Daddy Shifter

by Juniper Hart

  Kevin continued to insist he had not heard from his daughter, but Michael became convinced that Kevin had sent her away.

  He has no right to do that without my authorization, he thought furiously. She is a member of my pack.

  “You don’t remember?” Michael echoed, closing the space between them angrily. “You don’t know?”

  Kevin tried to turn away from the irate pack leader, but Michael grabbed him by the shoulder, his fingers tightening roughly. As he clenched Kevin’s clavicle, his hand began to shift, his claws extending.

  “There never was a lawsuit, was there?” he hissed, his voice coming out like sandpaper. “You made it up to sabotage Everly.”

  Kevin’s eyes grew into tiny slits of anger. “Sabotage Everly?” he snapped. “I did it to save your reputation, you ungrateful fool!”

  Michael gaped at him. “What the hell does that mean?” Michael growled, his face transitioning, his snout elongating. A cold fury was beginning to overtake his body as he stared at Kevin’s defiant face.

  “You were about to throw away everything for a fling with my daughter!” Kevin howled. “I saved you before things got any worse! Can you imagine how this would look to the pack? The scandal would embarrass you, and it would embarrass me.”

  Michael could barely see, his blood boiling with each word Kevin spoke.

  “You knew about us?”

  Kevin snorted. “Half the town knows about you, Mike. You’re having a midlife crisis and you’re dragging down the pack because of it.”

  “So, you made up the lawsuit knowing it would embarrass Everly into leaving town?”

  The question was rhetorical, but it hit Michael in the gut like a thousand knives. The desire to throttle the life from his friend’s throat was insurmountable, but he didn’t, and instead dropped Kevin to the ground.

  “You could thank me,” Kevin snarled, straightening his shirt. “I did it for you.”

  “What about your daughter?” Michael asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “What about Everly, Kevin?”

  The shorter man shrugged indifferently. “Originally, I wanted her to stay because that’s what we do as a pack—we stick together. But, her actions were too much. She can’t just seduce the pack leader to get ahead in life. She should have known better. You need some time for the rumors to die down.”

  Michael peered at Kevin dubiously. “Do you believe that? You believe that Everly seduced me and we were having some sordid affair?”

  “You’re making a much bigger deal out of this than it needs to be,” Kevin informed him in exasperation. “She’s young. She’ll get over it.”

  “She’s taken off somewhere without permission and no one knows where she is. It doesn’t bother you in the slightest that she’s been gone for three weeks?”

  Kevin scoffed. “She’ll be back. Where else is she going to go?”

  But even as he said it, Michael could hear the doubt in his voice.

  “If you’re wrong, Kevin, you can consider yourself exiled,” Michael said dully, turning toward the door.

  “Me?” Kevin yelled. “I did what was best for the pack!”

  “Protecting the pack is my job! Protecting your family is your job. You’re no member of this pack if you’re willing to throw your own daughter under the bus.”

  “Maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to have sex with my daughter!” Kevin yelled after him.

  Michael could not contain himself. He whipped around, falling onto all fours as he landed. Kevin did not have time to react as the pack leader lurched, his body sending him five feet back to hit the wall.

  A firm black paw sat at Kevin’s throat, and this time, Michael allowed for his claws to sink into his friend’s skin, watching as blood began to pour from the fresh gash.

  You’re a disgrace to the pack, Michael silently communicated to Kevin. And to your family. You are not worthy of being in any pack. You were really so worried about your daughter embarrassing you that you made up a story so she’d leave?

  Kevin’s eyes grew wide with shock.

  He tried to respond, but Michael was cutting off his air supply, something he was not ready to cease. Not yet. He wanted Kevin to experience a minutia of the pain he had inflicted upon his daughter, a fact he seemed unwilling to acknowledge.

  “Mike!”

  The haze of rage that seemed to have overcome him eased slightly as he heard Cynthia call to him from the doorway.

  Without loosening his grip on Kevin, he turned to stare at Kevin’s wife.

  This doesn’t concern you, Cynthia, Michael silently told the woman, but he was losing steam.

  Hurting Kevin was not going to help anything. Kevin would heal, and he would have learned nothing.

  He doesn’t understand that I love his daughter, Michael thought bitterly to himself.

  “Mike, I think I know where Everly may have gone,” Cynthia calmly said.

  The words were enough to forsake his urge to hurt Kevin altogether, and he released the man he had once considered his best friend. He shifted back to into his human form.

  “Where?” Michael demanded, his full attention on Cynthia. “Where did he send her?”

  Cynthia shook her red tresses as Kevin leapt to his feet.

  “Don’t tell him anything, Cynthia!” he yelled. “He’s only going to bring embarrassment to the pack. He’s been sleeping with our daughter.”

  Before Michael could reclaim his hold on Kevin, Cynthia spoke. “It’s about time she received some love from a man in her life,” she spat. “Everly has spent her entire life trying to gain your approval. It’s not surprising that she was so drawn to Mike. He has given her everything you’ve failed to do.”

  Kevin’s eyes grew wide with shock. “I have given her everything!” he cried in denial. “How dare you say that! Look around you!”

  “I’m not talking about material goods, Kevin,” Cynthia said. “I’m talking about emotional support. When have you ever been there for her? She’s a sensitive, beautiful girl, and you have beaten her down.”

  “You’re crazy!” Kevin yelled, but Michael could see he didn’t believe his own argument. “You condone what Everly and Mike have been hiding from us? You’re as despicable as Everly!”

  Michael felt the ire swimming through his veins. He looked at Kevin, careful to make eye contact. “Why didn’t you just come to me, man to man, instead of being such a sneaky, conniving weasel? You’re not a wolf. You’re vermin, sending your only child away from her home when she was the most vulnerable!”

  Cynthia sighed and shook her head before looking at Michael. “He didn’t send her away, but he didn’t care when she left, either,” she explained to the pack leader. “He always set his expectations too high, and when she reached them, he’d set them higher. He made it impossible to live up to his standards.”

  Michael tried to keep his temper in check. “Where is she, Cynthia? I need to find her.”

  Cynthia sighed and nodded. “I know,” she said sadly. “But I don’t have enough information to give you.”

  Michael eyed her, wondering if she wasn’t just as responsible as Kevin for the plight they were in. “You just said you knew where she went!” Michael exploded. “Is this a game to you?”

  Cynthia shook her head vehemently. “I… I think I know where she went, but I don’t know where that is, exactly.”

  “What the hell does that mean, Cynthia? Just tell me what you know.”

  She took a quivering breath in and shook her head, trying to explain. “She has a friend, Sydney, who is from Texas. I think she’s gone there.”

  Michael continued to stare at her, his eyes boring into her until she looked away. “Sydney from Texas?” he snorted. “That’s the best you can give me?”

  “I think she lives in Austin,” Cynthia said, looking crestfallen.

  Michael suddenly remembered the words Everly had told him and Kevin in the bar the night she had tried to leave the first time.

  I h
ave applied for a job in Texas and there is a good chance I will get it.

  Michael punched the wall to his left, causing both Kevin and Cynthia to jump. She had tried so hard to separate herself, to make it as her own woman, and each one of them had destroyed her in their respective ways.

  “You don’t deserve a girl as wonderful as Everly,” he spat. “You have been dealt a treasure and you don’t know a damned thing about her. I’m shocked she ever came back here after college. You should be ashamed of yourself, Kevin.”

  He stormed from the house. He had to find Everly and bring her home.

  Michael jumped into his SUV, his mind whirling.

  How could I have been so stupid as to believe what Kevin told me? I would never have taken such a thing at face value from anyone before.

  But he knew why he had believed it; his innermost fears had been exposed in every word Kevin had spoken.

  I’d been worried about being caught all along. It was always in the back of my mind, and when he brought up the lawsuit, I jumped on it like a scapegoat.

  Michael hadn’t wanted to end it with Everly, but when he thought about it in hindsight, he wondered what other result he expected.

  She wasn’t going to sit around and let me pay for her apartment while she was unemployed and disgraced. Ogden is a small town. If Kevin knew about our relationship, it was only a matter of time before Everly ended up being outed by some hateful bastard.

  He had to choose between his company and his feelings for Everly, and he had chosen his company, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

  I have no right yelling at the Castles. I am no better. Everly didn’t leave Ogden because of her parents, she left because of me.

  He had to find her somehow and make her come back.

  Michael had no way of knowing if he had a chance to bring her home, but he had to at least try.

  I will fly out to wherever she ended up and beg her for another chance. I don’t give a damn what anyone says about our relationship. I am the pack leader and they will respect me.

  But first, he had to figure out where to find this Sydney in Austin, Texas.

  As he made his way back to his house, he grew dizzy with the task ahead.

  He steered his vehicle into the garage. But should I be pursuing this? Maybe this is exactly how it should be.

  True, he was furious with Kevin Castle for his deceit and treatment of Everly, but maybe the best thing for everyone was if she stayed away from Ogden.

  If I manage to win her back, she will be walking into a life of scrutiny, even if I honor my threat to Kevin and banish him from the pack. She will be the talk of the town after living her entire existence under her father’s criticism. It may not be a problem for me, but she will be ridiculed and scorned behind her back. Can I subject her to that? I can’t bear to see her hurt any more than she has been.

  His heart jarred at the thought of never seeing Everly again, but his logical side realized with blinding clarity that anywhere was better for her than Ogden, Utah.

  Swallowing the bile in his throat, Michael pushed aside the thought of how lonely the last three weeks had been without her, how he had slept with his cell phone glued to his side, hoping for any word about where she had gone.

  He needed to know she was safe. The time had been excruciating, and everything had suffered; his work, his sleep, his mood.

  But that was before he had understood the gravity of what had happened.

  They had been discovered now. Things had changed, and they could no longer keep themselves in an isolated bubble.

  Nor should we want to.

  As he stepped out of the SUV, Michael felt his body grow weak as he made his decision.

  He would not go after Everly after all.

  She was better off without him.

  Chapter Fifteen

  It’s over now, Everly told herself. It’s time to move on.

  She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, her eyes gaunt and withered. She felt as if she had aged ten years in a month, and the woman in the glass seemed to confirm it.

  When she had woken that morning, however, something had changed.

  A realization had struck her so violently, she was almost brought to her knees.

  This isn’t about you anymore, Everly. This is about the child you’re carrying. You can’t wallow in self-pity, lashing out at Sydney, who has only tried to help you. You can’t go home, but you can rebuild your life here.

  It seemed incredible to think that less than a year earlier, she had hoped to be far away from Ogden with Sydney, forsaking her roots in Utah.

  I couldn’t go back now if I wanted to, she thought, turning to start the shower.

  Sydney had left for work already, and Everly was slightly weak from the atrophy in her muscles.

  She had become a wasted shell of herself, but she was determined not to fade away.

  I have the baby to fight for, even if Michael doesn’t want him.

  A twinge of guilt sparked through her.

  She had not tried to reach out to her former lover and let him know she carried his child. How could she? She had banished herself from the pack. He wouldn’t want anything to do with her.

  Yet, as Everly stepped into the shower, allowing the near scalding water to fall over her body, she was reminded of his hand on her skin, stroking her lovingly.

  She closed her eyes and felt him, pressing himself against her from behind, his fingertips caressing the curves of her breasts.

  Her hands became his, stroking her nipples as the other hand fell between her thighs, pressing against her throbbing button.

  She pinched her taut skin, permitting a finger to slip inside as she moaned softly, letting the wetness slide over her middle.

  Everly could feel his hardness at her back, rubbing between her slick cheeks as the water poured over them both.

  His hot breath was on her neck as he murmured in her ear, “I love you, Everly. I won’t ever leave you or our baby.” The words sent a thrill through her as he bent her forward, gently prying her legs apart.

  She added another finger to her center, imagining his hard shaft entering her fluidly as she reached out to brace herself against the shower wall. Her digits seemed possessed, falling into the sweet, rhythmic thrusts Michael plied into her, filling her deliciously.

  She gasped, a tingling sensation floating through her stomach as she released her hand from her erect nipple to brace herself for an orgasm.

  Her body shuddered, and she moaned again, feeling the gush of warmth against her fingers, intermingling with the hot spray of the shower.

  Her heart raced, and she was reluctant to open her eyes, knowing that when she did, the image of Michael would be gone. But she could only hold out so long, and the water slowly began to turn cold.

  At least I am not crying today, she thought, leaning forward to turn off the shower. I guess that’s a step in the right direction.

  It was meant to be a dry thought, but it almost sent her into a slew of sobs. Baby steps, she told herself. It will get easier to forget him over time.

  Everly didn’t ask herself how much time it would take. In her heart, she wasn’t sure she would ever heal from the pain of losing Michael—especially when the baby would be a constant reminder of what she had once had.

  Wrapping a towel around her slender frame, she opened the bathroom door, steam escaping into the hall with tantalizing billows.

  I will always have a part of him in the baby, Everly reminded herself, dropping her palms over the gentle swell of her belly.

  The thought was enough to keep her from falling back into bed to forget that there was a world out there worth living.

  Ogden was no good for me, she thought as she dressed slowly, pulling a t-shirt over her head. I was right to leave. I won’t be a burden on anyone there and I escaped a scandal, not to mention narrowly ruining Michael’s business. Austin will be a good place to raise a child. He’ll have an adorable Texan drawl.

 
The idea made her smile for the first time in weeks, and she padded her way down the stairs of the backsplit to the kitchen. The phone was ringing again, as it had been most of the morning since Sydney had left for work, but Everly ignored it.

  Telemarketers are starting early today, she thought wryly. I don’t even know why Sydney has a landline.

  Making her way towards the fridge, she opened the door and scanned the contents without any interest.

  You must eat, she reminded herself. It’s not about you. It’s about the baby.

  It was the motivation she needed, and she immediately began to fix a sandwich as the phone began to ring again.

  Oh, holy hell, she thought, and she laughed aloud. She was beginning to sound like a Texan in her head already.

  “Hello?” she snapped into the phone, the words “I’m not interested” ready to spring from her lips.

  There was a slight pause.

  “You’re there.”

  Everly froze in her spot.

  I’m hallucinating. Is hallucination a side effect of pregnancy?

  “Everly, you’re there!”

  “Hi, Michael,” she croaked, her head growing hot. “Why are you calling me here?”

  “Everly, I’m so glad you’re safe. I can’t believe I found you,” he replied. “You disappeared without a word to anyone. How could you just take off like that? Your parents are worried sick about you!”

  Everly laughed aloud. “You know I can still tell when you’re lying,” she replied quietly. “And honestly, I am surprised to hear from you. You shouldn’t be contacting me when I’ve been banished from the pack.”

  “Who said you’ve been banished?” he demanded, but she could hear the crack in his voice. “You can come home any time you want. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  There was a note of insincerity in his tone, but what he was lying about, Everly couldn’t be certain.

  “How’s the lawsuit?” she heard herself asking bitterly.

  Michael inhaled sharply, and a long silence ensued.

  “Michael? How much are they going after you for? And who filed it?”

  “Everly… there was no lawsuit,” he told her softly. “Your father made it up because he found out about us. He wanted you to leave town before he was embarrassed.”