Paws for Change (2 page)

Resting the tips of his fingers on the envelope, Derek slid it toward him. “What’s this?”

“My resignation.”

Derek jerked his head up to see the look of determination on Tiffany’s face. “I didn’t realize you were unhappy here, Tiffany. Is it something I’ve done? Is someone bothering you?”

“Not someone from the company, no,” Tiffany told him. She flicked her gaze to Derek’s eyes, then lifted her chin and focused on the windows beyond his desk. “I heard about your upcoming nuptials. I’d like to say congratulations, but I can’t. I’m not certain what I did, but Jennifer has made it clear that as soon as you’re married, she is going to have me fired.”

Derek frowned. “What? Why?” Then, he lifted his hand and stood, stalling her answer. “Look. It doesn’t matter.” He saw her face flush, and he realized how those words sounded. He shook his head and picked up the envelope. “I’m not accepting this.” He tore it in half.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Tiffany cried.

Leaning his left hand on the desk, Derek held up the two pieces of envelope in his other hand and waved them in the air. He leaned toward her and rumbled grimly, “Look. I’m not going to marry Jennifer.” Upon seeing Tiffany gape at him, Derek continued, “I don’t even like the woman. I don’t know why my father is spreading rumors about us getting married.”

Derek tossed the torn envelope into the trash and straightened. “Take tomorrow off,” he ordered, leveling a serious look at her. “I’m going to straighten this out, and I don’t want you caught in the cross-fire. Okay?”

Tiffany nodded slowly. “Okay,” she murmured, her confusion written clearly all over her face. “Why would—” She paused and looked to the left, in the general direction of Forest’s office. “Why?”

For just an instant, Derek had wondered the same thing. He hadn’t had to think on it long. “My father is an anal, control freak who wants to manage the lives of those around him.”

Tiffany gasped. Her eyes widened as her face paled. “Mister Sommers,” she whispered, clearly shocked. She glanced around as if Forest would suddenly appear. “You shouldn’t say such things about your father.”

Derek snorted. Settling in his seat, he shut down his system as he continued, “It’s Thursday, Tiffany. I give you tomorrow off. Don’t come in,” he told her again.

Once he shut everything down, Derek stood and smiled at her as he picked up his phone and briefcase. “I won’t be in, either.”

Then, walking past her, Derek headed out of the office. He slipped into his father’s office, sat at the man’s desk, and pulled out a piece of business stationary. After a moment of thought, Derek wrote his father a note and left it on his desk.

As he rode the elevator to the parking level, he wondered where he should go. Suddenly, he remembered the business card Luther had given to him.

Would Deke really be interested in seeing him?

Dillan Shoreman slowly rode his motorcycle along the winding, mountain road. Looking left and right, he enjoyed the pleasant views of pine trees and streams, while drawing the clean fresh scent into his lungs. His cat rumbled in the back of his mind.

Smiling, Dillan silently agreed with his other half. He looked forward to running amidst the pines, climbing trees, and taking down a doe. It’d been far too long since he’d engaged in some feline play. He’d been stuck in the city for too long.

Now, however, excitement of a different nature flooded him.

Slowing his motorcycle, Dillan checked the address written on the plank nailed to a tree. He confirmed the number and turned his bike onto the gravel driveway disappearing into the woods. His motorcycle vibrating between his thighs, he rumbled along the path.

Dillan smiled upon seeing the large structure appear between the trees. Taking in how the home was tucked into a large clearing, he admired the dark brown and deep green siding. The place had a red shingle roof and a massive front porch that wrapped around the left side of the building.

He stopped his bike ten feet in front of the garage door, then pushed the kickstand into place and leaned his bike on it. After easing his helmet from his head, he admired the area again. His godson had done well.

When Edwin Aldridge had declared his intention to work with the Central Intelligence Agency, Dillan had nearly had a heart attack. For years, his godson had been working with Edwin’s blood. He’d wanted to discover a way to use a shifter’s healing ability to speed up a human’s healing.

Edwin had discovered that Dillan could turn into a puma, or mountain lion as many called it, when he was sixteen. Dillan had been lounging in the back yard with their German shepherd, Congo. He’d forgotten Edwin had a short day due to some teacher meeting thing.

When Edwin had opened up the sliding glass door, he hadn’t even stepped all the way onto the deck. He’d squeaked in alarm, dropped his glass of iced tea, and run back into the house, slamming the sliding glass door behind him. Edwin had disappeared, then reappeared, phone in hand, staring out at him.

To Dillan’s eternal gratefulness, Edwin had pressed his face and hands—phone clutched in his left—to the glass, and peered out at him with wide eyes. The instant Edwin had opened the door, Congo had leaped to his feet and, barking excitedly to see his other master, had bounded across the yard. Now the dog whined and wriggled at the sliding door, entreating his human to open the door and let him inside for pets and scratches.

Edwin looked down at the animal. He spoke to Congo, but Dillan couldn’t make out his godson’s words through the glass.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Dillan had shifted. His back yard had high, thick, seven foot hedge fences, ensuring his privacy. On top of that, his place backed up to a private game preserve and his neighbors were acres away on either sides of him. It’s why he’d chosen to buy this home in the first place.

Drawing on centuries of practice, Dillan transitioned smoothly from cat to human. His mountain lion grumbled a bit in his mind, having wanted to play with their human godson. Dillan had pushed the desire away, promising his beast that he’d introduce them soon.

Dillan stood to his full height of a few inches over six feet and headed toward the door. Meeting Edwin’s gaze, it wasn’t until his godson glanced down a few times that he remembered that he was naked. Hell, shifters didn’t really worry about things like that under normal circumstances.

“Edwin,” Dillan called, grabbing his pair of sweats where he’d left them over the railing of his back porch. He wrapped them around his waist. “Let me in, Son. Let me explain.”

Instantly, Edwin had slid the door open, grabbed Dillan, and yanked him into the house. While Dillan could have resisted, he’d allowed his godson to maneuver him into the room. Seconds later, he’d heard the sliding glass door slam closed, the lock clicking into place.

“Did you see it?” Edwin had whispered, sounding more excited than afraid. “Is it still out there?”

“No, Edwin,” Dillan stated softly. “It’s not out there. It’s in here.” When Edwin turned and stared at him in shocked confusion, Dillan smiled. He reached out and gripped his godson’s shoulders. “There have been so many times I’ve tried to come up with a way to explain.” He shrugged. “I’m a shifter. I share my spirit with a mountain lion.”

That revelation had been followed by many questions, plenty of explanations, a series of changes, and much fear, gasping, and finally acceptance.

Dillan had felt relief that the biggest hurdle had been the whole healing thing...

Edwin’s parents had been killed in a drunk driving accident. While his godson realized that even an intrusion of Dillan’s blood wouldn’t have saved them, Edwin still had become obsessed with figuring out if shifter blood actually had any generalized healing capabilities.

Smiling, Dillan shook his head as he pushed the memories away. It’d been years since he’d seen Edwin, but he had still sent his godson fresh blood samples every few months.

Dillan had had mixed feelings about Edwin being involved with the feds, but he’d had to allow his godson to choose his own way. Discovering that a wolf shifter had claimed his godson, he’d had to have the same faith. Edwin had grown up with a shifter and knew about mates. Dillan trusted that Edwin could take care of himself.

That didn’t mean Dillan didn’t check out the wolf shifter and his pack where Edwin had settled.

After nearly five years, Dillan had finally deemed it safe to return to the state of Colorado. Due to caring for Edwin after his parents had died, he’d stayed in the area for far too long and people had begun to notice how he never seemed to age. Now, with the gray strands peppering his newly trimmed hair and the thin goatee around his lips and chin, few of his old circle would recognize him.

Dillan pushed his memories to the back of his mind. He swung off his bike as he settled his helmet on the gas tank. After running his fingers through his hair, Dillan strode up to the deck. He climbed the couple of steps onto the porch and rang the bell. Backing a few steps, he rested his ass against the porch railing and waited.

After a few seconds, Dillan’s sensitive hearing picked up the sound of footsteps inside the home. He smiled as he anticipated Edwin’s reaction. He hadn’t told his godson that he was coming, having wanted it to be a surprise.

When the door opened, Dillan caught the heavy scent of wolf. His hackles instantly rose, but he pushed down the response. Instead of Edwin appearing before him, a tall, broad, African American male glared at him.

“Who are you?” the wolf shifter snarled. He sniffed the air and a low growl erupted from his throat. “What are you doing here, cat?”

Dillan realized that this must be Byron Ziegler, Edwin’s wolf shifter mate. He remained where he was, leaning against the railing. While the position put him at a disadvantage, he needed the shifter to believe he wasn’t a threat.

Forcing a smile, Dillan told him, “I am Dillan Shoreman, Edwin’s godfather. You must be Byron.”

Byron’s low growling stopped, but his stance remained tense. “Yes, I’m Byron,” he confirmed. “Edwin didn’t say anything about you visiting us. Does Alpha Declan know you’re in his territory?”

“Actually, yes,” Dillan replied. “I asked your alpha to keep the information to himself, as I didn’t know when I’d get here.” He grinned and held out his arms. “And I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Byron, who’s at the door?” Edwin called from inside the house. “Who are you growling at?”

“An unexpected guest,” Byron rumbled, his voice softening. “It’s for you.”

Instead of stepping backward and allowing Dillan into the house, Byron stepped forward onto the deck. His expression remained wary, his eyes narrowed, watching every move Dillan made.

“You know I raised him, right?” Dillan asked quietly, making certain his voice wouldn’t carry to Edwin. From the sound of his godson’s footsteps, he knew he approached. “I’d never harm a hair on his head.”

“That makes two of us,” Byron grumbled. “And I’ll believe it when Edwin confirms it.”

Dillan shrugged. It didn’t matter to him either way. He did hope to at least get along with the wolf, for Edwin’s sake if nothing else. At least, this confirmed his godson would always be safe.

Edwin appeared in the doorway. “Who’s—Dillan!” he cried. “You’re here!”

Opening his arms, Dillan caught Edwin when his godson flung himself at him. He relied on his shifter strength to pick his up and give him a tight hug, just as he used to do when he was a child. Almost instantly, a low growl reached Dillan’s ears and he set Edwin right back down. His godson was immediately pulled from his arms.

Edwin laughed. He grinned broadly as he glanced over his shoulder at a glowering Byron. Patting the arm wrapped around his waist, he returned his focus to Dillan.

“I didn’t know you were coming! It’s so good to see you. How long can you stay?” Edwin gushed. “We have a spare bedroom you can use. I’ll just need to change the sheets.”

Dillan knew Edwin couldn’t see the scowl on Byron’s face, but
he
certainly could. Shaking his head, he grinned widely and replied, “No, Edwin. I don’t need a room. I’m renting a cabin in the woods.” Hoping to erase the sudden look of disappointment that he saw on Edwin’s face, Dillan added with a wink, “I’ve been in Arizona, so it’s been ages since I’ve climbed a proper tree.”

After a few seconds, Edwin smiled again. “Well, come in and meet Diana, Byron’s half-sister. She’s staying with us over spring break,” Edwin told him. “We were just getting ready to head to town and meet a few others at a diner. You hungry?”

“Ah, that explains Byron’s overprotective growling,” Dillan responded with a chuckle. “And, yes. I could eat.” He grinned at Byron. “If your wolf will let me into the house, I’d love a cup of coffee while you finish getting ready. It was a long trip.”

“Of course, Byron will let you inside,” Edwin immediately responded, snickering. Then, he sobered and looked over his shoulder at his wolf shifter lover. “This is Dillan, my godfather. He’d never hurt me or anyone.”

Byron scoffed. “I highly doubt the truth of that statement, my love,” he responded. Using a hand on Edwin’s waist, Byron urged him to turn and face him. He cupped Edwin’s jaw with his other hand. “However, I trust that he wouldn’t hurt
us.
”

From where he stood off to the side of them, Dillan could see the way Edwin furrowed his brows. His godson opened his mouth, probably to counter him.

Not wanting to see Edwin fight with his mate over something so ridiculous...and since Byron was right, Dillan stepped forward. He patted his godson on the shoulder, gaining his attention. Dillan smiled fondly at the man he’d raised as his own.

“Byron is right, Edwin,” Dillan admitted softly. “I have killed. In self-defense against other shifters. In battle.” He shrugged upon seeing Edwin’s surprised expression. “I’m gonna make myself a cup of coffee.”

“Oh,” Edwin replied, his brows furrowed. “How come I didn’t know that?”

Dillan grimaced. “It’s not something that would come up in normal conversation,” he revealed. “I was young, thought I was invincible, and it was the Civil War.” Forcing a wry smile at Edwin’s shocked expression, he added, “It’s not something I really like talking about.”