Page 16 of Delivered to My Fury

“My bear wants Opal. As much as I was skeptical about the app, I believe she is our mate. I know she’s human and it may take some time for her to realize it, but it would be great to have her here. To know for sure.”

“Message her back. Tell her we want her to come.” Zyon’s seriousness comforted me. He was picky about who came into our den.

Picky about everyone but our mate, I guessed.

We would love to have you at our home. It would be a great way to get to know one another better. Please let us know when you can get here.

It was settled. Opal would come here. We would finally get to meet our mate after so many years of trying to find her. I was nervous about what she would think of us in person, but if Fate had a hand in it, and I hoped she did, she would love us as much as a part of me already did.

“I need to go run,” I announced and made my way to the back door. The frenetic energy inside me was more anxious and excited than nervous but, either way, I had to expend some of it before she got here.

Chapter Thirteen

Opal

And they accepted my suggestion. By the time I offered to come visit, I was back on my stool at the lab, wasting time, but so what? It wasn’t as if I had a lot I even could do without supplies, but I did fuss with some reporting on my laptop while sending messages back and forth. The three of them were truly engaging, giving me a little background about their friendship, their business, and the area where they lived. It sounded really beautiful there, with nearby woods where the bear and wolf could run, and even Zyon the orc enjoyed rambling. Which was great for me because I worried about being the only one who couldn’t run gracefully under the trees.

But I could walk with Zyon…or the others if they didn’t want to move too fast. Or were in human form.

I had so many questions, but I didn’t want to ask too many right now; it would be soon enough to do so later if the conversation continued. But it did! I didn’t often have long conversations with people I didn’t know well, but I was struck by how comfortable I felt with them. Sure, it was via the app messenger, so not the same as face-to-face, but with every response from any of them, I felt more comfortable and more anxious to share all about myself.

I had a lot of saved-up vacation and not a lot of things to do around here. I had been planning to walk around and see if any of the currently empty labs had things I could finagle, but why? By the time I got more funding, if I ever did, I’d have to start at the beginning again on my current project, or close enough to count as such. So…

I sent a message to my supervisor requesting a couple of weeks off—not that I planned to stay with the guys that long, but it would give me some time to look around for any active research that I might be able to join.

I got the okay to start my vacation the next day.

It looks like I’m about half a day’s drive from you. How’s day after tomorrow?

Great!from Eero.

Fine!Shay added.

See you then!This last from Zyon.

And so the die was cast, and I had a date to meet the reverse harem of which I might be a pivot. And then it occurred to me that if so, if they liked me and I liked them, I might be staying there. A little research into shifters showed that to be the case. Once they met their mate, they just seemed to pick up and begin life together. I wasn’t sure how to think about that, but I planned to play it by ear.

After sticking around long enough to get paid for the full day, I headed home to pack. I hadn’t had a real vacation since I’d been working here, and what did one pack for a trip like this?

Ceci, help!

On my way.

My bestie arrived with a satin-lined box of the cosmetics her company put out, a selection of their facial products, and her big curling iron. I loved that thing. She used it to make her hair look salon perfect every time. It might or might not do the same for my less silky locks, but I was excited to play with it.

Ceci also had an overnight bag because her plan was to help me up until the moment I got on the road. I was so nervous already and grateful for both her help and the distraction. We went to the store for road snacks, watched movies, ordered pizza, and giggled about men and what they were like. She offered all sorts of relationship advice, which, since she had just begun her first relationship that looked like it might last, I took with a grain of salt.

But it was fun to have men to talk about, for once. Usually my girlfriends would all be gossiping about their latest boyfriends while I sat silent, but as the two of us read all the messages coming in on my phone, I felt like I fit in for the first time in my life.

It was nice.

She helped me go through my closet and figure out what to pack before we crawled into bed with popcorn for more movies and fell asleep. Could I be forgiven for feeling a bit like it was a hen party without a whole lot of hens?

It felt like one.

And then it was morning and time to get ready and go.

I hadn’t even had time to be anxious after she got there. If things turned out with the guys, I’d hate being so far from my best friend. I’d have to be awfully sure it was the right thing to do.

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