6. Marcelo

Chapter 6

Marcelo

They said that when something sounded too good to be true, it probably was. And after my string of bad dates, being connected sounded exactly that: too good. He was kind and funny and made me laugh. Sure, all of that could be catfishing. It wasn't like we'd met or anything, and there was a lot that could be faked on the internet. Still… if felt like he might be a keeper.

Of course there was the very real possibility that he was simply better than the rest. Not that the bar was high. Heck, it was in the basement.

I wanted this to work, though. I wanted to find someone to spend time with and ideally my mate. The odds weren't in my favor, but the reviews on the app suggested the chances were much better than winning the lottery, so there was that. Maybe Jackson was the winning number. So far he hadn't done anything that shouted "red flag, red flag, red flag." That didn't stop the weight of all the crappy dates from messing with my head, telling me that maybe I should just give up, that there wasn't someone there for me. At least not anyone on the app.

And really, why should I keep giving new guys chances when all they did was let me down? What I needed was a fairy-mate-father to wave his magic wand and poof—instant mate. If only that were a possibility.

"Today is the day." I looked in the mirror, trying to amp myself up. The arrangements were already made, my shower taken, and I'd put my best ass jeans on. Might as well give it a go. What was the worst that could happen? I get a good cup of coffee and go home.

I twirled around, making sure my jeans fit as fabulously as I remembered, and they did. Good thing too since I'd told Jackson what I was going to be wearing so he'd recognize me.

Pleased with how I looked, I checked my messages for the thousandth time. I not only wanted to be sure I had the right place, but also that he hadn't backed out on me. If he canceled, I'd rather be here when I found out and not in public trying to school my face so no one would know they were witnessing my mortification.

Just like I'd told him what I'd be wearing, he did the same for me. I told him it was so I could easily recognize him, and it was true, I'd be able to. But it was more than that. It was self-preservation. I wouldn't walk in and wonder which guy was checking me out to be sure that I was worthy of the few minutes it took to get a cup of joe. It was fair to say that my bad dates had done a number on me.

It didn't take long to get to our meeting place. What did take long was garnering the strength to go inside. I walked around the block twice, in front of the windows three times, before I managed to stop long enough to look inside. Technically I was still early. The chances of Jackson being there already were fifty- fifty. But my nerves were getting the best of me. If I didn't go in soon, I was going to chicken out.

I glanced inside, and there was exactly one person in the place that had on anything close to what he'd described his outfit was going to be. Which was great, right? Wrong. The sexy alpha was there alright, but he wasn't alone. He was sitting with another man, and they were smiling and laughing and having a good time. Each of them had their own drinks, too, so it wasn't like he ran into someone and just said hello. They were there together. Suck.

For a split second, I considered turning around. What was the point in this? To go in and be humiliated. Except was it humiliation if I was there to show him that I deserved better? I didn't think so, or at least that was my thought as I readied myself to go inside.

It would've been one thing if we didn't click and that was that. It was quite another for him to already have another date. Screw that.

I swung open the door, and the second I entered, I scented the air. The coffee was strong but not strong enough to get past the scent that lay there waiting for me—only for me. My mate was here. I wasn't sure where, but he was in this place, and I was going to find him.

Mates , my dragon insisted.

Mates?

Mates. He was sure.

I sniffed the air again, and sure enough, there were two distinct scents woven together, two scents that when blended together became my calling card. I didn't have a mate. I had two.

I wanted to run to them, to follow the scent and throw myself at them, tell them I finally found them. There were two problems with that plan, the first being that we were in a human-occupied place and that kind of behavior would not only be misunderstood, but it would also be frowned on. I needed to take it slowly, to follow their scent as if I were just looking for a seat.

With each step I took, the closer and closer I got to the source of the delightful scent, the more I realized that not only was it two men there waiting to be my always and forever, but that one of them was the Jackson, the man I was here to meet. The person beside him, the one that almost had me turning around and going home—he was the other.

Another deep scenting confirmed what I suspected, one of them was human. I didn't have anything against humans and wasn't one of those shifters who dreamed of only mating someone of a similar beast or anything like that. But having one of them be a human did complicate things. It wasn't like I could just sit down and say, "Hey, you guys are my mates. Let's go do this thing."

"Hi, I'm Marcelo," I said, extending my hand in the direction of Jackson, the human alpha. I was so nervous. If he'd been a shifter he'd recognize my scent, but being human, he could easily say he was taken and tell me to scram.

He did neither of those things. Instead he looked up at me, then to the other alpha, then back to me, his checks pinker by the second.

"I'm Brooklyn," the other one said. "We're glad you're here. Join us."

"Yeah, glad you're here," the human said, his voice low.

"You're Jackson, right?"

He nodded, and I took a seat.

"It's nice to meet you both. How long have you two been together?"

Poor Jackson, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

Brooklyn put his hand on the other man's. "We just met today. Just like it looks like you two met today."

"Yeah, we met on Love and Hate," I said.

Brooklyn reached over and put his other hand on mine. "Us too."

"Why aren't you mad?" Jackson's voice cracked.

"No need to be mad when meeting new people. Let's see how this goes." Brooklyn's voice was calming and could have me agreeing to just about anything. I was hoping the same was true for Jackson. Brooklyn didn't wait for his response, instead turning to me. "So now that we're here, why don't I get you a coffee?"

"I'd like that," I said.

He got up and walked to the counter after asking me what kind I wanted.

"You're not mad?" Jackson asked.

"No. Of course not." I had a thrill running through me unlike any I'd ever felt before. But also… it was like I was being hugged by their scents. I was on top of the world.

"I would be, because I double booked and you're both here, and it's kind of sleazy."

"Doesn't seem sleazy to me." I shrugged it off. "That's how you get to know people, right?" Was that what humans did? This would be so much easier if he was a shifter and I didn't have to tiptoe around the obvious.

"I guess so. But also it feels rude."

"I assure you, I am not even close to upset. I'm excited to get to know you both."

"‘I… I guess… okay." He took a long sip from his coffee and then stood up. "I need to... I need to use the bathroom."

And off he went before I could say anything.

Brooklyn joined me a few seconds later and handed me my cup before sitting down.

"So you're third?" He smiled brightly.

"I am."

My beast was thrilled at his recognition of us.

"Does Jackson know he's yours or about… how we are different than he is?" Meaning having a dragon inside of us.

"Not yet. It should get interesting."

That was one way to put it.