AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She ticked his boxes. She could relate to his anger. She knew his pain.
More, as a black-foot, she wouldn’t feel neglected by how much of his time and attention was taken up with his enforcer duties and acting as bodyguard to his Alpha male. Quinley’s kind weren’t asocial, but they liked to have plenty of alone-time.
And… he was interested. More than he’d expected to be. So much so that he liked the thought of meeting her.
If nothing came of it, well, nothing came of it. He’d contact another of his recommended matches.
Have you talked to any other shifter males on here? he asked, wondering if maybe she’d met up with others but it hadn’t worked out.
No. I only logged in to find a list of potentials twenty minutes ago. I probably wouldn’t have messaged you, though.
He felt his brow pinch. Why not?
You’re tall. I’m kind of… height challenged.
There was no stopping his lips from winging up. He’d noticed by the details on her profile that she was only five foot six—a good eight inches shorter than him. A height difference means nothing when you’re horizontal.
Hmm, valid point, I guess. I’m assuming, then, that you don’t care about my not being tall.
It matters nothing to me. All I need to know at this point is that you wouldn’t back out if things did move ahead. He didn’t want to waste time.
There’d be no backing out.
Then I’d like to take the next step and set up a meet for us and our Alphas. You up for that? Isaiah tapped his fingers on the edge of the laptop as he waited for a response, not liking how much a “no” would bother him.
Sure. Do you have a preferred time or date?
A breath eased out of him. You choose. I can do it as soon as tomorrow, which I’d prefer if it’s possible. I’m not interested in this being dragged out.
Me neither. I’ll talk to my Alphas and then get back to you.
Speak to you soon.
Isaiah logged out of the site, switched off his laptop, and did a long stretch. He’d taken the first step toward officially moving on with his life, and it felt good. Better than good.
Hopefully, he’d hear from Quinley again at some point today. The faster things moved, the better. Until then, he had errands to run and a party to attend.
CHAPTER TWO
Hitting the reset button on life was a bitch, especially when you were only twenty-five years old, but sometimes shit called for an early intervention. And so you found yourself sitting across from your Alpha in his office, announcing that you’d pretty much arranged your own mating and simply needed him to help make it official.
Harlan blinked. “I’ve never even heard of this website.” His pale-blue eyes slid to his Beta. “Have you?”
Leaning back against the wall, Astor nodded. “More and more shifters are using it.”
In terms of appearance, the two males couldn’t be more different. Harlan was dark, stout, and barrel-chested. Astor, on the other hand, was slim and long-limbed with hair so blond it verged on white.
Harlan’s attention resettled on her as he sighed. “I suppose I should have expected that you’d want to be gone from the pride before Nazra and Zaire ascend.”
Quinley didn’t just want to be gone, she needed to be gone. She couldn’t live under their rule. No way. Her cat wouldn’t stand for it even if Quinley was prepared to do so.
It was hard enough for her to see them together—something that was thankfully uncommon, since they’d moved to his pride on claiming each other. Quinley suspected that Harlan had pushed for that transfer, worried that an imprint bond wouldn’t form if Zaire was near his true mate. Because, although Zaire and many others had insisted it was all in Quinley’s head, Harlan hadn’t doubted her.
It was five years ago that Zaire and Nazra had finally mated. Harlan hadn’t been willing to make them the Alpha pair straight off, however. He’d insisted they wait until they’d not only imprinted on each other but were solid enough that all could be certain the bond wouldn’t crumble.
Imprinting could take weeks or years to start. Sometimes the process kicked in swiftly only to be dragged out for a long time; on other occasions, the bond formed during a short period.
Quinley doubted anyone had expected that Zaire and Nazra would take so long to be declared “solid.” She sometimes wondered if maybe Harlan had delayed making the declaration for so long because he hadn’t wanted to give up his position. Alphas generally didn’t step down easily.
