I wasn’t the only one that was impressed watching Austin fight Paul. Paul has never been much of a fighter. He was below average in our pre-wolf training.
But even being a below-average fighter with an Omega wolf, people thought Paul would have fared better. They didn’t think Austin would be able to fight as quickly with his injury. He proved them all wrong.
I, of course, was betting on Austin. Even before losing his leg, Austin was no slouch as a fighter. After months of working with him as my physical therapist, I know how strong he is and how easily he can move even without a prosthetic.
That doesn’t mean I didn’t feel bad for Paul as he got embarrassed. I’m sure he won’t be living that down any time soon.
And while I initially thought Austin could have taken it easier on him, he made a valid point. Even though Paul is an Omega, he will need to grow stronger if he wants to work with the pack’s children. He will have to be able to protect them if something happens.
And as surprising as that revelation was, all thoughts seemed to go, poof when he kissed me. Okay, so it was a kiss on my forehead. But it was still a kiss. It was still his lips touching me.
It was sweet and tender. It took me off guard as he shifted to his wolf, not letting me have the chance to react.
‘Let me out, and I’ll react for you.’ Kayla assured.
That, however, worried me more than the potential pain of shifting for the second time. I don’t know how much I can trust her.
‘Fine. But I swear to the Goddess you go too far with him, and you are NEVER getting free again.’ I conceded with a warning as I let her come forward and shift.
It didn’t hurt as much. It hurt even less than last night when my parents were with me. So this is how much of a difference the mate bond can make. Even when unmarked.
I was worried when Kayla rubbed against Jax. So help me if she does something that crosses a line. Thankfully she behaved, and we could go on the run with everyone else.
As we returned, I was contemplating where to shift back. I’m still not the most comfortable shifting around some of the boys. I don’t want to deal with their looks.
Kayla, however, was more concerned with she-wolves looking at Austin. He had no issues with being naked around everyone. And well, from the glimpse I got before Kayla went protective mode, he certainly has no reason to feel shame about his body.
‘You realize this is ridiculous. We don’t need to shield Austin with our body. He doesn’t care that he’s naked.’ I sighed.
‘I don’t like those bitches looking at him. He is ours.’ Kayla growled, narrowing her eyes at Melody, who still kept looking.
I didn’t particularly appreciate how Melody was looking at him. I just wanted to see the stub from his missing leg. Yeah right. What a shitty excuse.
And she better not think I didn’t notice how she swayed her hips walking away. I saw her glance back, hoping Austin was looking.
‘We should rip her apart.’ Kayla suggested.
‘Tempting. But no.’ I shook my head.
“Hey, Kayla, come on. Time for Suzie to shift back and get dressed.” Austin encouraged stroking Kayla’s fur.
‘He’s right. We should shift. Grab my clothes, and let’s go shift in the bathroom where we can get dressed in private.’ I suggested taking more control back to ensure Kayla did what I said.
Kayla snorted, scooping my clothes up in her mouth and pushing the training center’s doors open. We went directly to the girls’ bathroom, knowing Austin couldn’t follow.
Okay, so he could if he wanted to. But I smirked as I heard another she-wolf tell him he couldn’t follow me in and called him out as a pervert.
‘I don’t know why you wanted to change away from him. Let him see you naked. He’s going to see it sooner than later. Very up close and deliciously personal.’ Kayla rolled her eyes.
‘Because mate or not. Austin will have to earn every touch, every kiss, and most definitely has to earn seeing me naked.’ I snorted as I shifted back.
I cracked my neck and rolled my shoulders, adjusting to being back in my own skin before slipping on my training clothes and pulling my hair up into a messy bun. I sighed, checking my reflection in the mirror.
I’m not the sort that gets down on her looks. I know my limits. I’m not like a supermodel or some incredible beauty. I know I’m attractive enough, but…
I frowned, looking down at my chest, remembering how Denise was more endowed than I am, even in scrubs.
And even if Austin said they weren’t together, I can’t help myself. I was comparing myself to her and worried that he was full of shit.
‘We are his mate. All others will pale in comparison. And he has no reason to lie to us.’ Kayla attempted to reassure me.
I scoffed. ‘Kayla, you don’t know him. Maybe you should take some time and sort through my memories beyond the recent ones that involve him.’
‘His past is not my concern. The man he is now is what matters. And if he has truly bettered himself, there is no reason to pass judgment because of his past.’ Kayla rolled her eyes.
I frowned because she had a point. It isn’t fair to Austin to hold past misdeeds of Clement against him. I’d seen how he changed and became a better man over the months he was my physical therapist. He is still a clueless man but better than he was.
I sighed, pushing the bathroom door open, wincing as I heard someone grunt in pain. I snickered, looking around the door, seeing Austin was who I smacked with the door.
His blue eyes narrowed at me, not as amused as I was. “Why do I feel like that was on purpose?” He grumbled, rubbing the side of his head.
“Happy coincidence.” I shrugged, snickering as I let the door shut.
“I doubt you’re concussed or anything.” I teased, reaching up to touch the side of his head.
The moment my hand touched him, he froze. I worried for a moment I’d done something wrong touching him. But his eyes softened, lips turning into a smile as he leaned into the touch.
Gently I rubbed where he’d been hit, getting to touch him for technically the first time. There were moments during my physical therapy we would touch, usually him touching me to help guide me through a stretch or activity.
This is different. I’m not Austin’s patient. I’m his mate. The look on his face, the way he’s looking at me. My heart started beating faster, butterflies filling my stomach as his scent overrode my senses.
His eyes darted to my lips, and oh shit, is he going to kiss me? Wait, didn’t I say he’d have to earn such things.
I quickly brought my hand down, stepping away from him. Kayla whimpered as Austin’s brow furrowed, and his smile turned into a slight frown.
“I should head home. You said you’d drive me. And there was mention that there would be a conversation.” I arched my brow at him.
Austin sighed, nodding as he pushed off the wall. “Alright. Let’s go then. And we can talk about that stunt you pulled.”
I rolled my eyes, falling into step with him as we left the training center.
“Hey! Suz! Are you coming!?” Stan called out, waving his arm.
I arched an eyebrow, hearing Austin growling next to me. Goddess knows what shit he’d say. I better say something before he does.
“No thanks, Stan! I’ve got a ride!” I assured, taking Austin’s hand.
I don’t know why I did that.
Okay, that’s a lie.
I wanted to make sure he didn’t do something stupid.
Alright, that's a half-lie.
I also just wanted to hold his hand to clarify to Stan and others that I had found my mate.
“Um… right. Get home safe.” Stan nodded, casting a worried glance at Austin.
“Safe.” Austin scoffed.
“Snot-nosed little shits that cause car accidents shouldn’t talk about getting somewhere safe.” He grumbled, tightening his grip on my hand and leading me to his jeep.
“You’re never going to let that go, will you?” I sighed, shaking my head.
“Hell no. I decided I didn’t like that shithead when I found him after the accident. I knew he was the one driving. And I also saw the state of his dumb pal and your friend.” Austin snorted.
“Oh, look at you being subtle. Don’t want to call it like it was? We got into the accident because Stan was busy watching Shannon giving Sullivan a blow job.” I chuckled.
Austin shook his head, running his hand over his face. “You have no filter.” He chuckled, opening the passenger door.
I blinked at the gesture. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not the girl who would get upset at someone opening a door for me. I, well, I didn’t expect it from him.
“Never have and probably never will. You knew that.” I shrugged and jumped into the passenger seat.
“Thank you, by the way. For opening the door.” I added quietly.
He just smiled, giving me a wink as he shut the door.
Oh, these two. I don't think Austin will ever forgive or forget that Stan was driving that truck.
I don’t know why I expect discretion for Suzanne Walterson. I have never known her to bite her tongue or hold back on anything. I really shouldn’t be surprised. As much as I dread having the conversation I know is coming, I’m glad to at least be alone with her. No one to overhear us. No one to watch us. And no one to interrupt us. We probably need to discuss a lot, not just my past relationship with Denise. Like how she seemed hesitant and quickly retreated before I could kiss her earlier. I mean, I’m not looking to pressure her or anything. She’d probably knock me into next week. But still, I’m not so oblivious to have missed the look in her eyes. She anticipated the kiss, but suddenly she moved away and insisted we leave. “Is it so surprising that I can do nice things?” I arched my eyebrow as we left the training center. “Yeah. I mean, have you met yourself?” Suzie shook her head. “Okay, fair, I guess. But that’s you judging me on how I used to be. I’m not that guy any
If I hadn’t seen his change with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it. The Clement Shelton I knew growing up was a total self-centered asshole. But Austin Shelton is entirely different. Well, maybe not completely. He’s still kind of an asshole. But he’s not the same kind of an unredeemable asshole. “You shouldn’t have even been in that accident. That kid is a fucking moron. One for not paying attention while driving and two for even going up that mountain in those conditions.” Austin rumbled. “I chose to be in that truck. I knew it was a bad idea, but I did it anyway.” I pointed out. “Congrats, you’re stupider than your friends? Because it takes a real idiot to know something is a bad idea and still does it,” Austin rolled his eyes. “Oh, because you smell your own? I can make a list as long as my arm of all the stupid shit you’ve done that I bet money you knew was a bad idea.” I countered. “Doubtful.” Austin scoffed. “Oh, let’s see. When I was five, I remember you deciding
You have got to be kidding me! Thanks, Maxton, thanks a fucking lot. Cocking blocking, son of a bitch. Do all fathers have a cockblocker mode, or is it just him? Because fuck if he doesn’t. There is no way he could have just coincidentally timed walking out onto the porch like that. No way. He had to have sensed it like that robot in Spaceballs with her virgin alarm. I waited till she was inside, and Maxton had shut the door before backing out of the driveway. Don’t think I didn’t miss the way his eyebrow arched as he looked at me. Oh, he not only knows my jeep, but he saw me clear as day behind the wheel. I can just imagine what conversation is happening inside the Walterson house tonight. What will she tell them? Will she lie and say we ran into each, and I offered to drop her off? Will she tell the truth and say we’re mates? Or will she tell a white lie? Omitting that I’m her mate but say I was one of the instructors? So many possibilities, and I have no way of knowing
Today has been a whirlwind of changes. Hell, the last twenty-four hours have been a trip. Last night, I shifted for the first time, and now I’ve also found my mate. I still don’t know how I feel about my mate being Austin. ‘Why are humans so difficult?’ Kayla scoffed. ‘Excuse me?’ I arched my brow. ‘You heard me. Why are humans, or I guess just you, so difficult? This isn’t rocket science. It’s actually really simple. He’s our mate. Therefore, we should be with him.’ Kayla sighed. ‘It’s not that simple. You don’t know what Austin was like.’ I frowned. ‘WAS!’ Kayla shouted, making my head hurt. ‘What he WAS like! I don’t give a fuck what he WAS like. And I know exactly how he used to be. Remember, I can access all your memories from before I awakened.’ Kayla rolled her eyes. ‘People don’t just change personalities overnight.’ I countered. ‘It’s been YEARS! Our mate has focused on improving himself, of making himself a better man for YEARS!’ Kayla insisted. And I hate t
I wanted to get ahead of any possible issues with Suzie. After sleeping on it, I woke up knowing one thing for sure if Suzie finds out Denise was at my place from anyone else, I am dead. So I got up early and went to a local bakery to get a couple dozen donuts and a large carafe of fresh-brewed coffee. Don’t judge. Werewolves have a high metabolism. As a kid, Maxton would stop at Pearl’s Bakery if he was in charge of carpooling Stephen, me, and a couple of other kids to the pack middle school. So I’m sort of banking that he still has a soft spot for it. While getting the donuts and coffee, I kept a running conversation with Suzie in the pack link. And fuck, she’s adorable. I knew what she was doing, distracting me with that comment about still being in bed. Okay, so that probably wasn’t her initial plan when we mentioned it, but she didn’t discourage me from trying to guess what she wears to bed. I am about ninety percent sure my first guess was correct. There might be a nine p
I may have rushed through my shower and getting dressed. I know my mom, and honestly worried for Austin’s safety. She’s as sweet as sugar unless she feels her kids are threatened. Then you realize that sugar has sharp pieces of glass hidden inside. And I think I got downstairs just in time. From the sounds of things and the general vibe of the room, Austin’s asshole side was showing, and mom’s growly bitch side was coming out. Of course, dad wasn’t much use. I don’t blame him. He probably didn’t want to get in the middle and deal with mom later if he didn’t side with her. So I’ll do it. After I told them to get to their corners, mom glared at Austin, grabbed a glazed donut, and sat down with a huff. Austin didn’t look apologetic in the least. Hell, he simply shrugged and smiled at me. “So me spending a few minutes with your parents gets your ass moving, but giving you a ten-minute warning does nothing. Noted.” Austin chuckled. I rolled my eyes. What a dumbass. “Why are you
I’d put a lot of thought into how I would handle Denise and people in general. No one would bat an eyelash about us being together within the pack. But I work outside the pack with humans, so I needed a plan. I wasn’t sure how Suzanne would react to all of this, mainly the part about Denise. I’ll give her credit; I was expecting more yelling and not just threats of violence but to be punched. I didn’t just pull over and park because I didn’t want to talk while driving. No, I did it to be sure if Suzanne went She-Hulk on me, I’d not get us into an accident. She’s been in one accident. That’s more than enough, thank you. I sighed, running my hand over my hair as she questioned my plans of telling people I work with that we have an arranged marriage and are starting the engagement period. This was the tricky part, if I’m honest. We only found out yesterday we are mates, and given she was my client, people will question how things ended and the whole sleeping with Denise part if I
I haven’t been the talk of the school since Stephen became a Gamma in Madonie, but then that was about my brother. Today the gossip was directly about me. Now that I have Kayla, everyone’s whispers about Austin dropping me off and kissing my cheek weren’t going unheard. I can’t even count how many times I had to answer the question about if Austin is my mate. I also can’t count how many people I snarled at for calling him Clement or making a face about being his mate. I swear these people will put mine and Kayla’s tolerance to the limits. I’m lucky I made it through the day without knocking anyone through a wall. I was never so happy to hear the final bell and get out of there. I was hurrying to get my stuff in my locker when it closed on me. “Excuse fucking me, but I was putting shit in there.” I snarled, turning my attention to the offending individual. I frowned as I saw Stan, Paul, and a couple of she-wolves at the training last night, including Melody standing there. Just