Page 5 of Roar Letter Word

“And you’re aware of what fate wants, are you?” Mahes asked.

“I’ll remind you, my process for matching people is a proprietary secret,” Gerri replied. “But you could certainly put it that way if you wanted to.”

At that moment, Mahes couldn’t resist asking a question he knew was rude. “I’m sorry if this is a dumb question, but what are you, anyway? You look a lot like a human, but somehow I get the sense that … well, I don’t know.”

Gerri smiled. “Unfortunately, that is also a proprietary secret. Just know that you can call me Gerri.”

Mahes sighed. This woman sure was a piece of work. “So you’re seeing me on behalf of someone else who’s a client of yours?”

“That’s right,” said Gerri. “A woman who’s struggled with bad relationships in her past. Someone who’s beautiful and funny and famous in her own right, and creative and talented and who would care about you deeply. Or at least, that’s what I think.”

“Is she a human?” Mahes asked. “I hear that your business likes to match shifters with humans for some reason.”

“I match people with the person they need,” Gerri returned. “But yes, as a matter of fact. The beautiful, talented woman, in this case, does happen to be human.”

That was interesting. Mahes had no particular opinions on humans, and he’d certainly never imagined being romantically involved with one. Humans were a strange, chaotic species, as far as he understood. They made everything that ought to be simple complicated, and then they got excited about how interesting it was. The problem with humans was they didn’t know how to just relax.

“Well, again, I hate to disappoint you, but I’m afraid that you’re going to have to proprietarily find someone else for her. I appreciate you thinking of me, but I’m afraid I’m just

not particularly interested.”

She nodded and stood. “I was worried that you might have that reaction. That’s why I took the liberty of doing something I’m afraid you’ll have to forgive me for.”

He looked at her suspiciously. “What’s that?”

“I invited her with me to come meet you. Addie, you can join us now.”

A few moments after Gerri called, a woman appeared at the door of the sitting room. The moment Mahes saw her, his stomach flipped.

She was taller than most humans, with long, straight brown hair that reached down to her waist. She was dressed in a black and white checkerboard dress as glamorous as it was wild. Her smile was quiet, but she walked with the grace and certainty of someone used to people looking at her.

And she was Mahes’s fated mate.

Everything that everybody had told him had, in that one moment, come true. He knew she was the one for him. He knew he couldn’t live a life without her, or rather, that he wouldn’t. He loved her already and would do anything to pursue her.

And it hadn’t been frightening at all. It hadn’t felt like being forced. It had come from deep within him. Nothing made him want her except himself.

And he did want her. He had no choice.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” he said and stood awkwardly.

Gerri, meanwhile, sitting on the couch, smiled as if she knew everything had just gone exactly the way she had expected.

Mahes didn’t know how she had done it, and he certainly didn’t know exactly how things would go from here. But he had no doubt that she was certain it would work itself out.

After all,he thought,she has a 100 percent success rate.

THREE

ADDIE

As a pop star, Addie was used to traveling. She had traveled on ships, trains, airplanes, and, yes, even spaceships. But every means of transportation she’d ever used before now had at least one basic similarity. She was inside something, and it was the thing that was moving. None of them had prepared her to step into a wormhole.

“Just so you know, it can be a bit rough if you aren’t used to it,” Gerri had warned when she arrived at Addie’s pad to escort her to Nova Aurora.

“Aren’t we going somewhere?” Addie asked as Gerri fiddled with a small, egg-shaped metal object she had pulled out of her pocket.

Gerri smiled gently. “Oh, we are.”

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