“His mate! What the fuck does that even mean?”

“It means that his wolf has a fated connection to you. He believes that you’ll be his for all of time.”

“What?” Callie loved her son, God knew she did, but she was so fucking sick of this mystical shifter bullshit that her ex had dragged her into. All she had ever wanted was a normal life, filled with normal people, who do normal shit. She’d witnessed more brutality in the time she’d spent with Trevor than she had in her entire life.

Other than working at the diner, Callie kept to herself. She didn’t need anyone other than her mom and Max. Avoiding all social gatherings the pack had really hadn’t been that hard until Calder took over. But things were different with him as Alpha. Instead of public trials, beatings, and executions, the pack now had potluck dinners and bingo nights. Not that she was complaining, she really did prefer a good game of bingo over watching someone get their throat ripped out for no good reason.

Still—part of her wished she’d moved away when she had the chance, but she didn’t. She stayed on at Twisted Tail because life had drastically improved, and she knew that she’d need help raising Max with each year that would pass. He’d need someone to show him the ropes, a mentor of sorts in the shifter world.

“I’ve got a theory on all of this,” Cam said, pulling her from her thoughts.

“Great. I can’t wait to hear it.” Callie rolled her eyes, her voiced chocked full of sarcasm.

“Look, Spaz. There’s a reason all of this happened. You’re meant to be here. I know how much you hate the word fate, but the Fates are a very real thing—and they are very powerful. It’s not very often that humans—like yourself— get caught up in our world, but it’s happening more often these days. Anyway, the Fates have decided to bring you into our world by pairing you with a shifter.”

Callie blew out a deep breath. “I don’t like the idea of these Fates making decisions in my life.”

“You still have a choice. You could refuse Wyatt.”

“And how often do women refuse their mates?” Callie asked.

Cam shrugged. “For shifters? Not very often, but not for the reasons you think. Our animal knows who their true mate is by scent alone. The wolf is driven by instinct to mark and claim their mate, but what happens is more than just down and dirty sex. I’m not saying the sex part isn’t a hella lotta fun, but it’s more. It’s a life with someone who is driven to protect you. Someone who will never cheat or stray. Someone who will be by your side—no matter what. That’s the true meaning of having a mate.”

Callie’s chest ached. “That’s what I thought I was signing up for with Trevor.”

“You know what? Fuck Trevor! Forget about Trevor. He was a piece of shit and you were not his mate. If you were, you would have worn his mark. He was nothing but a controlling, abusive dick wad. Had I known you back then, I would have told you to run far and fast from him, but I didn’t. I would have saved you from that experience if I could have.”

“How do I know this guy from my dreams—”

“Wyatt,” Cam interrupted.

“Fine, Wyatt. How do I know he’s any different than Trevor?” There was no way in hell that Callie would jump into another relationship without knowing damn well what the guy was like. She’d taken that leap of faith once—to do it again? Nope. Not happening. The only thing good that came out of her relationship with Trevor was Max. The rest of her time with him turned out to be one hellish nightmare after another, filled with a whole lot of fuckery. She’d learned her lesson, and wouldn’t be making that mistake again.

“While you were passed out, playing a swooning damsel in distress, I texted Calder to let him know what was going on. He’s on his way over to meet Wyatt.”

Callie jumped off the couch like her ass had just been lit on fire. “You did what? Why would you involve him in this?” The last thing she wanted to do was to get Calder involved.

“Relax. You’re going to give yourself a heart attack if you keep this up. I don’t know how to explain it, nor do I know how he does it, but Calder has a way of seeing through all of the bullshit and looking at a person’s soul. He can see if they are good or bad, filled with love or hate.”

Callie groaned and plopped back down onto the couch. “More mystical bullshit. Great. Now, tell me, what the heck am I supposed to say to him? Really?”

“Tell him the truth. Never lie to the Alpha. He’ll know,” Cam warned.

“Well, there goes my dignity.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I’ve been dreaming about this guy for months! The things we’ve done in our dreams. Oh, god. Forget about Calder for a minute. How am I going to face Wyatt?” Callie could feel a blush burning its way across her face and down her neck.

“I’m going to say it again. You need to chill out and relax. This isn’t the end of the world. Think of having a big strong protector for you and Max. Did you even catch a glimpse of him?”

Callie leaned her head against the back of the couch and sighed. “Yeah, I saw him. I’ve seen all of him in my dreams. How this is even possible—I still have no fucking clue.”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you. The Fates. They are the ones responsible for the dreams you and Wyatt have had.”

Callie’s eyes snapped open. She glared at Cam. “Back the truck up. You mean he’s been having the same dreams that I have?”

“Of course he has. They are called mating dreams. I’m just not sure why you started having them before you guys met.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mating dreams are normal,” Cam started.

“Not for humans!” Callie had never once in her life heard of a human meeting their significant other in a dream, let alone nearly having wild monkey sex in said dream.

“Right, so anyway—once a wolf finds his or her mate, their instinct drives them to mark and claim their mate immediately. If they don’t, they have what are called mating dreams. From what I’ve heard the dreams are erotic in nature and hot as hell, but I guess you know that already. What the elders will tell you is the dreams exist to help spur the attraction between mates.”

Callie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Who lived like this or experienced things like this?

“I can’t deal with this right now.” Callie grabbed her jacket and purse from the hook on the wall.

“Where are you going?” Cam asked.

“Home to think about things. Can you have Brenda cover the rest of my shift?”

Cam nodded. “Text me if you need anything.”

“Can you take care of him?” Callie motioned to the door where she was certain Wyatt stood, waiting for her.

“Easy. Peasy. Between me and Calder, he’ll wish he’d never set foot in this diner.”

“Thanks! I owe you one.” Callie headed for the small window in Cam’s office.

“You owe me a hell of a lot more than one.”

“I know. I’ll make it up to you one day.”