Page 1 of Last Shot at Love

Room 369:

Kael, the feline master chef, ousted from his culinary job...

Grishka, the female orc with a heart as deep as the roots in her lumber yard...

Destiny beckons these two lonely paranormals in the prime of their lives find their fates intertwined at the Last Resort.

When they lock eyes, it's more than mere sparks that dance between them;

it's an inferno of desire that rages through a single, passion-laced night.

The sun was unrelenting today, its rays beaming down mercilessly on the tree plantation nestled deep in the mountains that had been in my family for generations. It baked the earth beneath my boots and cast a glistening sheen of sweat across my muscled forearms. With each swing of my ax, wood split with a satisfying crack, adding to the pile that would soon be transported to the sawmill.

Brushing a hand across my forehead, I pushed away the damp strands of hair, feeling the grit and determination that came with hard work. The distant hum of the sawmill and the clatter of heavy work equipment filled the air, mingling with the occasional calls and laughter of my kin.

My clan—fellow orcs, their mates, and long-time friends—worked beside me, their forms moving rhythmically as we all contributed to the day’s labor to make quota.

A sudden buzzing against my wrist broke my concentration, and I cursed under my breath at whoever was trying to contact me while I was at work. Everyone I knew was currently working on the plantation and was aware of the dangers associated with our occupation.

One wrong move could mean a great injury—or worse, death—which was understood by those who had my number.

Growling in frustration, I swung and embedded my ax in a log with a long thunk and glanced down.

My beehive smartwatch displayed an alert that made my heart skip. An email from P-Harmony flashed on the small screen. My eyebrow scrunched in curiosity as well as a hint of skepticism at why they were contacting me after all these months.

I’d half-heartedly signed up for the fated mate matching program, not really expecting anything to come of it. I assumed they were too good to be true, not believing their guarantee that I’d find my destined and leave their program as a happy, matched couple—or clan.

After thirty-five years, I had given up on love, and the last thing I needed was false hopes and a broken heart.

With a sigh, I peeled off my gloves, revealing my callused green skinned hands, and tapped the screen to open the email.

Shock coursed through me like a bolt of lightning. “Matched.” The word glared at me from the screen, and my heart skipped a beat. How?

“Grishka?” My brother, Axel, approached, his own ax resting casually on his shoulder. He was a mountain of an orc, even among our kind, with a gaze as sharp as the blade he carried. “Why’d you stop? Is something wrong?”

I glanced up at him, my eyes wide, my chest tight with a mixture of disbelief and a budding hope. “Remember when I told you about that fated mate matching program? How I filled out all those questionnaires, half-joking that they might find me my fated mate? Because let’s face it, Axel, it’s obvious they aren’t around here, or amongst the other clans we trade with.”

Axel’s expression softened. “You mean to say...”

I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest. “They found someone. A match. For me. After all these years…”

He raised a brow, the lines of his face folding into a familiar, protective concern. “Really? Matched? You mean with the—”

“Yes, the mate program,” I cut in, still staring at the words on the screen as if they might vanish if I looked away. “I never thought... I mean, with our kind, it’s not like others want to live away from civilization and the exciting city life. I didn’t think my fated mate would also be desperate enough to try the program, in hopes to find… me.”

Axel huffed a laugh. “Grishka, you’re telling me, out of all the males in these mountains, your fated mate is someone from an online program?” His voice was thick with amusement, but his eyes held a glint of something else—maybe hope for me.

A small, tentative smile tugged at my lips. “Seems like it,” I replied, my mind already racing with the possibilities. Could it be true?

Could there be someone destined for me after all this time, after surrendering myself to solitude, putting my concentration on my career, and caring for my family?

“Well, little sister.” Axel clapped me on the back, his grin broad and genuine. Looks like you’re in for a vacation. Who’s the lucky male?”

I blinked, the reality of it all still sinking in. “I... I haven’t checked yet.” I glanced back down at my honeycomb smartwatch and scanned the email once again, unable to believe this was real… that this was really happening. “It says his name is Kael.”

The lines on Axel’s forehead deepened as his frown set in. “That doesn’t sound like an orc name,” he mused, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Did they give you any other information about this mystery Kael?”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter,” I insisted, my voice firm. “The program matches us based on compatibility—like our personalities and needs—not on our names or even our species. That’s part of the discovery... the adventure of it all.”

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