Page 8 of The Wolf Prince

I smiled but thought I would rather cut off my left arm and beat myself to death with it before I spoke to her about mating.

Dad and I made our way to the dining room. The country club was equipped with room enough for a lot more people than this. Come to think of it, she’d probably planned it that way.

As I pulled my chair out so I could sit at a table of women I had no intention of dating or mating with, I felt it. The tug.

In my gut.

In my chest.

I couldn’t move.

Couldn’t think.

I glanced around the room, checking faces for that recognition, for the woman responsible for my wolf growling deep in my chest. “Mate.”

Chapter 3

Liza

“Any better?” Adam eyed me and reached out as if he were going to touch me. At the last second, he pulled his hand back. “Your head, that is.”

My tray teetered on the edge of the counter as I supported it with my hip. “The medicine’s helping some, but my head’s still pounding.” For a few minutes, earlier, I’d kept one eye closed to block out some of the light I thought might have been contributing to the pain, but then I rammed my hip into the corner of a prep table. Keeping both eyes open was optimum for my safety.

I’d been so busy managing the preparations for the lunar mate ceremony, I hadn’t realized just how much pressure I was under. I wasn’t eating well—a bite here and there from an hours-old sandwich—nor was I sleeping well. I was too detail-centric about this to manage more than a few hours at a time. Three hours of sleep wasn’t enough for anyone, especially someone who’d been hired to cater the most important event of the year.

To put the cherry on top of my stress sundae, three members of my kitchen staff had called in sick with colds. It was that time of year, inconvenient as it was for me. Now, not only did I have to oversee and manage every aspect of the evening, but I also had to dress like a waitress and serve the guests. I’d started as a server, so it wasn’t out of my realm, but definitely not preferred.

“I’ve never seen so many shifters gathered in one place.” Piling my tray full of appetizers, I glanced at my staff, counted heads, made sure I was covered, and that everyone had an assignment. They were keeping up, even though we were still short two staff members. I made a mental note to do something nice for them once the event was over and we could relax. Assuming, of course, we were able to pull it off and I didn’t have to worry about finding a new career.

“I saw a couple connecting for the first time.” Adam giggled like he’d never seen anything of the sort before. “It was like some kind of fairytale moment. They saw each other across the room, their eyes locked, and some invisible magnetism pulled them toward one another. Fucking magic.” He shook his head. “Lucky bastards.”

“I’d like a little bit of that magic to make it through this dinner.” I rolled my eyes because I was seeing the promised land, and it looked like one of those SleepMagic mattresses with a down pillow and blanket. “We can fawn and ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ later. Let’s get back to work.”

“Some of these guys are looking so goddamn good tonight. Men sure look good in tuxedoes.” Sabrina, my best friend, walked into the kitchen, slapped her tray on a stainless-steel prep table, then fanned herself with a napkin. She’d been serving hors d’oeuvres, and now needed another tray. Fortunately, there were several already plated under the portable heat lamps.

She was my best waitress—probably the best waitress I’d ever employed—so I was more than grateful she was able to work the ceremony with me.

“Oh, yeah?” I shrugged because I had yet to leave the kitchen. “I haven’t noticed.” And I certainly hadn’t had time to gawk at the attendees. Tuxedoed or not.

Sabrina lifted a new serving tray from the counter and arranged the plates to her liking. “Are you kidding me? You have such tunnel vision.” She shook her head and sighed, like my not noticing was a personal affront to her. “How in the name of lightning and thunder could you not see the magnificent and majestically tight asses accentuated by snug fitting slacks and missing jackets? You might need an eye check, woman.”

I chortled. If there was one thing for which Sabrina had developed a fond appreciation—more, a passion—it was the male physique. “I’m not blind, Brina, just busy. There’s a difference.” I could definitely appreciate a well-rounded, tight male ass as well as the next girl. I just didn’t have time to do it often or to spend a lot of time discussing it.

“Well, in that case, I can assume you didn’t see Future Alpha Ty, either?” This time she fanned herself with a hand. Unfortunately for Derek, another server, the hand belonged to him. He jerked away and shook his head.

I gave her my usual blank look. “Nope. Wouldn’t know him if I saw him.”

That was the truth. I’d never met him in person or even seen him at a distance. Maybe I’d seen a grainy picture in a newspaper or something at some point, but I could have passed Tyson Keller on the street and would never have known.

“Oh, Liza, he is divine. You can’t miss him. He’s the one all the women are staring at. Hoping for. Wishing for. Probably praying for.” Sabrina tucked her short, blonde hair behind her ear. “He’s tall with black hair, and he has the deepest gray eyes I’ve ever seen. Gucci himself probably fit that suit to Ty’s body, which is grossly unfair to those of us who can’t get close enough to lick all those acres of luscious muscles.”

I wrinkled my nose and squinted at her. “Lickable muscles? Doesn’t ring a bell. Or maybe we don’t find the same things attractive. Otherwise, I would’ve noticed him.”

“Baby, if you don’t find Ty attractive, you have to be blinder than I thought. He’s a dark-haired Jensen Ackles He’s decadent. Like silky caramel and chocolate.” She made a show of licking her lips. “Definitely edible.” Then her grin morphed into something that could only be described as naughty. “Biteable at least.”

I’d never met Ty and hadn’t even been in close proximity to him or his family until I met Persephone. We didn’t go to school together since he was a good ten years older than me. Plus, we certainly didn’t run in the same circles. Ever.

Even during the full moon runs, the pack was segregated. The high class ran together while others had their own cliques and did their own thing.

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