1
Agent Stan Dutetre tried to pick up the phone in his office for what seemed like the hundredth time in a matter of a few short minutes.He had to call Command Sergeant Major Kalliopi Kouris, but he wasn’t sure if he could, and frankly, that made him feel a bit stupid.It was one lousy phone call, strictly business between him and the command sergeant major of MILF—the Milos Infantry Liaisons to Furry United Coalition.
Sure, he’d been the first on the scene to tend to her once he collared Zagan, but that’d been a given since Zagan tried to kill him.To the others, he just appeared concerned when he began tending her wounds and trying to wake her up from whatever awful thing the evil son of a bitch had stuck her with.Of course, his professionalism flew to the wayside once he carried her in his arms to the hospital while in his partially shifted form.He refused to risk her safety, so it was best he stayed on his toes while he had her in his arms.He would’ve let the paramedics do their thing, but they’d been short-staffed and wanted to come back for Kalliopi.Afraid of what was in her system, Stan wasn’t having any of that.He was familiar with the area, and avoiding humans was easy for him, whether in shifter form or not.
Being in partial shift was probably the major reason for his healing far faster than Richard, who needed the paramedics to bring him to the hospital.Stan probably should have had Kalliopi get into the ambulance, too.That would have allowed him to avoid all the suspicion and rumors that rose about the TLC—the horrible nickname, meaning “Tenderhearted Loving Caringbear,” that agents gave him, accusing him of being a secret matchmaker—having the hots for a MILF, but he’d found it physically impossible to tear himself away from her.
The wing he’d taken her to at the hospital on the Greek island catered to shifters, so he didn’t need to worry about human witnesses once he arrived at the hospital.The Furry United Coalition—FUC, for short—cared about keeping the shifter secret as their number one priority, and at least he’d managed to succeed with that task.He shouldn’t concern himself with what was being said about his personal life, which was plenty.Everyone who’d been there when SHIT— Shifter Hellenic Island Talks—went down, talked.He may be a good FUC, but the rumors made him believe he’d been slightly off his game.He’d shown a side of himself that his agents had never seen before once he’d seen the state Kalliopi was in.
The moment he saw her torn clothes, a serious need grew within him to maintain her modesty.The MILF could have been a major flirt for all he knew, but something told him she wasn’t.But that was secondary to the real reason he was overcome with a protectiveness toward her: she was his mate.He’d grown certain of it the longer he held her in his arms.
Most of the lovebirds on campus, especially the ones he’d accidentally matched together, were in their twenties and thirties, but since he was in his mid-forties, finding someone at that age was completely different.It’d been so long since he’d been in a relationship that he’d almost given up and embraced living the single life.Not being as promiscuous as in his younger years, he didn’t date much.Still, he’d occasionally buy a gal a drink at the local watering hole.If things progressed, he’d ask her out, but he never let the relationship go further than a third date.That was his sacred rule in life.
Part of that had to do with how demanding his schedule was.He was in charge of a lot of FUCs and their assignments, and frankly there were days when he didn’t want to give any out.He had the privilege of enjoying what he did, so it didn’t seem like work, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t stressful.And he had to face the fact that some parts of his job were dangerous—which was why a lot of his dates stopped after the third.He could understand women not wanting to worry about whether he was coming home that night.So much so he’d sometimes decide for them.He’d seen the glazed-over look so many times he just sensed they wouldn’t be able to handle it.Perhaps that made him a dick with some of them, but once he’d decided he didn’t want date number four, he never looked back.
Another part of him was convinced that he’d never encounter another soulmate in his life.Amiée Belanger had been Stan’s world, and he believed that from the first moment he accidentally reached for the same can of navy beans as she did at their local grocery store.He’d met no one more beautiful in mind, body, and spirit, and he’d asked her out right there in the canned-veggie aisle.She’d said yes, and after date four, they started looking for a place to move in together.
Others thought they were crazy, but Stan understood that Amiée’s bear accepted him right from the start, as his did her.He fell head over heels, madly, deeply for the woman he eventually married and bore a child with.For him, she was his endgame, but he lost Amiée the day she died in a car crash heading home to him.
It had blindsided him.This whole time, they’d thought he was the one with the dangerous job.He was a special agent, for goodness’ sake, and she was a simple advice columnist for a local rag.Her job couldn’t have been more mundane, and yet, that job wound up being more life-threatening than his own.When she died, he vowed he’d never let another person feel the devastation he did when he lost her—hence his three-date rule.
Then, enter Kalliopi.Forget three dates.They hadn’t had one and already Stan’s heart and mind were filled with fourth-date ideas.And he knew this was bad.So bad he couldn’t even pick up the phone.It was a simple gesture he’d done a thousand times in his life before.Why was this so different?Why was she so different?
Because you like-like her, you ass!
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
“Here’s the flight plan you asked for, Stan,” Richard said as he placed a bunch of papers on Stan’s desk.
Stan knitted his brows.“I have briefed none of this with our MILF contingent yet.How did you get the flight plan already cleared?”
Richard smiled as he placed a palm on Stan’s shoulder and gave him a wink.“You’ve played matchmaker for all of us; it’s about time someone does it for you.After all, you promoted me, remember?”
Stan’s mouth dropped.How could he have forgotten such a major detail?Of course, the liaison between FUCs and MILFs could push through the paperwork just as fast as he could.
“So that means…” He closed his mouth and swallowed because his throat became bone-dry.
“That Command Sergeant Major Kouris is headed to British Columbia.”
“Dick… what’ve you done?”
Richard stretched out his palms in mock defense.“Stan, I thought we’d got past this.You do remember I prefer to be called Richard?”
“Right.Richard.”Stan crossed his arms and let out a huff.“But that doesn’t answer the question I posed.”
“Stan, please.You would’ve done the same thing, and you know it.As a matchmaker, you have to?—”
“I’m not a matchmaker,” Stan objected.“And neither are you.You’re a FUC agent!Are you so caught up in the fanciful idea of matching me that you haven’t considered that you could’ve jeopardised this project of ours by bringing her here?”
“What are you talking about, Stan?She’s good at her job, and so are you.You’ll have our first cadets trained as good FUCs in no time!”
“Richard, that’s not what I mean!”
“Stan, you are the most career-orientated man I know.You’ll figure it out with Kalliopi.”
“You have no right to meddle in the affairs of my?—”
“Tenderhearted Loving Caringbear’s heart?Sorry, Stan, but you’ve been outvoted on this.We all saw you on the field with her when she fell.She’s your mate.We all know it, and we’ve all waited around for you to do something about it.Now, your time is up, and we’ve stepped in to help you along.”
