Hello! I'm sharing excerpts from chapter one of PIKA OMEGA PLUS ONE starting today. By Wednesday, you'll have the chance to read all of the first chapter. And I hope you'll check out the giveaway at the end of this post. Anyway, let's get started...
Chapter One
Milo
“I’m going to miss you so much.” The kiss I placed on Odega’s fuzzy head didn’t seem like enough, but it would have to do. I had to leave him behind and catch the bus, or I would be late for my first day back to work. “I’ll only be a few hours. Until I get back, Uncle Malone and the girls will take good care of you.”
I kissed my son’s head again then rushed out the door, waving goodbye to him, my brother, and my nieces. My stomach churned all the way to the bus stop, guilt consuming me for leaving Odega behind. This was the first time I’d gone anywhere without him. But I couldn’t bear to be apart from him. Not ever. Not with how I’d lost his father.
At the same time, I couldn’t expect my brother’s husband, Thadeus, to financially support me and my son forever. Thadeus and Malone had been kind enough to take me in after I found out I was pregnant. Widowed and a single parent at the age of twenty-three. But Thadeus wasn’t my alpha, my mate. I needed to repay him somehow.
When the bus pulled up to the stop a couple houses down from my brother’s, I trailed on behind the other passengers using the same mode of transportation. They were mostly young omegas who hadn’t been claimed yet and a few claimed ones as well. On the bus, a couple young alphas sniffed around like they were selecting their choice of delectables from the dessert cart. Yet not one omega gave them the attention they wanted.
I turned my back to them, hoping I still smelled of Daniel’s claim even though it had been over a year since he was killed in a car accident. I didn’t want any alpha sniffing around me. I had a young child to take care of and didn’t have time to date. Plus, I never wanted to go through the pain of losing someone I loved ever again.
When the bus reached the transfer station, I piled off with the rest of the passengers then rushed to catch the light rail transit. A route I was familiar with, but one I hadn’t taken since going on paternity leave. The train would take me right to the center of town, the stop in the courtyard immediately behind Shifter Towers. I’d made it, and no longer had to worry about being late for work.
Yet other issues plagued my mind. I didn’t think I would ever stop worrying about Odega. I’d never left the house without him since his birth, and those outings were rare. I was a homebody, had a couple acquaintances who were also busy as new fathers, but spent most of my time with my family.
Then there was work itself. I hadn’t exactly left there on the best of terms with some of my coworkers. Didn’t help the manager we had was known to play favorites and often pitted all of us against each other when it came to who worked the most and best hours, and who got the best positions. I’d worked hard, more concerned about making money than friends, so I’d secured a favorable status. But after taking my six-month leave, I could only hope the manager remembered my work ethic.
Walking in between the rear two skyscrapers, I headed to Tower One of Shifter Towers. NJ Fresh Foods was on the main floor, with the head office for the chain on the thirtieth floor. Apparently, those who were promoted in the company, even at store level, got the chance to travel all the way up there. Though I hadn’t yet. Not even for my original interview. So, that was my goal. I wanted my hard work to be recognized. I would visit the head office one day. I would be promoted so I could one day afford an apartment for just Odega and me.
Walking inside the store, I glanced around for the manager, Hayley. When I called two weeks ago, she’d given me my schedule then emailed me the paperwork I needed to fill out and send to the head office to indicate I wanted to return before my full paternity leave ended. But she wasn’t around. Instead, I saw someone else wearing a manager uniform.
No, not him. My stomach twisted, and my skin itched, my body wanting to shift.
My nemesis, Randall Bickell, turned around then sneered. “Milo. I heard you decided to come back early.” I’d have believed he’d stolen the uniform if he hadn’t had a name tag with his name engraved into it with the words Shift Manager underneath.
With clenched fists, I struggled to remain in my human form. I’d be fired right away if I let myself shift. I wanted to step away and spin around before running out of the store. This wasn’t how my first day back was supposed to go. Instead, my feet refused to move. I was stuck here under his scrutinous gaze. “Hi. Yes, I’m here again.”
“Lucky me,” he mumbled, though definitely loud enough for me to hear. “Well, since it’s been a long time since you’ve worked here, and I don’t have time to retrain you, you can be responsible for restocking and cleaning.”
I rolled my eyes. He knew damn well I knew what I was doing and didn’t need to be retrained. It wasn’t as if we had a new or complicated checkout system. He just wanted to punish me for all the times I’d proven I was better at the job than him, rub it in my face that he had been promoted during the time I’d become a father. “Fine. But I can still do the job better than you.”
“I am a manager.” Randall tightened his jaw as his face reddened. “And you will not talk to me like that. You got your first warning. And your work period hasn’t even started yet.”
“Whatever.” I darted past him toward the staff room to drop off my stuff in a locker. I’d get through today and hope most of my time at work had anyone else as the manager.
The first hour started out fairly slow. The morning crowd trickled in over a couple hours, so there was no rush for anything. I stocked as I got the chance and cleaned up the occasional spill as needed. No one needed to sit at the tables or use the washroom, as most customers picked up their order to take to work with them. Nothing I couldn’t handle. At the same time, I knew what to expect at lunch. I had everything stocked and made sure overstock was easily accessible to keep up with the upcoming demand. The first group hit NJ Foods at 11:30 a.m.
During that time, those in the food prep stations kept their own area stockpiled with various offerings. I focused on keeping drink refrigerators and snack food racks filled. And when an occupied table became free, I quickly cleaned it for the next patron. When I had a chance, I also checked the bathrooms to make sure the stalls had toilet paper and no one had left a big mess.
The rush at noon was much bigger and lasted longer. Customers were in more of a hurry, making them much more careless. The lines at cash were long, and everyone was in the way of someone else. I spent more time cleaning up during that hour than anything else. So, by the time the last lunch crowd arrived at 1 p.m., I was still on the floor, trying to fill shelves as fast as possible.
Randall had been too busy trying to speed up the cashiers to bother with me, but at the sound of his cackly laugh, I cringed. He was over at the pizza booth, flirting with one of the employees there. Whatever. As long as he stayed away from me.
I squatted down to fill a half-empty chip rack with various flavors. An easy task and out of the way. Or so I thought until burning liquid slid down my back.
“Fuck!” I jumped up and untucked my shirt as fast as possible to get the material away from my skin.
“Sorry! I’m so sorry,” someone said. But his words didn’t matter. My clothes were ruined, and I had another mess to clean up. What a great first day back.
COME BACK TOMORROW FOR MORE FROM CHAPTER ONE!
Shifter Towers book three
Milo
My mate died in a horrible car crash the night after he claimed me. I didn’t know I was pregnant with his child until he was buried in the ground. Luckily, my brother and his family supported me through it all. Now, it’s time for me to earn my keep. I’m going back to work. Not only to earn money, but to have a social life again. Even if just during the hours I’m at my job. Because I’m nowhere near ready for another relationship. Not sure I ever will be.
Yoni
I moved to Saramto to take a paid intern position at the local news station. My first time living in such a big city. And as the time limit on my contract kept looming closer, I hoped to come across something to keep me here. Nothing did. Until I met Milo and his adorable son. Now, I want them to be mine and I have no desire to leave. But my time is drawing near. While I pray for some miracle to come along and let me stay, I must find a way to tell Milo I have to go.
Pika Omega Plus One is a sweet with knotty heat shifter mm mpreg romance. It is book three in the popular Shifter Towers Series.
To celebrate my new release, I'm hosting a contest over on Twitter for paperbacks of the first two books in the series. All the details are on my pinned tweet.
