Page 13 of Breathe Again

“None taken. Like any art, it’s all subjective and personal,” I explained.

“Well, Peyton or Shelby, one of you has to do it with me then. I know Lizzy won’t do it. And sorry, Mad, I’m not sure about you yet,” Ruby said.

“No problem, but yeah, not my thing either,” Maddie confessed.

“Wait, why are you so sure I wouldn’t do it?” Elizabeth asked, and I bit back a grin in spite of myself.

Ruby dramatically rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Lizzy, you’re like the perfect daughter. You’d never do anything so scandalous as to get a tattoo.”

Her sisters laughed at the mere thought, but Elizabeth huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. It made her breasts push up, and my pants grew awkwardly tight. Shit. I wasn’t supposed to be thinking of her like that.

“Little do you know, Ruby—I already have a tattoo, and yes I would get another,” she announced as one sister gasped, and the rest of them all had their mouths open in disbelief.

“No way,” Ruby said, recovering first. “Where is it then?”

“Ladies, this is not a conversation for the dinner table. I’m sorry I started it,” Zach said.

“Daddy, you’re not even shocked over this? Not even a little?” Ruby asked.

“Ruby, I said that’s enough.”

It got awkwardly silent for only a few minutes before Shelby nearly burst with curiosity. “You have to tell us, Lizzy. Where is it? What is it? I’m dying to know!”

“Don’t you still have Pack runs in Collier?” Maddie asked. “I mean, how does she have a tattoo and no one’s seen it?”

Ruby laughed. “Baby sister—let me tell you a little thing about our eldest. Lizzy is the biggest prude in all of Collier Pack. She never gets naked in front of anyone.”

Zach’s face was turning red, not in embarrassment but in anger. “Ruby, that’s enough,” he said more sternly, but that didn’t even slow her down.

“Come on, Lizzy, just tell us. At least tell us what it looks like if you don’t want to tell us where it is.”

I could feel the aggravation coming off Elizabeth in waves, and for the first time since we sat down, I dared a look to my right, where she. Her hands were fisted and her eyes wild. I remembered that girl. That was my Elizabeth all fiery and full of life, not the prude, obedient, little mouse her sister portrayed her as.

“You really want to know what my tattoo looks like?” she asked, raising her voice.

“Yes, we do, so please enlighten us. IF you even have a tattoo, which I doubt,” Ruby added.

“If you must know, it looks an awful lot like this,” she said, yanking up my shirt and pointing to the matching tattoo on my upper arm. The touch of her fingers against my skin burned a path down my arm that I wasn’t prepared for. It ignited my wolf, who demanded I protect our mate.

“May I be excused now?” she asked her mother, who only nodded, looking as shocked as her siblings.

Thomas turned questioning eyes toward me, while Lily bit back a grin. Zach didn’t look at all surprised and I knew in that moment that he’d known all along. I wasn’t sure how, but I was certain he did.

“Cole, will you also excuse us? I need to have a word with my children,” Zach said in a tone that had everyone silent and staring at their dinner plates. As I got up, he reached for my arm. “Please check on her for me?”

I met her father’s eyes, pleading for my help. Why? If he truly knew I was her mate, why would he want me anywhere near her? But I couldn’t tell him no, so I found myself agreeing as he asked.

I left the Collier family and headed for the front door. I’d heard it slam on her way out a few minutes earlier. Once outdoors, I let my wolf come to the surface more than usual, channeling his sense of smell as we tracked our mate. I assumed she would have headed for her favorite spot to sit and think, but she hadn’t. She’d marched right through town and when I saw the tattoo shop just next door, I knew she’d run home. Lily had already told me she lived next to it.

I didn’t bother knocking on the door before trying the doorknob. It was open, so I let myself in. Elizabeth was sitting on her couch with her head back, staring at the ceiling.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“Your dad asked me to check on you,” I admitted.

She rolled her eyes. “Of course he did.”

“When did you tell him? How long has he known?” I asked.

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