Page 8 of Howliday Match

“Oh.” I glance around. The place is small and homey, the quilt I’m under obviously home-made and the large one roomcabin full of wood and warm in a way unlike anything I’ve ever seen. This place is obviously well-loved and taken care of.

I never was. I’ve basically been on my own since I was a teenager. Maybe before that since my parents could loosely be called parents. They both spent as much time as they could avoiding each other and by extension…me.

Did it kill me? No. Did it break something inside of me that recognizes love in any way, shape or form? You better fucking believe it.

I’ve spent the last fourteen years since I turned thirteen essentially on my own. This guy couldn’t possibly know what that’s like and my lip curls.

“What’s that look for, little sprite?”

“You said I’m your mate, right?” He nods his head. “So how do we fix that? Because I’m not looking to be any man’s mate or soulmate. However you want to put it.”

He grins. “Ah. I’ve been waiting for this.”

My brows climb all the way up to my hairline. He looks happy and I’m not sure exactly why.

“What have you been waiting for and why is it making you so damn happy to see whatever it is?”

“I was expecting you to start arguing with me way before this. I can already tell that you’re a woman that likes a good argument. Luckily for you, I’ve been waiting and I don’t take it personally.”

“You should,” I huff. “I don’t want to be anybody’s mate. It’s not me. At all!”

“Doesn’t matter. We don’t get to pick and choose who is our mate.”

“Are you telling me that we don’t have a choice?” I scoff. “I refuse to believe that.”

“Oh, you have a choice. I don’t. If you choose not to be my mate, you can go on just like usual since you’re human. I, onthe other hand, will have to deal with the loss of my mate. I will never have another one. You’re it for me.”

My mouth falls open on a soundless gasp. “Are you freaking kidding me? I’m not going to be responsible for someone not finding love. That’s insane.”

“Fated mates is a serious thing. If you choose not to accept what fate offers you, we will both struggle with a kind of sickness. Like an allergic reaction only this one is to the fact that I’ve met my mate and she refused me. My reaction will be stronger because I’m a shifter but yours…you will still feel some illness, some pain.”

I run my fingers through my hair. “Oh, three cheers,” I mutter under my breath. “This just gets better and better. I have no option unless I want to deal with a very uncomfortable, well I don’t know how long it will last but it sounds like it’s going to be miserable any way you cut it.”

He nods his head and I sigh, dropping my head into my hands. “So what do we do?”

CHAPTER 7

Raphael

This is more than I expected to get. I figured that I didn’t have a prayer of talking to her at all let alone talking to her about what we’re going to do about it.

“We could spend a little time together. Get to know each other and you’d find out I’m really not a bad guy. I’m actually a pretty decent guy.”

“I’m sure you’re a lovely man. The only reason all of this kind of has me a little off-kilter is that I don’t want a man.”

“I’m not a man. I’m a male. That’s what male shifters are called. We’re technically not human. We’re something more.”

“Interesting to know. Thanks so much.” Her snarky tone makes me smile again. I haven’t spent a lot of time around humans, female or male, and this one is just so much fun to tease that I almost don’t know what to do with myself when I’m around her.

That and the fact that I want to bury my aching cock so deep in her slick folds that I brand both of us with the feel, the taste, the need for each other.

“But I guess I understand that. What I don’t understand is how we’re supposed to deal with this whole circumstance. I have a life.”

“How old are you, mate?” She looks young enough to be underage and I’m not sure exactly how that works with humans. If she was a shifter we wouldn’t feel the mating bond until both of us were eighteen. But I don’t know if it works the same with humans and anybody I could ask isn’t around here and I’m not sure it’s something that they could answer either.

“Twenty-seven.”

“No shit!” My eyes almost bug out of my head and she rolls her eyes like she’s heard it all before.

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