Free Furever After by Arielle Lewenhart Page B

sure, it seemed like it might work, but it also sounded like a bad idea. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it had promise.
    After all, if I could choose the man, then I wouldn’t have to settle for someone I didn’t like. I could find a man who would care for me. But that would mean I’d need to give them all a chance…but that wouldn’t be such a terrible price to pay, all things considered.
    I sat back down at my computer, willing myself to stay awake just a little bit longer and fill out the form on the website. I uploaded the best photograph I had of myself, answered a few questions about my age, height, and weight, and filled out a short bio: I’m 22 years old. I grew up in a small village in northern Russia, and I’m looking for a new life full of adventure and fulfillment.
    Now the only thing to do was wait and see what happened.
     
    Mason still felt a surge of excitement at the memory. He had only seen the former leader transform once before, and it had been to deal with a traitor to the group. It had also been extremely messy when he was done.
    But the sight of that massive black bear waiting for him hadn’t made him run in fear — in fact, it had ignited a bloodlust in Mason he didn’t know he possessed. The sight of his enemy made Mason surge with excitement, every nerve alive with the anticipation of combat.
    Mason’s transformation had been swift. While most of the pack took several minutes to shift completely, Mason did so in mere seconds, his clothes falling to shreds around him as he turned into the Grizzly that he was. And unlike many others in the pack, Mason retained his humanity while in bear form — he could control himself, and his urges. Most of the others could not.
    The black bear had charged him, hardly waiting for Mason to regain his bearings — but Mason had sidestepped, using the beast’s inertia against him. Mason pivoted, a snarl escaping from his lips as he faced his former leader, before he launched himself from powerful hind legs and slammed into the older bear, bowling him sideways before a savage swipe landed across his snout.
    Mason showed no mercy. Once his leader was down, he tore into him, pummeling him with blow after blow, the sheer force of his swipes more than enough to render the older bear unconscious. It wasn’t until Jackson had shouted, “Enough!” that Mason stopped.
    His former leader lay on the ground, slowly phasing out of bear form and back into his human state. He bled from hundreds of different cuts, and Mason’s paws were covered in blood. He paused, turned to the crowd gathered before him, and roared.
    As Mason shifted back into his human form, all of the onlookers dropped to one knee and inclined their heads towards him. He had won. He was the alpha now.
    Even standing naked before his pack, he knew he had earned their respect. No one wanted to test a man who could so completely destroy his enemies — even so, Mason knew that it would likely mean someone would try to overthrow his rule one day. He knew he had to change the way the Tartarus MC operated before that could happen.
    That had been his mission ever since, and he’d made truly massive progress. But now his entire pack was rallying for him to find a mate. Mason understood why; should something happen to him, leadership would go to his children. If he had none, the power struggle could destroy his entire pack.
    But he didn’t want to settle down. Not yet. Jackson was following at a distance behind him, he knew; Mason was familiar with his friend’s habits, and Jackson served as his voice of reason in most circumstances. He turned to face his friend.
    “Jackson. Find me a mate.”
     
    I stirred from my sleep, disturbed by the incessant beeping on my computer. I thought I’d shut it off, but I guess not; a small green light across the room told me the speakers were turned on, and apparently I had a message. I glanced at the clock; it was 7 AM.
    I cursed softly. If one