Unexpected Mate Found

         Robert Northgate, Alpha of the Shadow Mists Pack, the largest pack in the state. He owned The Wolf’s Den Bar and Grill. He disliked being the town’s top bachelor. His reputation in the region often had him described by his good looks, protective nature, and his temper. Most of the town only thought his family was tight knit like many others in the region. But wolves stayed to themselves in packs naturally.

         Robert was putting the finishing touches on prepping the bar for tonight. All he needed to do now was accept the liqueur shipment. It was late, but that was expected. Sam warned him this would happen. The shop where he purchased his alcohol from changed Sam’s route.

He’d spent most of his twenty-eight years of his life right here in Lilac Grove. He’d watched the women change toward him over those years. Ever since he got his first tattoo at seventeen and grew his beard, the women of Lilac Grove either hated or loved him in equal parts. It annoyed him sometimes, when they ran hot and cold to him. Nothing turned him off more than a woman who couldn’t decide. Was he big and scary or big and sexy? How was he supposed to respond to such mixed signals?

         His cellphone rang in his pocket. He took the phone from his back pocket of his faded jeans and answered it. “Rob Northgate here. Talk to me.” He needed a haircut again. His dark hair was curling around the base of his neck, and it was bugging him again.

         “Rob, it’s Sam. I’m stuck out front of your place. Some silly woman’s parked over the laneway to your delivery entrance. I’m running late and she won’t move. Can you come out and do something with her? Move her along or something. If she doesn’t move in the next few minutes, I’m going to be forced to move on to my next delivery and come back at the end of my route if I can.”

         “Geez. Some people. Yeah, I’ll be right out. Hang tight.” He grabbed his jean jacket before he left the bar. He hated being seen by the town’s human population. His tattoos seemed to disturb them a little too much, and he wasn’t interested in explaining them to people. It wasn’t their business what they meant if they had to ask.

         He needed that alcohol for tonight or he wouldn’t make his payments on the bar and several other things for the pack. People needed their paychecks, and his suppliers wanted their payments.

         If that wasn’t bad enough right now. People were going missing outside of town. Not just humans, but wolves, too. There were hunters roaming the town and the state park was now looking at feral wolves as the problem. Robert knew that wasn’t the reason and it wasn’t hunting season. There was no hunting within the state park, either. Something was going on and his pack needed to find out what it was.

         There were rumours of another pack or a group of rogues wanting a piece of his pack’s territory, and that would happen over his dead body. This was his pack and his territory. They’ll just have to move on to somewhere else.

         He stormed out expecting to see Mrs Grady or one of the older church ladies puttering about their old Chevy car they used only to get to town once a week and church. But it wasn’t. This was an old truck with a cover over the bed and the smallest woman he’d ever seen trying to climb into the back of it, with bags as big as her.

         He didn’t have a clue who she was, but there were words on the truck’s door that read, DR. R. Allen, Lilac Grove Veterinary Services & Clinic, Specializing in Large Breads with an address and phone number.

         Great, the new vet sent this tiny woman to do a man’s job this early in the morning. Now he was offended by her. Rob’s attention came back to the tiny blonde. She could barely get the bags onto the open door of the truck bed. She’d then need to climb into the truck bed to secure the bags in place before crawling from the bed of the truck to the ground for the last of the bags. He couldn’t tell how many of these trips she’d done already. Now she struggled to get the doors on the cab shut properly. The woman had to use a rope to pull the upper door shut.

         He rushed to help her and saw a huge animal crate in among the bags and boxes before the doors shut. While he saved her from the upper door slamming into her head. “Watch it. What are you doing? You shouldn’t be parked here. Someone bigger should pack this.” He noticed two things right off the bat. She left the veterinary clinic door open, and the truck bed was over full with he could only guess what. How’d she fit it all in there he’d never know?

         “Only place I could park if I have any hope of making my rounds at the allotted times today. Old Man Jacobs blocked me out of my lane way again and I can’t get to where I usually load up.” Rob could hear the frustration and desperation in her voice. He couldn’t get over how it twisted his insides. Wolves were intuitive, but he’d never felt like this toward a human.

         “Who are you?” He couldn’t help but find out who she was. He needed to find out more about her.

         “What? Who are you? Let me guess, you’re the Rob the driver there threatened to sick on me if I didn’t move out of his way fast enough.” She turned his words right back on him and didn’t answer his question at all.

         “I need the delivery right now for tonight, and he’s threatening to leave without making it. You need to move your vehicle. I also asked who are you first. You should have the decency to at least answer that.”