Page 11 of Hunting for Love

Zander lets out a shaky breath and the sound runs down my spine like warm water, pooling thickly in the pit of my stomach. “No,” he breathes out, “there was John but he never bit me properly. He’snotmy alpha.”

“Okay. Okay, cool,” I say dumbly, cursing myself for the bone deep relief I feel. It’s not my business that Zander isn’t mated. It shouldn’t make me happy to know he doesn’t have an alpha. Gods, I need to get a grip.

The last thing Zander needs right now is me being a creep.

“Ronny?” Zander whispers, just barely loud enough for me to hear. “Why are you here?”

I lick my lips, deciding to tell the truth. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay. I know we’ve only just met, but I care about you.” My voice softens, “I care about you a lot.”

“You don’t even know me,” Zander says back, but I can detect a hint of hope in his voice.

I rub the back of my neck, looking down at my converse shoes. “I don’t understand it,” I confess softly. “By all accounts I shouldn’t feel this way. But I feel drawn to you. That’s weird, right?”

“It’s not,” he says right away. “It’s not weird at all.” There’s a long pause where all I can hear is the water streaming down in Zander’s stall. Finally, he speaks again. “Do you know what true mates are?”

My breath stutters in my chest and my entire body freezes. “Yes?” I say though I know I sound like I’m asking a question instead of properly answering. I clear my throat. “True mates are two souls who are destined together. Lady Fate, the mother of the supernatural, destined them together and then does everything in her power to push them together. Is that right?”

“Yes,” Zander says and his voice sounds like liquid gold, washing over me and making my entire body somehow relax and tense at the same time. “That’s right, Ronny.”

I bite my bottom lip so hard I’m worried I might bite right through it. “Do you have a true mate?”

“Yes,” he says again in that same tone. The hairs on my arm all stand on end and anticipation fills me. My hands begin to shake. “I have a true mate, Ronny. I do. And I need him so badly right now but I can’t ask him to help me. I can’t. He’shumanand this is too much to ask for.”

“Ask.”

“Ronny, I can’t.”

“Ask, Zander.”

A whimper hits my ears and I look down at my jeans, finding them tenting terribly. My cock is rock hard and straining. Gods, I can’t pretend this isn’t happening.

“Ronny?” I hum, letting him know I’m listening. “You’re my true mate.”

I just barely keep myself on my feet instead of letting my knees buckle. Holy fucking shit. I’m someone’strue mate? Lady Fate saw fit to bring me my very own soul mate? She’s deemed me worthy of an instant-family? I’m overwhelmed. I’m breathless. I’m so incredibly turned on.

“Really?”

“Yes,” Zander says right away. “And I know this is a lot. You don’t have to help me,” he says gently. “You can go back to the camper and wait for me there.”

“I want to help you, Zander. However I can.” My head is spinning. How can he be so sure? How can he know I’m his true mate? What if I hurt him? What if I can’t actually help him during his heat? I’ve never even had sex before! How is some virgin gonna be able to help?

“I can smell that you’re panicking. Talk to me.”

I let out a frustrated noise. “How can I help you?”

“You can come in here and fuck me until I can’t remember my own name.”

Now it’s my turn to whimper. As good as that soundsin theory, I have no idea what I’m doing. “I’m a virgin,” I blurt out, ripping it off like a Band-Aid. “I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m sorry, Zander.”

“That’s okay. That’s fine. It’s okay. We can take it slow. We don’t have to rush,” Zander reassures, his voice soothing the worry I’m feeling. I believe him. But at the same time, he’s inheat. I have to help.

“But you’re in heat. Iwantto help.”

“I’m gonna open the door, okay? You can step in here with me whenever you’re ready. Or you can stay out there and keep talking, okay? Just having you here is helping, I promise.”

The click of the stall opening is loud in my ears, a signal that Zander trusts me, that he’s accepting me. I take a steadying breath, running my sweaty hands against the front of my hoodie before starting to take off my shoes. Part of me wonders the merits of just walking in there fully clothed but that doesn’t feel right. I wanna be on the same level of vulnerability as Zander, want to come to him just as bare and open as he’s being with me. That feels right.

I take my time, removing each article of clothing. I fold them neatly and place them in a pile near the door. Once I’m completely bare, I step towards the shower door. Just before I walk in, I pause.

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