by V. Vaughn
She needed time away from Fate Valley, even though her friends would miss her for the holiday. Stephanie was the only one of her friends left without a mate, and every year it became harder to put on a happy face as she watched them sing Christmas carols around the tree with their babies and loved ones while she remained single and alone.
She glanced at the other passengers with a small hope that maybe she would find her mate while on the cruise. But the truth was Stephanie had given up looking. She was one of the few female shifters in her community, so it was an amazing trick of bad luck that she still hadn't found her fated mate.
She did have a great group of friends whom she loved more than anything, and she’d been welcomed into their families with open arms. But it just wasn't enough. She really missed having that special someone in her life. She’d booked the cruise a few months ago, deciding if she couldn't have a mate, at least she could have an adventure.
She found the elevator that took her down to the floor where her cabin was located and wheeled her cart along the hallway as other passengers looked for their rooms. Everyone was full of enthusiasm and wearing tropical summer clothes. They were leaving from the port of Miami and embarking on a journey of thousands of miles across the Caribbean. It wasn't Stephanie's first time away from home, away from Fate Valley and her family and friends. But this time, she intended to make the most of it.
She found her cabin, number 267, and scanned her key across the door. When it buzzed, she turned the knob and pushed her way inside.
She found a well-appointed luxury suite with a king-size bed, a refrigerator stocked with snacks, and a bathroom that had a magnificent bathtub inside.
Stephanie sat down on her soft bed and flopped onto her back. "This is just what the doctor ordered." She stared at the ceiling as the fan spun overhead. She couldn't wait to get started on her journey.
She had been waiting so long for a mate that looking on the shifter mating website mate.com had almost become a compulsive habit. She turned over on her side and flipped on her phone. Scrolling through her apps, she located the mate.com app and tapped on it. Every time she’d opened it for the last six years, she had hoped to see something new. But this time was no different from any other. There were plenty of 95 percent and 90 percent matches, and even more 80 percent and 75 percent matches. But there was still no 100 percent match. There never had been, and there probably never would be. She had to just let it go if she ever wanted to be happy. With a sigh, she shoved her phone back into her purse and went about changing for dinner.
Up on the deck, the cruise ship was making its final preparations to embark on the journey. Stephanie joined in with the rest of the passengers, waving at the people on the docks below. Everyone she knew and cared about was back in Fate Valley, but waving at the people staying behind was fun nonetheless. As the ship drew anchor and pulled away from the dock, a sense of excitement built in Stephanie's chest. She was really doing it. She was really going on an adventure all by herself. It was a heady and thrilling prospect.
She couldn't help but feel that it was the beginning of a whole new chapter in her life. She still didn't know how or what would happen. But she knew that from that point on, nothing would ever be the same.
As the ship pulled out onto the open waters of the South Atlantic, she joined the guests at the buffet for the evening. The restaurant served all kinds of delicacies. Stephanie walked down the buffet line, taking a sample of each item. She felt guilty for a moment, partaking in so many rich and delicious foods. But she decided there was no point in feeling bad about indulging in the offerings on the trip. If she couldn't enjoy herself, then what was the point?
Stephanie had always had curves, and she wasn't about to start feeling bad about them. In fact, if her curves got a little curvier during the trip, then all the better. It wasn't as though she had anyone to impress in the bedroom. And even if she did, he should like her for her real self, not some idealized version of the woman she could be if she starved herself and didn't enjoy life.
Stephanie sat at a table with a family—a mother, father, teenage daughter, and elementary-school-aged son.
"What made you decide to take this cruise?" the mother asked her.
"I needed a change of pace and some adventure in my life."
"That's exactly what we needed,” the dad said, taking his wife’s hand. They smiled lovingly at each other.
The teenager rolled her eyes. "Speak for yourself."
The mother frowned at her daughter. "Tiffany is angry that she won't see her friends over winter vacation. But she's going to have memories that will last a lifetime.”
"I would rather have been making memories with my friends."
"You'll thank us when you're older," her mother said.
"I doubt it," Tiffany responded.
Stephanie chuckled to herself, remembering what it was like to be a teenager. They always thought they knew everything but really didn't know anything at all. She had been like that. Even shifters could be rebellious when they were kids. But after spending so many years without finding her mate, all she could think about was having a family of her own, bratty teenagers and all.
“When you get to be my age, things start to look a little different,” Stephanie said. “You'll understand that family is the most important thing in your life."
"If family is so important, then why are you here alone during the holidays?" the girl asked.
"The truth is, I haven't had a lot of luck in that department.”
"Is there something wrong with you?” Tiffany asked.
Her mother scoffed, and her father gave her a warning glare.
"It's okay," Stephanie said to the parents. "You see, I'm a shifter, and shifters only have one possible mate. I still haven’t found mine. So to answer your question, I don't really know if there’s something wrong with me. There could be. There are so few female shifters that not being able to find a mate is really rare.”
"Of course there's nothing wrong with you," the mother said. “I'm sure you'll find your mate soon."
"I hope you're right. It's all I've ever wanted. And the longer I wait, the harder it is to believe that it will ever come."
"Everything that’s worth anything is worth waiting for," the father said.
“I know you’re right. And that's not just because I have no other choice," Stephanie said with a laugh.
The father smiled at her. "A beautiful girl like you is destined to find a wonderful man."
After dinner, Stephanie wandered back to her bedroom and took a long, relaxing bath. It made her feel better after the somewhat upsetting interaction with the teenager at dinner. She sat in the tub with a book and a glass of wine, trying to unwind and telling herself that everything was going to work out for the best. She took a deep breath and let it out. Sometimes it was truly hard to believe that things would work out for her. But unless she wanted to lose all hope, she had to keep believing.
2
Max Johnson checked his supplies one last time, going over everything he would need for his mission. His Navy SEAL training still influenced every decision he made. Since leaving the military and taking a position with the Justice Squad, an elite group of ex-military veterans in Fate Rock, Colorado, he’d hoped he’d found his home.
Even with a new home and crew, he still felt as though something was missing. He'd been at war for so long, he no longer knew how to be a regular man. And no matter how much he wanted to believe that he could be someone's mate someday, he knew that he was too wounded to ever be the kind of man a woman really needed.
He couldn't imagine inflicting himself on some poor, sweet lady, especially his fated mate. He was better off using his skills to help people. So that was what he had decided to do. He’d taken an assignment his first week in Colorado. His mission: searching out the stronghold of a notorious Caribbean pirate. It was just what he needed to feel useful again.
"Got everything you need?" Hawk Barlow, his superior officer, asked
, walking into the guest room in his suburban house.
"Everything I need."
Hawk nodded. “You'll be meeting up with the cruise ship in the Bahamas. Here are your tickets.”
"Thank you." Max would be flying into the Bahamas then boarding the ship mid-cruise. That would make it easier for him to get closer without having to spend all of that time on the ship.
"And if you want to join mate-dot-com while you're away…" Hawk said.
"If I've told you once, I've told you a million times—a man like me can't have a mate.”
"And if I've told you once, I've told you a million times—we can all be redeemed, and we can all find happiness.”
"I know that you’ve seen some serious action in your day. But I just can't curse some poor woman with all of my problems." Max shook his head. “I just can't do it.”
"You realize that if you don't find your fated mate, she will never find hers," he said.
"Better for her to never know me than to be cursed with me.”
"I understand where you're coming from, and I'm not going to question you anymore about it. It's your decision to make. None of us can choose for anyone else. But I still think that you should give it a chance. Maybe you'll change your mind."
"I'll consider it," Max said.
"That's a good man." Hawk slapped Max on the back. “I'll give you a ride to the airport."
"There's no need," Max said. “I've already called for an Uber."
"I know that you're the new guy on the team, and you’re feeling a little bit out of place, but you have to understand that we all depend on each other here. Helping each other out is just what we do. And you shouldn't feel guilty about relying on any of us.”
"I don't," Max said. “It’s just that I'm used to depending on myself.”
"Your last mission was solo, wasn’t it?”
“I was alone in enemy territory for years. I didn't speak to my team for months at a time. I got used to relying on myself.”
“You need to learn to depend on a team again, Max. Our squad relies on teamwork, but I've given you this mission because it requires your kind of expertise and your ability to go undercover. But it won't always be like this every time.”
"I know. I’m working on it. This new life is going to take some getting used to.”
Hawk slapped him on the back. “It’ll come.”
"Well, I'm off, then," Max said as his phone pinged, alerting him that his ride had arrived. “I’ll be sending regular reports.”
He took his bag out to the car and threw it in the back seat. As an undercover agent for his squad, he would be traveling with military-grade firearms, which he had stowed in secret compartments in his baggage. They were so well hidden that they couldn't even be found by TSA. He had spent years behind enemy lines, blending into the local populations. Getting on a plane with a concealed firearm didn't concern him in the least.
When the Uber dropped him off at the airport, Max grabbed his bag and hurried to security. It traveled through the X-ray machine without the slightest blip. Max pulled on his shoes, took his bag, and hurried to his gate.
He had a first-class ticket to the Bahamas and would be there by the end of the day. As he sat on the plane, waiting for it to take off, he opened his phone and searched for the mate.com app. He had a long flight in front of him, and his curiosity was more than piqued. The others wouldn't stop talking about his need for a mate. But he knew that even if he found her, he could never be with her. His damage was just too intense for any woman. He let out a long sigh as he located the app.
"What am I thinking?" He downloaded the app and filled out the questionnaire. "What kind of vegetable would you be? What a ridiculous question," he muttered. When he was finished filling out the questionnaire, he sighed, thinking that he should just close the app before it was too late. But as the rest of the passengers boarded, he continued to fill out his profile, uploading a picture from the day he was recruited to the Justice Squad.
After he completed the profile, Max waited for his matches to load. This was a bad idea and a huge mistake. He should never have even downloaded the app. Instead of closing it, he waited for his matches to load. A 75 percent match, an 82 percent match, and an 88 percent match appeared. All the girls were lovely, but he knew he couldn’t subject them to his issues.
A 93 percent match was a beautiful woman with dark-brown hair. The 95 percent match was a curvy blonde with bright-blue eyes. Then it happened. The 100 percent match popped up on the screen. He sucked a breath through his teeth as his heart slammed against his rib cage.
Her screen name was “Little Puma,” a shifter with caramel-brown skin and bright-hazel eyes. She had naturally curly hair and a dimple in her cheek when she smiled. She was from a town called Fate Valley, and she'd been on mate.com for six years. He was so overwhelmed by the sight of her that he opened the screen to send her a message.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please turn off all electronic devices. We will be taxiing out to the runway.”
With a sigh, Max turned off his phone and shoved it in his pocket. He should never have looked for his mate in the first place. What an idiot. But now that he'd seen her, he could never unsee her. He had found his fated mate, Little Puma. And even though he was damaged beyond repair, now that he knew she was out there, he would spend the rest of his life longing to be by her side.
3
Stephanie stood on the cruise ship with the warm Caribbean breeze blowing through her hair. There were just a few days until Christmas, and the festivities on board the ship were ramping up.
The ship had docked in the Bahamas for several days, and she had spent the time eating delicious food and shopping in the local markets. She bought herself a whole new set of silver jewelry, which she thought looked lovely with her tan skin and dark hair. She'd also bought a traditional dress that was perfect for the warm Caribbean nights.
Many of the passengers had disembarked in the Bahamas for a longer stay in the resorts, and a whole new group of passengers had embarked. As the cruise ship left the dock, Stephanie felt a strange tugging in her chest. It was as though the hands of fate had shifted and something wonderful was coming her way.
She'd been having so much fun that she had decided to uninstall her mate.com app, determined to stop looking at it once and for all. Every time she did, she was utterly disappointed, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was better to just leave it behind her and move forward.
She walked around the deck, watching as the islands of the Bahamas disappeared in the distance. She enjoyed the scent of the salty sea air and the feeling of the warm sun as it glowed down on her skin. She went to sit by the pool, ordered a cocktail, and opened her book to the last page she’d read. It was a sexy romantic thriller about a secret agent and the woman who loved him. Stephanie was completely absorbed in the novel and drank two cocktails before dinner.
When she rose to join the rest of the guests in the dining room for the evening meal and a comedy show, she was feeling quite happy and light. She waved to the family she'd met on the first night and sat with a group of singles she’d started to pal around with. Like her, they had all been unlucky in love, so she didn't have to answer questions about why she hadn't found someone yet.
They all understood what it was like, so hanging out with them was easier than being asked tactless questions by teenagers. Not that she resented the kid. It was just easier to be with a group of other twentysomethings who understood where she was in this stage of her life.
Even though the human males were all eligible and attractive, none of them were her mate. She didn't feel that stirring in her chest that a shifter felt when she scented her mate for the first time.
Stephanie walked through the buffet line, grabbing barbecued pork and tropical delicacies, before sliding into a seat at the table with her single friends.
"Did you see the hunk who boarded in the Bahamas?" asked Helen, a thirty-two-year-old banker from Pittsburgh.
"No. I can't say that I did. I've been completely absorbed in my novel all afternoon."
"I pray to God that he’s on the singles cruise," Helen said.
"You and me both," said Seiko, a twenty-nine-year-old executive assistant from Silicon Valley.
"What are we? Chopped liver?" asked Andre, the thirty-seven-year-old account executive from San Diego.
"No. But we all already know that we’re not matches," Helen explained.
"It's just because we’re not built like the new guy," said Greg, a thirty-one-year-old sports photographer from Dallas.
Helen smirked. "Well, if you went to the gym every day like he obviously does, then you would be."
Greg scoffed. "Who has time for that? We have jobs."
"You know what, Stephanie?” Helen asked. “I bet he is a shifter."
Stephanie chuckled. "Shifters do tend to be built."
Helen wiggled her eyebrows. "That, they do. That, they do. I joined mate-dot-com, but I haven’t been matched with a shifter yet."
"Neither have I," Stephanie said. "It's been six years. I've given up. I actually uninstalled the app on my phone. I'm just tired of not finding someone."
"Why do you have to find your fated mate?" Andre asked.
"Yeah,” Greg agreed. “Why can't you just find somebody who you like and could fall in love with?"
"Because that's just not the way it works for shifters. It's your fated mate or no one. You just can't be happy with anyone else."
"Have you tried?" Andre asked.
"Do you mean have I had relationships before? Obviously. But they always end. There was just something missing. That spark. You know what I mean?"
The girls nodded knowingly.
"There are more important things than passion,” Mark said. “Dependability, stability."
"Money," Helen said.