When we arrived in Little River, I looked around with fresh eyes.
The air was cleaner, crisper and better than it had been the last time I’d been there. The colours were brighter, the sounds around me happier.
I knew it was all in my imagination, but how could I not be feeling more positive? There was a chance that we could meet our mate, and soon.
“Should we split up and try different places?” Aaron asked, as he too struggled to hide his smile.
Women walked by us, their gazes skimming along our bodies.
I knew that humans were attracted to us.
They liked muscles, of which we had an abundance.
It didn’t mean much in the pack. Everyone was strong, hard-working and super fit.
But in this world where people worked while sitting in a chair all day, the men were not as strong, nor healthy, nor trim.
“Yeah, why not. We could walk around, see if anyone faints at our feet?” I grinned at Aaron and he laughed.
The hunt was on.
I went to turn away, but Aaron grabbed my arm. “Do you think we’ll have a different mate? Or one to share like Dex’s pack?”
I shrugged, “No idea. Doesn’t really matter, does it?”
I glanced around at a pair of women walking up the street, their long, straight hair billowing around their faces, their too skinny legs wrapped in thin skirts.
I inhaled deeply, hoping to smell something new, sweet, distinct.
But there was nothing but the normal scents of the city. The people around us.
“You don’t care?”
I stared at Aaron, surprised by his question. “Of course, not. After spending a decade coming to terms with our shitty, one-night-stand existence. I’ll do anything to find my true mate. To have a woman to come home to, children. If she’s meant for you and Brad too, then so be it.”
I didn’t have jealousy issues like a lot of the other Alphas.
I lived for my pack.
And if Fate had decided one human was enough for us, then I would ride that wave and be grateful for it.
“Oh, good.” Aaron seemed happier now, more relaxed.
“Let’s go. See you back here in two hours.”
Aaron grunted and we turned in opposite directions.
I walked along the streets and ducked into a pharmacy, a green grocer and a liquor store, making small talk with the locals, telling them I was looking for some work in housing construction.
None of the women smelled any different to me, and I shook so many hands. Everyone’s hands.
They must have thought I was the politest person around.
And yet, no one fainted at my touch. Not even an offer to go out for dinner.
Not that I should have expected to find my mate on the first day. That would have been ridiculous. But as the hours dragged on, my heart grew heavy. And when the designated time came and went, I forced myself back to the car, and Aaron’s sad face.
“No luck?” I asked him, though the question was barely necessary. His slumped shoulders and the angry set to his jaw made the answer too apparent.