2. WTF Teddy?

The face of Primal Orthodontics is pleasantly smiling and always welcoming.

That face belongs to my beloved Teddy. With his bulging biceps straining against the polyester blend top of his scrubs and the equally unforgivingly tight pants that hug his ass in the most scrumptious way. Before seeing Teddy in scrubs, I never would have considered the uniform sexy. But hot damn does that man make it look good.

I push open the glass doors, only to come up short when Jean is sitting at Teddy's receptionist desk.

Now unlike Teddy, Jean is as pleasant as having a swarm of fire ants trapped in rubber panties. She is an old widowed shifter who rocks a professional-grade resting bitch face. I walk up to the desk with a smile, but the old shifter woman is a bitter sort and her returning smile always looks more like a sneer. Well, this should be a fun time.

"Hi there, Jean. Did Teddy get off early today?" If there is one thing my boyfriend enjoys, it's a schedule. He doesn't usually take off early, and he is never late. Since he is a shifter, he never gets sick and he doesn't ever use his vacation days either. So his absence is a bit odd.

Jean rolls her eyes at me like I'm an utter fucking moron, and I have to hold my hand back from snapping her into one of the dog kennels at the veterinarian's office next door. Oh, shit. No snaps needed today. Quick! Think happy thoughts, Ginger!

Suddenly the kid in the waiting room squeals in delight as a lolipop appears in his hand. When I catch his mother glowering at me, I mouth a quick apology. It's better to have an irritated mom with a sugar-high kiddo, than to have to calm down a feral pissed-off coyote shifter when she pops into a dog's kennel.

"He had today off. You would think a clingy girlfriend like yourself would have known that." Not waiting for my response, Jean snags a folder off her desk and takes it back to the patient rooms.

Fucking hell, why does that woman treat being a royal cunt like an Olympic sport?

I don't care if her husband was the shifter alpha of her pack, that gives her absolutely no authority over the rest of the para community. And she doesn't get to use the mourning card as an excuse for being a bitch nearly seven years later. Not when she has a beau half her age following her around like a pup these days.

Whipping around quickly, I nearly smack into the woman waiting in line behind me. "So sorry," I call out as I continue my bee-line to the door. When Jean returns to the desk and gives the lady a sweet, warm welcome–the exact opposite of every interaction I have ever had with her–I barely manage to stop myself from marching back in there and stapling her hands to the fucking keyboard she clacks away at.

It's not worth my time.

Maybe if I keep telling myself that it will eventually stick, and the urge to be stabby will pass.

I'd love to say that I am not usually this mentally violent but, yeah... Call it a character flaw if you like. I think of it as a quirk. One I try to keep buried deep, deep, down so I don't scare anyone away. Especially guys. Stabby personality traits tend to be a turn-off. Who knew?

The door closes behind me, but I continue my march around the corner of the building and only stop when I am mostly out of sight. Panic bubbles in my gut. Where the fuck is Teddy?

He told me in a text this morning that he was working late today. Which means he should have been finishing up his workday right about now. Jean's gravelly voice rings around in my head. He had today off?

My skin begins to boil as my anger builds. If there is one thing I fucking hate more than anything... it's being lied to.

Oh, Teddy. What have you gotten yourself into?

And are you going to make it out alive once I am done with you?

Thunder cracks in the clear sky above me, and I know my control will prevent the rain from coming. But the noise helps soothe something building inside of me. A raging storm of chaos that will not tolerate bullshit from a boy in a man suit.

I pull my phone out and begin vigorously typing.

Alright Teddy, let's find out what you are up to.

My phone buzzes in my hand, and the vibration scares me, nearly making me drop it. I swipe aggressively at my notifications, trying to see what in the fuck just popped up. I swear it had better be a text from Teddy with a damn good explanation.

Oh, it's a text alright. But it's most definitely not Teddy. It's Lexi. My best friend. Even if we are sort of in a fight right now.

I say sort of because I'm really not sure.

-GET YOUR ASS TO THE CARNIVAL NOW

The fight was stupid, and of course, it was all over Teddy. Still, for three days now, we haven't said a single word to each other, and she chooses to break the silence with a command to get to the carnival.

I can't stop the heavy sigh that passes my lips. I haven't been to the All Hollow's Eve Carnival since I was a kid. It is almost always filled with a mix of mostly families and out-of-towners. It is also crawling with humans. Humans and paras do not mix well. Supposedly, we are biologically similar, but humans always end up being so much... squishier. When a human dies, it's like someone poked a water balloon. Blood everywhere.

Still, if Lexi is breaking the silence between us to get me down to the carnival, then I guess I had better go check it out. It's not like I am doing anything else at the moment.

I shoot off a quick ‘WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?' text to Teddy before replying to Lexi.

-On my way

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what we are fighting about or what is going on between us. Lexi comes first. So, if she needs me, I'm there.

Teddy and his lies can wait.