Finn tried not to fidget with the way his flannel fell over the henley he had on underneath, and checked his phone again to make sure he wasn’t going to be late.
Silas looked up from a plate piled high with leftover chicken and broccoli pasta. “You’re asking me for fashion advice?”
Finn gave him a look. “I’m asking if I look ok.”
Silas shoved a bite of food into his mouth, chewing loudly. “Ok for what? Are you going into town or something?”
Finn huffed. “No, like, for a date. Do I look ok for a date?”
His friend gave an excited whoop and pumped his fist in the air, a stray noodle flying across the kitchen in the process. “A date! Finny! Tell me everything. Is he hot? Did you meet him on that app you signed up for?”
Finn sighed and dropped down into the chair across from him. “Yes, we met on the app. The one you all but made me sign up for, if I recall correctly.”
Silas waved a dismissive hand. “It was time you got out and met someone. You’ve been moping around for too long.”
“I have not been moping.”
Yes, you have.
Silas raised an eyebrow, and tucked back into his pasta. “Yes, you have.”
Finn huffed again. Fine, so maybe he had been moping. About six months ago, he’d lost his beloved dog Luna, and frankly he was still reeling from the silence and emptiness her absence left in his life.
He’d adopted her after getting out of the service eight years ago. The vet estimated that she was around four years old at the time, and guessed that she was some type of border collie mix. She had been found by the side of the highway.He’d named her Luna because she was a bright spot as he climbed out of a dark place after leaving the military and struggling to find where he fit back into the world, and he was grateful for the laughter, love, and joy she showed him everyday.
But if he were honest with himself, he had been going through the motions for a while even before Luna passed, and one night after dinner a few weeks ago, Silas sat him down and told him enough was enough. He needed to get out and meet people.
“You’re a ghost of yourself, Finn. I don’t want you to waste your life away like this.”
“Oh, and you live your life so fully, do you?” He’d thrown the words back at his friend, and watched Silas close off as they landed.
Fuck, he hated that. He’d immediately apologized, and asked if he had any grand ideas for “putting himself out there.”Softening, Silas had suggested a dating app, and even helped Finn set up his profile. He’d gone along with it mostly to mend the wound from his barbed words, even if they were true.
It was difficult for them both to meet people. Not only because the small town they lived in, Silver Rapids, had an even smaller dating pool, but because, well, when you could turn intoa giant wolf at will, or some jacked-up hybrid version of a wolf and a human, it meant any kind of relationship was short-term and superficial unless you were prepared to share that secret.
In Finn’s case, they’d never even got to that point, and usually ended in the same back alley they’d left the bar to go have a quick fuck in.
Sure, there were other shifters and paranormals in Silver Rapids that he could date, but even with them there was always a gentle tug on his heart, the softest pull telling himnot this one, not yet, whenever he’d chatted up some cute guy.
The mating pull. Or lack thereof.
Some shifters lived their entire lives ignoring it, content to build long-lasting relationships with someone they didn’t feel the pull to mate with. But for Finn, it just seemed pointless to be with someone he knew, deep in his bones, wasn’t the right person for him.
He wanted the mating bond—needed it. But he was also so terrified of it. What if he felt it, and the other guy didn’t? What if he felt the bond with a human, and they laughed in his face, or worse, screamed and ran from him in fright when he told them about what he was? What if they rejected him entirely, not wanting the commitment a mating bond meant?
Or, what if he never felt it with anyone, at all?
Finn’s phone chirped, and he hastily pulled up the new message.
I’m heading into Monroe soon to drop off something for work and then I’ll be on my way to Silver Rapids. Does 7pm still work?
I’m excited to see you tonight. :)
Finn replied right away, pride be damned.
Great! Yes, 7pm at Andi’s Restaurant. I’ll send you the address. I’m looking forward to it too, Jaime!
See you soon, Finn. ;)
