Chapter 5: The First Meeting

(Danny POV)

The smell of vanilla and strawberries was intoxicating.  I could feel my heart beating a mile a minute, and all of my senses seemed to be on overdrive. 

I had a second chance mate.

I HAD A SECOND CHANCE MATE.

I do not know who was more excited:  me, or my wolf, Mason.

It had been eight years since Beth (my first mate) and I rejected one another.  Mason and I had originally hoped for a second chance mate, but as the years passed, it seemed like a smaller and smaller possibility.  Now aged 30, we had long since given up entirely.

I had toyed with the idea of taking on a chosen mate a few times, but my parents were strongly against it.  They told me that the Moon Goddess works in mysterious ways, and that I needed to wait and trust that things would happen when they were supposed to.  

I didn’t necessarily believe them.  A part of me thought they were just saying that because of how disappointed they were in me for rejecting Beth.  Even so, for the sake of family peace, I complied with my parents’ wishes and devoted most of my time to work and the occasional hook-up.

But now, proof that my parents had been right all along was standing right in front of me.  My miracle was finally here.  My gift from the Moon Goddess.  My second chance mate. 

Without saying anything, I closed and locked the office door.  I then took a moment to study my new mate and gather my thoughts.

Goddess, she was perfect.  I didn’t even need to talk to her to know that.

She was gorgeous, yes… with these big, green eyes that pulled me in… but it was more than that.  She had this energy about her…. this confidence.  It was as intoxicating as her scent.  The draw that I felt to her was at least ten times stronger than the draw to Beth had ever been.

Everything in me wanted to mate and mark her immediately, but I knew that I had to be careful.  I did not want to mess things up with her the way that I had with Beth. 

“Hi,” I said after a long pause.

“Hi,” she replied with a smile. 

Goddess, she had a great smile.

“You are … Jenna?”

She nodded her head.  “Yes.”

I stepped closer to her.  She did not back away from me, so I reached out and cupped her cheek with my hand.

Jenna leaned into my touch, and the sparks that resulted were out-of-this-world.  Again, much stronger than the ones that I had felt with Beth.

“I am Danny.  Danny Nichols.”

She blushed.  “I know.”

“You are a pack member?”

“Yes.”

“Why have I never seen you before?”

“I live in the human world.”

I wrinkled my eyebrows.  It was unusual for a werewolf to live in the human world.  Visiting was common, but to live there full-time?  That was really strange.

“Why?”

“I am an attorney.  I have a law practice there.”

“Okaaaaaaayyyy.  I don’t understand.  We have attorneys who live in the pack.”

A look briefly crossed Jenna’s eyes, but I did not know her well enough to know what it was.

“I have a different kind of practice than they do.”

Huh.  I admittedly knew very little about the legal system, so maybe that made sense.

“Well, luckily you won’t have to work when you move back here.”

I felt Jenna tense.

“I mean, you can work if you want to.  I was just thinking that, as the beta’s mate, you are going to have a full plate of responsibilities.  Having a full-time job on top of that would be complicated.”

Especially if we want pups, I added silently.  And I eagerly wanted pups.  Beth didn’t; that is one of the reasons that we broke up.

To my surprise, Jenna removed my hand from her face and took a couple of steps back.  My wolf whined at the loss of physical contact with his mate.

“I am happy in the human world,” she replied.

Oh.  That is the issue.  She didn’t want to move.

But that didn’t make any sense.  How could any wolf be happy living in the human world?  Werewolves always preferred to live with other wolves.  

“And you weren’t happy here?” I asked, confused.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.  The air in the room became immediately cold.  Jenna turned her back to me and put even more space between us.

“Way to go, moron,” Mason complained in my head.

“I am happier in the human world than I ever was here,” she responded.

I didn’t understand what I had done wrong, but I wanted to kick myself.  How did I mess things up with her so quickly? 

I had to get things back on track, and I had to do so quickly.

I went over to where she was now standing, turned her around, and took both of her hands in mine.  Once her eyes made eye contact with mine, I gave her the most charming smile that I could.

“You are beautiful,” I told her.  I felt her soften just a bit.  “And I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life getting to know you.  I promise that I will make you happy, here or there, or wherever you want to live.”

Secretly, I hoped that she would not ask me to move and give up my role as beta, but I would do it if I absolutely had to.  I could get another job, but I could not lose a second mate.

I felt her start to melt.  A tentative smile returned to her face.

“But you are a beta ---”

“And you are my mate.”

“Your job cannot transfer ---”

“It doesn’t matter, Jenna.  You are my mate.  I am not going to make you live anywhere that you don’t want to live.  We will work it out; I promise.  But we don’t have to make any decisions today, yes?  Let’s just get to know one another, and then we can go from there.”

Jenna’s smile got bigger.   “Okay.”

“Let’s start with dinner.”

She nodded, and for a moment, I felt like I had won the lottery.

Little did I know that I had just made the first two promises in a series of promises that I would break.