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“Oh.” It sounds romantic, but also stalkery.
He adds, “I’m bound to my duties in Wolf-Haven or I would’ve spent more time here.” The ‘with you’ is left out, but we both hear it.
“What are your duties in Wolf-Haven?”
“I watch over the packs, make sure they have everything they need to thrive. I also travel to visit wolf shifters living outside of Wolf-Haven, helping them integrate into other communities. We recently set up a pack in the human town of Pendle.”
“Your job sounds really interesting.”
“No more than yours,” he says as he grips the doorframe when I take a turn.
I shrug. “Acting isn’t as fun as I thought it would be. I mean, it’s fun when I get a job and get paid, but there aren’t many jobs to go around.” I pull into the parking lot next to Laz’s beat up old Buick.
We get out of the vehicle and head toward the building. “So… you’re some kind of prince or something?” I can’t hold back the excitement from my tone. It’s not often an average Jane like me gets to meet a real prince.
“I am.”
“So… do you get to attend coronations or anything like that?”
He chuckles. “Not until recently. The packs of Wolf-Haven kept to themselves until the new King took over. Under King Lock’s reign, we’re branching out and meeting our neighbors. Reconnecting with the world.”
“Must be scary given the prejudice against shifters that’s out there,” I say, listening raptly. I will never admit it to my anti-colonizer, free-spirited best friend, but I’ve been obsessed with royals since I realized what great characters they make for television. Now that the wolves are on my radar, I’ll be doing a deep dive on their royal history as soon as I get myself to a computer.
He leans against the building, crossing his arms as he looks at me, as if gauging my response. “We have a reputation for a reason. Humans should be leery of shifters. We’re stronger, faster, and we’re immortal. We could crush the human race if it came down to a fight.”
A chill goes through me as I’m reminded of how vulnerable I am standing next to an almost stranger who can kill me before I take my next breath. “Then why don’t you kill us all?”
His expression softens. “Humans are useful to us.” He chuckles when I make a face. “For many reasons, the most important being mates. Though rarer than shifter matings, there are occasions when humans are selected by the natural order as our mates.”
“Like me,” I say, then ask, “What’s the natural order?”
“It’s a mysterious being or presence in the universe that directs the fate of all sentient beings. The witches are closest to understanding what the being is while the rest of us shifters simply follow its guidance.”
“Do you really believe there’s a god or something guiding our universe?” My mom was an atheist who encouraged me to question everything, which I do. But nicely, so as not to upset the faithful.
“Gods are a human concept. Shifters worship the natural order, or, to put it simply, nature.”
“Do you go to church or something to pray to nature?” I sense his excitement over my curiosity, which is probably a good thing. I am an endless fountain of questions. If this mating thing is to take off, then he’ll be in for a lifetime of my questions.
He shakes his head. “We have no need of churches. Our worship comes from our existence. Every step I take as a wolf, every instinct that guides me, the immortality that runs through my veins, is homage to the natural order. Filling my lungs with air, eating the food this planet provides, this is proof of my existence, which is proof that the natural order is with me always.”
His poetic words paint an image in my head of the two of us, living together, sleeping and eating together. Breathing in and out together. Our children filling a happy home, proof of the natural order.
His eyes pop wide and I know without a doubt he saw what I was thinking. Heat washes my face and I look away. “We should go inside.”
I feel his disappointment that I’ve shut down our conversation, but I need some time to process… wait… I feel his disappointment! I gasp, then cover my mouth. I’m not ready for him to know I might be starting to feel our mating connection.
I push open the door to Lazarus Acting Agency, leaving Keenan to follow me inside. Taking off my sunglasses, I look around.
As always, Angel’s desk is empty. She’s Laz’s part time-secretary and full-time life partner. They found each other thirty-five years ago on the set of a porn film. Angel isn’t good at her job, but neither is Laz. What matters is they’re happy together helping their stable of talented actors find jobs.
“Laz!” I shout. “Get out here before I run off with your office furniture.”
Keenan turns a skeptical eye to the lineup of five plastic chairs and a fake plant.
The beaded curtain at the back of the room rocks wildly as Laz strides through. “Is that my favourite client I hear?”
He picks me up in a bone crushing hug that has Keenan tensing beside me. I glance at him as Laz sets me on my feet, but his face is impassive as he looks over my agent and manager.
