Page 11 of Claiming His Virgin Mate

Shit. She really didn’t want to have to have this conversation.

“Jo-Jo, we have to talk,” she said.

“Why? What else could go wrong today? Oh, do you want some pudding? I made chocolate with bananas,” she smiled, and Maggie’s heart squeezed inside her chest.

How the hell was she going to do this? Sometimes, it sucked being an adult. She would give just about anything to have to tell her sister what was going on, but from day one she’d decided to treat this like the partnership it was.

The Sunset Innbelonged to Jo-Jo as much as it did to Maggie. Though now some stranger was in charge. The term hostile takeover immediately came to mind, but the bank manager had assured her thismergerwas in her best interest.

Yeah. Right.

“Wait a minute! What? You mean to tell me some big deal from New York City rolled into town and took over our little hotel? What for? I thought the loan being sold meant we just had to pay someone else more money,” she yelled.

“I don’t know. Mr. Cox said the new owner was the president of a sub-company of ISP Inc, pretty heavy hitters, Jo-Jo,” she shrugged.

“So, what does this mean? Like maybe they give us money to make things better than we can run the place how we want?”

“I doubt it,” Maggie said, “In fact, Mr. Cox hinted I might be out of a job, and, an apartment,” she bit her lip.

“We have to move? This really is my fault -”

“No. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have let it get this far,” she shook her head, “but don’t worry we will find a way. Jo-Jo? You with me?”

“I need,” the younger girl shivered and shook, her Wolf pushing her hard, “I need some air, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Maggie nodded and opened the door to their apartment, “The door will be open in case you need me.”

It was difficult giving her younger sister space, but necessary. She knew from experience. Joelle was a sensitive, spirited girl. She loved sports, art, and music. But her Wolf was also spirited.

Maggie was constantly pushing herself to be ever mindful of the young Shifter’s needs. Mr. Maccon, er, Rafe, it was difficult for her to call him that, was always telling her that awareness of Joelle’s inner struggles would go a long way for the two of them. And it had.

Dealing with the extra barrage of hormones that came with being a Shifter teenager was tough as hell, and Maggie had nothing but respect for her sibling. Sometimes, when her emotions became too heightened, Joelle needed an outlet.

Thus, her wreck room was born. It was a place for her to scream, paint, dance, craft, or just break things. Kind of an all-purpose hormonal outlet room. Hmmm. Maggie needed one of those for herself, she realized with an internal sigh.

“Going to the wreck room,” she growled, and Maggie nodded, carefully avoiding eye contact.

She might be tough as nails, but she was no match for a Wolf. A little while painting, sculpting, or just throwing things, and the teen would be just fine. If only she could say the same thing for her own frayed nerves and worried mind.

After the dishes were washed and put away, Maggie sat down with the paperwork that douchebag Cox had given her to read over. It was hopeless. The business who bought her mortgage claimed it was a merger, but it was designed to push her and Joelle out.

Sure, they would have some money left to buy a condo maybe, but their dreams forThe Sunset Inn, or ratherOasis Beachside Resort, the name they wanted for the place, would die. She looked over at the huge vision board she and Joelle had started a year ago, when she’d come into the teen’s life.

They both added to it from things they’d seen in movies or shows, dreamt about, or heard in songs. Joelle was quite talented and had drawn a 3D mockup of theOasis. Her additions included a renovated mini-golf course and water slide, while Maggie wanted to include a real homemade waffles and ice cream parlor on the grounds.

“We had so many plans,” she whispered as she ran her fingertips over the poster board, willing herself not to cry.

The edges had curled over, and they’d used an entire roll of tape to hold it together, but it was theirs. Looking at the photos they’d taped and glued on top of one another made her feel whimsical. The best thing of all was a brand-new logo and sign that Joelle had designed for the place. No more tacky neon.

Oasis Beachside Hotelin a hand drawn font engraved on a freestanding sign that would be surrounded by actual blooming plants, not a neon circle thing, and strategically lit by solar lights.

The latter was Maggie’s idea. She wanted to make the hotel as green and environmentally conscious as possible. She wondered what the new bosses would think about that now. The clock ticked as she read, and worried about Joelle, the hotel, and the future in general.

Sigh.

A ruckus from outside made her jump. What the heck? Was that a man’s voice?

Maggie was running towards the sound before she even considered the danger. Her sister might be a Werewolf, but she was also a teenager. If anyone wanted to mess with her, they would have to go through Maggie first.

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