Miracle on Shifter Street

by Braylon Black

  “What?” he asked, puzzled. “That’s a weird thing to say. I already have a home. I don’t have a mate, though. At least... not anymore.”

  Hope exploded merrily in my chest like fireworks on New Years. The alpha was single! But at the same time, I could detect a bit of pain in his eyes, so I felt bad. “Aw, what happened?”

  “I discovered why my fiance was getting so many rapid, generous promotions at his new job,” he said dryly, shaking his head.

  I winced. “Oh, no. Sleeping with the boss?”

  “Yeah. I walked in on them just a few days ago. We were supposed to get married in the spring.”

  “Shit, that sucks,” I said, patting him on the arm. “And right before Christmas, too. That’s awful. Hey, let’s not stand here and chat. Let’s keep moving.”

  We resumed our jog.

  “What’s your name?” the alpha asked.

  “Marlie. And yours?”

  “Logan.”

  “Nice to meet you, Logan. Thanks for saving my life, and also for bailing me out back there. I owe you big time. Why are you so nice to me, anyway? I probably don’t deserve it.”

  Logan shrugged. “I don’t know. You just seemed like you needed help, so I helped you. To be perfectly honest? I’m feeling a bit lost. I’m supposed to be on my way to the Florida Keys right now. I’m not sure how I wound up in this strange town that looks like a Christmas postcard, saving some random omega from calamity at every turn.”

  I chuckled. “Well, thanks for the help. I could use it right now.”

  “What’s the big deal about the rabbit’s foot, anyway?”

  “Well, it’s a lucky rabbit’s foot. Without it, I’m shit out of luck. Literally.”

  Logan gave me a skeptical look. “Okay...”

  “My grandma gave it to me on her deathbed,” I explained. “She said to always keep it close to my heart, and it will protect me from harm and misfortune. That’s why I keep it in my jacket’s inner pocket, close to my heart.”

  “Except for today, when you decided to toss it up and down in the air for some reason,” Logan pointed out.

  I blushed. “Uh... yeah. That was stupid. I can admit that.”

  It wasn’t every day I laid my eyes on an alpha as good-looking as Logan. Of course I’d felt compelled to show off for him. It was just basic biology, and it wasn’t my fault!

  By now we’d made it to the entrance of the town park. Being Sunday, it was full of families and children. Parents pushed baby strollers and walked their dogs. Little kids built snowmen and made snow angels, and a large group of teenagers were having an epic snowball fight. A street musician stood on the corner, playing a jazzy rendition of “Good King Wenceslas” on his saxophone.

  “Keep looking up,” I told Logan, pointing my gloved hand at the snowy canopy of trees above our heads. “Maybe the owl found a branch to rest on.”

  “Got it,” Logan said, nodding.

  We meandered through the park for a while, but neither one of us saw any sign of the owl. My heart was sinking lower by the second. The owl could be anywhere within a ten mile radius by now, and that radius would only expand wider as more time passed. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.

  Still, I felt a little reassured by the handsome chestnut-haired alpha strolling dutifully by my side. At least I had some help. That doubled my chances.

  A pleasant warmth seemed to radiant off of Logan, and it kept my heart inflamed with hope. Even without my rabbit’s foot, I couldn’t be that unlucky, right? Because I had Logan by my side, and that seemed to be a very lucky thing indeed.

  I turned to him with a grateful smile. “You know, I’m really—”

  SPLAT! Mid-sentence, an ice-cold snowball crunched right into the side of my face.

  A group of kids cackled nearby. Logan faced them with a scowl. “Beat it, hooligans!”

  He turned to me and placed his hand on my cheek, brushing away a few little clumps of snow that still clung to my skin. I lifted my eyes to meet his, and my heart skipped a beat. Little sparks of electricity seemed to shoot through his fingertips where he touched me.

  “You okay?” he asked, his green eyes glimmering.

  “Uh-huh,” I nodded. “I’m good. It’s just a snowball. But, uh...” I turned away, pulling myself away from his touch. As nice as it felt, it also startled me a bit. “Let’s keep looking.”

  I set off at a jogging pace, craning my head to spot any sign of the owl in the trees.

  “Is there such thing as owl bait?” I asked Logan.

  “Bait? I have no idea. You’re asking the wrong guy.”

  “Maybe we could lure the owl out with some tasty food. What do they eat, anyway? They’re carnivores, right? Or do they just eat berries?”

  “Again, you’re asking the wrong dude. Although if I had to guess, I’d say small rodents and such. Like rats, rabbits, maybe.”

  I froze. “R-rabbits?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. I dunno.”

  I swallowed down a gulp. What was I afraid of? I’d never been able to shift into my bunny form in my entire life. It’s not like I was at any risk of being eaten by a stupid owl.

  “What do you do, anyway?” I asked, glancing him up and down. “Let me guess, movie star?”

  Logan furrowed his brows, and then let out a laugh. “I’m an entrepreneur. Well… was.”

  “Oh no,” I cooed. “What happened now?”

  He sighed. “Yeah, I know. My life’s one big sob story, apparently. I started a business with my two best friends. But they didn’t like the way I chose to run the company, so they forced me out earlier this month.”

  “Wow, I’m really sorry to hear that,” I said. “I guess that’s why you’re here.”

  “Right, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. What did you mean, anyway? When you said I’m in need of a home and a mate? That’s a bizarre statement to make.”

  “You’ve never been to Vale Valley before, have you?” I asked him with a sneaky smile.

  He shook his head.

  “I know it sounds weird,” I said. “But this town is a little different. It’s magical, you see. Most of the country doesn’t know it exists. It only appears to those who need it—usually, those who are troubled in some kind of way, and who are in need of a loving, caring home and a forever mate.”

  Logan just stared at me, baffled.

  I shrugged. “You don’t have to believe me. But you’ll find out for yourself soon enough.”

  “Okay,” he said uncertainly. “Well, this is definitely a nice place. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

  “That’s because there is nothing like it,” I said with a smile and a wink.

  We continued along the winding footpath through the wooded park. My senses were on high alert as I scanned the trees and strained to listen to any possible owl hoots in the distance. My grandma used to tell me I had better senses than humans because of my bunny shifter bloodline. I believed her, and it often seemed I was quicker and sharper than others. But at other times, I wondered if I was all in my head.

  I’d never actually been able to shift into my bunny form, no matter how hard I tried. It sucked growing up around tons of cool shifters who could effortlessly shift whenever they wanted. There were even special events in Vale Valley, like the annual Shifter Run, which I’d always longed to take part in, but couldn’t.

  As a result, I never felt like I fully belonged with humans, yet I couldn’t quite fit in with the shifter crowd, either. It was like I lived in some kind of in-between limbo state.

  My lucky rabbit’s foot could only do so much for me, I supposed. It couldn’t make my life perfect, by any means.

  Next to me, I heard a loud grumbling sound, like a wild animal growling.

  “What was that?!” I exclaimed.

  Logan glanced down at his belly. “Sorry. That would be me.”

  “That sound came out of you?” I gawked. “Geez. You must be starving.”

  “Well, truthfully, I
was about to head into Sweet Bites to stuff my face before this whole debacle started.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” I pointed to the left. “Over there, past the park and across the street is The Chef’s Corner. You could have lunch there. The food’s really good.”

  “Oh, thank god,” Logan chuckled. “I feel like I’m gonna keel over and die. Care to join me?”

  “I’d love to!” I started. “But...” I glanced forlornly at the branches above our heads. “I really don’t have any time to spare. I can’t risk losing my rabbit’s foot forever.”

  Logan gave me a look of pity. “Marlie... do you honestly think you’ll be able to find it? That owl could be anywhere by now. It’s like finding a—”

  “—needle in a haystack, I know,” I finished for him, shrugging. “But what else can I do? I’m royally screwed without it.”

  Logan cocked his head skeptically. “Really? Are you sure it’s not just superstition? Maybe you don’t need it.”

  “Oh, no, no,” I insisted. “I do need it. I will literally die without it. Or suffer tremendously, at the very least.”

  “You seem to be doing all right so far,” Logan said, offering me a sweet smile. Goddess, he was handsome.

  “Well, it’s been, what, forty-five minutes?” I asked. “That’s not a very big sample size.”

  Logan put his hand on his chin and considered. “Look,” he said. “We could walk around all day looking for the rabbit’s foot if you want, but maybe there’s a better way.”

  “A better way?” I asked. “What’s that?”

  “I’ll tell you later. First, we eat.”

  Logan took my hand in his, and pulled me along with him towards The Chef’s Corner.

  Logan

  I gazed at the adorable omega sitting across from me at the table. Marlie was scanning the menu and chewing on his bottom lip. God, he was something else. I’d never met anyone quite like him before. Physically, he was a bombshell, but it was more than just his looks that attracted me. His presence was like a breath of fresh air. He was quirky and upbeat, and his eyes sparkled when he smiled. He was a little strange too, which only made me more intrigued. My eyes grazed over the supple, soft skin of his hands that lightly held the laminated menu.

  How I wish I could kiss those...

  “Uh, Logan?” Marlie asked, his eyes lifting to meet mine. “Are you going to order?”

  I snapped back to reality, only to realize that the server was standing at our table, waiting for me.

  I cleared my throat. “Ah, right. Of course.”

  I glanced at the menu. I hadn’t had a chance to look at it yet; my eyes had been glued to Marlie ever since we sat down.

  “I guess I’ll try the chicken and waffles,” I told the waitress. “Along with a cup of coffee, please.”

  “Coming right up,” the server replied before trotting off.

  “Great choice,” Marlie winked.

  “What did you order?” I asked.

  “Didn’t you hear? Oh, I guess you didn’t. You were too busy staring at me.”

  He narrowed his eyes and cast me a scowl. I thought for a moment that he was legitimately upset, but then a smile spread across his face and I realized he was only teasing.

  “Well, I was only staring because,” I said, pausing as I searched for an excuse. “Because you... you’ve got something on your face.”

  “I do?”

  “Yeah. A smudge. It’s really distracting me.”

  I leaned across the table to pretend to wipe the “smudge” away, but my finger slipped and I poked him right in the eye instead.

  “Ow!” he cried.

  “Oh crap, I’m so sorry!”

  “What the hell is your problem?!” He covered his eyes with his hands and shook his head back and forth. “You’ve blinded me!”

  “I didn’t mean to! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

  Whimpering, he removed his hands and blinked his eyes rapidly. The eye that I poked looked watery and red.

  “It’s okay,” he grumbled. “It’s not your fault.”

  “It’s totally my fault. I apologize. I won’t poke you in the eye again, I promise.”

  Marlie sighed. “No, it’s really not your fault. It’s just bad luck. Losing my rabbit’s foot has opened Pandora’s box. Getting my eye poked is just the beginning, you’ll see. A little appetizer, if you will... a taste of what’s to come.”

  I raised my brows. “Okay. Well, I hope not. Don’t worry about it, anyway. I’ll help you get it back.”

  “Sure you will,” Marlie grumbled, shaking his head slowly. “I don’t know how we’ll ever find it, to be honest.”

  “Hey, don’t be like that,” I said gently. “You were feeling optimistic earlier. Let’s keep that positivity going, okay? Besides, I’ve got a plan, remember?”

  “Right. So what’s your plan?”

  “I said I’d tell you after we eat,” I winked.

  Marlie studied me skeptically for a moment.

  It wasn’t exactly a genius plan, but it was better than wandering the town aimlessly all day long. Mostly, I just wanted to lift his spirits and bring a smile to his face.

  “So don’t worry about it right now, okay?” I offered. “Let’s just enjoy our lunch and get to know each other.”

  “Okay.”

  The waitress arrived with our coffees. I immediately lifted mine as-is for a sip, while Marlie went to work opening cream and sugar packages and dumping them in one after the other.

  “So, tell me about yourself,” I said.

  “I’m just some dude who lost his rabbit’s foot,” Marlie grumbled as he continued sweetening and creamifying his coffee.

  “There’s a lot more to you than that, I’m sure,” I said.

  “Maybe,” Marlie said. “Maybe not. Without that rabbit’s foot, I’m nothing.”

  “Can we stop talking about the damn rabbit’s foot for five seconds?” I snapped. “Sorry. It’s just...”

  Marlie narrowed his eyes at me, then seemed to reconsider. He shrugged and went back to work on his coffee.

  “Hey, so do you actually like coffee?” I asked. “Or just sweetened milk with a hint of coffee flavor?”

  Marlie scowled. “Are you here to be my friend or are you just here to rag on me?”

  I cleared my throat. “Sorry. It was just a joke.”

  After stirring with a spoon, Marlie lifted the mug to his lips and took a sip. “Mmm, perfect. Well, okay. So you want to know more about me, huh? I’ll start from the beginning. I was born—”

  Somehow Marlie lost his grip on the coffee cup and he dropped it. The mug landed on the edge of the table and splattered everywhere, mostly on Marlie’s lap. He bolted out of his seat with a screech.

  “Oh shit!” I cried. I grabbed a handful of napkins out of the dispenser and stood up to tend to him, patting all the wetspots I could see. It took a moment for it to register that I was mostly touching his crotch. I met his eyes, only to realize that he was giving me a pointed look. I pulled away sheepishly.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, my cheeks flooding with heat.

  He huffed. “Yeah. Fortunately it wasn’t too hot because of all the cream I put in it. See? You shouldn’t have made fun of me for that.”

  “You’re right. Hey, that’s good luck, right? It could’ve been scalding hot, but it wasn’t!”

  Marlie scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Sure. I’m so lucky. I’m all wet now and I look like I peed myself. That’s on top of the dried frosting and cake bits still stuck to my clothes.”

  I cocked my head and glanced him over. Yeah, he looked like a mess, I had to admit. But he was the cutest mess I’d ever seen.

  The waitress came running over. “Oh, honey! What happened?”

  “Sorry,” Marlie said. “I’m just clumsy.”

  “No worries, darlin’.”

  The waitress picked up the coffee mug before wiping down the table and seats with a wet cloth. I made a mental note to give her a big tip to make up
for the mess we’d made.

  A couple minutes later we were back in our seats, digging in to our lunch. We ate silently for a while.

  The chicken and waffles were absolutely delicious, and my full stomach made me feel better already. I patted my mouth with a napkin and smiled at Marlie. “How’s your salad?”

  Thankfully, he met my eyes with a smile that set my heart aflame. He nodded. “It’s great. This place never disappoints.”

  After a pause, he added: “Now watch, I bet I’m gonna come down with a horrible case of food poisoning.”

  “Hey, don’t be like that,” I said gently. “You ever heard of, um, what do they call it? Self-fulfilling prophecy? Maybe things will be all right if you just maintain a positive attitude.”

  “Fine,” Marlie grumbled.

  “So can I learn more about you now?” I asked.

  “Okay,” he said, popping a mini carrot in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed before continuing. “So, yeah, I was born here in Vale Valley. My parents were killed in a car accident, so I was raised by my grandma.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.”

  Marlie shrugged. “It’s okay. I was only two years old, so I don’t remember much about them. I grew up in a little house on the outskirts of town. I still live there. My grandma died three years ago, though. I miss her a lot.”

  “Oh, my condolences.”

  “She’s the one who gave me the rabbit’s foot on her deathbed,” Marlie explained. “She said it would always protect me from harm, and I believed her. It’s true. It’s my great-great-grandfather’s foot. He was the first of our family line to come over from Europe and settle down here in the States.”

  “Where’d he get it from?” I asked.

  Marlie blinked. “No one. It’s his foot. Well, paw would be more accurate.”

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  Marlie chuckled. “I come from a line of bunny shifters. He was a bunny shifter. Don’t ask me why, but after he died, his wife, my great-great-grandma, kept his paw and preserved it. I think my grandma said that a shaman blessed it, and that’s why it’s lucky. Anyway, it’s been passed down through the generations. It was my grandma’s most prized possession and she took it very seriously. But get this—one time she took a trip to Germany and brought her rabbit’s foot with her. While she was gone, that’s when my parents were killed. Coincidence? I think not.”