“Helpless, I very much doubt it. And no, it’s not selfish, I think it’s wonderful, and I’m positive I can match you with a man who will love you for everything you are.”
Amber blew her nose. “I’ve left a lot of things too late, I guess, like a husband and family.”
Sadie laughed. “I can’t imagine you’re even thirty yet.”
“Thirty-one, actually.”
Sadie smiled.
“I have some urgent business to attend to right now, but let’s meet at my office. Here’s my card,” she said, pulling it out from her pocket. “Would 1:00 p.m. tomorrow be okay for you?”
“Sure.”
Sadie stood then and told Amber not to worry because she was going to make it her job to find her the best match.”
Sadie walked outside and looked at her watch. The poor girl had needed her, but now Sadie had to make up for lost time. She hurried around the corner and willed herself back to her car. She didn’t have time to stop at the office so she would need to bring her potions to her.
She closed her eyes and then opened them to find everything she needed on the passenger seat of her car. Hopefully, the Board wasn’t monitoring her at any point. She grabbed her potion bowl, took some of the purple liquid, and mixed in a few drops of the emerald green which was perfect for locating lost people.
“Gabriel Miller, find me Gabriel Miller.”
An image of a wooded canyon came into view. Location, twenty miles north of town.
“And give me something to help draw in a wolf.”
A can of dog food appeared on her lap. Sadie lifted it up. That last spell might have gone a little haywire, but it was worth a try.
She waved her hands around, willing herself to the direct location where the spell had located Gabriel. Sadie pulled the tab on the dog food and walked to the edge of the woods, with leaves and twigs cracking under her feet. So far, no sign of him, so she’d have to try and lure him to her.
She howled. A few wolves howled back, the sound coming from her left. She walked further down the hill, suddenly lost her footing, and rolled all the way to the bottom. Sadie slipped onto her butt and two wolves came out from behind the trees.
“Hi guys, one of you wouldn’t happen to be named Gabriel, by any chance?”
They stepped closer, with their noses in the air. Sadie glanced down and saw that the dog food had spilled onto her blouse and jacket. She guessed what they were thinking.
A twig snapped close by.
“Ma’am,” said a man’s voice.
She looked around. He was taking cover behind a tree.
“Hello,” she called back to him.
“Ma’am, you’re going to think this strange, but I don’t know how I got here or what happened to my clothes, and I’m hoping you can help me.”
“No such thing as strange in the world where I come from,” said Sadie, standing up. “I’m hoping that you’re Gabriel Miller.”
“Yes, how did you know…did someone put you up to this?”
“No, but I do have a few things I need to tell you, then hopefully, all will be revealed. And my name’s Sadie Sutton, so it’s Sadie, not ‘ma’am’.”
“I can’t wait to hear about it, but first I’d like to put on some clothes. You wouldn’t happen to have an extra coat or something I could wrap around myself, would you?”
Her pink raincoat. She’d sensed she’d need it today and not just because of the rain. It was in the backseat of her car. She needed to will it to the site, and hopefully no one was around.
“In fact, I do. If you want to follow me to my car, it’s just up the road.”
“Ma’am, I’m not sure if you heard what I said, but I haven’t got any clothes on—no boxers, nothing—so I’d prefer if you got me the coat and threw it over here.”
“There’s no need to worry. Seeing you naked isn’t going to upset me one little bit.”
“I’m glad to hear that, but it’s going to upset me.”
Sadie smiled. She was playing with him to see what sense of humor he had because he was going to need it when she told him what Mavis had done.
“I’ll be right back,” she said.
One of the wolves brushed against her. She patted its head. So pretty. She’d never thought of having a wolf as her familiar. Maybe Gabriel could… No, she was getting ahead of herself now. The wolf stayed with her until she got halfway, then it sat and watched her head to her car. She threw the now-empty can of dog food onto the back and reached over for her raincoat. She took a deep breath. Such a handsome young man, she thought. But once she told him the truth, well, things would never be the same.
Chapter Three
Gabriel heard a twig snapping. Since he’d woken up, his sense of smell and hearing had grown sharper. He peeked around the edge of the tree and saw Sadie walking back with a pink raincoat slung over her forearm.
Shit, just what I needed to wear, he thought, but beggars couldn’t be picky.
“Don’t come any farther,” he said, holding up his hand and checking that all his bits and pieces were well covered by the tree. The lady was old enough to be his mom, but he still got embarrassed about stuff like this. He held out his hand and she gave him the raincoat.
“Don’t suppose you have it in another color?” he asked.
“Sorry, I don’t. Pink’s my favorite color.”
Pity. He slipped his arms into it and wrapped the coat around him. Lucky for him, Sadie was on the bonny side, but the coat was still a little snug. If he didn’t breathe out, he should be just fine. He stepped out from behind the tree and held his hand out to shake hers.
“Nice to meet you, Sadie”
“I’m glad I finally found you.”
“You were looking for me? Hey, any of my buddies put you up to this?”
Sadie shook her head. “Come on, I’ll drive you back to town and then we can talk.”
She turned and headed toward the road. He followed her and the wolves walked with them. Until then, he’d had neutral feelings about the creatures, but since last night, he felt like they’d had an instant bond. Two of them brushed against him as they neared the edge of the hill.
“Nice meeting you guys, and nothing against you or anything, but I hope we don’t have to do this again,” said Gabriel.
Both wolves held their chins up into the air and howled.
Nice to have met you, too, but we know we’ll see you again soon.
He’d understood every single word of that. How had he understood everything they’d said? Maybe he was turning into Dr. Doolittle.
Following behind Sadie, he wrapped the raincoat tighter as they got closer to the road. She opened the passenger door for him and he slid in, making sure nothing was on show before she hopped in beside him. There was a slight gap where the raincoat didn’t quite meet, so he quickly secured the seat belt and then put his hands across his lap, hoping that would do the trick.
Sadie got in, turned on the ignition, and soon they were heading out of the canyon.
“You going to tell me how you knew where to find me and who I was?”
“I will, but maybe you should be sitting down when I do.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I am sitting.”
“I mean somewhere familiar, just in case.”
“Just in case of what?”
“I’d prefer we wait until I get you back to town.”
He looked at her but she avoided his eyes. Something was going on. Longest prank he’d ever had played on him. He wouldn’t be surprised if his brother was behind it. He always said he’d get him back for the time Gabriel moved his car and pretended it had been stolen from the mall parking lot. Practical jokers were in the family’s DNA.
He shivered, suddenly feeling cold again, even though the temperature outside was almost balmy. Maybe he was coming down with a bug. Sadie reached for a button on the dashboard, pressed it, and suddenly warm air drifted his way.
“That raincoat never was my warmest jacket,”
she said.
“You like bubblegum pink?”
“Of course. It’s the color of my business cards.”
“So you work in the fashion business?”
“No, something much better than that. I’m in the ‘helping-you-find-true-love’ business.”
She reached down by the gearbox and handed him a pink card. She wasn’t lying when she said it was bubblegum pink. It matched the raincoat perfectly and was so bright he had to squint to read it. Speaking of perfect match, he thought—the name of her company was ironically called Perfect Pairing.
“You really think true love exists?” he asked. He hoped she’d heard the touch of sarcasm in his voice.
“Of course it does. I have couples who are living proof of it.”
He raised his eyebrows, hoping she didn’t see him pulling a face. They might be happy for now, but Gabriel knew that true love, if it existed, was a fleeting venture. Or at least it had been for him.
“Have you ever considered signing up with a matchmaker company?”
He pulled another face. “Nope, I don’t have any trouble finding women.”
“So you have a wife…or girlfriend, perhaps?”
“No, but I’ve not been looking that hard.”
He rested his head back on the seat, wishing they’d get to town soon so he could take off this silly pink coat and not have to talk about his love life, or lack thereof. Finding women was no problem, finding one who he might like to spend the rest of his life with was the impossible bit. The perfect woman didn’t exist, and he wasn’t the type to settle for second best just because everyone was pressuring him to settle down.
“How about a complimentary trial membership?” asked Sadie.
That got his attention. Not only was she his mom’s age, but she sounded like her, too—always trying to fix him up on dates with her friend’s recently divorced daughters.
“No, that’s fine. I’m not dating right now.”
“Any particular reason for that?”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re nosy?”
She turned to him and smiled. He felt compelled to smile too. He liked her, though he didn’t know why since he had only known her all of twenty minutes.
“I’m told I’m nosy just about every day of my life, but it doesn’t stop me.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t.”
“You haven’t answered my question.”
“Haven’t I? Just too busy, I guess.”
“Which is why I think you need the complimentary membership.”
Thank God they were in the outskirts of town. Strange thing was she was heading straight for his townhouse and he never told her where he lived.
“You are something to do with this prank, right?”
She pulled into the driveway and turned off the ignition. “Come on, let’s go inside and we can talk,” said Sadie.
While she turned the other way and got out of the car, Gabriel carefully opened the door and exited. Hopefully, he didn’t flash any of his neighbors who might be about. He walked beside Sadie and as he got to the path leading to the front door, someone wolf-whistled him.
“That’s just your color. I never knew you had such great legs.”
It was the neighbor across the street. Gabriel was about to flip the bird to the smart-ass, but he realized Sadie was watching. Instead, he quickly opened the door.
“Go ahead,” he said.
Sadie stepped inside and Gabriel followed her.
“I’m just going to get some proper clothes on and I’ll be right back. I’m more than intrigued to hear what you have to say.”
He walked into his bedroom, over to the closet, and pulled out a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. He took off the raincoat, slipped them on, and then headed back out to the living room where Sadie was looking at some photos on the wall.
“Thank you for loaning that to me, even if it wasn’t quite my color.” He handed it to her. “You want something to drink? I’m parched.”
“Oh, I think your neighbor would disagree with that.” She smiled. “A soda would be very welcome.”
“Sit yourself down and I’ll be back in a second.”
Gabriel headed for the kitchen. He pulled two sodas out of the fridge and got a glass for Sadie, then he went back into the living room. He handed her the glass and soda, sat down, and took a sip of his. His mouth was happy again.
“So you want to fill me in on what happened? I know this must be some sort of prank.”
Sadie shook her head and touched his hand.
“What happened to you last night will happen again and continue to happen to you, but don’t worry because I’m here to help you in any way I can.”
“You’re going to help me when I have a little too much to drink and someone plays a joke on me.”
“That’s not what happened to you, Gabriel.”
“So you were there, you know, right?”
He liked her but she was beginning to irritate him because she wasn’t giving up on this joke.
“Have you heard of shape-shifters?”
He’d wake up at any minute, thump the alarm on his clock, and realize this was all one big, bad dream—waking up with wolves, the pink raincoat, Sadie…”
“Like Twilight, and all those werewolves?”
“Yes, that’s it, wolves.”
“Sure, I’ve heard of them.”
Sadie tapped her fingers on her lap. If he didn’t know better he’d say she was suddenly nervous. “I don’t know how to say this because I’ve never had to deliver bad news to a mortal before, so I’m just going to come straight out with it. You’re one of them.”
He laughed so hard, he almost slipped off the couch. “I’m one of them. You mean a shape-shifter, a wolf?”
She nodded.
“And I’ve been one all my life and I’ve never known about it until now…that’s what you’re going to tell me, right?”
“No, you were cursed into becoming one.”
“Oh, this is getting better.”
He should have guessed that only an escaped mental patient would wear a bright bubble-pink raincoat.
“Please believe me, and I’m here to help you.”
“Help me?”
“Yes, I’m a…”
“You’re a what?”
“Mavis White.”
“You’re a Mavis White.”
“No, she’s the disgraced witch who cursed you. You must know her.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t.”
White…wait a minute. He’d met Mavis White in a bar last month.
“Middle-aged woman with dark hair and a reddish streak at the front.”
“That would be Mavis,” said Sadie.
“She’s the one who turned me into a shape-shifter?”
Sadie was wrong. He didn’t need to be sitting down when he heard this, he needed to stand up. Pace up and down to be precise, because now he remembered.
****
He’d stopped at the bar for a drink. A buddy from school who he hadn’t seen for a while had shown up.
“My baby brother’s finishing up his deployment in Afghanistan. His wife had a baby two months ago, cute little boy. Bryce hasn’t even seen him yet. I just hope he makes it home okay,” he’d told him.
“I can arrange that.”
He remembered that a woman had slid her stool next to him.
“Sorry, but I couldn’t help overhearing what you said, and I can make sure your brother returns home safely.”
“And I’m guessing you’d need money,” Gabriel had told her, thinking she was a scam artist.
“Not at all, but if you agree, then you give me permission to turn you into less than a man.”
“Look here…”
“Mavis, Mavis White.”
He’d looked into her eyes. Something was weird about them. He was sure they’d changed color.
“We have a deal?” she asked, sticking out her hand.
He did want Bryce home safe. He’d always
looked after his baby brother. He’d always looked up to Gabriel and followed in his footsteps, including joining the Marines making Gabriel always feel more responsible for his safety while Bryce was deployed. Maybe it would be bad luck if he didn’t shake—some sort of gypsy tradition or something.
And with that at the back of his mind, he’d slipped his hand into her palm. She’d had a firm grip like a man, and when he’d looked up again, she was gone.
****
Gabriel swallowed, sat back on the couch, and looked at Sadie. It all made sense now—the weird feeling, waking up naked in the forest, and understanding everything the wolves howled about.
“I thought it was a joke. That she was a joke.”
“I’m here to help you, and I’ve been instructed by the Board of Witches to assist you in any way I can.”
“Board of Witches?”
“Gabriel,” she grabbed both his hands. “I’m a witch too, but you can’t tell anyone.”
“I don’t think anyone would believe me even if I did.”
“You’ll feel strange the first couple of times you change into a wolf, and you might not be able to control it, but I’m going to help you with that, too.”
His head began pounding. He felt his body almost floating above the ground. Hell, he felt just like this when he’d been washing his truck last night.
“Gabriel, can you hear me?” It was Sadie’s voice but she sounded miles away now.
“Hang on, Gabriel. I think you’re about to shift, so hold my hand and squeeze tight.”
Gabriel’s eyelids fluttered and he wondered just where the hell he was going again.
Chapter Four
Maybe this was stupid. Maybe she’d panicked after her doctor’s appointment. Maybe you were supposed to let your true love find you, and not go through some matchmaking agency. However, if she truly believed that, then why had she made the effort to come to the Perfect Pairing office and keep her appointment with Sadie? It wasn’t as if the woman had compelled her to do it.
Amber stepped into the building’s lobby and eyed the elevator. She could take it. She was feeling tired today due to the lack of sleep worrying about what was ahead for her. Nope, she’d take the stairs up to Suite 368 and burn some carbs.
Falling for an Alpha Page 2
