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What I didn’t say out loud was that I suspected my mate was part of The Obsidian Circle, his scent intertwined with theirs. Flint would never allow me to mate one of their shifters. So I had a choice; ignore my own happiness or distance myself from my family and pack.
“I’m going to get you.”
Lottie, my young niece, squealed and toddled along the hallway to my dad’s living room.
Tony, Lottie’s omega father, put a finger to his lips as he held his and Flint’s sleeping baby. He mouthed, “Ranger!”
But baby Kendric didn’t stir.
My niece was adorable, all pink-cheeked and with dark wavy hair that fell to her shoulders. She was going through a stage where she’d only wear purple—I swore Dad encouraged her because he loved the color too—so Tony combed through online stores for purple clothes.
Lottie scurried away from me. She loved me running after her because all my attention was on her. And the flip side of that was the thrill of the chase, of goosebumps dancing over her skin as I crouched low on the floor and growled.
This was the other part of my existence.
The light, funny, caring part where we put aside business and enjoyed being with family.
I swooped in and picked up my niece, kissing her chubby cheeks and tossing her over my shoulder, before returning to the living area. Wishing I had a little one of my own, I deposited her on the couch where she rested her head on my brother’s shoulder.
And while Ididhave a mate, I had yet to meet him or mark him. Gods, I didn’t even know his name.
“You’re so good with my granddaughter.” Dad patted my arm. “Shame you don’t have a little one of your own.”
Flint’s head jerked up, and Lottie complained, adjusting her position as she cuddled into her father.
“I’m hoping you’ll mate someone from the pack,” Flint noted, thoughhismate, Tony, was human.
“How’d that work out foryou, bro?” Hunter asked as he threw a grape into his mouth.
Tony nudged our older brother. “Yes, do tell, my darling.”
“Fine.” Flint laughed and kissed Tony. “We were fated, so nothing could stand between us, but it would be best if Ranger and Hunter mate a Luna Noir shifter.”
“That’s no guarantee,” Hunter said. “Look at what happened with Emilio.”
Now the air crackled with tension. The guy who’d worked with my grandfather and father and who’d been Flint’s right-hand man had betrayed us and paid with his life. If we couldn’t trust La Luna Noir people, how could we mate anyone outside the pack? That didn’t bode well for me and my mate.
“What about this?” Dad shoved a tablet in front of me. There were pics of people sitting facing one another with a timer in the top left corner of the pic and the La Luna Noir insignia was stamped on the right.
“Is that some sort of competition?” It looked awful. I sensed they were grinding their teeth behind those phony grins.
“No, it’s speed dating.”
“Speed dating?” everyone, except Tony who was attending to Kendric, echoed.
“Dating in racing cars,” Hunter suggested.
“No.” Dad snatched the device out of my hands.
Uncle Arnie, my late grandfather’s brother, wandered in from outside, his newly adopted pup, Brussels, at his heels. With his glasses perched at the end of his nose, he peered at the small print on Dad’s tablet.
“I’ve organized it for the unmated La Luna Noir and Nightfall shifters. Cool, right?” Dad babbled about having gotten the idea from a human romance novel.
The Nightfall Pack were our allies, though Emilio had almost convinced Flint they’d been working against us.
“It’s tomorrow evening at headquarters.” Dad took off toward his bedroom, adding over his shoulder, “As pack Beta, I want you to help run the event, Ranger.”
Damn. I looked at Flint for help. We loved and respected our dad, and he’d held our family together after Papa was killed. He was the former Alpha Omega, the father of the current Alpha and a valued member of the pack, but he held no formal position.
