’s attention. I don’t want to serve these guys, I really don’t want to, but she either doesn’t notice me, or purposefully ignores me. I don’t know which, but the end result is the same.

Letting out a soft curse, I grab my notepad and go over to the two assholes.

“Welcome to Tea in Wonderland, what can I get you two?” I try to smile kindly, but not too sweetly, in case they take it as an invitation for more.

The taller of the two, Zack, looks me over, hunger in his eyes that even though I try to ignore it, still makes my insides squirm. Fuck, his blue eyes are so dark they’re almost black in the low light of the cafe. “I’d like a piece of you.” He smirks and licks his lips, this eyes travelling down my body.

No matter how much I want to, I cannot squeeze my thighs together, he can’t see how he influences me. Bad body. Bad, bad body! No getting turned on by the Alphahole.

I keep smiling politely. “Sorry, that’s not on the menu. But we have coffee, tea and hot chocolate, if you’d like something warm. We’ve also got water or fizzy drinks, if you’d like something cold. And to eat, we’ve got a range of fruit pies and cakes. Those are your choices.” This is why I hate Alphas, always so full of themselves, always thinking they can just fuck anyone they smile at.

The second guy, Spencer, smiles at me, his eyes intense, almost golden, as he obviously keeps his gaze on my face. “Don’t listen to him, he can’t seem to help hitting on pretty girls. It’s his biggest flaw. We’d like two coffees, black. Thanks.”

I don’t even write it down. It’s easy enough to remember. “If that’s all. I’ll be right back with your order.” I spin around, trying to get away as quickly as possible. And then the worst thing in the world happens as I feel my skirt flare up at the fast movement.

Fuck!

I jam my hand down the back of the skirt to make sure it doesn’t flare up again and briskly walk to the counter.

But it’s too late as I hear the whistle from Zack behind me.

Fucking hell. Why? Why today?

I put my hands on the counter, staring down for a while, trying to come back to myself as my cheeks are aflame.

I can’t let them win. I can’t let them see how uncomfortable they make me.

I’m just human. Just a human girl. I’m just another human girl tired of stupid Alpha shifters. I have no interest in playing along with their stupid games, no matter how much they might try.

Just as I start making their coffee, Audrey comes over, grinning. “What just happened?”

“Assholes happened.” I groan. “Can you bring them their order? I’m so done with them. Really done.”

“Sorry, girl.” She winks. “They’re your responsibility today. They’ve been staring at my boobs all week. Now they get to stare at yours.”

“Not helping.” I groan. I wouldn’t have minded it that much if they’d just stare at my boobs, but they just got an eyeful of my ass and thong, and that’s a whole other level of humiliating.

Can they leave again, please? I want to have a normal life. A normal life, without Alpha assholes all around.

2

Zack

Spence smacks me in the arm as the waitress flees to the counter, her neck all red as she tries her hardest to keep her skirt from flaring up again. She’s wearing a very sexy red lace thong and nothing else, almost like she wants someone to see it. And that lucky guy is me, apparently. Very lucky, since she’s got a great ass, and the thong only made it better.

“Stop staring. You’re scaring the girl.” Spence smacks my arm again, harder this time. “I hope you didn’t do that on purpose.”

“Hey! I’m innocent!” I hold up my hands. “That was a hundred per cent not my fault. I had nothing to do with it.” For a change. “What are you taking me for?”

He sighs, shaking his head. “A monster. A monster who would do things like that just to annoy a girl, to get her attention.”

I stare his way. “Your point?” Yes, I’m a hydra shifter, which you could define as ‘monster’. But I’m not sure what that’s got anything to do with what just happened.

“Nothing.” He leans back, looking around the place appreciatively. “Just be nice to the waitresses. We don’t want to be barred from another cafe, especially one that has such good eye candy.” He smiles now, almost smirking.

“And where the desperate girls won’t think to look for us.” I grin at him.

He’s got a point. The last cafe we used to frequent got found out and suddenly all the local human girls went there, crowding out the regular customers.

And then there might have been an unfortunate incident with a blouse that was missing buttons and a bra that miraculously had come undone at the same time which resulted in a great pair of boobs being revealed in the middle of the cafe... It was fun at the time, but we were barred from the place after that.

I love the ladies, a lot, and they seem to love me too. But sometimes it’s nice to just hang out with Spence without a throng of giggling girls around. A bad boy reputation is fun, but also exhausting to keep up all the time.

The waitress comes over again, her face still red as she puts the cups of coffee down. “Here are your orders. Anything else?” Her voice is clipped and she holds her tray in front of her, like a shield, the position pushing her boobs up even more, as she looks anywhere but at us.

My cock is starting to really pay attention to her now. Damn... She looks good.

This girl is the other reason we’ve been coming here. I don’t know what it is, but I like looking at her, almost like I want to get to know her or something. She doesn’t smell like a shifter, so no chance of any unwanted consequences, but something keeps pulling my eyes to her. I want to stick my dick in her. I bet she’d be a great lay, but stupidly, it feels like I’d like to get to know her in other ways too. Which is new, but might just be because of the pressure from my parents to take a mate lately.

“What’s your name?” The waitresses don’t wear name tags here and since she’s been avoiding us all week, I’ve not had a chance to ask yet.

“Cyra.” The way she says it is almost lyrical. “Do you want to order anything else?”

“Cy~ra.” I try it out and she frowns at me, her hard gaze making my cock strain against my jeans. “No.” I shake my head. “I think we’re good. Since the other thing I’d like sadly enough seems to be missing from your menu.”

She rolls her eyes and then looks at Spence, who just nods, giving her his most innocent smile, and then she walks off, this time keeping the tray behind her so I can’t accidentally get another peek at her nice ass.

“Cy~ra.” I repeat again, slowly. It’s an unusual name, I’ve not heard it before. “Sounds like she’s named after a flower or something.”

Spence laughs and shakes his head. “Really... You. Are you now going after the girls who are definitely not interested in you, just to annoy your family even more?”

“Who says she’s not interested?” I look after Cyra as she’s doing something behind the counter. “She seems interested enough.”

“You think everyone is interested in you.” He turns the coffee cup in his hands, an unimpressed look on his face. “Anyone who steps within ten feet is supposedly interested in you.”

“And the flaw in my reasoning?” I raise my eyebrow at him.

“You’re forgetting that I’m always nearby and definitely not interested in what you’ve got in your pants.” He laughs, flashing me a quick grin.

“Pff. You don’t count. I’ve known you for too long. You’ve seen what’s in my pants plenty of times. If we’d been compatible, we’d have known by now. No, I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about other people.” I look down at the cup of coffee, not helping my own grin.

The coffee here is fine, and they don’t bother you if you stay here for a couple of hours without ordering something every thirty minutes or whatever weird rule they’ve got in some places. For a place where we can just hang out together, this is great.

I’ve known Spence since we were kids. His clan is next to ours. The hydras and griffins are pretty friendly, as long as nobody makes trouble. We basically grew up together, always in the same class, always in the same schools, always doing things together.

Some people have said it’s odd, especially now we’re ‘of mating age’. But, you know what, fuck them, who else would understand me than another Alpha from a similarly proud race? Some people just don’t understand what that’s like, to be like us, the pressure on us, or they’re just jealous.

Although, I have no idea how long we can keep this carefree lifestyle up. Our parents are getting more and more annoying and with the mating season coming up...

My Omega Mum was really preachy when she heard about me hanging out with human girls again last weekend. She doesn’t want me to hang out with them because they’re ‘below my status’ and that I should start looking for an ‘honourable mate’, no matter how not ready I am to settle down.

We’re only young once, why would we cut that short by settling down too soon? We’ve still got a couple of years of fun ahead of us before we’ll have to worry about family fortune, mates and a gaggle of little kids.

Yeah. Hell no, that I’m cutting that short.

The cafe is quiet, it’s getting dark outside, and I know they’re closing soon. The waitresses have been cleaning the other tables but they’ve not bothered us yet. Probably because they know who we are and our reputation. But I’m also sure that the cute waitress, Cyra, has been avoiding us on purpose.

I push myself up. “I’m right back.”

“Zack...” Spencer sighs. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Me? Stupid?” I grin. “When am I ever?” I grab my card and walk over to the counter.

Both girls look at me, but Cyra quickly glances back down at the glasses she’s polishing when she realises it’s me, her face falling.

“I’d like to pay, ladies. And thank you for the great view... I mean service, earlier. Thank you for the great service.”

Cyra goes bright red and nearly drops her glass as she quietly curses.

The other girl, Audrey, who’s served us before, looks between Cyra and me and taps on things on the computer. “You’re paying for the both of you?” She looks over to Spencer quickly, before her eyes go back to me, slowly sliding from my face down. Oh, yeah, she’s got no problem showing that’s she’s interested in me.

“Yes.” I hold out my card again.

“Okay.” She taps a few more things on the computer and then points me towards the terminal.

I hold my card against it and the payment goes through immediately. “Thank you, again, for the great service. We will definitely be coming back soon.”

I turn around, hands in my pockets, but I’m pretty sure I heard a grumble from Cyra. Something very much like ‘I wish you wouldn’t’ and I grin. Oh, yeah, we’re definitely coming back, she’s even cuter when she’s angry.

Spence gets up once I return to the table, narrowing his eyes at me. “What did you do?”

“I paid. What else did I have to do?” I wait for him to get his jacket, but he won’t move, just looking at me.

“And you didn’t incidentally say something to upset the cute waitress?” He looks back to the counter. He definitely saw exactly what happened.

“I might have thanked her for the great... view.” I wink and then quickly get out of his reach before he can hit me again. The guy’s violent, I tell you.

“You’re such an asshole.” He sighs. “Do I have to go apologise to them now? So that we’re not going to be barred from this place too?”

“Do whatever you like.” I shrug. “I’m leaving, though.”

I walk out of the cafe, making sure to stay in the line of sight of the waitresses. I’m not playing with them, I’m not doing anything but having some fun. Mum can’t get upset with me over this, this is totally harmless.

And Spence can be such a goody-goody, it’s his charm. Next to me, the evil black prince, he always looks like a white knight, and he likes to act like that too. Even though he’s just as depraved as I am, he’s just not as honest about it, or better at hiding it.

The air outside is cold as I open the door. Winter is getting close, which means that mating season is going to be here soon. Normally, I don’t care about it too much, but I have a feeling that my parents aren’t going to be so relaxed about it this year. I have a feeling that they might get up to things, like choosing someone for me, if I don’t choose a mate this mating season, no matter how much I don’t want to.

My Alpha father was almost thirty when he mated my Omega mother, who was in her early twenties. And they’re both convinced it’s better if you mate young. That having a family is good for you. That it’s better for the family and the hydra clan.

I don’t know, I don’t see why it would. It would just mean less fun for me. My parents can wait a while longer with their wish for grandkids. I’m doing things on my own time, like I’ve always done.

Hydras do things their own way, it’s always been like that, so why are they surprised now?

3

Spence

I incline my head as I go over to the counter, holding out my hands in front of me in a peace offering and the waitresses seem a lot more relaxed when I come over, even though Cyra still doesn’t trust me. Which, well, yeah, I don’t blame her.

“I’m so sorry for how my friend behaved.” I look down and then look up, meeting Cyra’s eyes. “He’s an ass and doesn’t know how to act around cute girls.” I smile and her cheeks pinken, not of shame or anger, but of something else, something I like much more, flattery. And just that look, it pulls on something inside me, it makes me understand why Zack keeps teasing her.

Fuck. I’m no better than he is, really. It’s not like I didn’t take a peek myself when her skirt went up, and she definitely has a great ass.

I’m wondering if her bra is the same bright red as her lace thong and if she wears one of those lace bras where you can see the nipples through... Those are so sexy, almost as if the nipples are looking at you from behind a veil, hiding like they’re shy or something.

“It’s okay.” Cyra’s voice is quiet and I love listening to it. I’ve never heard a voice that’s both soft and clear at the same time. What would she sound like whispering dirty things during sex?

“I’ll try to keep him in check next time.” I wink and Cyra colours more, just like Audrey, neither unaffected by my charms. “Please. He’s just a dog sometimes, and a badly behaved one too, but he’s harmless, I promise.” I take a step back. “Have a good evening and weekend, ladies.”

“Good evening,” Audrey says and Cyra nods, nibbling on her lower lip a moment.

As I turn around, to catch up with Zack, I hear them both laugh softly. They laugh. They don’t giggle, they laugh, softly. A good thing, from my perspective.

I step outside and Zack is waiting a little while off, leaning against the wall of the cafe.

“Took you long enough.” He grins and starts walking to where we parked the car. “Did anything interesting happen?”

“I had to make sure that we’d actually be able to return, you know. This is a good place and it would be a shame if we’re not allowed to come back, or if they start spitting in our coffee or something.” I shiver but Zack laughs loudly.

“Hell, Cyra can spit in my coffee any day.” He shakes his head, his eyes sparking. “As long as she’ll let me eat her out after.”

I open my mouth, trying to come up with a good reply, but coming up empty. “Sometimes I wonder how any girl ever lets you get close to her, when you say things like that.”

“Because they don’t care what I say, just about what I can do with my mouth.” He looks out over the street. “Want to go somewhere tonight? I heard there’s a party at one of the nearby clans. Or we could go to a club or something. Your choice.”

“Nah.” I take a deep breath. “I’m spending tonight at home. You can go out on your own if you want to, but I’m staying in.”

He eyes me, narrowing his eyes. “What are you up to? You’re not taking this mating stuff serious, are you? You’re not going to look at marriage invitations, right?”

“Hell, no.” I laugh. Though I have been considering taking a look lately, just to keep my parents off my back for a while longer. “My sis is in town, with her whole family, and I’ve not seen them in a long time. I think I should probably spend some time with them.”

“Ah.” He laughs. “How long has it been since she got mated? Since she left?”

“Almost four years.” I shrug. “It’s rare for her to come back, we usually visit her. I think it’s because of the birthday of one of the kids of an old friend or something. Since her kid is now old enough to actually have an interest in parties. They’re staying at our parents’ for the weekend. And unlike you, I actually like spending time with my siblings.”

“Pff.” He shrugs. “Yours aren’t all whiney teenagers. Maybe if they’re older I would ‘appreciate’ them more. But right now they just reek from the hormones and cry even more than when they were babies. I have no idea how my parents aren’t going insane. The triplets are absolute monsters right now and the other one isn’t helping, he’s being an absolute shit to his professors at college.”

“Your parents are used to you. They can manage the rest after that.” I quickly step aside so he can’t hit me and we wrestle the last way to the car.

I can’t help but laugh at how annoyed he gets about his younger siblings. They’re quite a bit younger than him, but he really loves them, no matter how he acts. I know that he pretends to get upset with them because that’s what older brothers are supposed to be like, but also always helps them out with their homework if they don’t understand something. He just acts tough, but he’s a big softie on the inside.

I smile as I hear my sister’s laugh as soon as I open the door, followed by the high pitched giggles of a toddler. It’s always good when she’s back, makes our parents not look at me as closely. It’s just the two of us, no other siblings. My older sister is an Omega, and she got mated and married to some Alpha the same year she was supposed to graduate college. The Alpha is a good guy, and made sure she finished college, but he’s got a job that takes him all over the world. So they live in a city that’s closer to a big airport, unlike the small one we’ve got, and where the houses are even more ridiculously expensive than they are around here...

“I’m home,” I call out as I take my jacket off, loving the sound of a filled house. Sometimes I’m jealous of Zack and his big family, I wish I had a busy house like that. Being all on my own here with my parents definitely has its drawbacks.

“Uncle!” Star comes bumbling out of the living room, her arms wide open as she comes for me. She’s covered in chocolate and I wince while I pick her up. I’m going to have to put a clean shirt on before dinner, or Dad is going to get annoyed with me for not looking presentable.

“Hey, little girl. How was your trip?”

“Plane. So big.” She starts babbling about the journey here as I walk into the living room.

My sister, Phoebe, comes over, giving me a hug. “Hey, little brother, out on the prowl with that hydra again?” She smiles, her words not mean, just teasing.

“I came home early to see my two favourite women in the whole world. With you two around, I won’t need anyone else.” I carefully put Star down. “Seems I’ve missed a party?” I look down at Star and Phoebe laughs.

“No, that’s just from two chocolate cookies...” She sighs. “Don’t ask. I don’t have a clue how she does it either. Must be toddler magic.”

“So, what’s up in your world?” I sit down on the couch as my Alpha mum comes into the living room from the kitchen. “Hey, got home early.”

“Good.” Mum smiles. “Did Phoebe tell you the good news yet? She’s got great news for you.”

“Mum!” Phoebe glares at her.

“What?” I look between them. What’s going on now?

Phoebe sighs. “I wasn’t going to mention this, since I didn’t want to influence you or anything.” She glares at

Mum. “And I thought this probably wouldn’t be the best time to bring this up. You know, right when you step in the door?”

“Just say it already.” Mum laughs. “He’ll find out anyway.”

I keep looking between the two as I pour myself a glass of water. “Still waiting here...”

“Well... Since you asked.” Phoebe is being dramatic as she sits down, taking something from her bag. “Here.” She holds out a folder and my stomach sinks as I already know what this is... A mate proposal. “A real pretty Omega just came of age in a clan nearby to where I live. I think you’d like her. She’s smart, kind, and good for your temper.”

“Just came of age?” That means she just turned eighteen... A mate nearly a decade younger than me... Not really what I’d been planning on, if I was going to take a mate.

“Yes. Her parents have been hiding her from the public, sent her away to boarding school and everything. And now I’ve seen her... I get why.” Phoebe winks. “Just... Take a look in your own time. But I think you’d like her.”

“Thanks.” I nod, putting the file down on the table.

I don’t think I want to take a look. I’m not ready to settle yet, but especially not with a girl that much younger than me. Hell, even the human girls who hang around Zack and I don’t tend to be that young. The poor Omega should at least finish college or something, get some more years on her before her parents mate her, some more life experiences.

But that’s not how things go, especially not when she’s ‘pretty’, which tends to be code for being a shifter type that’s less common. She’ll probably be mated off before this year’s mating season has properly started. That’s what tends to happen with ‘pretty’ girls.

Why does an actual pretty girl now pop into my head, Cyra, who definitely has a temper and who doesn’t seem to take shit from Zack, everything my parents would hate in a potential mate. Hmmm. A girl like that. I’d like a girl like that. Someone who will stand up for herself, even in quiet ways, and who won’t just let people walk over her. Her soft lips, her sparkling eyes, and those legs... which end in that great ass. Perfection.

Okay. Maybe I should have accepted Zack’s offer of going to a club. Maybe then I wouldn’t be thinking of a girl who I’ll never be able to have. She doesn’t seem like a girl who’s up for just some fun for one night, and I’m not going to try to convince her otherwise when we’ve got so many willing girls around us all the time.

4

Cyra

I move the stupid wig around on my head, trying to find where I’m going to attach it. At least I didn’t have to worry about clothes for today, the princess dress I’ll have to wear for today’s party was all clean and everything, but that hasn’t made my mood any better.

When I accepted this job, I obviously wasn’t paying attention to where it was. I don’t normally do shifter parties. I avoid them, like the plague, but another princess somehow managed to break her arm this week and they needed a replacement at the last minute. And I’m the only other person who does the Cinderella routine, so the agency asked me.

If I hadn’t been so frustrated by the Alpha assholes’ behaviour yesterday afternoon, I would have checked where it was, who it was for and I would have realised I should have said no. But of course, I wasn’t paying attention, still too angry, and now I’m stuck doing this. It’s not like the parties for shifters are much different from the human ones, it’s just that I don’t want to have to surround myself with shifters for a whole day.

I made sure I used all the products that will hide my shifter scent this morning, I even used some extra of the horridly sweet deodorant that some human girls seem to like. I don’t know if it’s too much, but I’m better extra sure than someone catching my real scent, no matter how small the chance.

I finally manage to get the wig on right and look at myself in the mirror. I can do this. I’m just a human girl dressed as a princess who is going to give some little girl a fun birthday party. Same as always. And I really need the money.

Even if I had realised where this was, I probably still would have had to take the job because I really need some extra money. Meds to hide my shifter side are not cheap and I’m also going to have to buy heat suppressants soon, and those are always crazy expensive. It’s not like my parents will pay for any of it, or my insurance... So I have to come up with the money myself some way, and these parties, especially the ones for the rich people, are a good way to boost enough of my income to cover it. Hopefully.

I grab my box with party games from the couch and make my way to my car. I take a deep breath. Maybe I should have cleaned my car, so I wouldn’t have to show up with a dirty car in one of those expensive neighbourhoods, but it’s too late for that now. It’s too late for any of that now.

No way back.

I step out of the house onto the fricking huge green lawn that’s supposed to be the ‘garden’. I can almost see half the city from here. Hell...

I pull my voice up high, putting on my Cinderella persona. “Where’s the birthday girl? I... spy...”

A little girl, wearing a crown proclaiming proudly that she’s five years old, comes running over to me. “Princess! The princess is here!”

More and more kids flock around me and I laugh as I greet everyone. The kids are just like every other party I’ve been to. Kids are kids, and these parties are the same no matter what. It’s just the parents and family members I’m more worried about...

The Omega mother didn’t seem to realise what I was, at least she didn’t show any signs that she noticed I’m not human, and the Alpha mother barely glanced my way when I tried to introduce myself. Let’s just hope that it stays that way all day.

Although, with the week I’ve had, that might be asking for too much. Those two Alpha shifters showing up at the cafe have been bad luck, so I’m not so sure that it won’t go horribly wrong at some point today either. But I’m not going to worry about that right now. Right now, I’m just a princess who is going to do fun games with these kids.

“Who wants to do some face painting? I can make you into a princess or a prince, or a butterfly...” I turn to the birthday girl, Daisy, grinning at how excited she seems. “What would you like?”

The kids start to excitedly talk to me, all at the same time, and I try to create some order as I start on the birthday girl first. This is what I love most, just having fun, letting these kids do something fun. While I’m trying to pretend to be someone who isn’t totally shitting her pants right now, I did manage to put on clean shorts today, for fear of being found out...

The kids here are mostly really young, though there are a couple of grumpy teenagers around too, but the party seems to really be for the kids. There are parents and uncles and aunts and grandparents around, but nobody seems to be paying any attention to the girl who’s entertaining their kids.

Most of the parents seem to be around my age, or slightly older. If my parents had their way, my first kid would probably be around the same age as the birthday girl, but, luckily, it’s less and less common these days to have Omegas marry before they finish college.

But at this party, some of the parents can’t be any older than I am, and their kids are already in primary school and I wonder for a moment what they’re thinking of their lives. If this was what they thought their lives would look like and if this is what they’ve always wanted to do.

Although... If they live in houses like these... Does that even matter? When you’re this rich, does it even matter if you’ve got a degree or not? If you’ve got more money than you know how to spend, why would it matter how much education you’ve had? You can just pay someone to do whatever you want them to do...

“I think the princess might need to drink something, before she faints from the heat.” A low and amused voice sounds from behind me, and when I turn around, I’m looking into dark brown eyes and the guy’s got an almost wolfish grin on his face.

My heart skips a beat, not from fear, but from how handsome he looks. Tall, built broad, almost like a wall, and his dark brown eyes are warm. Even though he’s grinning, it’s filled with kindness, no meanness in sight. Oh, crap.

I almost reach out to him, wanting to touch him, but quickly accept the glass instead, looking at it quizzically.

He lets out a low rumbling laugh. “No alcohol, I promise, just some fizzy drink I found. Didn’t think you’d be interested in sharing the sickeningly sweet lemonade with the kids.” He looks behind me at the kids. “You seem to be able to handle them pretty well.”

“Thanks.” I nod, taking a sip of the glass, the bubbles slide down my throat, adding to the bubbles already popping in my stomach. It’s definitely cooling, but it doesn’t help against the blush I feel creeping up my cheeks from the sexy guy who gave it to me.

“How do you do it?” He seems actually interested, which is odd for an Alpha...

I shrug slightly as I quickly avoid a cup of lemonade from one of the kids spilling all over my dress. “Practice, I guess. And if you keep them all focused in the same direction, you don’t have to worry as much about one of them going rogue.” I can’t help laughing as I quickly get one of the kids back to the group by offering them a pretty glitter pencil to use on their drawing.

The guy laughs again, warm and rumbling, nodding appreciatively. “Sounds like you know what you’re doing. Did you study for this?”

Stupid butterflies crash around in my stomach and I quickly try to drown them in the fizzy drink. This is not good, so not good. Before I can answer him, we get interrupted.

“Max! Max!” The birthday girl darts over to him and pulls him along to the table. “Look at what I made. You draw too!”

Max sits on a chair and pulls the little girl on his lap as she explains the drawing she’s making. It looks silly, him sitting at the small kiddy table, he towers over all of them, but it’s also adorable, how soft he is with her. He animatedly talks to Daisy and some of the other kids around, but as time passes I also feel his eyes darting to me from time to time.

Not good. I don’t need him to look at me like that. Not with that look of interest, that curiosity, because nothing good can come from it.

Apparently, Max has decided to join in on the kids’ party, as he doesn’t leave us for the next two hours, while I’m playing all sorts of different games with the kids. Having an extra adult around to keep them in line is pretty helpful, but it doesn’t take away from how he’s making me feel every time I catch him staring at me. As the kids are starting to look a little tired, I take my storybook.

“Who wants to hear a story? Who wants to hear Cinderella’s story?” I hold up the book and the kids all come running, sitting down in front of me, in the shade of a tree, since we don’t need any heat strokes. It’s pretty hot today, even though it’s in the middle of fall, one of those rare hot days. “Does the birthday girl want to sit in my lap? In the special spot?”

Daisy nods and comes over, pulling Max along with her. The big guy sits down next to me as the birthday girl sits in my lap. Oh, hell. Now I’m really going to have to pay attention, specifically not to the guy sitting next to me...

I start the story. I can almost recite it from the top of my head. That’s how often I’ve read this story already.

When I’m halfway through the story, I finally dare to glance back up and find that some of the younger kids have fallen asleep, but I’m also surrounded by a lot of the other family members, all listening to the story.

Oh... Wow. That’s definitely more attention than I want.

The birthday girl pulls on my sleeve. “Keep going.”

“Of course.” I hadn’t even realised I’d stopped reading, and I easily find my place, continuing the story.

I think I like this part the best, when it’s all nice and quiet and I can just read the story, it means that the party will be over soon.

I can’t wait to get out of here... I’ve been here long enough. My luck is going to run out, and I have a feeling it’s going to be sooner rather than later.

And I kind of don’t want to be surrounded by so many shifters when it happens... I really would like to be far away from here when that happens...