When his profile was filled out the algorithm began to load his matches. A hundred percent match was supposed to be a shifter’s fated mate. He waited for the screen to load. When it did, he scrolled through it. There were pictures of many beautiful women, all between eighty-five and ninety-seven percent matches. But there was no hundred percent match. His fated mate had not been found.
James frowned. And threw his cell phone across the surface of the richly polished walnut table. He knew it was a stupid idea to sign up for a dating site. Even if his fated mate had been there, he didn’t want one anyway.
How could he possibly allow someone into his life? Even if he wasn’t slowly going insane, he didn’t like people around him, touching his things, asking questions, and expecting him to pay attention to them in the first place. James Hill would forever and always want to be left alone.
Chapter 3
Matilda stood in the driveway of her mother’s house with a mop in one hand and a bucket in the other. Under her fluffy winter coat, she was wearing the ridiculous cleaning lady uniform that her mother had insisted on. Matilda was sure that if the uniform were any shorter, it would look like a French maid costume. At least her mom had allowed her to wear leggings underneath, and she had on sneakers instead of heels. But Matilda still felt ridiculous.
At her last job, she’d worn a jumpsuit, goggles, and earplugs. Working in her ex-boyfriend’s family’s meatpacking plant hadn’t been that great of an experience. But at least she didn’t have to go to strangers’ houses in a little dress.
“Do I have to wear this? I look like a call girl.”
“Stop being ridiculous, Matilda. That is a standard maid uniform. Even the sixty-year-old maids wear it. Besides, you don’t even look sexy, so don’t worry about it.”
“Well, thanks a lot.”
“I’m just trying to help, honey. You have all of your cleaning supplies, correct?”
“Yes, everything. Window cleaner, squeegees, toilet bowl brush, bleach to drink.”
“This is what I mean, Matilda. You need to learn to be grateful for the opportunities presented to you.”
“Yeah I know mom. I am grateful. I really am. For everything. It’s great of you to let me crash here and to help me get back on my feet.”
“I always knew that boy was trouble.”
“I know. I know. You told me.”
“I’m not going to lecture you here in the driveway. You need to be at your client’s house in an hour and fifteen minutes. If you want to stop to get something to eat on the way, you should probably go now. It’s a little bit of a drive up to his estate.”
“I’ve heard some really weird things about this guy. Not to mention the fact that he lives in the haunted mansion. You do realize that, right mom?”
“That mansion is not haunted.”
“Every kid I knew growing up on Fate Mountain knew that place was haunted. It was vacant for years and now this weird billionaire lives there. I think it’s too much of a coincidence if you ask me.”
“Matilda, you need to be at your appointment in an hour and ten minutes. We don’t have time for this. I know you’re going to get hungry as soon as you start working so please go to the diner and get yourself some lunch.”
“Fine. You’re no fun.”
“Good luck, honey. I know Mr. Hill is a little eccentric, but it’s going to be fine.”
“What happened with the last cleaning lady?”
“He yelled at her and scared her to death. Now no one will clean for him. That good news is that now there’s an opening for you.”
“That isn’t exactly reassuring.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” her mom said, before turning up the walkway.
Matilda shivered in the driveway and hugged herself around the waist over her fluffy winter coat. Her mother hurried back to the front door of the house and went inside. Matilda got in the car, backed out of the driveway, and turned out onto the street headed into town.
She was grateful to her mother for everything she had done, but if Matilda had had any other options, literally any other options, at all, she would have taken them. But she didn’t. So here she was, going out to work for a notorious weirdo in his notoriously weird house.
At least her mom had given her a few bucks for lunch. Matilda pulled up in front of the diner and parked the car. When she was slipping into the booth next to the window, she noticed Lily walking down the aisle with a coffee pot in hand.
“How goes the job search?” Lily asked.
Matilda opened her jacket and showed Lily her maid uniform with her nose wrinkled in a look not unlike a snarl.
“It’s not so bad. I wear a uniform to work. And I’ve been told it’s rather sexy,” she said, glancing back toward the kitchen where her husband Shane Keenan was plating up an order of a Fate Mountain burger and fries. Matilda could see the long sleeve of his tattooed arm through the window between the kitchen and the dining room.
“I’ll take your word for it,” Matilda said.
“I’m glad you found something at least, hun,” Lily said, pouring Matilda a cup of coffee. “What will you have?”
“I’ll have the Fate Mountain burger and fries and a huckleberry milkshake.”
“Coming up,” Lily said, scribbling the order onto her order pad.
Matilda clicked on her phone and scrolled through the screen she had been looking at the last time her phone was on. She was on the website for the university she wanted to go to. She knew that someday she would have enough money to go to school.
She often looked at the university website to keep herself motivated. She’d knew she would need a lot of motivation today. She was going to work for an eccentric billionaire in his haunted mansion. Things couldn’t be any worse.
The new school term was starting in just a few days, and just like every term for the last several years, Matilda would not be joining the other kids in class.
Lily came back to her table with a tray holding Matilda’s order several minutes later. Lily set the glass of huckleberry milkshake on the table with a straw and then set the huge, delicious-looking Fate Mountain burger and fries in front of Matilda.
“Can I get you anything else?” Lily asked.
“This looks great. I’m going to need a full stomach for work today.”
“Enjoy,” Lily said with a bright smile.
The bear shifter waitress left Matilda to her burger. She enjoyed every bite. As a starving would-be college student, she didn’t get meals like this very often, even living in her mom’s house. Her mom spent most of her time working, and the kitchen cabinets at home were generally sparse.
Matilda groaned at the delicious flavor of hamburger. She was so distracted by the feeling of her stomach filling up that she didn’t notice the man who walked into the diner.
She looked up from her burger, with the secret sauce all over her face, just in time to see her ex-boyfriend Tim walking down the aisle right toward her.
Matilda grunted and choked on the bite of burger she had in her mouth. She dropped her food on the plate and grabbed her napkin, wiping her face as quickly as she could, trying to clear her throat for air.
She could not believe that her ex-boyfriend was in Fate Mountain. His family lived in the valley all the way on the other side of the mountain.
“I knew you would be here,” he said.
“Why are you in Fate Mountain Village?” she asked, her throat still dry from choking on her burger.
“I’ve been trying to find you since you left.”
“If you had just looked at my Facebook profile you would have known that I went back to my mom’s house a week ago.”
“No more messing around, Matilda. It’s time to come home.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you. I thought I made it clear when I said that I was leaving and never coming back.”
“We’ve been through this so many times before. I never take you seriously when you threaten to leave.”
“This time I mean it. And I’m not coming back. I even have a new job.”
“Oh, you’re working for your mother, I see. How’s that working out for you?”
“Amazingly well. I have a job for a billionaire today.”
“Are you screwing him?”
“What?” Matilda gasped, slamming her fist into the diner table. Her plate, milkshake glass, and silverware clanged on the tabletop.
“You heard me.”
“I haven’t even met this guy yet. And if I were screwing someone, it would be none of your business because this relationship is over!”
“I know you don’t mean that,” he said grabbing her wrist and pulling her up from the booth.
Matilda jerked her hand away and glared at him.
“Don’t make a scene, Tim. You need to leave.”
“I’m not leaving without you.”
“Is there a problem here?” came a gruff voice from behind Tim.
Matilda’s ex-boyfriend turned around to see chef Shane Keenan standing behind him. The grizzly bear shifter’s eyes were bright with the strength of his bear. The arms of his chef coat were folded back to reveal his tattooed arms. The Rescue Bears called Shane ‘Wild Bear’ for a reason. Even though Matilda knew Shane was trying to protect her, the intensity of Shane’s glare still sent a shiver down her spine. Tim took a step to the side as Shane growled and stared into his eyes.
“No problem at all. I was just leaving,” Tim said.
“Are you all right?” Lily asked, walking up beside her husband.
“I’m so sorry that happened. I’m so embarrassed right now.”
“There’s no reason to be embarrassed. We are just worried about you,” Lily said.
Shane gripped her shoulder for a split second, while looking her in the eye, and then turned back to the kitchen.
“Thank you so much for everything, Lily. I should probably get going.”
“Why don’t you sit back down and calm your nerves for a moment. We want to make sure he drives away.”
Matilda sat back in the booth and took a long sip of milkshake through her straw. The thick, sweet shake slid down her throat and soothed the raw feeling she’d had since choking.
She groaned and picked up her phone again, navigating over to her social media page. Matilda scrolled through updates from all of her friends in college. She read posts about their excitement over the new term. She saw their updated profile pictures of New Year’s Eve kisses at midnight with creative Instagram filters. Matilda slapped her palm to her forehead right before she noticed an advertisement for the dating website that Lily was always talking about.
‘Find your match on Mate.com.’
Matilda groaned and clicked on the advertisement, a mixture of anger and terror driving her on. If she couldn’t go to school and she was going to get stalked by her psycho ex-boyfriend, then maybe she could at least get the attention of some male shifter from this silly dating website.
It was an impulsive move, but as she sat in the diner, waiting for Tim to leave the parking lot, it was the only thing she could think of to do. She filled out the silly questionnaire and uploaded her profile information. When she was done, she pressed enter and waited for her matches to load.
Out her window, she could see Tim finally drive away, heading east on the highway out of town. With a sigh of relief, she watched her matches load on the screen of her smartphone. She wasn’t expecting anything from it. It was just a stupid way to pass the time. But to her surprise, when the matches were finished loading, she had a hundred percent match. The instructions at the beginning had informed her that a one hundred percent match meant the site had found her a fated mate.
Unlike humans, shifters had a fated mate: that one special person who was perfect for them. Matilda knew enough about shifters and their mates to know that the fated mate thing worked both ways. Even human mates felt undeniably attracted to their shifter. Unfortunately, her mate didn’t even have a profile picture, and his profile name was “Bad Bear”. Neither of those facts were particularly encouraging.
Matilda rolled her eyes and clicked off her phone. Now that Tim was gone, she could safely leave the diner and get to her job. She was supposed to be there in less than ten minutes, and the haunted mansion was at least fifteen minutes away. She was going to be late on her very first day. This job was over before it had even started.
Matilda went out to the parking lot and climbed in her car. As the engine warmed up, she groaned and rested her forehead against the wheel. This was not the way that she had expected her life to turn out. Nevertheless, it was what she had to work with. Matilda put the car in reverse, turned out of the parking lot, and drove out onto the highway, headed to the haunted mansion.
Chapter 4
James gazed out the window at the snow-covered statues and frowned. He took another sip of coffee and set it back on the counter. The cleaning agency had finally found him a new housekeeper. She would be arriving at any moment. He checked his cellphone to see that she was already late. Then he noticed that there was a text from Mate.com. He clicked on the message and opened it up.
“Congratulations. Your fated mate has been found.”
James stared at the text for a long time, not sure what to think about it. Signing up for the dating website had been a momentary case of madness. But apparently, they had found his one true love.
He grimaced and clicked on the link, opening up the girl’s profile. Immediately, he was stunned by her beauty. Long black hair flowed around her round white shoulders like a dark river. Pouty red lips begged to be kissed. Curvy hips called out to his hands to grip and pull against him. His inner bear snarled, knowing he was looking at his one and only.
James dropped his phone and looked away, his hands curling into claws. The beast inside roared mercilessly in his brain. He could feel his fangs descend in his mouth. The taste of blood slid over his tongue from where the tip of his sharp teeth sliced his thin human flesh. He could not have that girl. There was no way in hell.
First of all, she was clearly a child. Secondly… he could never bring someone so innocent and beautiful into the darkness of his insanity. He turned back to the phone, reaching out to where it had landed on the ground. He couldn’t bring himself to look at it again. He could never have her. Never. The bear growling inside his mind drove him away from the phone. He’d have to remove his profile later. He couldn’t chance seeing her face again just now.
He had to get a grip. The cleaning lady would be here any minute. As he was trudging away from the phone on the floor in his kitchen, he heard the doorbell chime throughout the mansion. His bear snarled and James took a gasping breath. He was shirtless and sweaty, his lips were stained with blood from his own fangs. He grabbed an old sweater off a chair and threw it over his bare chest on the way through the sitting room and into the main hall of the mansion. He crossed the cold marble floor in his bare feet and gripped the doorknob. With a deep breath, the swung the door open.
There was no way in hell he or his inner beast were ready for what they both found standing in front of him.
It was her. His fated mate.
The girl with raven dark hair and sparkling green eyes. The girl with full red lips and curves so juicy he could drink them in for the rest of eternity. She was the epitome of every dirty fantasy he’d ever harbored. She was also the thing he feared he could never have.
She smiled up at him with a mop in one hand and a bucket full of cleaning supplies in the other. James stumbled back, nearly tripping over the hall rug. He grasped his head, hearing his grizzly roar so loud it just about deafened him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the girl’s face change to a look of horror.
“What’s wrong? Should I call a doctor?”
He tried desperately to get himself under control. She was his cleaning lady. He could glean that much from the mop, bucket and black maid’s uniform. She was here to clean the house, and he was scaring her half to death. He took a deep breath and ri
ghted himself, blinking repeatedly to clear away the sound of his bear roaring inside his head.
The beast filled his mind with images of rutting the girl right there on the snow covering the porch, her white skin sliding over the cold white ground. He shook his head, pushing away the image of her red panties down around her ankles.
“I’m fine,” he said, finally presenting himself like a normal human being.
He could never allow this innocent, beautiful creature into his dark, depraved world, but he still needed a cleaning lady. She had come here to do a job. He wouldn’t send her away.
“I’m Matilda, from Fate Mountain Cleaning,” she said, reluctantly stepping into the house.
He closed the door behind her and cleared his throat.
“Yes. Of course. I was expecting you. Forgive me, I was working on a project when you arrived and just had an insight.”
“Oh…” she said.
He knew she didn’t believe him. He was already coming across as a maniac. He couldn’t have that. But why did he care?
He had to get rid of her as soon as possible. As soon as she was done with the cleaning today. He’d booked two hours with the company per day. He’d just have to call them and tell them that he needed someone else. That was it. There had to be someone else.
He gritted his teeth and showed her to the kitchen to start her cleaning job. The dishes had stacked up rather badly in the sink and around the counters. That was one benefit of being a billionaire. He could always afford new dishes when the old ones got dirty. Unfortunately, that led to a great deal of dirty dishes over time.
Matilda stood in the doorway of his massive kitchen and took in the sight. Her mouth slowly dropped until it was all the way open. Her eyes stared blankly at the scene.
“I haven’t had a cleaning lady for weeks. As you can see,” he said.
She cleared her throat and finally came to. “Clearly,” she said flatly. “I guess I should start in here then?”
“That would be great. I love cooking, but not so much cleaning. I’m glad you’ve come. I was going to have to order more pots and pans again.”