“Ah, yes,” Dylan said. “Because everyone knows the sweet, sweet smell of Jacksonville, Florida, should be bottled up and sold.”
That got a laugh from the group and a glare from me.
“Or maybe it’s the scent of a fated mate?” Nicky said with a coy smile. She was the youngest member of the pack. At eighteen, she knew what memes were cool, what phrases not to use, and how to bug most of the older members. She also apparently believed in fanciful children’s tales.
Everyone knew fated pulls were either a silly myth (ironic coming from me, I know) or just extremely, insanely, and undeniably rare. No one I knew personally could describe what happened when meeting a fated mate. And no one was going to wait around their entire lives torandomly cross paths with the one person out of a billion something who was their perfect fit. That’s why wolves still dated and married and fell in love without ever feeling that sensationalized pull toward another soul.
There were a couple of stories of a successful fated mate scenario, though. Most of them described an entire ritual that needed to be performed under a full moon in order to “consummate” fate and solidify the connection. It required consent from both parties, so even if a wolf stumbled upon someone fate deemed theirs, the other person needed to agree as well in order for it to become true. If one of them denied the connection, then the bond couldn’t be formed and—according to the rumors—both would slowly wither away from unhappiness and gloom. If they were both wolves, then they’d likely both feel the same exact tug of fate, and neither would hesitate to cement the bond.
But what if the pairing was wolf and human? What then? Was that even possible?
I decided to ask. “If it is… a fated connection, would he feel it as a human?”
Nicky nodded. “From the books I’ve read, yes. It’s happened a couple times. But the human doesn’t feel it as strongly as the shifter. But he’ll feelsomething.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“Were you attracted to his scent?” Emmy asked, clearly intrigued by Nicky’s suggestion. “Or repulsed?”
“Attracted.”
Emmy crossed his hands against his chest. He wore a black jersey, our team’s logo on the blue and white striped sleeves. “And you were drawn to him?”
“Like a fish caught on a hook.”
“That’s sounding pretty fated to me,” Nicky said.
“It’s not,” I reassured the group.It can’t be.
There were a few different reasons why I’d lived my life as a single bachelor all these years. The primary reason being that I didn’t mind being alone. The other, and more weighty, reason was because the world assumed (wrongly) that I was straight, and being on a professional hockey team meant that I flew under the radar for the most part. There were gay men out and proud on the ice, Eli being one of them, but I also saw the added scrutiny and attention they got. Some of it good, some of it bad.
All of it attention.
And attention was the last thing needed for someone who had an even bigger secret to hide than who he liked to sleep with.
So I buried that part of myself. It wasn’t that I didn’t satiate my needs; I just didn’t go looking for any deep and meaningful connections. There were a few guys spread around the country who were regular hookups for me, all of them having signed a pretty heavy NDA, so it wasn’t like I’d been celibate while being stuffed in the closet.
But what happened when that deep and meaningful connection potentially landed on your front doorstep?
Soren chugged the rest of his beer and set it down on the table with a clink. “It will make working on the team difficult, no?”
“It can,” Emmy said, eyebrow arched. “But if it really is a fated pull, then who are we to stop you?”
“You are my teammates, my best friends. You have all the right to stop me,” I said.
Raquel shook her head. “No, you’re mistaken there, Gabe. We’re also yourpack. And as a member of your pack, I want to see you happy, and I want to see that happen with your fated mate. Even if it’s the new guy in town.” She had an arm casually looped through Emmy’s.
Fated mates… could it be? What was the implication of that? And was it worth upending the quiet and calm life I had built up for myself?
A buzzing sense of anxiety flitted through my system. I licked my lips, bit at a hang nail on my thumb. I’d become so used to being alone. Actually enjoyed it—or so I thought. But I couldn’t help and notice the little spark of joy that seemed to have come alive in my chest the moment I scented Eli.
Did I chase that spark or snuff it out before it could catch?
I looked around the cozy dining room, filled with people I loved. The only people I could truly be myself around. The ones who could drop to their fours and take off running through the woods with me, howling at the moon and nipping at our tails. Raquel was right.
But she was also wrong. Very, very wrong. I wasn’t going to break. I wasn’t going to fall for some silly old wolves’ tale. It was simply a wave of lust. The guy was hot, and I wanted to fuck his brains out. I probably just needed to nut and get rid of this damn brain fog. That would solve things. That would keep me safe. Keep me hidden.
Protected.
“Whatever,” I said. “Let’s finish eating and then go for a night run. That sound good to anyone else?”
