Peyton

"Do I pass inspection?"

stood there while Badger literally circled him. He'd opted for khakis, loafers he rarely wore anymore, and a button-up dress shirt with a tie.

"Aye, ye'll do." He pulled out his phone and texted . "There ye are."

looked. "Okay, so what's her name?"

Badger grinned. "That's fer ye to figure out."

"Wait, what?"

"I just gave ye all ye'll need. If she's yer mate, your nose'll lead ye right to her."

barely managed not to bare his teeth at Badger and growl at him. "That's all I get?"

"She's legally an adult, an' my objective opinion is she's a smart-lookin' lass. Smart-thinkin' one, too. As long as she's agreeable to ye, I don't think ye'll be disappointed."

Fuuuuuck. "Fine." gave Dewi a good-bye kiss and headed out, plugging the address into his phone's map app.

It came up as a restaurant and fought the urge to go back in and strangle Badger.

He's going to drag this out as long as he can.

For that reason alone he'd try to find her without further help from Badger.

He's still holding a grudge against me for eating his cake?

To be fair—again—he'd only been ten years old at the time.

If he managed to find this woman—and she agreed to be his mate—maybe she'd help him make Badger a replacement cake from the recipe out of his mom's cookbook, which knew still sat in the pantry closet in the kitchen.

Next door.

Red velvet cake had been one of her specialties.

He'd never eaten at this restaurant before. It looked like an older establishment, and he forced himself to sit in his car for a moment with the A/C blasting cold air on him as he perused its online ratings.

Popular neighborhood fixture, typical diner fare, and a family business that had been around for over twenty years.

Of course he was stalling—his hands shook so badly he didn't want to go in there and look like an asshole.

And what if she says no?

What if she's a clueless human?

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and forced himself to open the car door and head inside.

He stopped in the small entryway, where two couples were ahead of him and standing at the hostess station. Sure he could barge his way in there and use his Prime to get seated immediately, but he didn't want to be a dick like that.

Despite the fact that he already sensed the faintest tendrils of that… same… delectable… scent…

MATE!

He closed his eyes, fisting his hands, letting his nails dig into his palms to help control his urge to plow through the dining room to find the woman who smelled so lusciously, perfectly…

His.

"Sir?"

opened his eyes. The older woman standing at the podium wasn't her. "Are you waiting for any other people in your party?" she asked.

"No." He shook his head. "Just me."

For now.

She grabbed a menu and a set of silverware, offering him a pleasant if not exhausted smile. "Follow me, please." She led him across the almost completely full dining room to a two-seater by a window on the far side of the space. put in a drink and food order and had no idea what he said, but she took it down and left.

He smelled wisps of her, but there was one glaring problem.

While she appeared to be a wolf, she was the only other wolf in here besides him.

Meaning a whole restaurant full of clueless humans.

Fuuuuck.

Every waitress that passed him, he closed his eyes, disappointed that it wasn't her.

That's when one waitress emerged from the kitchen swing doors, two bowls of salad in her hands. Her destination was a booth on the far opposite side of the room but when the door swung closed and his wolf senses picked up the breathtaking scent she trailed…

He closed his eyes and nearly wept. "Thank you, Goddess," he whispered under his breath

Barely realizing he was already up on his feet and moving, he quickly crossed the room in several smooth strides. He wasn't sure what color her eyes were, but she wore her long blonde hair pulled back in a braid that hung down past her shoulders and it briefly crossed his mind he'd seen her from a distance in the pack compound before.

Fuck yeah!