The Unlikely Mate

Chapter 8

Jennifer had been looking forward to dinner with William, but now she was feeling nervous. She wanted to know what he was looking for, and she needed to find out what the deal was with his mate before she would make any plans or decisions about anything. She liked him and was flattered by his attention, but knew she needed to be careful. She also couldn't shake the warning Jackson had given her about being careful around William, because of how powerful and high-ranking he was.

Jennifer looked at herself in the mirror with a small wince. The scar on her face still hadn't really healed at all. It didn't bother her much day to day. Her co-workers had asked a few times, and most customers were decent enough to ignore it. She was able to brush it off for the most part, which just gave her an air of mystery, but it bothered her that she wouldn't be able to cover it for her date.

"Oh, you're a sight for sore eyes" William complimented when Jennifer opened the door upon his arrival.

Jennifer was wearing a maroon v-neck tank dress, with a cinched waist and soft flowing skirt. Her beautiful long blond hair was down in soft waves, gently framing her face. Even with her black heels, she wasn't as tall as William, in his dark emerald green button down shirt and dark gray slacks. His dark hair combed back attractively with minimal hair product, so it still appeared soft, practically begging her to run her fingers through it. His green eyes sparkled brightly, accented by the green of his shirt.

"Thank you" Jennifer said, taking in his appearance and offering him a wink. "You're quite dashing yourself."

William offered Jennifer his arm, and escorted her to his car, opening the passenger door for her, closing it once she got in. Jennifer felt like royalty as she had never been given this type of attention before. She had never been the focus of a man's positive attention, and she was beginning to feel even more nervous about the conversation she felt she needed to have with William.

"How are things going with the pack?" Jennifer asked, making conversation to hide her nerves.

"Ugh" William grunted. "They're a mess. Luther was so dominant, none of them can think to do anything for themselves. Nobody is taking initiative and I have to do everything myself."

Jennifer winced at the mention of Luther, but quickly recovered, asking another question. "Any idea who you're going to appoint a leader?"

"Not yet, nobody is stepping up. I think the Council is going to have to find someone else to bring in. Probably a second son of some Alpha who is looking for his own pack."

"Second son?" Jennifer asked.

"Yeah, a first born son would take over his own pack when his father steps down, but a second son of some Alpha would be ideal. It would be someone with Alpha blood who wouldn't be leaving his own responsibilities to come take over."

"Of course, that makes sense" Jennifer said, her mind still not really focusing on the conversation at hand, as she was trying to think through how to go about bringing up the topic of mates.

The chit-chat continued until they reached the restaurant a few minutes later, and William escorted Jennifer to the front door, where they were met by a hostess who then led them to their reserved table tucked into the back corner of the restaurant, a brilliant view of the city visible outside of the floor length windows to their side.

"This is beautiful" Jennifer said, looking out the window.

"Best view in town" William responded, looking at Jennifer, not out the window.

Jennifer glanced back at him, realizing the intended compliment and blushed, quickly picking a menu to hide her embarrassment.

"Have you eaten here before?" she asked. "Any recommendations on what to order?"

"I've never been here, but the restaurant has the highest rating in town. So probably everything is good" he said, as he smiled at her.

It wasn't until they had both almost finished their meals, with simple and casual conversation about random things, before the topic Jennifer had been wanting to discuss all evening finally came up. And Jennifer didn't even have to be the one to bring up the topic.

"So, where do you think your mate is?" William asked her casually.

Jennifer choked on her bite of food as she tried to think how to answer his question.

"I'm almost certain my mate died a few years ago" William continued with stilted emotion. "I'm pretty sure I felt it. We'd never met, so the bond was never triggered, but there was a day I'll remember for the rest of my life, when it felt like the world was crumbling in around me. The only thing I could come up with, was that my mate, wherever she was, had passed away and the bond was being cut off" he finished saying, with a tone in his voice that Jennifer was having a hard time identifying.

"My mate may have died as well" Jennifer said hesitantly, not sure how to go about telling him that she knew her mate Luther was dead, and she had watched him die. One of the most painful experiences she had ever endured. "I completely understand the feeling you just talked about. I've felt something similar to what you're describing."

"Maybe our meeting has been a turn of fortune for the both of us then" he said, with poorly concealed intention behind his words.

"Maybe" Jennifer responded, smiling softly.

"I've only known of a couple of instances where the Moon Goddess saw fit to provide a wolf with a second chance mate" William continued. "So, I'm not really holding out for that. I've been alone for so long, I feel like at this point I need to find my own second chance."

"It seems like it would be a rare thing for the Moon Goddess to do, since she takes great care in choosing mates in the first place" Jennifer said, trying not to think about why the Moon Goddess would have ever mated her Luther in the first place. It was something she had often wondered, never understood, and secretly cursed the Moon Goddess about.

"Well," William said, lifting his glass of wine. "To making our own second chances."

Jennifer raised her glass at William's toast and smiled, then took a drink.

"Do you smell that?" Jennifer asked, looking around the room. "It smells like chocolate chip cookies" she said.

"Sounds like someone wants dessert" William said smiling, as he picked up the dessert menu and began flipping through the pages.

Jennifer looked at the menu, trying to find something that would be what she was smelling. Together they settled on a cookies and ice cream dessert to share.

Jennifer then excused herself to the restroom while they waited for the server to bring the dessert, but before she got there she stopped in her tracks, as the scent she had thought was cookies had grown stronger. She looked around quickly, but couldn't identify the source. As it had grown stronger, she could tell it was from a person and not food, but it was already beginning to fade. Whoever it was, had been sitting at the bar, but had left recently and it took every ounce of control she had, not to leave right then and try to follow it.