by Erin Havoc
Callie scans me for a long moment, studying my features with her inky eyes. Then she shrugs. “Very well. I did my part warning you and Jason’s boss. But know that if you get yourself killed,” she leans forward and glares at me so hard I even forget she’s not a panther like myself, “I’ll Frankenstein the shit out of you to bring you back. And you can’t complain about the body parts I find.”
“Gross threat. I am putting you on my watch list.” Exchanging an affectionate look with her, I grin. “So. The good news.”
“They have to be fantastic not to give me a headache,” Jason complains from where he stands like a statue.
“So,” Callie sings, pressing her fingertips together, “you know how you’re still single and lonely, with no mate in sight?”
Jason roars a laugh. I grind my jaw, forcing a smile. “Gratuitous attacks? As far as I know, you’re also single, lonely and with no mate in sight.”
She shrugs. “I’m living my life.”
“Doesn’t change the fact—”
“And I think we have a solution to that problem.” She turns to her phone and flicks her thumb around the screen.
“Problem?” It’s not a problem, it’s just lack of opportunity.
She turns the phone to face me. The store is open, with an app already selected. The white button tells me it’s installed on her phone, and the name reads...
“Shifter Dating App?” I blink several times to be sure I’m reading what I think I’m reading.
“Yeah.” Callie beams, pulling the phone back to her. “Shifters are open here. There are even pictures of our animals.” She opens her profile and shows a picture of her hare.
“A dating app for shifters?” I hum. “I don’t know why that’s a positive item. Besides that, you know, wow, shifters can say they’re shifters and not suffer retaliation. But how does it help me?” I cross my arms over my chest. “You know, I’m on TV all the time. People can see me more often in the streets than on the app. If my mate sees me...”
“What, she’ll know it’s you and reach out? Email us saying ‘hello, I’m your mate’? Because you’ve already received those.”
“I have?” My heart skips inside my chest. My panther sits up, his ears prying.
“Yeah.” Callie opens a wide grin. “Dozens per day.”
“Oh.” I deflate. “So what’s the deal with this app?”
“It has a DNA compatibility test,” Jason says.
My head snaps to the side to gawk at him. “How the hell do you know that?”
He twists his mouth in an apologetic smile. “That’s how I met my mate.”
My eyes almost bulge out of my head. “It is? It worked?” I turn to Callie. “Sign me up, right the fucking now.” I spin to Jason. “Why the hell didn’t you ever tell me this?”
“You always say you don’t have a mate because you’re busy, or because you lack opportunity.” He shrugs.
Touché.
Callie turns her phone screen off, focusing on her food. “Here’s the good news. The app owner reached out to us. She said she’d send you the DNA compatibility test if you’re interested. In exchange, she’d love it if you could meet her to discuss it and spread the word about the app once it works.”
“Once it works?” I let a laugh roll through me. “That’s a lot of confidence.”
Jason shifts in place. “It worked for me.”
“And for many others,” Callie adds. “With some luck, you’ll find your mate soon enough and you’ll stop pestering the rest of us because you have too much energy.”
Jason guffaws and I roll my eyes at them, but I let the subject drop. Because they’re not wrong. I want a mate as much as the next shifter. All I’ve done these past years is work and hope she would come my way. She hasn’t, which is why I’m eager to have this app in hands.
Wherever she is, I’ll go after her. That is... If she’s in the app too. We have much work to do, and even if I join the app, it’s not a certain thing that they’ll find my mate. Because we still have a huge number of people afraid of getting in contact with us.
Loads of work to do before society sees us for who we are — different, but also the same. We feel pain, and hunger, and love. We work and pay our taxes. And above everything, we deserve respect. And I’m not deserting this fight before every shifter has the same rights as a human being.
3
KAREN
My stomach churns, unquiet. And not because I’ve drunk three mochas in the past two hours.
“I don’t know, Nat,” I tell her, putting all honesty in my voice. My fingers are clutched together and I wring my hands, anxiety burning up my throat. “I’m not so sure that’s your best idea.”
“It’s just a fake date, Karen,” Nat says with her voice pitched high in anticipation. “This is a chance in a lifetime! You don’t need to pretend you’re in love with him or anything. Just sit there and eat, and I’ll do the talking for the two of us.”
“I don’t get it. Why isn’t this a business meeting? He takes his PR and you take... A lawyer, I don’t know.” I’m nervous, and it’s obvious. My mouth tastes funny. That’s probably the mocha, on second thought.
Natalie jumps up, strides to me, and slams both her hands on the table, one to each side of my laptop. Her face is not threatening though. She opens a smirk. “Karen. Tell me the real reason you don’t want to go out on our double date.”
“It’s not a double date if it’s fake. And I don’t see why you couldn’t do it through a video call. Or in a business meeting.”
She slams her hands down again, making me flinch. This time, she leans with squinted eyes. “Tell me the real reason.”
After I sent that email to Senator Magnus’s PR team, things happened quickly. A girl named Callie reached back, saying the senator was interested in both using the app and in advertising it. Natalie was over the moon.
I giggled like a schoolgirl because that proved he was single.
We sent the DNA compatibility pack a week ago. It’s going to take some days for him to receive it. Then he has to take the samples and send them back, so our lab can have everything tested. Nat’s asked for priority with this order, so if he already sent it back, we might get wind of the results soon enough. Anyway, he’s in town this weekend, and he’s eager to meet Nat to talk about how he can help.
He’s a great person. Not asking for money or anything to advertise the app. Natalie and Magnus will get along, geeking over helping shifters. I’m sure of that.
But why do I have to tag along?
Yes, I’ve always had a huge crush on the man. But instead of making me curious to see him live, to sit across from him, it just makes me skittish. The crush will make me stutter. Maybe trip on my feet or something.
It’s not even a real date and I know I’ll mess it up.
A sigh pushes past my lips. I need to come clean with Nat. “I may have a crush on the senator.”
Natalie bursts like a balloon. She squeals and claps her hands, then runs around the table to squash me against her. “I knew it!” She shoves me back and stares into my eyes. “God, wouldn’t it be amazing if you were mates? I’d die!”
“Dean would go crazy, let’s hope that doesn’t happen.” I laugh as she pulls back and paces around the office.
“But then, you have a crush on the man, and you have a chance to meet him. To be close to him. And you don’t want that!”
“Crushes are not meant to come to be, Nat.” I sigh again. “I find the man... Great. But I don’t think I’d be comfortable sitting next to him.”
“Why not?” Nat motions around exasperatedly. “We’re all in this for the same thing! Help shifters!”
“Have you even seen him?” I cock a brow, turning on the chair to twist my lips at her. “I mean, I know you’re happy together with Dean but have you seen Magnus? He’s out of this world. Handsome doesn’t even apply.”
She looks skyward. “So the man’s good looking. The point is...?”
Ther
e’s a dare in her eyes. She’s daring me to say “a girl like me can’t get a guy like him”. I know she is. But I won’t fall for that trap because I know her answer. She’ll say shifters are naturally hot, and they naturally prefer thick girls. She’ll say she’s proof, as are all the other girls who have used the app and found their mates.
So I press my lips together and look away. I thought I wouldn’t have to think much more about this since I have uninstalled the app, but Nat won’t let it happen.
“I don’t want to look like a fool, Nat. The man’s probably only looking for his mate, and the two of you will be geeking over shifter rights, and… I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll be comfortable.”
Nat’s expression softens, and she ambles next to me, squatting to press her hands to my knees. “Don’t see this as a fake date then. See this as a business situation. I need you there. You’re my right-hand girl. Though Dean’s interested in the rights, he’s not that active, so I’ll need you to help me keep the balance in the talking.”
She has a point. I twist my lips to one side. “Business situation then.”
Natalie grins. “I’ll pay you extra. The dinner’s also on me. Please?”
I balance the pros and cons, but really? The cons are not that strong. I’ll get paid to be there, I’ll eat free food. And I’ll have Natalie’s company, and she’s the best. I’ll keep her grounded on the business talk, and I’ll make sure everything goes smoothly.
Plus? I can meet Magnus. See if he looks this fantastic in the flesh.
I’m afraid I’ll look silly next to him, but… He won’t even notice me. Just as Natalie, he’s so focused on helping the cause he’ll only think of mates and dating once the app finds his one-hundred percent compatibility. Every interview I watched showed him as an exceptional person. Kind, intelligent, sympathetic. I’m sure he won’t mistreat me.
Besides, I’m one to gain too. If he advertises the app and more people come in, maybe I will find my mate. Maybe.
4
MAGNUS
Adjusting my cuffs, I jump out of the car as soon as it’s parked. I’m five minutes late, and there’s nothing I abhor more than not being punctual. Punctuality denotes respect, and that’s the focus of my work as a senator. Traffic from the airport was shit, and I don’t have time to waste.
The restaurant was not my choice, but it looks lavish. A steakhouse, from what the plaque tells me, and I laugh at the choice. I know what Natalie King’s trying to do choosing a steakhouse. She’s respecting my animal. But what she doesn’t imagine is that — gasp — I don’t need to eat steak every meal. Besides, not every shifter is a carnivore. A stereotype, though a harmless one at that. But one I’ll let her know about either way.
Fighting for equality doesn’t mean fighting for laws only. It also means teaching, eradicating misunderstandings, and prejudices. And since Natalie’s so involved in this, I know she’ll want to hear my point of view.
Jason follows me close, his eyes darting from one side to the other inside the restaurant. Finally, he locks gaze with one of his colleagues, standing at the back. He’s all built and muscular like Jason, long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. The two nod at one another.
“There are two of you today?” I joke after I tell the waiter about Natalie King’s reservation.
“Of course. You won’t go nowhere without two of us now,” Jason grunts in umbrage. The death threat got to him. “One goes first and checks the place. The other sticks with you.”
“Excellent. Soon enough, I’ll have you going to the bathroom with me too.” I grin, laughing deep in my throat as I follow the waiter to the back of the place. In a discreet nook, tucked in the very back of the restaurant, I see two women sitting with a man. I expect them to be Natalie, her mate, and Karen. Karen is, and I quote, Natalie’s right-hand woman.
Natalie and Callie suggested something along the lines of a fake date so I could start advertising the Shifter Dating App. Natalie’s mate works as both her mate and the point of view of another shifter, and Karen works as my fake date. If anyone saw us, I should say she’s a girl I met on the app.
It makes sense, and it doesn’t hurt. She’s sitting with her back turned to me, so I can’t see much. But what catches my eye is already fantastic. She’s curvy, as in really curvy. The smooth skin of her arms exposed, she crosses one of her thick thighs over the other as she leans and speaks to Natalie. Her flowy dress slides up, exposing one calf.
Wow, I can’t even see her face and I already think she’s gorgeous. Honeyed locks tumble down her back, and there’s a… A smell in the air. I breathe it in as it wafts my way. It’s citric and sweet, as a dessert that makes my mouth water. How odd. I’ve never been one into desserts. But the smell is enslaving and I keep taking shallow breaths, trying to capture more and more of it.
“Are you smelling this?” I ask Jason under my breath as we approach the table.
He jerks to attention and sniffs the surrounding air. Then he relaxes. “Just food. Do you think it’s something dangerous? Is your panther off?”
Now that he mentions, my panther is off. But not the way he expects. My panther has started to pace, from one side to the other, willing me to take in more of that amazing fragrance. I don’t know why, but he also loves it. He’s also growing slowly addicted to it.
But he’s not purring in satisfaction. He’s growling in impatience. And my panther has never been impatient in my entire life. He shifts and moves, restless, the scent not helping.
Taking a last breath, I turn to the woman facing me — Natalie King, I recognize from her website’s pictures. She meets my eyes and grins, shooting to her feet. The others turn to face me as we approach.
“Senator Callahan!” Natalie greets with a smile, her voice full of excitement. Her mate shoots to his feet, standing so close to her he’s overshadowing her figure.
“Natalie King, I expect.” I shoot out a hand, looking at her mate for confirmation. He smells like a wolf, and a wolf is not one for you to play with. I look at him with composure, promising him I have no further intentions than a handshake. He relaxes an inch.
Natalie takes my hand and shakes it. “That’s me.” She grins so wide I know we’re going to work together just fine. She releases my hand and motions for the man next to her. “This is my mate, Dean Atwood.”
I shake his hand. “Magnus Callahan. Um.” I jut a thumb over my shoulder. “This is Jason, my bodyguard. You can talk to him as much as you want, but he prefers to be ignored.”
Natalie chuckles. “I’m sure we wouldn’t make his job any easier if we kept talking to him.”
Jason grumbles something and trudges to stand on my other side, combing the restaurant. Natalie waves a hand to the lady across from her, sitting by herself. I turn to meet her eyes.
“This is Karen West. She’s officially my VA, but she’s also a close friend.”
I want to joke she’s Natalie’s right-hand woman, but the words don’t come out. They die on my tongue the moment our gazes lock.
That’s why my panther’s been off ever since I walked in. Karen is... I don’t even know how to describe her. Gorgeous? Beautiful? I don’t know. My eyes bulge, and I try to take in every single detail of that face, that body.
Fuck, she’s absolutely stunning.
Her hair frames her face, falling in delicate waves down her shoulders. It looks soft, and my fingers curl, immediately wanting to run through them and assess their texture. Grip them close to the roots and pull. Watch her full lips dropping open in a moan, a suppressed sound that would fight to escape her mouth.
Karen’s eyes are big and bright and authentic, and I could stare at them the entire day. But then, there’s so much more to stare at. Her cute nose. The curve above her upper lip. The long column of her smooth neck. Dear God, those breasts.
My cock hardens and I pull a sharp intake of breath. Not a smart choice, since the addictive smell I have been inhaling comes from her. From deep within her, and I grind my jaw t
o keep my face from burying into her neck and sniffing more of it. Finding the space between her tits and licking at it.
My panther growls, and I know what he wants. He wants her.
Because she’s my mate.
My heart’s beating loud in my ears, and I notice I have been standing like a fool staring at her. Shifting my weight, I try to find my senses, though I’m sure they’re half gone by now.
“Nice to meet you, Karen,” I say with a strangled voice that sounds anything but natural. Like an idiot, I catch myself bending a knee, and yes, yes, I want to adore this woman and praise her heaven-sent beauty, but that would send her running, at best. Clearing my throat, I shoot a hand out and grip her fingers.
God, her skin is unblemished.
“Nice to meet you too, senator,” she answers in the most melodic voice that’s ever been put on earth, and I’ve heard many. My cock twitches, begging to be released. Sticking a hand in a pocket, I struggle with myself to let her fingers go.
“Shall we?” Natalie motions for the free spot next to Karen and I internally celebrate that I’ll be able to sit this close to her. I’ve never taken myself for this kind of romantic fool, but she’s my fucking mate! I want to whirl on my feet and hug Jason and scream into the waiter’s face, but as an adroit politician, I keep my expression schooled as I settle next to her, hiding my raging hard-on beneath the table.
Both Jason and Dean shoot knowing glances in my direction. I smirk, and Natalie cocks a brow at me.
I must look like an imbecile, and I don’t give a single shit.
My mate.
And she’s so absurdly stunning I have to stop myself from gawking at her before it borders on creepy.
“We’re so happy you are interested in the app, senator,” Natalie starts, intertwining her fingers in front of her. “We’ve been working hard to put it out there.”
“Just Magnus is fine. I was surprised I had never heard about the app!” I say with too much eagerness. Clearing my throat, I try to rein the anxiety back a little. The panther inside me is trying to make me lean a little closer to sniff Karen. Not helping. “The app’s such a great initiative.”