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Chapter One
China Taylor sat back and inspected her work. She’d glazed some plain white plates to give to her bestie Demi as a mating gift. Demi’s favorite colors were gold and teal, and the glittery gold and metallic teal paints made the plates look spectacular.
“Should’ve gotten some cups too,” she said to herself.
She knew Demi would love the plates. The two were forever giving each other handmade gifts. For her birthday last year, Demi had learned to crochet and made a set of purple potholders, which China used all the time.
Demi had recently mated two male grizzly bears who’d come to Kedrick to audition for the house band at Tails. China was a waitress at Tails, which was owned by the alpha and his right-hand male. She didn’t mind waitressing, but she wished she could make a living with painting. Or cooking.
Her phone buzzed. She set the final plate on the drying rack and picked it up.
“Hey Zeke,” she answered.
“What’s doing girl?” her cousin asked.
“Getting crafty. What’s up with you?”
“I was going to order lunch at the diner and take it to Mom and Dad’s, and I thought I’d invite you along. Interested?”
She loved her cousin and his parents. Her whole family was really close. “I’d love that. Thanks.”
“Awesome. Could you pick up the to-go bag?”
She snorted. “Are you serious? Did you only invite me so I’d pick up the food?”
“How rude! I love you dearly and would never use you to run errands for me.”
“That’s a lie right from the devil, man.”
“Fine. It occurred to me that it would be on the way for you and out of the way for me. Sue me for being clever.”
“That’s a dick move, you know.”
“Ouch. I’ll order you a piece of cake as a peace offering.”
“Now that I like. Make it chocolate. And also I want the chicken salad croissant.”
“No problem. See you in a bit.”
“Bye.”
She cleaned up the mess, washed the paint off her fingers, and changed from her ratty paint clothes to jeans and a short-sleeved top.
She headed into downtown Kedrick to the diner. Kedrick was a mostly lion-shifter town and her family had been in the pride for generations. Her parents were mate-matched, which meant they’d gone to see a match-maker to get set up. They wanted her to get mate-matched, but she was one hundred percent not interested. She believed in waiting for her heart-match, the one guy on the planet who was meant to be hers. Her lion would recognize him on sight.
It didn’t matter whether her heart-match was a lion, another type of shifter, or a human. She only cared that he was a good person. And it wouldn’t hurt if he was sexy too.
Her parents didn’t give her a hard time about being unmated too often, but sometimes she felt like they didn’t approve. She knew she’d find her Mr. Right at some point, and fate could not be rushed. The bitch took her sweet time.
She parked in front of the diner and headed inside. There was someone checking out at the register, so she looked around and saw Demi, Demi’s father, and her two mates sitting at a table, their heads together as they talked quietly. She walked over to say hello and froze when her name came up.
“So you’re on their side?” Demi asked, throwing up her hands. “You want me to tell China to potentially put herself in danger to save me from either sacrificing myself or potentially sacrificing my mates? That’s the height of selfishness.”
“I’m in danger?” China said, dumbfounded.
Demi looked at China in surprise, guilt flashing across her face.
“China,” Demi said.
