The Lone Shifter: A Mount Edge Shifter Romance

by Sara Summers

  I’d been in too much pain at the time to see how much I had hurt all of them. Now that I saw it, I knew I needed to fix it.

  I drove to Mount Edge in my plaster-covered clothes, a little sweaty and a little smelly. My heart pounded in my chest at the idea of opening up to everyone I loved, but it wasn’t a bad pounding. A little honesty with them was long overdue.

  When I got to my mom and dad’s place, I didn’t knock. They hated when any of us knocked. I walked in, hearing my mom’s music coming from hers and my dad’s bedroom. If I’d bothered going around more often, I would’ve noticed that she’d started listening to the same stuff Kina loved, even while we were apart.

  Mom laughed, and I heard the low rumble of my dad’s voice. Had I not been about to pour out my soul, I would’ve smiled. He always made her laugh.

  I knocked on the door, even though it was open. Both of them turned to look at me. They’d been doing laundry together, talking about their days as they folded, the same way they always did.

  “Rhett.” My mom’s eyebrows lifted. She was surprised to see me, and I couldn’t blame her. I’d avoided every family gathering I could for years, only going when Stetson dragged me or on holidays like Mother’s Day and Christmas.

  “Hey. Can we talk?” Unease tore at my stomach, and I scratched the back of my neck uncomfortably.

  “Of course.” She smiled, crossing the room. I followed her out to the family room, nodding at my dad when he shot me a look to ask if I wanted him there too.

  Sitting down on the couch, I wiped sweaty hands on my dirty work pants. It didn’t help much, but the action soothed me a little.

  I couldn’t maintain eye contact while I told them, so I focused on the cabinets behind the couch and my parents’ heads.

  “Right after graduation three years ago, Kina got pregnant.” I swallowed hard as my mom’s body stilled. “It was an accident. We were immature and we weren’t ready, but after we found out, we were excited. The internet said you shouldn’t tell anyone until after the first trimester, so we didn’t. There was an ultrasound—we heard the heartbeat—“ My voice shook at the memories, still so strong and painful.

  “She had a miscarriage a few days later. I didn’t know what to do, I reacted wrong, and she told me to leave. I knew she was just hurting, but I left anyway. I was still sad and too guilty to go back to her after walking away like that. Every night for weeks, I ended up parked in front of our apartment, trying to convince myself to go inside but I couldn’t. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t.

  “I know you took her side in everything, and I’m glad you did. She needs people more than I do. If you hadn’t been there…” I shut my eyes, letting out a slow breath. “Thank you, mom.”

  My mom stared at me for a few long seconds. Tears welled in her eyes, and then fell down her cheeks. She stood and crossed the room, sitting down beside me, and then threw her arms around me.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Her tears fell to my shoulder. “Why didn’t Kina tell me?”

  “I don’t know. We were scared, I guess. Guilty. Mostly, really sad.”

  “I thought you cheated on her.” Mom admitted, letting go and wiping at her eyes. “All this time, I was so angry at you. I’m sorry, Rhett. I had no idea. The only thing I could think of that could hurt her like that was getting cheated on. If I’d known…”

  “You thought I cheated on her?” My eyebrows lifted. “Wow, thanks.”

  “I didn’t want to believe it, but I couldn’t think of anything else.” She grimaced, and then hugged me tightly. “I’m sorry.”

  I took a ragged breath in.

  “It’s alright. There are a lot of things I should’ve done differently.”

  “The past is in the past, son.” Dad sat down on my other side, squeezing my shoulder. “I screwed up plenty with your mom too. The important thing is that you love her and learn from your mistakes.”

  “I’m trying.” I answered, honestly.

  “I love you.” Mom hugged me again, still crying.

  “I love you too.”

  KINA

  Telling Isla made the load of my miscarriage seem so much lighter. I wasn’t sure why, but after she left that evening, I felt different. Braver. More… happy.

  I thought I’d healed as much as I could when I told my counselor everything that had happened, but I was wrong. Telling my friend, because I trusted her and because she wanted to understand me and Rhett, was different. It was so much better.

  When Rhett came home that day, I threw my arms around him without hesitation. He hugged me fiercely, his arms tight and strong and warm. I didn’t think about it; I just reached up and took his face in my hands, going up on my tiptoes and pressing my lips to his.

  His tongue slipped into my mouth and I pulled myself closer to him, my hands sliding inside his dirty, long-sleeved work shirt. While our mouths got reacquainted, my hands explored the muscles on his back. He was stronger than he’d been in high school, rougher and with more muscles.

  He groaned when tugged at the hem of his shirt, wanting it off of him.

  “Kina.” His eyes met mine as he pulled away, and I saw the wild desperation there. He wanted me—needed me—but didn’t want to push. He wanted me to make the rules, to decide what I wanted.

  “Take your shirt off. I’ll tell you if I want to stop.”

  He tossed it to the floor and I surged toward him, hands tracing and squeezing those new muscles of him. Every inch of the man was sexy, and I knew I’d never get enough. Our tongues danced and his hands slipped under my sweater. When they hit my bare hips, I moaned.

  “Take it off.” I ordered.

  He didn’t hesitate, and he definitely didn’t argue.

  We were kissing again before my top even hit the ground, my legs wrapped around his hips. He walked me back into the wall, pressing against me while his hands gripped my thighs.

  He pulled his lips away long enough to trail kisses down my neck, his eyes burning holes in all of the skin exposed. My bra was a boring, plain light pink, but the way he looked at it told me that was just as good as black lace.

  “Kina…” his eyes met mine, and I saw the hesitation there.

  “I want you, Rhett.” I said it bluntly. There was no beating around the bush, and never had been for us.

  “You have no idea how much I want you too, but there’s something I have to tell you.” He closed his eyes, like it was painful for him to stop kissing me.

  My body tensed.

  “Did you cheat on me? Oh gosh, did you have sex with someone else?” my heartbeat picked up, and this time it wasn’t because he had me pressed into the wall.

  Rhett’s eyes flew open and narrowed at me.

  “No.” he growled. “Why does everyone believe I could cheat on you?” He shook his head. My eyebrows knitted together, and I wondered who this “everyone” was. “I went to my parents’ house today. I told them about the baby, the miscarriage…”

  He lifted one hand off my thigh and shoved it through his hair.

  “I know I should’ve talked to you first, made sure you were okay with me bringing it out, but—“

  “Oh, Rhett.” A sad smile lifted my lips, and I relaxed. My hands squeezed his bare shoulders. “No, don’t apologize. They’re your parents, and it happened to you just as much as it happened to me. I’m glad you told them. I think we should’ve done it a long time ago.”

  “Me too.” His smile was wistful, and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear for me. “I love you, you know. More than anything. It would kill me to cheat on you. Honestly, I think my otter would try to drown us both. I could never do that to you.”

  “I know.” I pressed my lips to his, slipping my tongue back into his mouth. The kiss went on for a few more minutes before I gently pulled away, brushing my hand through the hair he’d messed up. “As much as I’d like to keep going with this, I think maybe we should sit down and talk about everything. I talked to Isla about it a little today, and it helped. Since
we experienced it together, maybe that would be even better.”

  “You’re right.” He admitted, leaning forward and pressing his forehead to mine. “I’d really like to bang you right now, though.”

  I punched him in the shoulder, and he grinned.

  “There’s my girl.”

  “I’m a woman.” I tossed my hair over my shoulder, and his grin widened.

  “How did I survive three years without you?”

  “You were watching my life through my eyes, you creepy douche. You didn’t.” I shot back, though I was fighting a smile.

  “Fine, how did I survive three years without you punching me?” he corrected. Then his eyes dropped to my bra, and his grin was all man. “And without touching your boobs?”

  His hand lifted, and he squeezed one of my girls.

  I swatted his hand away, grinning just as widely as he was.

  “Go take a shower, Roran. You reek. I’ll order some food, and we’ll talk.”

  “Yes ma’am.” He pressed a kiss to my cheek, and then dropped his lips to kiss the part of my boob that my bra left exposed. I smacked his face, and he sauntered away, still grinning.

  While he showered, I ordered food and then shot a quick text to Phoebe, asking her to run the NA meeting for me so I could have some “quality time” with Rhett. I knew she’d assume that meant sex, but what she didn’t know wouldn’t kill her. We needed to talk, and people didn’t need in on our business.

  When a few others from the group responded to the text, I realized I’d sent it to the whole group.

  “Crap.” I grimaced.

  Rhett swooped me up off the counter, and my phone clattered down to where I’d been sitting. A laugh burst through me, and I pressed my lips to his again.

  “Come on, baby. Let’s chat.” He dropped me over the back of the couch and jumped over to sit down beside me, happier and more energetic than I’d seen him since he came back almost three months earlier.

  My phone was forgotten on the counter as Rhett and I exchanged our own views on everything that had happened. We talked about what hurt us, and what we missed, and what we wanted. We fell asleep together on the couch somewhere around 5 AM, and laughed together when he called in sick at 7 before carrying me to bed and holding me close while we dozed off again together.

  RHETT

  The month after Kina and I talked was bliss. Our relationship had been good three years earlier, but after everything, it was a thousand times better. The conversations were better, the kissing was better, the sex was better… The time we spent together in general was better.

  Kina started working a few less hours, since I was paying the bills anyway. She stepped back from her NA group, and while she still went to almost every meeting, she let someone else step up and lead part of the time.

  We had dinner with my family a few times, and she was still a hit. I didn’t even get to sit next to her—my youngest brothers, Declan and Denver, took those seats. She got along better with them than I even did.

  It wasn’t perfect—we still argued sometimes—but we worked things out a lot faster than we had before we split. I guess we’d both realized that nothing was worth losing our relationship, or our friendship, over.

  I finished making dinner about the time she was supposed to be home from work, but picked up my phone when I felt her drive the wrong direction. My Kina-finder was spot-on, so I knew she wasn’t headed toward our place. Surprises weren’t really her style and our favorite grocery stores weren’t in that direction either, so I wasn’t sure what was up.

  Just as I was about to call her, my phone started to ring.

  “Hey, baby.” I said.

  “Hey, sorry, I’m going to be late.” Kina’s voice was breathy and maybe a little panicked.

  “You okay?” I checked. The dinner I didn’t care about, but if she was panicking I definitely wanted to know what was going on.

  “Cameron just called me. I guess he relapsed and he’s trying to get clean again. He doesn’t have anyone but me, and I think he got the message that I’m with you and not interested in him. I can’t just leave him, Rhett, if something happened…”

  “No, it’s fine.” I urged.

  Though I didn’t have the best feeling about Cameron or the situation in general, I’d never ask Kina not to help someone. Especially not someone who had been there for her while I wasn’t, even if I was a little worried he’d try to make a move on her.

  Logic said she would’ve taken him up on the offer before I was back in the picture if she was interested, anyway.

  “Thanks.” She sighed.

  “Do you want me to drop off dinner?” I asked. Honestly, the question was a little selfish. I wanted to check up on her, to see the place she was and make sure she was safe, without stalking her. She hated it when I used my Kina-finder to “creep on her”.

  “That would be awesome. I’ll text you the address when I get there. Thanks, Rhett.”

  “No problem. Call me if you need anything, okay? And keep me updated, or I’ll stalk you.”

  She laughed.

  “Whatever. Keep your peepers to yourself, douche.”

  “Love you too.” I teased.

  She hung up, and I pushed away the uneasiness. I ate quickly and packed up two servings of the food I’d made, figuring she could talk Cameron into eating some of it the way I’d talked her into it when she was in withdrawal. Although, I hoped she did it without getting in his bed.

  If she got in his bed, we’d have issues.

  Well, my fist would have issues with his face.

  But hey, at least I was trying to be supportive. I counted that for something.

  KINA

  I had a bad feeling about going to Cameron’s house, but I ignored it, because I’m an empathetic idiot. After texting Rhett the address, I went right in. The door was unlocked, so I didn’t bother knocking.

  I’d assumed Cameron would be pale and puking, but I hadn’t expected him to be sitting on his bed, shirtless and sweaty, with a dozen track marks on the insides of his elbows and running up his arm.

  The rings under his eyes and the tone of his skin told me that he was very far from okay, and that this was not the one-time relapse he’d said.

  “What happened?” I was cautious, since there was no way to know when his last hit was.

  “You hooked up with Rhett.” He croaked. “Broadcasted it loud and clear in the group chat. I thought we had something.”

  Was he talking about…

  Oh man. I had accidently sent that text into the group chat rather than right to Phoebe. Guilt flooded through me.

  “Cam, I thought I made it clear I wasn’t interested in being anything but friends with you.” I spoke gently.

  He clearly wasn’t in the best state of mind, and there was no telling what he would do. While I could take care of myself, he was still a good ten inches taller than me and eighty or ninety pounds heavier, and it had been a long time since I had to physically fight for my safety.

  “You told him the same thing.”

  Well, that was just plain false. I’d never told Rhett I wasn’t interested in him. Sure, I’d told him I couldn’t be with him, but that was way different than uninterested.

  “Have you been using since I sent out that text?” my words were careful, but I’d never been all that great at using the right words.

  He stared at me, and I took his lack of answer as a confirmation.

  “It’s heroin, right? You’re into dope?” I prodded, hoping for an answer.

  He nodded confirmation, and my heart sank. This was bad.

  “When was your last dose, Cam?”

  “This morning.” He said, and then his face contorted. “You went back to him, even after he broke you.”

  I wanted to tell him I’d never been broken, but that was a lie. And since it had been somewhere around twelve hours since his last injection, he was definitely in the beginning of withdrawal. After a month of using, he’d be really messed up pretty f
ast.

  “Life breaks everyone.” I bit my lip, looking to the clock on the microwave. Rhett had said he’d bring food by in an hour, and that was still almost an hour away. If I couldn’t get away to text him, I just had to hope he used his Kina-finder to creep on me. “Do you want to get clean, Cameron?”

  This was the trickiest question. If he’d really asked me there to support him in getting clean, I could work with that. Rhett could wait on the porch, listening in to make sure he didn’t cross a line I didn’t want crossed in his vulnerable state. But if he didn’t want to get clean, he’d asked me there for a reason I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

  “No.” his voice was stony. “I need the drugs.”

  My heart sank. I was stupid. A big, stupid, idiot. Every other time I showed up to help him through his relapses, I’d brought Phoebe along. Heartbroken Kina was wary of men in general, and she thought things through. Happy Kina apparently made unwise decisions.

  “Then why am I here?” I kept my voice steady despite the pounding of my heart. I’d had plenty of practice with that after my foster homes.

  “Because I’m out of money.” He stared at the wall behind me, and I had the feeling he wasn’t really seeing me. “You chose Rhett, so it’s okay.”

  Oh crap. He was justifying something out loud, and I’d guess not something good.

  My impulse was to run, but even a drugged-up Cam was probably faster than me. He’d grown up in foster care, like me, which meant he knew how to fight as well as I did, probably better. We’d bonded over that fact when we met, but now it just felt like a stupid reason to be friends.

  Plus, running would piss him off. He was in withdrawal, so his moods would be up and down like crazy, and if I did piss him off and he caught me, there was a good chance some bad crap would go down and I would be on the wrong end of it.