Daddy’s Mail Order Mate (Twilight Meadows Wolves #3)

Chapter 2 - Gwen

I’m jerked out of a dead sleep by a chorus of knocking at my door and my phone blaring right by my ear.

“Goddamn,” I wheeze out, sitting up with my phone in hand. A blind swipe of the thumb answers the call without even checking who it is. “Hello?”

“You home?”

I start to slide out of bed, my sweatpants bunching up around my lanky legs. My voice is raspy with sleep and a touch of dehydration.

“Yeah. G’morning Lucas.”

“I’ve been hammering on your door for damn near five minutes. I was starting to get worried.”

“Sorry. Just… Long night.”

There’s my nest of curly red hair all tangled from sleep in the mirror when I pass by, but I can’t be bothered to get myself tidy. Especially since it was just my little brother at the door.

“Gonna let me in, or did I drive all this way for nothing?”

“You can wait a couple more seconds.”

I hang up and shove the phone away in my pant’s pocket just in time to make it to the front door. Doesn’t take long to get around a studio apartment; one of the perks of such cramped accommodations. But since it’s just me here, I don’t need much room to get by.

He’s made to wait a bit more as I get the series of locks undone and the door swung open. And just as expected, my brother looms on the other side. I’m pretty tall myself, standing at a good six feet. But my brother's six foot eight and twice as wide with muscle; he was one of the few people that could ever make me feel small.

And he just steps right in and pulls me into a big, rib-breaking hug.

Though I grunt and wince for the first second, I do hug him back. The warm air from beneath his big leather jacket is a comfort to my body freshly stolen from toasty blankets.

“I’m here for you, Gwen,” he assures.

“Yeah. Obviously.”

He pulls back and fixes me with a harmlessly cross look.

“Gonna start off with the smartass remarks first thing, huh?”

My shoulders move in a lazy shrug as I pad over to the little kitchenette in the corner.

“You’d be worried if I didn’t.”

“... True.”

I spare a glance over my shoulder as he welcomes himself in.

“Coffee?”

“Got some on the way in.”

“Cool,” I reply while pouring myself a cup from the old automatic coffee pot fighting for space on the cramped single countertop.

I hear him sitting down on my couch from the way it creaks and whines under his weight. And I don’t even need to look to know the grumpy face he’s making right now.

“I dunno how you drink it black. You could use at least a bit of creamer.”

“Some girl’s gonna find your sweet tooth really charming one day.”

“Plenty of girls find me charming for lots of different reasons, Gwen.”

My trip over to the couch is spent rolling my eyes and taking my first merciful sip of coffee for the day. It’s a cheap bulk blend, but it’s not too sour and gets the job done. When times were better, I’d splurge on getting nice batch roasts. But this was not one of those times.

Lucas watches me carefully as I sit next to him. I just nurse my coffee in silence, even when he pats his hands rhythmically on his jeans.

“So… Hey, at least you don’t have to deal with your shitty boss anymore.”

“Yep,” I admit, nodding wearily. “I’m not much of a silver lining sort of girl, but that has been nice to think about.”

“Any luck finding something else for work? Or a new place before the eviction date hits?”

“Nope.”

“Well, fuck.”

“You’re telling me.”

He chuckles a bit, and I huff under my breath, both of us savoring the humor for a moment.

“You can always just load up your stuff and we can head out today. Got plenty of room with my new truck; the bed’s huge. We could fit this couch and then some.”

“Nah. The place came furnished. Besides, I hate the color.”

“So… is that also a no to going with me?”

“It is.”

He sighs, leaning back and stretching out his legs in a weary repose.

“I keep telling you Gwen. My new pack’s a good place. They keep telling me that I should at least bring you through to visit.”

“I’m sure it’s a wonderful place,” I reply dryly, “ For you. ”

Lucas’ mouth tugs to the side, and he stares at me for a long beat.

“I just don’t like that you’re out here on your own, Gwen. And you have to believe me, Elm Wood’s different. But if you won’t join a pack with me, maybe you might be able to, I dunno. Find someone and a pack that suits you out there. But pretending you’re a human for the rest of your life is just…”

He sighs and crosses his arms. I know he thinks the masculine posturing makes him look powerful and mature, especially with how much he exercises. But to me, I just see the lanky little kid he used to be puffing himself up and playing at being an adult.

“It feels wrong.”

I shrug, chewing on my gum slowly.

“It really isn’t pretending, Lucas.”

“What?”

With a sigh, I turn to him, my own arms crossing.

“I’m practically human. I haven’t been able to shift in years. How am I supposed to make a life with a pack?”

“It’s not just about shifting, Gwen—”

I roll my eyes and throw up a hand, cutting him off with a dry retort.

“We’ve done this song and dance for years. How about we get to the part where we agree it’s not worth fighting about and spare us both the energy. I’ve got way too much on my plate and you don’t want to have come all this way just to lose an argument with me.”

“I don’t lose our arguments—”

“You do,” I state plainly. “And we’ve had this argument before. So, do you want to do it again, or do you want to go get lunch?”

His expression sours, but I know my brother, and just give him the trace of a smirk as I stand up.

“Gimme five to look like something resembling a human being, and I’ll be ready to go.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

And with that, I excuse myself to the narrow little bathroom to slip into a clean set of clothes, comb out my hair, and at least brush my teeth. And I sure as hell didn’t have it in me to fuss around with anything more than the bare essentials. Once I get my shoes slid on and myself sorted, we head down the dingy stairwell. By the time we get to the ground floor, all I can think about is how I am not gonna miss the sour melange of mold and mildew this place always reeks of.

“I managed to get a decent spot,” he remarks, leading me outside towards a brand new red truck, kitted out with lifted tires and all.

I shoot him a bland, almost exasperated look.

“Really?”

Lucas just shrugs and grins.

“Hey man. I like it, the girls like it, and I never belly out with all the backwoods roads.”

His keys jostle as he rounds to the driver’s side and unlocks it for us.

“Must be a pain for the city, though.”

“Yeah… Parking’s been a nightmare. All the more reason for me to be happy my big sis might be leaving for somewhere quieter?” The question curls with a leading half-jesting tone, his charming jovial smile, and a carefully playful quirk of the brows.

I scoff in dry amusement, shake my head, and rid myself of the quiet smile he managed to get out of me as we both load into the cabin.

“Leave it to you to leverage the grim news of my eviction like that.”

“Like what ?” His tone is mockingly obtuse, and damn it, I can’t help but chuckle.

“Like the cheeky little brat you’ve always been,” I answer, reaching across to playfully smack him on the back of the head.

“Hey! Keep that up and I’m turning this truck around.”

“We haven’t even left park yet.”

“I’ll turn it on just to turn it around.”

And that makes me cave into a proper round of laughter, loosening a bit of the stress gnarling in my chest. But when I see the glow of his satisfied grin, I sober by reflex into a slightly dour, narrow glare.

“Well, don’t you look all puffed up and pleased with yourself, mister.”

“Of course. I got you to laugh for once in your goddamn life.”

“I routinely laugh. I just need things to actually be funny enough to make me laugh.”

“Hey,” he pouts as he starts the truck, “I’m exceptionally funny.”

“Seems odd that you’d need to justify it, if that was really the case.”

He glares over at me and my mouth twitches towards a smirk. But then he throws up his hands, shakes his head, and begins to pull the truck out onto the street proper.

“I can never win with you.”

“And so you finally admit that you lose every argument with me. Well done. I know that took a lot of courage.”

Lucas groans and pantomimes dropping his head into the wheel, but still flashes me a bit of a crooked grin after.

“Gwen, I don’t know whether you’re the biggest bitch I know, or the smartest person I know.”

“They’re not mutually exclusive.”

He barks out a laugh.

“Fair enough.”

The pair of us settle into a brief silence as he navigates his bright cherry monstrosity through the packed urban traffic. But it doesn’t take long for him to pipe up. I love my brother, but he’s never been one to just sit in silence. And that’s gotten him in plenty of trouble, and he could stand to learn that sometimes, quiet was best.

“... You know, there’s… This thing I heard about with my new pack.”

I hum in dry indulgence, knowing that we were going into another round. I can see him glance over to me and have to stomach his indignance at my tone.

“Well. It’s this app.”

“Is it that new shopping one? All the stuff on there’s so cheap for a reason, Lucas.”

“No, it’s not that. Seriously, just hear me out.”

I prop my arm up on the car door and look at him with a silent raised eyebrow. He’s always talked with his hands, especially when it’s something he’s worked up about. So I can tell it’s something he’s put a lot of weight into because he starts carefully gesturing around with his free hand despite the fact he’s driving.

“So, it’s like a dating app.”

“Are we really having this conversation,” I deadpan.

“Shush. I asked you to hear me out.”

“I didn’t agree.”

“You—Just.”

I lift my eyebrow higher.

He just groans and thunks his head back against the driver seat.

“Gwen, I love you. I really really do,” he declares, clearly convincing himself that it remains the case.

“Uh-huh.”

I can’t help but amuse myself by toying around with him. He’s always been so fun to antagonize. It was how we bonded as kids, and that never really went away. And while he puts up a fuss, he always swings back with the emotional roughhousing, so I don’t feel too bad for getting him all riled up.

“But it’s like a dating app for people like us. Well, it’s a mail order bride app, technically. But you can talk to the person you matched with anonymously and figure out if you two work, and then go for a little trial period in-person. A bunch of people in my pack have been doing it and they’ve been able to get mates. Even the Alpha and Luna got together through it.”

“... Are you seriously suggesting I sell myself off? I know I’m getting kicked out of my apartment Lucas, but do I really seem that desperate?”

“It’s not like that. Apparently it’s been really good for helping people find mates and packs of their own. A bunch of loners are finally getting to find their people through it, too. Since, you know, if you don’t have a pack it's pretty hard to find other people like us. Maybe you could find someone who doesn’t want to be in a pack either. Someone that gets you.”

Something twists in my chest and tightens my throat with that last line. I look away and try to find something to look at through the window, blinking away the burn behind my eyes without making it obvious.

I won’t admit it to him, but I can’t lie to myself. That sounds really nice. The idea of someone who could know all of me yet still understand and accept me…

A hollow pain pulses deep in my body. It’s not from any physical wound, but it might as well be a chronic injury. It’s an agony that was given to me by my first and only love. The boy who rejected our mate bond had done more than sever the tie of what should have been my greatest joy. I lost my wolf when he broke my heart. It felt like he killed her. And for the longest time, it felt like he’d killed me too.

“Hey,” his voice manages to finally cut through my senses.

I glance over at him. His expression is touched with just enough worry that I can feel myself getting tense. And right away, I feel myself locking up to make sure I don’t look upset.

“Eyes on the road, big guy. We’re going for lunch, not looking to have an impromptu monster truck rally.”

I don’t need him pitying me. Lucas had learned how to better approach things since he was a kid, but he still doesn’t fully get it. He’s always been a pretty competent shifter, fit in wherever he went, and has never (to my knowledge anyway) found his fated mate. He’d never been rejected by the one person who was supposed to always be there for him, and he’d never been shunned and treated as a pariah by shifter society.

But at least he is trying. More credit than I can give most shifters—which was all the more reason why I steer clear of them.

The truck goes quiet again. I can hear him squirming in his skin, probably restless and worried that he’d gotten me upset. And with everything I’ve been going through lately, I don’t have the energy to banter and let him know I’m fine.

Because, if I’m being honest with myself, I’m not. I’d say I’m pretty fucking far from fine.

And maybe that’s why it hooks in my head. I can maybe find someone who I don’t have to pretend I was human with and not be treated like something to be pitied or ridiculed.

It lingers in the back of my mind all through lunch. Even the drive back too. And then still once my brother was long gone and it’s just me in the quiet of my dingy little studio apartment.

I’ve been staring at my phone for almost an hour now. He’d sent me an email with a download link for the app, ‘just in case.’ Obviously, an app for shifters isn’t going to be something you are going to find listed on an official digital store for humans to casually come across.

What do I have to lose?

My whole life is crumbling apart here. No job, and soon nowhere to live. Making one last run at living as a shifter seems like a trigger I might as well pull. Soon enough I’ll be loading up my life into my car. Minimally, finding someone decent to crash with for a few weeks doesn’t seem like the worst idea in the world. And if nothing else, I can tell Lucas I tried and be done having the same conversations about it over and over.

I finally open the registration link.

“Might as well.”