Page 102 of Beginning Fate

“That’s awesome. This is her sister, Lauren. She’s going to be teaching ASL here this year and has been working with us the last few weeks.”

“Cool. I already arranged my schedule to add ASL 101 to my course load,” she surprised me by saying.

My heart swelled with happiness.

Kylie wasn’t just going to survive here; she was going to thrive. With so many people on her side, how could she not?

I stuck around long enough to get them sorted and then left them to get to know each other without my interference.

We were still working on boundaries, but I was trying to give her the space she wanted. It was a work in progress.

I headed home to the doghouse. After some careful consideration we decided for now Denny and I would stay in the house. If this semester didn’t go so well then, we’d press for our own place in mated housing for next semester.

My new job would be starting soon, and I already had an office and classroom to prep. It was a little overwhelming but also very exciting.

And I was now wearing the engagement ring and a wedding ring. To all of Denny’s work friends we had a simple wedding at the courthouse. Nothing fancy. It didn’t matter that there was no record of it. No one was going to fact check us on it.

Instead, they insisted on throwing us a reception. I begged Denny to get us out of it, but no luck. They were closedon Monday’s so that was the plan. I told Kylie and the girls they had to come but they’d declined.

I wasn’t going to know anyone there.

This was all on my mind as I walked across campus. It was so beautiful, but more importantly it felt like home.

So much had changed in the few weeks since I arrived in California. I was mated and now apparently married too.

I walked into the house and plopped down on a couch with a huff.

“What’s wrong, Lauren,” Sadie asked.

I’d really gotten to know Sadie, Josie, and Ember well. True to Josie’s word she invited me to girls’ night every Thursday. I’d actually scheduled my classes around it. It was nice to have real friends.

Kylie wasn’t the only one thriving here.

“Babe, there you are. Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” Josie asked.

“The wedding reception.”

“It’s going to be fun and everyone’s bringing us gifts,” Denny insisted.

“It’s not so bad,” Ember insisted. “Chad and I got married. With my mom always in the spotlight it just helped explain things to the humans better. Besides, I was raised a human and always dreamed about my wedding. It was great. And so were the presents.”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Denny agreed.

“Are you guys coming?” I asked the girls.

“When is it?” Sadie asked.

I glared at my mate. “You didn’t invite them?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t think they’d really care to come.”

“What? Of course we want to come,” Josie insisted.

“Okay, well, it’s tonight.”

“Oh, sorry, we’re busy tonight,” Ember said.

---