Page 9 of Grin and Bear It

After Jash left, Artair remained at the table, gazing out at Enchanted Falls below. His friend’s suggestion had merit. Rust Leonid, as the town’s mayor and fellow shifter pride leader, understood the unique pressures of their position. His mating to Kalyna Foxworthy—a match that crossed species lines between lion and fox shifters—had caused quite the stir in traditional circles. Yet Rust seemed happier than Artair had ever seen him.

Before he could reconsider, Artair picked up his phone and dialed. Rust answered on the second ring, his deep voice carrying the natural authority of his lion shifter heritage.

“Maxen. To what do I owe the honor? Our budget meeting isn’t until Thursday.”

“This isn’t about business.” Artair hesitated, unaccustomed to asking for personal advice. “It’s about my grandmother’s latest matchmaking attempt.”

A rich chuckle came through the speaker. “Let me guess—formal dinner, carefully selected bear shifter female, subtle hints about the joys of cubs?”

“Emily Stoneclaw and her parents. Tonight.” Artair pinched the bridge of his nose. “Bryn says there will be ‘compatibility stations’ throughout the house.”

“Ah, the stations.” Rust’s amusement was palpable. “Obstacle courses designed to showcase your protective instincts, cooking challenges to prove your provisioning abilities, and my personal favorite—the den construction evaluation.”

“I’m thirty-five years old. I run a multi-million dollar enterprise. And my grandmother wants to grade my ability to arrange pillows into a suitable hibernation space.”

“Welcome to shifter traditions, my friend. You could always develop a sudden business emergency.”

“Tried that last time. She showed up at my office with the prospective mate and a picnic basket.”

Rust laughed again. “Your grandmother’s persistence is legendary. Though I wonder...”

“What?”

“If these setups truly annoy you, why do you keep attending? You’ve never had trouble saying no to anyone else.”

The question caught Artair off guard. He stared out the window, considering. “She’s getting older. These traditions matter to her.”

“And?”

“And nothing. Family obligation.”

“Right.” Rust’s tone suggested he didn’t believe this for a second. “It has nothing to do with the fact that, under all that corporate armor, you actually want what she wants for you—a true mate bond.”

Artair’s grip tightened on the phone. “I don’t have time for this amateur psychology.”

“Of course not. Far too busy being alone in that massive house of yours.” Rust’s voice softened slightly. “Look, I spent two centuries convinced I’d never find my true mate. Then Kalyna crashed into my carefully ordered existence, and nothing’s been the same since. The right mate doesn’t come through careful clan planning or compatibility stations.”

“So what’s your advice? Beyond developing a sudden case of shifter flu?”

“Go to dinner. Eat your grandmother’s food. Be polite to Emily Stoneclaw. Then explain—to both your grandmother and the Stoneclaws—that while you respect their traditions, you’ll know your mate when you find her.” Rust paused. “And maybe stop hiding from the possibility altogether.”

“I’m not hiding,” Artair protested.

“Really? When was the last time you let anyone see beyond the CEO facade? When was the last time you shifted and ran under the moon just for the joy of it, not as some scheduled stress-relief exercise?”

Artair had no immediate answer.

“That’s what I thought,” Rust continued. “You won’t find your mate in the boardroom, Artair. Or at carefully orchestrated clan dinners. You’ll find them when you least expect it—probably in the most inconvenient way possible.”

“That’s remarkably unhelpful advice.”

“Yet entirely accurate.” Rust’s tone lightened. “In the meantime, if you need an emergency extraction from dinner tonight, have Bryn text me. Kalyna and I can create a very convincing town emergency requiring the immediate attention of Enchanted Falls’s most prominent bear shifter.”

“I appreciate the offer.” Artair glanced at his watch. “I should get back to the board meeting. Hargrove’s probably trying to rewrite the agenda in my absence.”

“Good luck with the wolves in the boardroom and the bears at dinner.” Rust chuckled. “Though between the two, I’d face Hargrove any day over your grandmother when she’s in matchmaking mode.”

ELEVEN

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