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"Absolutelynot," I said, and had the supreme pleasure of watching their jaws drop as the doors slid shut.

3. While the Cat’s Away

Gamma Nick Sylvestri

"You don't have to tag along if you don't want to," Adam said as I climbed into his truck.

"I don't have anything else to do." I shrugged. "And I'm curious about these cakes Emmeline was going on about."

We both knew the real reason why I was tagging along. If a girl was manning the counter, Adam would never be able to tell her the order for his parents' anniversary cake.

Although it was hard to resist, we all tried not to tease Adam about being shy around girls. Not only did it make his awkwardness worse, it was too cruel. He was trying so hard to be better about it because he didn't want to make a fool of himself whenever he finally met his mate. The fact that he spoke to the luna without stuttering or tripping over his own feet showed he was improving, and we all wanted to support him.

So, while I may havewantedto tease him, I knew that would only destroy all his progress.

Plus, the alphas had forbidden it.

"Me, too," Adam said as he pulled out of my driveway. "From the way she was talking, they're really amazing, and I want something amazing for my parents."

"How many years have they been mated now?"

"This is the big five-oh." Adam sighed. "I know Mom and Dad wished my sisters were here for it, but Fifi and I are going to do our best to make it a happy day for them."

All four of Adam's older sisters had died in the sickness, which made their parents overprotective of their youngest daughter, Sophia. Adam was a bit better, but he, too, hovered over her like a hawk. Thankfully, she took it in stride, knowing her family was coming from a good place. Sophia was shy - although not quite as bad as Adam - and sweet as pie, but she led such a sheltered life that I sometimes wondered if they were doing more harm than good.

The poor kid deservedsomekind of social life. They wouldn't even let her come out to lunch with us gammas unless Adam was along, and we all saw her as our little sister.

Maybe things will change now that Landry has his mate,I thought to myself.Mr. and Mrs. Bishop might let her go if there's another girl along. If they do, then Adam might loosen up, too.

"I hope we find our mates soon, Nick," Adam murmured as he found a parking spot a block down from the bakery. "Every year without her, Quoia grows more and more depressed."

"Me, too." I sighed. "And Birch is no better off."

We weren't the oldest ever without mates - the king himself was twenty-four and had just found the queen - but the majority of shifters mated between the ages of eighteen and twenty. Adam was twenty-one, and I was a month away from turning the same. So, yeah, not the oldest, but that didn't make it easier.

"I think our wolves suffer a little more than we do," Adam said. "We have tons of distractions like jobs, school, and friends. They don't. Other than protecting the pack, mates are all our wolves live for."

"Yeah," I agreed as we jumped out of his truck. "Birch is going crazy today. I think it's bothering him that others are finding their mates, but not us."

"Hmm. Interesting. Quoia's been acting up, too." Adam's pale blue eyes widened. "Landry said Oak acted oddly before he met Grace. Do you think we're close to finding our mates?"

My heart skipped a beat at the thought.

"Like always, I have hope, but not too much." I smiled a little. "I don't feel up to being disappointed today."

"Valid," he sighed and pulled open the front door of Fairy Cakes.

I followed him inside only to slam into his back as he immediately froze.

"What—" I started to ask, wondering if hewasthrown off by a girl working the register, but the mouth-watering smell of candied apples surrounded me, and I suddenly lost all interest in Adam and his issues.

Mate?Birch whispered as he stirred.

My eyes scanned over the cute interior with its pastel pink walls and wealth of roses and glass display cabinets. A girl with - I kid you not - mint green hair stood by the cash register, her wide eyes locked with Adam's, but I let my gaze go past them.

If she was Adam's mate, he'd have to figure that out on his own. I had my own to figure out.

At the very back of the bakery, a door cracked open and a girl poked her head around it. She had the softest-looking lilac hair coiled up in knots on either side of her head, little white flowers tucked up in her tresses and a few stray wisps framing her lovely face. Her brown skin glittered and the tips of her pointy ears looked so cute, I knew I wasn't going to be able to leave them alone. I already wanted to suck on them...

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