And maybe, just maybe... One of them would be the mate I was destined for.
* * *
The mouth-watering scentof Puff Patisseriefloated over to me a mile away. As a shifter with lion characteristics, I had an excellent sense of smell. This was a bad thing, however, when I was trying to approach the bakery without drooling everywhere.
I hope they have those Napoleon cakes I like,I mused.
I pushed the door open and waltzed up to the bulletin board. My advertisement was the only one there, which both made me feel special and like a douchebag. I knew the only reason the manager let me put up my ad was because I poured so much money into her business. I didn't want to be put on a pedestal or treated differently, but at the same time, I knew she was doing me a big favour, even if nothing had come out of my efforts yet.
I sighed as I pulled down the old, used-up flyer and pocketed it to recycle later, then I tacked up the fresh one in its place. I scanned the paper. Now that Ulysses mentioned it, it did look a little gaudy and out of place even in an upscale establishment like this one. Should I have designed a more modest one?
The hair on the back of my neck tingled as if someone was staring at me. When I turned around, I saw three people.
One was a green-haired person of indeterminate gender; the second was an adorable little girl in a fashionable bright pink dress. And the third, a chubby-cheeked man in his late twenties with dirty blond hair—
I sucked in a sudden breath. My blood buzzed like an electric current ran through my veins. The floor beneath my feet wavered like I was floating on air, and the world around me realigned, as if shifting into proper focus for the first time in my life.
That man was my fated mate.
3
Chris
Holy crap.
Forest was not kidding about how attractive that mystery man was. My cheeks warmed as I stared at him. I was frozen, unable to rip my eyes away. And even if I could, I didn't want to. I wanted to stare at him for hours, to take in every inch of his form, to etch it into memory.
The strange feeling intensified as the stranger locked my gaze. He had the darkest, deepest eyes I'd ever seen, like bottomless pits of black ink.
I wanted to be closer to him.
My own reaction shocked me. He was a good-looking stranger, sure, but this sudden urge to know him was crazy. He was just a guy, just a freaking alpha, not some kind of mystical being.
Nobody spoke. The moment dragged on. It felt like me and the stranger had been transported to a private space where only the two of us existed.
My heart clenched. What the hell was going on?
I was jolted out of my reverie when Zoey tugged on my hand impatiently.
"Daddy!" she complained. "Hello!"
I shook my head and gasped, realizing I'd forgotten to breathe this whole time.
"Hi, sweetie, sorry," I said. "What were you saying?"
"I said I'm bored and I want to go home."
"Right." I cleared my throat. My daughter's wish gave me the strength to tear my eyes away from the stranger. "We should get going. See you in a few days, Forest."
But as I took a step towards the front door, Zoey pulled out of my grasp. She ran towards the bulletin board and pointed at the brand-new flyer the mystery man put up.
"Ooh, so pretty! I like the gold letters."
The handsome alpha grinned. "You like them, huh? Me too. But you know what I like more?"
Zoey tilted her head. "What?"
"Your dress. I mean, that's the most stunning dress I've ever seen! That pink, sparkly fabric is to die for."
