Page 23 of Twisted Destiny

“I can’t believe you’re finally here!” Hayley squealed as she ran down the steps to greet Willow.

“Wow! Look at you! Mating definitely agrees with you.”

Hayley jogged into Willow’s waiting arms.

“It does. Doesn’t it? I suppose I have you to thank for that. You knew my mate was here waiting for me!” Hayley laughed, knowing how much she had changed over the last few months. “I’ve missed you so damn much!”

“I’ve missed you too! And yes. I knew your mate was here. If you wouldn’t have agreed to make the trip on your own, I would have found another way to get you here. Oh, the moving truck was right behind me, so they should be here soon.”

“Thank you so much for packing up my place for me. You have no idea how much it means to me.” She was truly grateful to have such a dear friend.

“Please, it’s not like you were a packrat or anything. It only took a few hours. Besides, there was no point in you making that trip just to pack up your apartment when I was coming out here to check on everyone anyway.”

“Just take the compliment, Willow. You saved me a ton of money and work. I mean it. I want you to meet Jack,” Hayley said as he made his way over to Willow’s car.

“So, you’re the famous Willow Sprout I’ve heard so much about?”

“I am. It’s good to finally meet you, Jack.” Willow smiled up at Jack before turning back to Hayley. “He sure is a looker. I don’t know what it is about these guys at Twisted Tail, but they’re built differently,” she joked.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Hayley laughed. It had taken nothing more than a single glance to fall in lust with him. Maybe two or three to fall head-over-heels in love.

“Let’s get you inside. You must be tired from the drive,” Hayley said.

“Please.” Willow rolled her eyes. I’m not some fragile old human lady. I’m just stopping by to see you for a minute before I meet up with Calder and Daisy. But I’ll be back later. You two have fun!”

With that, Willow was off. The moving truck pulled in right after she left. They confirmed her name and information before dropping off her pod in the driveway and leaving.

“Well, so much for the busy afternoon we had planned,” Hayley laughed at her friend’s odd behavior.

“Oh, I can keep you plenty busy,” Jack pulled her into his arms.

“Shouldn’t we unload the pod?”

“Nope. That can wait until whenever the fuck we get to it.”

“Is that so?”

“Yep.” Jack picked Hayley up and tossed her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing more than a sack of flour. He playfully slapped her ass, eliciting a giggle from her.

“Put me down, you beast,” she said through the laughs.

“Nope. Not till we get to where we are going.”

“I can walk, you know?”

“Yep. Sure do. But I like breaking out the caveman occasionally. He doesn’t get to come out very often. He likes this.”

“Fine,” she laughed, knowing how much he loved carrying her around.

Jack headed straight for the bedroom, setting Hayley down gently on her feet once they had arrived.

Hayley gasped when she saw the rose petals covering the floor and the bed. “Jack, what is this?”

He dropped to one knee and pulled a tiny blue box from his pocket.

“Jack!” Tears formed in her eyes. “I don’t understand. We’re already mated.”

“I know. But I want you to take my last name. I want the human side of us to be bonded in every way as our wolves are. Hayley Adams, will you do me the great honor of being my wife?”

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