Chapter Five

My chest no longer constricted every time I woke up. That was new. There was no more alarm on my phone, but I still woke with the sun, a long-term effect of being a sole business owner for a long time.

I slipped into the kitchen at a snail's pace, making coffee and pulling the makings for an extravagant breakfast out of the fridge.

No more popping through the drive-thru or heating up something frozen for this guy.

It should've been a restful time but, in fact, having no schedule had become—a bit jarring.

I would make some decisions today, one way or another.

In my home office, I kept one of those large maps. When I started, I thought it was fun to keep track of all the places I'd traveled and would mark them with Polaroid shots of the project with a thumb tack in the city. I'd been all over. I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to recall a spot I loved the most but came up empty.

Sitting down at my desk, I opened up my laptop and began to search. I intended to make a new start somewhere, a complete new start, so that meant moving. The web search gave me all sorts of options but, each time I clicked on an article, pop-up ads bombarded me. Male-Order Mates? I didn't know what that was, but I'd seen it more times than I could count.

Curious, I finally clicked on the ad, hoping the damned computer would stop showing the service to me.

But once I did, I knew I'd landed on something intriguing, and that was putting it lightly. I leaned back in my chair, looking at all the testimonials from couples and throuples and all kinds of polyamorous relationships.

I'd never really considered more than one mate, but now that the idea had occurred to me, I couldn't shake it.

Next thing I knew, I was signing up. After a lengthy questionnaire and paying the small fee, I stood, intending to make myself a second cup of coffee. Perhaps that would make up my mind about all the things…

No faster did I stand up than an alert popped up on the bottom right of my screen. I gasped and sat back down. There was no way this thing worked that fast—right?

Except clearly, it did.

My match was an omega named Fyn—a wolf shifter, and his picture alone had my panther purring.

Tall with shorter hair. Warm brown eyes. In one of the pictures, he smiled and the sight heated my chest.

I was all about taking plunges this week, so, on a whim, I sent him a message.

His reply was immediate.

He was already matched with someone else. It happened that day. He apologized and commented that my picture was handsome.

I wrote back telling him that it was okay. I was making some big changes in my life, and I thought Fate might be telling me something with the match.

Our conversation that started off light and friendly eventually evolved into me telling him everything about my work, about giving most of my company away to my best friend, and about how I wanted to move across the country.

Fyn's next message made me smile.

He owned a motel. Had recently bought it. If there was one thing he had, it was space for friends.

Staying in a motel room in a new place, with someone I'd met who already had a mate, hadn't been on my agenda but, for some reason, it fit the trajectory of my new life perfectly. His motel was in the Pacific Northwest, one of the places I had been leaning toward.

He said I could stay as long as I wanted and, if I helped him with the landscaping, I could stay for free.

I asked if I could think about it, and his answer was a resounding yes.

I got offline but downloaded the app for my phone. Fyn gave me his contact information, and we texted a bit back and forth while I nursed another cup of coffee.

Even if this omega wasn't a romantic match for me, we were getting along well and my panther approved.

Everyone needed friends, and my only friends of late were at work or work-related.

Things were changing for me, and I was making my life change.

Exactly as I'd hoped for.

After a call with James and another with my attorneys going over the final contracts, my animal was settled. More settled than he'd been in a long time. Fyn was already practically mated to another. I had no business thinking that there could be more, but my panther craved him after seeing some pictures and exchanging a few messages.

Pouring the rest of my coffee into the sink, I leaned on it and pressed the button to call Fyn. He answered on the first ring.

"How soon could I accept that offer?" I asked instead of the usual hello.

Fyn chuckled. The sound punched me in the gut before veining down to my cock where it stirred all kinds of things and none of them friendly. "Of course. I am starting over, too, but room for more? I've got plenty of that."

"I'm getting on a train as soon as I can. And thank you. You just changed my life."