by C. E. Black
However, I’d known for a fact Tess would come running for Sara.
“You’re right, Tess. I’m sorry. And please, stop calling me Alpha. You can call me by my name, you know.”
Her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink. “Umm…”
I slid closer, but not too close. I didn’t want to scare her off. “Tess, I was wondering if you would like to go to dinner sometime.”
Her blue-green eyes widened to the size of saucers. “What are you doing, Alpha?”
I grinned, hoping it looked charming. It had been a long time since I’d asked a woman out. Too long.
“Dinner? Want to go with me?”
“Like a date?” she squeaked.
“Yes.” I leaned in just a little, letting my wolf taste her scent. She smelled like coffee and… my Beta?
Tess leaped to her feet. “I’m sorry Alpha, but I can’t. I-I-I’m seeing someone.”
“Theo,” I confirmed, my shoulders falling.
“I’m sorry,” Tess said again. “It’s new. We just started dating. I had no clue you were interested. Not that that would have changed anything…”
Her face twisted as if she were in pain. It was painful. Not her rejection but the entire situation was agonizing and embarrassing.
“I mean, you’re an attractive man, Alpha,” she hurried. “I just don’t feel that way. Oh, God.”
I held up a hand to stop her. “Tess, it’s fine. I’m the one who’s sorry.” Offering her an apologetic smile, I stood. “Can we forget this ever happened?”
“Um, sure.” She wrinkled her forehead. “But why did you ask me on a date? It’s kind of out of the blue.” When my neck turned red, her gaze turning knowing. “Ah, you were taking Brandon’s advice.”
I shrugged, not wanting to confess the truth.
“Thank God.” Her whole body sagged in relief and I winced.
“I’m not that bad,” I grumbled.
She chuckled. “Sorry, it’s just a little awkward. I’m flattered you thought of me, though.
“You were my first choice,” I admitted.
Her cheeks turned pink again and she ducked her head. “That’s farfetched.”
I gave her my Alpha eyes. “You have no clue how perfect you are, Tess. Theo is a lucky man.”
Another blush from her and a few more apologies from me, then I walked her to the door.
Plan A had been a bust. There were a couple more single women in the pack, but I was rethinking my approach. This had been a bit more embarrassing than I’d thought it would have been.
Before she left, Tess turned, giving me kind eyes. “If you want a mate for you, then I say go for it. Start searching. But you don’t need a mate to help take care of your daughter.”
I watched Tess climb into her car before shutting the door and pounding my head against the solid wood. She was wrong. I did need a mate.
And now I also needed to call Theo and apologize. Damn it. I might be his Alpha but he was going to kick my ass when he found out I’d made a pass at Tess.
Deciding to put off that unpleasant phone call for now, I went to my office to think. I needed a plan B. How do I find a mate? And fast?
I drummed my fingers against my desk and sighed. I had nothing. Bars didn’t appeal to me and I didn’t have the time for that kind of dating, anyhow.
Finally, realizing I was wasting precious time, I picked up my phone and called in reinforcements.
“What’s the emergency?” Brandon, AKA my plan B, huffed as I led him into my office.
I shut the door behind me but didn’t move farther into the room. Instead, opting to block the only exit.
“There’s no emergency,” I confessed for the second time that day.
Scowling, Brandon twisted around to look at me. “Ah, man! Are you serious?”
“Just hear me out.” I gestured to the chair next to my desk. “Please, have a seat.”
Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Brandon narrowed his eyes. “No disrespect, Alpha, but we made a pact. I’m not watching Sara for you unless it’s an emergency.”
“That’s not why you’re here, Brandon. I promise.” I gestured to the chair again. “Please, sit down. I need your help with something.”
After a long sigh, he nodded and did as I’d asked. “What do you need help with?”
Rounding the desk, I sat down on the other side and faced him. “Actually, it was your idea. I just need a little direction on how to go about it.”
Nose scrunched up, he shook his head, causing his messy hair to fall over his face. He shoved it back and said, “I’m lost.”
“You suggested I find a mate,” I reminded him. “But I don’t know where to find one. I don’t have time to wait for the perfect woman to just show up on my doorstep. That’s never going to happen, actually, so what do you suggest? Speed dating? I’ve not done that before but I’ve heard it’s fun.”
I stopped talking when I noticed Brandon shaking his head from side to side slowly, his jaw unhinged.
“No to speed dating?” I asked. “What about online?” I could do online dating, I mused. I’d know the woman’s information ahead of time and easily narrow down my prospects.
“I hadn’t been serious,” Brandon exclaimed, barging into my thoughts.
“Why not? I thought it was a brilliant idea.”
“You want to find a woman to take care of Sara?”
“And to marry, of course,” I confirmed.
“But, but…” he sputtered.
“Please?” When he continued to stare at me like I belonged in the looney bin, I narrowed my eyes at him. “As your Alpha, I’m telling you to help me.”
Brandon’s jaw slammed shut. “You had to go there.” He shook his hair out of his face once more. “Fine. But you do know this doesn’t count as one of your Alpha demands, right? You can’t force someone to find you a date.”
I grumbled under my breath because he was right. Still…
“I know. And I’m not asking you to find me a date. I’m looking for a mate. Big difference. And I can find my own, by the way. I just need a starting point. So… Where do you suggest?”
“I’m assuming you’re not wanting to go the club route?” When I shook my head no, he stood and rounded my desk, coming to stand next to my chair. Reaching for the computer mouse, he asked, “Mind?”
“No, go ahead.”
“I think you had the right idea about online dating. It’s the quickest way to find a lot of single people. Plus, you can read their bios and discard what you’re not looking for with a click.”
“Just what I was thinking,” I told him.
He typed something into the search bar and clicked on a link that popped up. “The only problem is you’re a wolf. A lot of online dating sites still cater mostly to humans.”
“I’m okay mating with a human.” Sara’s mom had been human.
“Well, yeah, but you want them to know who you are ahead of time and you want to meet only women who are okay with what you are. It’ll save time.”
I liked that idea.
My eyes were glued to the computer screen as a website opened up. “Meet Your Alpha,” I read aloud. “And what’s this, Alpha Singles?”
“Yeah. The whole site is new,” Brandon replied. “Alpha Singles is the online dating portion of the site. They cater to both supernaturals and humans. Everyone on here knows what they’re getting into. You just list your race, and by race, I mean, human, shifter, vampire, etcetera, and what you’re looking for.”
“I don’t care about her race,” I said.
“Then leave that filter blank,” Brandon shrugged.
I looked over the site, nodding as he gave me a quick tour. “Do you have a profile?” I asked.
Brandon shrugged again and flipped his hair. “Yeah. It’s great for hooking up.”
I growled. “I’m not looking for a hook up.”
“Dude, Alpha, I know. Really, this site is for everyone. They’ll only show you profiles who match your
wants and needs.”
I relaxed a bit. “Okay, I’ll give it a shot.” Why not, right? I needed a mate and one wasn’t going to just fall into my lap. Alpha Singles looked like my best bet. “Where do I sign up?”
“Sweet!”
Grinning, Brandon held out his fist. I reluctantly gave him a fist bump and turned back to the computer.
Once he showed me where to sign up, I paid my membership and filled out the profile. Which sucked. I wished I could have just written that I needed a mate to take care of my daughter and me and left it at that, but Brandon nixed that idea.
“Go ahead. If you want them to run away as fast as they can.”
I grumbled but did as he said, writing a quick bio. Then he took a picture of me and uploaded it. “Looking good.”
“Now what?” I asked as we finished up.
I stared at the web page. Nothing happened. I didn’t know what I was waiting for but I was hoping for more than this.
“Now you wait,” Brandon said over his shoulder as he walked to the door.
“Wait?” I looked back and forth between the computer and Brandon. “For how long?”
Brandon shrugged. “Until someone messages you. Or, you can browse through some profiles.”
I focused back on the website just as a bell chimed. My eyebrows shot up. “Someone just messaged me.”
“Be careful. It can get disorienting staring at all those profiles. And a little addictive.”
“Oh, okay,” I nodded absently, clicking on the next profile. “Thanks for your help.”
“No problem, Alpha,” he chuckled. “Happy hunting.”
Chapter 4
I sat back in my chair, shaking my head from side to side slowly. I couldn’t believe the number of women who’d messaged me within minutes of my profile going live. Each one of them had attributes I was looking for too. Attractive, successful, intelligent… However, after texting with a few of them, it had become clear that I would need to change my profile. I didn’t have time to go on dates. I needed a woman who was ready to settle down right now.
And for some reason, when I had mentioned my need for a mate/wife/mother for my daughter, they all flat out said no.
Ignoring the chimes that meant my inbox was filling, I scrolled to my account and edited my profile to include that I was searching for something serious right away. In fact, I went even further and filled out the questionnaire the site offered in order to find my perfect match. Letting them do all the hard work sounded nice.
I hit save and waited. Within seconds, the messages stopped. I growled out my frustrations to the room. This whole finding a mate business was a lot harder than I remembered. Then again, Sara’s mother and I had grown up together. We’d known since we were kids that we’d be mated.
Since her death, I’d dated here and there, but nothing serious. I didn’t have the time for that. Now it seemed I was having to make the time. Hopefully, the site would find me the perfect woman and quick.
The ringing of my phone had me checking my watch. Holy Shit! I’d been messing with this online dating site for hours. Brandon had been right. It was downright addictive.
With a swipe of my thumb I answered my phone. “I was busy, sue me!” I said as a greeting, assuming it was my Beta calling to chastise me for missing some meeting or something.
“Hello? Mr. Winfield?” A hesitant female voice said on the other line. Definitely not my Beta.
I pulled the phone away from my ear to read the unrecognizable number on the screen. “Yeah, this is he. Who is this?” I asked, a little gruffer than I’d intended.
There was a pause before she spoke again. And this time, she wasn’t as hesitant. In fact, she was downright snippy.
“Mr. Winfield, this is Principle Watkins at River South Elementary School. I have your daughter here—
“What did she do?” I interrupted with a sigh. Sara was usually such a good kid. Or at least I’d thought so. Maybe the pack had forgotten to tell me something.
“Nothing, Mr. Winfield,” Ms. Watkins snapped. “She wasn’t picked up from school today. Again. She’s waiting in the office. If you could please come as soon as possible, that would be great.”
I thought of every curse word in the books. How had school already ended? It felt like I’d just dropped her off. “Thank you for letting me know, Ms. Watkins. I’ll be there to get Sara in just a few minutes.”
“Thank you,” she said stiffly before hanging up.
“Damn it!” I pushed back from my desk and reached for my keys. This parenting business was a time sucker.
After promising her principle I’d be on time to pick up Sara the rest of the school year, I ushered my daughter to the car, my nerves frazzled.
“Sorry about that,” I told her. “I was, um, held up with work.” Yeah, work… right. I hated lying. It was one of my hard and fast rules in life. To always tell the truth. But exposing my plan to find her a mom was out of the question.
I gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead, hoping the heat crawling up my neck was hidden behind the collar of my jacket.
Realizing Sara wasn’t going to respond, I glanced over. She stared out the side window, her face turned away from me. She wore earbuds, but I hadn’t been born yesterday. The music wasn’t loud enough to have drowned out my voice. She was pretending not to hear me. I pressed my lips together and focused back on the road.
Another minute passed and I looked over again. Nothing had changed, but this time I watched her face. She wore no expression and I wondered what she was thinking.
My eyes wandered over the red freckles dotting her pale skin, reminding me of her mother. Elizabeth had been a fiery red head with freckles lining her skin from head to toes. Sara had gotten some of my genes however, causing her hair to be more auburn than red. But gosh, her tiny nose, her green eyes, and even her chin reminded me of Elizabeth.
I turned away at the familiar ache in my chest. I’d mourned my mate a long time ago, but I still missed her. The close resemblance between Elizabeth and Sara made things more than a little difficult. Every time I set eyes on my daughter, it made the pain fresh once more. I knew those thoughts weren’t fair to Sara, but I couldn’t change how I felt.
When I pulled the Range Rover up to the house, Sara wrench open her door and jumped out, slamming it behind her and running up the steps and into the house without ever saying a word. She was mad. I could tell. I was never good at handling angry women.
With a long sigh, I went to follow her, but was interrupted when my Beta pulled up at the same time my cell phone rang. After glancing at the number, I silenced the ringer without answering and waited for Theo to climb out of his pickup.
“Where have you been?” Theo asked.
“Getting Sara from school.” I met him next to the truck and nodded. “What’s up?”
“Anyone important?” He asked, nodding at my phone.
“Just that damn security company again.”
“Might as well pick up,” he said. “Maybe if you growl at them they’ll stop calling.”
I shrugged. I’d try that next time they called. I wasn’t interested in whatever they were selling.
I gestured for him to tell me the reason for his visit.
“A tree fell on the fence on the west side.”
“That part of the property borders the land we want.”
My Beta jerked his head in a stiff nod, his lips tight.
“And that’s a problem. Why?” I asked.
“The property owner is complaining. The tree was on our side of the line before it fell, so we have to clean it up.”
“Of course.” My brows pulled down tight. “So, get some guys out there and get it cleaned up. Pronto.”
“That’s not the problem. The problem is he’s refusing to allow us onto his property. We’ll need to hire out.”
Gritting my teeth, I turned away. Damn it! That crotchety old man got my wolf riled so easily.
I’d only ever met the old goat
once. But the conversation hadn’t gone farther than him demanding I remove myself from his property while pointing a shot gun at my head from twenty feet away. That was the last I’d seen of him.
When word got to me that his land was up for sale, I’d jumped at the chance to expand our pack borders. But it looked like it was just another improbable dream. My father would have been able to close the deal.
“Just hire a crew and get it done,” I told Theo. “No sense fighting with the old man.”
Theo’s lips were pressed tight, his expression full of frustration. But he nodded his consent. “Yes, Alpha.”
Before Theo could leave, I called him back. “Theo, wait up. I’ve got something I need to tell you.”
I could feel my jaw tighten as my Beta faced me. This was going to be far from pleasant. And most likely painful.
“Yes?”
Pulling my shoulders back, I formally addressed him. “Theo, I offer you retribution.”
Forehead creased, Theo shook his head. “For what, Locke?”
“I made advances toward Tess. I didn’t know the two of you were an item. But I should have. I wasn’t paying attention. Still, I asked her out.”
My gaze fell from his eyes to his chin. Allowing a pack member retribution was the only time an Alpha would lower his eyes, showing him respect and my regret.
After a moment’s pause, Theo asked in a tight voice, “Do you have feelings for her, Alpha?”
“No, I do not,” I confessed, then revealed my true shame. “I only hoped to find a mate to—
I didn’t get the rest of the sentence out before the punch landed solidly and painfully on the left side of my jaw.
Retribution accepted.
Chapter 5
Isa
