Marisa Chenery - Miles’s Redemption

Shutting off the engine on his black Audi, Miles let out a loud breath. He looked at the building in front of him. He had no idea why hed allowed Jaden to talk him into this.

It wasnt going to work, no matter how accurate Dirk thought his online dating service was. There was no way in hell Miles would find his mate this way.

He got out of the car and then pushed the button on the remote on his keychain to lock it. To make Jaden happy, and to make her stop bugging the crap out of him, Miles had finally caved in and set up a date with the mortal woman who was supposedly his closest match. From her picture on the dating services website, this Gail looked attractive enough, but he really had his doubts shed end up being his mate. For one thing, she was mortal. Her lifespan was so much shorter than his. He was almost a thousand years old and was guaranteed to see another two thousand birthdays. And Miles knew, along with the rest of the werewolf population, there was no way to turn a mortal into one of their kind. Hed prefer his mate to be a werewolf so he wouldnt have to suffer through losing her too early.

Miles headed for the entrance to the restaurant-slash-bar where hed chosen to meet up with his date. He snorted. Hed never thought hed date anyone again. Ever since his relationship with Jadens motherwho hadnt been his matehad ended, hed only sought out women who would be happy with a quick tumble in the sack and then moved on. He hadnt wanted anything else until Jaden had brought up the subject of him finding his mate. Deep down inside, he wanted what his daughter had with her mate, Leif.

He stepped inside the restaurant and went over to the hostess who smiled as he approached. I have a reservation for two, Miles said, and then gave her his name.

She took him to a table in the center of the room and placed two menus on its surface before she left. As Miles snagged one and pulled it in front of him, he hoped his date wouldnt keep him waiting long. A quick look at his watch told him he was a few minutes early.

A waiter appeared and asked if Miles would like to order a drink. Miles decided he might as well and asked for a beer. A minute or so later, the waiter came back with his drink before leaving Miles alone once again.

More people came into the restaurant, but none of them was his date. Having an excellent view of the entrance from where he sat, Miles looked in that direction each time the door opened. And each time he didnt see the mortal who was to meet up with him.

Fifteen minutes went by and then a half hour. Miles was already on his second beer when he reached the conclusion that hed more than likely been stood up. Just to make sure, he took out his smart phone and checked the email account hed set up just for communicating with his would-be dates. Sure enough, there was an email from Gail sent forty-five minutes earlier, saying she had to cancel and asking if they could arrange to meet another time.

Miles mentally crossed her off the list, not that there were any others on it besides Gail. This also gave him another reason why the online dating service wasnt for him. He didnt like being stood up by a woman he hadnt even met and had only communicated with through the Internet.

With a sigh full of disgust, Miles lifted his bottle of beer to his lips and took a swallow. Hed finish this then go home. There was no point hanging around. Maybe hed even order something from the restaurant for take-out.

Hed just looked down at the menu in front of him to see what hed like when a new scent barreled into him like a speeding train. His head snapped up, and his gaze focused on the entrance. His grip on the bottle he held tightened as his cock went instantly rock hard, his mating urge slamming into him and riding his ass hard. Miles had to hold back a growl that threatened to punch out of him as he spotted a group of four women whod just come into the restaurant. One of them was his would-be mate. He separated her scent from all the others in the large open space and dragged it in deep, memorizing it.

As the hostess led the small group farther into the room, Miles kept his gaze glued to them. They came closer to his table. It was then he was able to zero in on which woman was meant to be his. He focused solely on her. The urge to go to her and drag her into his arms was hard to resist.

Instead, he settled for taking in everything about her. Shoulder-length light brown hair shined in the overhead lighting. Miles guessed her to be around five-foot-seven, tall for a mortal woman. Her dark brown eyes flashed as she laughed at something one of the other females said. He ran his gaze down her from her beautiful face to a slim, curvy body and long, toned legs showcased in a pair of snug-fitting black jeans.

Miless cock jerked as he drew in another lungful of her scent as she walked past his table. He continued to follow her with his gaze, pleased to see the group snaked around tables and ended up sitting at a booth straight across from where he sat. He had an excellent view of his would-be mate as she slipped onto the bench seating.

He drained the last bit of his beer then set the bottle on the table. A short while later, his waiter approached him. This time Miles ordered something off the menu, not for take-

out, and another beer. Hed be staying right where he was until the woman who was meant for him showed signs of leaving the restaurant. Drawn to the female who was meant to be his, the mating urge making it hard to focus on anything but her, he wouldnt be going home until hed taken steps to have them on the road to becoming mates.

Heres to the birthday girl, Kareena said as she lifted her glass of wine toward her friend, Alice. And to Lacy, who finally woke up, realized how much of an asshole her boyfriend was, and dumped his ass. Kareena, Alice, Lacy, and their other friend, Natalie, took sips of their drinks.

I guess that is something to celebrate besides me being one year older, Alice said.

She looked at Lacy. Kareena is right, though. Evan was an asshole, and you can do so much better.

Lacy sighed. I know, I know. All I can say is the sex had been pretty damn good, and I stupidly turned a blind eye to Evans bad points because of it.

At least you came to your senses before you wasted years with him, Natalie said.

He was the type of guy who would keep you around until hed found something better.

Kareena nodded. Yeah, count yourself lucky. From firsthand experience, its not fun having to go through that.

Up until last year, Kareena had been engaged for seven damn long years. Her ex had asked her to marry him when shed been twenty-four. Theyd been together for a year at that point. Shed been so happy and had agreed when Victor suggested a long engagement. Kareena had figured it would give her plenty of time to plan the wedding of her dreams. Shed never expected it to be quite so long. After a while shed wondered if Victor actually really wanted to get married. Shed put some pressure on him to settle on a date. That had blown up in her face when hed suddenly decided he didnt want to be with her anymore. Now at thirty-two, Kareena figured Victor had taken some of the best years of her life. Ones shed never get back.

Lacy, who sat next to Kareena, patted Kareenas hand. Your ex was an asshole too.

And he has no idea what he gave up, but its his loss.

Thanks, Lacy, Kareena said. Now no more negative thoughts. Lets get this celebration going.

With their food and second round of drinks served, Kareena relaxed and set out to enjoy herself. She and her girlfriends didnt get together like this as often as they used to.

With all of them busy in their jobs, it was hard to find time when they all could meet up without someones schedule coming into conflict. Being an ER nurse, Kareenas was the hardest one to work around.