Darrin: The Wolves (King Lake Shifters #3)

Chapter 1

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 and looking 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 wolf shifter, 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. By we’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.

Not bitter.

Just done.

His brothers had found their happily ever afters, but maybe that wasn’t in the cards for him. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to find his truemate.

He didn’t want to think about a future without a sweet female by his side and in his bed, but fate sure seemed to be giving him the middle finger.

By the time he walked into The Amber Howl a little while later, he’d resigned himself to a life alone.

“That bad, huh?” Sigh asked when Dare walked through the kitchen.

“I don’t even want to talk about it.” But he did, giving him a short version of the coffee date that ended before he’d finished half the cup.

Sigh turned around with a plated burger and Dare recognized it as the new burger of the week.

His brother, the head cook, did special burgers that debuted on Mondays with clever names.

His mate, Juliette, swore the burgers were magical and brought mates together because she’d shown up at the tavern for Sigh’s burger of the week – the Blue Monster.

And then Cassidy, Trick’s mate, had shown up for his burger – the Trick Smash.

“Here, drown your sorrows in onion straws and steak sauce.”

“Are you sure about the burger name?” Dare asked. Juliette and Sigh had come up with the name The Alpha Howl for the newest burger of the week.

“It’s for you,” Juliette said as she walked into the kitchen. “I believe your mate will come for you this week. Plus, I already put it on the board and we posted it to social media. It’s a romantic opportunity.”

“It’s a burger.”

Sigh grinned and pulled his mate to his side. “Trust in the process and believe in fate. Trick and I found our mates, you’ll find yours.”

“Yeah,” Juliette said. “Don’t give up.”

“I’m deleting the app.”

Juliette shook her head. “Don’t. Give it one more chance.”

“I did that today at the coffee shop and wound up with a shifter-chasing human.”

Sigh looked down at Juliette. “I think she’s right about the burgers being magic.” Then he looked at Dare. “One more try on the dating app before you delete it. Believe that she’s out there, and eventually you’ll find her.”

“When did you get so optimistic?” Dare asked with a grumble.

“When I found my forever-girl because of a burger.”

Dare carried the plate out to the main room and sat at the bar. The tavern wasn’t open yet, so it was just him in the empty room with his thoughts.

He ate half the burger – which was crazy good – and decided to go on one more date. Then at least his family would get off his back about it.

He opened the app and started looking through the profiles of females in the area. By the time he finished the burger and fries, and contemplated asking Sigh for another burger, he hadn’t found anyone to swipe right on.

Until her.

Light brown hair, jade-green eyes, a sweet smile.

And freaking beautiful.

Something about the photo made his heart skip a beat and his wolf perk up in interest. For the first time since he’d started using the dating app, his wolf wasn’t grumbling in annoyance.

Dare swiped right. He stared at the screen for a moment then set the phone down on the counter. A few minutes later, his phone pinged. It was a match.

He sent a message to her.

Hi Audrey. I’m Darrin. I was wondering if you’re free for a date tonight?

He waited for a response and was rewarded a few minutes later.

Hi! Yes, I’d love to. Do you have a place in mind?

Have you heard of The Amber Howl?

Sure, it’s right across the river from where I live. Does six work? I can meet you there.

That’s perfect.

See you then!

He put the phone down on the bar.

“You okay?” Trick asked.

“Yeah. I just made a date for tonight. Here.”

“No shit? Cool. Do you want me to cover the bar or do you want to bring in Caleb?”

“Caleb doesn’t like working on Mondays, so would you mind covering it?”

“Yeah, no problem. That’s too awesome. Maybe she’s your truemate?”

“Truemate?” Sigh asked as he walked into the main room with Juliette. “Did you make a date?”

“I did,” he said.

“I told you,” Juliette said. “The burgers are magic.”

Well, Dare wasn’t sure about that, but one thing he was certain of was that this was his last chance. At least when it came to dating apps.

If things went south with Audrey, he was deleting the app and hoping fate dropped his mate into his lap.

He was done with blind dates and swiping right.