Bill knew he made the right decision in going to see Gerri Wilder. He wanted a new mate. It had been a long time coming. His ex-girlfriend, Danielle, had made things quite difficult for him with the pack. She didn’t take too kindly to his rejection of forming a triad with the next in line alpha to lead the Cazenovia pack. When Darryl Lupine had announced he had chosen Dwayne, his eldest son, to lead the pack when he stepped down, Bill had been thrilled for his friend. They had grown up together and were closer than two brothers could be. Well, until Danielle sunk her fangs into him.
Danielle had always had ideas of grandeur floating around in her head. When the announcement had been made about Dwayne, she had taken it upon herself to woo the next in line to the Cazenovia pack. She let him know she was leaving him for bigger and better things. He had been fine with that as it had been over for him emotionally for quite some time. She had been a convenient lover for the last five years, but things had soured between them long ago. When she broke it off, it had been no skin off his back. He wished her well and good riddance. And even when she had gone from his bed straight to Dwayne’s, he hadn’t cared either way. Dwayne was an alpha and she was a fiery female. He hadn’t begrudged his friend the pleasure she was giving him. He just hadn’t expected it to become serious between the two. But it had become serious and there were many who were not happy with the match. Even Dwayne’s parents weren’t fond of the new female in their son’s life. Their pack, being so far north, was smaller than most at only about 40 wolves. So, with that also a consideration, and them both being consenting adults, the pack had looked the other way and hoped Dwayne would grow bored with Danielle. That hadn’t happened either. The two were inseparable, and Dwayne’s behavior had begun to make people wonder what the two did behind closed doors. His friend had changed and had begun to distance himself from everyone.
The worst part though, was that Danielle was still sniffing around him. It initially led to some awkwardness between him and his friend. Then just six months ago, they announced their engagement, and that they would be married just as soon as they found an Omega to form a triad with them. Danielle’s glittering brown eyes looked at him and then he’d realized that had been her plan all along. Take control of the pack through them. He wanted no part of that.
He’d avoided the duo as much as he could in such a small community. But one evening Danielle and Dwayne paid him a surprise visit. She told him she had always loved him and that she and Dwayne thought that he was the one. There were many triads ruling packs though the alpha maintained the most power. He flat out told Danielle he wasn’t interested. Though he loved Dwayne and had respected the hell out of him, he knew it wasn’t in him to share a woman. And definitely not her. But he didn’t say that in Dwayne’s presence even though he seemed to be just going through the motions to please his mate. Something was off about his friend. But he let it go as he didn’t want to hurt Dwayne by implying that his new woman wasn’t worth it. His friend was still the alpha and to make a statement like that was practically calling him out. He couldn’t do that to Dwayne.
But that hadn’t stopped Danielle. She didn’t take no for an answer very well and soon had others in the small village pushing for a triad also. The easiest thing to do without causing trouble for the pack, Bill had decided, was to venture out on his own. Go rogue for a while. Lone wolf. He explained all of that to Gerri while they enjoyed each other’s company in the suite of her hotel.
“I hadn’t realized it had gotten that bad,” Gerri stated, pushing the box of sweets across the table she had delivered from a bakery. Other than matchmaking, her second greatest obsession was baking. She couldn’t do that on her semi-quasi working vacation in Clearwater, Florida. But she was enjoying finding new treats to try in the quaint tropical paradise. She discovered a Greek village not far off from there that made excellent pastries, and she hadn’t realized key lime could be so sweet. She was quickly becoming addicted to the sweet and tart fruit.
Bill let out a long slow sigh. “It’s been pretty rough,” he confessed. “And I would’ve left sooner but I needed to make sure that my folks would be looked after.” His parents weren’t as old as Gerri, but his father, Tony, had been injured when their current pack leader had been challenged by another Alpha wanting to take over their pack. For his service to their pack leader, Darryl Lupine, Dwayne’s father, looked after Bill’s parents as they couldn’t hunt in their wolf form. His father’s injuries during that fight made it hard to get around in the colder climate especially in the bone chilling winters. Yet, his dad was proud and continued to oversee the work on his small onion farm. “Darryl reassured me that my parents would be taken care of in my absence. He wouldn’t say to me directly, but I have a feeling that he is not too happy with his son’s choice either.”
Gerri got that. She knew Darryl Lupine. A prouder alpha she couldn’t imagine and to have his son, his next in line chase after a piece of trashy tail was embarrassing. He could not call his son out on it. He had to give him the rope and hope he didn’t hang himself with it. “And of course being an alpha who wants his son to rule next, he can’t risk saying something that causes Dwayne to lose face with the pack. Someone will challenge him for leadership for sure if his own father doesn’t have faith in him.”
“That’s exactly it. The crazy rules we live by!” Bill exclaimed as he plucked his third and final pastry out of the box. “These are really good, Aunt Gerri,” he mumbled as he bit into yet another sweet treat. Though she wasn’t his biological aunt, Gerri Wilder was the closest thing he had to one. She had matched his parents. His dad was a dire wolf from Cazenovia. Dire wolves liked to live in colder climates higher in the mountains. The colder and higher you lived the less likely a chance there would be of human interaction. That’s why the founders had picked the spot over two hundred and fifty years ago. Over time though, humans had moved into the area and now they co-existed peacefully. Most of the seven thousand residents knew of their existence and were trusted friends. They were lucky to have that and be able to live so openly. It wasn’t like that everywhere. Not where he was now in Florida. Here he would have to be more careful. He did not want to risk being caught and exposed. Though many human beings knew of their existence, it was still dangerous and they were cautious about who they told outside of the pack’s immediate communities.
He thought of his mom, Kathy. She had been human once. She had lived near a village in Tennessee that had one of the largest packs in the county. Her people knew of the wolves and had lived amicably among them. His father had been visiting a friend and they had met when Gerri suggested he go to see a movie. He told her the girl who took tickets was cute and gave his Dad, Tony, a knowing look. That had been it. Once his dad got a whiff of Kathy, he wooed her, and they mated in the ritual way, from behind with him biting her on her neck. Her parents had been thrilled with the match too, though were sad when his mom had chosen to move to Cazenovia to be with her mate’s pack. They’d had a great life there, raising him and his sister. His sister, he thought of sadly, had been shot by a hunter over a decade ago. She’d gone too far down the mountain to hunt in her wolf form. Because he and his sister were dire wolves, they were larger in their wolf form than most, and did not look like your average wolf. When she had gone into a field chasing a buck, a farmer sited her and killed her. It had been a hard loss for them all. Dwayne had taken it hard too. They had been dating then. He hated thinking about the what ifs when it came to his sister, Lola. He still missed her so much. They had been close with only three years separating them.
“How did your parent’s take this? You moving?” Gerri asked.
“As well as can be expected. I’m hoping to find a place large enough, maybe three bedrooms, so they can visit.”
“I’m sure they will come.” Gerri didn’t much like what she had seen of Florida so far, though she was trying to stay inside as much as she could because of the heat wave. “I have heard it is quite comfortable during the winter months.”
Bill laughed at the disgust on Gerri’s face. He’d noticed the heat too. But he heard living on the beach made it bearable. “Well, I will get a place on the beach. Get the wind coming in from the gulf.”
Gerri smiled and patted his hand. “More coffee?” she asked.
“Yes, please.” He held the cup for her to pour. Ever since making the match for his parents, Gerri visited and was a part of his and his sister’s lives. He hadn’t seen much of her these past five years. Her business was booming. But he was very glad she agreed to meet him here in Clearwater, where he decided to relocate. He wanted something very different from Cazenovia. He also wanted to find a mate soon. He was getting close to forty and it was about time he settled down. He didn’t know if he wanted a litter though he was sure his parents would like to have grand pups, but he had never felt very paternal. He’d seen the grief of losing Lola on his parents and didn’t think he could go through that.
He’d be happy with finding a mate with whom he could live out the rest of his days in comfort. Someone who liked to travel since his business as a dealer of antiquities took him to many interesting places in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. It would be nice to have someone by his side. Much of his business was done on the phone and on the computer tracking down what his clients wanted. It was a lucrative business and he enjoyed it immensely.
“So, why Florida?” Gerri asked. It was so damn hot in Florida, and there weren’t any packs living in the state. There were shifters though. There were some Black Bears living in the northern part of Florida, and a pod of dolphins that lived in the Gulf.
“I wanted to be someplace warm in case my parents can be convinced to move, or at least come to during the winter months.” He doubted his father would ever leave Cazenovia and his small farm. He was a very proud man and hated having to rely on others. But he knew his father would eventually succumb to his mother’s wishes to be near her son, and the warmer climate would do them both good.
“Well I can understand that, but I know your dad and he is not going to roll over too easily. But enough about that. Let’s talk about finding your mate.” This was why she was here. She needed to find Bill his perfect mate. “Tell me. What are you looking for?” Her ice blue eyes twinkled. Gerri was single minded when it came to making the right match. It was why she had started PDA so many years ago.
Bill took a sip of his coffee and set the cup down. “Excellent. Yes. I’m anxious to get started on that.” He’d been very lonely for quite some time. Even with Danielle, he’d been lonely. But he wanted his mate, his one true mate that every shifter had, but some never found, and he knew once he found her, whoever she might be, it would fill the hole in his heart that he was waiting to fill.
“Well, that’s why I’m here,” she stated. “Tell me. What do you want?”
Bill laughed. Though he was nearly forty, he felt like fourteen. “Obviously it has to be somebody I am attracted to. I want a woman who can hold her own around the pack. Someone strong. Beautiful and funny. Independent, but will allow me to take care of her. I do have a preference for blondes, though it’s not a sticking point. Someone who would like to travel. I like curves.”
Gerri interrupted, “Does she have to be a wolf or shifter?” Her question was pointed and Bill took note of that.
“No, I mean, my mother wasn’t a shifter at first, so that does not bother me. But obviously I want her to know the truth about me and possibly be willing to become a Dire Wolf someday.” He would be happy with a human by his side, but being a shifter himself, he was allowed to turn a mortal woman to be his mate. But she had to do so willingly. It would make her stronger, safer, more in tune to her sense of smell and sight. These things were important in his world where it could become dangerous at times.
Gerri had suspected that Annie would be a perfect fit for Bill. She had a hunch on this one as well. Though the girl was human, she seemed to be a modern woman, strong, and accepting. If she did not call after checking out her website, she would have to give her a nudge. She knew once she met Bill the rest of the story would write itself. They would be perfect together. “Wonderful then. I think I already know a woman who meets all of your criteria. You’ll have to meet her first to see if the attraction is there.”
Bill sat straighter in his chair. He was excited. “Really? So soon? I thought it would take longer.”
“Sometimes it does, but I have a very good feeling about this woman. I want you to meet soon and I still need to work out those details.”
“From your earlier question, I gather she is a mortal.”
“She is, but she is also all those things that you stated. She’s beautiful and smart. Independent, but definitely needs looking after. Incredibly witty. She’s a blonde.”
His inner wolf wanted to howl at the prospect of meeting his mate. He’d heard that sex with your one true mate was incredibly mind blowing. “Sounds great. When do I get to meet her?” He felt like a randy, impatient teenager.
The crux. “Well, I’m waiting for her to call me. I gave her some information and need to give her a little time to see if she can accept a shifter as a mate.”
An alarm bell went off for Bill. “Does she know of our kind at the very least?”
Gerri did not want to alarm Bill. But she did not lie. “I gave her my card and she knows what I do. I also gave her some information to follow up on. This is something you really won’t have to worry about. I know how to push her in the right direction.”
Bill was concerned. He’d been with many women. Human and shifter. All of them had known his secret. He wasn’t willing to hide who he was from a perspective mate. But Gerri was the professional, so he would follow her guidance on this. She was the matchmaker after all, and he didn’t want to insult her by questioning her about her methods.
“I see those wheels turning, Bill. Just give it a few days and I will set up a meeting between you and Miss Annie O.”
He was feeling anxious. He hoped she was the one. He liked her name. Simple. Sweet. “Annie. I like that.”
“Please, Bill. Don’t worry about this. I’ll call you in a day or two. It’s not really something you have to worry about.”