Page 19 of Darrin: The Wolves

She hugged her parents goodbye, smiling when her dad whispered, “He’s a keeper.”

Dare opened the car door for her and shut her in, then got behind the wheel. “They’re great,” he said. “I think they like me?”

“Yeah, they do.”

“I’m glad. I was worried.”

“You didn’t look worried.”

“I hid it well, then. I was nervous as hell.”

“As nervous as I am about meeting your family for real now?” She’d met Sigh and Juliette, and had seen Trick behind the bar but hadn’t met his mate, Cassidy. A quick meeting was one thing, but spending time with them, knowing she’d be part of their family someday, was an entirely different thing.

“You don’t have to worry about them. They already like you because you’re my mate. The pack is very accepting.”

She liked that a lot. But she was still nervous.

They drove to King Lake with the windows down, the warm air ruffling the ends of her hair. The Amber Howl came into view as they crossed the bridge, and he drove past it and parked in front of his house.

“The band will be here around one to audition,” Dare said. “Are you ready to meet my pack? Then I need to help get the main room ready.”

“Sounds good,” she said.

They walked hand in hand to the tavern, and her nerves were jangling like bells. She really wanted his pack to like her.

They found his brothers and mates getting the main room ready by sweeping the floor, righting the chairs, and setting the tables with condiments.

“Well, hey you two,” Juliette said. “How was breakfast with the parents?”

“It went great,” Audrey said.

“I’m Cass,” a woman said, wiping down menus at the bar with Trick. She put down the menu and walked over, giving Audrey a hug. “Juliette told me that she met you at the bookstore. I work at The Coffee Shop Next Door.”

“I love that place,” she said. “It’s a weekend treat for me.”

The next hour passed in a blur as Audrey helped get the main room ready. Juliette and Cass stayed close by her, sharing about finding their mates at the tavern and what it meant to be a wolf’s truemate.

“You say truemate and mate like they’re not the same thing,” Audrey said.

“Truemate means the one person meant for a shifter,” Juliette said. “Shifters will sometimes not wait for their truemate, or their alpha might arrange a mating for them. Because they’re notfated mates, meant to be together, it’s the more general term of mate.”

“I didn’t realize wolves had arranged matings,” Audrey said.

“I think it’s an old school thing,” Cass said. “I heard that the dragons on the ridge left their clan because of arranged matings, and there’s even a wedding coordinator business run by a trio of dragon ladies called Rings & Wings, who left their clan so they could wait for their fated mates.”

Audrey hummed. “It sounds complicated.”

“Well, the only thing you need to know is that Dare waited for you,” Juliette said. “Just like Sigh waited for me.”

“And Trick waited for me,” Cass said. She put her hand on Audrey’s arm. “That means you’re special to him in a way that no one else will ever be. When they say truemate, they meanfatedmate. Meant to be, written in the stars, and all that good romance stuff that Juliette loves to read about.”

“I like those kinds of books, too,” Audrey said.

“Maybe I need to read romances,” Cass said.

“Baby, I’ll give you all the romance you need,” Trick called from across the room.

Cass grinned. “That’s my man.”