Page 13 of Darrin: The Wolves

Lena ate a few bites of her salad, then said, “It’s different for shifters from what I understand. They know on sight when they meet their other half. But if their other half is a human, it can bea rough transition from just meeting to feeling like you’re in love in a short span of time. Did it feel right to be with him?”

“Heck yes.”

Lena grinned. “Then maybe you don’t have to understand it, you just need to know that it’s okay to feel how you feel. Fast feelings aren’t necessarily bad.”

She liked that.

It made her feel like she could breathe a little bit easier.

After work, Audrey drove to Willow & 2ndBooks to pick up a fantasy book she’d ordered from the manager, Emery. The bell over the door jingled when she walked in, and the familiar scent of paper and old books wrapped around her.

“Hi Emery,” she said when she walked up to the counter. “I’m here for my book. Gimme, gimme.”

Emery smiled broadly. “Hey Audrey, you’ll have to tell me how you like it.”

It was third in a series about a woman who inherited a magical tea shop that had a romantic subplot. She’d enjoyed the author’s dry humor and the in-house cat who knocked over teacups when she was trying to alert the woman to trouble.

“I’m really excited about this one, the others were great.”

Emery reached under the counter and lifted a book wrapped in brown paper and handed it over. “I saw the cover when I ordered it. I love the silver foil edges, too.”

Audrey stepped to the side and unwrapped it to check it out. “Oh, it’s lovely! Thank you for ordering it for me. It was my reward for a crappy week.”

“You’re welcome, anytime. I hope this makes your week perk up.”

“It’s already looking up. I had a great first date last night and he’s coming over tonight for dinner.”

“Well, woohoo girl!”

“Hey, are you the Audrey who was at The Howl last night?”

A woman Audrey had seen at the bookstore before but not interacted with came to the counter.

“I am. Who are you?”

“I’m Juliette. My mate Sigh made your date night burgers.”

“Sigh came out to bring the burgers to us. It was great. I’ve never had steak sauce on a burger before.”

“Me either, but it just works.”

Juliette walked Audrey out after she said goodbye to Emery, the book clutched to her chest and thoughts of Dare in little to no clothes flitting through her mind.

“Dare has been looking for his happily ever after for a while. Sigh was the first of the brothers to find a mate. Trick is mated to my best friend Cassidy. Dare was going to give up the dating app, but we told him to go on one more date. And that was you!”

She stopped at her car and looked at the pretty blonde. “He said we were mates. I didn’t ask him about it because it was the night we met and I was… busy with other things. But it’s been on my mind.”

Juliette smiled softly. “He wouldn’t say that word lightly.”

“I’m his mate then? Just like that?”

“With wolves? Absolutely. Sigh told me he knew when I walked into the tavern while he was in the kitchen. He said he felt like his wolf was dragging him out to the main room to find me. I didn’t understand it at first. In fact, I panicked and ran off. But he came for me the next day and I never panicked again.”

“Why did you panic?”

“It felt too fast.”

“I thought the same thing. Fast but right.” She pursed her lips, then said, “But how do I know Dare is feeling the same thing?”