Chapter Three

Jasmine

"You know we haven't forgotten, right?"

My stomach instantly curled into a knot. I knew what my friends were talking about, of course, but I would plead ignorance.

Couldn't they have just let me finish my dessert first?

"About what?" I played the innocent card as well as a lifetime criminal, grasping at any straw to get me out of this.

Beth paused with her fork halfway to her mouth and gave me a dirty look. "That's not going to work, Jaz. Tell the truth or let me see your phone."

I snorted. "I thought you two were too drunk to remember."

"Well, we weren't. Let me see the phone." Anya put her hand out, palm up.

Damnit. I was caught. "I didn't actually sign up for the app," I confessed.

"You could've had a mate by now. Besides, you accepted the bet."

I laughed. "Like I said, I agree to a lot of things thinking you two are too far gone to remember. Or that I am. Who knows what we've all agreed to. Besides, it was a dare."

"But I do remember. And I'm serious. You accepted."

"Girls, I don't want to. Maybe I'm just permanently the bridesmaid. I'm okay with that."

"Are you?" Anya said. "If you can't be honest with your best friends, then who? Don't you want a mate…or two…maybe three?"

I sighed. They already knew the truth as well as I did. I wanted a mate, but pretending that I didn't or acting aloof was sometimes easier.

And less painful.

"I'm fine," I reiterated.

Beth sat back, crossing her arms over her chest. "Anya, I think it's time we sweetened the deal. Make it a bet. Don't you?"

"Huh?" I sputtered, not able to resist the temptation. When Beth made a deal, it was a real one. All high stakes, which was why I had avoided most of them until now.

"She is up to her eyeballs in debt," Anya said. "And when I mated, my trust fund kicked in."

"I have some to put in too."

I rolled my eyes. "Who said anything about how much debt I'm in? We're talking about some app that you two have had great success with but likelihood of the same outcome is dismal at best."

Beth leaned forward and squinted, which scared me more than I was willing to admit. "Get on the app. Give the first match you get ninety days, and we'll pay off all your debts. No payback. Just a gift."

I cracked up, but my friends didn't. "What? You can't be serious."

"I'm serious. First match. Go and meet with them. Ninety days. And the best rule: Don't fall in love with them."

"Wait a damned minute," I said, putting my hands up. "Accept the first match. Go and visit with strangers for ninety days and don't fall in love. If I do that, I get all my debts paid off? Doesn't sound like a challenge, girls."

Anya scoffed. "I'm telling you, that app knows what it's doing. It will be a challenge. Especially if you have hunky, amazing mates like ours. You won't be able to resist."

"And neither will they or him. If you get there, and your match thinks you're their fated mate, there's no way they're letting you get away. Shifters don't put anything above their fated mates."

I'd been working my ass off to make a dent in my debt but had only managed to carve out a small hole. Being debt free would change my life and, although my friends had great luck in finding their mates, I didn't mean we all could.

"All my debt?" I asked.

Beth nodded. "All of it."

"Shake on it." I jutted my hand out, still not believing how easy this would be. Not fall in love with strangers. How hard could it be? Not hard at all.

Beth and Anya both shook my hands, but Anya added a new term. "You have to sign up today. Now. There's a ton of questions you have to answer. Come on. Out with the phone. Your mates are waiting."

"Not waiting," I said, making them laugh. "Let's get this bet started."

Anya wasn't wrong. Along with making a profile, there were hundreds of questions all aimed at making the best match possible. Everything from personality traits to how many mates I expected to have. One. two. Three. Entire harems. Shifters. Monsters. Creatures I'd never heard of were all on the app, searching for their mate or mates.

Breeders.

Protection seekers.

Everyone was represented.

Even humans like me who would accept love no matter human, monster, or shifter.

But for this bet, love wasn't on the table. In fact, it was out of the question if I was to win.

By the time we were done signing up, the waiter was giving us that when-are-you-going-to free-up-my-table look, so we made sure to tip well.

I was all signed up but as we parted ways, I had a sinking feeling my life was about to change forever.