03

Carrie

I refused to look back at my mate as I was escorted to his trailer. They weren’t rough with me now, probably because I was rightful luna of this pack of rogues, at least I would be if my indecisive mate decided he wanted to keep me.

Not that it mattered what he was thinking. I was fuming. How dare he act like he didn’t want me, and then force me to stay like he did? I didn’t need my feelings messed with more than they already had been in my last relationship. Everything had been so good when I was with Asshole Dane, right up until they were not.

They brought me to a trailer, and I would have known where I was even without his words. It was obviously his home, since it smelled fantastically like him. That jerk didn’t deserve to smell so good, or to look so devastatingly handsome when he didn’t have the personality to match. It was false advertising.

Asshole Dane had been just as hot as my jerk of a mate, and my former alpha had blown me away when he had first turned his attention to me. I’d been twenty-five back then, around the time I had finally given up hope after a decade of waiting for my mate to show up in my life. The waiting hadn’t been that bad even in my early twenties, even while almost everyone else who was single gradually found their other half and paired up, but as I got older, the wait had become harder and harder to take.

Everyone knew that if you didn’t find your mate by the time you hit your mid-twenties, it was unlikely that you ever would, and it got even more unlikely with each passing year.

I’d known Asshole Dane for years, of course, because not only was he only a couple years older than me, he had also been the alpha of Greenwoods since he was twenty-five. It had been an ordinary day in spring and I had been minding my own business, working for the pack as a scout, when he’d casually started talking to me. I had been flattered, and when he proposed a relationship since neither of us were likely to find our true mates, I’d been tempted. I held out for a month, before he charmed me into giving it a shot.

And it had been so good. Asshole Dane could be a bit stubborn and inflexible, but he’d treated me well. And once we were official, I took over as acting luna. We had been good together, so good.

I put my heart and soul into supporting my pack and my chosen mate for three years.

The day that stood as the highlight of my time with Dane had been long and busy, but not unusually so. As always, I ensured that schedules were concise and dealt with a few problems that had cropped up in Greenwoods, chief among them the departure of one of our elementary teachers last month when she found her mate and moved to his pack. I’d have to inquire with other packs to see if they had any young mateless wolves who would like an opportunity to go to a different pack. Samantha had volunteered to cover the position for now, but I knew that she was anxious to return to her former role in the pack clinic.

Dane had promised me a nice night out with him, and if it hadn’t been so busy, I might have been impatient for the day to pass, but I barely had a spare moment to anticipate our date. We didn’t go out that often, because we were both so absorbed in our respective roles in the pack, but when we did go out, he made it worthwhile. I smiled to myself as I tidied up my desk and locked my office behind me.

I loved him so much. I was glad that I had agreed in spite of the protestations of my parents. They had very old-school mate beliefs, but it was easy for them to think that way when they had found each other in their late teens. They hadn’t been forced to wait and wonder, with the hope of finding love slowly fading away. I had wanted to build a life with someone, and Dane had been in a similar position.

What was wrong with committing to another person who I had so much in common with? Both Dane and I were pack-minded people who loved Greenwoods and Dane needed an heir. I also always wanted to have pups, too. It was less likely for chosen mates to conceive than true mates, even when the odds went up after marking, but it was a heck of a lot less likely than zero with us trying.

Still, my parents weren’t the only ones who weren’t fans of chosen mates. It was a pretty common attitude in many packs including my own, and I understood where they were coming from. Theoretically, nothing could compare with the one chosen for you by fate. But that was easy for people to say when they had the privilege of being happily mated, and a lot harder to accept when on the verge of spending life alone. Who cared what the naysayers said about non-mate relationships?

I didn’t want to be alone. Didn’t I deserve to be happy, even if some hypothetical goddess didn’t believe I deserved to be? I thought so.

My head was filled with excitement about having some free time with my mate as I got ready for our date. I pulled on a deep red dress that looked good with my long curling black hair. I left it loose, because I knew he liked it that way. And I liked the expression he made when he checked me out, so it was win-win.

Slipping on a pair of pumps, I hurried down and found Dane waiting for me in the pack house foyer, looking handsome in a button up shirt and dress pants. As soon as I was in reach, he pulled me close with an appreciative spark in his eye and caught my lips with his own, his tongue playing with mine until my head felt disconnected from my body. I could give it to him, he was good. It was obvious just how much he appreciated me by the excitement that was coming to life against my stomach. Maybe we weren’t going anywhere after all tonight. I didn’t mind that idea in the slightest. We didn’t get enough alone time, either.

As if he could read my mind, his lips tilted up in an engaging grin, and he said, “We’d better go if we actually want to go.”

The smile I returned was wide with all the affection I had for him. He wrapped his arm around my waist and led me out to his favourite car. We drove in companionable silence for a while before he slid his hand up my thigh and started massaging it while he drove.

“It’s not too late to turn back, Dane,” I pointed out with a suggestive smile.

“No, I want to try this place out. I’ve heard it’s good.” Even though he smiled, it was obvious by his firm tone that his mind was set.

He squeezed my leg a bit higher, and warmth pooled in me. He was such a tease. But I liked that.

“If you say so.”

“I’m hoping you’ll like it, too,” he said.

“How could I not?”

We talked about our day as we drove into the city, making comments filled with affectionate innuendo. Dane pulled into the parking lot and parked smoothly, demonstrating his skill as a practiced driver. He walked around to open my door for me, giving me a long drawn out kiss after he helped me to my feet. I leaned towards him until he broke our kiss again.

“Better go. We’ve got reservations,” he said, holding out his arm to me.

We entered the elegant restaurant, light ambient music playing in the background as the host led us to our seats, in a private area tucked into the corner of the restaurant. Large windows looked out onto a green space beyond that my wolf appreciated. After looking at the menus we both ordered steak like the stereotypical werewolves we were.

We chatted and laughed throughout our meal. When we were done eating, he smiled and said, “I pre-ordered us dessert, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” I laughed. He knew I wasn’t very fussy when it came to food—as long as it was mostly healthy, I didn’t mind indulging from time to time.

“Did you know it’s the three-year anniversary of the day I finally convinced you to be with me?” he asked.

“Really? I thought we counted from our first date?”

“No, we count from when you finally agreed.”

I smirked at him playfully. “That’s not how I count it.”

“You’re so stubborn,” he said, but there was no criticism in his tone.

“Isn’t that why you chose me?”

“In part, Care.”

“Oooh, so mysterious.”

“You’re gorgeous, but you know that.”

I simply smiled. I had never lacked for male attention, but I enjoyed none of it as much as I enjoyed his.

The waiter brought out a couple of slices of chocolate cake. I scooped a forkful to my mouth, when a glint caught my eye. I looked towards the decorative rosettes on the edge of my piece, and saw…

“A ring?” My heart pounded.

I met Dane’s eyes and found him watching me. He was smiling fondly. I picked the ring up from where it lay, surprisingly not at all sticky from the set icing.

“You’re the mate that I wish that the moon goddess had picked for me. Will you marry me?”

A little inhuman and unwolflike sound of surprise left my mouth at his words. He waited expectantly, his steady gaze on me. He was not kneeling, but only a fool would ever expect that sort of behaviour from an alpha, and I just didn’t care.

Finally, I found my voice. “Yes. Yes, I will.”

He was up and caught me into his arms, his mouth on mine and the steel of his body against the softness of my own. I might have been crying for joy.

My head was so wildly spinning with euphoria that I barely noticed when we left the restaurant and we pulled up to a hotel. “I thought we could have a night completely to ourselves, away from pack and responsibilities. Just you and me,” he said wickedly, revealing a small suitcase in the trunk that he must have packed before I could protest that I didn’t have anything along with me.

I gave up and did what he wanted, which was easy because I wanted to. He led me into the hotel and up to our room, and the moment the door closed behind us the bags dropped to the floor and his hands were on me. He slipped me out of my dress before meeting my mouth with his own, and I welcomed the intrusion, pulling at his buttons with my hands between us, then running my fingers along the ridges of his muscles.

His hands found my breasts and caressed them, and then he carried me to the bed, stripping us both naked and claiming what he wanted from me and giving what I wanted in return. I revelled in my happiness with him.

Who knew where our mates were, or if they were still alive, or even if we had mates at all? Could anyone even prove that every wolf had a mate? Some went their entire lives without finding their so-called destiny.

I had made my choice and taken a chance, and I was not going to let the cruel whims of fate keep me from living it.