Page 16 of Fated Despite the Moon

"Great, Hannah. How are things?"

Hannah nodded. "Mom is better today."

Dakota gave a tight smile, and her eyes softened. "That's wonderful. She's been grieving a long time."

Hannah looked to Makayla.

"Hi." Makayla gave a small wave.

"Hannah, this is Makayla. She's new."

"Nice to meet you. What brings you to Wolf River?"

Makayla wasn't sure how to answer that question.I got myself knocked up, and my mom sent me off to be married?Probably wasn't the best introduction.

"She's Simon Devamar's daughter."

Hannah's smile fell. "You're here for Caleb."

The tone of the statement slapped Makayla in the face.

"Yes," Dakota replied. "She and Caleb are to be mated."

Hannah continued to stare for a moment longer then blinked several times. "Will you excuse—" She didn't even finish the sentence before beelining for the back of the diner.

Makayla looked at Dakota and then to the back of the diner again. "What? Did I steal Caleb from her?"

Dakota picked up a menu and handed one to Makayla. "Caleb and Hannah's sister Franny were high school sweethearts. Franny died a few years ago."

"Oh." Makayla swallowed hard as her skin flushed with heat. She looked at her menu running her eyes over the words but not reading them. She knew the pain of losing someone you were close to all too well. And if Franny had been the one Caleb had intended on mating... She couldn't imagine that kind of loss. Why hadn’t he told her? Probably because she hadn’t even given him a chance to. Come to think of it she hadn’t talked to him much at all since the day she’d arrived. She’d been so wrapped up in her misery of being shipped off to be married that she hadn’t even stopped to think what an arranged marriage might mean to Caleb.

"Are you girls ready?" An older waitress with graying hair gave her a friendly smile.

Makayla glanced around for Hannah but she was nowhere to be seen. She shut her menu and put it back in place. "I'll just have some toast and a cup of mint tea please."

Dakota ordered a huge lunch and then looked to Makayla. "So, tell me, are you planning on staying, or are you trying to find a way to cut bait and run?"

Direct. Makayla appreciated that.

"I have to admit. I've thought about running. But with my mom threatening to cut me off, I wouldn't get far."

“You’re marrying Caleb for money?”

“No. Yes… I mean… I don’t know. It all happened so fast. It really didn’t feel like I had a choice. I haven’t finished school. I’ve never had a job. I know that I can’t even make it on my own financially. Especially not with—” She couldn’t finish the sentence.

Dakota sipped her water then turned the glass in a circle. "Makayla, I don't know you, but I do know Caleb. He offered to take you and your baby as his own because he is a good guy. From what I gather, this isn't what you wanted for your life, but you could have done worse. Wolf River is a great pack of Blood Born. You’d be hard-pressed to find another pack as willing to accept you. But if you betray one of us, you betray all of us. Caleb is about as beloved as Jeremiah himself. All I ask is that if you plan on not sticking around, please don't lead Caleb on. I don't think he could handle a second heartbreak.” Sincerity rounded Dakota's eyes, but the protective edge in her voice told Makayla she wasn't someone to be tangled with.

Caleb hadn't been anything but nice to her. She didn't want to hurt him. But she didn't want to be stuck in Wolf River for the rest of her life, either. She had to find a way out. Fast.

Chapter Six

"So why did you do it?" Griffin held up the birch wood cabinet as Caleb screwed it in place.

"Do what?" Caleb reached for the level and checked the placement.

"Come on, you can't BS me. Why did you take on Makayla? Was it because of Franny?"

Caleb's gut clenched at the mention of his dead girlfriend. "Why would I take in Makayla because of Franny?"

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