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Chapter One

Silver

I wasn’t sure why I put up with my brothers.

They drove me crazy on a good day, but on bad days?

It wasn’t uncommon for me to want to unalive them.

Now was no exception. I’d had a particularly shitty day with more than one complaint from a difficult client.

No matter what we did to accommodate them, they couldn’t seem to be satisfied.

I was past regretting taking them on as clients and was well on my way to breaking our contract with them, consequences be damned.

But all of that aside, that didn’t explain the odd email I just received. At first, I thought it was spam, but when I looked up the company and email it came from, nope. Completely legit. I still couldn’t believe what I was reading.

Ready to find the one that’s unquestionably perfect for you in every way? Valentine’s Day is the ideal opportunity to meet your perfect one.

Since its start, Mate Match has helped thousands of paranormals just like you find a mate to spend their lives with.

Since you’ve chosen to act now, your chances of finding your fated mate are increased.

Historically, those who have used Mate Match during this magical time have found not only a mate to bond with but one that was fated to be theirs.

We’re excited to announce that we’ve teamed up with Portland’s own magical Under the Sea restaurant to provide the perfect setting for your meet-up.

I honestly wouldn’t really give that email a second thought if not for the follow-up one.

Dear Silver,

Welcome to Mate Match! We here at Mate Match are excited that you’ve decided now is the time to find your perfect magical match!

After the information you supplied was inputted into our database, we’ve found who we believe to be your fated mate.

As you have specified, your blind date has been set up, and everything you need to know about the how and when can be found below.

Have questions? Be sure to reach out to someone here at Mate Match, and we’ll answer to the best of our ability. We pride ourselves on not only our match record but our customer support as well.

We would like to thank you once more for joining again for joining the thousands that have decided to let fate take the wheel of finding their perfect mate.

Sincerely,

The Mate Match Team

You have chosen “blind date” as your preferred meet-up option. Below are the specifics of your date:

Date name: Charlie

Date location: Whispering Pines Zoo—Under the Sea Restaurant

Date and Time: February 14th at 6:30

How to locate your date: Charlie has agreed to meet you in the Under the Sea Restaurant for a romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner!

Every year, the zoo hosts a “dine and find love under the sea” event in their under-aquarium restaurant.

Your date will be wearing a pink dress shirt and a blue blazer with a pink rose on the lapel.

We wish the both of you luck and love.

Seriously, what was going on? I never signed up for Mate Match.

And I certainly wouldn’t have asked for a blind date.

I was incredibly happy being single. I went out with my brothers when we all needed to burn off certain “energy,” but I most definitely did not sign up for any type of dating app.

I didn’t do dates. Hookups and friends with benefits?

That was more my style. Why would I need a mate?

I had a perfectly fulfilling life as is.

I heard laughter in the hallway and rolled my eyes at my brothers.

I glanced back at the monitor, then listened to them carrying on in the hallway.

Did one of them do this? I wouldn’t put it past any of those yahoos.

Ma had been on all of us to finally settle down and give her some grandkids, and since they were of a similar mind as I was with regards to mates and kids…

I could certainly see them as sacrificing me for their own benefit.

“Clay!” I called out to my next oldest brother. I would get to the bottom of this right now because there was no way I was going on any date. Especially not a blind date. I didn’t date. Ever. My gorilla didn’t seem to have any desire for a mate and children, and I simply wasn’t interested.

Clay came around the corner, still laughing about whatever he and my brothers were carrying on about.

“What’s up, boss?”

I glared at my brother. He was only calling me boss because he knew it pissed me off. I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms in front of my chest. That wiped the smile off his face. He knew I was serious about something.

“Want to tell me which of you I need to unalive?”

Clay gave me a confused look. “What do you mean? We haven’t fought like that since we were teens and overly territorial when it came to our animals.”

I pointed at my monitor, and Clay came into the office to read it. I was able to see the array of emotions cross his face as he got further along in the two emails. His expression went from surprise to shock and then on to amusement. He was smirking when he finally met my gaze again.

“Which one of you idiots set me up?” I was seriously going to hurt someone. It had been a while since I’d broken a nose. I rather missed fieldwork at times. Maybe I should force Clay to take on more office duties so I could spend some time away from dealing with pain-in-my-ass clients.

Clay snorted. “You think one of us was stupid enough to do that?” Clay stood up and shook his head. “Naw. We wouldn’t do that. But I’m sure you can figure out who would.” Clay started chuckling before he sauntered out of my office.

I didn’t believe him for even a moment that it wasn’t one of them that had done this. They were always doing things like this, especially when it impacted me specifically.

“Woo-hoo-hoo!” Slate, my youngest brother, said as he suddenly appeared in my doorway. He was the baby and by far the most annoying. He was definitely a momma’s boy, and if you ever said or did anything against him, you’d get it from Ma.

“Go away, Slate,” I warned. “I’m not in the mood.”

“No way. This is too funny. Have you figured it out yet?”

I crossed my arms in front of my chest again and glared at my baby brother.

“I know it was either one or several, if not all of you. If you don’t fess up, I’m going to make you all miserable for a very long time.

It’s one thing to play a little joke; this here involves an innocent person, which is messed up on all levels. ”

Slate’s smile wiped off his face immediately, and he became serious.

“I didn’t do it, Silver. I swear. But you’re right, and I didn’t think about it that way.

” Slate glanced down the hallway and then came in and closed the door.

“I was at Ma and Dad’s last week. I saw it open on their computer.

Dad noticed I saw it and mentioned how Ma was taking drastic measures to get her boys mated off. ”

My gorilla was absolutely pissed at that thought. What was she thinking? “He didn’t stop her? He doesn’t see how absolutely wrong it is to do something like this?”

Slate shrugged. “I don’t know, Silver. I only know that I saw the Mate Match website up on their computer. I was there to do some laundry, so I was hanging out for a little while. I happened to see it, and Dad just shook his head and told me her plans.”

That was so messed up. Completely and totally. Not only was Ma overstepping where I was concerned, but now she had gone and involved a completely innocent party. Now, I had to figure out how to fix it.

I growled a little, and Slate held his hands out in front of him. As brothers, we were all fairly well matched when it came to the strength of our gorillas. But as the oldest, my brothers all defaulted to me as the unofficial “alpha.” Not that we really had a troop.

“Thanks, Slate,” I told my brother after taking a moment to calm myself. “Now I get to figure out how to tell this Charlie person that I am not his mate, nor do I want to be.”

Slate shrugged before leaning back against the wall next to the door.

“You know, you could always go and have dinner with him. According to their site, they claim they have a huge database and are really good at matching mates that just haven’t met yet.

” Slate stood up and snorted. “Since when have you ever turned down a free meal? And from what I understand, meeting your mate is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before. ”

I narrowed my eyes at my brother. He laughed as he hurried out of my office.

I suddenly had a headache and rubbed the center of my forehead with my fingers.

I would have to figure this out because it wasn’t fair to Charlie.

He had filled this stuff out with the intention of finding a mate to have a life with.

My email chimed again, and when I glanced at it, there was yet another email from Mr. Journey.

I absolutely wasn’t in the right frame of mind to deal with him at the moment, so I simply closed my email.

After forwarding myself the things I would need to finish up this evening, I shut down my computer and left my office.

When I got to the end of the hallway that had our offices in it, my brothers, who had still been joking around and carrying on, all immediately went quiet.

I couldn’t help but growl at them as I walked by.

Slate gave me a sympathetic look, Clay smirked, and Flint and Mica suddenly found something on the table behind them interesting.

Clay stepped forward, raised a hand, and I turned toward him, my eyes those of my silverback.

When I snarled and he saw my canines, he held up both hands and took several steps back.

I absolutely wasn’t in the mood for any of them.

“Mica, you messed up with Mr. Journey again,” I growled out. “Because I have to fix your crap again, you are now on babysitting duty next week,” I told my brother.