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He is such a gentleman. Whichever lucky ladies ends up with him should really cherish this creature. With all his caring, compassion, and love, he is surely going to make his mates happy. He pulls me under his arm when that first gust of cold air breezes through our coats. Nestled under his arm, I allow his warmth to seep into my soul.

“You okay, Aspen?”

Looking up at him, I see the warm glow of his amber eyes shine with love. “Yes, always. Especially when I’m with you.”

It doesn’t take us long to reach the edge of the pack territory. It never does and, sometimes, I wish it would. Chase spins me around to face him. His fingers trail down the side of my face as he sweeps my hair back.

“You are so beautiful, Aspen. You deserve a love like the ones you see in the books you read. If he doesn’t give you that, thenhe doesn’t deserve you. Chase after that love, and never settle for less.” He leans in and places a soft kiss on my forehead.

A quiet whimper leaves my throat. “Come home with me tonight. I don’t want to be alone.”

He shakes his head gently. “I would if I could, but you know I’m not allowed on pack lands, especially now that your mate's best friend is the pack leader.”

“Silas isn’t...”

He puts one finger across my lips.

“I know Silas isn’t that type of leader, but if he found another man, especially a different species, around his best friend's mate, he would choose Warrick over me. And that’s okay. I would expect him to do that.”

I let out a heavy sigh, the weight of loneliness seeping in. “Fine. I just wish for once that I didn’t have to be alone at night.”

Pulling me into a hug, he wraps me tightly in his arms. “I know you don’t and hopefully you won’t be alone for much longer.”

My head rests on his chest as I listen to the steady beat of his heart. Maybe I will give Warrick a chance, but I want to talk to Nova first. She could give me some advice about making him work for it. I just wish we wouldn’t have had to go through all of this. Why couldn’t I have a normal mateship?

“If you want a love like those in your story books, then you already know that love is never easy, quick, or without challenge,”Aisling pipes in.

“I just want to be loved, Aisling. I want to have a mate to come home to, someone to make a home with. Some days, I wish Chase wasn’t a mountain lion,”I say back to her.

“I know, Aspen. He is a great guy. He smells awful, but he is super caring and sweet. Alas, it wasn’t in the cards for us. Warrick will come around. Give him a chance.”

With that, she leaves to go back to the subconscious part of my mind.

“It’s time for you to get to your cabin. I know you are a wolf and all that, but I don’t think these temperatures support long-term standing in them. Especially in our human forms.”

“I know. I just was soaking up as much contact as I could before you left me in my big empty cabin,” I say while pushing my lower lip out in a pout.

He pinches it between his fingers gently. “Quit being so dramatic. We both know that you will put on a murder mystery show and crash out before the first ten minutes of the episode airs.”

I glare at him as I stomp my foot like a toddler. “That’s not true at all.”

He laughs before he turns to head to the mountain lion territory. “Of course not. You would never do that at all.” His laugh rings out around us. “Good night, Aspen.”

I watch for a few seconds as he walks away. The tugging in my chest never lightens up. How I wish I could follow the sensation and have my mate wrap me in his arms.

I might not be able to have my mate, but maybe I can help Chase find his mates. They obviously aren’t here, but how hard can it be to find them? Surely there aren't that many mountain lion shifters that we can’t find her.

Chapter 6

Warrick

After tossing and turning all night long, I finally gave up around 5 A.M. I considered several ideas on how to win over my mate, but I finally landed on showing up each day at her shop. She can’t refuse me if I am a paying customer, right?

On my way down to the bookstore, I pause outside the window of Flick the Bean.Does Aspen like coffee? How would I even know what coffee to get her?Sighing, I’m just about to give up on the idea when I hear someone clearing their throat besideme. Gail. I don’t even need to look because one small inhale has already told me everything I need to know.

“Good morning, Gail,” I say without looking at her.

Hazel is busily getting the shop ready for the morning. That is another problem: Hazel.How am I going to get past her without the third degree? Would she even willingly tell me what Aspen likes for a coffee, or would she intentionally tell me the wrong drink?