ONE MORE LEFT AFTER THIS! Thank you for following along. If you enjoyed, please remember to leave a review for the book on the app! Lots of love, Allie.
REID POV TWO MONTHS LATER — SEPTEMBER 30th Today is a perfect day. The sun is shining, its rays warming the grounds and the lake and the garden. There is a light breeze winding and swirling its way around the forest and through the flora, carrying the scent of pine, water, flowers, and sunshine with it. There isn’t a cloud in the sky, and the air is the perfect temperature — neither too hot nor too cold. I woke up with my girl in my arms, and my other girl singing us the song of her people at the top of her little lungs, letting us know she was ready to start her day. I spent the day carrying Savvy around against my chest in her baby wrap while Taryn rested and had a spa day with Haven, Maya, and Blake. I soaked in all her gummy smiles and little coos and baby noises, only bringing her back to the house when Taryn needed to feed her. There is no broken, emotionally damaged hybrid after my mate and wreaking havoc on our lives — the crones made sure of that. Malachi extended an offe
REID POVI have three rules for dealing with females:1. No kissing2. No pack members3. No sleepovers4. No fated mate.Shit, that’s four rules. Okay, rewind. Starting over.I have four rules for dealing with females.Now, I know what you’re thinking — no kissing? How can you be intimate with a female if you don’t kiss them?Well, when I say no kissing, I don’t mean no kissing at all. I just mean no romantic kissing. No long make outs, no sensual lingering kisses. No goodbye smooches or hello smooches or “oh, baby, I missed you so much!” kisses. I kiss as needed, as the sexual situation calls for it, and that’s all. Nothing more.And there have been no complaints yet.Although, I’ll admit, that could have something to do with rule number two — no pack members.I didn’t have this rule before. Before, when I was younger and more naïve, I would totally sleep with a pack female without a second thought. But as I got older, I realized this could cause potential issues in the long run. The
REID POV“Good morning, Imogen,” Sebastian says, but his gray eyes are looking at me.And he definitely emphasized the word “morning.”“Morning!” Imogen chirps, chipper as fuck.“Did you sleep well?” he asks, this time emphasizing the word “sleep.”I glare at him, my jaw set. This mother fucker. Goading me. Poking at me. Gloating.“Fantastic, actually,” Imogen tells him, oblivious to the stare down happening between Seb and me. “Oh! Do you know what brand of mattress you use?” She jerks her thumb over her shoulder at the bed. “I asked Reid, but he’s clueless.”“I do not know,” Sebastian says, sipping his coffee.“Oh, that’s fine,” she says, waving him off and slinging her bag over her shoulder. “I’ll just ask Haven. See you later!”With that, she prances away, leaving me to face my worst nightmare by myself.“Sleepover, huh?” Sebastian says, taking another sip of his coffee.My fists clench to stop myself from smacking that steaming hot mug of coffee into his stupid, smug face. He jus
TARYN POV Evergreen trees sprinkled with snow rush by me as my feet carry me through their midst. The sharp, cold air stings my face. The scent of pine and snow and early morning sun is refreshing and invigorating, encouraging me to keep my pace as I finish this leg of my morning run. My thighs burn, but it is a good burn, a burn you only get from a solid workout, from an energizing run. I have started my day this way for years now — since the day of my first shift — and on the days I skip it, I can tell a difference in not just my physical energy, but my mental energy too. I crest over the final hill and the large, luxurious craftsman style packhouse comes into view, the sprawling lawn holding a fresh dusting of snow. I pick up my pace, the finish line of my personal race in sight, and let out a tiny “whoop!” as I reach the steps in front of the house. My steps slow, and the image fades, the virtual reality headset signaling the treadmill that the preset workout is complete. I rea
REID POV My knee bounces as I sit in Wesley’s truck parked outside of Rendezvous. It is one minute until six pm, and I should be inside already, but I am not. I grip the steering wheel, then grab my phone and send off a message to TearinItUp. Me: Running late because of the snow. Reservation is under the name Stephen. I toss the phone on the passenger seat and press my forehead into the wheel, groaning. I used my middle name for the reservation, since the entire premise of Date-to-Mate is to remain anonymous until you meet face-to-face. And because my original plan was to drive down here, sit around for a few hours, and then drive back home, so Sebastian will at least think I’ve fulfilled my end of the bet. But now that I am here, I am waffling on my plan. I can’t just stand someone up, even if it’s someone I’ve never met. I am many things — a player included — but a man who breaks his word and his promises is not one of them. And with my luck, that plan wouldn’t fool Seb, anyway.
TARYN POV Reid stares at me from his side of the table, those baby blue eyes wide and unblinking. He folds his hands on the top of the table, looks down at them and then back up at me. “I’m sorry, I — what?” he asks. I huff out a dry laugh and sigh. I still can’t believe my luck, that the best match the app could make for me was with a male who doesn’t actually want a mate. A male who doesn’t even date. How or why he’s even on the app is beyond me. “I said, since we’re not mates, there is no reason for me to try to wrangle you into another date.” He shakes his head, clearing whatever thoughts he has there. “Right,” he says, rubbing his short beard. “Right. That would — that would be silly. A waste of your time.” “We can even just call it a night now, if you want,” I tell him, though in my head I’m crossing my fingers that he says no. “No, no,” he says, lifting his hands, the veins in his exposed forearms bulging. “Like I said, I made a promise, and I’m going to see this through.
REID POV Once our date is over and I am back in the truck, I lean against the driver’s seat, my head tilted up to look at the ceiling. “What the fuck do I do now?” I ask the air. I had hidden my confusion, wrangled control of my wolf, and pushed both to the back of my mind for the remainder of the date, so I didn’t look like a complete fool. I’d put on a mask of confidence and acted like my normal charming and flirty self, so she wouldn’t grow suspicious. But now that it was done — now that I had paid the bill, and we’d said our goodbyes and parted ways — now I had to face the truth. She didn’t feel it. She didn’t feel the bond or scent me as her mate. I’m not sure why. I know she’s old enough — her profile had said she was 22 and no one can feel the mate bond until both mates are 21 or older. But the fact is, she didn’t feel it. I’m not sure how this happened, not sure what I did to deserve this, but it is obvious I am being punished. Maybe it’s because I mocked the mate bond for
TARYN POV “You’re home early.” I roll my eyes as I enter my apartment in the packhouse, unsurprised to find Blake parked on my pink velvet couch with the tv on, a ginger beer in one hand and a piece of pizza in the other. “Was it a bust?” she calls after me as I walk down the hall to the single bedroom. I just ignore her and start pulling out clothes to change into — plaid flannel pajama pants, fuzzy green socks, and an ivory waffle henley top, to be more specific — and take them with me into the bathroom. I peel off my turtleneck, skirt, black tights, and black ankle boots, toss the clothes into my hamper and the shoes into my closet, then throw on my pajamas and put my curls up in a high puff on the top of my head with a dark pink satin scrunchie, leaving a few loose pieces framing my face. “It was a bust, wasn’t it?” Blake repeats as I walk back into the living room and plop down on the other end of the couch. I pull a turquoise throw pillow into my lap and fluff it a few time