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“What?” she yells, followed by happy screams. I can picture her jumping up and down. “You're his mate? That’s fantastic.”
“No, no, it’s not,” I clip. “River thinks I’m his too.”
That stops her celebration.
“Wow,” she says. “That’s unexpected.”
“No shit. Did you know?” I ask snidely.
“Of course not; that’s not how it works. When a shifter or vampire smells their mate, they know deep inside that they are meant for them. A bond starts to form between you, even before it is completed. They have to bite you and turn you into a shifter before you are officially mates. I don’t know River well, but Kerian loves him like a brother. The universe chose you.”
“Well, the universe is wrong,” I snapped. Suddenly, I hear shouting and loud crashing sounds from beyond the door. “Crap.”
“What? What is that noise?” Harmony asks.
“I assume that’s Kerian and River beating up a guy named Marcus for flirting with me and then insulting me.”
“Oh, that settles it. They are your mates,” she says, excited. “We should get some drinks, all of us together.”
Harmony is a panther. She found her three mates months ago. In the shifter community, it’s perfectly normal to have multiple mates. She’s deliriously happy and recently pregnant. She has made it her mission to spread love. At first, I thought it was interesting to have more than one man. Now, I think it would be a lot of work.
“Hold up. This is far from settled.” I stand up nervously. “Kerian may be the best kisser I have ever had the pleasure of kissing, but that doesn’t mean I want to be chained to him.”
“You kissed him?” she asks.
“That doesn’t factor into this,” I say, agitated. I pace to the door. The crashing continues. I have to leave.
“It so does. Sexual attraction is a big factor with mates.”
“I am nobody’s mate,” I groan. I’m suffocating. I frantically look around the office—the window. I run to it. “I decided a long time ago never to get married. Mates are out of the question.” I spent years being controlled by the men in my life. When I was able to make my own decisions, I promised myself that I wouldn’t be in that position again. Casual relationships I can handle—serious ones, no. I leave my heart out of it.
“I understand it can be an adjustment, but it works out in the end. I’m not sure how it affects humans. I know for shifters, we go into heat and can’t be separated from our mates easily.”
“I will not go into heat,” I growled. Just because I’m sweating profusely and my heart is about to break out of my chest means nothing. Thank goodness the window opens easily. “I have to go.”
“Just wait for them. Talk to them,” she urges.
“Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it, but I never was very good at following directions.” I slipped my leg out of the window, the phone balanced on my shoulder. “Promise me you won’t tell them where I live.”
“I promise,” she sighs. “But they will find you. Shifters may be more stubborn than you,” she warns.
“Thanks for the heads-up.”
“What about your car?” she asks.
“Do me a favor and pick it up for me. Please?” I beg.
“Fine,” she grumbles.
I hang up and put my phone in my back pocket. I maneuver my body so I am sitting on the ledge, grateful the garage only has one floor.
I glance back into the office one more time, weirdly regretful, and then push off. I land in the dirt. I stifle the coughing fit I feel coming and scramble up. I put my gym time to good use and run like my life depends on it. It’s totally normal for my legs to burn the further I run. What’s not normal is the ache developing in the vicinity of my heart.
I am not a shifter. I do not go into heat and my life will not revolve around a man or men. I haven’t lived my life waiting for the perfect mate. I don’t believe in fairy tales or happily ever after anymore. If I did believe, my parents would be alive, my brother wouldn’t be a religious freak who betrayed me, and my heart wouldn’t be damaged beyond repair.
So, no, thank you. I’ll live my life without a man fucking it up.
Chapter Four
