Page 177 of The Married Alpha And His Arrow: Vol 1

Really, I should wait until Noah is caught. Or should I not put that off? UGH! I pushed that aside. I took pity on Kincade. I asked, “Carry, how old are you?” She smiled answering, “I’m seventeen. Soon to be eighteen. My birthday is right after New Years.” I hid my knowing smile. I was fairly certain with the glances she kept stealing at Kincade that he was her mate. I sent Ted a text. Bexley smirked at me letting me know she had the same thought.

Me:Is she Kincade’s mate? I think she is.

Ted:They certainly seem drawn to each other. From what Matt explained full blooded werewolves can’t tell who their mates until they are eighteen.

Me:So, can partial werewolves find them sooner? From a human and werewolf couple?

Ted:Matt said sometimes. They don’t know why though.

That was odd, but not my problem. We set up in our conference room and went through our ideas with Lenore. She loved one of them. It was the most elegant event option out of all our proposals. I was not shocked that Haley was right. After meeting Lenore, I was really happy for Bexley. I wished Haley’s mother in law had turned out like her instead of what she got.

At the end of the meeting, I turned to Carry, “Ted and I are looking for an intern. We do work with supernatural’s, so we wanted to put it out to the surrounding packs first. Haley told me you like designing and event planning. I was wondering if you’d like the job. It would be after school. We could work with you on the days you’d like to work. It would only be a few hours.”

Ted interjected, “You’d get school credit too. I spoke with your teachers. It seems you are a bit of a smarty pants. They agreed you could get credit and make this a work study deal. You’d be here two days a week for half the day. Your counselor was open to the discussion with you on which days would work best.” I don’t think Kincade even noticed he was inching forward in his chair, but Bexley and I certainly did.

Carry’s eyes flashed to Kincade for one brief second, then she blushed. Carry gushed, “Gosh! Really? You did all that work before we even met?” Ted smiled, “Anyone Haley recommends is already at the top of my list. Besides, I wanted to get an idea of your grades, and if we could make it work so you’d get credit.” It was a great idea.

Ted continued, “While simultaneously being exposed to more than a few hours of work here and there. I worked up an outline of how this would work. We have an event a few weeks before your graduation. You would have from now until then to plan it and run the event yourself. Lexi and I would grade your work, and that would make up most of your grade from us.” Ted needed a raise.

He wasn’t done, “Along with other tasks we assign you. We want you to shadow two other events of your choosing. I have a list of them so far in a shared excel file. When we add events, you will know.” Lenore was smiling at her daughter. Carry was getting more and more excited the longer Ted talked. She squealed, “I’ll take it! I even get out of school!” Kincade’s face broke into a broad smile as he watched her. She jumped up and hugged her mother.

Ted said, “Let’s start to fill out the paperwork then.” Lenore stood as Ted walked to his desk. She said, “Thank you Lexi. This is something most teenagers don’t get to do things like this.” I shrugged, “They should. Lord knows I didn’t get to. It’s really insane that we expect high school kids to know what they want to do after they graduate. At least Carry will know if this is the path she wants to take or not. She will get paid for her work AND get school credit. Which is a genius idea from my partner. I’d just told him I thought of this yesterday. He might need a raise.” Ted called, “I SO need a raise.” I laughed.

Bexley grabbed me and yanked me into my office. I closed the door. She said, “Haley says she charmed your office.” I nodded, “She did.” She squealed, “That’s Carry’s mate, right? It has to be! She’s the cutest little thing, but she doesn’t EVER have crushes on guys. BELIEVE me I’ve tried. Her brothers are so damn protective they don’t let her live her life. She’s so focused on school, and everything….”

I agreed, “I think they are mates. We will find out though because she’ll be in the office after her birthday. Are you going to tell your mate?” Bexley snorted, “Hell no. He’d go crazy. I’ll let Carry have her first crush in peace.”

We walked back into the reception area, where Ted was organizing copies of the paperwork for the Henderson’s, and he’d gotten everything he needed to confirm with the school. Carry had a car so she could drive here. That was handy. She would start next week. They left all very happy.

I turned to Ted, “You are a genius. Work Study? I don’t even know how you pulled all that off in such a short time.” Ted smiled, “I have a gift.” I agreed, “You do. Kincade, do you like our intern?” Kincade replied, “She’s pretty.” I probed, “That’s it?” Kincade shrugged but he had a smile on his face.

Ted grabbed me and dragged me into my office. He closed the door and laughed. He put his hand on his chest, “Oh my god. He doesn’t know.” I chided him, “That’s not nice. He can’t know until she’s eighteen. They just know they are drawn to each other.”

Ted pointed out, “The rest of the room knew. Her mother was grinning like a cat that ate the damn canary.” Haley popped in. She asked, “Who ate what now? Carry is ecstatic.” I asked, “Do you want to keep a secret from Liam? Rather, does Eric?”

Haley tilted her head, “Yes. Yes, I do. This sounds fun. I need fun in my life.” I laughed, “We think Kincade out there is Carry’s mate.” Haley squealed and stuck her head out of the office. She shut it quickly, but not before I saw Kincade’s confused face.

Haley cooed, “Awww, they’d be adorable.” Ted told her, “What’s adorable is Carry and Kincade are the only two who don’t have a clue.” Haley laughed, “They will be drawn to each other if you are right. His wolf will like her a lot. If Emmaline meets them before her birthday we will know for sure. Liam will flip shit. Hell, their whole family will. Wolves are such fucking hypocrites all the damn time.”

I laughed but had to ask, “Why?” Haley explained, “A son finds their mate, they are all excited. A daughter does, and they are conflicted. Happy while wanting to rip the guy apart. Sexist shits. All of them.” I agreed, “I don’t think you’re wrong.”

She handed me an envelope, “Aiden found this in our mother’s things. It’s addressed to you.” Ted said, “The former Fairy Queen wrote you a note?!” I looked down, “I guess she did.” I stared at it until Ted squealed, “OPEN IT!” Haley sighed, “She can't open it until December. It’s charmed.”

Ted flopped down dramatically in a chair. He lamented, “Dear War Goddess, why? Fairies are so fun and mean at the same time.” Haley shrugged, “They suck. What’s new? I’ve got to get back. I know you can’t open it, but I wanted you to have it.” I nodded, “Thank you.” She popped out.

Kincade knocked on the door. He announced, “Sally is here.” Sally flashed inside, smiling broadly. She pointed at my letter, “What’s that?” I sighed, “A letter I can’t open from the recently deceased Fairy Queen.” I was not going to share the theory she might be alive.

Sally frowned, “It’s addressed to you. Why can’t you open it?” I shrugged, “Fairy charm. I’m going to watch this thing like it’s going to hatch until December first.” Kincade frowned but shut the door. Sally squealed, “I LOVE Derrick. He’s just the best! I told Ted the other day, but I want to get my IUD removed. Derrick wants pups yesterday.” I smiled, “I’m really happy for you.” Sally smiled, “I’m just so happy this is the way it was always supposed to be for me. I was supposed to be happy.”

We worked through upcoming events, and we let her know about our intern. Sally thought it was a great idea and wanted to use the paperwork Ted had to find herself an intern through the schools in the area herself.

Kincade knocked again. He looked troubled. He announced, “The Vampire King is here.” I nodded. Susanna, King Arthur, and Robert walked in. King Arthur sat down, “I must say. I was intrigued by this invitation.”

Sally stood to leave. I quickly told her, “No, Sally. Stay.” She nodded and sat back down. I sighed, “I know vampires are secretive, but I thought since you are Susanna’s string; you might be willing to help us. Ted can set up an additional meeting so you all have time to think, but I think you might be our best hope.”

Ted stared at me in surprise. Robert quirked an eyebrow. Susanna smiled, “I so see where this is going. I told you, Robert. She’s so smart!” King Arthur asked, “What could we help you with, lass?” I said, “There’s a theory Noah’s obsession with me goes all the way back to an ex my mother had. If that’s true we are decades behind. We are playing catch up, and not well. We are constantly on defense and not offense. I don’t like being on defense. Just ask my old soccer team.”

Ted, Susanna, and Sally snorted. I continued, “You have been around for at least a century. If anyone could come up with battle strategies and possible plans to give us an edge it’s you guys.” King Arthur studied me and Robert appraised me as well.

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