Page 10 of Wrong Number, Right Gray Wolf

“No, sorry. Not sure what’s going on.”

He eyed me and while still blocking his nose asked what was wrong.

“I met my mate.”

“What? That’s wonderful, but why are you so sweaty?” He got up and looked outside. “Were you chasing one another?” He was sporting a wicked grin as he leaned over his desk. “Oh, is that a fox thing? Tell me more.”

“No, and ewww, if it was I wouldn’t be sharing it.”

“Meanie.”

“He’s mated and has a daughter.” I didn’t go into detail about the how, what, why, and when.

“What? I thought the fated mate system was failsafe.”

I rolled my eyes because fate couldn’t be trusted and there was no system. He asked if I wanted time off, but I needed to keep busy.

My nights were now predictable. I fell asleep on the bed when I got home, woke up in the middle of the night to eat, shower, and brush my teeth, then fall back asleep, only to have my dreams filled with the alpha wolf.

The next day as I arrived at work, I was still in the car and my beast took his fur, right there in the front seat.

What are you doing? That was a silly question because the answer was obvious.

Going to find our mate.

I wrenched control from him and shifted back. Think of Posy and how she loves her alpha dad and probably her omega father too. Do you want her to grieve as you're grieving?

No, but⁠—

But nothing. We’re not going to disrupt that little girl and her omega dad's lives. No, no, no.

Harvey texted and asked how I was doing. Him also being a fox shifter, I’d confided in him.

Do you want me to do a deep dive into the guy’s life? I can get all the dirt.

Did I want to know if he paid his parking tickets, how much he owned on his mortgage, and if he had a middle name? Not really, but any investigation would discover his mate’s name, how long they’d been together, family photos, and texts. Reading and seeing how happy he was would break what was left of my heart.

No, let the guy be. I shouldn’t be keeping tabs on him.

But I did need Harvey to shift with me. His fox was bigger and faster than mine and perhaps racing through the forest chasing a rabbit or squirrel might ease the pain a little. If not for me, then for my fox.

Shift with me after work.

You got it.

I could probably have left the office earlier than usual because I wasn’t the efficient guy Remy had hired, but even 50% of me was better than 100% of most assistants.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you.” Harvey was undressing and tossing his clothes in the back seat of his car, whereas I was folding mine. “It sucks.”

The days were passing, but my agony at not being able to be with my mate was the same, or worse. Each day I woke expecting to be a little better, but the grief hovered around me like barbed wire, not letting me live the life I’d had before that phone call.

We took our fur and I gave myself over to my fox. He was much more aggressive than usual, charging ahead of Harvey’s beast, blocking his path, and not letting him kill the squirrel he’d scented but shoving him into the bushes. Harvey’s fox growled at my beast. It wasn’t that loud snarl that wolves made, but a softer sound that rumbled out of him.

My fox ignored him as he took down the squirrel and tore a chunk of flesh off the bones.

Hey, run fast and hunt hard, but don’t make an enemy of Harvey’s fox.

He didn’t respond, but he let the other fox make a kill without interfering.