“Here.” He handed me the mouse, which felt strange and plasticky in my hand. “Move the cursor around like this.”
Koto spent about fifteen minutes showing me the basics of the laptop, which he was obviously excited to do. I got the hang of it pretty quickly, and by the end of his little lesson, I just wanted him to get to the point.
“Okay, okay, I get it. What’s the big deal?” I asked.
“You are so sheltered,” Koto muttered. “Hang on. Look.”
He pulled up a colorful site with multiple portraits in a grid layout. At the top of the page stood the wordsPanthr.
“They spelledpantherwrong,” I commented.
“It’s not wrong, it’s the name of the site.” Koto rolled his eyes. “Do you get it yet?”
I peered closer to the screen, my eyes scanning over every portrait. They were all men I didn’t recognize. “Who are these guys?”
“Oh, my dear cousin,” Koto said with a sigh, patting me on the back. “This is a shifter dating site. Look, all these people here are single shifters who want to meet a mate.”
My brows raised curiously. “They want a mate?”
Koto pointed to the screen as he moved the cursor and selected a new filter. “See, now I got rid of every beta and omega. All these sexy guys on the screen now are alphas.”
Suspicious, I glared at him. “Are you pranking me?”
“No!” Koto cried. “It’s a real thing, I swear. See, just because you can’t find a man in the village or - hell, even if you don’t want a guy from the entire rainforest, you can find whoever you want here!”
Slowly, the plan formulated in my mind. “So, I just have to find an alpha who will agree to my plan to a fake marriage. That’s my ticket to freedom,” I murmured to myself. Then I asked Koto, “But how is he going to find me? What if he’s all the way across the world or something?”
“Am I supposed to hold your hand through this whole ordeal?” Koto muttered. “Use your imagination, Raja.”
“Fine,” I said. “How do I… advertise myself to these people?”
“You just make a profile. Click here.” Koto guided me through the process, helping me take a basic photo with the laptop’s old webcam feature and writing up a profile. It was basic, but there were details I didn’t want to add with my cousin looming over my shoulder. When it was finished, he said, “And that’s it! All you have to do now is wait for suitors to line up.”
“I see… How long does that take?”
Koto shrugged. “As long as it takes. There’s always a skewed ratio of alphas, betas and omegas on these sites. You’re an omega, so you’ll probably get a lot of hits right away.”
That both intrigued and repulsed me. At least I’d have an easier time finding a fake mate with more hits.
“Alright. What else?”
“I’m sure you can figure it out yourself."
“Fine,” I said, waving him off. “Then go away and let me look through these men in peace.”
Koto grinned. “You can actually keep the laptop for now. I’m not really using it for anything.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Sure. You obviously need it more than I do. Now go on and get out of here, I’m fucking tired and ready to pass out.” He shooed me. “Just let me know if you have any questions with it. And tell me if you find any sexy alphas that you want to bang.”
I picked up the laptop, tucking them under my arm. “I’ll do no such thing.”
Koto rolled his eyes. “Good luck, Raja.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Koto.”
Lugging the laptop and all its bulky accessories to my home among the trees was a bit awkward, but once I made it back, the first thing I did was set it up again. I sat close to the screen, which was the only light in the darkness, and continued toying with my profile. The bland, basic profile I made together with Koto was all but scrapped and replaced with the most flirtatious, tempting one I could imagine. I even replaced the normal profile picture with a racier one.
There,I thought, hitting the submit button.If that doesn’t get hits, I don't know what will.
Pleased with myself, I pushed the laptop away. I kept it plugged in and open so that I’d notice any messages instantly. But with the recentness of my profile, I didn’t expect anything right away.
Weary from the day’s stress, I yawned, collapsed into my bed and sprawled my limbs in every direction. I closed my eyes, feeling smug. If this plan worked out, I’d bypass my parent’s weird traditional rules and make a real life for myselfwithoutthem interfering all the time. All I had to do was wait for the right alpha.
And then the first message notification rang.
