Page 52 of The Wolf in My Tavern

The market is busy, with shoppers hustling between the stalls as sellers call out their wares. Mid-morning is always a popular time. We make our way through the throngs to the section of the market where the craft stalls are found. I have visited the market a few times now with Betsy and am familiar with the stall that holds all the pretty ribbons.

For many people, a ribbon is a simple thing to buy. Yet, for me, it is another one of those frivolous purchases that are so new.

With no wedding dress, this ribbon will be the only adornment I wear. The service will be simple, as many weddings are here in Bleakness, and held at the chapel a few streets down.

The vendor smiles indulgently as we coo over the different colors.

“This one,” Betsy says, indicating a summer blue color. “It will look pretty against your hair and set off your eyes. Please say you will take this one.”

“Fine, then,” I agree.

The trader cuts a length for me, carefully folding it up in a piece of brown paper. I hand over the coin, take the package, and slide it into my coat pocket.

“Let’s stop at the baker’s on the way back,” Betsy says. “This shopping for ribbons is hungry work.”

With her arm tucked in mine, we leave the market, heading to the baker we love.

I shouldn’t have let Gray do those things. I should have stopped him. As the snow flutters down, I reflect that I wanted everything that happened, that it was Gray who finally saw sense and stopped things before we both made a terrible mistake.

He also said his wolf had imprinted upon me and that it was not uncommon for them to take more than one mate among his kind.

My tummy takes a slow tumble as I imagine having both the men in my life, my sweet blacksmith and my grumpy shifter.

I feel a blush creep up my cheeks. “He said he was mated,” I blurt out loud.

Betsy slows to a stop and turns toward me.

We have both stopped in our tracks.

I fidget and look down, finding a sudden interest in my shoes. What possessed me to say such a thing?

“Gray,” I finally admit, lifting my eyes to meet hers.

“Well, I didn’t know that,” Betsy says, frowning. “Where is she, then?”

I shrug. “He mentioned he had a mate… last night… when I came down to get a drink of water.”

Her eyebrows raise ever higher as I continue to ramble.

“He can’t have a mate,” she says confidently. “He’s been here for weeks. Months. No wolf shifter could be away from his mate that long.” She sends a speculative look my way. “Something happened between you two?”

“I kissed him. He kissed me.” I’m not quite sure if what we did could technically be called kissing, but saying that much is safer than saying that he kissed me there… while in his beast form.

“That’s quite a development,” she says. “Last night, he explained about his wolf imprinting on you, which was why he killed the men for daring to put you in harm’s way. But if it is only a kiss, that is not such a worry. And besides, they are leaving today. They checked out of the tavern, and paid Pa this morning before they left. Still, I’m not convinced he can really be mated, whatever he said. He is an alpha wolf shifter. Their kind cannot be separated from a mate for so long. They have been here for months… so, unless he’s hiding her away somewhere... And how could he even imprint upon you if he has a mate?”

“He mentioned shifters sometimes have more than one.” Goodness. Why did I start this conversation?

“Well, I dare say he knows more about such things than I do,” she says, although she does not look convinced. “Second mates must be a complex business.”

“I don’t want to be Gray’s second mate. I already have Callum. I am confident I would scratch the eyes out of any woman who put her hands on my men…” I snap my mouth shut.

Betsy bites her lip, poorly disguising her smirk. “There, maybe I can make a hussy out of you after all.”

“I love Callum.”

Her face softens, and she leans in to hug me. “I’m sorry, Ada. I didn’t mean to make light of your predicament. I always thought there was a spark between you and Gray, and shifters do have more complex matters when it comes to mating: having multiple mates, and even sharing a mate. But it is always an agreement that is acceptable to all. If you love Callum and not Gray, maybe this is all just nerves manifesting these confused emotions. It was unfair of Gray to be going around kissing a lass and declaring that his wolf has imprinted without speaking to Callum and this mysterious mate he has hidden away first. That is just not the way things are done.”

I play catch up with everything she just said. The conversation has only made me more confused.

---