AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I was fifteen when my father died, and six months ago my mother finally followed him. We were the last two members left of what used to be the Denali Plains Pack. When she passed, it left only me.
There’s no such thing as a pack of one.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself and do something about it. Your mate is right there—go to her.I lurch forward at my wolf’s words, wincing slightly at the jarring motion. I’m going to look insane.
Halfway there.My wolf is perfectly fine with me potentially making a complete fool of myself.
Time feels like it moves in slow motion as I steadily march toward my mate, watching her with the other men. One leans in to whisper in her ear, and she throws her head back with a laugh while he slides his hand to the small of her back. She has to be in a relationship with him. My heart sinks.
I want to stop, but my wolf’s will drags me onward.
My mate turns her head, listening to something the other man is saying. I try to eavesdrop—I’m close enough—but I can’t concentrate around the thundering sound of my own heartbeat in my ears.
I’m left to watch in horror as the second guy leans in and kisses her. My wolf growls. Not privately inside my own head, either. No, my wolf growls fully out loud.
The trio turns to look back at me, and I make an ass of myself by tripping over a small dip in the dirt. I catch myself on my hands as I fall to the ground, but I slowly ease myself flat on the ground and drop my head to the dirt, defeated.
I’m mortified, and I can already feel the heat of a blush staining my cheeks. And the embarrassment only gets worse as I hear the telltale sounds of my mate and her…boyfriends… rushing over to see if I’m okay.
“Let me help you up, man.”
I wish the earth would open up and swallow me whole.That makes two of us. My wolf and I are finally on the same page about something.
“Are you okay?” The soft lilt of her voice makes my heartbeat come to a shuddering stop. One of the men grabs my arm to help me up but releases me when the angel with him speaks. “Give him a minute, Mason.”
I’m hyper-aware of her body heat as she kneels at my side, her fingers skirting over the skin of my wrist but not really touching me. “You didn’t break anything, did you?” She sounds worried, which makes me feel guilty.
“No,” I tell her. “Only my pride,” I grumble under my breath.
I push up on my elbows and steel myself for my first close look at my mate. She hasn’t given any sign yet that she feels the bond, which makes my wolf uneasy. Has she been marked by one of these guys already? My stomach rolls as I turn my head and our eyes meet for the first time.
“Pink. Your eyes are… pink.” I practically choke out the words, mind spinning with my sudden realization. “You’re Quinn Cassidy.”
Her lips purse uneasily. “That’s me.”
“My name is Willem Lim. I’ve always wanted to meet you, I—” I snap my jaw closed as it really hits me that Quinn Cassidy, the beloved daughter of the Cupid’s Pack Luna, is mymate. She’s so out of my league that I second-guess my wolf’s certainty about the bond.
Quinn looks confused. “Uh, why would you want to meet me?” She laughs nervously.
Despite everything, all of the confusion crashing through me in undulating waves that makes my head spin, I don’t want to keep having this conversation on the ground. I push to my feet, disappointed when Quinn follows without giving me a chance to offer to help her up. I quickly realize I tower over her, and my wolf bristles with pride, thoughts of protecting her from threats brimming toward the surface.
“Your work has become a thing of lore,” I tell Quinn, my voice laden with awe. “Your mother is well-respected, but the way people talk after meeting you makes you seem ethereal.”
The two men, who I almost forgot were standing with us, glance at each other with confused expressions.Do they not even know who she is?I barely manage to hold back my wolf’s desire to let out a harsh growl.
“I’m not sure who would even talk about me.” Quinn blushes so sweetly that it makes my yearning for her increase tenfold. “I can assure you I’m only a regular shifter.”
I’m already shaking my head. How does she not realize how special she is? “No, not by any stretch of the imagination.”
When I came to the continental states to look for what comes next in my life, several well-meaning shifters recommended Quinn to me. They swore she could find a mate for me and help me start the life I really wanted, but I kept hesitating. This campground is as close as I got, and a few more lonely weeks here would probably have been enough to convince me to go see the woman that’s been affectionately dubbed Cupid’s Daughter by those she’s helped.
“I almost came to see you,” I admit. “To ask to be paired with a mate.”
A flash of distress reveals itself in her eyes, and it’s the confirmation I definitely need. For some reason, she didn’t immediately acknowledge it, but Quinn Cassidy feels the mate bond too. My wolf is immediately suspicious, and I eye the men who have moved to stand behind her, looks of confusion mirrored on their faces.So who the hell are these other guys?
NINE
QUINN
