Chapter 1

 

“I keep telling you to get with the program. There’s no better way to meet a woman than through online dating,” Laura Harmon says, as she turns around to look at the two men, Alex and Nate, by the grill in charge of prepping their dinner for the night. Thank god they haven’t set anything on fire…yet.

 

Alex and Nate are two of Jared’s closest of friends. They’re in the same group of friends Grant, the ultimate matchmaker, is in. Alex and Nate are also two of the men in the bunch who have decided to grow up and enter an exclusive relationship with Laura. It’s complicated, their situation, and Jared doesn’t even really comprehend it – Laura exclusively dating both Alex and Nate – but he’s not going to judge. They’re all old enough to make their own decisions.

 

“I honestly don’t get why you have to pay a fee to make an account for these dating websites,” answers Jared, as he reaches for the cooler and hands a beer to Laura. He takes a long swig of his own before he says, “You’re already going to be paying for the first date…and women nowadays expect a lot. So why do we have to pay a fee just to talk to women online?”

 

Laura can’t help but roll her eyes. Men. Jared doesn’t miss the way she furrows her eyebrows together, bites her bottom lip, and then opens her mouth to speak. She props her hands on each side of her waist, ready to go on defensive mode. As the CEO of Love in the Net, the biggest and fastest growing online dating company, she has a lot to say to Jared.

 

“Supply and demand, my friend,” she starts, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “People will pay as long as they want what the company’s offering. And besides, the fees are to maintain the website and the backend operations, labor, coding, research and development, testing, marketing, and the list goes on. We also trial and test our algorithms to ensure their effectiveness.” Laura gives Jared a nudge on the waist. “You should know these things, being a VC and all.”

 

“You know the dating industry is not my expertise,” answers Jared with a smirk. “Maybe you’re right though since I’m not getting anywhere with the blind dates.”

 

Jared is caught off guard when Laura elicits a heavy sigh. Then, she rolls her eyes and crosses her arms against her chest.

 

“Fine…sign up for Love in the Net, pay the fees for a premium account…” Here, she takes a deep breath. “And if you don’t find anyone girlfriend material after six months, I’ll refund you. Even better, you earn bragging rights to tell me ‘I told you so’.”

 

“Perks of having the CEO as your friend?” Jared teases, and Laura can only roll her eyes and nod her head.

It was over half a year ago when Laura took the helm and became the Chief Executive Office of Love in the Net. After a few complications – read, the previous CEO abducting Laura who was already an employee – Nate and Alex bought out the company and hired Laura. With Laura’s experience in the industry and the company itself, it was understood she was a good fit for the position. Now, Love in the Net continues to grow, despite it already having the largest market share.

 

“So what do you say?” Laura then asks, with a smirk playing on her lips. “You have to admit it’s an offer you can’t refuse, and besides, why not support Alex and Nate’s business by making an account?”

 

It takes a few seconds before Jared answers, but in reality, there’s really nothing else to think about.

 

“Sign me up,” he says, handing his phone to her. “Show me what to do.”

 

Laura then takes Jared’s phone and downloads the app into his phone. Once the app is on his screen, Laura registers an account for him, and after a few clicks and answering a page of questions, Jared Harrison’s profile is up and running.

 

“So this is where you’ll find your matches…” Laura says, showing Jared the ins and outs of the app. The app has a streamline design with a red and white color palette. Simple and modern – it’s one of the app’s strengths. Laura has been receiving numerous reviews about how both the app and desktop versions are very easy to navigate. “This tab is where you’ll find the rankings for ‘Premium Lovers’…”

 

“Say what?” Jared asks, cocking an eyebrow up in disbelief. Is that really a legitimate term? Premium lovers?

 

“They’re the most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes on the platform,” Laura starts, rolling her eyes for the nth time at him. “I used to be the top placer, you know.” She can’t help but add a wink to that.

 

“Until you met those two?” Jared teases, pulling a face as he turns to look at Nate and Alex, who’s walking towards them with platters full of food in hand. “Hope you can still get a refund with those two…”

 

But before he can carry on with the jab, Alex and Nate are right in front of them and are looking at Jared and Laura suspiciously.

 

“Was he just badmouthing us?” Alex asks, looking at Laura before shifting his glance to Jared, who has his hands up in the air in a surrender gesture.

 

“He was about to,” Laura says in reply, complementing that with a laugh. “Congratulate him, guys…he’s officially a Love in the Net member!”

 

“About time, man,” Alex says, slapping a hand on the man’s back. “Grant told me about your date with the teacher.”

 

“Is that the one who talked too much?” Nate puts in, to which Jared nods his head.

 

“Who talks during a date, anyway?” Alex asks rhetorically. “You should’ve just skipped dinner and bang-”

 

“Says the one who had dinner with a girl and brought his friend along…” There’s no missing the glance Jared sneaks in the direction of Nate and Laura. He very much knows about the history of the three. Nate and Alex booked Laura through the Love in the Net platform with the hopes of getting her exclusively, but a technical glitch caused Laura to be double-booked. And the rest, as they say, is history. “Didn’t you three go on a date together?”

 

“Yes,” Laura answers proudly. “And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

 

“How is that even possible?” Jared asks and then retracts his question. “Never mind. I think it’s better if I don’t know.” Then his eyes fall on the food right in front of them. There’s no missing the oil pooling on the edges of the meats and the smell of cholesterol wafting through the air. “What are we waiting for? Let’s fucking eat.”

 

And eat they do. When they finish all the beer in the cooler and all the steaks, ribs, and hotdogs on the grill, Alex, Nate, and Jared want nothing more than to burn off everything they ate.

 

“I don’t think I can walk, guys,” Nate says, as Laura takes his plate and then the others’ to bring inside the apartment to wash. “What we ate can probably feed a party of fifty.”

 

“But those fifty don’t have the stamina we do,” Jared replies, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

 

“That sounds so sexual…” then says Nate, pulling a corner of his lips downwards into a grimace.

 

“Come on, then,” Alex says, pulling at Nate’s arm and forcing him to sit up. “It’s almost midnight.”

 

“The trail should be empty.”

 

And with that, Nate has no choice but to stand up and join Alex and Jared. They give Laura a quick ‘goodbye’ before they take Alex’s truck out and drive to the nearby mountain. It’s a quick drive, but it offers one of the best hiking trails in the region. Nate, Alex, and Jared come out here on a weekly basis when Black Creek’s downtown gets a little too noisy and they want some privacy. Grant and a few of their other friends don’t go not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t…

 

“What the fuck is that?” Jared calls out when Nate starts to undress in front of him. Jared’s eyes land on Nate’s chest and at the teeth marks on his skin. It’s Alex who answers instead of Nate.

 

“Laura wasn’t a Premium Lover for nothing.” Of course, Alex has to add a wink to that. “We’d invite you, but three is already a crowd.”

 

“Pass,” Jared quickly says, shaking his head. He still doesn’t understand how Nate and Alex can be in an exclusive relationship with the same girl. He doesn’t understand, but he’s not going to judge. “Loser treats the other two to a month’s supply of whiskey?”

 

There’s no hiding the smirk on Alex and Nate’s faces, and the two quickly bend down and rest the palms of their hands on the ground beneath them. Jared watches on as Alex and Nate start to shift, their skin growing thicker with jet-black fur and their pointed noses elongating into a snout. Jared then hears the sound of claws raking the dirt beneath, and he can’t help but shake his head and tip his lips up into a smirk at the sight of two gargantuan bears right in front of him.

 

Never one to lose, Jared closes his eyes and lets his own transformation consume him. Then, a look at the mountain peak and resounding roars later and the three of them start racing to the top.

 

Only less than a handful of humans know about their secret, with Laura being one of the rare few. And this secret of theirs is why Grant and their other friends can’t come. They aren’t shifters, and Jared, Alex, and Nate can’t risk more and more people knowing.

 

More importantly, it’s probably one of the reasons why Jared has always been cautious of jumping into relationships. He can’t risk this secret just for any woman. And when that time comes that he finds his match – he’ll know. If Nate and Alex can reveal their secret to Laura, Jared can too – to the special woman in his life he has yet to meet.