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“He’s over there with that unicorn.”
I think to them it was just a descriptor, but it hurt. It made me feel less than. I was happy to be leaving all of that back in the city.
Errands done, I came back to my new home.
I hung the shower curtain, put my groceries away, and made myself a sandwich to eat outside. I think that was my favorite thing about my cabin: the stoop overlooked a wildlife preserve.
“What do you think? Could we be happy here?” I asked my beast.
He responded with a cross between a neigh and a grunt. Why was he always so grumpy?
Chapter 2
Anders
“Coffee, Anders?” Darcy asked as I sauntered over to Damon’s café.
“Nah, slow day, so I’m treating myself to lunch.” I bypassed the coffee shop and sat outside the restaurant next door.
“We’re out of duck.” She handed me the menu.
“Don’t like duck.” It was too fatty for me.
Darcy giggled. “Not you. Jonah.” She jerked her head at my friend as he loped over from the community center.
“That’s fine. I’m cutting back on the duck.” He patted his belly, but his pained expression suggested he was disappointed.
“Sit.” I pulled out a chair, and he plonked himself down. “How’s life?”
“Great. Bit hectic at work with Waylon on vacation.”
Waylon was the Snow Leopard Alpha, or the head of the sizzle as we’d named our group.
Jonah was Waylon’s right-hand man. With the sizzle expanding and new members arriving every week looking for a place to live, searching for schools, and asking all the questions newcomers needed answering when moving to a new town or neighborhood, the staff at the community center were overwhelmed.
“Sounds like you need to hire more people.”
“We do, we are. Isadora and I are conducting the interviews.”
Kyle, the restaurant’s head chef, popped out onto the terrace and kissed Jonah on the head.
“Hi. Are you on a break?”
“If you can call spending one minute kissing your mate a break, then yes.” He waved at me before racing inside.
Everyone around me was mated, or that was how it seemed. I was often around the center when parents were dropping their kids off or collecting them from the toddler group. Or I had a job near the school as kids were streaming out, telling their folks about their day and showing their drawings. Movie night at the center was full of couples smooching, whereas I only had popcorn and soda to keep me company.
“He’s a good man.” I jerked my chin at Kyle as he disappeared before ordering fish and chips, and Jonah said he’d have the special which was shrimp in white wine sauce.
“Oh no, I hear the ‘I wish it was me’ tone in your voice.’ He took a slice of bread from the basket and dipped it in olive oil.
“Sorry.” Maybe I should keep my complaints to myself. My friends, who were all mated, must be tired of me wishing I’d met my one and only.
“No, I shouldn’t be so hard on you.” Jonah put a hand on my shoulder. “Have you tried looking outside of the sizzle?”
Damn, I hadn’t wanted to voice my thoughts on this issue, but now he’d brought it up.
“Not yet, but I was thinking maybe this isn’t where I’m supposed to be.”
