Chapter 1
…a new scent reached Zane, making his mouth water. Stopping, he searched the pub, trying to find its source, acutely aware of what had just happened. His eager wolf pushed forward, and Zane’s cock grew hard as he scented his Fated Mate.
—ShadowVoice
Zane’s eyes roamed the Wolf Pack Pub, searching for the source of the delicious scent but were unable to zero in on the source. The place was packed with shifters—a lot more than he’d expected. He’d arrived for his Scottish vacation yesterday and Dakota had raved about the food at the pub, so tonight’s dinner was supposed to be a welcome party for him and a good-bye for Dakota and Slate who were heading home tomorrow.
But now, none of that mattered. Zane’s wolf began pushing through and he could feel hair growing on his arms and his fangs beginning to descend; his wolf was signaling their mate was in danger. His eyes kept searching, carefully scrutinizing everyone in the pub, wishing there was some sign pointing to his mate.C’mon, give me something—an arrow, a beam of light—something, please!Growing desperate, he found it harder and harder to control his wolf as more of the delicious scent floated past him. A hand suddenly grabbed his arm, causing him to snarl.
“Hey, are you coming? They’re waiting for us,” said Fionn, the young dragon and newest member of the pack. Waving his other hand, he pointed toward the waiting group.
Zane’s eyes briefly landed on the pack’s bear shifters, Theo and Norm, standing next to Miss L, who was chit-chatting excitedly with his brother Logan and his mate, Kieran. Off to one side, Dakota and his mate, Slate, were explaining the history of the pub to Zane’s brother, Colton, his mate Ian, and Ian’s parents, Lili and Samuel. Realizing Zane wasn’t with them anymore, their eyes turned to him, waiting for him to join them by the stairs leading up to the private dining room. Instead, Zane was frantically trying to locate his Fated Mate.
“Shit! My Fated Mate is here,” Zane exclaimed, “but I don’t know who he is. I can’t leave until I find him. Go! I’ll follow as soon as I can.”
“Can I help?” asked Fionn.
“I don’t know,” Zane answered, his eyes remaining on the shifters in front of him. “All I know is his scent…orange blossoms, cypress and sagebrush. Can you sniff out who it belongs to?”
“Not from here, but I can walk around and see if I can find him.”
“Good idea. You go that way and I’ll head this way.”
“Okay, but Dakota’s coming our way. I think he wants to know why we’re not joining them.”
“Fuck! I’ll talk to him, please just go and sniff for me.”
Dakota reached them just as Fionn hurried off. “Zane, what’s the problem? And where’s Fionn going?”
“Kota, I found my Fated Mate! He’s here, I can scent him,” Zane said excitedly, “I just don’t know who he is. Fionn’s trying to sniff the shifters on that side and I’m gonna do the same on this side.”
Dakota grinned before it registered what Zane had just said about Fionn. “Oh, no, he can’t do that! There’ll be a shitstorm if one of the shifters catches him at it. Just a minute.” Dakota looked toward his mate, gesturing him over as he began briefing him through their mind link about Zane’s dilemma.
Slate smiled with surprise after hearing the news and passed it on to the group. “Zane scented his Fated Mate but doesn’t know who it is. Fionn is searching and sniffing in hopes of finding him. C’mon.”
“Fuckingbedammed! That isnota good thing,” said Logan. “Colton, Ian, would you please take everyone to the private dining room while Slate, Kieran and I save Fionn from a fight and see how we can help find Zane’s mate?”
“Sure,” Colton said, eager to get his pregnant mate safely sequestered from a potential fight.
“I need to stay and help Fionn if there’s a fight…he’s family,” Theo said.
“There won’t be any fight,” growled Logan.
“You don’t have to worry about Fionn, Theo,” said Kieran, “I promise you I’ll protect him. Please go with Colton and Ian.”
“C’mon, hun,” Norman said, “Fionn will be all right.”
Theo looked at Kieran, “You’ll get us if Fionn’s in trouble, right?”
“I promise,” Kieran said, crossing his heart with his finger.
Nodding, Theo turned to Norman. “Okay, let’s go.”
Slate paused for a moment, watching the group climb the stairs to the private room he’d reserved, then smirked. “Let’s go see about this latest surprise.” Leading Logan and Kieran over to where Dakota and Zane were standing, Slate grinned. Grasping Dakota’s hand, he said, “So, Zane’s found his mate!”
“No, I haven’t!” growled Zane, agitatedly. “I just know he’s here. My wolf and I can scent him, and I have to find him…now!”
“Logan can you go get Fionn before someone gets pissed off about being sniffed?” asked Slate.
