Page 12 of Delivered to My Fury

I lifted a hand to my burning cheek. “They’re gorgeous. What can I say?”

Ceci plopped on the stool across from me. “How do you tell them you like them? Do you have to accept the match or something?”

I hadn’t gotten that far. “I think so. I don’t know what to do. I mean, joining the app was one thing, but following through? I mean, do I even want to be in a reverse harem? What do you call the woman in a reverse harem anyway?” I threw my hands up, overwhelmed by what I was feeling. It was one thing to fantasize about multiple men being with you, but making that a reality?

“It’s called a pivot according to the romance novels.”

A pivot. Huh. “Most women complain about one husband and I’m entertaining the thought of messaging three? What am I thinking? Am I doing this because I’m upset about losing my funding and not knowing what’s coming next?”

Ceci sighed. “Opal. I know you. You wouldn’t do that to yourself or others. Maybe this is a pivotal point in your life. Have you considered that?”

I snorted. “Nice pun. I have, actually. I thought with the loss of the grant and finding this app, well, maybe it’s time for a change.”

“Listen, messaging them doesn’t mean you’re going to be married tomorrow. You’re reaching out and having a conversation. What’s that going to hurt?”

She wasn’t wrong. In fact, she was absolutely right. I got on this app to find love and partnership. Seeing Shay and Eero, and Zyon gave me that spark in my chest, the one I’d been hoping for.

Life was waiting for me on the other side of fear and procrastination.

“I’m messaging them right now.”

Ceci danced in her seat while I typed out the message and hit send. Now, I waited.

Chapter Ten

Shay

When we were in the brewing room, we left our phones in the office. There were too many moving parts, and accidents could happen. I’d had a dream one night about dropping my phone into some precious ale and when I told the others, we agreed on the no-phone rule.

It hadn’t been an issue until the Mail-Order Matings app. Now, it was a real problem.

“Did you see anyone last night?” I asked my fury mates. Even though I’d been fighting against talking about it all morning, it was pointless.

“I saw some, but my wolf wasn’t calling out for any of them.” Eero relied heavily on his wolf. More than I did my bear. Probably not a good thing, but sometimes I thought my bear was silly. If he had his way, we’d do nothing but hunt for a mate. That didn’t really pay the bills. It was a catch-22. If we stopped everything and hunted for a mate, we wouldn’t be able to provide for her, but if all we did was work, then we were missing out on a whole facet of life that included love and the bond our animals longed for.

“Zyon?” I asked, since he hadn’t looked up from the glass after tasting a batch.

“It needs something, but I can’t put my finger on it. It’s driving me to madness.”

I snorted. Zyon pretended like he was all business, but he craved a mate just like the rest of us. Maybe more. Orcs at his age were already mated and had orclings on the way and toddling around their homes.

Sometimes, I feared being in our fury was holding him back. He said not, but I suspected.

Still, he chose us. We chose each other.

“I meant on the app.”

“Oh. Yes and no.”

“Explain.” Eero moved around the room, shaking his head at our friend. Sometimes getting information out of him when he was in a work zone was like pulling teeth.

Zyon stopped and looked at us. His lip was a bit curled between his tusks. “I see lots of beautiful, smart, kind women, but no one is speaking to me. I don’t mean with words. I would feel something if she was my mate, our mate, but now I’m questioning if that happens over the internet? With just a picture to go on? Then I get frustrated and put my phone down.”

Laughing, I ticked my chin at Eero. “You asked him to explain. And I’m wondering the same thing too, Zy. But so many others have found their mates on the app.”

“That’s true. Maybe we haven’t found the right person yet.”

Eero looked at me, his eyes darkened. “And maybe our fated mate isn’t on the app at all.”

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