Page 21 of You're Not My Mate

Rose swiped at the tears she had allowed to fall. She knew this was wrong and she shouldn’t keep crying over what she could no longer have.

“It’s fine.”

“Did you cry after he rejected you?”

She nodded. “Yeah, but I’ve tried not to cry since. It’s not going to solve anything.”

“But it might make you feel a little better.”

She doubted it.

It took her several seconds before she was able to compose herself, but when she finally did, she focused again on the man in front of her.

“You went on a date with your mate,” Graham said. “Tell me about that.”

“I don’t think I should.”

“Come on, you can read to me anytime, but you’ve got to give me some juicy gossip, and besides, I might be able to help.”

Rose looked away. “There’s not much to tell. The start of the date was awful. We went to the only bar in town, the Poison Bar.”

“Sounds evil,” Graham said. “I like it.”

Rose laughed again. “It’s not evil, at least I don’t think it is. Val, the owner, is a pretty nice guy. He’s hired me a few times. In case you didn’t grasp what I am, I’m a cleaner.”

“And trust me, honey, that sounds evil as well.”

“Not evil, but it does mean I’m able to clean up almost any mess. It’s what my parents were able to do for years.”

“Well, seeing as you know all about me and what I mightbe or might not be, I’m guessing you’ve cleaned up your fair share of bodies.”

She pursed her lips. “Yes.” It wasn’t exactly the answer she wanted to give him. “The transition is too stressful for some wolves, and they don’t make it.”

“Holy shit, are you kidding me?” Graham stood. “You mean there are some men and women who turn into giant fluffy wolves that don’t make it?”

She nodded. “Me, my family, we’re the cleanup crew.”

Graham started to pace in his cage. “That is not good, is it? I mean, if there are people, boys and girls, who are supposed to go through that kind of transition and the stress on their body is too much, then what hope do I have? I mean, I know I’ve changed.”

“Changed?” Rose asked.

“Yeah, I wasn’t always this way. I didn’t have muscle, and I could barely press my own body weight before Milton started spiking my food and coffee. I was small, Rose. I don’t look anything like my former self.”

“Do you have a picture?” she asked.

And much to her surprise, he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a single photo.

“I don’t know why I kept it, I think it was to try and remind myself of who I once was.”

She walked to the cage and Graham stepped close, slipping the photo through. Rose took it and stepped back.

She opened the folded photograph and looked at the smiling face of a man half the size of Graham.

“This is you?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s a little hard to believe, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Trust me, the first day I looked in the mirror, I freaked out. I thought someone was standing in front of my mirror. It took me a little longer to realize that the big hulking guy wasme.”

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