Tayrym groaned at the sudden burst of light in his face. He put his arm over his eyes before turning over in bed.

“Oh no, you don’t. It’s time to get up.”

What was his best friend, Gwenodyn, doing in his room? “Go away.”

“No.” She yanked the blankets off him.

In a panic, he grabbed one of them back and covered his waist, not remembering if he’d worn anything to bed. Peeking under the blanket, he sighed with relief when he saw the elastic waist of his night shorts. Thank the universe!

“We don’t have school today.” Gwenodyn tugged on his wrist. “I thought we could hang out, since you’ll be leaving for Defender training soon.”

“How did you get in here?” His mom never would have let a girl in his room before he’d become an adult. Not that it would have mattered.

“Your mom was leaving for the market. She let me in and told me to wake you up.”

Market? It was that close to full sun already? “Cosmos! I’m late!” He scrambled off his bed and searched for a pair of pants and shirt to wear.

“Late?” She rushed out of his path and stood in the doorway. “For what?”

“My morning run.” He pulled the clothing over his night shorts, not wanting to waste any more time.

“Since when do you run?” Gwenodyn glared at him with her hands on her hips.

“I started two weeks ago.” He hoped that was enough of an explanation to get her out of the way so he could leave. Sure, she was his best friend, but there were some aspects of his life he kept secret even from her.

“Oh, to get ready for your Defender training?” Her lower lip stuck out as she moved to the side.

“Sure.” He didn’t want to tell her the true reason or listen to her whine about how much she’d miss him when he left. Not this morning.

She jumped in front of him. “You lie.”

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. “Stay out of my head, Gwen. Isn’t it unethical for Mingots to read minds without permission?”

“I don’t have to read your mind to know you’re lying.” She poked him in the chest. “You won’t look at me when you’re fibbing. Plus, you’re flinging your thoughts at me, so it’s hard not to know what you’re thinking. I can’t block you.”

Tayrym sat on his bed and cupped his face in his hands. He’d hoped to get off planet before telling anyone his secret, to go somewhere where he’d be accepted as normal rather than an outcast.

Gwenodyn sat next to him. She wrapped an arm around him and leaned her head on his shoulder. “C’mon, Scrym. You know you can tell me anything.”

Scrym, the nickname she’d come up with when they were both much younger. One only she was allowed to call him. They’d known each other for so long. Yet, he still kept part of him from her.

“I was going for a run.” He rested his head on hers, hoping she wouldn’t leave when he told her the truth. “To the Defender barracks. There’re a few guys who play kickball there.”

“And you play with them?” She turned and scrunched her eyebrows. “What’s wrong with that?”

“I don’t play.” He ran his palms across his lap. “I go to watch.”

“Oh, I get it.” She nudged him, a weird smile plastered on her face. “Is there one you think is cute?”

His insides seemed to disappear, leaving him empty, hollow. She knew? How? “Uh....”

She rubbed his back. “I’ve known for over a Galactic year. It’s why I stopped insisting we were going to get married someday.”

That long? She’d known for over one rotation and was still his friend? He released a heavy breath. Why had he doubted their friendship? Why hadn’t he told her earlier? “Yes. There’s a guy I like to watch. But he probably isn’t like me, in that he likes women, not guys. I’m probably wasting my time admiring him from a distance.” Those who’d admitted to being attracted to someone of the same sex on Hemera were shunned, forced out of the kingdom and never seen again.

“Only one way to find out.” Gwenodyn jumped to her feet and tugged on his hand. “I’ll go with you and read his mind.”

He froze. “But you can’t.” Did he really want these two parts of his life to collide? His mind said no, but his gut, unlike every other time he’d gone to watch, gave no objection. Yet, he couldn’t ask her to do something unethical just for him. “It’s not right.”

“If he’s blasting his thoughts around the way you sometimes do, I won’t be doing anything wrong.” She tugged on him again. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

“Okay.” He stood and gave his best friend a shy smile. “Thank you. For this. And for not leaving me when you realized we’d never get married.”

She cupped his cheek. “I was sad at first, but I can’t make you someone you’re not.”

“But you’re royalty now.” He leaned into her palm. “What would your new parents say if they learned I’m attracted to guys?”

She grinned and shook her head. “Hemera’s changed from when we were little kids. Lalia lived on Terra for many years. And Bryce was a Defender. Your homosexuality is not a big deal to them.”

Tayrym drew back. “You told them?”

“No.” She pushed him out of his room then shoved some naip into his hand. “They know one of my friends is a homosexual, but not which one. And they don’t care.”

“Oh. Okay.” Though Gwenodyn didn’t have any really close friends other than him. He still couldn’t believe she knew, the royal family knew, and yet he hadn’t been sent away. He doubted his own mother would be so understanding. She kept telling him he needed to find a good girl to settle down with instead of chasing his dreams of becoming a Defender.

“Let’s go, already.” Gwenodyn waited for him at the front door with his boots in her hands. “You don’t want to miss him, do you?”

He didn’t talk on the way to the barracks, and she didn’t ask any questions. But once the playing field came into view, Tayrym slowed down. “Let’s watch from over here.” He guided her to a patch of trees near the end of the field where his crush played. The spot he normally watched from.

There were five players again, the sixth guy only showing up occasionally. The missing player and another on the field were both teachers at his school. The guy he had a crush on, Guri, played on the same team as the teachers. He used to go to school with Tayrym, but within days of Tayrym admitting to himself he had a crush on Guri, his classmate stopped attending school. It wasn’t until two weeks ago, when he’d wandered around the Defender barracks that he saw him again.

“This isn’t going to work.” Gwenodyn left the trees and headed toward benches at the edge of the field.

“No.”

She didn’t respond to his whispered objection. He stumbled after her, hoping she didn’t embarrass him, make it impossible for him to ever come back and watch. Though he hadn’t yet told her which guy he liked.
​
She sat on the very front bench and leaned forward, examining all the players. “So, let me figure out which one you have the hots for.”

Today's First Chapter Friday is from the first book in my Kaddim Brothers series. It's the story of the youngest brother in the family. In VAWN, the youngest is widowed and preparing to visit his space racer brothers on Eurebly, his first time leaving his daughter since she was born. He didn't mean to catch feelings for one of the space racers on their team, and somehow, fate keeps bringing them back together.

Shit, I almost forgot my suppressants! I lunged toward my nightstand and grabbed them out of my top drawer before tossing the package into my travel case. Going into heat was the last thing I needed to do around a bunch of horny space racers. While I was going to the “Family and Friends” weekend event to visit my brothers, I wasn’t going to say no to a hot space racer looking for a good time. It had been forever since I’d had any of that kind of fun.

“Daddy, are you gonna fwy in one of dese?” Enif, my daughter, came racing into my room, flying the toy solo jet my brothers had gifted her the first chance they’d had to see their niece. That was two years ago, for Enif’s first birthday. We hadn’t seen Genj and Ret since then, at least not in person. Only on screen. Therefore, I was excited for this opportunity.

“I don’t think so.” I ruffled her sandy-blonde hair, the same color as mine, before clutching the handle of my case and heading out of my room. “I think your uncles may let me sit in theirs, but they would never let me fly them.”

“What ’bout me?” She stuck her arms out and raced up and down the hallway. “Do you sink de’ll let me fwy?”

“Uncle Ret told you he’d give you lessons as soon as you get your license to fly.” Originally, I’d planned to take Enif with me, but my best friend, Utahn, whom I shared a house with, insisted I needed to get away on my own for once. He said he’d take care of my daughter and already had my parents on standby in case of emergency.

“But dat’s….” She haphazardly counted on her fingers. “Firteen years from now. I wanna fwy now!”

“I’ll help you fly.” Utahn came up behind my daughter and flipped her up until her stomach rested on his shoulder. Then he ran down the hallway.

My daughter giggled and squeed until Utahn put her down and stared at me with his hands on his hips. “You ready to go?”

“I think so.” I scrolled through my mental checklist and hoped I wasn’t forgetting anything. “I’ve got my tickets, my communicator and charging pad, suppressants, and enough clothes for two people. I hope that’s enough.”

“A can of mesodenka?” Utahn wiggled his brows at me. “You need other protection. Suppressants aren’t enough. You never know who else these space racers have been with.”

“Po-tec-shun? Fwom what?” Enif stared up at me with her bottom lip sticking out. “I sought space racers were good guys.”

“They are.” I crouched down in front of her, wishing my best friend had kept his mouth shut. “But don’t worry. If there are any bad racers, your uncles will protect me from them.”

I hugged my daughter while glaring over her shoulder at Utahn. “I love you, Ennie. And I’m going to miss you so much while I’m gone.”

“Don’t wowwie, Daddy.” She squeezed me tight. “I be good for Utahn.”

“I know you will.” I brushed her bangs from her face. “’Cause you’re the best kid ever. Now, give me a kiss and hug before I go.”

After the hug from my daughter, I got one from Utahn before I headed out the door. With a deep breath, I tried to push down the worry about leaving Enif for the first time. I’d lost her father in a mining accident on Dynam only one month after we’d become parents. And that made me extra weary about leaving Enif anywhere I wasn’t. Even when I had to submit my designs to the biggest fashion labels in this part of the universe. My parents, or Utahn when he wasn’t at his bakery, usually kept her occupied in another room while I used holograms to accentuate my digital presentation. Enif was also the reason no label ever revealed any pictures of me. But I could handle one weekend away from her. At least, that’s what I’d been telling myself for the past two weeks.

At the corner of the block, I took the lift up to the sky platform just in time to catch the hoverbus to the spaceport. Yep, I was going to have fun. No matter what my brothers said. That’s how I’d keep myself from worrying too much.

It was only a fifteen-minute ride to the spaceport, and I’d already done my pre-flight check-in before I left, allowing me to head straight to security when I arrived. My baggage and I were both scanned before I was permitted to advance to the waiting room. It literally was a single room, the spaceport on Orez not that big compared to others on nearby planets. As the last descendants of Trid, a planet that had become unlivable a few decades before I was born, our population here wasn’t that big. And our new planet had only one major land mass, the rest occupied by water. Usually only small ships landed and departed from here. The flight I was catching to Eurebly would probably be one of the biggest crafts to arrive here in some time. And it would likely be almost full by the time I boarded, only one more stop between here and the planet where space racers’ headquarters was situated.

I sent a quick message to Utahn, and to both my brothers, to let them know I was waiting for my flight. Utahn replied with a picture of him and Enif waving, while I didn’t hear anything from my brothers. And didn’t really expect to. Between their crazy practice schedule, sleeping at odd times, and the time difference, they usually didn’t reply for a couple of days. Though I hoped they’d be waiting for me when I arrived. Or, at least, one of them.

I caught my flight shortly after, and, as expected, I had to search the cabin for a place to sit.

“Is this seat taken?” I asked a man who had probably boarded on Retem. His skin had a green tinge with darker spots along his forehead and the sides of his face. And his green, straight hair ended crisply just above his shoulders, barely covering the gills in his neck. His home planet was much like Orez, but his species had evolved to live in the water as well as on land.

“No, not at all.” He moved the strap of his bag off the arm of the empty chair. “Go ahead.”

His smile was sweet, and, I had to admit, he was kind of hot. He wore a basic blue T-shirt and slightly darker denim pants that accentuated how muscular he was.

I took the empty seat. “So, do you know one of the space racers, or are you a fan visiting for the weekend?”

Dimples formed in his cheeks as his smile widened. “Well, I am a fan, but I’m going to Eurebly as a guest of my best friend, who is the center for Team Storm. How about you?”

Oh, I’d heard of that team. My brothers cursed their pilots quite often because they were their biggest competition. “I don’t really follow the circuit much, but my brothers are both guards for ORIXA.”

He chuckled. “Ah, the Kaddim Brothers. I imagine they’d be upset to learn we sat together for the flight.”

“Probably, but they don’t have to know.” I lightly touched his arm, waiting to see how he’d react.
Another grin. This flight was going to be fun. “I’m Vawn.”

“Trog.” He shifted in his seat to face me better. “So, have you been there before?”

“No, this is my first time. I always had something else going on during these events.”

We chatted the entire flight, making the time pass remarkably fast. I hadn’t realized we’d landed on Eurebly until other passengers started getting up from their seats. Trog walked with me to the baggage claim, where he saw his friend.

“I’m going to go now, but maybe we can meet up again sometime this weekend. I think there’s a dinner and dance tomorrow night. Will you save me a dance?”

“Definitely.” I rubbed his arm, casually feeling his biceps. “Maybe a couple.”

He nodded with a smile. “I look forward to it.” He kept his gaze on me as he started to walk away. When he finally turned, I searched for my luggage.
​
This was already turning out to be a great weekend. I had wonderful company during my flight and already had a dance partner lined up for tomorrow night. Now, I needed to locate my travel case and search for my brothers.

Today's First Chapter Friday is from my fourth Shifter Towers story, His Omega on Stage. I tried to expand what we know about the city of Saramto with this story, while returning to Adan Records at the same time. This is the longest story in the Shifter Towers series. And I'll let you in on a secret, there is more Shifter Towers coming in the future. In His Omega on Stage, Ash is releasing his debut album under the stage name AI. And when mishaps happen, he ends up working alongside his high school crush. But in the entertainment industry, relationships are never easy when they happen in the spotlight.

Another day, another dollar. Okay, so I made more than a dollar a day, but that was how the saying went. I was on my way to work once again. All I seemed to do lately, with nothing to break the monotony of my week. I used to teach guitar lessons to a few high school kids on my days off, but they either went off to college or had their own part-time job now with no time for lessons anymore. And I hadn’t bothered to look for more students. A boyfriend? Yeah right! Who wanted a leopard cat alpha who worked the evening shift at a record store? One who had a bad-boy reputation in high school that hadn’t translated well into adulthood. I had the occasional lonely omega come into the store at night. But a hookup with them never led to another. At first, that’s exactly what I’d wanted, having been burned by those I’d loved in the past. But, that had quickly become a lonely life. Now, I was “too passionate,” or “an overgrown house cat,” and not at all the type of fun my bed warmers were looking for. I wasn’t the “bad boy” they expected.

So, I worked. And when I wasn’t working, I listened to music at home, sometimes strumming along. That was my life. Boring. And another boring night awaited me at work.

Or so I thought until I got there and saw my boss, Kathie, the owner of KMM—Kathie’s Music and Merch—at the back of the store, fingers clenched in her dark-brown hair.

“Thank the stars you’re here.” She handed me a tall, yet thin cardboard box. “My father was rushed to the hospital a couple of of hours ago, and I need to get there.”

“Why didn’t you call me to come in earlier?” I felt bad for sleeping in and lazing around all morning while she was stressing the whole time. Sure, my job was boring, but Kathie treated me well, and we got along. “You know I would have.”

“I know.” She lightly touched my forearm. “But the doctor said he was stable, and I needed to discuss things with Sanjeet, the rep from Adan Records, before AI’s signing tomorrow.”

She nodded toward a stack of tall cardboard boxes like the one I held. “This is only some of the display for tomorrow’s signing. I need you to help those coming down from AR to set up. Felix is coming in to work the store so you can do that for me.”

“Okay.” I nudged her toward her office. “I’ll take care of it all. Now, get your stuff and go to your father.” She didn’t need to stress about anything else.

While Kathie gathered her belongings, I rang up a couple of customers. The part of my job I was used to. Setting up the event room for the signing would be new for me. Usually, Kathie did that herself. Sure, I’d retrieved items for her when the store wasn’t busy, but I’d never been left to complete the task on my own. Or even with support staff from AR. But I wasn’t worried. She wouldn’t trust me with the task if I couldn’t handle it.

A few minutes after Kathie rushed out to catch the light rail transit to the hospital, Felix arrived, his normally blond hair sprayed silver, the main color in all the promo for AI’s debut album.

I tried to hide my smirk. “Excited about the album, or hoping to pick up a fan?”

He winked at me. “Maybe a bit of both. AI is cute. Have you seen him?”

“Nah. I don’t get into artists for their looks. I need to hear them first before I become a fan.” And if they’re good-looking, it’s an added bonus. But like I’d ever have a chance with anyone famous.

“He has some covers out already.” Somehow Felix managed to pull an app with a list of AI’s covers up on his phone, and flashed it in front of me within seconds. “You should give them a listen while you’re setting up for him.”

I shrugged. “Trying to copy someone else’s song doesn’t give me any idea of what an artist truly sounds like.” From my experience, artists usually didn’t live up to my expectations on their own music after I’d enjoyed a cover. Sometimes the artist released a single of a completely different style than what I’d hoped for.

“But he makes them his own. Does his own thing.” Felix’s pout was cute, but it wouldn’t make me listen to this AI kid any sooner than I had to.

“Whatever.” I picked up a couple of the boxes. “I know the album will be playing here all day tomorrow. I’ll decide then.” Likely I’d be sick of every song by the end of the day and never want to hear the album again. Adan Records did have some good artists, like Envi and TK, but the boy group they debuted recently was too bubble-gum pop for me. Listening to them made my teeth hurt. Although they and groups like them seemed to sell well. With the rise of digital music, many fans no longer bought albums, but they came in searching for other merchandise, like clothing, posters, trading cards, figurines, and more. Their hunger for goods was endless.

Tonight, we wouldn’t be very busy. Only the customers who knew about the signing and wanted to avoid the crowd would come in. Plus, the occasional random shopper. Nothing Felix couldn’t handle. So, I set to work carrying all the material to the event room.

I’d just finished bringing in everything labeled for the signing when two women from AR arrived to help me get the room ready. The older one, probably in her mid-forties, with shoulder-length blonde hair and a large tattoo of a snake around her right arm, had a detailed layout of where everything was supposed to go. We divided the room then set up cardboard cutouts, decorated tables, and arranged the line area. The merchandise would come in the morning. Adan Records was really strict about not letting anyone get an early peek at their albums. Even though customers always came into the store early, hoping to snag a copy before their friends, they never had any luck with AR artists. Because we didn’t get them ahead of time.

I had just put the last barrier in place for the fan lineup when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to find a text from Felix.

Suspicious customer. Busy with others. Can you come deal?

Be right there, I replied.

I quickly excused myself from the room then rushed back to KMM. Felix was ringing through customers, but I could see him side-eying the person he’d texted me about. And for good reason. The figure browsing through the pop CDs wore baggy black jogging pants and a hoodie, with a black bucket hat and black face mask bejewelled with silver beads in the shape of a diamond. Obviously trying to keep their identity a secret, but that made them more suspicious in a record store. Though we had security stickers on most products, there were still too many items that could easily be pocketed.

I caught a whiff of their scent. Vanilla and brown sugar. An omega, which I hadn’t expected when I’d first seen him. Though I couldn’t tell what kind of shifter. “Can I help you with something?”

I don’t think he heard me approach, as he jumped a little before turning my direction. “I uh, yeah.... I’m looking for AI. His new album. For my sister.”

His deep voice caught me by surprise, too, but I didn’t believe his story at all. Why did he have to hide, in multiple ways, that he was a fan?

I sneaked a glimpse of his eyes under the rim of his hat. He appeared strangely familiar, as if I should know who the person was but couldn’t seem to remember. Someone I’d seen in person before maybe? Why couldn’t I remember?

“AI’s album doesn’t release until tomorrow. We don’t get any copies of it until first thing in the morning. Sorry to disappoint you, I mean, your sister.” Would he get the hint I didn’t find his story credible? “But if you’re available tomorrow, AI will be here to sign his new album from eleven until two. There’ll be new merch, too.”

“Oh, okay.” The guy adjusted his hat and mask, covering even more of his face. “I’ll come back then to get one. Thank you.” He rushed out of the store without bothering to look for anything else.

Not that I minded. It meant I could return to setting up for the signing. But I wondered if the guy would really come back. Would he admit to being a fan if face-to-face with AI?

“Customers are looking for his album already,” I said, walking into the event room. “That’s a good sign.”

“Understandable. He’s really good.” The older woman carried the cardboard cutout of AI to the stage. “I heard his album is a bit different from the covers he posted though.”

Everyone spoke so highly of his covers, but I still wouldn’t listen to them. I wanted to hear him singing his own music to make my judgment. “Well, I’m sure he’ll have quite the turnout tomorrow.”
​
The woman set the cutout in place, and that was the first time I got a glimpse of the artist who went by the stage name AI. All other cutouts had him wearing a white full-face mask, with intricate silver patterns. In this one, I could see his dark hair and big doe eyes. I couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity, like I should know him from somewhere. I guess I’d have to try to get a glimpse of him sometime tomorrow to know for sure. That is, if I had a moment to leave the store.