Page 16 of The Beta's Blind Date

“Hmph,” he grunts, his eyes darkening. “That’s stupid. A smart alpha would use every warrior available to them. We’re werewolves. Danger is part of our lives.”

“Like I said, it’s only a guess. He never said any of that to me, but I got the feeling those were his reasons, even without him ever confirming.” I shrug. “Maybe once he accepts that things are over between us, he’ll see he was being unreasonable.”

Claude approaches us from the kitchen, pushing out a cart with two covered dishes on top, and he gives me a polite nod. “Pardon my intrusion,” he says.

“It’s no trouble.” I wave his apology away. “You’re bringing us food. We can’t be angry about that, can we, Reid?”

“Not at all,” Reid agrees, laughing, the dark look in his eyes gone. “What do you have for us, Claude?”

“For you,” Claude says, lifting the lid from one dish and handing it to Reid. “Your favorite—thecoq au vin.”

“Fantastique,” Reid says, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

“And for you, Mademoiselle Taryn, I have made thesole meunière,” he says, lifting the lid of the second dish and setting it in front of me.

The delightful scents of butter and lemon fill my lungs, and my mouth waters, ready to enjoy the delicious fish.

“This smells wonderful,” I say. “Thank you.”

“Enjoy,” he replies with a smile and another nod, wheeling the cart back into the kitchen.

I place my napkin in my lap, and across from me, Reid does the same. He picks up his knife and fork, both poised and ready to cut into his meal, but then he pauses, looking at me and waiting.

I’m very aware of him watching me as I cut into the flaky, fresh fish, inhaling again as all the scents mix and float into my nose, teasing me with the hint of how it will taste. I try to ignore his eyes on me as I take my first bite and chew, savoring all the flavors as they combine to create a symphony in my mouth.

“Good?” he asks, and all I can do is nod in response, still chewing the delicious fish. “Good,” he repeats with a laugh, diving into his own meal now that I’ve begun mine.

“You know, if you ever want a fresh set of eyes or some pointers on your fighting form, I would be happy to help,” he says as we eat. “Seb and I have been running the warrior training at Crescent Lake for over five years now, and not to toot my own horn or anything, but we’re pretty damn good at it.”

“Thank you,” I reply, wiping my mouth with my napkin. “I’ll… think about it. But I don’t want anyone from Silver Ridge to think I’m cheating or getting a leg up,” I add.

“Well, the offer is on the table. If you change your mind.”

He smiles at me, that same killer smile he gave the server earlier, and I return it without a thought. He may have a reputation as a player, and I can’t say I don’t see why females are so willing to crawl into his bed, but he’s also kind and funny and smarter than he lets on.

Someday—when he realizes he wants to settle down—he is going to make some lucky she-wolf very happy.

Chapter 6

REID

Onceourdateisover and I am back in the truck, I lean against the driver’s seat, my head tilted up to look at the ceiling.

“What the fuck do I do now?” I ask the air.

I hid my confusion, wrangled control of my wolf, and pushed both to the back of my mind for the remainder of the date so I didn’t look like a complete fool. I’d put on a mask of confidence and acted like my normal charming and flirty self so she wouldn’t be suspicious. But now that it was done—now that I’d paid the bill, we’d said our goodbyes, and parted ways—now it was time to face the truth.

She didn’t feel it. She didn’t feel the bond or scent me as her mate. I’m not sure why. I know she’s old enough—her profile said she’s twenty-two, and no one can feel the mate bond until both mates are twenty-one or older.

But she didn’t feel it. I’m not sure how this happened, not sure what I did to deserve this, but it’s obvious I’m being punished.

Maybe it’s because I mocked the mate bond for so long. Maybe Selene decided to fuck with me by giving me a mate who doesn’t feel the bond.

I’m going to have to look into this more. Find out if there has been anyone else this has happened to. I mean, I can’t be the only werewolf in the history of ever whose mate hasn’t felt the bond back.

Can I?

I groan. “This is all so fucked up.”

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