A louder vehicle pulled into the yard. A truck by the sound of it. Silence spread throughout the woods when the engine cut.

They’re here. Winifred’s voice penetrated my thoughts. Are you in place?

Yes, ma’am.

Good. Let us know if you have any trouble.

I eyed the men who started to line up before me and prepared myself for a long night. The sun would rise before the female met everyone.

Anticipation held the men closest to the building. Quiet, they listened for a hint of sound from the room behind me. Further into the woods, the men started fighting again, establishing a pecking order.

It wasn’t long before I heard Winifred again.

Let the first ten in.

“Ten,” I said with a nod to the men in front of me. Standing back, I opened the door, waited for them to file in, then closed it again.

The number surprised me. Ten usually meant an older female; I hadn’t thought there were any older ones still hiding in the wild.

After a minute or two of silence, I heard a woman’s voice.

“Thank you for coming.”

She sounded young, not old. Why ten, then?

The scrape of many feet on the floor alerted me to the end of the Introduction. I opened the door to let the rejected men out, and a hint of something warm and sweet drifted out with them. I lifted my nose and sniffed, trying to identify it. Had one of them been to the kitchen?

Motioning for the next ten, I tried to place the scent. My stomach rumbled. I should have stuffed more food into my pockets.

I closed the door after the last man entered and listened to the girl say thank you again. At the shuffle of footsteps a few moments later, I opened the door once more. Again, that trace of something delicious trailed behind them.

Would it be against the rules to ask the Elders for a food break?

I waved the next ten in and closed the door.

The extended silence in the room pulled my attention from the puzzle of the smell.

After several minutes, I heard the girl speak.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Feet shuffled on the floor, and I hurried to open the door.

“A moment, please,” she said before anyone stepped out.

The sound of her determined steps told me she was crossing their little tape line. The Elders wouldn’t like that. I almost smiled.

“Gabby, wait,” Sam, one of the Elders, called.

Briefly, I wondered if I should close the door to keep her in, but decided the Elders could deal with her. I had more than enough to deal with outside.

A petite blonde stepped through the door. Her scent hit me hard, and I froze. Mate. The word bounced around in my head. My canines lengthened, and my vision wavered as I struggled to maintain my form. Mine.

She continued a few more steps, with the Elders right behind her, and then stopped. I inhaled slowly, breathing in the scent that had tempted and teased me until now. With my gaze locked on her, I almost stepped forward. Reason stopped me, and I glanced at the men who stood before her, silently watching, equally stunned that she’d left the Introduction room.

If I spoke up now, I’d face countless challenges. I would win...for a while. But every wolf tired eventually, and there were too many out there still waiting for a chance to scent her. Better to wait. She was safe with the Elders present. I glanced at them to see if any had noticed my reaction. They weren’t paying attention to me, though. After all, I wasn’t here for a Mate. They were watching the others. As was she.

Motionless, she stood before the waiting men. I couldn’t see much of her face, just the back of her head and her stiff stance. Scenting the air, I detected a hint of her distress and a stronger whiff of anger. She was upset.

“Sam,” she said, turning to face him.

Sam uncomfortably looked away.

She turned back to the men.

“No more fighting. There’s no need to wait or fight for your place in tonight’s Introduction. I will meet you all.”

A growl almost escaped me. Though I knew it would be safer if she did meet them all, I didn’t want any other male near her.

“Start a line here, and I’ll walk it. If I am not right for you, there is no need for you to remain after I’ve passed you. You may leave and know that I am honored by your presence here tonight.”

I curled my hands into fists and eyed the men who poured from the woods. They had no chance. Turning my gaze back to her once more, I tried to steady myself. She moved forward with grace.

Gabby. My Mate.

Chapter 2

Several passes up and down the line thinned the number of waiting men, and I willfully unclenched my fists. The Elders noted a few names, but she showed no interest in any of them.

Finally, the last man nodded to the Elders and walked away, and there was no one left. The reality of having a Mate suddenly hit me hard. Adrenaline pumped into my blood. She really was mine, and soon she’d turn to face me.

What if she didn’t show interest in me? My hands shook. I held my breath as she turned, waiting for our eyes to lock. But they didn’t. She was watching her feet as she approached the door. It was the first time I’d fully seen her face. She was perfect. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and freckles dusted her cute nose.

I shifted impatiently, and the movement seemed to draw her attention. She looked up at the last moment. Our gazes met, and I felt the pull. My father had told me about the phenomena. A tug on your insides the first time you see your Mate.

She felt it, too, because she stopped walking, and her mouth dropped open a little.

I stepped out of the shadows.

“You have got to be kidding,” she said softly.

That she felt the same disbelief I had made my pulse leap. I started to walk toward her unable to keep my gaze from drifting to her neck. One bite and she would be mine.

I was halfway to her when the change in her scent registered. Fear. Panic. She was frozen in disbelief, but not as I’d been. Disgust lit her features. Shame flared in my gut. Had I mistaken the pull?

The closer I got, the stronger the smell of disgust poured from her. The horror in her beautiful hazel gaze tore through the euphoria that had built in my chest. What was she seeing? The long hair, the scruffy beard? That was just the outside. There was more to me than that.

My hope withered. I should have known better.

Unable to stay for more, I turned and walked to the front of the building.

Behind me, I heard her speak again.

“Sam, I’ve more than fulfilled any obligation I had to you or the pack. I’d like to leave tonight.”

As much as it hurt to know she didn’t want me as badly as I wanted her, I couldn’t let her leave without trying again.

I went straight to the blue pickup. Her scent wrapped around the thing. I breathed it in and realized she wasn’t just any female. She was the compatible human I’d heard about. There’d only been one other human like her. Charlene. And she’d changed the fate of the packs. Gabby was different, special, and her presence explained the huge crowd for the Introduction.

There was a mystery around these two women. The Elders didn’t know why they were compatible with us, but Charlene and Gabby represented a chance for more potential Mates. The Elders were trying to find more like these two and had set laws to protect them. This changed everything.

I couldn’t treat her like other females, and my heart sank as I realized what that meant. I couldn’t Claim her; she needed to Claim me. Based on her reaction, she didn’t want that. But giving up wasn’t an option. I had the standard six months to court her and try to win her over. Six months. The enormity of the life-changing event that had just occurred threatened to bring me down. I needed patience. But first, I needed to stop her from leaving.