Page 20 of Destined Mate

The road to San DeLain was a long and boring drive, but with Keith beside him, cracking jokes one minute and offering shrewd observations the next, Wesley found a comforting rhythm.

They stopped at small towns along the way to get gas or eat, places where no one knew their names, their heritage, or what they were. In each location, they kept a low profile, aware of the importance of not drawing unnecessary attention.

Which was hard to do, he admitted. They were four large, good-looking men.

BY LATE evening, they approached the outskirts of San DeLain. They had a week before the challenge’s scheduled start. The first task would be to check in with the pack here in the citycalled the Crimson Fangs, and its alpha, Axel Scheffler. That was common courtesy.

Wesley had heard some interesting things about the alpha, like hunters had kidnapped him, a mimic had mimicked him, and, most surprisingly, Axel had ties to the Elder of the daemons of San DeLain.

Once they checked in at the assigned hotel, Wesley called Alpha Scheffler. The conversation was brief, and now the other alpha knew he was in town. Wesley enjoyed the vibe he got from the other werewolf.

If he took over the Cross Creek pack, he would be one of the two alphas in San DeLain, and he wanted a good relationship with his counterpart.

After he ended the conversation and hung up, he noticed Keith watching him. “What?”

“He seems like a good leader,” Keith said. “He’s definitely concerned about who is taking over that other werewolf pack.”

“I got that impression too. Are Duncan and Theo settled in their rooms?”

“Yeah. They should join us in a minute. So, what are we doing now?”

“Let’s get something to eat, and now that I’ve alerted the other alpha I’m in town, let’s go do some exploring.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Keith said as he got up to answer the knock at their hotel room door. “Hey, come on in, you guys.”

Duncan and Theo crowded into the room.

“Nice digs,” Duncan said.

“Anybody hungry?” Theo asked.

Keith snorted. “We were just discussing that. Yes, we’re going to feed you, then explore San DeLain.”

“Nice,” Theo said. “Where are we eating?”

“Well, you have your fancy restaurants, your bar and grills, and hole in the walls. I did a little looking around before I wentto bed last night, and honestly? I’m not really in the mood for fancy,” Wesley said.

The other three agreed.

“There’s this place called Rafferty’s I had been looking at, but then I ran across a place called Jonathan’s. Kage Dargan left a review for it. An excellent review. If the Elder of the daemons of San DeLain likes it, I bet we’ll like it.”

“But it’s not fancy, right?” Theo asked.

“I Google mapped did, and I don’t think so,” Wesley said. “It looks like it’s in the older part of the city and kind of a hole in the wall place.”

“That’s perfect,” Keith said. “Those places usually have awesome home-cooked type meals.”

“Let’s head out,” Wesley said.

Keith directed Wesley on where to go, and Wesley was thankful since he didn’t know the city. And sure enough, the restaurant was definitely in the older part of the city. Wesley pulled into the parking lot of a slightly run-down building.

As soon as Wesley stepped out of his truck, the most wonderful scent ever assaulted him. “That’s promising.”

“Got that right,” Theo said, rubbing his hands together. “I swear, my mouth is watering.”

Wesley led the way inside and immediately fell in love. It was like taking a step back in time. The place looked like something from the fifties.

There was a black-and-white checkered floor, a long white counter where people could sit, booths covered in some sort of shiny red material, and a jukebox. A lot of the things in there looked vintage too.

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