Page 64 of Predator

“What’s your excuse at twenty-five?” she asks.

“I don’t know. What’s yours?”

I’m so used to a catty back and forth with Jeannie Lipton. That was how our relationship always seemed to go. Lorelei was the good, sweet, caring twin. Jeannie was a demon, but if you took a pot shot at me or Lorelei, Jeannie would be even worse. At least she liked us.

She was ruthless passing as human. Now that I know what she really is… Danny’s lucky he got her on one of her good days.

So, yeah. I thought she would have another clapback for me. Instead, Jeannie sighs—and tells me the last thing I thought she ever would: “Lorelei found her fated mate.”

What?

I mean, that’s awesome. And I knew that Jeannie being this Luna-touched wolf meant that my best friend would be, too, ‘cause, you know, twins. I also know from experience how amazing it is to find the one guy meant for you… so why does Jeannie seem so sad? Is it because she’s jealous like Jade, or because that’ll throw the dynamic she has with her twin way out of whack?

That would explain why she’s here, wouldn’t it?

“Who is he?”

Her dark eyes turn impossibly black as she gives me a name. “Cal Reynolds.”

Huh. “I don’t know him.”

“That’s because you were so busy in New York that I never got the chance to tell you about my boyfriend.”

Boyfriend?

Wait a second.

Did Jeannie just tell me that Lorelei’s fated mate is Jeannie’s boyfriend?

I don’t even have to ask. Like Jeannie, my face gives me away.

“Yup,” she says, her tone deceptively light. “Fate’s funny that way, isn’t it? Here I thought that I would never have a fated mate because my whole life’s been pledged to the Luna. Why shouldn’t I mess around with a human or two? A wolf’s got needs, right, and there was no reason to hold out for my mate when I shouldn’t have one. So I date a nice human guy for a couple of weeks, then bring him home to meet my twin and bam. Instant sparks.”

I whistle. “That’s pretty fucking messy, Jeannie.”

“You’re telling me. All I can say is thank the Luna that we were in the early stages of our relationship. We’d fooled around, yeah, but mating…” She slides her dark gaze my way. “I make my lovers wait a couple of months before I’ll fuck ‘em.”

That’s a knock at me, but I decide to be magnanimous and forgive her for making it.

“That’s why, when the Luna wanted someone to be here on the ground in case you needed help, I volunteered. Lorelei could get to know Cal, I could finish this mission, and then who knows? Now that I know I could have a mate, maybe I’d find him.”

If that’s the case, why didn’t she set out with Jade?

Unless…

“And then I did.”

She did? “That’s wonderful?—”

“It’s not.” Jeannie glances out the window again. “I never thought I’d have a fated mate. For him to be a wolf… that would’ve been fucking amazing. But I get stuck with him.”

Him?

Who’s him?

Hold on. She said wolf. As far as I know, the only wolf shifters in Winter Creek are part of the pack. Kirk is mated to Eleanor. Lucas is mine. And then there’s?—

Oh, no.

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