(Jason POV) It has been two very long months since I have seen or talked to Paige. This has been an incredibly different experience than the experience that I had when Cassie and I were apart for three months. For one thing, I feel my wolf getting weaker and weaker. I can hardly sleep, and when I do, I dream about Paige. I also find myself thinking and worrying about her constantly. I really do not know how much longer I can make it without Paige by my side. There are only two things that are keeping my wolf and I sane right now. First, without beta duties weighing me down, I have had the luxury of spending most of my time focused on locating and neutralizing Paige's stalker. This way, our pack will be safe for Paige if and when she returns. Of course, I also hope that my investigation will give me clues as to how the stalker keeps finding Paige, so that I can find Paige myself. To these ends --armed with information given to me by Granny Apple-- I have been busy retracing

(Paige POV)Another two weeks have passed by, and I have been fighting with Carly every day. She desperately wants to go back to Blue Moon to see Jason. She is getting weaker without him, and she is done listening to me complain about my insecurities and about not being ready. But for our lurking stalker, I am sure Carly would have already forced a shift so that she could run back to Blue Moon.Meanwhile, even without Carly’s incessant begging, I can feel my own resolve starting to slip. As much as I love Tyler, Texas, I am not enjoying my wedding planning business as much as I thought I would. It is one thing to deal with brides for short periods of time as they pick wedding dresses; it is another to deal with brides for hours and hours as they go through the entire wedding process. Add to that my own messed-up love life, and I’m pretty sure I have spent more time questioning how long some of these marriages will last than I have spent actually planning their weddings.Of cours

(Cassie POV) I sat down on the floor next to Aaron and Theo. Watching Aaron play with Theo made me smile… although not enough to want a pup of my own just yet. Aaron and I had agreed to wait a couple more years before trying for a family. As Theo went to the other side of the room driving his two toy trucks around, I opened the mind-link with Aaron. “Do you think Jason is going to tell Paige about Theo?” I asked. “Eventually, yes. But first he is going to let her find out in the world’s worst way,” Aaron replied. “I hope you are wrong.” “I know that I’m not.” “Jason really has changed, though,” I protested. “He is so different than he used to be.” “I actually agree with you about that. But I also know that he has proven himself to be an idiot time and time again. And you should never underestimate a leopard’s ability to reveal his spots.” I sighed. We watched as Theo “crashed” one of his trucks into one of Aaron’s legs. Aaron feigned injury, causing Theo to laugh. “D

(Cassie POV) The moment that Aaron stepped into our suite, I knew that he was irritated about my choice of outfit. Instead of a mostly modest black dress, I was wearing a black negligée that exposed almost everything, a tight leather skirt, and 4-inch stiletto heels. I was also wearing a black studded choker around my neck. Aaron looked between me and Paige, and rubbed his neck and shoulder as though he was uncomfortable. “Sweetheart,” he said hesitantly, “I am assuming you still have to put your shirt on?” I smiled at him innocently, as though I had no idea that my “top” left nothing to the imagination. “What do you mean?” I asked, pointing to my negligee. “This is my shirt.” I watched as Aaron battled with his wolf, and as he struggled with what to say next. “Sweetheart, can we talk about this in private?” he asked via mind-link. “My love,” I responded out loud, so that Paige could hear, “Paige and I were just talking about how male wolves can be… a little bit nutty when

(Paige POV) My heart drops. I was right. Jason’s heir is living at the packhouse. I can only assume the mother is here as well; if not, she is nearby. Does Theo’s mom know about me? What does she think? Is she scared that Jason is going to abandon her, just like Sarah’s baby daddy abandoned her? What does Jason want? What has he told her that he wants? Did last night mean anything? Was last night just a "last hurrah" before we go through the rejection process? Or does he think there is a way to have me, Theo, and Theo’s mom at the same time? No, surely Jason does not think that. That would be unfair to all three of us. Cassie told me that Jason only has eyes for me. Jason pretty much said the same thing last night. I am his mate, so I guess would make sense that he feels that way. At the same time, you can want one person and feel compelled to make it work with another. Maybe that is what is going on here. Jason snaps me out of my blurry of thoughts by touching me o