CRACKED: An Anthology of Eggsellent Chicken Stories by J. Posthumus (read after txt) 📕

Wolves had superior senses of smell.

So how had he not realized that his mate was injured and bleeding?

That’s a bit of an overstatement, he reminded himself. She had a few scratches, that was all.

I was distracted by meeting my fated mate for the first time.

“That has to be it,” he said into the empty apartment. But it didn’t make him feel any better. He was supposed to be her strength, her protector. He was supposed to watch out for her. Failing to recognize the scent of her blood would not set a good precedent.

I’ll apologize to her tonight over dinner.

He hoped it would be enough to assuage his guilt. More than that, though, he hoped she would realize how sincere he was.

With any luck, they could move forward a little more quickly after that.

But not too quickly. He could almost hear his father’s voice. “Remember, Niall. Even fated mates like to be wooed.”

What did that even mean, though? How was he supposed to woo her when it was all he could do to keep his hands off that lush body of hers?

Wooing. Keep your thoughts on wooing.

Flowers. Those were traditional woo-gifts, right?

He shook his head and began breaking down the cardboard box he’d just finished unloading.

Woo-gifts. I’m losing my mind.

But he’d still bring her flowers when he showed up at her door at 6:00.

Assuming he could figure out where to buy them in Walton Springs.

At 6:00 exactly, Niall knocked on Tori’s door, a small bouquet of roses in his hand.

She opened the door with a smile. Somehow, she was even more beautiful now than she had been the night before. I think I like her even better in jeans than in a dress.

“Oh, Niall, those are lovely.” Tori took the roses from his hand. “Come on in while I find a vase for these.”

She moved into the kitchen, and Niall watched her stand on her tiptoes to try to reach a vase on the top shelf of a cabinet. His hands itched to slide over her hips, to pull her close to him.

Wooing, he reminded himself. I’m here to woo her, not ravish her.

“Can you reach that?” she asked. “I’m too short.”

“No, you’re perfect.” He joined her in the kitchen, reaching one hand up to bring down the vase.

When he turned around, she was leaning back against the counter, absently plucking a rose petal off a flower and putting it in her mouth. From the looks of the flower, she’d eaten several of the petals.

“Does that actually taste good?” he asked.

Tori blinked, then glanced down at the rose she’d been devouring. A bright red flush stained her cheeks. She swallowed before she spoke. “I don’t know why I did that.”

Niall laughed. “Well, let’s get you to that restaurant before you finish off the rest of the roses.”

He handed her the vase, and she filled it with water, dropping the flowers into it as if they’d burned her hand. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”

They headed out the door, but she glanced back at the roses one last time, a worried expression in her eyes.

Chapter 5 Tori

Why did I eat a rose, of all things? What is wrong with me?

Pablo’s Tex-Mex restaurant was packed, even for a Saturday night, but for some reason, Tori wasn’t enjoying the slightly shabby atmosphere as much as she usually did. In fact, as she and Niall walked in, Tori was acutely aware of several pairs of feminine eyes on her date.

Worse, she knew most of the women now ogling Niall.

What on earth made me think bringing him to my favorite restaurant in town was a good idea?

At the very least, it would mean questions the next time she came in alone. She never brought a date here.

Well. Okay. She almost never took a date anywhere.

“Hey, Tori. Want your usual?” Maria, a waitress at the restaurant and Tori’s best friend, did an actual double-take when she realized the gorgeous guy standing behind Tori was actually with Tori.

“Table for two tonight, please,” Niall cut in, a smile underscoring his deep rumbling voice.

“Right this way.” Maria led them to a booth in the far back corner of the restaurant, the closest thing to private available at a place like Pablo’s. After she placed their plastic-coated menus in front of them, Maria headed back toward the kitchen. But as soon as she moved out of Niall’s line of sight, the waitress turned around, pointed at Niall, raised her eyebrows, and mouthed, “Oh, my God!” at Tori, who had to hold her breath for a moment to keep from snickering.

Niall glanced down at the menu for a second, then closed it and set it on the table. With his hands clasped before him, he leaned forward, his ice-blue gaze pinning Tori to her seat.

Her heartbeat sped up so much she was surprised he couldn’t hear it.

“So tell me about your clan,” he said.

“My… clan?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Pack, clan, herd. Whatever.” With a glance around as if to make sure no one was listening, he continued. “What kind of shifter are you, anyway?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what you’re trying to ask me.”

A frown creased that beautiful forehead of his, and Tori’s hand twitched up as if determined to smooth it away, no matter what her brain said about not touching the beautiful man sitting across from her.

Even if I want to touch him more than I’ve ever wanted to touch anyone before.

Once again, he glanced around furtively, leaning in even closer and lowering his voice more than before. “I’m a wolf shifter from the Dallas pack.”

What did that mean? Was that some sort of gang or something? “Okay…”

“Before I left Dallas, my alpha told me there weren’t many shifters here at all.”

“Your… what?”

“My alpha. He said I might not run into any other shifters here at all. So I was pretty surprised to meet my fated mate living next door.” His smile lit up those gorgeous eyes