Totally Boxed

Chapter 2

2

Lions, tigers, and bears. Oh s**t!

"You will not f**k this up. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for everyone, and if it goes well, we'll be able to do this again. There are more females looking for mates than the five attending tonight's events. If you screw around, and they cancel future events, I'll kill you myself." The guard opened the door with a glare directed at both of us.

The urge to punch the tree-rubbing bear in the face rolled over me. I didn't like being threatened. His good mood had to be from the s**t ton of money they'd make, or the fact he couldn't get a chance with the females. "I'm here to find my mate, nothing else."

He snorted but let us by. Before I could step through the door, a commotion broke out. Two bears dragged out something purple and fuzzy. The bouncer waved us back from the door as they dragged the thing through the door. Now that it was up close, I could see it was a furry unicorn with purple fur and a long colorful mane. The bears threw him out into the alley then stood there glaring at him with arms crossed. As he got up, the stuffed unicorn head fell off. A scrawny human male appeared.

"What was that for? I have an invitation!" Jaden elbowed me in the side, just in case I missed the spectacle. I shot him a glare before watching the scene unfold.

"You just got uninvited." One of the bears announced.

"You can't do that!" The furry picked up his unicorn head by the horn and turned on the males. "I'm here to find my mate!"

"Fine, if you can get past my brother and I, I'll let you stay." The furry shot a glance at the door, then huffed as he stomped away, his rainbow tail fluttering in the wind. The bear grumbled after he was out of hearing range. "When will these stupid furry wannabes get it through their minds they're not almost shifters?'

I didn't know what to make of the scene, but gladly continued into the bar when the bouncer waved me through. Stepping through the door to Wolfsbane, I glanced around while moving past the bouncer. Logan was a bulky male bear shifter whose family owned and operated this exclusive bar. Wolfsbane catered to the animal shifter community, which meant the number one reason so many bouncers were on the floor at all times was to prevent an unsuspecting fragile human from getting in. Not only was our alcohol far more potent than human made drinks, drunk shifters fighting could get deadly. Add in five females ready to mate and almost a hundred desperate, horny, and naturally dominant male shifters… this could get ugly quick.

Bright purple and orange lights swathed the bar. Beware and haunted caution tape covered the doors and windows. I shot a glare at Jaden. "Seriously?"

"Humans set this event up, not shifters. They actually like Halloween. Probably didn't realize how much we dislike the holiday." Jaden grinned as he elbowed me. "Apparently they like bats, they're everywhere."

"Those are decorations, not real ones." I pinched my nose while fighting the urge to leave. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

Jaden stepped beside me as we followed the line of males. The building was half bar and half nightclub. The alcohol bar serviced both, but the only connecting doors were limited to staff. A roped off path led from the open area of the bar to one of the employee entrances between the two buildings. I'd only been inside the club side once and thought I'd remembered seeing private rooms in the back for more intimate conversations.

"Now we wait until our numbers are picked." Jaden went over to the nearest table and sat.

I joined him and stared at the entrance. Was my mate on the other side of those doors? The three burly bears standing in human form near the entrance reminded me and all the other eager males that this would only go down one way... however they chose. My own beast pushed for me to go through that door and claim my mate, but I was sure everyone here felt that way. How did Jaden manage to look so relaxed?

"I'm starting to feel less and less optimistic." Jaden indicated to someone behind me.

"Who's here?" I didn't dare turn around and draw the attention of whoever he'd seen.

Jaden picked up one of the beers that appeared on the table and took a long swig. "We have lions, tigers, and bears. Oh s**t! The alpha from the Wallace wolf pack is here."

"I wouldn't want to take them on in a fight, but what does it matter if they're here?"

"I'm just as confident as the next male, but do you think we hold any chance against them? No female would pick us over them."

"You do realize the chances of finding our fated mates are slim." I waved my hand around to indicate all the males. "It's a statistical impossibility we'll all find one. Besides, only the fates can choose our mates."

"Fate is a cruel bitch." For the first time in a long time, Jaden's roll-with-it expression broke. His eyes narrowed on me as he leaned forward. "We both know that you'll work yourself to death without someone to care for you. You don't listen to me. One of these days your guilt about Arric will be the death of you."

The mention of my dead twin brother made me explode. "Don't you dare throw this in my face right now! I'm-"

A soft female voice interrupted me. "Excuse me...are you Felix and Jaden?" She held up photos of us printed on paper. When we both nodded, she continued. "You're next. Please follow me."

She didn't wait for us to respond before she turned on her heel and walked to the door to the club. I stepped through first, blinking a few times to adjust my eyesight to the much darker room. Before I finished, the woman handed Jaden and me blindfolds. Looking around, I saw more of the orange and purple lights, but not a single glimpse of a human female.

"Please put on your blindfolds. You'll be led into a room with a human female. They all know about our kind, so discretion isn't required. Outside each room will be a lion protector monitoring all activity inside. If they deem any of your actions inappropriate, you'll be removed and banned. If you get a mate connection with one of the females, she must accept you to pull you out of the rotation. Until then, no names. You have fifteen minutes each."

Fifteen minutes to decide if she was my mate? While I wasn't worried about my beast, he would know immediately if she was his mate, would I know? Or better yet, would I be able to win her over in a blink of time? The natural lifespan of shifters was several times longer than that of an unmated human. It didn't seem fair.

"What about the blindfolds?" Jaiden asked before I could.

"Those can only be removed by the female if she accepts you as her mate. Because they are humans and don't want any unselected dominant males refusing to take no for an answer, so taking it off on your own counts as an invasion of her privacy and you'll be immediately removed." She gestured to our blindfolds. "We can't start until your eyes are covered."

Emotions warred inside of me. I wanted to find my mate, but the idea of being blindfolded and led around from room to room waiting for an unknown female to find me acceptable was against my nature. Would I give up the chance at a fated mate because of my own pride? Hell no. If one of these females turned out to be the other half of my soul, I wouldn't hesitate to do this again to win her. Besides, I would show her just how dominant I could be when she was screaming my name in pleasure.

My beast thrashed around inside of me, insisting she wasn't far away. Tying the fabric behind my head, I covered my eyes, hoping this night of dates wouldn't be like the others. I didn't think I could handle another one of those.