14. Sergey

14

SERGEY

T he address Dominic messages me takes me to a nice cul-de-sac that whispers of money. None of the houses are outrageously big, but they’re all custom and every sidewalk and driveway has been shoveled after this morning’s snowfall. It’s already dark, but I can see which home to go to without double-checking the house number. There are already four cars parked outside. I find a spot in front of a neighboring house and make my way up the driveway.

Several people exit through the front door just as I approach.

“Liam! We’re going!” A male alpha with brown hair and a fuller figure calls out. He’s holding hands with a willowy omega who’s white-haired. Are they one of the couples Cy was referring to?

A teenage boy rushes past them, grinning and laughing. “You can’t catch me!” He has brown hair and the same nose as the alpha.

A little girl with white pigtails runs after him, giggling. “I’m coming, Wi-um.”

I smile. I think she’s trying to say Liam.

“Wait, Mary. You forgot your coat,” the willowy omega says, holding out a puffy pink coat to the girl with pigtails.

“But we’re pwaying tag. I’m it.” The little girl explains. The omega puts her coat on anyway.

“There you go. Now you can chase Liam.” The omega cups his mouth and calls out, “Liam better be running toward the car, because we’re going!”

The alpha chuckles. “Hopefully. They always hate leaving Otis’s house. Do you have the keys, Lu?”

The omega slides his hands into his pockets and pulls out a key ring. “Right here. One of these days, someone’s going to collect car keys for their nest, and we’ll all be in trouble.”

Two other kids rush past them, running across the snow on the lawn instead of along the driveway. A fifth child, much smaller than the rest toddles out the door with their coat already on. “I pay tag. I wun.” The child says.

“Maybe when we get home. Sam, will you carry Robin to the car? Parker isn’t wearing their gloves. I’m going to check the coat closet before we leave.”

The alpha takes the little kid in his arms and heads for the car.

I love the chaos of it all. It reminds me of my childhood. I’m an only child, like a lot of polar bear shifters, but my dads are incredibly social, so I grew up going to dinner parties with lots of children. The pizzlies were always welcoming to us, even though we were different.

The alpha nods to me as I pass him. He glances at my hair, but instead of staring, he smiles, like he knows who I am. Maybe he does.

When I get to the front door the omega, Lu, almost runs into me. He’s holding a pair of gloves. “Sorry! My kid forgot their gloves. Are you Sergey?”

“Yes! I guess my reputation precedes me,” I joke.

Lu gives me a soft smile. “It’s very good to meet you. I’m Lu. I hope we run into each other again soon.” With that, he runs off with his big family, herding his kids into the van parked in front of the house.

An omega with bright blue hair and a face of makeup approaches the door. “Sergey! It is Sergey, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I guess everyone knows who I am.”

He laughs. “That’s very true. Gossip travels fast in our social circle. You’ll have to forgive us. We all have kids who are half polar bear shifter and half penguin shifter, and we have no idea what to expect when they get older. But here you are, a big hunk-of-a-man and also a welding prodigy, if Sam’s research is correct. Yes, we had a professional reporter do some in-depth research on you. Sorry.” He winces dramatically, but he doesn’t seem sorry at all. “I’m Kade, by the way. And this is my house. Please come in.” He steps back to let me inside.

A herd of six penguin chicks are behind him, and start running for the door, their little wings outstretched behind them. A big, middle-aged alpha with white hair and tattoos crouches down. A big smile spreads across his face as he sweeps all six of them into his arms. “I got you!”

The little chicks cheep happily, like little kids giggling. It’s so cute, I forget that I’m staring.

“That’s my mate, Otis,” Kade says, beaming proudly at him.

That’s the landlord? He looks like the world’s handsomest teddy bear.

A chick who’s a little taller than the others waddles into the foyer. Their body is less fluffy than the others, and they have bigger wings. If I’m not mistaken, this chick is a Gentoo.

I crouch down, just like Otis did with the other chicks. The lone chick opens their beak with delight and turns around, as if to run away. But they don’t move very fast. I think they want me to chase them. My heart yearns to do just that. I’ve never felt so drawn to a child before. They look exactly like I did at their age, down to white feathers on their tail, which would normally be black on a full Gentoo chick.

“It looks like they want to play,” I say to Kade, hoping to get some kind of permission. The problem is, I don’t think this is his kid. With hair like that, Kade’s likely a fairy penguin shifter.

“This is Lark. They’re half and half, like you,” Kade says. “They like to be tickled. Just be sure to stop if they start squirming. And stay in the great room.”

I swipe my arm out and bring Lark into my arms. They cheep delightedly, just like the other chicks. It’s the cutest noise I’ve ever heard. Will my children cheep like this when they’re little? If Heller wants more children, that is.

I rest Lark into the crook of my arm and tickle their little belly. They cheep and cheep, but they stay perfectly still. Finally, when they start wriggling, I set them down again. They look up at me with these little black eyes, as if they feel as drawn to me as I am to them.

Cold air rushes at me. I turn to see the door open and a familiar figure steps inside. It’s Heller in a full coat and boots, his cheeks pink from the cold. He’s somehow more breathtaking tonight. Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen him all day.

Lark cheeps loudly, then their body expands, the dark feathers transforming to white fur, until the cutest polar bear cub I’ve ever seen stands before me on all four paws. They bound over to Heller and sit down, holding out their upper paws to him.

He gives me a long look, then turns his attention to Lark. “One kiss, two kisses, three kisses—” Heller kisses each of Lark’s little toe beans. First on their upper paws, then on the lower ones.

Lark must be his kid. Maybe that’s why I feel drawn to them. My fate is just as tied to Lark as it is to Heller.

“I came to bring you home,” Heller says.

“Lark’s stuff is waiting on the sofa,” Kade tells him. “Say hi to Max and Eli for us. I heard about Toby’s moms. That’s so sad. Let us know if there’s anything else we can do to help.”

Heller picks up Lark and walks over to Kade, giving him a hug. These two aren’t just acquaintances. They’re friends.

I’m starting to suspect that all the mixed species couples are.

“Toby’s having a hard time right now,” Heller says. “I’m sure it would help if you could watch the kids tomorrow. The funeral is on Saturday, so they could probably use childcare then. I don’t think they can go to the funeral itself, but they can go to the burial. Max will call you when we have more information. Toby and Felix will be coming by in an hour to pick up the kids. Would you mind feeding them dinner?”

“Of course. That’s no problem at all. We have lots of extra fish paste. Bye-bye, Lark. Come play again soon.”

Lark waves their little paw, and God. If they aren’t the cutest kid in the whole world. Heller looks at me one last time before retreating to the great room to grab a bag from a sofa and rushing out the door. My heart aches to go with them. My inner alpha yearns for it with a fierceness that’s hard to ignore. But I need to give Heller time. He’ll come to me when he’s ready.

Just as they’re about to leave, Lark lets out a yelp.

“What is it, sweetie? Did I hurt you?” Heller asks.

Lark outstretches their paw to me. They can feel the ache too.

“That’s our new friend, huh?” Heller says, smiling at me. But the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. That smile is for Lark, not me. “We love to make new friends, don’t we?”

Lark shakes their head and outstretches their paw again.

“No, Sergey can’t come with us. He’s eating dinner with Otis and Kade. Won’t that be fun for him? We have to go. It’s your bed time. Should we go give you a bath?”

Lark shakes their head again. Their fur transforms into human skin, until Heller is holding a very naked toddler in his arms. He covers Lark’s rump with his arm, as if this has happened many times. I suppose it has. He reaches into Lark’s bag with his other hand and pulls out a blanket to cover Lark. “There we go.”

Lark as a human child is even cuter, if that’s possible. They have short dark hair, chubby cheeks, and the biggest brown eyes. In this form, they look so much like Heller.

They point to me. “Dada.”

The whole world moves in slow motion as Lark and I stare into each other’s eyes. I want to say, yes. I will be your dada someday. Not now—not until Heller is ready. But someday.

Unfortunately, I can’t say anything at all.

Heller’s face falls. “No, Lark. That isn’t your dada.” He turns to Kade. “Has Lark been calling all of you dada?” His voice breaks with the last word, like the idea of it hurts him.

“No. The kids have been penguins all day. You know how it is. They all want to be in the same form, and since Toby’s kids can only be penguins now, they were all penguins. I’ll take that over bears and those little claws. They always destroy the furniture if there’s enough of them. I swear it turns into a game or something.”

Otis returns to the foyer with all six chicks still in his arms. “I ordered pizza for dinner. Sorry. If there are more than five kids in my kitchen, I’m not cooking.”

“Fair enough,” Kade says. “I’m sure everyone will love it. Do you like pizza?” he asks me.

“Yeah. Pizza is great.”

Kade smiles. “Perfect. Dominic and Flint should be here any minute. In the meantime, you should let those kids down and try to find an apartment for Sergey. That’s why he’s here.” He turns to me. “What’s your budget? We can work with you if you need a little time before first month’s rent is due.”

“Um, I don’t know what the average price is around here. I don’t need anything fancy. Just a two-bedroom with parking?” I add the second bedroom because of Lark. I have no idea where Heller is living or if he’d even consider bringing Lark over for a while, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.

“Perfect. I’m sure Otis can find you something.”

I watch Heller leave, Lark kicking and screaming under the blanket. “Dada! Dada!”

If only I could explain to Lark what’s going on. I hope this doesn’t freak Heller out. It would freak me out, if the situation were reversed. He hasn’t accepted what we are to each other yet, and his kid is acting like we’re already a family.

“It’s so hard when they’re in that stage before you can teach them not to shift in public,” Otis says.

“Yeah. Should we set the table?” Kade says, guiding me toward a dining table large enough to seat fifteen people. Otis sets the kids down, like Kade suggested, and they all waddle off as quickly as they can, cheeping with happiness.

For just a moment, while I watch them waddle away, Anchorage doesn’t feel like this strange new place.

It feels like home.