It’s not like Noah would understand. Noah had been one of the lucky ones. Not only was he able to live amongst other felines, but he’d been reunited with his family. Whereas Riley now found himself living at the same headquarters, but 4
Riley’s Regret
in the Hawk section which was all the way on the other side of the massive building. To make matters even worse, since Eagle shifters were all but extinct, not only would there never be any family reunion s in Riley’s future, but he’d be lucky if ever ran into another Eagle, period.
“We’re worried about you,” Noah said.
“Who? You and Mitchell, or you and the guys?” By guys, Riley meant their close knit group of friends. Riley longed for the days before they’d come to the headquarters…when it had just been their ragtag bunch of buddy shifters. The best part had been that they’d all been different breeds then, but nobody had cared. There’d been a couple felines, a Wolf, a Hawk, plus him, the Eagle. They were their very own form of the Brady’s, shifter version.
“The guys,” Noah admitted.
Riley sat up so quickly, Noah had to jump back in order not to get hit. Riley barely noticed as a surge of panic filled his chest. Did they suspect he’d gone off balance again? Damn it, how could they know it? He’d tried so hard to hide it. With as little time as they now spent together, they couldn’t have possibly seen it the few times he’d slipped up.
“There’s nothing to be worried about,” Riley denied in his most all-is-cool voice.
“How about the fight you got into with the Fox 5
Stephani Hecht
shifter?”
“The little shit should never have dissed Ke$ha.
I warned him that I was a huge fan, but he still had to make a smartass comment about Blow. I don’t care what he says, it is one of the most awesome songs ever created. So for him to call it, a trashy girl’s pathetic attempt at an anthem, was a low…well, blow.”
“Maybe, but did you really have to pants him in the middle of the cafeteria?”
“Hey, it’s not my fault he was so lacking in assets. Plus, I’ve been very nice to him ever since.
At least once a day, I forward him emails about where he can purchase penis enhancers. So, if you look at it, I’m a good Samaritan.” The look Noah shot him said the Jaguar disagreed. “Okay, then, how about you going kamikaze on the salad bar at the cafeteria?”
“There was a spider crawling in the croutons.” Riley reached up and began, self-consciously, to tug at a spike of his hair. At the same moment, he became painfully aware that he chose to wear a t-shirt that read, My name is Cabana Boy. You rang?
Maybe not the best piece of his wardrobe to be wearing while arguing over his mental stability.
“A spider? ” Noah echoed incredulously. “You nearly toppled the thing over.”
“It was a very, big spider.”
“Was it a Tarantula shifter?”
6
Riley’s Regret
“No, but like I said, it was huge.”
“So, you caused a huge mess and damaged dozens of plates over a normal spider?”
“Did I mention that it was hairy? Plus, I’m quite certain it flipped me off at least once.” Noah gaped at him a moment before snapping,
“Normal spiders don’t have fingers.” Riley paused to think that one over for a moment. “Oh, sorry then. My bad.”
“Let’s not even get into how you screwed those two Hawk twins. You didn’t even bother to take to the bedroom either, instead you did it right in the middle of the rec—”
“Yes, let’s not even go there,” Riley snarled, cutting off Noah.
The Jaguar blinked a few times in confusion and Riley rolled his eyes. Of course, Noah would be shocked because Riley never got angry or upset. No, he had to be happy all the time or they started to get worried about him. Then the looks would begin, along with the whispered conversation. If Riley didn’t watch it, he’d earn himself another round of 24/7 guard duty courtesy of his overprotective friends. Which wasn’t nearly as fun as it sounded.
“Why is everyone making such a big deal over that incident? It was just sex,” Riley protested even when just thinking about that encounter made him want to vomit from shame.
7
Stephani Hecht
“Because it’s so unlike you, Riley, and that scares the hell out of me. We all remember what happened the last time you had one of your spells,” Noah replied in soothing tones.
“Like I could forget you guys tying me up and locking me into a basement for over a week,” Riley shot back, his gut clenching at that memory.