Page 39 of His Wild Mate

“Has it been that way before?”

“Yes, but not so many. I haven't been around a Pack since I was thirteen.”

“What? Where's your Pack?”

“It doesn't matter,” I said, not ready to share that story with her.

“Well, which Pack do you come from?”

“None. I've been pack-less for a long time, a lone wolf.”

I didn't want to admit how comfortable I felt here already. I'd thought it was because of Emmett and our bond but being here with Lily and the girls felt good too. Our wolves weren't created to be alone and mine had been for a long time.

Lily sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I'm sorry. It just makes me so sad to think about you being out there all alone like that.”

“Uh, are you okay?” I asked.

“I'm fine.”

I didn't know what to say or do. She was clearly an emotional she-wolf.

“Uh, maybe you should call in your friends,” I blurted out because I didn't know what else to do or say.

“Really? You'd be okay with that?”

I wanted to say no because I doubted I was ready for a house full of she-wolves, mated or not. I wasn't the girlfriend type. I'd never even been in a situation like this. Even as a kid, when the other girls formed groups, I was on the outside.

My curse had been passed down from my mother and her mother before that and so on for as far back as we knew. Every firstborn female in my family line had dealt with the curse. It was a miracle we'd even survived this long, as several of my ancestors had been killed for it, just not before a firstborn daughter was born.

“Paige?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Are you sure you're okay if I call the girls in?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, trying to act like it was no big deal when all I wanted to do was shift back to my wolf form and hide away in the closet that smelled like Emmett.

*****

Angel arrived first. She was Austin's mate.

“Hi,” she said, shaking my hand awkwardly. “It's really nice to meet you.”

I wasn't used to such formalities. I mean, I knew shaking hands was a thing, but human contact wasn't something I was used to.

The way her eyes drifted over my body made me uncomfortably aware of the fact that I was wearing Emmett's underwear and shirt.

I liked to pretend that other people's opinions of me didn't matter, but they did. I cared far more than I allowed anyone else to see. Still, my pride wouldn't let me even fidget with the makeshift outfit I was wearing. Instead, I held my head high and tried to show that it didn't bother me.

Next came two more women. One was carrying a baby, and the other had a little boy on her hip. They hugged Lily and then Angel.

“Ladies, this is Paige, Emmett's mate.”

I blushed at her announcement. Mate had always been a negative word for me. It was hard to wrap my head around as they casually threw it out like it was a good thing.

Mate, my wolf protested.

I sighed. I understood that Emmett was my one true mate. After a short time with him I even recognized that he was different. But it still made me hesitate every time I heard that word, which was a lot given my wolf's insistence any time Emmett was present, or someone mentioned Emmett, or I thought of him.

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