1
DANE
The grill hissed. I leaned over it, tongs in hand, squinting at a row of burgers that were somewhere between “perfectly charred” and “too burned”.
The air smelled like smoke, spice, and a little bit of victory. For the moment, I had the backyard to myself. My brothers and their mates weren’t here yet, so chaos was absent.
It was only me, a cold drink sweating on the patio table, and the steady, reassuring sizzle of meat doing its thing.
It was really nice, like the universe had taken a wrong turn and accidentally given me peace and quiet.
Inside, I could hear my parents moving around the kitchen. Cabinets opened, plates clinked, my mom’s voice drifted in and out. I wasn’t trying to listen, I really wasn’t.
But my ears didn’t come with an off switch.
“How’s Dane doing? Seeing anyone?”
I froze mid-flip. That was my dad. Were they aware I could hear them just fine, while they gossiped about my love life, or lack of it?
“No, he’s still single,” my mom answered calm as ever.
Maybe she sounded a little too calm. How suspicious. I flipped the burger a little too aggressively. It landed with a smack that felt personal.
“What about that guy he was seeing? Tom? Frank?”
I stared at the grill like it might offer me an escape route. Tom, well it was probably Tom.Close enough, Dad.
“According to Dane, Tom didn’t work out.”
That was one way to put it. Another way involved the words “commitment issues” and “mysterious allergy to texting back.”
“He should start thinking about his future more seriously. In this pack and his future mate.”
I shut the grill lid with more force than necessary. The clang echoed across the yard, but it didn’t drown them out.
“I’m planning to talk to him later. Try to set him up with Linda’s nephew Ron.”
I closed my eyes. There it was. The ambush.
Ron, or Ronnie as most of my pack mates call him. Ron only talked about two things.
His great job with a big accounting firm, and his great passion…searching for the best artisanal beer.
I exhaled slowly and leaned my forearms against the grill, staring at the faint curl of smoke slipping into the air.
Focus on the burners and not burning them, I reminded myself, not the impending doom of maternal matchmaking. It wasn’t like I hadn’t tried.
I dated. I went out, and gave people a fair shot. Sometimes even a second one, which was generous, considering my attention span for bad dates had the lifespan of a mayfly.
But finding the right one? Yeah, that was still pending.
Meanwhile, Devon had packed up his life and moved to Thornebane territory to be with Carter, although he frequently visited us to appease mom.
Mark had Zack, which made him insufferably cheerful. Chris and Jaime… well, they had each other and a tiny dog, which somehow made them even worse.
Then there was Levi and Mason, who were newly mated.
That left me, the last unmated brother, and the family’s loose thread. My mom had decided that was unacceptable. The gate creaked.
