“Not at all.”
“My five-year-old niece gave the shirt to me last Christmas. There isn’t a single tiger shifter in our family, yet she’s obsessed with tigers. Has a whole collection of tiger dolls and stuffed animals. I’ve never worn it. But it was in my dream. Everything else was in it, too, this nightclub, the bar. Except for one thing… ”
“He didn’t show up?”
Freid gave me an exaggerated pout and shook his golden head.
“Did you get a look at him in your dream?”
“Unfortunately, no. But there was a scent. Something I can’t quite remember. It was there and then I woke up and”—he waved his hand between us—“gone.”
“Wow.”
“But I came here anyway.” He hung his head. “Sounds ridiculous, yeah?”
“Not really. Not as ridiculous as my night. I hate blind dates. I don’t know why I agreed to it in the first place.”
When the appetizer plate showed up, it seemed the right thing to do to share it with another lonely alpha. He ate quite fast, as if starved, three-quarters of the plate gone before I could grab a second taco.
He looked up, all sheepish and, well, cute. “Sorry. I was hungry. This is on me, okay? I’m going to order another.”
“You don’t have to—” But before my protest finished, he’d flagged Shannon and ordered us two more beers and another set of appetizers.
That gesture went straight to my core. At that moment, I knew we’d become instrumental in each other’s lives. I saw the future, almost like his dream, and he was in it.
Yes, beautiful stranger.Mine.
My tiger wanted him, too. But it wasn’t the offer on the table. Freid’s dream was about waiting for someone else. Not me. But nothing said we couldn’t become friends.
And I was right.
Over the next three years, we met every Friday or Saturday night at Animals. Sometimes both nights. My feelings for Freid secretly grew. My tiger kept insisting, alpha aside, he was my mate. But it wasn’t to be. Freid was steadfast, the type of wolf who never gave up. He was waiting for someone else, not me, and always wearing that flashy tiger T-shirt like it was a beacon to Fate.
I loved him. Everything about him. We texted a lot. We exchanged birthday and Christmas gifts. But the more my tiger and I wanted him, the more I had to remind myself it wasn’t to be.
Had I fallen in love with him? I had to be honest with myself. The truth was, Ihadfallen for him. But it wasn’t meant to be. That was that.
I gave myself and my tiger lectures often. “He’s waiting for his fated mate. That isn’t me.”
Beautiful stranger not ours?
“It is what it is,” I whispered to my tiger every night before falling asleep. “He’s not ours and never will be.”
Chapter Three
Penn
Today was Friday, my absolute favorite day at work. I’d moved to San Diego to work at this branch of the library a few months ago, and because I was the most recent arrival, I didn’t have a set position like many of my coworkers. I wasn’t running the circulation desk or on duty as the nonfiction specialist or the children’s librarian.
Every day was a new adventure, except for Friday afternoons. Our children’s librarian was off then because her children had a half-day at school, so I got to do story hour. I wasn’t sure I’d ever want to be a full-time children’s librarian. There was so much more to the position than reading books with children and it hadn’t been my area of study at school. But one afternoon a week only doing the fun part? Sign me up.
I’d spend all week finding the perfect books to share with the children. Sometimes, I’d choose based on a theme, like the season of the year or a particular color. Other times, I’d look for a type of rhyme I thought would be fun or a book that had a song with it. Today was a song day.
We had a hardcore group of children who came every week with their parents, some multiple days a week. Library time was part of their schedule. But, other than that, you never knew if you were going to have ten children total or thirty. Today was closer to thirty because a local daycare was bringing their three-year-old class with them.
I sat down with the books at my side, looking at all the children and their grown-ups. The first time I had a group this large, I was terrified, afraid the more kids, the more difficult it would be to get through the books. It turned out to be one of the best story hours ever. Now, I looked forward to field trip days.
“Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Librarian Penn. Are you ready for one of my favorite books?”
