The Shifter's Gift

by Haley Weir

  Letting out a shaky breath, he stripped down and sat on the edge of his bed. It wasn't as if he was celibate. He hooked up with girls when the need arose. He liked women, but he liked them in moderation, or maybe just in small portions.

  He flopped back on his bed and ran a hand over his face. Perhaps bucking bear tradition should be coming sooner than later for him. If he found a place of his own, he wouldn't need to be around his parents this often. Then he would feel less pressure to do as they said, especially in terms of finding a mate.

  He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and browsed a few apartment websites. Most of the ones listed were well out of his price range, and the ones that were looked pretty rough. He slapped his phone back on the nightstand. His options were to play ball at work and climb the corporate ladder to get the kind of apartment he wanted, or he'd need to learn how to go with the flow around here.

  Neither option sounded optimal, and he doubted his friends would be into him becoming a fixture on their couches. The thought of asking his brothers if he could stay with one of them briefly popped into his head, but that would likely get old fast now that they were fully domesticated.

  Rolling his eyes, Noah climbed beneath the covers and grabbed his cell phone again. He launched Netflix and put the episode of Stranger Things back on. At least he could do what he wanted in the comfort of his own room. For now.

  When the episode ended, he played another one, and then another and another, getting completely caught up in them. They provided a temporary escape from his life. With a yawn, he checked the time. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw it was almost six o’clock in the morning. He placed both of his hands over his face. This seriously wasn’t good. He had a meeting in the morning.

  The last time he was supposed to have this meeting, he faked sick and rescheduled because he was hungover from the night before. The client was unhappy when he did that, and he seriously doubted they would buy it if he repeated his illness performance this time, especially now that Mason’s girlfriend was his big boss. If she reported to his brothers about his behavior, he could only imagine how they might punish him.

  But it wasn’t as if they could fire him, right? Maybe they could, but he was most afraid of them telling his father about his behavior. Last time, he’d escaped with a stern warning. He knew he would not get so lucky this time around.

  He set five different alarm clocks, knowing he should try to get an hour of so of sleep before he needed to be at the office. His eyes drifted closed as soon as his head hit the pillow. Regardless of the alarm beeping away at him once it was time to wake up, he was as sound asleep as a bear hibernating during winter.

  The loud knock on his door sent him shooting upright in bed. “Huh?” he called out. “What is it?” He grabbed his cell phone and felt panic burn through him. He was going to be late for his meeting.

  “Noah, you’ve overslept,” his mom told him from outside his door. Her normally soft voice was displaced by a sleepy panic that matched his own. “You need to quickly get dressed and on the road. Do you want me to call your father?”

  Immediately alert his father about his transgression? No, that was the last thing he wanted right now. He blew out a breath and pushed up from his mattress, wildly tossing on the clothes he’d worn to work yesterday. He sniffed himself and wrinkled his nose. But with a little cologne he should be fine. At least his fellow co-workers weren’t werebears with his sensitive senses. The chances of them realizing that he shouldn’t have missed his shower this morning were slim.

  “No, please don’t call Dad. Thanks, though. I’ll be fine...just don’t worry about me. I’m putting my shoes on now.” He grabbed his keys and wallet, and headed for the door of his bedroom.

  When he opened the door, his mother was in a robe pulled tightly around her lean frame. She frowned at him. “Drive safe. Let me know that you’ve made it, okay?” She gave him a brief kiss on the cheek before walking with him to the front door. “Have a good day, son. Love you.”

  “Love you too, Mom. I’ll let you know when I have a chance.” He glanced at his watch again before running to his car, cursing himself for oversleeping. How in the hell would he climb the ranks of his family’s business if he kept showing how unreliable he could be? If he didn’t get his shit together, he’d never leave his parents’ house.

  Chapter Three

  The meeting had started without Noah, and it was halfway over by the time he showed up. The stares of disbelief and dismissal he received during the meeting left a sour taste in his mouth. If this wasn’t his family’s business, he likely would’ve quit right then and there. He hated feeling like he’d let them down, especially since the meeting hadn’t gone as planned either time. And it was his all his fault.

  He pulled his car over into a fast food restaurant’s parking lot on the way home, leaned back in the seat, and cursed himself again. If he hadn’t rebelled against his dad talking about the Robertsons’ daughter and wanting him to go to bed, he might not have stayed up so late.

  Noah knew how important the meeting was, but it was as if he could not stop himself from self-sabotage. None of his co-workers approached him afterward. His boss gave him a knowing frown, and it all felt like the calm before the storm.

  Maybe he’d call up one of his female friends with benefits and crash at her place. It wouldn’t hurt to take a little stress off after the shit day he’d had. But he’d do that after he went back home and took a shower. Hell, maybe he’d take a nap, too.

  With his plan formulated, he went through the drive-thru and ordered a burger and fries before heading home. He pulled into his parents’ driveway, surprised to see so many vehicles here. Were they having a family get-together that Noah was not invited to?

  Knowing his mother would have a fit if he ate in his bedroom, he headed for the dining room table to see Mason, Liam, and Will sitting there. They all looked none too thrilled when he walked in. They were speaking in low tones, and conversation abruptly stopped when he made his presence known. His mother slinked away when he appeared as well.

  “What’s going on, guys?” he asked, breaking the silence. He didn’t want them to draw this out any more. If he wanted to get in touch with Shanna and head over to her house sooner than later, he needed to get things rolling.

  Mason cleared his throat. Being the eldest, he rose to the challenge of speaking up first. He was practically Noah’s role model. He was never afraid of telling others what was on his mind, and never backed down from a fight. The man always seemed fearless. "Please sit down with us, Noah. There's something we need to talk with you about."

  Without a second thought, he went to the chair between Mason and Liam, and set his food down on the table in front of him. He unwrapped his burger and started to take a bite.

  "To be blunt," Liam began, "I doubt you're not going to like the direction of this conversation. But just try to hear us out. We have your best interest at heart, regardless of what you might think at the moment."

  Noah set the burger back down. He looked around at all of them now. "Just spit it out. Stop with all the suspense. I have plans tonight, and I need a chance to eat and get ready." It wasn't a lie, since he already knew what he was going to do. He just needed to firm those plans up with Shanna.

  Mason placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ava told me about the meeting this morning. It really wasn't cool what you did. The clients rescheduled because you weren't able to attend the first one. Do you know how bad that makes the company look? One of the company's employees blowing them off not once, but twice? What makes it even worse is that you're not just a random employee. You are a member of the family. You should be more invested in this business than your co-workers." He released a sigh and dropped his hand from Noah's shoulder. "You need something more in your life. You've got so much potential to be more than who you are right now. You're always in your own way. I know you look up to me, but I didn't have all the answers before I met Ava. Meeting her helped me to grow up. Yo
u need someone to help you with that same thing."

  His gaze bounced between his other two brothers. Will and Liam nodded along with Mason's words. None of them cared about what he wanted in his life, apparently. He knew he'd screwed up, but now they were talking about forcing him a relationship? It was unbelievable. "You're all serious? Oh, hell no. I can't believe this." He slammed the lid on his burger, squishing the sandwich a little. "I made a mistake. Yeah, it was a big one, but I don't need to find my mate. You guys already have a woman in your lives. Congrats. Have fun. Let me live my own life. Dad's not going to pressure me into finding a girl. Not every bear needs to find a woman. There are some bears in our pack that don't have one."

  "Come on, Noah. We’re not trying to pressure you, and you know it,” Liam replied. “We’re just trying to help you become the man we know you’re capable of becoming. Just hear us out. There are plenty of benefits to finding your mate. Seriously, man. What are you so scared of?”

  Noah shoved away from the table, nearly knocking his chair over. Scared? He couldn’t take this. Scared wasn’t even in his vocabulary when it came to girls. Uninterested in commitment was the better answer. This just proved how little his other brothers actually knew about him.

  “Seriously? No way. I don’t have to put up with this,” Noah finally said, shaking his head. He shoved his sandwich and fries back in the bag.

  “Sit down, Noah. Now,” Mason said. His tone was strict and firm, reverberating with a raw power he’d only felt from their father when Noah was younger. The compulsion to obey overrode his desire to rebel and leave them high and dry. His legs nearly gave out and dumped him on the chair. He glanced over at Mason warily.

  “Look, I’m sorry. I know you’re unhappy, and I hate that. I can relate to you more than you might know. I practically stood in your shoes a few months ago. Our father told me that I needed to find a mate if I wanted to not only keep the position in our family’s business that I worked so hard for, but if I also wanted to keep my standing with the pack and remain in his good graces.” Mason shook his head and chuckled. “To be honest, my desire to keep in our father’s good graces was probably bottom on the list of those things, but it still was important to me. We’re not trying to rob you of your life or your enjoyment of it. You might think you’re happy now, but believe me, when you meet the right person, it’s an amazing experience.”

  Noah glanced around the table at the three men. “Why don’t you guys just back off, okay? You live your lives, and I’ll live mine. I don’t want a woman, especially not right now. It’s not as if Dad is going to force me to settle down now, either.” He let out a breath and grabbed his bag of food again. His brothers all exchanged a glance when he mentioned their father.

  Without another word, he stood up and walked out of his parents’ house. He didn’t worry about calling Shanna. He’d arrive and just hope she didn’t have any plans. If she did, he could get in touch with one of his other friends.

  When he got to her door, no one answered. He checked the time on his phone and shook his head. She was probably busy at this point. If only he’d called her when he was on his way home, he might’ve caught her before she went out.

  He pulled out his cell phone and dialed several of his friends while he chomped on his fries. His car was parked in front of a grocery store not far from his parents’ home. He didn’t have anywhere to go. Finally, he reached his friend Drew. It was a relief, since he’d started to worry that he might be sleeping in his car.

  “Hey, Drew. I’m glad you picked up, man. Do you have any plans tonight? I need a place to crash. My family is driving me crazy,” Noah said.

  Drew belched loudly in the phone line. “Hey, Noah. I’m going out with my girl tonight, but you’re always welcome to chill at my place. Got some leftover pizza in the fridge that you’re welcome to. Sucks about your family, dude.”

  “Damn. Thanks. That means a lot. I’ll be there soon.” He opened his mouth to tell him not to worry about the pizza, but werebears and most all shapeshifters needed to eat plenty of food to keep themselves nourished. He’d probably dig into the pizza later while watching the last few episodes of Stranger Things. “Dinner’s on me next time...or tomorrow, I guess, considering how things went with them.”

  “Sounds good to me. I’ve been wanting to try that new Chinese restaurant down the street. I’ll let you go. I need to finish getting ready for my night out. See you soon, man.”

  Noah’s stomach grumbled just thinking about Chinese food. He looked down at his cold food and put it back in the bag. He’d pop the burger in the microwave after Drew left for his date.

  When he got to Drew’s place, he looked over his friend who always was so laid back and chill. Tonight, the man was dressed to the nines. “Looking good, man. What’s the special occasion?”

  Drew grinned big at him. “I’m taking Nikki out and proposing. She’s a special chick. I’ve thought long and hard about this. It just feels like the right thing to do, you know?”

  No, he didn’t know. At all. In fact, the news stunned Noah. He’d run away from his parents’ house because of relationship talk, and now he was hearing that his friend was proposing to his girl. He could hardly believe his bad luck.

  “Uh, yeah. Of course. Nikki is pretty special.” He forced a smile onto his lips. “Go get her, tiger.” He plopped onto Drew’s couch with a sense of dread filling his gut. What had his life come to? This couldn’t be happening to him.

  Chapter Four

  Another day, another set of unique clients. Isabella browsed the profiles of the male clients at the Prince Dating Agency again, trying to decide if she really did want a relationship or not. Should she even sign up here? There were other, less expensive options, including online dating. Sadly, none of them had the success ratings that Prince Dating Agency had. The people who walked in the door of her job were basically guaranteed to find the man or woman of their dreams. But she didn't want to put her career at risk. If she didn't have a job, she wouldn't be able to keep a roof over her head for long. Her savings were pretty abysmal, and her parents were on the other side of the country.

  She sighed, closing the profile of a high profile businessman. He wanted a petite blonde with large breasts and a perfect white smile. It shouldn't bother her, but sometimes seeing profiles like that was infuriating. She was only glad that she wasn't the one handling his case. Still, she hoped that he'd find the person who made him happy.

  Her email inbox was still empty, and she headed off to the break room to grab the lunch she'd packed today. Lyndsey hadn't been by her office to try to ask her to lunch again. In fact, she seemed to avoid Isabella altogether. It made her a little sad, because the issue was not Lyndsey’s fault. But she couldn't really do anything about it now.

  Isabella talked briefly with Ms. Prince about the situation. Her boss apologized for the inconvenience and late notice, but was firm on her stance that what happened was necessary. She'd handled the situation in the manner she saw fit to help Ms. Rodriguez's busy schedule. Of course. No real answer was given to Isabella, but maybe it was just as well.

  The luster of working there became a little duller after that, especially with the few other incidents she’d run into. But it wasn’t as if she had any other choice. Besides, at least she was helping people, even if the methods of the woman she worked for were questionable.

  Isabella pulled her salad out of the fridge and sat at one of the tables in the break room by herself. A few of the other girls were heading out to lunch to a new Chinese restaurant nearby, and they asked if she wanted to tag along. The idea was tempting, but it would've been a shame to let the salad she packed go to waste, especially since she rarely ever brought her lunch to work with her.

  As she ate the salad, she thought about the women who were out to lunch. Lyndsey hadn’t been one of the women going, but she wondered if she'd made the right decision to turn them down. The other women in the company were nice. Maybe if she was more friendly with her co-workers,
she’d feel better about working here. She decided it was too late to worry about about that. She would make it up to them later. At least her salad was fresh and healthy, and she didn’t have to feel guilty about the expense of eating out.

  Two women walked into the break room together, deep in conversation. When they saw she was there, they smiled at her and said their hellos, but they grabbed their food from the fridge and went to a different table. “This male client I’m helping right now is incredibly wealthy,” said Shelly, the blonde.

  The brunette, Amy, shrugged her shoulders. “I handle wealthy clients all the time. That’s nothing unique. What’s so incredible about your new client?”

  Shelly looked a little taken aback by Amy's words at first. She sputtered a little, then she tilted her head up, pushing her shoulders back. "What's incredible about my client is that he's so busy and so wealthy that he falls into a slim line of clientele that Ms. Prince allows to make alternative meetings. As in, he's only going to be speaking with me and Ms. Prince through the phone! Can you believe that? It must be some kind of Bill Gates or George Clooney sort of person to inspire that sort of meeting instead of having them come into the office like usual, you know?"

  Amy's mouth dropped open, spilling a few pieces of lettuce. "Are you serious? Wow, that's... are you sure? I've never heard of anything like that. Ms. Prince has never mentioned any sort of exclusive category for clients before."

  Amy's reaction sparked more confidence in Shelly. "I never knew about it before, either. She assigned the man to me personally. She’s finally realizing how important I am to her business. I’m working my way up, you know." She wiggled her shoulders a little before stabbing her fork into her salad.