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“That sounds heavenly.” Although she sounded wistful, I knew Peppa wouldn’t give up the hecticness of her life for the solitude of mine. She had found her fated mate—the one person every shifter was destined to spend the rest of their lives with—after we moved to Timber Ridge. Their son, Cyrus, was a handful now that he was able to toddle around everywhere he wanted to go.
“I can’t complain too much.”
My plans paled in comparison to everything Cason had done for her last birthday, but he tended to go overboard where she was concerned. All of the shifter males were like that with their mates. They loved their mates and children with a fierceness I wished I’d be able to experience someday.
Shortly after she’d met him, I had asked Peppa how shifters knew they’d found their fated mate. When she had explained to me that they only ever responded sexually to each other, I had wondered if maybe there was a shifter out there for me. I figured the odds were slim since I was one hundred percent human, but being the fated mate of a shifter would explain why I’d never been interested in dating—much to my mother’s chagrin—and was still a virgin at twenty-five.
“Darn, that makes what I have to ask so much harder.”
My brows drew together. “What?”
Her sigh was filled with regret, unlike my mom’s earlier. “I tried like heck to figure something else out since it’s your birthday, but Ramsey isn’t feeling well, and Aero wants to stay home with her. But we’re fully booked, so being short-staffed in the kitchen would be tough.”
I couldn’t blame Aero for wanting to watch over his mate. She’d just recently given birth to their son, and her inner falcon was still recovering from her ordeal last year. My understanding was that the process was moving more quickly than they’d expected, most likely due to her pregnancy. But from what Aero had said, it had been too long since she’d been able to let her inner falcon fly free. Soon, though. At least that’s what we all hoped.
If going to work on my birthday would help her get there faster, I was happy to do it. “Tell Aero to stay home tonight. Of course, I’ll come in.”
2
THORA
Although I knew I’d made the right decision to cover for Aero at work, my feet still dragged as I trudged down the sidewalk toward Timber Treasures. Since the weather was gorgeous, I’d decided to walk instead of drive. At least then I was able to enjoy some fresh air before I spent the next six hours in a sweltering kitchen.
Aero had come in and done the prep work before heading back home to Ramsey, saving me a couple of hours to enjoy my birthday. But when I neared the restaurant, I spotted her at a booth near the window. My brows drew together until I realized that Aero must have been more worried about her than I thought. I should’ve told him to skip the prep work so he didn’t drag her and Arbor out of the house to keep an eye on them while he was working.
I picked up my pace as I headed for the back door that led directly into the kitchen so I could avoid walking through a packed dining room. Flinging it open, I called, “I can’t believe you made Ramsey and Arbor come in with you, Aero. Get outta here. I’ve got your station covered now.”
My voice trailed off as the door shut behind me, and the lights flickered and went out. I should’ve heard curses and pots banging in irritation at the darkness, but the kitchen was quiet. Wondering if the lights had been acting up before I arrived, I thanked my lucky stars that I knew the space like the back of my hand and was easily able to make my way to the interior door that led into the dining room.
There wasn’t any sound coming from there either, and I was starting to worry that something had gone horrifically wrong in the short time it had taken me to circle to the back of the building. I nudged the door open, my voice trembling slightly as I whispered, “Hello? Anybody here?”
My eyes widened when the lights suddenly came back on, and everyone shouted, “Surprise!”
“Whoa,” I breathed as my gaze scanned the room, and I realized that all my friends and coworkers were here. “You guys closed the place down to throw me a party?”
“We sure did,” Peppa confirmed, rushing forward to give me a hug. “Sorry about tricking you. I hope you still got to watch your chick flick.”
“I did.” My lips curved into a grin. “I even took a nap in the middle of it.”
“Hopefully, you didn’t spoil your appetite by eating too many chocolates because we have plenty to eat.”
Kace, the alpha of the Timber Ridge pack who’d given Peppa permission to tell Larken and me about shifters, came up and put his hand on my shoulder. “She’s not kidding. Your coworkers went all out on the food. My mouth has been watering for the baked Alaska, but Larken said she wasn’t going to set it on fire until you arrived.”
Searching the room for my friend to tell her to grab the rum and a kitchen torch, my gaze landed on a man headed straight toward me. I didn’t recognize him—and with his looks, I definitely would have remembered if we had met before—but Ramsey and Aero were staring at him while she laughed. I vaguely remembered Aero mentioning that the friend they had named their son after was coming to visit and assumed it was him.
As my breath caught in my throat, I racked my brain trying to remember what he’d said about the guy. It wasn’t much, just that the wolf shifter was a part of the pack in the wilderness where Ramsey had stayed after she was rescued. One thing was for sure, my coworker hadn’t mentioned how hot the guy was.
His deep brown eyes were locked on my face as he stalked closer, and they were filled with desire. My fingers itched to stroke through his thick, dark hair that was a couple of inches longer than the current style. A muscle jumped in his angular jaw as his tall, muscular body prowled toward me with animal grace.
Living in Timber Ridge, I’d seen lots of attractive male shifters. Although I had appreciated their good looks, I had never reacted to one of them…until now. I was surrounded by everyone I knew in town—many of whom had an enhanced sense of smell—and my panties were freaking drenched. Because of him.
If I had been in any doubt over what my libido roaring to life meant, his growled, “Mate,” as he yanked Kace’s hand off my shoulder would’ve eliminated it.
Kace stepped away from me with a smile. “Calm down, Rome. I have a mate of my own.”
“Don’t care,” he grunted, wrapping his arm around my back to pull me against his side. “She’s mine.”
The alpha quirked a brow. “Do you even know her name?”
