A werewolf's life is a constant battle, but a chance to meet your soulmate eases the trials for most. Trae is happy with the mate he's given, a cute and daring girl who meets all of his expectations, but his brother Leroy... not so much. He is sure...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Shaun came by almost every day after that, and he did so without any regard for Leroy's availability despite Leroy telling him exactly when he had to work. When Shaun showed up unannounced one evening while Leroy was at the restaurant, I considered sending him back home at first, but then I decided to let him in, anyway. We watched a movie together, which came with a lot of commentary.
It was funny. Shaun was so different from Leroy. So different that, every time Shaun and my brother were together in the same room, all I heard was bickering. There was always a hint of playfulness to it, though.
It gave me conflicted feelings, too. I was relieved to see them getting along, but I was aching to see my own soulmate. Before Mae finally got word back from her boss, I'd been tempted to ask where she lived so I could just drive over and wait for her to get back from work, but I didn't want to come across as a creep. I doubted she was as desperate to see me as I was to see her. I envied Leroy for how honest he was with Shaun. If only I could just tell Mae everything . . . she would finally understand. But it was too early, and I stood by that. At the earliest—if it went well—I would tell her after our date.
We'd scheduled it at the end of the week, and I'd already made reservations at a restaurant in a town somewhere between our own so neither of us had to drive too far. It was still a long drive, but I didn't mind. At least we lived in the same state.
All that was left to do was wait.
I wasn't very good at that. The days passed slowly, and when I arrived at the restaurant, I was early. But I wasn't the only one. Mae was already seated at a table by the window, menu in hand. When she noticed me, she looked up with a bright smile.
My heart tripped.
I returned her smile and walked over, taking my jacket off before sitting down across from her. Seeing her face alone was enough to put me in a good mood. "Hi. How are you?"
"Come here," she said, reaching for my face.
My heart did a whole tumble.
Our lips touched, and she added, "It's been too long."
Damn. I nodded. "It has."
I hadn't expected her to kiss me right away. After that conversation we had following our first meeting—about taking a step back and getting to know each other—I'd thought we'd be starting over. But I wasn't complaining. The memory of her kiss didn't do the real thing justice. My lips and the cheek she'd held tingled.
After ordering food, we talked. She'd told me she was a journalist a few days ago, but she hadn't had an opportunity to tell me what that was like yet, so she had a lot to say. Most of her stories were about her boss. He was insufferable, apparently. He was always on her ass about whatever she was working on. But she loved her job too much to leave.
