Alright, this ended up being longer than I anticipated, so there is still one more chapter to come tomorrow. Enjoy! Much Love, Anja <3
JERICHO The older wolf speaks up for the first time, and his voice is much rougher than I expected. “You’re her mate and I trust that you know what’s best, but where should I wait?” “There’s a dinner down the road, you can go eat lunch there, and one of us will come for you when we think she’s ready.” Mr. Akir nodded and turned to leave, but I saw the disappointment in his eyes and dejection was evident in his posture. I felt for him, but Gia is my priority right now, and I don’t want to overwhelm her with too much all at once. Once he’d rounded the corner, I quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Jill followed me and I asked her to wait in the living room while I go up to check on my mate. Before I even reached the bedroom door, Gia was exiting the room sniffing the air with her eyes wide in shock. She paused and looked at me, a million questions swimming in her golden gaze, but she didn’t say a word. Gia took a couple hesitant steps closer to me and began sniffing my c
My skin is sticky with sweat and the smell of sex permeates the room. I slide off the bed and start searching the floor for my clothes while the man behind me, a warrior from our pack, stands and begins walking towards the bathroom. “You can let yourself out.” He utters without so much as a glance over his shoulder. The bathroom door slams shut, and I hear the spray from the shower turn on. I’m a little irked that he didn’t even bother to thank me for helping him relieve his stress, but not all of them do. I know what I’m getting myself into when I come home with a guy like this. He’s a bit of a slob too, so it takes me a minute to find my clothes. My dress is in the corner, and it has a small tear in it, but at least it’s still wearable. I quickly pull the dress over my head and glance at myself in a mirror as I comb my fingers through my long chestnut brown hair. Swiping my fingers under my golden-brown eyes to remove some of the black smudges from my eye makeup. It’s alwa
*3 Years Earlier*“Jill, I need your help to pick out my birthday outfit for tomorrow!” I whined to my best friend. “Can you please come home with me after school?”“Of course, girl! Do you and Brent have something special planned?” She wiggled her eyebrows playfully.I blush, “yeah, we really lucked out that my eighteenth birthday fell on a Saturday. We have the whole evening planned out.”Jill grins and her forest green eyes sparkle with enthusiasm, “Well, don’t hold back, give me the details! What do you have planned?!”“Well, first, we are going to meet at Grand Teton National Park. You know, to see if the mate bond snaps into place. Then, we plan to just hang out for a bit before we head to dinner, we’ll finish off the night camping out together under the stars, and we’ll probably mark each other.” I couldn’t hold back the smile that crept onto my lips.Brent and I have been dating for the last three and a half years, and we are both certain that we are mates, but we have
The clock on my nightstand shows that it’s already 4:43 PM and I need to leave soon if I don’t want to be late. Brent will be meeting me at Grand Teton National Park which is about a 40-minute drive from my house. We wanted to meet somewhere beautiful so that when we see each other, and the mate bond snaps into place we have a beautiful setting to add to the memory and the stories we’ll tell our children and grandchildren. After one more quick glance in the mirror to confirm that I look okay. I slip on my brown ballet flats grab my purse and keys and head out the door. I opted for the flats instead of heels because I need to be able to easily walk the trails in the park to get to the spot where we agreed to meet. It’s getting warm out and the mountain breeze feels so good, but today I’m driving with the windows up and the A/C running on a low setting. I don’t want to risk messing up my hair. Everything about this moment needs to be perfect. Admittedly, I tend to speed when I dr
The rest of the year flew by so fast. Before we knew it, it was the end of school and the begining of summer. Brent and I never found our mates, which was kind of a relief. Jill managed to pass her calculus course with a B+ and I was so proud of her and all her hard work. I can’t believe our graduation ceremony is tonight! Although Brent and I had a small rough patch when we initially discovered that we weren’t fated mates, it didn’t take long for us to fall back into a comfortable rhythm with each other. We never did get around to marking each other, and it was a little awkward how it never came up as a conversation topic when it had so often been the focal point when we spoke about the future, but I tried not to stress myself out about it too much. I’m sure we’ll mark each other after graduation. Maybe Brent is just planning some sort of a surprise and he’s avoided talking about it, so he doesn’t slip and give anything away. He was always so sweet with the surprises he would
Poor Jill was heart-broken again. She spent so much time and effort getting herself ready for the Blue Moon Ball and she still didn’t find her mate. I did my best to comfort her, but I think she really just needed some time to grieve and cry. Being her shoulder to cry on was my main priority after the ball, but she kept insisting that I go and enjoy myself with Brent, that she would be fine. I wasn’t convinced, but Brent kept pushing for me to give her some space, so he and I went away for a long weekend trip to Portland Oregon. When we returned Jill seemed to be in a better place emotionally, so I didn’t press her for information or ask for details. She also agreed to go with Brent and I on a trip to Vegas. We spent a week lounging around a pool, going to shows, and gambling a bit as well. It was so fun, and Brent was very understanding about not being too affectionate in front of Jill. I didn’t want her to feel like the third wheel on our trip. The summer was filled with tr
“Mate!” When I heard that all too familiar female voice behind us, my heart stopped beating and my breath hitched. This has got to be some sort of joke, but when I turned and looked at Brent’s face, I knew it wasn’t a joke. He had gone pale, but I could hear his heart racing. His nostrils flared, telling me he was taking in the scent of his fated mate. His fists were still clenched with white knuckles, and there were now a few drops of his blood on the table from his nails elongating and piercing his palms. His whole body was ridged, as if a single movement would lead to his death. I could sense her standing behind us, but I dare not turn around to confirm my worst nightmare. All he needs to do is resist the mate bond and reject her, but as the seconds ticked by and he remained frozen I began to worry. The girl behind us stood there silently waiting for something, anything, to happen. The room had gone silent as everyone in the cafeteria waited to see how this would play out.
“It’s more…” That was the moment the pressure became too much and the cracks in my heart couldn’t take it anymore. I shattered into a thousand pieces. I wanted to run, I wanted to scream, I wanted to bury myself in my bed and never get up again. Brent reached for me with sad eyes, but I stepped back again. This time I turned and ran back to the dorms. Hopefully everyone will be out since it’s the middle of the day on Sunday. I didn’t really want to be seen like this. Everything I thought I knew about Brent and our relationship; I was now viewing through a different lens. He had slept around before we dated. How did I not know that? He cheated on me with Amanda. I should have been more suspicious of her from the start. I should have paid closer attention to how Brent responded to her. I’m sure there were signs and hints that I missed. I wonder how many people knew these things about him that I didn’t. Did they all assume that I just didn’t care, or were you they laughing