Page 1 of Darrin: The Wolves

Just how many bad dates was a guy supposed to go on before he admitted defeat and accepted the cold, empty bed in his house as the future?

Alpha wolf Dare wasn’t sure, but he’d agreed to one more date. For coffee this time, at The Coffee Shop Next Door in the human town of Mill Creek.

His wolf was agitated, but he couldn’t quite figure out why as he drove from the shifter town of King Lake across the bridge and parked behind the coffee shop where his younger brother Trick’s mate Cassidy worked mornings.

He opened the dating app and looked at the woman’s picture. Caroline was twenty-five andlooking for love. After he’d swiped on her because she was pretty, they’d chatted a bit and settled on coffee. But now that he was here, staring at the coffee shop highlighted by the late morning sunlight, he couldn’t figure out why his wolf was not the least bit interested in going inside.

If only he could talk to the beast in his subconscious, but all he got were growls and snarls.

Unhelpful.

With a sigh, he got out of his car and shut the door, tucked his phone into his back pocket, and walked inside. The scent of coffee and baked goods brightened his mood a little. He scanned the space and saw Caroline waving at him from a small table.

“I’ll be right over,” he said.

He stepped up to the counter and ordered a coffee, and once it was ready, he joined Caroline at the table.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said.

“Oh, you’re even better looking than your picture,” she said.

“Uh, thanks. So, tell me about yourself.” He lifted his coffee and took a drink.

“Well, I work for my dad. He’s got a couple of restaurants and I run the front of the house at the more upscale one.” She leaned forward, resting her chin on her fist. “So, do you growl a lot? I’d like to hear your wolf.”

Alarm bells clanged in his head.

“It’s not something I do without a good reason,” he said.

She pouted. “Well, we could always skip over all this awkward get-to-know-you stuff and go somewhere more private.”

His hand tightened on the cup. Shit.

“What?” he asked.

“You know,” she said, lowering her voice. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be with a wolf.”

“I’m a wolfshifter, not a natural wolf.”

“Right. Sure.” She waved her hand dismissively. “It just seems very cool. I knew when I saw your profile that you’d be the right guy. You’re sexy and you’re a wolf.”

He knew that dating apps were mostly based on appearances at first, but he’d never expected to swipe right on a person who was so blatantly looking for a good time with him simply because he was a shifter.

Pushing back in the chair, he rose to his feet. “I think we’re done here.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, sure! Do you want me to follow you to your pack?”

“Not even a little bit. Bywe’re done here, I mean I don’t want to keep this date going. Have a nice day.”

He grabbed his coffee and walked out of the shop as she sputtered at the table and then called him a jerk.

Maybe he was a jerk.

He wasn’t trying to have a one-nighter with a female who only wanted to bang him because he was a wolf. Who even acted like that in public?

By the time he got back to King Lake, he was more tired than angry.

Tired of being alone, tired of bad date after bad date.