Page 48 of Can't Be Love

“Lily-girl, is that really you?” Amka asked.

“Yes. It is so wonderful to see you, Amka,” she said, risking the short distance between me and the woman to go and embrace her. I nervously stayed close by in case she started to fall again.

Why would she even bother wearing those ridiculous shoes at all? She knew where we were headed, and obviously had visited before, so she had to know what to expect. I didn’t like her risking injury over something so stupid, and I would let her know it the moment we were alone.

“You know better than to wear that nonsense here. What were you thinking?” Amka scolded.

Lily blushed and looked my way. I wanted desperately to read her mind just then.

“I, uh . . .” She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “I did come prepared, I just forgot to change my shoes before we landed,” she finally said.

“Well, come along then. Tulok will get your things. Thomas, help her into the house,” Amka instructed.

She didn’t have to tell me twice. I leaned down and scooped Lily up into my arms, cradling her against my chest. She giggled and smacked me, demanding to be put down, but I didn’t listen until she was safely inside.

“Why did you wear those stupid things?” I asked as I set her down.

She frowned down at her shoes. “I love these shoes. Plus, someone woke me up rather abruptly and shooed me from the house. And I really love that they bring me up to the perfect height for this.” There was a sparkle in her eyes when she closed the gap between us and kissed me.

Tulok cleared his throat behind us.

“To hear this girl talk about you, not that long ago, Thomas, this is the last thing I ever would have expected,” Amka said. “You know she used to go on and on about how you were the . . .”

I put up a hand to stop her, knowing what was coming next. Lily buried her face against my chest. “I’m never going to live that down!” she exclaimed.

“Seriously, is there anyone within five packs that you didn’t complain about me to?”

“Probably more like ten packs. I know a lot of people,” she confessed. Even the tips of her ears were bright pink, which secretly made me happy watching her squirm.

“I should have known, should have seen the signs then. Only a true mate would get that worked up over someone,” Amka confessed.

I liked to hope she was right. She pulled Lily from the safety of my arms and placed her hands against Lily’s cheeks, looking deeply into her eyes. “Your wolf has always been so restless. She’s finally found peace with your mate. I am glad you did not fight the bond, child, for it is strong between the two of you.”

Lily dared a quick glance at me. “I didn’t fight it that long,” she blurted out.

I chuckled. “I think we were both equally shocked at first.”

There was casual conversation as we caught up, and Amka fixed lunch for us. The morning passed quickly, and I still had no idea what we were doing there. Dad hadn’t really said, just that Tulok had asked for help.

As we were sitting down to eat, their granddaughter arrived to join us. I hadn’t seen Karis since she was just a pup, tagging along behind me as I tried to ditch her to play with my friends in the polar bear community. I’m sure she was around somewhere on my last few visits, but our paths just hadn’t crossed.

Karis was now all grown up, and it suddenly made me feel old. She had long hair braided into thick dreads dyed red, and had clearly grown into a young woman while I was away.

“Lily!” she squealed, and ran to hug my mate. “Upa only told me Thomas was coming and bringing his new mate. He didn’t mention you would be joining them. Why didn’t you tell me?” Karis pouted.

“I did not know, child. Lily is Thomas’s new mate,” Amka told her granddaughter.

Karis turned large oval eyes my way and opened her mouth, then shut it again, before bursting out laughing. “You mated Thomas Collier?”

Lily didn’t look so uncomfortable this time, she just smiled happily. “We haven’t completed the bond, yet, but we’re getting around to it. Just let it be a warning to you, Karis. Don’t judge people, period. Trust me on this. No assumptions, and whatever you do, do not openly complain about anyone, especially a boy. I’ll likely never live it down, but just like Mom always said, ‘God doesn’t make mistakes matching mates,’ and yes, Thomas is mine.”

Lily walked over and hugged me close, and I leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.

Karis and Amka sighed, sharing a look I didn’t completely understand, but they looked happy.

“So,” Lily said, “catch me up on all that’s going on with you.”

Karis chatted on and on about how she had finished her senior year the previous spring. She had originally thought she was going to stick around and just take online classes for the first two years of college, but she had been accepted to Archibald Reynolds College, an all-shifter college, for fall enrollment.

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