Fuck my meeting with Iver in a half-hour. I needed my fur.
I allowed my panther to take over and bolted towards the woods. We usually saved shifting for the nights, our animals most at home then, and the instinct to find cover overwhelmed my cat, pushing me back as he wove through the trees. It was calming to be in the background as he scented the air, looking for prey, letting him control all the decisions. I had to be careful not to give him complete rein just in case a random dog crossed our path and I needed to force him to stop, but it was a feral and relaxing mix that I needed.
We reached the river and a patch of sunlight that normally would’ve made the afternoon perfect. There was nothing quite like stretching out in the sun. Today, he had other things on his mind, picking his head up and sniffing the air.
Fox. Rabbit. Squirrel. All the easy prey. We didn’t want easy—we wanted a challenge. He stepped closer to the river, looking in the water, my black reflection with golden eyes staring back at me.
Otter.
My panther dove into the water, swimming across to our lunch, the sound of gunshots echoing in the background.
Great.
I pushed for control, abandoning our hunt and traipsing back to my office. Chances were, the hunters were beyond our land and on the lookout for turkeys, but it was always better safe than sorry when it came to firearms.
I shifted at woods end, and walked back to my office, both calmed by being in my fur and flustered by not achieving my kill.
“Where were you?” Iver sat waiting in his chair as I wandered back inside.
“You see my clothes and the open door, where did you think I went? It’s too early to go dancing naked in the moonlight.” I was so not in the mood for him. “You may leave.”
“Yeah, not going to happen.” He sat there like a Cheshire freaking cat. “We need to talk.”
I slipped on my boxers and suit pants, leaving the rest there. My meetings were over for the day and the last thing I needed was to feel strangled by my clothing. “There is nothing more we can do, but wait. Brad is working on this. Done.”
“You say that like I don’t already know.” He stood up and reached in his pocket, “I am here for something else.”
I walked around my desk and plopped in my chair. I didn’t need any of this. “If you are here to try and get me to do anything not pack-related, you can walk on out.”
He wouldn’t. He never did. And still, he somehow had been my best friend since we were kittens.
“Do you know what I have here?” He held out his phone. I glared at him. “I see you aren’t playing, so I’ll give you a hint: you have a date tonight.”
“That doesn’t sound like a hint—it sounds like a lie.”
“Listen.” He tapped something on his phone and the next thing I know, my voice is crackling out of it: “Fine. If I don’t have a date by my next birthday, you can set me up.”
“And what was yesterday?” Smug prick. The last thing I’d been focused on was my birthday, much less a drunken promise I made the birthday before with the exclusive purpose of having him get off my back about finding my mate. It wasn’t like I could just head out to the local bar and pick one up.
“I can’t believe you recorded me.” I scowled, trying to remember if I had known at the time. That night was a blur. We learned quickly that trying our hand at moonshine lacked any bit of sense we were born with.
“Really?” He smirked. “You can’t believe it? It sounds exactly like something I would do.”
True enough.
“Things are different now.” And not in a good way. This whole legal mess ate up all of my emotional energy. Even if the most amazing guy were my date for the evening, I was useless company. “The claw needs me to be a leader, not a player.” Not that anyone would describe me as such. Ever since I took over the claw I’d been careful—so careful, not to lead any claw members into thinking they might be the Alpha's mate, and going outside the claw, our kind, didn’t feel quite right, leaving all of my dates exclusive to my right hand.
He tapped on his phone again. Looked like I wasn’t finished promising him this stupid date. “Fine. And if I don’t go on the date I will owe you a favor to be determined at a later time.”
That could never be allowed to happen. If I thought going on this date was bad, an undisclosed favor was downright dangerous.
“I’m going on a date,” I conceded.
“And he catches up.” He made a popping sound with his mouth. “I’ll shoot you over the details.”
“Who exactly am I going on a date with? Please don’t say someone from the claw.” That would be both awkward and potentially a long-term pain in the ass.
“Have you ever heard of the app Love and Hate?”
I was officially going to kill him.
3
Corey
“Do I have to go?”
“Yes.” Gabe rested his chin on my shoulder and we stared at our reflection in my full-length mirror. There was an uneasy sense of déja vu as I’d helped Gabe prepare for his Love and Hate date, and I recalled picking lint of his clothes. “No, of course you don’t have to.”
When he put it that way his disappointment weighed heavy on me. He was happy and wanted that for me. But my track record was lousy—worse than Gabe’s had been when that loser cheated on him years ago.
“You’ve always wanted to eat Brazilian food,” Gabe said.
“I have? Are you sure that’s not another Corey you’re thinking of?”
“Possibly. But the others wouldn’t be standing here moaning about going to an amazing restaurant on a hot date.”
“We don’t know he’s hot, and the restaurant might be a food truck on a corner somewhere.”
Gabe put both hands on his hips. “What’s wrong with that?”
He was right. I could go for dinner at a food truck. Delicious Brazilian barbecue that we ate on the street, juices dripping over our chins. Fifteen minutes tops, and after brief goodbyes, I’d be home to watch the new episode of Shifter World. “This shirt’s creased.” I fiddled with the top button, trying to decide if I should do it up or not. “I have to iron it or get another one.”
“It’s fine.”
I stamped my feet and stuck out my bottom lip giving my friend my best poor-me performance. “Do I have to?”
Gabe folded his arms. I’d seen him do this with Brad when the alpha was being a dick! Fuck! Is that me? Am I a dickwad? “Okay, but if this guy is a douchebag, I’m going to pay for an aerial sign that says, “I fucking told you so.”
Thirty minutes later I was circling the block trying to find a park as close as possible to the restaurant. If the date was a disaster, I didn’t want the alpha to trail after me, offering to walk me to my car. Instead I could say, “This is me,” as soon as we exited the restaurant. Or if he was creepy as fuck, I could pretend I was going to the men’s room and escape.
But time wasn’t on my side. I loathed being late which was why I’d come earlier than was necessary. As well as getting a good parking space, I’d hoped to arrive first and suss him out as he walked in. After managing to park on the same block as the restaurant—not as close as I’d hoped—I checked my hair in the rear mirror and fluffed up my pocket square. Here goes!
Turned out the alpha had beaten me, and when the maître d’ said, “Your companion is already here,” my eyes darted around the room checking the exits. I looked at the door, judging how many steps I’d need to get outside. I cursed Gabe for talking me into this and glanced longingly at a water jug as my dry mouth made me desperate for a drink.
But as the maître d’ moved aside and I got my first glance at my date, I reeled backward. Whoa! He wasn’t just hot. He was gorgeous. Oh my God! Mindblowingly sexy! He could blow me any day. I’d hit the jackpot!
I pictured myself spread-eagled on the table as the alpha’s mouth sucked, kissed, and licked over my body while whispering he didn’t want to let me out of his sight.
I’d never had sex in
the men’s room. Maybe tonight would be my first time. The back seat of my car was too small, but I’d make it work if we were so turned on we couldn’t get to his place or mine.
I sent up a quick prayer to Gabe’s friend, the app developer, and made a mental note to have a thank-you present delivered. And if we had sex later, I’d boast to Gabe about the size of my date’s cock because I was sure this guy was packing. My body tingled as I transmitted a message to said guy. Look up. Look at me, please!
“Sir, your guest is here,” the maître d’ announced.
“Mmmm.” He didn’t bother to stand, let alone glance at me or smile. A phone was tucked under his ear while he swiped through documents on a tablet. His right elbow bumped a stack of papers and they slid over the table. He cursed and then apologized to the person at the other end of the phone. And just like that, my vision shattered, the shards splintering and covering me with pieces of broken dreams.
“Would you like a drink, sir?” the host asked me.
“A beer.” I wanted an entire bottle of something much stronger that would knock me out, but as I had to drive home, I’d have to make the one drink last the entire evening. I pictured Gabe sitting on his sofa, Brad’s arms wrapped around him, Ursula sleeping in her crib, and wished I was anywhere but here.
I sat opposite my date. He lifted his head, took one look at me, grunted, and then his eyes were glued to the tablet again.
“Corey.”
“Huh?”
“My name is Corey.”
“Bryce.” There was a muffled squawk from his phone. “Sorry, I wasn’t talking to you. Just a guy. No, it’s nothing. Can you repeat that number?”
A hint of Bryce’s cologne wafted across the table. The strong masculine aroma of leather combined with the scent of fresh mint. Shame he was being a prick because the fragrance was distracting me from him being an ass.
I fiddled with my napkin and rearranged the salt and pepper shakers. I was beginning to rethink my one-drink rule but didn’t want to leave the car here and get a rideshare home. Taking out my phone, I scanned the Love and Hate app to see if there was a way to complain. I’d definitely be calling Gabe later and making sure he put me in touch with his friend.
My beer arrived and I took a huge mouthful, hoping the alcohol would go straight to my head and blind me to what was happening or not happening. The gorgeous alpha dressed in an impeccable business suit had said one word to me since I arrived. No, make that two. Huh and Bryce.
A waiter saved me by arriving with a menu, and I hid behind it and craned my neck searching for the men’s room.
Bryce finished the call but his gaze didn’t leave a paper in his hand.
I gave him an out. “We can do this another time if you’re too busy.” Translated that meant I have no intention of going on a second date with you.
“No, I have to stay. It was part of the agreement.”
“I don’t remember there being any dating rules when I used the app.” And how would that be enforceable? Glancing over my shoulder, I half expected the app police to be tapping their watches and mouthing, “Another hour to go.”
“Not the app. With my Beta!”
I was not expecting that. The alpha who’d agreed to a blind date with me was in a relationship already—with a beta!
4
Bryce
As if things hadn’t been bad enough with me having to go on a date, but then the second I arrived, everything fell apart—more apart than it was, anyway.
We had a plan—or so the legal team thought when they called me. It was at least a spark of hope, and then it came crashing down. If anything, the “plan” made it worse, bringing to the city’s attention that we had posted our land which apparently they didn’t have on record, which wouldn’t have been a big deal if that didn’t also mean we’d been paying the wrong tax rate for pretty much ever.
Iver said the amount of our now back taxes and I had to have heard him wrong. There was no way we owed that much, not because of a few measly signs. Could we? “Can you say that again?”
Iver slowly repeated the obscenely large number once more. Even if we depleted the entire claw treasury and used the money we were getting for losing our land, we’d be screwed. Beyond screwed.
I hung up on my Beta, unsure how else to handle things. I couldn’t share claw business in a restaurant, even if it was one half-full of shifters—or maybe because it was half-full of shifters. Shifters were a gossipy bunch, and the last thing my claw needed was a pack or clan thinking we were weak.
And the reason shifters loved this place had a lot to do with the abundant meat, sure, but also the way the annatto blocked out our ability to scent each other. It was an odd spice in that we still enjoyed the aroma of the food, and yet, shifters and humans now all smelled the same. And really it wasn’t a spice but more of a coloring. In any case, it meant I couldn’t know for sure who was or wasn’t able to decipher any shifter-specific terms I might use so I had to be extra careful.
“We can do this another time if you’re too busy.” The omega, I didn’t quite catch his name, interrupted my calculations, and I snapped my head up to look at him.
“No, I have to stay. It was part of the agreement.” Things were falling apart as it was, I didn’t need to add undisclosed favor to the mix. It was an hour—two max, and really, anything that I could do to avoid being in Iver’s debt, I could manage.
“I don’t remember there being any dating rules when I used the app.” It took me a bit to figure out what my date was talking about, but then he confused me more by adding, “Another hour to go.”
“Not the app,” I clarified before the guy decided to start a fuss with the app developer. That would go over real well. “With my Beta!”
His eyes went wide and he downed the rest of his beer, nodding at the server who was there with a serving of lamb. And there was what looked like pork and a platter of beef on the table. When did they appear? I lifted my papers not wanting them to be streaked with gravy. Where was that damned red signal? I needed the food to stop coming. This was a traditional Brazilian restaurant in the truest sense of the word. Green for more food. Red to stop.
“Seems like you’ve got plenty of choice.” Unless he was a vegetarian. “Can’t complain about the food.” He could, of course, complain bitterly about me and my lack of attention. He wasn’t the reason tonight sucked. But it did.
My phone buzzed and I went right back to it. There had to be a way out of the tax quicksand. A number lit up my screen, slightly smaller than the original.
That’s a bit better. Not enough to be comfortable, but enough that it wouldn’t leave us in debt.
Iver immediately replied back That’s the interest.
We were done for.
I set my phone down, determined not to be a complete ass, and watched my date as he came strutting back to the table. I hadn’t seen him leave. Had he gone to the bathroom? Though it could hardly be called strutting, but there was something about him that had me wanting to do more than dine with him, and with that tiny sway to his hips—I was rock hard. Completely ridiculous given everything else going on around me.
“Aren’t you having some cheese bread?”
“I usually only eat the meat, but they do look good.” I eyed the little round, almost biscuit-shaped, not quite rolls. The tempting aroma of the meat dishes on the table had my mouth watering when my phone started to ring, not buzz, meaning it was Iver.
I grabbed it off the table and apologized as I headed out the front door.
“What?” I gruffly answered.
“I am trying not to bug you on your date, but I have some news.”
I stepped around the corner and into the alley. “My date, which I should leave.” Even if I had wanted to be here, I was needed back at the claw.
“It won’t count,” he sing-songed. The claw was on the verge of financial ruin over a mistake our ancestors made and he was still on this date thing.
“Asshole”
“I’m ignoring that.” His voice got more serious. Only Iver could turn it on and off like that. It suited him well as Beta and drove me up a wall. “Brad thinks he has something that can help with the taxes, a past precedent case he tried to explain to me, but you know, in lawyer, not English. He also said the town has zero documentation of us saying the land wouldn’t be posted and we wanted the lower tax rate.”
And they wouldn’t. Our claw liked not being shot at by hunters and would never agree to it basically being community land.
“We are not taking down the signs.” I didn’t care how much it cost. The safety of our people was more important than taxes. Not that we might have land to post for long. Crap, everything was falling apart. Some Alpha I was.
“Which may be a problem in solving this.” He let out a long sigh. “If we took them down it would be good faith or something—again, Brad was speaking lawyer.”
“But it is private.” We still owned it. That logic felt flawed, although Brad and his firm didn’t mess around, not when it came to helping claws or packs or whatever a group called themselves. “We shouldn’t have to risk our people for land that is ours.”
“They think we shouldn’t hoard the land from others without paying. They want the land open to hunters and hikers and bird watchers or whomever.” Insanity. Why own land that you were forced to share?
“The reason we run on land we own is so we don’t get hunted.” Guns and shifters did not mix. Period. “This is their fault not ours. They can fix it.”
“Focus, Bryce. Focus. Getting mad won’t change how humans run things or their reasons behind their rules.” He let out a long sigh. “This isn’t about the land—this is about tax revenue and they want more. But Brad is on this. We’ve got this, we might just need to take the signs down for a bit.”
“No.” On that I was standing firm. We couldn’t risk our own just to lower what we owed.
“I’ll tell Brad that’s off the table and he’ll figure something out that won’t bankrupt us and won’t put our people in danger.” If only I had half the confidence he was portraying in his voice. Heck, I’d settle for a third of it.
Matched To His Panther Page 2