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...
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Shaun came by almost every day after that, and he did so without any regard for Leroy's availability despite Leroy telling him when he had to work. When Shaun showed up unannounced one evening, when Leroy wasn't home, I wanted to send him back home first, but then I decided to let him in anyway. We watched a movie together, which was paired with a lot of commentary, most of it completely unnecessary but very amusing.
It was funny; Shaun was so different from Leroy. So different that, every time Shaun and my brother were together in the same room as me, all I heard was constant bickering. There was always a hint of playfulness to it, though.
Watching them gave me conflicted feelings. 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 actually 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 between our home cities 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. I could look at her for ages. "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 sort of 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 our 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. There was an endless supply of stories about her boss. He was insufferable. Regardless, she loved her job too much to leave.
