I didn’t have manywelcomefeelings toward him, to be honest. He had caused me so much pain, and the fact that he would rather go insane than mate with me definitely wasn’t a compliment.

A minute of silence passed.

The relief on his face was still palpable when he lifted his head. “If you’re comfortable with it, I can put together a list of men strong enough to protect you. And laid-back enough to handle the pressure of being mated to a born-female wolf.”

I guess I hadn’t considered either of those factors. My plan had been shaky from the beginning.

I nodded. “That would be great. Thanks. I guess I’ll just text them all or something.”

“I can find out who would be interested, explain the situation, and schedule first dates. We can call them meetings, if it’s easier for you. Unless you’d rather do it the old-fashioned way.”

A relieved breath escaped me. “I’d appreciate that, actually. I’m not very old-fashioned.”

“I’ve noticed.”

I wasn’t sure whether that was an insult or a compliment.

But if he was going to set up meetings so I could pick a suitor like some chick out of Bridgerton, he could insult me all he wanted. The alternative was me trying to explain or convince people that Hunter was going to relinquish his claim on me, which was unlikely to succeed. The pack loved their Savages.

Plus, the awkwardness of dating.

Yikes.

“If you don’t want me involved, I get it,” he said.

“If you handle all the difficult stuff and I just have to meet with them, it will make the whole thing a lot easier. I can handle talking to a bunch of guys until I find one I’ll enjoy life with. I’m decent with men, usually.”

Hunter was the exception.

Not that I’d ever actually tried to make things work with him.

He dipped his head in a nod. “I’ll head out now to talk to a few men I know would fit the criteria, and schedule the first few meetings today. The sooner it’s handled, the easier it will be for us to both move on. My wolf is still going to have a hard time walking away from you when you go through heat.”

Which meant ideally, I’d find a mate before the next time I went through heat.

But the next full moon was only two weeks away, and a mate bond could only be sealed under a full moon. So…

That probably wasn’t going to happen.

Two weeks wasn’t enough for me to make a life-long decision. Not even close.

It would be about six until the full moon after that. I’d plan on finding someone ASAP and sealing a bond then.

I told Hunter as much, and he agreed readily.

Considering how excited he was to be free of me, I was pretty sure he would’ve agreed even if I told him he needed to shave his head and walk around on his hands for the next six weeks.

“I do have one request,” he said, still sitting on the floor. His expression was slightly more serious, and slightly more tense too.

“Alright.”

“You don’t have to go along with it, but?—”

“Spit it out, Hunter.”

He let out a tense breath. “My wolf is still on edge from smelling Clay on you. If you mate with him and your bond doesn’t break the wolf’s obsession, I could lose my brother.”

Oh.