There is a slight crash behind me as glasses fall against each other, followed by more laughter.
“Hey! I got the damn drinks. Don’t spill them!”
“Why is everything always my fault?” Krista sighs. “You’re the one who just slammed them into the table. Quit blaming me.”
“I never blame you, Krista. Except when it’s your fault. Which is always.”
They laugh some more, and a horrible sense of loss twists my guts.
I’ll never have this. Friends, fun nights out, just enjoying myself without a care in the world. I spent the last three years trapped by Father… and I forgot this kind of life existed.
Even though it hurts, I shut down my heart. I’m going into the wilderness. It’s the only way to make sure I don’t put anyone else in danger.
But I can’t leave yet. I can’t take the risk they’ll recognize me. I’ll have to wait until they move.
I tuck myself into the shadows at the corner of the table, staying out of sight. The last thing I want to do is listen in on their conversation, but there’s no way to stop myself from hearing it.
“So, how’s your cutie brother? Is it true he got married?” Krista asks.
“Yeah, he did,” Winnie answered. “To Clara. They have a son. His name’s Nico.”
“Clara? You mean that weirdo that went to high school with you? She had no shifter gene or something.”
“Or something,” Winnie agrees. I hear the telltale gurgle of a straw chasing around the bottom of a glass.
“Definitely your shot now!” Winnie says.
Krista scoffs. “I will. But first, tell me the goss on your brother! He said he’d never get married.”
“Well, I might have forced him into it,” Winnie answers, sounding bemused.
“Get out of town!”
She laughs. “I found this thing online, for Porter’s brides-for-hire service. I signed him up and dared him to go. He couldn’t resist proving his manhood to me, just like I knew he would. I thought it would be a fun joke—maybe lighten him up a bit. I never dreamed it would actually work out.”
“So… wait, wait. There’s a brides-for-hire agency, taking in lost women and matching them with hot, sexy alphas?”
“Hot, sexy alphas who can’t get a date,” Winnie corrects solemnly. “They have to be utterly useless at talking to girls, too, I assume.”
Krista bursts out laughing, and Winnie does, too. My breath is caught in my chest again, but this time I’m not scared—I’m excited.
Keep talking, girls.
“How did you find it?” Krista asks.
“I was browsing through dating apps. Half-heartedly for myself, but ultimately planning something to hit Galen with. Then this pink pop-up blinked on the screen. I thought it would fold immediately when I put in our details, but the chatbot opened, and it turns out Miss Porter actually knows about the magical world. She’s one of us.”
“Holy fucking wow,” Krista mutters. “Talk about unexpected.”
“I know, right! I was even more determined for Galen to go through with it, then. I just had this feeling, you know?”
“I don’t know… but you’re going to tell me everything!”
The girls’ voices slip away as I pull out my phone. As I stare at the screen, the noises of the bar fade to a low rumble, and I can’t see anything except the bright screen. I flick my thumb across the screen to hit the search bar.
Porter’s…
Are you looking for Porter’s brides-for-hire?
