Page 9 of Possessive Mate

“Lavender lemonade?” she asked, retching a little. “That sounds…interesting.”

“Believe me, I thought the same thing,” Bonnie said, “But it's so damn good, it's about all anyone drinks around here nowadays. She struggles to keep up with making enough of it.”

“In that case, sure, I’d love a glass.”

“One lavender lemonade coming right up,” Bonnie said, hopping off the lounger.

Elena relaxed back onto hers, kicking off her sandals once more and swinging her legs back up. Why she had been so prepared to make a quick getaway the moment Bonnie arrived, she didn’t know. The alpha’s mate was quite lovely.

And the warmth of the sun was too wonderful to leave just yet. It wasn’t only cats that liked to lounge in the sun on a warm summer’s day. She could appreciate it, too, even if it didn’t feel quite as good as the moon on her wolf’s pelt during a shift.

Feeling much better, Elena grabbed her phone and unlocked it, preparing to close the photo on the screen. But the moment she did, she wished she hadn’t. Just a quick glimpse of it brought it all rushing back, and her throat constricted, eyes filling with tears once more.

When Bonnie returned, she was more than a little relieved and grateful for her dark sunglasses. This time she clicked out of her photo gallery before quickly locking her phone to take the glass of lavender lemonade that was offered to her.

“Thanks,” she said, giving the glass a sniff as Bonnie settled back down on the other lounger.

“Honestly, try it, it’s wonderful,” Bonnie assured her, taking a deep swig of her own before offering a pleasure-filled little moaning sound.

“It’s that good, huh?”

Bonnie nodded, smiling.

After one more sniff, Elena lifted the glass to her lips and tasted the lemonade tentatively. The second the sweet, floral lemon liquid hit her tastebuds, her eyes widened, and she gasped.

It was perhaps one of the most wonderful things she had ever tasted.

“It's like summer in a glass, isn’t it?” Bonnie suggested, and Elena realized she couldn’t have put it better herself.

“Who is this Layla, and how the hell did she make this? Is she a witch or something?” Elena asked, taking another huge drink of the liquid.

Bonne chuckled at that and shook her head. “Don’t let her hear you say that. She’s a member of the pack. Zander’s wife.”

“Hold on a second. Zander’s married too?” Elena demanded, but as she asked the question, she realized that he was. Eddie had told her that. He had told her Kane was, too. She remembered now, Bonnie’s words jogging her memory.

She and Eddie talked regularly on the phone. There probably wasn’t much going on in Nightstar that she didn’t know about, but the last few times he had called, she had been so caught up in hiding her own secrets, in not spilling everything to her brother out of desperation for some emotional relief, that she had barely taken in a word of the news he had to tell her.

“Yes, it seems this old pack of bachelors is falling like flies lately,” Bonnie laughed. “They are all taking bets on which one will fall next.”

“Tell me about it!” Elena exclaimed. “I never would have guessed that any of them was the marrying type. They were all so…”

She bit back what she had been about to say, remembering exactly who she was saying it to.

“You can say it,” Bonnie laughed good-naturedly. “They were all so happy spreading their wild oats. Don’t worry. I’ve heard plenty of the stories.”

The alpha’s wife shrugged then and pointed out, “We’re werewolves, not humans. Our sexual urges are horrendous sometimes. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that.”

Elena blushed a little. Bonnie wasn’t wrong. At least, not ordinarily. Yet, Elena couldn’t remember the last time she had felt any sexual urge. Not since Jason.

At least, that was, until she had felt the fury and frustration of Hanson stopping her on the porch the night before. She had certainly felt a twinge of something then, though she would never admit it out loud.

“You’re a better woman than I am,” Elena said, taking another sip of her drink. “I’ve heard plenty of their stories.”

Bonnie laughed at that. “The past is the past. So long as Jack is faithful to me now, there won’t be any problems.”

Elena cringed. If only she could feel that way, too. The past seemed to be her present and her future right now.

Desperate to change the subject, she sucked in a deep breath and said, “When I arrived last night, I couldn’t help but notice there was some…tension.”

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