Amber (Jewels Cafe Book 1)

by Mia Harlan

  “What? No! Of course not!” Amber’s cheeks flash scarlet, and in an instant, she shifts back to her normal self.

  I open my mouth to say something, but I’m at a complete loss. What do you say to a mate who just shifted into you and possibly, maybe, felt your hard-on? Or, in this case, had your hard-on?

  “My turn!” Ruby squeals and claps her hands. I’d completely forgotten she was there, but the distraction is a welcome relief.

  Amber transforms into Ruby. She’s an exact replica, and this time, she even shifts her clothes so she’s wearing Ruby’s half-dress, half-nightgown thing.

  “You look just like me!” Ruby claps her hands again.

  “I do, don’t I?” Amber smirks at me. “Now you won’t be able to tell us apart.”

  Which is a complete and utter lie.

  “I’ll always be able to tell you apart,” I growl. “You’re my mate. I’ll always know it’s you, no matter what you look like.”

  “Really?” Amber scrunches her nose, and her hazel eyes twinkle. “Fine, then close your eyes.”

  “Why?” I ask, even as my eyes drift shut.

  “Because we’re going to see if you can tell us apart. Now promise not to peek!”

  “Promise,” I agree instantly. I’d do anything my Ambear asked me to. Always.

  A second later there’s a thud, and my mate cries out in pain.

  “Ambear?” My eyes instantly fly open, and I find my mate sprawled on the carpet.

  “I do that too!” the angel says happily, like this is some sort of performance that she finds entertaining.

  “Are you hurt?” I rush over and crouch on the carpet next to my mate. She starts to shift into herself, but when I place a hand on her back, wings suddenly pop out. They’re strong, as far as wings go—not that I’ve had any experience with wings to compare to—and I lose my balance and fall on my ass. Which doesn’t hurt, thanks to the plush carpet.

  “Stupid magic. Why can’t you ever do what I want you to?” Amber mutters under her breath as she closes her eyes and tries to concentrate. A few seconds later, she’s back to looking like herself, and she jumps to her feet. “Oh no, Wes, are you hurt?”

  “I’m fine,” I grumble as I realize I’m still sitting on my ass, and she’s offering me her hand. It’s soft and smooth and small and perfect, all at once. After she pulls me to my feet, I struggle to work up the will to let go, while my Ambear seems to have no such problem.

  “Ready for take two?” she asks. “Ruby, this time you should come to me. It’s not easy, shifting and walking at the same time.”

  Which is how I find myself sitting on the shoe store bench with my eyes closed, playing “Where’s Amber?” First she’s on the left. Then right. Then right again. Then left. She and Ruby keep switching places, but I can tell which one she is. Every. Single. Time.

  “How do you do it?” Amber pouts and transforms back again.

  “I don’t actually know.” I shrug. I have no idea how I can tell them apart. “I just can.”

  “Would you like to try on your shoes now?” The angel half walks, half flies back to grab the shoebox.

  “Oh. Right.” My mate stares at the box of shoes like it might be filled with bear droppings. Or worse, bees. “Listen, Ruby. I really don’t need any shoes right now. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to waste your time. And if I ever do need shoes, I promise I’ll buy them from you. Just... not today.”

  “Oh...” the angel’s disappointment is palpable, and my mate shoots me a panicked glance. It’s the exact opposite reaction to trying on shoes than either of my sisters, which gives me an idea.

  “Amber may not need shoes, but I do...”

  “Oooh, we do have several men’s shoes in stock. Nothing in your size, but I can order...”

  “No, I meant the slippers,” I tell her. Amber glances at my feet, and I chuckle. “Not for me. For my sisters. Their birthday is next month, and this will save me a trip to the store.”

  “Oh, great. Just tell me the color and size. I’m sure I have them in stock.”

  “Right, color... what’d you say you had again?”

  “Corn, lettuce, blueberry, pumpkin, and carpet!”

  Amber snorts and covers it up with a cough.

  It is a funny way to describe shoes, but it also makes my life easy. “I’ll take one in pumpkin and one in blueberry.” I may not know my sisters’ taste in shoes, but I definitely know their taste in food. Chocolate is always number one, and then pumpkin pie for Clara and berries for Carla.

  Ruby grabs both pairs, and I pay for my purchase. Once we’re outside, Amber turns to face me. “Do your sisters really want those shoes? You didn’t have to buy them just because—”

  “Trust me, Ambear. My sisters always want shoes.” I grin at her. “Now, how about we grab some lunch and really get to know each other?”

  Like the men in my family always say: the way to a mate’s heart is through her stomach.

  “That’s not a good idea, Wes.” Amber’s face falls, and needles of fear race up my spine.

  “Lunch isn’t a good idea?” I ask hopefully. Maybe she ate so much for breakfast she’s too full to eat anything else? Because the other, much scarier option is one I dare not think about.

  “No, Wes. This. Us. I just can’t.”

  “Why not?” The words escape my lips in a deep growl.

  It’s not a growl of anger, it’s a growl of heartbreaking pain. Even now, while she’s rejecting me, I look at her and see love and fate and perfection. And it’s everything my fathers and sisters and cousins and all their mates said it would be.

  One look at Amber, and my heart fills with love. It swells to twice its size, while I struggle to keep my cock from doing the same thing. Even while Amber is telling me she doesn’t want me, I want her, and it’s like a punch to the gut.

  “Because...” Amber looks like she’s going to cry, and that’s an even bigger punch to the gut. Because in the span of an hour, I really did fall in love with her, and I would do anything to make her happy.

  “Because why? Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “I-I can’t.” The look Amber gives me is pure heartbreak, and then she turns away from me and breaks into a run.

  “Ambear, wait!” I shout, chasing after her.

  My mate seems to be making a habit of this, but luckily for me, she’s not that fast. Maybe if she shifted back into an angel and tried to fly away, but given her hand-eye coordination in angel form, I don’t think she’d get far.

  “Ambear!” I catch up and proceed to speed walk next to her. “I know this is a lot to take in. You didn’t grow up knowing you’d find a mate one day. I have. And I promise you, I’ll take it as slow as you need me to. We have all the time in the world.”

  “Maybe one day...” Amber takes regular pauses to catch her breath, “it could work... but... I... I’m in love with someone else.”

  “That’s it?” The needles of fear are replaced with relief. I grab Amber’s hand, pulling her to a stop, and drop the shoeboxes onto the ground. Because who cares about shoes at a moment like this? Then I wrap her into a huge hug.

  “What do you mean that’s it?” Amber pushes away from me. “Did you hear what I said, Wes? I love someone else. I can’t just stop those feelings. No matter how much I want to. Even when he... he...”

  “But he’s not your mate?” I clarify. The rules would be a lot more clear cut if he was her mate, but even if he’s not, I doubt this is any different.

  “No... he’s... my best friend.” Amber’s eyes fill with tears, and I wrap her in my arms again. This time, she doesn’t struggle. Instead, she leans into me and wraps her arms around me. “This isn’t goodbye, Wes. Just bye for now.”

  This time I’m the one who pulls away. “We’re not saying goodbye, Ambear!”

  “Yes, we are! I’m sorry, Wes. I don’t think I’ll ever get over Julian. And if I do, it could take months. Even years. I don’t know how to be with anyone else!”

  “
I'm not asking you to get over anyone! I have two fathers. My sister Clara has two mates. Carla has four!”

  “Four?” Amber’s eyes grow wide, and I realize that something that’s so natural and normal for me is completely foreign to her.

  “It takes more than one man to tame a bear,” I tell her seriously. “And you are a bear’s mate.”

  “So you’re saying I might have more than one... mate?”

  “Or boyfriend, or husband, or whatever chameleons call their partners. Yeah.”

  “And you’re okay with that?” Amber stares up at me with big, wide eyes.

  “Of course. How can I not be?”

  Amber’s shoulders sag, but then her cheeks flush. “There’s something you should know.”

  “Oh yeah?” I smile down at her. “What’s that?”

  “Julian and I... we’re not really together.”

  “Wait, but you just said...”

  “It’s complicated, Wes.” Amber shrugs and reaches down to pick up the bags of shoes that I’d completely forgotten about. “I’ve loved him since we were at the academy... but he just sees me as a friend.”

  A low growl rumbles in my chest as I protectively pull Amber into my side. “I’m sorry, little bear.”

  “I’m not a bear, Wes. And I’m not little.” Amber’s cheeks flush, but she snuggles into my side. It’s not quite the reaction I expected to an endearment that usually sets female bear hearts racing, which makes me chuckle.

  “Big chameleon, then?” I ask, and her pout makes me full out laugh.

  I like the way my mate grins in response, but what truly warms my heart is how much more relaxed she looks. There was a sadness behind her eyes that I hadn’t realized was there, but after our talk, that look is gone.

  Chapter 6

  AMBER

  I smile as I slip my hand into Wes’s ginormous paw. His fingers are calloused, proof that he’s not a stranger to hard work. No suits or office work for him.

  I do know that some shifter communities still live off the land. Others have integrated with human and supe communities, so they hold more traditional jobs, and I wonder which one Wes is.

  I can picture him living in a small log cabin, hunting and farming to survive; but I can just as easily picture him in an apartment somewhere in town. I imagine him with a toolbelt on, working as a handyman. Or with a giant ax, chopping down a tree. Maybe he’s a cop, upholding the law? Or a firefighter, wearing all that heavy gear and running into burning buildings?

  My gut clenches as I picture the more dangerous jobs, and I quickly ask, “What do you do for work, Wes?”

  “I clean houses.” My eyes widen, and Wes chuckles. “I run a house cleaning service, the Cleanly Den. It used to be my mother’s, but when she passed...” He stiffens, the pain clearly still raw.

  “I’m so sorry, Wes.” I give his hand a squeeze.

  “It’s been almost five years now. She passed when I was nineteen.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal, even though it obviously is. “I started working summers when I turned fourteen. First, just helping Mom, then on my own as I got older. Dusting. Doing dishes. Washing floors. Taking a dirty house and working on it until it’s sparkling clean.”

  There’s something quite sweet about the idea of him cleaning houses alongside his mother. And it’s heartwarming the way his eyes light up when he talks about cleaning. There’s no faking that level of excitement, and I smile. “You really love your job, don’t you?”

  “I do. There’s just something about the process of transformation.” Wes gets a faraway look in his eyes. “Seeing your sweat and hard work pay off. Plus, I like working with my hands. It helps me clear my head and feel present in the moment.”

  “I know what you mean! Not about cleaning or anything,”—my mess of an apartment can attest to that—”but that’s exactly how I feel when I work at the cafe.”

  “You’re a barista?” Wes smiles happily at me as he runs one calloused finger over my wrist, igniting a new set of tingles. “Which cafe do you work at?”

  “Jewels Cafe. I actually co-own it. With Julian.”

  To my surprise, my heart no longer hurts at the mention of Julian. Okay, fine, it still hurts, just not quite as much. The idea of him with Minerva, or anyone else for that matter, is a punch to the gut... but talking to Wes about him seemed to have really helped.

  “You own that place?” Wes demands, suddenly not looking so happy.

  “I do. With Julian! Is that a problem?”

  “Ambear...” Wes’s face fills with regret, and I have a pretty good idea what he’s about to say.

  “What? Now you’re not okay with Julian? Because we own a place together?” I pull my hand out of his. “Was all that stuff about multiple mates a lie? What were you planning to do? Pretend it was all okay, and then convince me to cut him out of my life? Forget him? Well, it’s not going to happen. He may not love me back, but he’s my best friend. And no matter how he feels about me...” my voice cracks, “I’ll always love him.”

  “Ambear.” Wes drops the boxes of shoes again and places his hands on my shoulders. I idly wonder if the boxes are dented and how his sisters will react, but I know it’s just my brain trying to push aside the hurt. “Look at me, little bear. Hey, come on. I would never lie to you. I meant everything I said about you and Julian, and I still do. It doesn’t bother me that you love him... as long as one day, you might love me too.”

  “Then why? You don’t like that I’m a business owner? You want me stuck day and night in some bear hut, cooking and cleaning for you?” I cry and involuntarily start to shift... into... Wes?

  “Ambear.” Wes stares me straight in the eye, or stares himself straight in the eye, until I calm down and shift back to my own body. “First of all, I’ll always be the one who does the cleaning. And I’m not too bad in the kitchen, either. And secondly, I love that you own a business. But that place Jewels, well... look, I’m just going to have to show you.”

  “Show me what?” I demand, but Wes just shakes his head. He picks up the shoeboxes and silently starts leading me down the street toward my cafe.

  We’re only a few shops away when I realize something and yank on his arm, pulling him to a stop. “Please don’t say anything to Julian, Wes. I’ve never told anyone I like him. Ever. Not even him.”

  “Why not, little bear?”

  “Because I keep hoping that one day, maybe... maybe he’ll notice me. But right now, he doesn’t feel the same way. He never did. And he... likes someone else.”

  “He’d be stupid to like anyone else when he has you.” Wes cups my cheek, making me blush. “But yes, I promise not to say anything to your Julian.”

  “Thanks.” I sigh in relief as Wes takes my hand and leads me the rest of the way to Jewels Cafe. I can’t help smiling fondly at the building when it comes into sight. Wes, meanwhile, frowns down at me.

  “What is it?” I ask as my heart sinks.

  Somehow, even though Wes and I have known each other for such a short time, his opinion matters. Jewels Cafe is my favorite place in the whole world, and I need Wes to like it as much as I do. As much as I need him to like me.

  “Don’t you feel it?” he asks nervously.

  “Feel what?” I take a few steps toward the cafe, and Wes grabs my arm, yanking me back.

  “Ouch. Wes! That hurt!”

  “I’m so sorry, little bear. I didn’t mean to hurt you... it’s just my bear. I was protecting you!”

  “Protecting me from what?”

  “This place. There’s something about it, Ambear. Something frightening.”

  “About my cafe?” I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “What do you mean, frightening?”

  Jewels Café, in the mid-afternoon sun, is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. The sunlight hits it just right, so it’s almost glowing. The cobblestone sidewalk gives it a fantastical, otherworldly feel, and the pumpkin spice latte sign brings back memories of afternoons spent with Julian at the academy. Back wh
en he didn’t love Minerva, and what we shared was almost enough.

  Looking at our cafe now fills me with warmth and a feeling of rightness. But when I look at Wes, he’s staring at my cafe like it might grow teeth and bite him. If cafes could bite, which obviously, they can’t.

  “It’s this entire stretch of street.” Wes shudders. “Every time I pass by here, my bear forces me to cross the street. I just feel really bad vibes.”

  “Ooh, bad vibes!” A cheerful, female voice calls out from behind us. Wes completely overreacts and shoves me behind him with a loud growl.

  “There are no bad vibes!” I step around him to face the vampire. Or the woman masquerading as a vampire. You never know. The only clues I have are her long sleeves, hat, sunglasses, and gloves. They’re obviously meant to protect her skin from the sun, and no one in their right mind would wear them on an unusually hot fall afternoon like today. So yeah, vampire.

  “Oh yes, there are. I can feel them,” she says absently as she examines her phone screen. “Bad vibes are awesome! They’ll scare everyone else off, so no one would be here but us.”

  I glance at the empty stretch of street and my lonely cafe. There can’t actually be bad vibes, can there?

  “Come on, Wim, we’re going in there,” the vampire announces.

  For the first time, I notice the supe standing next to her. He’s lean and muscular, with forest green eyes that contrast with his brown complexion. “I get all the bad vibes I need from you, Sapphire,” he grumbles, but I catch affection behind his words.

  “You love it, Wolfie!” she smirks at him and holds out her phone to show him a photo of a man with blond hair and a charming smile. “What do you think of this one? Swipe right or swipe left?”

  “Left, Sapphire.”

  “You say that about all my meals. Does he look like he’s AB-negative to you?”

  “I don’t know! It says he’s a car salesman.”