Chapter Nine

"Let's try by the door." Clay threaded his way through the incoming patrons like a salmon swimming upstream. "And then work our way back in."

I held my nose up, sniffing as we went, but other than the vague scent I'd smelled outside earlier and the faint hint clinging to his roommate, our mate was beyond elusive. "Not getting much," I growled, frustrated. "You don't think he left?" He could be anywhere, and how would we find him?

My bear, usually so calm unless he was grouchy, was showing a whole new emotion. Panic. He wanted out of my skin and into his fur right this minute, and I was afraid he wouldn't take no for an answer. How would it look if I had so little self-control?

Sure, Animals allowed people to shift as long as they behaved, but in his current frame of mind, "behaving" would be followed by "badly." At least I believed so.

Chill, buddy. I am moving as fast as I can, and I think it will be easier to talk to our mates with my human mouth.

Mates.He flexed, shifting my muscles, and I wasn't so sure I was going to win this round. Now.

Give me time, patience… I'd have sworn he had plenty of patience, until now. My skin tingled, the feeling I recognized as coming before the shift. Do you want our mates to think we are just running amok?

Silence. He probably didn't know what running amok was.

Get mates.

I will.

"Armel, come on." Clay darted out past the security staff at the door. "They are about to let in another batch of guests."

I didn't ask how he knew that. It was enough that he did. I followed, nearly tumbling over him when he came to a stop. "Is he here?" He scanned around. "Isn't he supposed to be the first person in the next group?"

"What's going on here?" Ben, the head of security, stepped forward from where he'd been standing off to the side. "Are you looking for something Clay?"

"Yeah." He shifted from foot to foot as he answered, looking much younger and smaller in front of the bear shifter. A much-larger version than me for certain. "There was supposed to be a guy at the front of the line here. We need to find him."

"Can you describe him?" Ben asked.

Clay and I looked at each other then faced forward again. We shook our heads as if we'd rehearsed it.

The bear security chief frowned. "Then how will you know when you find him? And why?"

"By scent," I said, trying to pick it up now. It had been stronger on the roommate than it was now. "I smelled him when I was coming in, but I didn't realize it was him at that time."

"All right." Ben shrugged. "I am sure there is more to this story, since I've never seen Armel racing around looking for anyone, or you, Clay, although we haven't known you long. Is someone covering for you inside?"

The sugar glider blanched. "No. I'm going to lose my job." His panic soured his scent and made it harder to find that mingling of their two essences. "I have to go back in—but I can't."

"It's okay, mate." I patted his shoulder. "You don't even have to work if you don't want to." I had plenty to support my mate, even both of them if they needed me to.

"But I do want to. I've always wanted to work…"

"Clay?" Ben's voice ran over our conversation. "Go do what you need to, and I'll let someone know to cover your station until you get back in. You're not going to lose your job. I'm sensing this is important." He pulled out his phone and called someone. "Hey, this is Ben in front. Clay is helping one of our VIPs find someone, so he'll need coverage for a bit, all right? Good. Thanks." He pocketed the device and faced us again.

"Thank you." I reached out and shook his hand. "That's very understanding."

"No problem. I hope you find who you're looking for. Where did you say he was supposed to be?"

"Right at the front of the line, waiting for the next group to be admitted."

His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out again and checked the screen. "I have to go, but I wish you both luck." Ben spoke to the two bouncers who stood by the doors before disappearing inside.

"Everyone here is so nice," Clay whispered. "Since the day I got here. I've had the hardest time finding work, but I'm kind of glad because this is the best place I can imagine."

"I always enjoy it here. My friends will have questions though." I hadn't stopped to explain when we took off. "But they'll be thrilled for us if we can find our third."

"I can't get over it," he said. "When I asked you out, it was totally unlike me, but I knew I wanted to see you again. And not just to bring you drinks and snacks. But I didn't see you as a mate. Just a sexy alpha who I thought it would be nice to have a date with."

We started toward the head of the line, just a few feet away, but it was quite the cluster of people. And I was not getting that scent from before, which had me worried. "I thought the same about you, but I'd decided to stop dating anyone but my mate. Singular because I had no idea there were two of you."

There were three females, possibly fae, and one guy right at the front of the line. The man wore a very fancy white suit that looked like something out of a movie from the 1940s. His hair was slicked back with an excess of product, and he gave off that scent of two-day-old gel. "We're looking for the person who was next in line," I said. "I know it wasn't you. Can you tell me where he went?"

"I've been here all along." The guy looked at the women standing by him for confirmation, but they remained silent, staring straight ahead in a way that made me very suspicious. "Right, ladies?" Their heads bobbed up and down like puppets on a string.

"Really?" I leaned in and studied the women. "What have you done to them?"

"Me?" His oily voice matched his shiny hair. "I have simply been standing here in this pleasant company waiting my turn."

"No problem." I waved over one of the bouncers. "I think this whatever he is has put some kind of a spell on the fairy girls here."

"But that's against the rules." The bouncer, one I'd never seen before, seemed skeptical. "You didn't do that, did you?"

Just then, Ben returned. He took one look at the foursome and had the bouncers usher them inside. "To my office, where I can sort this all out. And send another couple of guys to take your place while you do." I didn't say a word because I didn't need to.

As they were ushered through the door, the oily guy called over his shoulder, "No need to push. I paid the guy who was standing here to take his spot. A good roll of cash, too. Take your hands off me." He attempted to shrug off the firm hands on his arms, with no luck. "I'll sue."

"You've been warned before," Ben said before taking up a position at the door and waving people forward to enter. "Some people never learn."

"Do you think he spelled them?" Clay asked.

"I have no idea, but they will handle it. Let's see if maybe our mate took whatever he offered and went to the end of the line to start all over again."

"Let's do it."

The line was even longer than when I arrived, but we paced alongside, looking for someone whose appearance we had no knowledge of but whose scent was firmly lodged in my nose. As we moved, I picked up the fresh, natural aroma and sped up. "He's there." I walked right up to a dragon shifter who was looking pretty miserable in his place in line. "Hello, I'm Armel."

His gaze lifted from the vicinity of his shoes and met my eyes. "Hi, Rome here."

Clay reached out a hand. "We were looking for you. I'm Clay."

The dragon smiled and accepted his grip. "Thank you for finding me."

I'd always heard when you met your mates, you'd know, that everything would change, and that there would be no question about it. Although I'd always dreamed of a mate, I'd never quite believed it could be that simple. Yet, it was. I went from not knowing who I was looking for to recognizing him as if I'd known him my whole life. And Clay. And judging from the way they smiled at one another, they felt the same. But what do you do when you find your destiny?

"It was our pleasure. Let's go somewhere and talk."

He grinned. "I've been in this line for a long time, but I suppose I wouldn't have gotten in from here anyway." He stepped out of his place then hesitated. "I need to let my roommate know so he isn't looking for me." Rome—what a great name for a dragon shifter—pulled out his phone and dialed, but nobody answered. "I suppose I could just leave a message, but I'd rather make sure he knows I'm not going home with him."

I led them back to the door and used my VIP status and acquaintance with Ben, who was still there to get Rome in with us. The bear winked as we passed, wishing us a good evening, but we only went in long enough to track down his roommate who was speaking with Karma of all people about a job. I had assumed she was in Arizona, but this was a big occasion. Nothing was ever dull at Animals.