“I’m on my way.” I stepped over piles of laundry, Legos, and miscellaneous items that would need to be sorted and put away where they belong.
Today, the boys would be helping me. They may complain, but I’ll make sure they learn a little bit of responsibility before I leave here tomorrow.Things had to change because Rebecca deserved to be able to lessen the current amount of stress on her shoulders.
“Oh, thank the Goddess.” Nolan threw up his hands and sighed dramatically. “I’m starving.”
“I know for a fact that your mother fed you guys.” I put the brown paper bag I got from Julio’s down on the table. “Now, before I give you guys the food, I need to tell you today’s plan.”
“Ugh. Uncle Thomas.” Vinnie slumped in his chair, a pout already planted on his lips. “Why do we need a plan?”
“Because you two are growing up and it’s time you learn to help your mother.” I took a moment to look both boys in the eyes. “Don’t worry, you will still have time to play and eat all the treats. As long as you follow my lead, we can get this house clean and organized, so when your mom comes back tomorrow, she can be proud of you guys and relax. Wouldn’t that be a nice surprise for her?”
“I guess we can do that.” Nolan nodded and then eyed the bag again. “Can we eat now? Please?”
“Fine.” I took the Mexican food out and grabbed water for each of us. “Let’s dig in. Just remember, we will be working hard today for a bit. If you two do well, I’ll take you to Creamies for ice cream later.”
“Yay.” The boys cheered in unison.
See, we got this,my dragon piped up.
We’ll see,I answered back.
It didn’t take long for the boys to polish off the bag of food. I wasn’t joking with my sister earlier when I told her that bringing food was a must. Growing dragons needed a lot of calories, the natural heat of their bodies burning a lot of energy. Sometimes, I wondered how our parents raised us on a limited income.
Remember to save up a bigger hoard for our babies,my dragon reminded me.They will need a lot more than what we already have.
I know.
I was fully aware that our hoard was nowhere near where it should be. And I remembered the why of that as well.
Fuck Matthew. To hell with dumb exes who fled your engagement party to elope with a girl he just met. And damn them to hell for stealing my hoard on the way out.
“Okay, I’m ready to head out.” Rebecca entered the kitchen with a small overnight bag and looked much better than she had earlier. She went around the table and placed kisses on each boy’s head. I swatted her away when she tried to kiss me as well. Laughing, she waved her hand the way she always did when saying farewell. “Behave for your uncle.”
“We will,” the twins chorused, polishing off the last of the tacos.
Rebecca left and I was alone with the kids.
Let the fun begin.
Chapter Two
Isaac
I stared at the tattoo on my forearm, trying to force it to give me a clue as to where I would find my fated mate. At first, I doubted that this thing would actually work. I had just wanted to give my best friend Charlie a push to go out and find his mate. When I heard that the tattoo parlor, Fated Ink, offered magically infused sigils to help shifters find their perfect match, I knew I had to convince him to get one, and the only way to do that was to get one myself. So I let the magic weaver place this symbol on my arm. I watched my best friend find his one true mate and saw his tattoo glow, indicating that the sigil had indeed led them to one another. Ever since then, an eager part of my soul had been itching for my own tattoo to emit that beautiful glow. So far it hadn’t.
Give it time,my bear grumbled. I was sleepy and cranky after a long night of coding for our current client, and that affected his mood, too.You need to just allow Fate time to find us. Besides, I feel like we are exactly where we need to be right now.
We grew up in this town. If our mate were here, wouldn’t we have met already?I reminded my beast.We have been to almost every bar, café, and club in the area. They aren’t here.
As if those are the only places where we will find him. You are such an idiot sometimes.My bear scoffed.
You do realize you are calling yourself that as well, right? Afterall, we are two parts of the same being.I rolled my eyes.
Whatever. I’m going to sleep. Wake me if our mate shows up or if we need to shift for the kids.My bear yawned and settled down. I felt his energy lower and knew my human self was fully in control now. We were having a family dinner tonight, andbetween my sister’s brood and my brother’s little girl, I would need all the rest I could get before playing with my nieces and nephews.
“Isaac.” My brother-in-law and my other best friend, Spencer, walked into the kitchen and straight to the coffee machine. “You’re up early.”
“Actually, I haven’t slept yet.” I stood from the table and stretched my back, arms reaching high. The tension from hours spent seated seeped away with the simple move. I sat back down and took a sip of my black coffee. “But I finally finished the program for the Wolfram Group. I can send it over and collect the fee now. Maybe get a place of my own here in town.”
