Page 2 of Darrin: The Wolves

Not bitter.

Just done.

His brothers had found their happily ever afters, but maybe that wasn’t in the cards for him. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to find his truemate.

He didn’t want to think about a future without a sweet female by his side and in his bed, but fate sure seemed to be giving him the middle finger.

By the time he walked into The Amber Howl a little while later, he’d resigned himself to a life alone.

“That bad, huh?” Sigh asked when Dare walked through the kitchen.

“I don’t even want to talk about it.” But he did, giving him a short version of the coffee date that ended before he’d finished half the cup.

Sigh turned around with a plated burger and Dare recognized it as the new burger of the week. His brother, the head cook, did special burgers that debuted on Mondays with clever names. His mate, Juliette, swore the burgers were magical and brought mates together because she’d shown up at thetavern for Sigh’s burger of the week – the Blue Monster. And then Cassidy, Trick’s mate, had shown up for his burger – the Trick Smash.

“Here, drown your sorrows in onion straws and steak sauce.”

“Are you sure about the burger name?” Dare asked. Juliette and Sigh had come up with the name The Alpha Howl for the newest burger of the week.

“It’s for you,” Juliette said as she walked into the kitchen. “I believe your mate will come for you this week. Plus, I already put it on the board and we posted it to social media. It’s a romantic opportunity.”

“It’s a burger.”

Sigh grinned and pulled his mate to his side. “Trust in the process and believe in fate. Trick and I found our mates, you’ll find yours.”

“Yeah,” Juliette said. “Don’t give up.”

“I’m deleting the app.”

Juliette shook her head. “Don’t. Give it one more chance.”

“I did that today at the coffee shop and wound up with a shifter-chasing human.”

Sigh looked down at Juliette. “I think she’s right about the burgers being magic.” Then he looked at Dare. “One more try on the dating app before you delete it. Believe that she’s out there, and eventually you’ll find her.”

“When did you get so optimistic?” Dare asked with a grumble.

“When I found my forever-girl because of a burger.”

Dare carried the plate out to the main room and sat at the bar. The tavern wasn’t open yet, so it was just him in the empty room with his thoughts.

He ate half the burger – which was crazy good – and decided to go on one more date. Then at least his family would get off his back about it.

He opened the app and started looking through the profiles of females in the area. By the time he finished the burger and fries, and contemplated asking Sigh for another burger, he hadn’t found anyone to swipe right on.

Until her.

Light brown hair, jade-green eyes, a sweet smile.

And freaking beautiful.

Something about the photo made his heart skip a beat and his wolf perk up in interest. For the first time since he’d started using the dating app, his wolf wasn’t grumbling in annoyance.

Dare swiped right. He stared at the screen for a moment then set the phone down on the counter. A few minutes later, his phone pinged. It was a match.

He sent a message to her.

Hi Audrey. I’m Darrin. I was wondering if you’re free for a date tonight?