Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Harlan blinked. “I’ve never even heard of this website.” His pale-blue eyes slid to his Beta. “Have you?”
Leaning back against the wall, Astor nodded. “More and more shifters are using it.”
In terms of appearance, the two males couldn’t be more different. Harlan was dark, stout, and barrel-chested. Astor, on the other hand, was slim and long-limbed with hair so blond it verged on white.
Harlan’s attention resettled on her as he sighed. “I suppose I should have expected that you’d want to be gone from the pride before Nazra and Zaire ascend.”
Quinley didn’t just want to be gone, she needed to be gone. She couldn’t live under their rule. No way. Her cat wouldn’t stand for it even if Quinley was prepared to do so.
It was hard enough for her to see them together—something that was thankfully uncommon, since they’d moved to his pride on claiming each other. Quinley suspected that Harlan had pushed for that transfer, worried that an imprint bond wouldn’t form if Zaire was near his true mate. Because, although Zaire and many others had insisted it was all in Quinley’s head, Harlan hadn’t doubted her.
It was five years ago that Zaire and Nazra had finally mated. Harlan hadn’t been willing to make them the Alpha pair straight off, however. He’d insisted they wait until they’d not only imprinted on each other but were solid enough that all could be certain the bond wouldn’t crumble.
Imprinting could take weeks or years to start. Sometimes the process kicked in swiftly only to be dragged out for a long time; on other occasions, the bond formed during a short period.
Quinley doubted anyone had expected that Zaire and Nazra would take so long to be declared “solid.” She sometimes wondered if maybe Harlan had delayed making the declaration for so long because he hadn’t wanted to give up his position. Alphas generally didn’t step down easily.
“I thought maybe you would ask me to organize a transfer,” said Harlan. “You don’t have to mate someone in order to have a place in another pride.”
“I know that. I want to do this.” Quinley had tried finding a mate the traditional way. She’d dated people from both inside and outside the pride, always open to having something more. But it either hadn’t worked out, or the male in question had intended to wait for his true mate.
What she needed was someone on the same page as her. Someone from outside the pride, so she could transfer from hers. Someone who wouldn’t want to move slowly. Someone who would fit her well enough that imprinting had a high chance of occurring.
Enter FindYourMatch.com.
And Isaiah Hale.
“You’re certain of that?” Harlan asked her.
She gave a decisive nod. “Positive.”
“And what about your cat?”
“She’s on board. She wants a mate, kids, a bond, the whole shebang.” What the feline didn’t want was to be anywhere near Zaire or Nazra, let alone pledge her loyalty to them.
Yes, the cat was still furious at him. She didn’t wish he’d made different choices, though. The animal thought him unworthy of her.
Quinley’s fury had been dead a long time. She hadn’t cried or raged when the pair had finally mated. Instead, a cold acceptance had settled over her. She’d made peace with the fact that she’d never experience a true-mate bond—something that bothered her more than his rejection at this point, because there was too much resentment there for her to pine for him.
But just because she’d made her peace with it didn’t mean she had any intention of answering to him or his chosen mate. Much like her cat, Quinley was not prepared to owe either of them anything, let alone obedience. Nor would she allow them to have any control over her life. She certainly couldn’t swear fealty to them—the words would be a lie.
Harlan leaned forward, resting his clasped hands on the desk. “People don’t enter into an arranged mating lightly.”
“I haven’t made the decision lightly.”
“You’re only in your mid-twenties. You have years ahead of you; years during which you might meet and mate someone the old fashioned way.”
“This way is faster.” And the old-fashioned method had so far failed her. “It’s not like this male is someone who I may have nothing in common with. The site only suggests pairings that suit.”
“She has a point,” Astor chipped in.
Harlan narrowed his eyes at the Beta. “And how can she know he answered his questionnaire honestly?”
Astor frowned. “It wouldn’t have served him to be dishonest, since he’d want his mating to be successful.”
Exactly. “You arrange matings all the time, Harlan. I don’t see why you’d be trying to talk me out of one.”
She hadn’t expected him to be bothered by her decision. His mate wouldn’t have, so Quinley kind of wished the woman wasn’t off visiting relatives—Nel would no doubt have helped speed things along.