Page 23 of Challenged Mate
Kayla bit her lip. “Are you sure? Don’t you even want to know his name?”
“No.” I was being petty—I knew that. But I couldn’t help it. I didn’twantto help it.
Soon, I’d be forced to deal with reality and learn all about the Wilds alpha, my future mate. But today was not that day.
“If you say so.” Kayla sipped her drink.
I followed her lead and drank my coffee, letting silence settle between us as we both tried to figure out how to move past my awkward and childish responses.
“Have you been to our bookstore?” Kayla asked a few minutes later.
I shook my head.
“Oh, we’ve got to go! We don’t get new releases until a week or two after everyone else, but we have a pretty great selection. Do you like to read?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“You guess?”
I shrugged. “I’ve never had much free time,” I admitted. “Most of my time was spent studying pack law or training…” I pursed my lips, realizing how sad that sounded.
“I get it,” Kayla told me kindly. “My parents made us train pretty hard growing up. They were always hounding us about how we needed to respect our power and strive to master it.”
“Maybe they could help me with my power,” I suggested.
Kayla’s expression fell. “Oh… I bet they could, but they passed a few years back.”
I sucked in a breath. “I’m so sorry, Kayla. I didn’t know.”
She waved a dismissive hand, forcing her lips into a half-hearted smile. “It’s okay. Asher told you so little, I’m not surprised he left that out as well.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. My mother died before I had the chance to know her, and the loss still hurt. I couldn’t imagine how Kayla and Asher felt.
Kayla cleared her throat and stood from her seat. “Want to check out the bookstore before they close for lunch.”
I nodded and got to my feet. The coffee shop had filled up while we were talking. I tucked my arms close to my body, holding my drink in front of me, and followed Kayla through the sea of occupied tables.
Once again, several shifters watched as I passed.
Rather than pretend I didn’t notice, I forced myself to meet their eyes. Some looked away immediately. Some smiled. But some held my gaze with distasteful frowns and a few glares.
I smirked at each of those shifters—mostly females—before looking away with a dismissive flip of my hair. I might not have the power to go against any of them yet, but they didn’t know that. Confidence was key to holding them at bay until I got my magic under control.
Stephanie would be proud of me.
The bells above the door jingled as Kayla pushed it open. I shielded my eyes from the bright sun. I blinked, trying to let my eyes adjust. I didn’t see the group of females walk into my path until I bumped into one.
“Oops. Sorry!” I called out immediately.
“Ouch. Watch where you’re walking Summit wolf!” The female snarled.
I reared back in shock, then quickly schooled my features into bored indifference. My eyes travelled over the leggy blonde in a short purple sundress. She’d be pretty if it weren’t for the nasty snarl twisting her features.
I inhaled quickly, trying to see if I could scent any of her power. It was the one skill Kayla had been teaching me that I sort-of had a handle on.
But all I could smell around the rude female was musty fur and rotting flowers. As far as I could tell, she was pure shifter.
“Relax, Hannah.” Kayla stepped to my side. Her arms crossed. “It was an accident.”
