Page 11 of Fated to the Wolf Prince

“Good idea. When in doubt, caffeinate.” She fist-bumped Shay, then both of them looped arms around me again and hauled me to my feet. “We’ve got hotties to stun, and we can’t do it without the proper amount of liquid enthusiasm.”

Twelveminutesand the most enormous cup of to-go coffee we could find in the dining hall later, the three of us stood just inside the barn doorway, looking at the posted instruction sheets.

Hour One: Women will remain in assigned seats, men will rotate.

Fifteen-Minute Break

Hour Two: Men will remain in assigned seats, women will rotate

Fifteen-Minute Break

Catching the gist, I scanned down to see the list of assigned seats and let out a relieved breath when I saw that we weren’t right next to each other, but the three of us were at least all in the same row.

“We’re in row seven,” I announced, pointing to our names.

“Let’s get this show on the rizzy!” Leigh clapped and rubbed both of our shoulders before leading us past the first few rows, where nervous wolves milled, most of the females already sitting, chatting with their neighbors. Shay’s seat was closest, so she sat between a fiery, pint-sized redhead and a dark, lovely brunette with deep brown skin and a foot of height on her. A few seats later was Leigh, but she turned to me before sitting.

“Do you want me to walk you to your seat first?”

I hated the worried look in her eyes when she should be focusing on herself and finding her own mate. Leigh was too generous for her own good, and despite the pain she’d been through in the last six months of her long-term boyfriend findinghistrue mate and leaving her, she was still focusing on me and not on her chance to find the love she’d been after since her teen years.

“No,” I said, trying to infuse every bit of backbone I possessed into the word. “Don’t worry about me, okay? This is a room full of hot, single men looking for their forever love. You focus on you, and thehotties,” I used her word with relish, “about to fall in love with you, okay?” I gave her hand a determined squeeze. “I’m going to be like three seats over. If I faint, you’ll be first to know.”

“No joking about fainting,” she growled, pointing an accusing finger at me.

“Pssh, I’m going to be fine. Bored, but fine.”

With a sharp nod, she took her seat, and I hurried the last few tables over to my assigned number and sank gratefully into the cushioned chair. The few minutes before the start time felt like eternity as I looked around the room, taking in the soaring, rough-hewn ceiling beams, oversized windows, and sawdust floors. This really was a barn, and not the fancy, million-dollar rustic wedding kind. It had the faint scent of oil, mixed with the sawdust beneath my shoes and the rich earth and pine that permeated everything here.

My butt had barely touched the seat when a stream of men started pouring in through the big, open barn doors. My nerves ratcheted up, sending anxious butterflies careening around my belly like drunken sailors. Was Kane going to be in this group of men? I bit my lip, scanning all the unfamiliar faces. I did see the men from our own pack who I recognized, and the few who spotted me gave polite nods, but their eyes were wide and eager for other, new females. It might have stung if I weren’t avidly looking for someone else too.

There, toward the back.

He wasn’t in the crowd, mingling, but he stood just outside the far door, scanning the gathering, lingering here and there on another wolf before moving on.

Protective. Alpha. My wolf rumbled inside, and I rubbed hard at the spot dead center of my chest where the sound wanted to escape. Her feelings added to mine were leaving me flustered and split. I was annoyed with Kane. Sure, there was a physical pull, but also he was a pompous, overbearing ass with a whole lot of over-the-top ego. We weren’t going to talk about how that translated into panty-melting, heart-stopping, palm-sweat-inducing energy.

No, definitely not. His eyes reached the row where I sat, and I pointedly looked down at the small wooden table in front of me. It was simple, wide planks cut from rough-edged boards, but made with care. I could swear I felt Kane’s eyes burning tracks down the side of my face, but stubbornly refused to look back up.

A she-wolf, heavily pregnant and reclining in a big, cushioned chair with an anxious-looking male at her side, blew a whistle. Everyone froze, and I resisted the urge to make a joke in the resulting silence about Pavlov’s dogs.

Barely.

A small argument broke out between the she-wolf and her mate, but in the end, she stayed seated with a huff and accepted the megaphone that he passed her.

“Hello, hello, everyone! We’re so glad you’re here, and you’re going to have so much fun the next few weeks!” She waved enthusiastically, and I instantly liked her. She was vivacious, and the wide smile on her face was genuine. Her ankles may have been puffy—my trained doctor’s eye clocked it from across the room and made a mental note to introduce myself after the activity and ask if she’d tried any ginger compresses—but her spirit was high.

“My name is Gracelyn, and I am the organizer of all the activities this week. If you have any questions at all, you can come and see me—” A snarl ripped from her mate’s throat, and she gave him a pointed look over the top of the megaphone, before amending her statement. “You can come see one of my assistants.” She waved over to four volunteers, each wearing a whistle of their own, like we were at some sort of twisted singles summer camp. “And myassistantswill notify me if needed. Now, today is speed dating, to get some basic compatibility flowing, but there is so much more coming. Just you wait! And for any true mates that are identified and confirmed by the Alphas, I’m working on some fun, secluded activities to let you get to know your one true love, in style.”

Her eyes sparkled as she looked down at the clipboard in her lap. “Okay, the order is posted on the wall, and men, you’ll be rotating to the left this hour. Ladies, please stay seated. We’ll blow the whistle every five minutes to let you know it’s time to shake hands and move on. Ready, set… Go! Meet your true loves!” She grinned as she passed the megaphone back to her mate, who handed it to one of her many volunteers. I tracked Kane with single-minded focus as he approached the line of tables in front of me, until a broad chest blocked him from view.

When I looked up, a smiling Gael was standing in front of me. He’d been next to Kane, but I never saw him move. Heat filled my cheeks, and I waved for him to take the seat in front of me.

He pulled it out and sat with a brief smile. “Good morning, Brielle, how are you?” he asked politely, though the smile hadn’t reached his eyes.

“I’m okay. I admit, though, I’m surprised to see you here. It seemed you three were running things, not participating.”

He chuckled, the sound a low rumble in his chest as he dropped his wide, tanned hands on the table between us. “Even we don’t get excused from the high alpha’s scheming. If he says everyone unmated, we say yes, sir.”

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