Max climbs into the seat that Cyra just vacated, drumming his fingers on the dashboard in front of him. “A new car, again?”
I grin as I start the car. “The old one had lost its ‘new’ scent. We can’t have that, you know?” I know he thinks I go through a lot of cars, but I just like trying out different cars all the time. It’s fun and it’s not like I spend my money on much else, to be honest.
“No wonder your family is worried. Always new houses, new cars, new...” He looks me over. “New hair, new clothes. It’s like you reinvent yourself all the time. I know that’s a thing for centaurs, but you might be overdoing it.”
I shrug. “That’s just on the outside. You know I don’t change where it matters.”
He laughs, snorting. “No, that would have been a miracle. You’re still the same pain in the ass as you’ve always been.”
I grin. Not changing a damn thing about who we are, he’s as guilty of that as I am, but I don’t tell him that, not wanting another smack from him. “Do you want to get something to eat somewhere? Or do you want to go back to the party?”
His face falls. “And having to listen to them talk about the mating season and predictions of who is going to be mating who for the rest of the evening? No thanks. I showed my face, helped a cute girl home, my duty is finished for the day.”
“Then eating out it is.” I pull onto one of the bigger streets, driving towards one of our favourite places to eat.
We’re quiet for a while, until Max speaks again. “How can I get my parents to understand that I’m really not looking? Why do I have to go ‘hunt’ for some Omega? Things will happen when they happen. Why the rush?”
I shake my head, smiling slightly at his obvious frustration at his parents. “Maybe because you barely ever leave that office of yours? Like, where are you going to find a mate when you’re always locked inside? When you never go out, meet new people?”
“Maybe I don’t want a mate? Ever thought of that?” His voice is low and I glance at him, frowning.
“Why are you saying that? Don’t you want a family?”
“I don’t know. When I see my cousin and the others with their kids, they look happy. But I... I don’t have the feeling that I need that. I don’t really need all that to be happy. I’m happy to just work. I like my privacy, my own things.”
“Not even if Cyra could be your mate?” I don’t know why I ask it, and his intense reaction to the question definitely doesn’t go unnoticed... The way his eyes grow, the way he holds his breath for a moment. The fuck?
He composes himself before he answers. “Just because she’s cute and good with big groups of kids doesn’t mean anything. And she’s human. What’s the use of dreaming of her when she’s human? That alone stops everything, puts those dreams to an immediate halt. It’s no use dwelling on it.”
I’m not like Max. I’d love to have a family. I love having people around. But what girl would want to date a guy who constantly changes himself, like the seasons, exactly like the seasons? As Max was so quick to point out, it’s a centaur trait, I’m just a little more extreme at it because I can, I have the time and money to do it.
But that’s not the only thing that’s bothering me. It’s one thing to be a shifter who can shift into a whole different creature, but a centaur, like me? Even among shifters, there are very few who are into centaurs. The half-creature, half-human thing freaks people out.
I can’t blame Max for not going out all the time, meeting others. It’s not like I’ve been trying very hard to look for a mate either. It’s only when it gets cold that I feel like this, that I feel like I want to share warmth with others.
But when it’s summer, when the weather is great, I just want to be able to roam, go around the world and do my own things. Travel the world and see everything, do cool things. The wind in my hair, the sun on my skin, all of that. And when you’ve got a mate, a family, that usually ends. When you’re mated and have to look after your family, things like that end. The freedom ends.
And I’m not looking forward to that. Sure, people around us seem to be happy with it, settling down with a mate, but, like Max, I just don’t see myself doing it any time soon.
Unless...
I smile to myself.
Maybe I could do it when it was with someone like Cyra. She seems to be a free spirit herself. Knows what she wants, knows what she doesn’t want. Maybe I could get her on my back and take her everywhere with me. Show her my world, show her the beauty of nature, of being out there and not having to worry about when you come back. Maybe she would like to do things like that.
But no matter how tempting the idea is, she’s human, I’m a shifter. Getting attached to her will only bring heartache, for both of us. And that’s the last thing that I want for her, to break her spirit. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I’d ever hurt her...
7 Cyra
I make extra sure to lock the door to the apartment behind me, even though it’s no use. It’s not like the guys followed me into the building, I watched them drive off from inside the building. And they would be able to break the damn door really easily if they wanted to. They’re shifters, Alphas by how they carry themselves, and by how people reacted
