Page 85 of Confusing Hearts

Lily nodded my way. “Chase and Jenna got in early. So stop working and come to the Crate with us.”

I smiled and gave him a small wave. It was nice to see a familiar face.

Maddie walked up behind me, “Okay, Liam’s going to meet us there. Let’s go.”

“Did you call Kelsey?” Kyle asked Lily.

“Of course I did. She’s bringing Z over here to have a sleepover with Oscar, then meeting us there.”

“Okay, let me just finish things up and I’ll head over with her when she gets here,” Kyle said.

Lily rolled her eyes again. I was beginning to think it was just a normal look for her. “Fine. See you there, but you better not bail on us again.”

Kyle grinned from ear to ear and I could tell there was definitely a story there, and that it was probably one I really didn’t want to know.

We all shuffled out of the house. Chase ran ahead and grabbed our bags that were still sitting in the driveway next to the Jeep. He threw them back into the house and I heard him ask Oscar to take them up to his room.

I climbed into the Jeep as Maddie agreed to ride with Lily and they argued over who would call Elise. I knew that was Chase’s other sister, but I hadn’t met her yet, or Kelsey.

Their family dynamics overwhelmed me somewhat, and yet it just felt right being there with them all. When Chase climbed into the driver’s seat he turned and looked at me.

“Hey, beautiful, what are you thinking about?”

It had dawned on me when he asked Oscar to take our bags up to his room that we’d be sleeping together . . . in his parents’ house. I hadn’t even considered the logistics of that before.

“Um, are you sure your parents are okay with us sleeping together?” I knew mine sure wouldn’t be.

He looked at me with his eyebrow quirked like it was a crazy question to ask. “I’m sure, Jenna; we’re mated. Trust me, it’s okay. Mated is basically the same as human marriage, only more. They can divorce, but for us, it’s forever.”

I had never thought about mating quite like that.

“Wait, human marriage?” I asked. “Does that mean wolves don’t marry?”

Chase looked at me like I was crazy. “No. Do panthers?”

“Well, yeah, we do.” I had dreamed about my wedding day since I was little girl. It had never occurred to me that I wouldn’t have one.

“Why?” he asked simply.

“Why? Because that’s what people do. They fall in love, they get married, and then they have kids.”

“That’s what humans do. Shifters find their mate. If they’re as lucky as I am, their one true mate. They create an unbreakable bond. It’s private and it’s beautiful. They create a life together, they have pups . . .”

“Or cubs,” I interrupted, correcting him.

“Or cubs,” he conceded in our case. “Babies, and grow old together. If the bond fully matures they live until one dies, and the other follows his or her mate into death.” He looked at me hard, studying my reaction. “Do you want to get married, Jenna?” he finally asked.

I shrugged. “I guess I always assumed I would. Most panthers don’t complete their mating bond until their honeymoon. Marriage first. I guess since we’ve already done that, it doesn’t really matter.”

“You don’t sound convinced. If you want to get married, we will,” he said matter-of-factly.

“You’d do that for me even though it would mean nothing to you?” I asked skeptically.

“Look, it’s nothing I would have thought of, but that doesn’t mean it would mean nothing to me. Liam and Maddie got married last year. Wedding, dress, the ring, the name change, the whole bit. He even legally adopted Oscar at the ceremony. It’s not that we can’t get married if we want to.”

“Why did Liam go through all that if it’s not important to the wolves?” I asked, more curious than anything.

“Oscar,” he said simply. “Oscar was raised in the human world. He didn’t understand their bonding and called my brother out on it. He took the kid’s words to heart and made it right for his family.”

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