1

Being in the shifter world, it’s easy to believe in love. Knowing somewhere in the world, your mate who is made just for you is waiting to be found to complete your soul. For you to love, cherish, eat, sleep, and breathe for. I used to believe in love until I didn’t.

It first started with Tucker, my high school crush. My sweet, blonde hair, blue-eyed history study partner. I don’t know if I was bad at history or if I just wanted to have a reason to be close to him. I gave him my everything… my heart, my time, and all my firsts. He was mine until I found him fucking the school’s mean girl behind the bleachers and I didn’t need to turn 18 or the mate bond to tell me we weren’t meant to be.

Then, there was Nash. I met him while I was bartending saving up for college. Must’ve been my rebel stage, but there’s something about a bad boy giving you attention that makes you just crave it even more. And the more he gave, the more I wanted. We spent most of our time drinking and fucking. I didn’t realize that he was just using me to get free drinks and a workout until I was about to put my two weeks in. Made up some excuse about needing a change of scenery and barely said goodbye before he was out the door, and I never saw or heard from him again. Clearly, he didn’t want to wait to see if the moon confirmed our connection.

My last and worst mistake, Blade. I was already 18 when we met, so I knew we weren’t mates, but damn, was I drawn to him like fire. He said he was an investor; he gave dad more money than he could ever dream of; funding his research at the hospital. My dad threw himself into his work since my mom died, and I loved spending time with Blade. Our love was like a fairy-tale, or at least I thought it was, until, like the monster he was, blew up my world. I didn’t know he was a fucking hunter. He was going to sell dad to the highest bidder unless he paid him back. A million dollars, a million fucking dollars. Where in the hell was dad going to get that?

“Babes, call Auntie Ro and tell her you’ll take the job. It’s the only way to get you and your daddy out of this mess with Blade.” Tayven says as she snaps me out of the trance I was in, thinking of the choices I had made to get me to this point in life.

“I don’t know what to do, Tay, I don’t have that kind of money laying around, I don’t think anyone has that type of money laying around. The monthly stipend we get for mom barely keeps us afloat.” I look at myself in the mirror, sitting with one leg under me, as I rest my chin on the knee I have up. I’m dramatically flailing my arms out sighing through the speakerphone, I can’t help it. My life is a fucking mess.

Through the phone, I could hear the wind whipping past her windows as she drives to the club. “Sweets, you can’t keep pretending like the stipend is a never-ending money tree. It’s almost your dad’s fault for using it like it is too. But, you like fucking, right? If you take the job at Auntie Ro’s place, all you gotta do is look pretty and fuck a lot. May as well get paid to enjoy the ride, babe.” I can literally see her raising her eyebrows up as she says it.

“Tay, leave it to you to make being a high-end escort sound like a fairy tale. I know you mean well, but I’m not a whore. But I’ve got to figure something out fast.”

Tayven’s giggle comes through the phone loud and clear, “I hear you girl, but it doesn’t make you a whore. We like sex and you get paid for it, doesn’t get much better than that. Call me after your meeting with her at Mate Match. I gotta get in there so I can pick my outfits and get the best time slots.”

I can hear her rustling around and slamming her car door shut as her voice starts to sound more like a pant because she’s running into Sexy Stripe, the top of the line, shifter’s club. She could make a mean cocktail and shake her ass better than JLo which is why she was the most requested at the exclusive club.

“Later, bitch.” I sweetly call out to my bestie in which she quickly spews out her love you too and hangs up.

Rushing to get dressed and throwing my wavy locks in a high pony, I grab my bag and jump in my white Jeep coming to the realization that I had already made my next decision whether I liked it or not.

-----

“Layne, sweetie, it’s so good to see you!” said my aunt as she smothered me in one of her hugs. Her appearance is slightly deceiving, as you would never think the short, 5’5” blonde bombshell was a strong werewolf badass. Her curly blonde hair in a short, Marilyn Monroe inspired bob looks perfectly in place for almost looking like a mop of curls. She was wearing a gorgeous, turquoise blue silk blouse that fit her body seamlessly as it was tucked into a skintight, black pencil skirt paired with some killer black heels. She looked gorgeous toeing the line between devil and angel. She looked like she ran the world.

“Auntie Ro, I’ve missed you,” I said as I returned her hug. She was more my sister growing up than my aunt.

“Oh, no, no, Laynie dear. Here you will call me Ms. Monroe,” as I hear her heels echo off the tile floor almost like she was clicking her tongue at me. She turned around in time to see the ending of my eye roll and I see her luscious nude lips purse in a tight line.

“One, do not roll your eyes at me. It’s rude and you need to learn to control your reactions in public. Two, the first thing to go is that nose ring. Three, do not call me Ro. That carefree spirit died little by little while I was being dragged up through life.” Poor Auntie Ro… that small glimpse that she didn’t have it easy in life as she gives me that little reminder of the life she closes off to everyone else.

She was circling me like I was her prey, mumbling little nothings and notes to herself. I was scared to interrupt knowing she would correct whatever came out of my mouth. And my nose ring? That kind of sucks, even though I only wear it to give off that edgy look that makes people think twice before getting close to me. I eyed her as she continued to circle, envying how she had her life together and was the epitome of beauty and grace. Barely over the age of 30, but she looked no more than a day over 21. A mix of the perks of shifter aging and putting in the time and effort to perfect the image of a healthy, strong-ass woman in and out of the pack.

“Well, you are certainly beautiful, especially when we get you out of these and get you all fixed up and ready to go for your photo shoot to list you on the site,” she finally says as she’s looking at my outfit shaking her head.

“Wait, I didn’t say I’d do it Aunti-, I mean, Ms. Monroe,” I say as her eyes narrow at me. Her response is almost immediate.

“Didn’t you say you needed a lot of money and fast? Don’t be silly, Layne. You know this is the only way to make the money to save that fantastic brother-in-law of mine.” For someone that tsked me for rolling my eyes, you could hear the sarcasm dripping in her tone as she drew out fantastic while describing my dad. She doesn’t like my daddy, she never has. Something about how he thought he was better than mom since he had his “fancy hospital job.” I don’t know why she thought that when all my daddy did was love her sister. Sure, maybe he spent a few too many nights late at the hospital, but he was so good at his research, and he just wanted to take care of us. They were mates, of course daddy loved my mom. I grew up watching how heartbroken dad was not having mom with him. I saw his fake smiles and how he tried so hard to pretend everything was okay for me. I found all the bottles of whiskey he tried to hide. I saw the pictures of mom he tucked away in the books he read. I noticed how he made quilts out of mom’s shirts to sleep with at night, how he’d switch them, so he didn’t overuse them to keep her scent of cinnamon and honey fresh. But on our bad days, he would reminisce and tell me stories of how they met, how much we looked alike and say how he couldn’t wait until I found someone that made me feel like she made him feel. He did the best he could raising me alone.

“Well, yeah, Dad’s in pretty deep with Blade. It’s either we pay him back or he’s going to sell him to Goddess knows who because of how good his testing and research has been. Blade and his guild beat the shit out of him last week, pardon my language, Ms. Monroe. The doctors have him in a coma right now to help him heal, but he hasn’t woken up yet. They left his head alone, but they must’ve used some silver or wolfsbane laced something when they hit him. They cornered me before I went to the hospital to see him the other day and said if they didn’t get their money back, he was going to be sold, and then they’d come for me. Either way, I need a million dollars as fast as possible.”

Auntie’s eyes sparkled as she exclaimed, “Oh, Layne, if it can be done, I know you’ll be the one to do it. Do you think you can get them to agree to monthly payments?”

I sigh in frustration. “I’m sure I can get Blade to agree since we were a thing. I don’t know, I’m sure he just wants his money back whichever way he can get it.”

“Top dollar jobs only. I’ll put you to work right away. Come back in the morning so we can get you ready and have your pictures taken and posted to the website by noon.”

She sounds so excited, her smile wicked, yet still sexy, as my mind races into a whirlwind of thoughts. She said it can be done, she said I can do it. She has faith in me. I just need to have faith that she knows what she’s doing. Closing my eyes, dreading her answer to my question. “Uhm, do I have to sleep with them?”

“Laynie, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. If you want to make the most money as fast as possible, you should consider doing whatever you have to. But, in the contract, there’s a clause that you don’t have to. You get an extra twenty percent on top of the monthly fee, in cash. I don’t have anything to do with the exchanging of the money, so it doesn’t look like I run a shifter prostitution ring. But I make sure it’s worth it for my girls. So, the plan is I’ll book you out a month at a time. You’ll fly to whatever pack needs you, and you’ll do and be whatever he needs for the month. If you sleep with them, it’s because you want to. Once you see some of the men’s profiles on the site, you’ll think twice about not doing it.” She winked through her monologue.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” I whisper while internally thinking about what I’m about to do, reasoning through my head coming to the same conclusion as my auntie says it out loud.

“Of course you will, Laynie, it’s the only way to save your daddy.”

-----

I returned early to Mate Match’s headquarters the next morning, equipped with a coffee for Auntie Ro, and my own sweet caramel vanilla iced coffee that I knew I was going to need to get through this. I was washed, scrubbed, waxed, plucked, and moisturized more this morning than I had done in my entire life. It wasn’t for nothing because when I finally looked in the mirror before the photographer was ready, I almost didn’t recognize myself. My medium-length honey brown hair looked so shiny and was cut so perfectly that it was a style itself. My sun-kissed tanned skin looked flawless like I had been naked in the sun all my life. The dress she picked for me was a sexy, slinky, emerald green number that accomplished its desired effect of hugging my curves and fitting me perfectly. I looked like a sinful fairy plucked from a forest as I sat and got my pictures taken as the photographer directed me this way and that way, look up, look over there, pout, smile, look off into the sunset where you wish you could be. Nah, he didn’t say that part, but how I wish that were true.

Once I was done, I put my jeans and tight white graphic tee back on and headed to Ms. Monroe’s office. I poke my head in and see her sipping on her coffee and clicking about on her laptop.

“Laynie, get over here a look how lovely you are in these shots! Even some of the ones that you kept that nose ring in for look beautiful. You were made for this. You look just like your mother in this one here.”

“Wow, I look amazing, that’s me?” I asked in shock as she kept clicking on the Mate Match website. Goddess, I missed my mom so much. Trying to change the subject so I don’t get all teary-eyed in her office, “So, what do I do now?”

She clicked a few more times on her laptop and smiled. “Do you want to see your first assignment?”

I sighed, “Give it to me,” trying to pump up my self-esteem and brace myself for how good or bad this could be. Auntie Ro laughed and flipped her laptop screen around and my heart got caught in my throat.

“Holy shit, he’s fucking gorgeous.” I could feel the butterflies flutter throughout my stomach trying to make their way to my heart. No, I mentally scold and shoo the butterflies away from it, there is no such thing as love. But hot damn, was he breathtakingly handsome. His blonde hair, long on top, layered, and messy, but perfectly styled, begging me to run my fingers through it. His dark eyes so strikingly mesmerizing, and here I am getting lost in them even though it was just a picture. How in the hell did he need me to be his “mate”, something is not making sense.. how are women not falling at his feet every minute?

Auntie Ro bringing me back to Earth, smiles and says, “He chose you. His pack is one of our neighboring packs, but you’ll still have to stay with him for the next 21 days.”

“WHAT?!” I practically screamed. “Are you crazy? What do I do about my other jobs and everything else going on in my life?”

“Excuse me? Am I crazy? I’m not the one that needs to make a million dollars in a year to pay off their psychotic hunter ex-boyfriend to make sure he doesn’t sell daddy off to the highest bidder. Now sit down and shut up, there are plenty of girls that would kill to get some of these jobs!” Leave it to Auntie Ro to stare and spit daggers at me as I have my little freak out about what is expected of me. Goddess gave her the ability to tear a person down with a single look, and the devil gave her the tongue to match. Or her wolf just shoots it straight.

“I’m sorry. I appreciate your help and everything that you had to arrange and change around to make this work for me.” I said quietly. I sat back in the chair, put my head in my hands, and laughed at myself for what was about to become my new life. A new man each month. For fuck’s sake. I stood up, looked at my aunt, and as confidently as I could manage stated, “Looks like I’m your new calendar mate.”