His Moonlit Possession

5.

I glanced across the room at a guy who looked moderately familiar, and a woman I’d never seen before. They were staring longingly into each other’s eyes, dancing so close that with just a few less clothes, they could’ve been f*****g in the middle of the ballroom.

“Huh. Well, looks like someone found their lunar mate.” I raised my glass in a toast and tried not to be jealous. “Cheers to ’em.”

Jace grinned and clinked his glass against mine. “Cheers, indeed.”

I glanced around the room once more, hoping I’d find some spark of soulmate recognition between me and one of the other women, but I was fairly certain I’d met them all, and, alas, no spark.

Like she sensed I was trying to find my way to the door as discreetly as possible, and this was just a stopgap, my mother reappeared. “Would you look at that?” She pointed to the same couple I’d just seen.

“Yeah, I see it.” I crossed my arms. This was my defensive position. All women looking for a mate would bounce off me like kryptonite.

She massaged her neck. “Others are already pairing up. You need to meet more women.” Her desperation—probably for grandkids—made her voice shake.

“There’s my boy.” Dad maneuvered through the crowd and threw his arm around my shoulder, giving me a shake like he was letting me know he’d saved me from whatever my mother had planned. “I’ve been looking for you. Come have a drink with me.”

I’d never been so relieved to see his face. I held up my glass and smiled.

He snorted because he knew what I was facing with my mother. I’d faced it at every ceremony for the last several years. “Well, let’s have another.”

I wasn’t going to and couldn’t argue with that. My old man was known for his ability to lighten the mood in any situation. And boy, I needed it right now, so I was eternally grateful for his intervention.

I turned just in time to see Mother’s jaw drop. She huffed and stomped off, presumably to fuss at some of the staff for their lack of competence. It was something I would hear about later, but I couldn’t take more introductions tonight. There was no one left, and I wasn’t in the mood to spend time with a woman with whom a relationship would go nowhere.

“Can you believe this?” Dad gestured at the ballroom. “Your mother went a tad bit overboard with this one, don’t you think?”

There were topiaries in the center of the tables. Crystal goblets and glasses. Elaborate silks draped from the center of the ceiling to the walls in wide swoops. Mom did nothing in half measures. But I understood. This was important to her.

Dad was right, though. I took a sip of my Scotch. “It’s a little much. Yes.”

My dad shook his head as we walked to the bar. “That woman never sits still.” He placed his order at the bar. “I spend ten hours a day chasing her ass around the house, hoping I’ll get a moment of her time. It’s better than having a personal trainer.”

“You knew exactly the kind of woman you were marrying.” I rolled my eyes. My mom and dad were made for each other. Every once in a while, she slowed down enough for him to catch her. “Don’t even pretend like Mother’s type-A personality is a shock.”

“A shock it most certainly is now.” He swirled the ice in his glass. “But I can still complain about it any damn time I want.” He smirked, smug because he’d won the point.

Talking to Dad was a lot easier and often preferable to talking to Mom. At least, right now it was refreshing to not be asked about my fated mate. I was grateful to have one parent willing to cut me some slack.

“So, this is where you’re hiding.” My cousin Jacob pulled up a bar stool.

He was five years younger than me, but he’d had no trouble finding a fated mate early on. Lucky bastard.

“Yeah, we needed a break.” My dad chuckled and raised his glass.

“A break?” Kelis, Jacob’s mate, wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’ve only been here half an hour. If you don’t have more stamina than that, no wonder you can’t find a mate.” Bold. I supposed that was part of the attraction between them.

I held up my Scotch. “Oh, I have the stamina. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that, Kelis.”

She wasn’t my favorite person. She was a well-known gossip, and seemed almost proud that she’d been called the town crier. Not that I was one to throw stones about how someone lived. I’d grown up pampered. Went to the best school. Had the best clothes and shoes. The right car. Despite all that, I hadn’t gone full-on snob. Kelis had. She stuck her nose up at anyone she deemed unworthy of her attention, which was most people.

The speaker system crackled, and my mother’s voice vibrated through the crowd. “Dinner will soon be served. Please make your way to your assigned tables.”

Sometimes my mother’s timing was impeccable. This was one of those moments. “Oh, look at that.” I set my glass on the bar. “We don’t have time for an in-depth discussion of my mating skills.” I shrugged, not sorry one f*****g bit to end my conversation with Kelis.

She rolled her eyes. “Maybe next time.”

I smiled but thought I would rather cut off my left arm and beat myself to death with it before I spoke to her about mating.

Dad and I made our way to the dining room. The country club was equipped with room enough for a lot more people than this. Come to think of it, she’d probably planned it that way.

As I pulled my chair out so I could sit at a table of women I had no intention of dating or mating with, I felt it. The tug.

In my gut.

In my chest.

I couldn’t move.

Couldn’t think.

I glanced around the room, checking faces for that recognition, for the woman responsible for my wolf growling deep in my chest. “Mate.”

Chapter 3

Liza

“Any better?” Adam eyed me and reached out as if he were going to touch me. At the last second, he pulled his hand back. “Your head, that is.”

My tray teetered on the edge of the counter as I supported it with my hip. “The medicine’s helping some, but my head’s still pounding.” For a few minutes, earlier, I’d kept one eye closed to block out some of the light I thought might have been contributing to the pain, but then I rammed my hip into the corner of a prep table. Keeping both eyes open was optimum for my safety.

I’d been so busy managing the preparations for the lunar mate ceremony, I hadn’t realized just how much pressure I was under. I wasn’t eating well—a bite here and there from an hours-old sandwich—nor was I sleeping well. I was too detail-centric about this to manage more than a few hours at a time. Three hours of sleep wasn’t enough for anyone, especially someone who’d been hired to cater the most important event of the year.

To put the cherry on top of my stress sundae, three members of my kitchen staff had called in sick with colds. It was that time of year, inconvenient as it was for me. Now, not only did I have to oversee and manage every aspect of the evening, but I also had to dress like a waitress and serve the guests. I’d started as a server, so it wasn’t out of my realm, but definitely not preferred.

“I’ve never seen so many shifters gathered in one place.” Piling my tray full of appetizers, I glanced at my staff, counted heads, made sure I was covered, and that everyone had an assignment. They were keeping up, even though we were still short two staff members. I made a mental note to do something nice for them once the event was over and we could relax. Assuming, of course, we were able to pull it off and I didn’t have to worry about finding a new career.

“I saw a couple connecting for the first time.” Adam giggled like he’d never seen anything of the sort before. “It was like some kind of fairytale moment. They saw each other across the room, their eyes locked, and some invisible magnetism pulled them toward one another. f*****g magic.” He shook his head. “Lucky bastards.”

“I’d like a little bit of that magic to make it through this dinner.” I rolled my eyes because I was seeing the promised land, and it looked like one of those SleepMagic mattresses with a down pillow and blanket. “We can fawn and ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ later. Let’s get back to work.”

“Some of these guys are looking so goddamn good tonight. Men sure look good in tuxedoes.” Sabrina, my best friend, walked into the kitchen, slapped her tray on a stainless-steel prep table, then fanned herself with a napkin. She’d been serving hors d’oeuvres, and now needed another tray. Fortunately, there were several already plated under the portable heat lamps.

She was my best waitress—probably the best waitress I’d ever employed—so I was more than grateful she was able to work the ceremony with me.

“Oh, yeah?” I shrugged because I had yet to leave the kitchen. “I haven’t noticed.” And I certainly hadn’t had time to gawk at the attendees. Tuxedoed or not.