Cursed Wolf

Jasmine hurried backto her cabin and closed the door. She felt like a fool. Why did she think she would be able to get away from the harassment? The Internet followed you everywhere.

She dropped her purse on the dining room table and went to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. She was already amped up from the message from her stalker, but she hoped that the coffee would help her think more rationally.

After she poured herself a cup with cream and sugar, she sat down at the table and opened up her phone. Her stalker kept making new accounts so that he could harass her. Every time she blocked him, he just ended up coming back. She blocked the new account, turned off her phone, and took another sip of coffee.

“That’ll keep him away for at least… thirty seconds,” she sighed, and her shoulders deflated.

She didn’t want to think about this maniac anymore. She’d come to Alaska to have a good time, to get some fresh air and exercise and some pampering. She opened the flier that she’d picked up at the front desk. The resort had all kinds of relaxing activities like massages and mud baths. That was exactly what she needed right now.

She smiled and sipped her coffee, feeling like her day may brighten up after all. She opened the spa’s site and booked herself a full day of spa treatments. She hadn’t thought she would start on her first day at the resort, but she needed the R&R.

Jasmine told herself then and there that she was going to avoid social media the entire time she was here. She uninstalled all her apps on her phone and then dug up her laptop to block them on there too. Now there was no way that the guy could get to her. She checked the time and found that she had ten minutes to get to her mud bath appointments.

She sighed with contentment. It was going to be a good day after all. She grabbed her phone and hurried back to the main building of the Lodge to the spa in the walkout basement. A wall of windows that looked out at the lake.

After she changed in the dressing room, she walked out into the mud bathroom. The smell of the therapeutic mud was like warm, damp earth after the rain in a rainforest. It smelled absolutely divine. An attendant took her robe and helped her step into the bath. The mud was gooey and warm around her toes and legs as she sank down.

Jasmine relaxed against the pillowed headboard and an attendant applied a facemask and cucumber slices to her eyes. She then ran castor oil through her hair. The mud enveloped her curves and helped her muscles unwind and relax.

All she could do was lie there with her eyes closed as the soothing music played through the speakers. When she was done with the mud bath, she was taken to a shower where she washed herself off with luxurious soaps and shampoos.

Next, she had a massage appointment. The masseuse was a six foot four Adonis with the broadest shoulders she’d ever seen. He was incredibly attractive and his hands on her tense muscles were like a dream. By the time he was finished with her, she was putty in his hands.

She when she was done with all the pampering she felt like a new woman. She was going to have a fabulous time here in Alaska. When she was dressed again, it was time for dinner.

Jasmine wondered if she’d see the same women at the dinner buffet that she had at lunch. She’d run off on them without learning their names. When she entered the dining room, she saw the three of them sitting at the same table, laughing and chatting over their cellphones.

“I’m sorry about rushing off earlier,” Jasmine said as she approached the table. “I got a nasty message on social media, and it really threw me off.”

“Tina was matched with a shifter,” her sister squealed. “Can you believe it?”

“Look at him. Just look at him,” Tina gushed.

The man on the screen was indeed very handsome, and it made Jasmine a little bit jealous. At the same time, it just showed that sometimes good things really did happen.

“I’m going to get my dinner, and I’ll be right back,” Jasmine said.

She filled her plate with lobster and green beans and a glass of Chardonnay and made her way back to the table.

“I’m Sasha. That’s Tina. We’re sisters on vacation together.”

“I’m Jasmine. I’m on vacation alone.”

“Are you going to join matedotcom with us?” Sasha teased.

“I don’t know if I can handle the disappointment,” Jasmine chuckled.

“I am living proof that some people do get matched,” Tina said, still gushing as she typed a text message into her phone. “He’s here in Selkie. Can you believe it?”

“What are the odds?” Jasmine said.

She dug into her lobster, savoring the buttery, garlicky flavor. She took a sip of wine. She was feeling quite a bit more relaxed when she had been at lunch. Maybe joining matedotcom would be a fun experiment. If nothing else, she could use it in her next book.

“Okay. I’m going to do it,” Jasmine said, downloading the app onto her phone.

The sisters squealed and congratulated her. Tina had found her fated mate. She had beaten the odds somehow. Deep down in the darkest recesses of Jasmine’s mind, she thought maybe she could beat them too.

She opened the app and filled out her profile before filling out the weird questionnaire. Then she pressed enter and waited for her matches to load. She gulped as the wheel spun on her screen.

And then her matches loaded.

She bit her l!p as she looked at the first one. An absolutely drop-dead gorgeous bear shifter who was a 72% match. She sighed, somewhat disappointed, but then began to scroll. She had an 82% match, an 87% match, a 93% match, a 99% match. Each hotter than the last.

At the very bottom of the screen, she found her 100% match.

She gasped and covered her mouth. The man staring back at her was pure intensity. His screen name was Geek Wolf, but with muscles like that, she wanted to call him Daddy. He had dark sandy blond hair and blue eyes the color of the a storm. She covered her mouth and shook her head.

“What is it? What is it?” asked Sasha. “Did you get matched?”

Jasmine couldn’t speak, she just m****d behind her hand and shook her head again.

Tina snatched her phone and gasped when she looked at the picture.

“Oh my God, he’s hot,” she said, enlarging his photo. “Not as hot as mine, but he’s definitely a looker.”

Jasmine took her phone back and clicked on his profile. She wanted to learn everything she could about her match. She immediately found out that he was living in Selkie, too.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“He’s in Selkie,” she gushed.

“Fate works in mysterious ways,” Tina said, giving her a wink.

“I think I must be dreaming,” Jasmine said.

Geek Wolf the second oldest of six brothers. He owned a house in town and was an app developer. Jasmine bit her l!p. He sounded amazing.

A text popped up on her screen from matedotcom. “Hello Romance Girl.”

“Hi,” she typed back. She was at a loss for words.

“I’m thrilled to finally meet you,” he said.

“Me too,” she replied. Jasmine felt so lame. She needed to get a grip and say something meaningful to this man. “I’m on vacation in Selkie right now.”

“That means we can meet.”

Jasmine’s heart thudded. Was she really going to meet up with someone she’d just met on the internet? She bit her l!p hard, thinking of her crazy stalker. “I’m not sure.”

“My brother’s mate is having an art exhibition tomorrow night at the Four Winds Gallery. We could meet there and then maybe grab a bite to eat?”

“He’s asking me out tomorrow. Should I go?” Jasmine said to the women.

“Are you kidding? Of course,” Tina said.

Jasmine still wasn’t sure, despite how cute he was. “What time should I arrive?”

“The exhibition is at six.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you there.”

“I thought I’d be prepared to find my mate. But honestly, I’m shocked.”

“I just signed up as a joke. I never believed I’d get matched.”

“How do you feel now that you have?”

Jasmine sipped her wine and took another bite of lobster. She was tingly all over and giddy as a teenager with her first crush.

“I feel amazing.”

“My name is Felix Winter. And you?”

Jasmine set down the phone and took another bite to eat, chewing slowly. Was she ready to tell him her name? Was she ready to let someone into her life? With her online stalker, part of her was hesitant to let anyone know who she was.

Felix was her fated mate.

“My name is Jasmine Flume.”

“The novelist?”

Jasmine’s mouth dropped. “Yes. You’ve read my books?”

“My friend Rebecca Doolittle is a huge fan.”

“Will she be at the art exhibition?”

“Absolutely. The Doolittles have become the best friends the Winter family. We spend a lot of time together. Their sons Franklin and Roger are growing up fast and will be graduating high school soon. Ready to find their own mates. I thought maybe they would find theirs before I did. I’ve been waiting such a long time.”

Jasmine looked at his picture. He didn’t look any older than her.

“How long have you been waiting?”

She watched the text thread, but he didn’t reply. She took another sip of wine and still received nothing. After a moment she set down her phone and continued eating her meal. Tina was blushing as she typed into her phone.

“He wants to meet me tonight,” she said breathlessly.

“I agreed to a date tomorrow,” Jasmine said. “I can’t believe it’s happening so fast.”

“What’s yours like?” Sasha asked.

“He’s software developer and owns his own house.”

“Mine is a doctor, on the town council, and a member of the Bear Lodge,” Tina said. “My last boyfriend was a dishwasher.”

“Are you going to move to Selkie?” Sasha asked.

“It looks like that could be a possibility,” Tina said, her eyes bright.

Jasmine looked down at her phone again.

Felix had finally replied. “It’s a long story. I’ll have to tell you about it over a glass of wine.”

“Maybe you can tell me tomorrow night.”