Page 5 of The Wolf Prince

I stared at my reflection. This cut fit my face. “Yeah, just give me the usual. Pretty sure my mother’s heart will stop if I walk into the ceremony with something different.” I tried to imagine the look on her face, but I’d save that for her birthday.

Stanley chuckled. “That party is all anyone’s been talking about today. Are you looking forward to it?”

We had this conversation every year, but this year the pressure weighed on me. I pursed my lips. “Eh. I could take it or leave it.”

“Is tonight the night, Ty?” The voice came from behind me, and I turned to see one of the elder pack members sitting a few chairs down. He probably meant well, but it was the kind of question that pissed me off.

It was no secret that I’d attended multiple lunar mate ceremonies. It was also common knowledge that I’d gone home alone each time.

Unclenching my jaw, I cleared my throat. “There’s always hope.”

“Yes, indeed.” Stanley smiled at me in the mirror as he sprayed my hair with water. “Never stop believing. Your perfect mate is out there.”

I wondered whether that was true. It had to be. It had happened for nearly everyone I knew. There was no reason it wouldn’t happen for me. Nothing made me different.

By the time I made it home, I was nearly starving to death, but I bypassed stopping to grab a snack from the kitchen, even though my stomach had been rumbling since before my meeting with Bill at the factory. Instead, I ran upstairs because my mother would lose her mind if I wasn’t in my suit and ready to party in T-minus five.

While I was dressing, though, and counterproductive to speed, my mother had me on speed dial and kept calling every ten seconds until I finally decided to answer. “Yes?”

“Are you on your way?” She breathed heavily into the phone. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to be late for an event our family is hosting.”

“Mom, if I do nothing else in my life, if everything else I ever do is a disappointment to you, I promise I’ll be on time for the party.” I let out a low growl because sarcasm didn’t dispel enough frustration. “It would help if you’d stop calling me every damn minute.”

I hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed. I’d just lied. Not that I wasn’t ready in plenty of time to be punctual, but I was hesitant to leave. My gut churned as I imagined being hopelessly unable to find a mate. Again. Failing. Again. I imagined the whispers. How quickly the gossip would spread. Of course, it would be turned around to somehow be my own fucking fault. That was how gossip and rumors worked.

I couldn’t blow off the ceremony, though. I’d spent a few too many nights alone jerking off instead of looking for a mate. But tonight, there was a chance I could find a woman to do it for me, even if it wasn’t forever. So, I pressed forward and finished getting ready.

When I left the house, I had to speed. I arrived at the Presley Acres Country Club with only a few minutes to spare.

I tossed my keys to the waiting valet.

“So nice to see you, Mr. Keller.”

I nodded. “Hey, Roy.” Then I walked up the steps, maybe with a bounce in my step, a hope, and the anticipation of a man on a mission he certainly had the ability to complete.

As I walked into the house, a middle-aged woman with shoulder-length, gray hair met me in the foyer. “This way, please.”

She escorted me to the library—as if I didn’t know where the fuck to go when I’d been coming to this place to my whole life—where my mother was speaking with one of the staff members. “The lighting is wrong. Fix it.”

“Ma’am, your son has arrived.” The escort left us alone, and Mother turned to face me.

“Ty! Thank goodness, you made it on time.” That was absolutely how important this was to her. Appearances were everything. She hugged me tightly, then pushed me away to arm’s length. “Let me get a good look at you.”

I stood still and let her inspect me.

As she adjusted my tie, I forced a smile and pushed my shoulders back, standing to my full height. “What do you think? Do I look good enough to mate?” It was an odd question to ask my mother, but now that it was out there, I couldn’t take it back.

She rolled her eyes and continued to look me over from head to toe. The tension radiating from her body was so thick it made my blood pressure rise.

Sometimes even mothers needed consolation. I cupped her head in my hands. “Stop worrying.”

She squeezed my hands lovingly, then tossed them aside. “If only I could, Ty.”

A laugh bubbled out of my throat as I leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. “Fate will do its will, and we just have to let it be.” Those were the words she’d said to a lonely teenage boy many moons ago.

She grabbed my hand and took a deep breath. “Are you ready?” It was as if she expected me to be nervous. I smiled to let her know it wasn’t the case. I was steady. Of course, I was never unsteady.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

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