Page 5 of Make Me

His feet moved silently down the familiar path. Cody knew the trees lining the path better than he knew his own packmates. A fact he was sure his dad would be thrilled about if he knew. He rolled his eyes.

He glanced behind him, sure he would see the man himself, but the coast was clear. He had just escaped from his dad’s office and yet another lecture about all the ways Cody could take more responsibility for the pack. He’d turned eighteen today, and his dad had wasted no time adding to the responsibilities already heaped on Cody’s shoulders.

Cody had always known what was expected of him as Alpha Heir. He had been in training since he was ten years old and had been sitting in on strategy meetings since he was fifteen. While his dad had no plans on giving up leadership for a few decades, the Great War had caused many leadership shifts, and Alpha Bryson was determined Cody would be ready to lead at any time.

But Cody didn’t want to deal with all that right now, and out here in the woods, he didn’t have to. Not when the other person waiting at the end of the path knew exactly what it was like to carry that weight and didn’t judge him for it.

“Happy Birthday, wolf-boy!” Bethany called out as he entered the clearing.

She held a small paper bag with the most delicious scent of raspberry and cream coming from it. His wolf surged inside him, clawing his way out with a ferocity that had Cody stumbling.

“Glad to see that turning eighteen hasn’t automatically made you graceful,” Bethany teased.

He rolled his eyes at her, but the words caught in his throat. Because he had just gotten another whiff of that sweet raspberries and cream scent, and it wasn’t coming from the bag.

Mate! His wolf practically pranced around inside him. Mate!

The word nearly caused him to stumble again. Bethany was his mate? His best friend was his mate? How was that possible? His wolf howled in his head. His wolf was sure Bethany was his.

His fangs pierced the inside of his mouth as his wolf fought to shift to go to his mate. He appeased him by striding towards Bethany and pulling her into a big bear hug.

She stiffened against him and then relaxed hesitantly.

“Hey, you big oaf, I’m only allowing this because it’s your birthday. You know how I feel about the touching!”

Bethany’s mom and pride leader, Alpha Sadara, was a stern woman. Growing up, he and Bethany would always joke about which one of their parents was more of a hardass. Her mom had a spine of steel and didn’t allow any emotion through her blank mask. He had never seen her give Bethany any kind of affection, and now it made Bethany twitchy when she received it.

But more importantly, Bethany didn’t react to the hug at all, other than to express her usual displeasure of being touched. She didn’t react to him like a mate. Did she not feel it?

He pulled back and looked down at her. By the Realm, she was beautiful. She had always been a pretty girl, but she had grown into a beautiful woman. Cody hadn’t noticed it until a year ago and had buried his attraction at the time. Bethany was his best friend and the one person in the Realm who understood him. And now the beautiful lioness was his mate. But how?

“What?” she asked. “Do I have food on my face?”

He must have been staring at her without saying anything for too long.

“No,” Cody said. “Do you feel anything?”

“Like emotions? Did turning eighteen make you sappy?”

She didn’t feel anything. Ignoring his wolf howling in his head, Cody thought quickly. It’s possible that his wolf was wrong, but from the incessant howling, he likely wasn’t. Did cats discover their mates differently? He had never really asked anyone before; he’d assumed his mate, if he found one, would be a wolf. But his wolf was insistent that Bethany was his mate. But Bethany didn’t seem to feel the mate bond. Fuck, both of them were heirs to their future shifter groups. How was that going to work? But maybe it was still a fluke.

His wolf continued howling in his head, and he held in his wince. His dad would know. He needed to talk to his dad.

“Hello?” Bethany waved a hand in front of his face. “Is Cody in there?”

He couldn’t tell her anything. Not until he was sure. “I just remembered something. I have to go.”

“Go?” Bethany’s brow wrinkled up. “But I brought scones.”

She held up the bag, and now that Cody was closer, he could smell the blueberry scones in there. Cody loved scones, especially the ones that the pride’s cook made, but if he didn’t get out of here right now, he was going to have Bethany on the ground with his teeth buried in her neck and very likely cause an all-out war between the pack and pride. He needed to go. Now.

“I know. I’m sorry, but I need to go. I forgot something.”

“That eager to get away? You can’t stay even for a little bit?” The light in her eyes faded a touch.

Cody stumbled over his words, trying to come up with an excuse. “I forgot… Mom wanted me to meet some people for lunch…”

“Some people or some female wolves?”

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