TALIA I opened my eyes to a brunette woman standing over us. I gasped and Alex got up off me. “Fuck! Goddess! Mom!” he yelled, grabbing the blanket and throwing it over me, keeping a piece to cover himself with. “I’m safe to assume that’s your mate?” the woman asked. “Fucking Artemis. Of course this would be how my mate gets introduced to my mom.” He chuckled to himself. Then he looked up at the woman and asked, “How long have you been standing there?” “What, you think I just stood here and watched?” “Dear Goddess, I hope not. Do you mind turning around so we can get dressed at least?” “I’ll be in my room.” She walked out, and we listened to her footsteps as she ascended the stairs. “Okay, that was maybe slightly less embarrassing than the time my mom walked in on me rubbing one out when I was a teenager.” Alex laughed. “Anyway, as awkward as that was, I should probably properly introduce you, with your clothes on.” He shook his head and got up, reaching for his clothes. I quic
TALIA A few days after Alex moved me into his house, the two of us went for a walk in the forest. The day was marginally warmer than it had been, now slightly above freezing. We bundled up so that Alex could bring me to where he normally sketched when it was warmer out. Our feet crunched in the snow that was slowly melting from the warmer climate. We made it out to a clearing in the forest with a river running through it, a large tree trunk had fallen over it like a bridge. “I sometimes sit on that trunk and put my feet in the water during the summer. And sometimes I sit on this rock over here.” He took my hands and brought me over to a large rock that was beside the water. “It’s so peaceful out here. I can just forget about my responsibilities for a few hours.” “Is it hard being the alpha?” I asked. “It’s definitely not easy.” He stared into my eyes. “Ultimately, I’m accountable for the pack—from the income that’s generated by the dairy plant to the safety of all the pack members.
TALIA “No!” I cried. “We have to find your fingers! She spit them out!” “The water is freezing, and they’ve probably been taken downstream by now. Sara’s the only werewolf I know who can swim long distances in freezing water—long enough to find fingers in a huge river. And the water will have carried away the scent anyway.” He looked defeated, tears brimming his eyes. “I will find them,” I said resolutely. “No, you’re injured!” He reached for me. Before he could stop me, I shifted back into my wolf form and dove into the river, ignoring all the pain on my face and body—adrenaline giving me strength to persist. It wasn’t too bad at first. My inner layer of fur kept the water from reaching my skin. With enthusiasm, I searched the bottom of the river, weaving back and forth against the ground, coming up for air as needed. It wasn’t long before I found one of the fingers stopped by a rock. I quickly grabbed it and brought it to the surface, leaving it at the side of the river, only to
JASMINE “You know, you don’t have to eat with me if you don’t want,” I said to Paige one day during lunch. “Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the company, but I feel bad taking you away from your other friends. I won’t be offended if you go back to eating with them.” “Eating with them wasn’t that much fun anyway. They mostly gossiped about other people all the time. That’s not really my thing,” Paige replied. “It’s not really my thing either. But my mom loves it. You should see her at temple every week. She’s basically the president of the rumor mill.” I laughed. “When I was in high school, she knew more about everyone I went to school with than I did!” “She must love that you’re engaged to the alpha then because she’ll get to know all the really good stuff before everyone else.” “Ha, that’s true! Maybe that’s why she’s so friendly with him.” I smiled. “I kept wondering how Blake was able to get her to warm up to him.” “Blake’s pretty suave though, isn’t he? I mean, he has a really cha
JASMINE Since I had the day off from training on Friday, Tyler invited me to go over his house during the afternoon to keep him company while he worked and offered to help me put together my potluck dish. “I still don’t understand why you’d invite me over while you’re working. Don’t you have to actually, you know, work?” I asked him from the couch as I scrolled through my I*******m feed. “The internet doesn’t even work half the time this far out in the boonies,” Tyler replied from his desk. “And my job hasn’t caught on to how unproductive I am yet. So I don’t think they’ll notice If I spend more time socializing than working one day.” “You’re crazy!” “Plus, it’s Friday! If I worked in an office, we’d all be having beers and playing ping pong today!” “I’m not sure that’s true.” “Sure it is! Tons of startups these days have beers on tap. Too bad we live in the middle of nowhere.” I looked up at Tyler and asked, “Are you going to stay here? Or are you and Jack planning to go back
JASMINE I arrived at Paige’s house at seven with a Tupperware filled with honey barbecue wings and a plastic-wrapped meat and cheese board that Jack had put together after he got home from his warrior duty. I told him it was completely unnecessary, but both he and Tyler insisted, both probably a little too happy that I had made a friend. Goddess, was I really that hopeless? “Jasmine! Welcome! Come in!” Paige greeted me, taking the items from my hands as soon as I walked in. I followed her into the kitchen where she added what I brought to the spread. “Wow, this looks great! You didn’t have to make so much food! There’s only four of us!” “I know. The meat and cheese board was actually my brother and his mate. I was at their house before I came here.” “Oh, how’s Tyler doing?” Paige gave me a pitying look, and I instantly understood what Tyler meant. I’d also despise it if people looked at me like that. I hated feeling weak. I knew Paige meant it as a look of empathy, so I didn’t let
JASMINE We all loaded up our plates. I tried some of Paige’s braised short ribs first. “Wow, this is impressive for a potluck!” I exclaimed. “Paige is an overachiever too.” Gigi snickered. “Stop pretending you’re not!” Paige retorted. She turned to me and said, “The two of us used to compete in everything.” “It was so funny to watch. Whoever got the better grade on a test would run home to show Mom first.” Heidi laughed. “And they’d always play sports with the boys during recess in elementary school. On opposing teams. I bet if they went to high school together, they’d compete over who got the cutest guy.” “That’s all Gigi!” Paige rolled her eyes. “I’m good with whomever the Moon Goddess sends me as a mate.” “That’s the difference between us. I grew up and Paige is still competing.” The way Gigi said it, there was an edge to it, as if it was not just a jest. “Here, try some queso! It’s good!” Heidi pushed the Tupperware toward me. I put some on my plate, and dipped a chip into
TALIA “Your coffee, beautiful.” Alex kissed me on my cheek as he handed me a mug of coffee. We were standing side by side at the kitchen counter, cooking breakfast together, making pancakes. “Merci beaucoup,” I replied, smiling, taking the mug from him, and taking a sip. “It’s perfect.” “Perfect coffee for my perfect mate.” He winked. “Let me bring my mom her tea. I’ll be right back.” “Maybe I should bring it to her instead this morning,” I offered, my stomach quivering. But I needed to make things right and stop avoiding the situation, no matter how uncomfortable. It had been very awkward since I’d moved in, especially since she hadn’t exactly been introduced to me in the best way. And things had only grown more awkward with the disappearance of his sister. “Are you sure?” He pulled me toward him so I was facing him, his hands at my waist. “She’s your mom, and we’ll be living together. I should make more of an effort to have a relationship with her.” “It would mean a lot to me.