DARREN
After I returned from my short run, I went to my parents’ house. I wanted to tell them what we’d discovered and who we’d met.
“How was your night?” Mom asked, putting on the kettle to make a hot tea for my father before they went to bed.
I sat down on the couch, grinning at my father while Mom did what she needed to in the background.
“It was amazing. I found my Fated Mate. She lives in town.”
Shocked silence.
My father’s gaze lifted to stare behind me. I turned around to see my mother’s mouth had dropped open. “The elders have prepared us for this,” she said. “With so few females born in the past twenty years... your mate could be a human. Or a wolf shifter from another pack.”
My father smiled at me, though it didn’t reach his eyes and I knew he was disappointed that my mate
