Page 98 of His to Hunt

“I might,” I hum, thinking. “There’s another member of Silver Pack who believes Mother Fate forgot him. Maybe we can give Mother Fate a nudge, if he’s up for it.”

“We don’t even have to leave the penthouse for this one,” she says. “We can just do it in the living room, if you invite him over.”

“I don’t like the idea of performing one there even if Ingrid says it should be safe. We’ll do it at a different hotel. I’ll have Saul make the arrangements.” I pull out my phone and send the text.

By the time we land, we’ll have a location. I just have to call Donovan. He’s back in New Salem, but he can get here quickly if it’s important.

Once we land, I send Taryn to wait in the SUV and make the call. I’m not sure how he’ll take this, but I’ll offer it to him first before I start looking at other options.

“Victor? Everything okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I assure him. “How would you like to find your mate?”

He scoffs into the phone. “You’re trying to set me up on a blind date? I thought you found your mate.”

“Not a blind date. A ritual that will make Mother Fate remember you. Seriously. It’ll work,” I say bluntly.

He’s quiet for several long moments. “What do I have to do?”

“Come to Covington,” I say. “Saul will text you the location. Fly. We need to do this quickly.”

I was glad to finish one ritual today, and we’ll need to kill a little time, but we’ll get another one done tonight. That’ll be four rituals down and three to go: grandeur, wonder, and life. We’ll have to spend a few days figuring out where the miracle of grandeur should occur, but she’ll be the one who decides. She’s holding the leash right now.

“Donovan is on his way,” I tell my mate as I get into the Land Rover.

“Wow, okay. I guess he’s eager to meet his mate?” she asks.

“When you believe Mother Fate forgot you, the feeling never really goes away,” I mutter. “It’s like part of you is missing.”

“Is that your wolfy way of saying I complete you?” she asks, smiling.

“There you go with that wolfy shit again,” I snarl. “I’ve still got a switch left from your grandmother’s place.”

“Okay, no more wolfy stuff!” she yelps, but she rubs her thighs together and I catch the scent of her arousal.

“Let’s just focus on the ritual,” I growl, even though everything inside me screams otherwise.

We get to the location Saul sent us to and discover that it’s a conference room, rather than a suite or a just a room. Saul arranged food and a mini bar. I’m not sure this is what Mother Nature had in mind when she envisioned a Ritual of Fate. Then again, in her time, the oceans were never polluted and wildfires didn’t wipe out cities. The world was still balanced.

“Well, I was getting hungry,” Taryn says, walking over to look at the food. “Oh wait… Victor, this is catered from Frank’s Diner.”

“The fuck?” Storming over, I pause when I see the spread. “Wait, most of this food actually looks pretty good.”

“It… does,” she says hesitantly. “The restaurant consultants must already be doing well.”

“Or Saul just wanted me to see that my investment is paying off,” I shrug, grabbing a plate. “Let’s see how well.”

We fix some food and drinks, then sit down at the table. The food is surprisingly good. I wouldn’t have known it was from Frank’s Diner if there wasn’t a fancy new logo next to the food with several menus. They even offer delivery now.

“Frank is really turning things around,” she says, sipping her drink. “Maybe all those fancy places actually will be competition one day.”

“Perhaps,” I say. “As long as he doesn’t go and fuck it all up again.”

“Hopefully not,” she says.

We eat, drink, and talk for a while, then take a walk. When we return, I have a text from Donovan saying that he’s close, so we set everything up. I really hope this bowl doesn’t explode, billow smoke, or grow shrubbery that covers the room.

When Donovan arrives, I introduce him to my mate. He seems both anxious and nervous, which is understandable. His world is about to change in ways he can’t even imagine. I know, because I thought I understood what having a mate would be like, just enough to ache for it, but I was so fucking wrong.