2. Rhys

Of course they’d send me on this errand. Why wouldn’t they? I was Rhys, the mateless.

That’s not fair. Gods, I was in a shit mood.

If I’d said I couldn’t do it, someone else would have, but really, what else did I have to do on a Friday night?

Well, maybe not Hunter. My asshole brother had been quick to point out he had a pregnant mate and child at home when I’d asked why he wasn’t the one going to check things out at our cousin Jayson’s house since, after all, he was the town sheriff.

He had apologized immediately, but I wanted to punch him so hard the second the words came out of his mouth. Not because of what he’d said… well, not only because of what he’d said, but because of the look I’d seen in his eye that was eating me up.

What I’d really wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry because really, he wasn’t wrong. He had a pregnant mate and child at home, and I had Netflix and no one.

For the longest time, both Hunter and I were alone, but in reality, he’d known who his mate was.

Back then, I’d felt so sorry for him. I remember thinking how much I would hate to be in his shoes. The idea of knowing who my mate was and not being able to be with them. It felt like torture of the worst kind. But right now, I’d give anything to have even that.

“Quit with the pity party, Rhys.”

I sighed as I drove through the subdivision that had been a part of our family’s ranch before I’d been born. My great grandfather had divided it into smaller plots to provide homes for members of our den. You couldn’t even really reach it from our land anymore.

I knew feeling like this was me being a shitty person, but seriously, all my brothers, every single one of them, had gotten mated the last several years.

It was the same old story. Everyone around me was happy and in love, and then there was me, alone and miserable.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was happy for them. I really was. I just couldn’t help feeling left out and little… I was jealous of their newfound happiness.

Which, of course, made me feel mean and small.

They were all older than me, so I guess technically they’d waited for their mates longer than I had, but I felt stuck in limbo. I’d looked in all the right places for my mate. I’d visited with all our family and friend’s packs and dens that I could, yet here I was still without a mate and childless.

Was it too much to ask for what my brothers had found with their mate? The love, companionship, unwavering support? I wanted it for myself.

“Great Urs, if you give me my mate and maybe my own twins’ I won’t bug you for like a whole year. Okay maybe six months!”

I knew there were people that thought I was crazy to want my mate right now. I’d heard it time and time again. Have fun while you’re young. But I didn’t want to have fun, I wanted my person. The one I woke up next to everyday. The one that would have me smiling all the damn time if my older siblings were anything to go by.

Getting a mate seemed truly life changing. My brothers were like new people since they’d mated. My oldest brother, Gabe, who’d been a grumpy old man his whole life, seemed to overflow with joy and was more than willing to hear me out now. He’d actually let go of the reins of our company enough to let me do my thing.

Graham, who had been a certified workaholic and so high strung he had to micromanage everything had looked like a panda in human form because he got so little sleep before he met his mate. Now he looked almost five years younger that he found the love of his life. He actually left Asheville to travel with his mate and trusted the factories, and his bakeries wouldn’t shut down if he wasn’t right there trying to do everything himself.

And then there was Austin. He was suddenly the optimist of the family, even when the stress of running our small town seemed like an uphill battle. He always wore that same perpetual, besotted smile on his face, no matter what.

It made me wonder if true love really could make such a difference to someone’s personality and outlook on life. How could one person bring so much joy and contentment to another? You’ll probably never find out at the rate you’re going.

I was clearly at the pity party bus stop with a one-way ticket to tears and Netflix reruns. Gods, I really hoped whoever had taken up residence in Jayson’s house wouldn’t be any trouble and they had a good reason for why they were there.

Dear Goddess, please let there be a quick and easy explanation for whoever has moved in.

I really didn’t have the spoons to deal with anything right now.

Popcorn, my weighted blanket, and reruns of Ghost Whisperer were just what the doctor ordered. Melinda and Jim were so fated mate goals.

That was all I wanted right now. My bear onesie pajamas, curled up under the blanket in my media room with a massive bowl of popcorn with MM’s, malt balls and gummy bears mixed in. Maybe a tub of Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Love Affair. Might as well have some kind of love affair.

Gods, that sounded sad.

I shook away the thought; it wasn’t helping my mood. Not that anything could right now.

I turned onto the street where Jayson’s house was located. It had passed to my cousin after my uncle and his mate died about six years ago in a plane crash. And now Jay was gone, too.

My grandparents, Dad’s parents, now only had dad since Uncle Mattias passed away. And us too I guess. Uncle Mattias had been his younger brother. The grands had taken losing, Uncle Mattias hard. It was why they hadn’t stayed at the ranch for long periods over the last several years. And with Jay now gone, it was even worse.

As soon as the house came into view, with its cozy looking exterior lights lit up in welcome, I felt my gut clench. The sight of it reminded me of all those nights we had sleepovers here.

Graham and Hunter had been the closest to Jayson, and I’d just always tagged along. Hunter hadn’t done well with the news of Jay’s passing, which was yet another reason I’d given my brother a pass for skipping out on coming here.

He’d mourned the loss of our cousin, even more so when we’d reached out to the Marines and we’d been told that Hunter wasn’t Jayson next of kin anymore since he’d married a human. None of us had known what to do because we hadn’t been sure if he’d told them about us.

Our family lawyer had informed us the house had gone to her—Jayson’s wife, after he passed, and Graham had tried getting in touch to buy the property back but hadn’t been able to reach her.

Since we knew Jayson had a wife, hearing from the neighbors it was man and baby that had moved in had been a surprise. Besides, when Graham hadn’t been able to reach her, we’d figured she had passed on too. Especially since she didn’t show up in town. The family had all concluded that with Jay’s death, she’d gone along with him. It was rare for a mate to live after theirs had passed. It was something about the severing of that connection that had the body shutting down. Papa and Dad had called it a kindness.

In rare circumstances, usually with an omega mate, or a female mate, if they were pregnant, sometimes they found the strength. Papa had explained it as them having something of their mate left to hold on to. And usually some only held on long enough to give birth.

As I parked and got out of my car. I began walking up the drive, then paused. “Shit.”

I doubled back to the car and opened the right-side passenger door to grab the tray of cookies Graham had packed. It had all the customer favorites. Chocolate chip, of course, snickerdoodle duh! Peanut butter yum!

Okay, on second thought, maybe I was just hangry. I was tempted to snack on one now, but I was raised better.

Plus, I heard my papa”s voice in my head saying, “He’s still new in town you can’t show up empty handed.”

I started back up the drive and peeked into a Suburban parked there with a baby seat in the back. “Well, no one with a baby seat and car seat mirror can be all bad,” I muttered.

I headed up to the porch and knocked on the door, hoping that whoever was inside would be friendly. A few moments passed before I heard movement. He was coming down the stairs. The door opened, revealing a tall, dark-haired man with a baby in his arms. He looked surprised to find me there.

His dark curly hair was disheveled, like he’d just woken up or run his hand through it several times. His eyes are a hazel brown with flecks of green and wow were his shoulders broad. He had on jeans and a t-shirt. Both pieces of clothing looked like they’d been worn in.

“Can I help you?” he asked, his voice low and deep.

I was about to speak when the smell of baby powder hit me.

It was quickly followed by the scent of sweat and something else, maybe apples, orange. Was that nutmeg? It was clean and fresh, a hint of laundry detergent and a hint of sweat.

He smelled… Fuck; I had to breathe it in again.

How?

What were the odds?

The cold wind rustled, and a bird sang nearby. But all of that paled in the background, looking into his eyes.

He held the baby in the pink onesie closer to his chest to protect her from the cold. This time, his voice was more irritated and his face scrunched in confusion as he asks again, “Can I help you?”

Shit! He was going to close the door. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. So I did the next best thing and held up the cookie tray.

His scowl slipped slightly, and the tightness around his mouth relaxed. “You brought cookies?”

I bobbed my head up and down.

The baby started mewling and I could tell this time was gonna turn into full-blown tears.

My mate stepped aside. “Come in. It’s cold as shit and I need to close the door.”

Oh shit. My mate. I’d found my mate. Or he’d found me. And he was inviting me into his house.

Either way, he was here. And he had a baby. And he was human, too. Although the baby smelled like shifter and family so maybe I wouldn’t have to have the talk with him.

Still, he was here. My mate was here!