4. Dominic

4

DOMINIC

L iam Wilder lives in California.

California is a large state. I would have no idea where to even start, except the contract Flint signed with Liam back in the day has his home address on it. This was before he was famous enough for such a detail to matter.

I take a flight to Long Beach, then rent a car to drive to a place called Fox Hills. I don't know what I'll find when I get to the address where he lived eight years ago. I just put it into my GPS and follow my phone all the way to a sleepy town on a hill. According to Wikipedia, this town is almost exclusively red fox shifters. That's what Liam Wilder is.

To his fans, he's known as the tragic bachelor. Fox shifters can only successfully bond to someone who's a complete stranger. That's why their parents choose their mates for them. But Liam is so famous, the omegas he tried to bond to had already heard of him, and the bond didn't take. He tried three separate times. He even lived with the last omega for two years, claiming him as his mate to the world even without a formal bond, but his mate left him and bonded to someone else.

Serves him right. That's what happens when you're a back-stabbing cheat.

The house I pull up to is a red brick bungalow with a deep porch. I park my car and waddle up the front steps. It's only eight in the morning, but the lights inside are on, so I knock on the door.

A middle-aged woman with auburn hair answers the door. She's tall like Liam Wilder and has his same bright green eyes. She glances down at my baby bump for just a moment before smiling at me. "Good morning. What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for Liam Wilder," I say.

She looks at my bump again. "He isn't here, but I could leave him a message."

"Where can I find him? I need to talk to him as soon as possible. Before…" I gesture to my belly, which feels somewhat dishonest. Liam didn't knock me up. But I do need to talk to him before I lay my egg.

The woman swallows uncomfortably. "Come inside."

She guides me into a cozy living room with an upright piano and four guitars propped on stands. The light pink couches behind the guitars are old, but comfy, and there are photographs hung everywhere. Liam and his four brothers smile back at the camera on hiking trails, Disneyland, the beach, and restaurants. As I wait, I find each brother's mate and children in the photos too. Every one of his brothers has a family of their own.

"What do you mean he's pregnant?" a voice says from the other room.

That sounds like Liam himself.

The woman returns to the living room with Liam in tow. He's a bit taller than her and gangly for an alpha. His long red hair is wild, and he's wearing pajama bottoms with a holey T-shirt.

"What are you doing here? I've never seen you before in my life," Liam says.

"I'm Flint Wright's mate."

I expect him to tell me to get out of his house or his mother's house, as the case may be. But he just stands there, speechless.

"Who is Flint Wright?" his mom asks.

"The songwriter of Blooming Heart. The one who… well, you know what happened to him."

His mom nods with understanding. He told his mother that he cheated Flint out of his fair share of the royalties? Does he have no shame?

"I need you to come back to Anchorage with me," I say.

Liam narrows his eyes. "Why? Flint wants nothing to do with me."

"Because you belong at the foot of my bed. I need you to sit there in shame and beg Flint to write you another song."

Liam seems confused for a moment, then he smiles. "Flint is a fairy penguin shifter."

"Yes."

"And you're pregnant with his chick."

I roll my eyes. "Yes, obviously."

"Okay," he says. "I'll go with you."

"What?" his mom asks. "Why?"

"Because he's nesting, Mom. I've hurt Flint so badly, that his mate thinks I'm important enough to warrant a place in his nest. He came all this way. It would be disrespectful to deny him."

His mom grasps his forearm. "You were supposed to have a break. You've been touring nonstop for almost a year."

"I'll come back when I can, okay?" he says.

Liam is much nicer than I expected him to be. That's disappointing.

"But you will wallow in shame at the foot of my bed and ask Flint for another song," I clarify.

He gives me a sad smile. "Yes. I have already begged Flint to write me a song. Many times, in fact. My agent said Flint doesn't want to hear from me again. But I will certainly apologize and ask him one more time, if that would give you peace. Let me go change, and we can get going."