Page 7 of Daddy's Mail Order Mate

“I’m not joining Portsmill, Paige. That’s final.”

Her expression crumples briefly, and I harden myself to the guilt that sets off inside me. As much as she wants me to join her pack, it wasn’t negotiable. And not just for my own sake. She needs to focus on raising her own family and learning how to be a Luna. And the newly reformed Portsmill Packwas still too unproven for me to feel like she could spare her energy safely.

“I want to be able to help you more, Thorn.”

“You help more than enough.”

“I worry about you and your baby so much, big bro,” she insists, voice softening. I have to look away from her to keep my guard up. She knows just how to pry her way through to the soft spot I keep for her in my heart.

“I know. We’ll be—”

“‘Fine,’because of course you’ll be fine. But what if I want more than fine for two of the most important people in my life? What if I want all of my family to be safe and happy?”

“What are you getting at now Paige,” I wearily growl.

She leans back a bit and cradles her tea in both hands, clearly gathering her thoughts. And that’s when I have to worry most: when she actually takes time to think about what she’s saying.

“If you’re so deadset on not joining my pack, I can’t change your mind on it. And you won’t even join the pack near your house. But for me to feel alright with that, I need to know you have more help. So, I’ve been thinking… Let me make a match for you.”

My gaze snaps over to her, and I see the certainty in her rich brown eyes. I know that look very well; this was the bone she would choose to growl over for the indefinite future, come hell or high water.

“A match,” I skeptically state.

“Through the app. You know, the one I got together with Liam on?”

A somewhat disdainful grunt huffs out of me.

“That whole mess.”

“It all worked out,” Paige chimes.

Thanks to me,part of me wants to riposte, but I leave it there. While I do take pride in having been able to step in and save my sister from our old abusive pack members, I’ve never been one to peacock around. The work I’ve always done is best left unspoken and unacknowledged.

She goes on, clearly emboldened by the fact I haven’t overtly shut her down yet.

“But just think about it. You could find someone who could help you raise Rowan, and not have to worry about joining a pack. She could maybe even follow you around, since I know you used to live in all sorts of places for the job. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to see your son all the time, and know you’ve got a partner to help look after both of you?”

I scowl a bit, stoic aggression starting to get riled up. Each word comes out a bit more heavily than it normally would.

“It’s been a few years since you last got on my case about not dating. And I know you’re trying to convince me it’s just practical, when I know you just want to play matchmaker. I’m not interested in romance.”

She pouts pointedly over at me.

“As much as I want you to be happily in love, have your own sunshine woman to brighten up your life… I get that you don’t really think that way. But it’s not just about you, is it Thorn? You have Rowan to think about too. Wouldn’t it be nice if he could have a mother?”

A seething bite growls into my voice. “So I’m not enough for him.”

“Thorn,”she whines, “That’s not what I’m saying. You’ve been doing amazing; you’re an incredible father. But you can’tdeny the fact that having someone raising him with you would make things better forallof you.”

“I don’t see how getting roped into raising my kid would make things better for some random woman.”

Her eyes glitter and she smiles just a bit; I clearly just set her up for some stage of this argument she’s been planning for however long she’s been sitting on this idea.

“Do you remember how tough things were for me, before I joined the app?”

I purse my lips and stare in silence, knowing she’s trying to walk me into her court.

“Well,” Paige goes on, “There’s so many people that sign up for that service because things aren’t going well for them, and they’re hoping for an opportunity that can change things for the better. Love can always happen, but maybe you can just find a woman who you can take care of, and she can take care of you and little Rowan. I’ve heard from some of my packmates who’ve been trying the app that some of the people they’ve been matched with are packless and hoping to finally find other wolves, or people who were rejected by their mates, or need to get out of bad situations with their packs.”

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