10. MJ
MJ
I s this freaking guy kidding me?
It’s been four days.
Four. Whole. Days.
And Carter freaking Leone still hasn’t dismissed the Date to Mate match alert.
Which means?
I can’t move on.
Can’t match with anyone else.
Can’t even flirt with a nice Vampire EMT who ordered a veggie pie and winked at me.
As my brother-in-law Doug explains— mouth full of Nutella pizza, mind you —during our makeshift family gathering at Horace and Carina’s place:
“It’s a whole supernatural thing, MJ. Like, if a female gets dinged as a possible mate for someone else, most Shifters are gonna give her a wide berth. Nothing like an angry mated male to ruin a guy’s day.”
I gape at him over my steaming mug of decaf.
“Doug, Carter isn’t my possible anything.”
And yeah, the admission stings a little more than I’d like.
Even though we barely spoke.
Even though he’s a dumb, confusing, gorgeous idiot.
Even though I definitely imagined him bending me over the pizza prep counter once or twice this week.
“The app says different, MJ,” Horace chimes in, lazily scratching his beard like he’s got ancient Shifter wisdom to impart. “And that’s good as gold to most.”
“Oh my God, Honey Bear,” Carina groans as she waddles into the room, hands cradling her baby bump, “are you only saying that ‘cause you helped code the app?”
Cue synchronized gagging from Dina and me.
“OOOH! How is my little niece or nephew today?” Dina squeals, dropping to her knees and baby-talking to Carina’s belly like the kid’s gonna answer back in Shifter Morse code .
“Dina, get up, you maniac,” Carina giggles, but she’s got that smug glowy mom-to-be thing going on, and it’s honestly the cutest.
I grin at the chaos, because how can I not?
This is my family. My loud, over-the-top, magical, pain-in-my-ass family.
And I love them.
Still, I’m too wrapped up in my own drama to be any real fun tonight. Then it hits me. What Carina just said.
“That’s right,” I say, narrowing my eyes at Horace. “You did help write some of the app, didn’t you?”
“Guilty.”
“Well then.” I lean forward, like I’m about to ask for a black market spell. “Can you fix it?”
“Fix what?”
“Make it so I’m not pinged as someone else’s possible mate?”
Horace frowns. “Um. Actually? I can’t. Not unless Carter unmatches you on his end. That’s the failsafe. Keeps creeps from gaming the system.”
I groan and flop onto the nearest cushion, muttering something about Lion Shifters and commitment issues .
“Okay, but,” Dina offers, nibbling on her crust, “we can always call Uncle Uzzi.”
Oh, boy.
That’s like saying we could always summon a mischievous hurricane with sparkly shoes and an attitude problem.
But hey, I’m desperate.
“Fine,” I mumble. “Let’s call the meddling matchmaker and see if he’s got a workaround.”
We call.
And as it turns out, he does.
Or something like a workaround.
“Liebling!” Uncle Uzzi cries from the other end of the magical mirror, which Carina props up between two bookshelves, one filled entirely with different kinds of honey— okay that’s weird .
“You are in distress, MJ! I felt it in my knees!”
“Ookay.”
“Um, hi, Uncle Uzzi,” we all mumble in unison.
He beams, white hair slicked, velvet robes trailing dramatically even in digital form.
“Don’t say another word. Now, I have just the thing to help MJ and her little mate problem!
An East Coast mixer for Date to Mate subscribers located at a historic mansion overlooking the Hudson River.
I’ve rented the entire place to celebrate the Fall Equinox!
” Uncle Uzzi’s blue eyes sparkle, and he claps his hands together like he just announced I won the lottery or something.
“Wait. You want me to go to a mixer?” I ask, blinking. “Like a magical meet and greet for people who believe in soulmates?”
“Yah! But more specifically, for supernaturals who want to meet their mates!”
“And you think this will fix my problem?”
“Oh no, my dear. This will complicate everything beautifully. You’ll either get a new ping, or a certain cowardly Lion will get off his fuzzy behind and finally fight for what the Fates already gave him.”
Dina leans over to whisper, “He means Carter.”
“Obviously,” I snap. “I’m not going to a mansion in the woods just to play ring-around-the-rosy with other maybe-mates.”
But then Carina gets that look.
The one where she’s picturing me blissed out, barefoot and mated, with a little cub of my own stealing my heart.
“You deserve love too, MJ,” she says softly.
And damn it.
I might not believe in fated mates the way they do.
But I do want someone who sees me.
Who chooses me. Even if it’s not Carter Leone.
So maybe I’ll go.
And maybe that stupid hot Lion with his big gold eyes and mouth made for sin will be there, too.
If not?
Well, this Hudson River mansion better have good snacks.