And that is a wrap! I hope you all have enjoyed the journey. I will definitely miss these characters. They definitely took on personalities of their own as we went along. I cannot tell you how many times I sat down planning to write one thing, only to find the characters demanding we go a different direction. Thankfully, we will still get glimpses of the key characters in Book 2, which will focus on the Moon Goddess's decision to pair Maggie and Alpha Paul. That book will also pick up where this book left off, in terms of Bobby and the Moonlight Six. I plan to start Book 2 in a few weeks, after I take some time off for a couple of family vacations. Thank you all for reading!!! If you have enjoyed the journey, please leave a gem and/or positive review!
Cassie POV: My name is Cassandra Semberton. I go by Cassie. I am a 21-year-old werewolf. Werewolves –especially she-wolves—are supposed to dream of finding their mates, falling in love, and planning their weddings. I’m not like most she-wolves. I’m broken. For most of my life, my parents have used the hypothetical mate bond against me: “Cassie, your mate isn’t going to want a fat mate. If you want a mate, you need to eat less and exercise more.” “Cassie, your mate isn’t going to want to marry a tomboy. You need to wear dresses and heels to attract his attention when you find him.” “Cassie, your mate isn’t going to want someone who studies science. You need to study fashion instead.” “Cassie, your mate isn’t going to want a mate who cusses. If you talk like that around him, he will reject you.” “Cassie, your mate isn’t going to want a messy mate. If you don’t learn how to clean house and keep yourself and your house tidy, he will find someone else who can.” When I
Cassie POV: I wasn’t sure what to think when my younger sister Megan called me shortly after her 18th birthday. She was upset, and she told me that she needed to see me right away. Megan had always been my parents’ golden child. Unlike me, she followed my parents’ rules to the letter. She did not date, choosing to save herself completely for her mate. She wore the clothes my mother picked out for her, and she even seemed to enjoy the endless supply of pink and feminine prints my mother insisted upon. She obediently took home education classes in high school, and she made sure to practice her socialization skills by becoming a cheerleader and homecoming queen. My parents had not allowed Megan to visit me in the human world. They believed my bad influence had the potential to corrupt their precious daughter. So when I got over the shock that my sister wanted to meet with me, her request that we meet at a coffee shop in my human town was a ve
Chapter 2 Cassie POV: Megan’s wedding was ultimately scheduled for the third week in June. This was about a month after my college graduation, so the timing worked out fine for me. As soon as Megan left the coffee shop, it occurred to me that the plan to get married would only work if Megan’s mate wanted to get married. I went home feeling worried and guilty, afraid that Megan would be devastated if her mate didn’t like the plan. Thankfully, that apparently wasn’t an issue. I’ve now met her mate, Mike, a few times and he seems just as happy and in love as Megan is. According to Megan, my parents were not surprised when Megan and Mike announced that they wanted to get married fast. They had apparently winked at each other and commented that “Virgins are always eager to seal the deal with their mates.” If only they knew. Anyhow, planning a wedding in 6 weeks was not without chaos. My life quickly turned into an end
Cassie POV: At noon, I met my mother, Mike’s mom, Mike’s 8-year-old sister Mallory, and my sister’s best friend Bethany at the wedding dress boutique. My mother wanted to me to drive with her to the boutique, but I decided I cared more about my own sanity than dealing with mother for an extra 25 minutes in the confines of a closed vehicle. The appointment started off just as swimmingly as you might imagine. Mallory innocently asked if I was the “old maid” who was going to be modeling Megan’s dresses for them. Yes, that’s right. At 21 years old, I am already considered an “old maid.” Might as well invest in some extra cat litter now. Whatever. I politely told Mallory that -while yes, I would be the one modeling wedding dresses for them today— there is nothing wrong with being 21 and unmarried. In fact, it is perfectly OK for a woman to be much, much, much older and unmarried. Many women intentionally choose to never get married
Cassie’s POV: I stood in the middle of the store trying to catch my breath. The thoughts in my brain were going a mile a minute. I seriously think my brain processed an entire set of encyclopedias in 30 seconds, which is an especially impressive feat given that my wolf was whining loudly in my brain. First things first, I needed to tune my wolf out. Block up, check. Next step, I needed to calm down and think rationally. Take a deep breath, Cassie, I told myself. We will be OK. Nothing bad is going to happen. Everything is going to be fine, Cassie. But was any of that true? I never wanted to meet my mate, but here he was. And he smelled great. He looked great. He exuded power. This couldn’t be that bad a thing, right? Lots of werewolves meet their mates and live happily ever after. In fact, most wolves meet their mates and live happily ever after. Why was I worried? Just because my parents were a
Jason POV: (24 hours earlier) I wake up from a blissful sleep to a mind-link. “Jason, report to Alpha’s office in 10 minutes.” “Huh?” “Dude, you can’t still be asleep. It’s 11 am.” “I had a long night, Man.” “What’s her name?” “Natalie. No, Sarah. No, Melanie. I don’t know, Man.” “Seriously? You don’t know her name and you slept with her?” “Like you have never done that yourself.” Silence. “OK, fine. You’ve never done that. But you are boring as hell and need to get a life.” “Jason, I’m not talking as your best friend. I’m talking as your future Alpha. Get your butt up and out of bed and meet me in the Alpha’s office in 10 minutes.” “No.” “Jason.” “Urgh. Fine.” I roll over and look at the naked woman beside me in the bed. I nudge her gently. “Wake up, Melanie. It’s time to get the
Jason’s POV: After a long drive, Josephine and I finally arrived at the wedding dress store. As we got out of the car, my wolf began to get excited. “I think our mate is in the store!” he told me excitedly. When he said that, I began to get nervous. I had joked about picking up women shopping for wedding dresses, but I never expected to pick up my own mate. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On one hand, I have dreamed of meeting my mate. Wolves can meet their mates as early as 18, and I was already 25. Seven years is a long time to wait. On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed seven years of bachelor fun. Sex with different women every night; freedom to go and do as I please. Was I ready to give all that up? Yeah, yeah I was. If I was being honest, none of the women I’d slept with had ever really satisfied me. That was why I kept trying different ones. The idea of spending the rest of my life with one woman who really, truly loved me… and with whom I could have the kind of r