Chapter One
The cold snow crunching under Adonis’ paws still felt alien to him, even after all these years. Being raised on the plains of Africa was a far cry from the life he presently lived in the Adirondacks of New York State. He missed lying in the shade under the protection of the trees from the scorching sun. The way the cool dirt felt on his thick fur as he slept beneath the thousands of stars shimmering across the night sky was nothing more than a distant memory. His past consumed his thoughts almost every minute of every day. He wished he had the ability to change his appearance and be like everyone else. Except, he couldn’t. There was nothing he could do to change who he was.
He’d grown to hate the way he looked because all it did was cause him trouble and heartache. He was taken away from his family and thrown into an unknown, foreign environment, forced to take care of himself. As he grew older the way he looked wasn’t nearly as important as him surviving in a place where he was completely alone and had no one to teach him the basic skills on how to get around and find food.
The first couple of years were brutal. Finding food during the winter months with snowstorms, extreme cold, and near-death experiences with avalanches made it almost impossible, but somehow, he managed to learn everything he needed so he could stay alive and keep thriving. He was a lion; he had royalty in his blood. He would allow nothing to get in his way. He was determined to succeed no matter what came his way, and he had. He had a good job and made a few friends at the resort so he really couldn’t complain. He spent most of the day in his office so he wouldn’t have to socialize with others, which was perfect since he hated all the staring he always encountered from the humans.
His shifter buddies were somewhat more understanding of his appearance because each one of them were different in some way or another from their own kind. They were all a bunch of misfits due to their abnormalities. Only his was a bit different. He wasn’t only different in lion form, he was also unlike everyone else in human form as well. He was born with albinism, a congenital disorder that’s characterized by the absence of pigment in the skin, hair, and eyes. He’d come to terms that he may be alone for the rest of his life a long time ago, but after finding a job at the resort he’d made plenty of friends to hang out with; they kept him busy between working hours. Only it wasn’t enough to fulfill his beast who needed a mate.
Adonis typed vigorously on the keyboard in front of him, making plenty of typos because his fingers were so large that he kept hitting more than one key at a time. Being over six feet made the simplest of tasks more difficult because of his size. He’d much rather write things out by hand. Unfortunately, nowadays the internet and working on the computer was a necessity. He leaned back and spun the leather office chair around to peer out the window. It was snowing hard with strong winds causing cancellations in hiking and skiing. Almost all outdoor activities for the tourists had been put on hold until the next day when the weather was supposed to clear up.
What was going on outside really made no difference to Adonis since he didn’t like the cold weather and snow much. He’d much rather be indoors where it was warm and could stay secluded in the comfort of his office, away from curious eyes and unwarranted glares. No, he was not in the mood for that today. A loud knock on the door caused him to jump and turn around. Before he had a chance to ask who it was, the door flung open, hitting the wall behind it.
“Damn it Jett. Break the door down why don’t you.”
Jett’s shoulder length inky hair fell over his face, covering his dark brown eyes as he turned his head to inspect the damage. “Shit, I’m sorry man. Sometimes I don’t know my own strength.”
“Well control your wolf and get a grip. I’ll have to call maintenance to come fix that now.”
“Fuck man, calm down. What’s got you all riled up this morning?”
Adonis pushed his chair back under the desk and began typing again, ignoring his friend as he made himself comfortable in the armchair across from him. “Nothing. Everything is fine and dandy. What do you want anyway?”
“Ronin and I were going to head to Suds to get a few beers in a couple of hours. Wanna come?”
“Does it look like I can go anywhere right now. I have all this damn paperwork to finish and I haven’t even sent out those sales packets to our returning customers yet. I’m completely swamped.”
“Why don’t you let me help you? That way you can get done faster and come with us. You need a break.”
Adonis raised an eyebrow before rolling his eyes. “You help me? Yeah right. Two minutes and you’d go insane from being stuck indoors. I do not want to hear you complaining on top of everything else I have to do. I thought you had that group tour this morning afternoon?”
Jett pointed to the window. “Have you seen the weather outside? How can I go hiking in this weather with twenty people to look after all by myself?”
“Well, don’t you have someone else to go bother? Where’s Ronin now?”
“He’s at Gabriel’s. Faith asked us over to eat, but Hell if I’m going over there to watch her and Gabe claw at each other. I’ll lose my damn lunch watching that.”
Adonis laughed. “Agreed.”
“Speaking of clawing. When are you going to decide to get it on with a hot chick? It’s been a while. A really long while.”
“Since when is it any of your business? When are you going to get it on with a hot chick?”
“I have sex every day.”
“Yeah, with a different woman every night.”
“Hey, I’m not the one looking to settle down. You are. Why don’t you give Gerri Wilder a call? She did set Gabe up with Faith and they can’t keep their paws off each other.”
“Have you seen the way I look?”
“I’m looking, although I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“That’s because you’re a guy and you’re my friend. Woman see me differently. Especially women like us.”
“You mean shifters?”
“Yes. Most of the women I’ve dated want to be with someone who has power. The leader of the pack, king of the jungle, master of their domain. I am none of those things. I’m a loner, banished from my homeland and seen as an undesirable mate. I’m sick and tired of even trying. I’m happy just sitting here in my office, alone.”
“Now you know that’s not true.” Jett reached over the desk and grabbed a pen to write on the pad sitting next to him. “Here take Gerri’s number and give her try. She’s helped many shifters find their mate, I’m sure she’ll be able to help you.”
Adonis snatched the paper from Jett’s hand and shoved it in his pocket. “Fine, but if she can’t help me I’m giving up.”
“Just give it a chance will you. What can it hurt?”
Jett stood and walked out of the office without another word. Adonis couldn’t have been happier to be left alone. He hated when his friends meddled in his love life, or lack thereof. Who he dated was really no concern of theirs. He also didn’t think the Paranormal Dating Agency was for him. Sure, Gerri had matched up plenty of other shifters with their mates, but he held serious doubts in his mind that her services could help him.
Adonis sat back in his chair at the end of the day and looked down at the guests arriving at the resort. What would possess these people to drive in this weather was beyond him. He couldn’t begin to imagine the terrible driving conditions they’d had to travel through to get here. Sometimes people threw common sense out the window. They had no survival instincts. Maybe it was because they were never in a life or death situation before. Well, he had and every decision he made reflected on his ability to cope with his surroundings and get through each day without a hitch.
He exhaled slowly and pulled out the small piece of paper with Gerri Wilder’s number on it and dialed her. He hoped it wasn’t too late to call, but he wanted to contact her before he changed his mind. The phone rang several times and he was just about to hang up when the feisty woman on the other end answered.
“Paranormal Dating Agency, Gerri speaking.”
Adonis cleared his throat. “Hi Gerri, this is Adonis Payne.”
“Yes, I’ve been expecting your call. What took you so long to call me? Too busy “lion” around?”
He laughed. What else could he do? “No. In fact, I’ve been very busy.”
“You’ve been busy procrastinating the situation is what you’ve been doing young man.”
“I talked with Jett weeks ago when he called me asking for some advice on how to help you.”
“With all due respect Ms. Wilder, what concern it is of yours?”
“Well, it isn’t, but since I already have you on the phone why don’t we see what I can do for you.”
Adonis huffed out a breath. “Okay fine.”
“I have a wonderful young woman in mind for you to meet.”
“Hold on a second. Shouldn’t you be asking me what kind of characteristics I’m looking for in a mate?
“No need honey. I am extremely competent at picking the perfect mates for my clients. I think Eira will be perfect for you. She’s very beautiful; long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a bubbly personality. I think she’ll make you very happy. Should I give her a call and set something up?”
“I guess so.”
“Don’t sound so dismal. Chin up. I guarantee everything will work out for you. I will call you in a couple of days with a date and time when you can meet her.”
“Okay. Thank you Gerri.”
“Goodbye dear.”