Page 3 of Can't Be Love

All Alpha wolves were strong and often overbearing, but mine had always been more powerful than most. In my wolf form, he was fierce and no one dared challenge me, but ever since my first shift we had struggled for dominance. The last thing I needed was Lily Westin in our territory.

“You remember Liam and Lily?” she asked. “And this is . . .”

“Patrick O’Connell, yeah, I know everyone, Mad.”

“Oh,” she said, seeming to struggle with what to say next, then she smiled up at me. “Bet you don’t know these guys?” Maddie moved a blanket aside from the tiny bundle Liam was holding in his arms. “This is Sara, your niece, and your nephew. Oscar, this is your Uncle Thomas.”

A boy with dark hair and dark eyes stepped out from behind Liam Westin with a shy smile. “Hi,” he said awkwardly.

I knew Maddie had a kid, but I wasn’t prepared for the boy before me. He had to be eight or nine years old. I had somehow envisioned a baby or a toddler even, not a full grown child.

Liam nudged him toward me.

“I’m Oscar,” he said, not quite making eye contact, and it dawned on me that he was sensing my wolf so close to the surface and recognizing me as an Alpha. I didn’t want to scare the kid. I actually liked kids.

I chanced a look around and zeroed in on Lily, who was shooting me daggers, and I knew I had to calm down. Her look alone shot pain straight through my heart that I wasn’t prepared for. Ignoring it as best I could, I bent down to Oscar’s level. “It’s nice to meet you Oscar,” I said aloud, then bent over to whisper, “?Bout time we had another male in this family.”

Oscar relaxed and smiled at me. He was a cute kid. I might still have been upset with his mom, but I wasn’t about to take it out on a child.

Glancing up, I noticed that Lily looked like she was going to bolt again, but no longer appeared to wish me dead. Mom was smiling through her tears, and I straightened and shook hands with Liam and Patrick, welcoming them to my territory.

A larger crowd had gathered around us, leaving me feeling trapped. I knew most were there to welcome Madelyn home, but I suspected several were there to see how I was going to react. I’m sure I had disappointed the gossip mongrels with my civility.

Through my peripheral vision I saw Sydney Parker moving towards me. Sydney and I had been on again-off again for years. She honestly thought we’d end up together and was preparing herself to be Pack Mother someday. How the hell was I supposed to tell her that was never going to happen, because now that I’d scented my true mate, I knew I could never settle for anyone but Lily Westin.

My wolf was still highly agitated, and I didn’t need an audience for that inevitable talk, so I did what any sane man would do. I turned and quickly left the scene before it could begin. I dared a glance back over my shoulder just in time to see Lily take notice of Sydney moving toward me, and the look on her face was a mix of sheer fury and confusion.

I headed straight for the one place I knew Syd wouldn’t follow, the Alpha house. I walked in and ran up the stairs, not stopping until I reached my old room. I collapsed down on my bed, my arm covering my face.

What the hell was I going to do?

At some point I’d have to sort out my feelings over my sister, but the more pressing crisis was Lily. My mate. I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face at the thought, but seeing Sydney and Lily together had thrown me for a loop. Syd and I had a past; there were expectations there. Sure, she knew I had messed around with nearly every eligible wolf across two packs, but she had also been the closest thing to a girlfriend I’d ever had. When all was said and done, I always went back to Sydney.

Just seeing Syd had messed with me. I couldn’t imagine touching her after catching Lily’s scent. I wasn’t sure my wolf would allow me even if I wanted to. The constant images and reminders of Lily that my wolf kept flashing in my mind were going to drive me insane.

What I did know was that Lily Westin was my one true mate. I had an option to accept that or reject her. Truth was, I didn’t really know Lily anymore, aside from her obvious dislike of me. Maybe that would change, maybe it wouldn’t, but I knew with certainty that I would not get one bit of rest until I at least tried to see where things would go.

My decision was made. I would hang out for a few hours until the insanity outside calmed. I could even give Lily a day to settle in for her visit, and then I owed it to myself to find out what this mating stuff was truly about. She may not want it, she may not like it, but the chase was on and Lily didn’t know what was coming for her, because now that I had her scent, I couldn’t see anything else.

Lily

Chapter 3

My entire being had been painfully aware of Thomas when he’d come over to welcome Maddie home. He looked the part, he acted the part, but somehow it felt like a show. He had never been around for any of the vigils while Maddie was gone. I couldn’t forgive him for that. He had given up on my best friend, his own sister.

How on earth could God possibly match the two of us? I had always tried to be a good person. I got carried away at times, but I wasn’t a troublemaker or anything. I knew God was sitting up there in heaven laughing down at me.Gotcha!

All the expectations I’d had of my true mate had crumbled and exploded in a cloud of smoke. Thomas? I just couldn’t believe it, yet when he’d passed near me to hug Maddie, every nerve in my body had been aware of him. Despite her being my best friend and his sister, for crying out loud, my wolf wanted to rip Maddie to pieces for touching our mate. My wolf’s mate, I reminded myself. Thomas Collier could never be my mate.

Just that thought caused physical pain in my chest. What was I going to do?

A tall girl about my age bumped into me as she stood on her tip toes and strained to see above the gathering crowd. She stepped on my foot in the process.

“Ow,” I complained.

“Oh, sorry,” she apologized. “Did you happen to see where Thomas went?” she asked, clearly distracted.

“No,” I lied. I had seen the look of panic on his face as he’d turned and headed for the house. I imagined he had likely exited out the back door and was long gone by now. If this girl was the cause of his quick exit, I should be thanking her. Instead I closed my eyes and bit back a growl as my wolf howled in my head, sending angry thoughts to my brain.

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