Page 1 of Branches of the Willow

1

Happy

“Ineverexpectedthatmy happily ever after was going to be so busy.” I smirked as I declared that to my best friend.

“Maybe because you never believed in the fairytale ending to start with?” Ashley reminded me as she went down on her hands and knees and hunted under the bed for something.

“Can you blame me? I mean, back when you worked to persuade me that fairytales were a real thing, Zach Brighton might have been my mate, if everyone else got their way.” I mock gagged, and the weight of Zach’s disappearance once again settled heavily on my shoulders. He had been part of a plan to capture and assassinate me, or keep me for his mate, twice now. Both times he got away while the people responsible for encouraging him were being handled. Even though I didn’t worry about him as a powerful foe, he was turning out to be a slippery bastard and particularly adept at finding powerful friends to assist him in his relentless, albeit delusional, quest to procure me as his own mate.

“They’ll locate him,” Ashley tried to sound sure of herself, but even I could hear the doubt in her voice. “What about this one?” She held the shirt up, deciding to shift the subject. I wondered why on earth it had been hiding out under her bed, but it was Ashley, so it kind of made sense. She had probably tossed it to the floor and accidentally kicked it under there one night when she rejected it for another option. The woman had trouble simply picking a shirt out. She had to try on twenty before she went back to the first one.

“Your boobs are going to be on full display in that one.”

“Perfect!” Ashley tossed the shirt into her suitcase with a big grin on her face. I wanted to laugh at her, because she might not have been on the market for men anymore, but Ashley still loved being ogled, and of course, tantalizing her mate relentlessly.

“What am I going to do without you while you’re gone?” I poked my lip out in what I meant to be a fake pout, but it felt all too real. Part of me was jealous that I couldn’t travel along with them. I had never been far from home before, and the thought of traveling anywhere, let alone halfway around the world, was an intriguing luxury I realized I couldn’t afford anytime soon.

“I’m sure Mikael will think of ways to keep you plenty busy while I’m away.” Ashley waggled her eyebrows at me as her smile lit up her beautiful face. Those gorgeous, denim-blue eyes of hers sparkled with excitement as she spoke. “I can’t believe I’m getting to go away with Asriel.” She squealed in delight for what was probably the hundredth time while her feet shuffled back and forth in some strange, Ashley-happy-dance move. I needed to be excited for her since she was going on an adventure that I could only dream about, but I was going to miss the hell out of my best friend while she was gone.

I tossed a teal, silk blouse her way, “Take that one too.” I offered as she continued to dance around. “I’m sure I’ll be plenty busy with Mikael, and wolf stuff, but who am I going to talk to about everything?”

Ashley came over and wrapped her arms around me in a tight, warm hug that I never wanted to end. “There are these things,” she whispered into my ear. “They are called phones. We have international plans, and we can talk whenever you need me. I promise!”

“Except when Asi is keeping you busy.” I grinned as I hugged her back.

“Yeah, well, that goes without saying.” She laughed again.

“I wish we could go with you guys. There is just so much going on here. I know that I won’t be able to get away anytime soon.” I looked around the mess that was Ashley’s room for anything else I could add to her already overburdened suitcase. “It looks like we packed everything you own.” A strange feeling gnawed at my gut as I said that. What if Ashley and Asi decided that they didn’t want to come back? This was not Asi’s home, after all.

Ashley struggled to get one side of her suitcase zipped closed. “I think you’re right, but a girl has to be prepared for anything.”

“What do you think Evan will claim for himself and Mikael? I know there are properties, and all the stuff in the houses, but I can’t even imagine what all that entails. You are going to need to send me loads of pictures.” I stopped rambling and went to sit my ass on Ashley’s suitcase so she could get it zipped the rest of the way.

“I will, Jess. I cannot wait to see everything. I’ve never been out of the country.” She smiled at me, her red curls bouncing as she struggled with the zipper once more. It finally gave way, and slid into place with a metallic noise, closing around the remainder of the life she had packed away inside. “This is going to be an amazing trip. I promise I will send enough pictures back that you can live vicariously through me until you are all squared away here. Maybe then we can all take a trip to some place tropical, like we used to dream about.”

“Oh, yeah! One of those resorts, with the white sandy beaches, and umbrella drinks?”

“You know it!” Ashley bumped me with her hip as she picked the suitcase up off the bed and sat it down on the floor with a loud thump. Once her hands were free, she turned to pull me into another big hug. “I wish you were going too,” she whispered.

“Are you ready in here?” Ashley’s mate, Asriel, asked as he came through the door. His eyebrows quirked up as that wicked grin slid across his face. “Son of a bitch, I guess I owe Evan some cash. I swore that you two would find a way to pack Jess in there.” He glanced down at the suitcase by Ashley’s feet, then did a double take at the size. “You know we’re coming back, right?”

“Don’t start.” Ashley pouted. “A girl has to be prepared…” her voice trailed off as she looked at the extremely large, overstuffed suitcase. “Can you get that for me?”

“Why am I not surprised?” Asi sighed but leaned in for a kiss before grabbing the bag and hauling it out to the car as if it weighed nothing at all. I watched as the muscles in Asi’s forearm and biceps bulged a bit as he did so, even while making it seem effortless. Ashley was definitely a lucky girl. Then again, the man across the room that headed towards me caught my eye and stole my breath away. I was very blessed in the luck department, myself.

“Jess, we have to get you over to the meeting with the pack leaders soon.” Mikael reminded me. I watched as he prowled ever closer, not stopping until we met somewhere in the middle. He slipped an arm around my shoulder and retraced his steps back out of the temporary house we had set up for Asi and Ashley while they were waiting for their own to be built on the pack’s land.

“They can wait a couple more minutes. I need to say goodbye, and we’ll head over.” I leaned into the passenger side of the car, where Ashley was adjusting her seatbelt, and I gave her a peck on the cheek. “Your house should be finished by the time you guys get back. Then we get to throw a housewarming party!”

Ashley giggled in my ear. “Still looking for excuses to party, hon?”

“Actually, I just think by the time you get back, I’ll need to blow off some serious steam and have a reason to spend time with you that no one can deny.” There was a certain amount of sadness that tainted my request. I knew what was headed for me, and while I was determined to take up the mantle of white wolf ruler, I knew it was going to come with a lot of personal sacrifice, like time that could no longer be spent with my best friend.

“Isn’t your man supposed to help you destress?” She teased. I heard Mikael chuckle off to my side. I rolled my eyes in Ashley’s general direction as I turned to find Evan standing nearby. He was taking things well these days, but he always seemed a bit lost to me. I could see the pain that clouded his eyes when I caught him watching me. Part of me felt for him, even though I was happy with Mikael. No matter what, I wanted Evan to find his own happiness, and until he did, my heart would always hurt a little. Not for the choice I made, but because making it hurt him.

Evan leaned in and wrapped his arms around me. “Stay safe and take care of my brother while I’m gone. Between the two of you, getting kidnapped seems to be a thing, and I won’t be around to rescue you this time.”

In response, I gave Evan a playful punch to the gut and laughed. “Shut it, Evan. You just worry about taking care of Ashley and making sure she gets back here in one piece.” He squeezed me a little harder then.

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