Page 11 of Delivered to My Humans

A match? When I clicked on the email, I found it wanted me to download an app, adating, mating, all things relationships and finding your fated mateapp.

Mate? I knew the word. Shifters who came in often did so with their mates or spoke of their mates at home, waitingfor them, worrying about them. I found shifters fascinating. I’d devoted a good amount of time to shifter romance books of all kinds, not that I told anyone. Wasn’t ashamed of it, but my friends didn’t need to know my personal reading preferences.

Once the app was downloaded, I realized a profile in my name had already been made. It had all my stats complete and even a recent picture.

Someone had made this profile for me and, while I had an inkling to call Hale out on it, I wouldn’t. At least, not until I explored this so-called match and what it meant.

I also noticed that my account was linked to accounts for Hale and Idris. Idris would’ve never done this, but Hale? Yeah. He did it, but also, I wasn’t mad about it.

I nearly dropped the phone when I saw who we were matched to. An auburn-haired young woman with sass in her smile and a sparkle in her eyes. My heart thrummed as I took in the pictures of her and, at the end, she even put a picture of her cat.

No.

Wait a damned minute.

Her name was Audrey, and she was a cat. A domestic cat shifter.

Gods, I’d never been so attracted to anyone in my life.

I’d thought about what Hale said, about Eugene, and how we could maybe share a wife with our harried schedules, but I’d dismissed it since it wasn’t the norm. But nothing about my friendship with Idris and Hale was the norm. We never fought. Never haggled over money issues. Got along like brothers.

I wanted to share this life with them and, as I looked over Audrey’s profile, I realized sharing her with the two men I cared about most in this life wouldn’t be an imposition at all.

I’d never felt jealous of them, over anything.

An envelope icon popped up asking if I wanted to send Audrey a message. Hell yeah, I did.

Hello, Audrey, I’m Lachlan. I saw we were a match and wanted to see if you wanted to chat. Here or on video, whatever you’re most comfortable with. I look forward to talking to you.

Chapter Eleven

Audrey

Though the matches I’d had so far had all been duds for one reason or another, I still visited the app. Social media apps were addictive for the hit of dopamine they gave you, but this app? This one had a hold on me. I chalked it up to the fact that my future, a future with a potential mate or three lay in the results of their matches. And of course, I had enjoyed using them on those live broadcasts.

Everyone hated Mondays, but I loved them. Mondays were a new beginning and always felt like a fresh start. With my second cup of coffee in hand, I sat at my desk and decided to start my new commission. It wasn’t due for another month, but the requirements were large, and it would take some time to come up with the right design for the campaign.

The home screen flashed on my computer, and I took a deep breath. Starting a project was fun and exciting but it was also the hardest part. I clicked on the email from the company and printed the documents. Having a hard copy with me was always important.

As I read over the parameters of the commission, my phone beeped—several times. The Mail-Order Matings app had a notification tone unlike text or any other app. I paused and looked at my phone before picking it up. I was both intrigued and annoyed with the damned thing.

Sighing, I picked up the phone and checked the app. I had four more matches, new ones. I groaned, clicking on the matches, my hope for a mate or mates dwindling by the second.

The first couple were more rejections for me. Wolves. Lions. And even a pair of demons looking for a mate. They might be fun to show my subscribers.

The third match made me pause. I leaned back in my chair and couldn’t deny the way my heart sped up at their pictures.

Three of them. Three gorgeous, handsome men. All different and yet, each of them no more handsome than the others. They made something stir inside me.

Until I clicked on their information and realized they were humans. All three of them.

Gods, couldn’t a girl get a break?

I moved on to the last one, a hyena shifter who made my cat’s fur rise on the scruff of her neck. Not justapredator, hyenas werethepredators. No, thank you. I would have to sleep with one eye open around that one.

I put my phone on the other side of the room, beyond temptation, and started on my work. I found my flow and in only a few hours had an amazing start to a lucrative social media campaign. My stomach rumbled, and I realized that what I thought was a few hours was actually more. Five hours of solid, focused work.

This cat needed lunch.

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