Juven
Someone was shoving my shoulder and, since I was dead asleep, that person was going to get a piece of my mind. “What?” I yelled out after scenting Shaman.
He was my brother in all ways but blood, but he was in trouble.
“I met someone. I think she’s my mate. My animal knows she’s my mate, but she wants more than one, and there’s only one person in the world I would share a mate with, and—”
“What?” I asked, thinking this was a dream of a dream of a nightmare.
“Stop saying what.”
The click of the light by my nightstand made me sit up and pay attention. Shaman didn’t make a habit of waking me up in the middle of the night, so this might be an emergency. But he said something about mate?
I rubbed my eyes and tried to get my brain moving. “You met someone? Where? I went to the city all day.”
“I…downloaded an app.”
Shaman should really get to the point. First a mate and now an app? “Start from the beginning. Don’t leave anything out.”
“I downloaded an app. It’s for finding your mate. I found her, but she wants more than one mate.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
“Because there’s no one else I would even think about sharing a mate with. Can I sign you up? Do you want to see her picture?”
“Picture? No. It’s the middle of the night.”
“So, can I sign you up? It’s free.”
I wanted him to do whatever it took to make him go away. I valued my sleep more than most things in life. “Fine. Sign me up. Is it all about this one person?”
“Amber. That’s her name. She’s perfect. Beautiful. Smart. She’s it for me—maybe for us. Can I sign you up or not?”
“Will you leave me in peace?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Go for it.”
I drifted off into dreamland again.
The next morning, I shot up in bed. My memory of the night before was hazy, but I recalled some of the major points.
Mate.
Amber.
Dating App.
Sharing a mate?
I threw off the covers and noticed my phone wasn’t on my nightstand. Oh yeah, he was signing us up.
“Shaman!” I yelled and padded down the stairs to the kitchen where the smell of coffee and blueberry biscuits filled the air.
“I’m here. Hope you’re hungry. I’ve been trying this blueberry butter swim biscuit recipe.”
“Did you sign us up for some kind of mating app? Someone named Amber?”
His smile grew, and all the recipes and coffee were long forgotten. “Yes. You said it was okay.”
“It is? I don’t know. Tell me everything.”
He reached for the coffee and, Goddess bless him, he let me get through half a cup before continuing. “I signed up for the Mail-Order Matings app because we’re almost thirty and our chances of meeting our mate up here in the mountains are slim to none.”
“When did you do all of this?” I asked, picking up my phone and seeing the new icon.
“Yesterday.”
Maybe I was still dreaming. “You downloaded this app, signed up, and found a mate for not only you but us in one day? I’ve been underestimating you.”
He chuckled. “I couldn’t believe it myself. I was on the app only a few hours. She was the first person we matched with. I saw her and…”
“Amber? Did I remember that correctly?” I asked.
“Get on the app. I thought it was a fluke. Maybe even a mistake but, when I signed you up, she was the first match for you as well.”
I sat on the stool and brought up the app. The icon at the top said I had new notifications and the first one was a match—Amber. “She’s beautiful.” I scrolled through her profile, not believing it myself.
“And smart and interesting and…”
Mate.
My unicorn whispered the notion. The word was muttered so quietly that I barely noticed the sound. “This all could be a farce, Juven. Is this even real?”
That was me, always the doubting one.
“I checked out the app. It’s legit. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of relationships that started on this app.”
“Did you google her pic? What if it’s one of those catfishing situations?”
Juven sighed and took the biscuits from the oven. We were desperate to find a mate or mates, but we couldn’t just jump into something that would only break our hearts.
Our unicorns were desperate. That was all.
“Shaman, it’s real. Amber is real.”
“Okay, let’s say she is. What do we do now?”
“We send her a message. I’ve been holding off because she wanted two mates.”
Two mates. The female knew what she wanted. I liked that. Still, I had reservations. Maybe this would go no further than a few messages.
“There’s no one else I would ever trust with my mate but you. Go on. Send her a message.”
“You have to as well.”
I scoffed. “Okay. Let’s make this happen.”
We got on the app and sent her messages, but the doubt lingered. I wanted it to be real. Amber was stunning and seemed smart. And then there was the thing about my animal speaking to me.
I sure hoped this didn’t get our hopes up and then break our hearts.