Page 28 of Can't Be Love

“Your mate? Lily? But she doesn’t even like you,” Shelby blurted out.

“If she was your true mate, don’t you think we’d know that by now?” his sister Ruby asked.

“Settle down and hear them out,” Zach ordered, and the whole room went quiet, staring at the two of us.

Thomas started to talk, but I cut him off.

“Trust me, no one here is more shocked than I am. Truth is, until I arrived here, last week, I hadn’t seen Thomas since I was what? Maybe fourteen years old? A long time. Coming here was the first time I’d seen him since either of our wolves surfaced. I know, it’s still sinking in for us too, but it is true and we’re trying to make the most of it with a trial run. I’ve said some pretty horrible things about him over the years. Really hoping he doesn’t prove me right on any of them, but we’ll see. Now can we please try not to make a big deal out of this?”

Thomas had six sisters: Lizzy, Clara, Peyton, Ruby, Shelby, and Madelyn. He was the baby of the family. Of course I knew this, but seeing the six of them staring at me under scrutiny was very unnerving. Maddie kept laughing about it, but Lizzy and Peyton had always been overprotective of Thomas and they didn’t look too happy about our situation. They had spoiled him rotten as a small pup, and even though I’d felt part of their family my entire life, I suddenly found myself the outsider.

Thomas must have sensed my discomfort, because he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me tightly against his side. My wolf calmed immediately and my entire body relaxed as I melted against him.

Peyton’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “It’s true then?” she asked. “She really is your one true mate?”

Thomas nodded. “Yes, she really is.”

“How odd is that? I mean Liam and Lily are twins, what are the odds that you and Maddie would be their true mates? Heck, you and Mad are practically twins. So weird,” Ruby assessed.

“I wish I’d find my true mate, sooner rather than later,” Clara sighed, sinking down on the couch and grabbing a pillow to hug. “I think it stinks that the two youngest found theirs first. How unfair is that really?”

Shelby came over and hugged me. “Welcome to the family, Lily. Though really it’s kind of gross. You were sorta already like a sister and now you’re mating our brother.” She crinkled up her nose and Maddie laughed some more.

Cora stroked Madelyn’s hair with glassy eyes. “How I’ve missed that laugh in this house. And Shelby’s right, Lily. You’ve always been a part of this family. ‘Bout time we made it for real, and for keeps.”

I gave Thomas a comical look that made everyone laugh.

“We’re still dealing with the shock factor. Let’s not jump ahead too quickly,” I reminded them.

Cora and Zach shared a knowing look and grinned. I knew that look. It was the one where I could swear they saw into the future and knew everything would work out. I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse, though.

While the girls all ganged up on Thomas with question after question that I knew he didn’t want to answer, Maddie snuck over and we disappeared. I felt only mildly guilty for leaving Thomas to fend for himself, but mostly I was grateful to not be center stage for it all. We didn’t say a word as I followed her out of the house and down the street.

We headed off into the woods not far from the house and came to an embankment that overlooked the river. I had been there many times as a child, and even more by myself as an adult in the years after Maddie had disappeared.

We sat on the rocks, but the peaceful serenity didn’t last long before MC started attacking with questions.

“So, you and Thomas, huh? How are you handling that?”

I snorted. “Poorly.”

We both laughed before sobering.

“It’s weird, right? I don’t mean you and Thomas. I mean the feel of the bond. It was hard to talk about it with you before, because I knew you couldn’t fully understand, but if you need to talk about it, I’m here.”

I put my arm around her and squeezed. “Thanks. I’m not even sure where to begin. When I first sensed him when we arrived, it was the greatest feeling ever. I couldn’t believe it and I was so happy, and then my wolf led me to him. It was like every dream I’d ever had about my future mate crumbled in an instant. And I feel terrible about that. If it were anyone else, I’d be spending every waking moment getting to know him and falling in love, but I’ve built Thomas up into this enemy inside my head and I’m not sure I could ever truly love him, Mad. When I’m not thinking and I just feel, I think maybe things will be okay, but then I remember. I remember how he was never there for your family when they needed him. I remember how he disappeared at every vigil. Why would he do that? How can I trust he’d ever be there for me?”

“Oh, hon. I’m so sorry. Thomas and I have talked a little, but nothing about what happened. I’m sure he knows what happened to me and all. Heck, the whole Pack probably knows by now, but things are still pretty tense with us. I can see how much my leaving affected him. I’m sure he had his reasons for all of that, Lil.”

“I just can’t come up with one single scenario that would have made it okay. Actions speak so much louder than words, and despite agreeing to give us a shot and see how things go, I’m not sure I can fully let my guard down with him. A part of me will always worry that he’d leave me both physically and emotionally, like if something serious ever happened.”

“It’s not the same Lily,” Maddie insisted.

“Isn’t it, though?”

“Thomas isn’t the boy we used to know. I think we both need to give him the benefit of the doubt and find out who he really is now as a man.”

“You can really do that?” I questioned.

---