Mr. Shifter - The Lost Alpha's Human Mate

[MARIANNE]

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A full year. Twelve men. I was done with this. I was sick and tired of all the introductions and small talk. But apparently, my parents were not willing to give up until their eldest daughter found a man willing to marry her.

“You’re 29 years old, Marianne.” My father, Martin Sinclair, wisely opened the conversation I had been avoiding the most, especially at a dinner with the entire extended family.

“Is there something wrong with the number 29?” I raised my glass, slowly swirling the wine inside it.

My grandmother stared at me sternly. “You are the first grandchild of the Sinclair family, and I expect you to soon give us the first great-grandchild, one who is worthy and capable of preserving the dignity of the Sinclair family.”

“Twelve men, Maria. Twelve men from respectable families, with good educational backgrounds, careers, and futures, yet you rejected every single one of them?” my mother added. She looked at me worriedly.

I looked at them one by one. In this day and age, why were they still so old-fashioned? Why did I have to get married?

“Why do I have to get married and have children? Do you want to ruin my future?”

My father snorted, his fork clinking against the plate.

“Ruin what? You have a higher education background, yet you chose to work at a small clinic taking care of those animals.”

“Yeah, cats, rabbits, dogs. It seems you’re more interested in socializing with animals than with humans.”

I narrowed my eyes at my younger brother, Maximilian, who was two years younger than me. He had a good reputation in the family, but I knew his secret. He was a playboy who never actually dated women, only played around with them.

“Taking care of animals shows empathy, Max. Your name is Max, but your empathy is minimal. You’d better shut up. Besides, you’re the one giving women trauma, you know?”

Max choked on his drink and started coughing. Just then, Aunt Madelyn interrupted, “Doesn’t Mr. Savior have a good son? I heard you didn’t even attend that blind date and rejected him right away.”

“I don’t want to waste my time. Another introduction and more small talk with the same damn template for an entire year! Besides, why do I have to get married? Does Dad want to get rid of me? Can’t he afford to support me anymore?”

My father snorted. “Funny. This isn’t about money, Maria.”

“Martin is right. This is about integrity and legacy,” my grandmother added.

I slowly took a sip of my wine. Max attacked me again. “Maybe Maria wants to be a virgin for the rest of her life.”

“Oh? Who said I’m still a virgin?”

“Marianne?!”

My words made my father choke and growl, while my grandmother gasped and clutched her chest. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on me, and I simply grinned before slowly setting my glass down.

“Just so you know,” I added before standing up.

My father told me not to leave and ordered me to sit back down, but I kept walking toward the door and said my goodbyes.

“I’m going back to the clinic. Having dinner with the animals feels warmer anyway.”

With that, the door closed.

A parrot in a cage panicked when I walked out. “Bad woman! Bad woman!” it squawked, and I glared sharply at it.

“Shut up!”

I put on my earphones and listened to music. My steps quickened as I left my grandmother’s mansion and headed toward my car. This time, I drove myself.

I knew going to a family dinner and causing a mess like that wasn’t a good thing. But who told them to make me uncomfortable and keep pressuring me? Luckily, they believed my bluff that I was no longer a virgin. How angry would my parents be now? I had no idea. I didn’t care.

Besides, they were extremely protective of their daughter, while they gave their son complete freedom to do whatever he wanted. I had even thought that maybe getting married could be one way for me to escape this overprotective family, but I didn’t want to marry just anyone who didn’t understand me. What if my life became worse because of some random man I decided to spend the rest of my life with?

“I don’t want to be a stupid woman,” I muttered as I parked my car in front of the clinic.

The snow was falling heavier tonight. Even though Dr. Greyson had said it was a holiday, I had to check on my patients. Maybe they had missed dinner.

Luckily, I had a spare key. When I entered and turned on the lights, I heard welcoming sounds from my patients. I greeted them with a warm smile. “Hello, Garfield! Hello, Mrs. Fatty! Hey, kitten~”

The cats meowed as I gave them their food. The dogs barked as I walked past them, greeting me in their own way.

To me, this was family. They welcomed me and accepted me exactly as I was.

I could even hear the howling of wolves outside. It seemed the animals wanted to celebrate New Year’s Eve early tonight.

While I was feeding the rabbits, Bolt, the puppy, barked. I turned toward him.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

Bolt walked away, barking again as if telling me to follow him. I immediately went outside.

Could there be a patient waiting out front?

And when I opened the door, I froze.

Right in front of the clinic, a wolf was sprawled across the asphalt, gasping for breath. Blood flowed from its body, forming a small pool beneath it.

“Oh my God… there’s a fat injured wolf!” I approached it carefully.

The wolf’s eyes were golden, staring at me wearily.

“Okay, hang in there. I’m going to help you. Stay conscious, stay with me!”

As I tried to drag the wolf’s body, slowly, one by one, other wolves began appearing as if they were surrounding us, encircling the clinic. I didn’t even know where they had come from.

“Oh my fucking God, are you kidding me? Is that your family? Or are they patients too? Shit! I’m on the night shift alone!”