Page 8 of His True Mate

He scratched at the scruffy beard on his chin and considered that.

“What does him being your cousin have to do with anything? My parents were cousins too and I turned out just fine.”

I quite literally bit my tongue and prayed he couldn’t smell the trickle of blood I was now tasting.

“Not Rendall. All he did was ask me out on a date, and I told him no. And I will never be interested.”

Dane sighed. “You’ve always thought yourself better than the rest of us, Win, and you’re not. You’re nothing and without a mate to protect you, you never will amount to anything. Zeb’s getting on in age and your daddy never did produce a male. I’m not an idiot, I’d love to see new blood in the Pack, but with our lifestyle that’s not always easy. Sometimes you just have to make sacrifices.”

“Are you seriously telling me to mate my cousin and give you male pups to raise up for the rodeo?”

“Yeah, I think I am.”

“Well then, Dane, let me make this painfully clear. I will never mate Rendall or anyone else in the family. If I take a mate, it will be my true mate and nothing less. As Maxi already pointed out, the odds of that are less than none. Which means you can forget about me ever giving you a male pup.”

“Well, what if you did find your true mate?” he asked.

I sighed. Sometimes I felt like I got the only brain cell in the family.

“If I met my true mate, chances are he’d take me away to his Pack. So unless he just really loves the rodeo and wants to stick around, then you’re going to have to count me out on any repopulation and growth plans. Sorry,” I said sweetly.

“I could make you,” he threatened letting his Alpha power flow out just enough for me to feel it. All that ever did was piss off my wolf.

I rolled my eyes. “Then I’ll be forced to run away the second you let your guard down.”

“I know, I know,” he said coldly. “You’ll run away from the circus instead of to it. Hardy-har-har. I’ve heard it all before Winnie, but someday soon you’re just going to have to grow the hell up and do what’s right for the Pack.”

That’s your problem, not mine,I thought but didn’t dare say.

Dane turned on his heel and stomped off.

“He looked pissed, Win. Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” I assured her. “He’s been pressing it more than usual lately though. Ever since Rendall showed interest in me again, Dane’s been eager to mate us off. I’m not going to let that happen though.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Simple. I’m going to have to leave.”

“What?” she screeched. “You can’t do that. We need you here. I need you here.”

“Maxi, you’ll be fine. You’re going to find a nice man and settle down. You’re happy here. This is home to you. I’ve never fully felt like I’ve fit in here. The only part I love is the thrill of the show. You know that. The rest of my life sucks. I’ve just been too scared to venture out alone. But maybe it’s finally time.”

“What about what your mama told you about your wolf going crazy if you left the Pack? And the warnings to stay clear of other shifters, especially large Packs?”

I shrugged. “Honestly, my wolf is never happy, and neither am I. We need big open spaces to run and be free. I’ll likely do better with that than only ever letting her out in a freaking cage for an hour once or twice a month. I think we’d be happier. And really, can it be any crazier than here?”

“You’ve made up your mind. I can feel it.”

Maxi looked sad, but I knew she’d be supportive of my decision.

Slowly I nodded.

“Tomorrow night will be my last show. After this, I’m on my own. It has to be this way.”

Maxi had tears in her eyes as she nodded.

“I know. I’m going to miss you so much around here.”