“What do you mean, engaged? To who?”
“I didn’t say we were engaged, I said we were thinking about it! And I met him online. A new dating app,” Claire answered her friend, Winifred Falk, formerly Castillo, between bites of her salmon avocado roll.
She loved sushi. The friends had agreed to meet at the new Asian fusion restaurant on Main Street in Maccon City, NJ. Roll Over, was small and clean, and the food was great.
Claire took a sip from her mango-passion bubble tea and sighed. She knew she’d have to answer more questions, but she shook her head before Fred could start in on her. Her happily married friend was also a Werewolf, and she could almost hear her questions before she voiced them.
“The app was designed by Graves Enterprises. You have heard of our very own Wolf Guard, Randall Graves, and his software development company?”
“Of course!” Fred agreed. The Macconwood Pack was the most powerful Wolf Pack in the Western hemisphere and the most technologically advanced. The thanks for that went mostly to one of the Alpha’s Wolf Guard, Randall Graves. He was an absolute genius.
“He’s married now, right?” Fred asked.
“Yes, his wife is a very nice woman, Tulla is her name. I met them at an event for Lane Liquors a few months ago.”
“How is your job by the way?”
“Well, we’ve got the next product in our Seasons line, Winter Bite, all ready for its debut. Thank God, I am not the liasion between Lane Liquors and The Thirsty Dog anymore. I happily relinquished that job to David, Mr. Lane’s assistant.”
“Oh yeah, how’s he working out.”
“He’s still new, but getting there.”
“Alright Claire, spill, who is this guy?”
“He’s a Wolf too, new to the Pack. He comes from Russia. His name is Igor. Anyway, he’s looking for a wife to-”
“You are not marrying someone for a green card are you?”
“Shush! Look, not everyone finds their true mate. I’m all alone, Fred, and so is Igor. I need someone to go to business events with, so I am not always standing there like a dope. The wives don’t trust me, they think I’m out to get their men. Really, in this century, I can’t move forward in business without a husband, can you believe it? Anyway, if we can help each other out then, why not? It’s not like I have other prospects.”
Claire tried not to look at her friend. She could feel her big silver eyes staring at her, and she knew there’d be pity in them. Their pack bonds allowed her to get a glimmer of Fred’s feelings, but Claire shrugged it off. It was her life.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to judge,” Fred began, placing her fork down on the table, “Have you talked to Mike since the party last June?”
Claire closed her eyes on the wave of embarrassment that flushed her cheeks. She’d told Fred all about her passionate interlude with the man that had been Fred’s boss once upon a time. She hadn’t meant to, but she’d been upset and confused after it’d happened. Fred had been shocked, to say the least.
“But he still loves his wife,” had been her shocked reply, when Claire had told the other woman what happened and how she felt about the man.
That was when Claire had decided enough was enough. She’d started using the app a few weeks later and the handsome and emotionally available, Igor Petrov, had answered her almost immediately. She’d met the dark haired, green-eyed Wolf on a run with the Pack one full moon night, and they’d been dating ever since.
She used to look for Mike on those runs, but he’d been absent for a long time. The last seven months or so she’d been to two runs with Igor and Mike had been there for one of them. His black Wolf was large and magnificent. The perfect foil for her silver streaked gray Wolf. She stayed away from him on purpose, trying to follow the erratic hunting pattern of her date, Igor.
His own Wolf was a shaggy brown beast a head smaller than Mike’s. Igor didn’t seem to mind being submissive in nature. When Mike took the hunt out of his hands and caught the rabbit they’d been chasing, Igor simply rolled belly up. When he’d dropped the carcass at Claire’s paws, she’d taken the treat, her Wolf-self unwilling to turn down the fresh kill. She had no idea what his motives were. Maybe he’d meant to show her that he was stronger than both her and her date.
Igor was unlike Mike in a lot of ways. He was talkative and liked game shows. He worked as a plumber though she could tell he was just passing time, but he was fun. They liked eating out together and going to the movies. What Claire liked best was that he was undemanding.
He didn’t set her body on fire. He didn’t make her want unattainable things. And he didn’t ask anything of her. Claire was free to live her life, and he was there when she needed someone on her arm for work.
“But what about love?” Fred asked.
“What about it?”
“I didn’t say we were engaged, I said we were thinking about it! And I met him online. A new dating app,” Claire answered her friend, Winifred Falk, formerly Castillo, between bites of her salmon avocado roll.
She loved sushi. The friends had agreed to meet at the new Asian fusion restaurant on Main Street in Maccon City, NJ. Roll Over, was small and clean, and the food was great.
Claire took a sip from her mango-passion bubble tea and sighed. She knew she’d have to answer more questions, but she shook her head before Fred could start in on her. Her happily married friend was also a Werewolf, and she could almost hear her questions before she voiced them.
“The app was designed by Graves Enterprises. You have heard of our very own Wolf Guard, Randall Graves, and his software development company?”
“Of course!” Fred agreed. The Macconwood Pack was the most powerful Wolf Pack in the Western hemisphere and the most technologically advanced. The thanks for that went mostly to one of the Alpha’s Wolf Guard, Randall Graves. He was an absolute genius.
“He’s married now, right?” Fred asked.
“Yes, his wife is a very nice woman, Tulla is her name. I met them at an event for Lane Liquors a few months ago.”
“How is your job by the way?”
“Well, we’ve got the next product in our Seasons line, Winter Bite, all ready for its debut. Thank God, I am not the liasion between Lane Liquors and The Thirsty Dog anymore. I happily relinquished that job to David, Mr. Lane’s assistant.”
“Oh yeah, how’s he working out.”
“He’s still new, but getting there.”
“Alright Claire, spill, who is this guy?”
“He’s a Wolf too, new to the Pack. He comes from Russia. His name is Igor. Anyway, he’s looking for a wife to-”
“You are not marrying someone for a green card are you?”
“Shush! Look, not everyone finds their true mate. I’m all alone, Fred, and so is Igor. I need someone to go to business events with, so I am not always standing there like a dope. The wives don’t trust me, they think I’m out to get their men. Really, in this century, I can’t move forward in business without a husband, can you believe it? Anyway, if we can help each other out then, why not? It’s not like I have other prospects.”
Claire tried not to look at her friend. She could feel her big silver eyes staring at her, and she knew there’d be pity in them. Their pack bonds allowed her to get a glimmer of Fred’s feelings, but Claire shrugged it off. It was her life.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to judge,” Fred began, placing her fork down on the table, “Have you talked to Mike since the party last June?”
Claire closed her eyes on the wave of embarrassment that flushed her cheeks. She’d told Fred all about her passionate interlude with the man that had been Fred’s boss once upon a time. She hadn’t meant to, but she’d been upset and confused after it’d happened. Fred had been shocked, to say the least.
“But he still loves his wife,” had been her shocked reply, when Claire had told the other woman what happened and how she felt about the man.
That was when Claire had decided enough was enough. She’d started using the app a few weeks later and the handsome and emotionally available, Igor Petrov, had answered her almost immediately. She’d met the dark haired, green-eyed Wolf on a run with the Pack one full moon night, and they’d been dating ever since.
She used to look for Mike on those runs, but he’d been absent for a long time. The last seven months or so she’d been to two runs with Igor and Mike had been there for one of them. His black Wolf was large and magnificent. The perfect foil for her silver streaked gray Wolf. She stayed away from him on purpose, trying to follow the erratic hunting pattern of her date, Igor.
His own Wolf was a shaggy brown beast a head smaller than Mike’s. Igor didn’t seem to mind being submissive in nature. When Mike took the hunt out of his hands and caught the rabbit they’d been chasing, Igor simply rolled belly up. When he’d dropped the carcass at Claire’s paws, she’d taken the treat, her Wolf-self unwilling to turn down the fresh kill. She had no idea what his motives were. Maybe he’d meant to show her that he was stronger than both her and her date.
Igor was unlike Mike in a lot of ways. He was talkative and liked game shows. He worked as a plumber though she could tell he was just passing time, but he was fun. They liked eating out together and going to the movies. What Claire liked best was that he was undemanding.
He didn’t set her body on fire. He didn’t make her want unattainable things. And he didn’t ask anything of her. Claire was free to live her life, and he was there when she needed someone on her arm for work.
“But what about love?” Fred asked.
“What about it?”