Page 1 of Wolf's Claimed Mate
Chapter 1 - Sasha
“Don’t get me wrong, IloveSilverlake Valley, but I do miss Atlanta when it comes to shopping.”
I grimaced as I flicked through the clothes rack. Small towns were pretty, and I loved the cozy businesses and joints to hang out in, but the clothing options were not where it was at.
Next to me, Thalia sniggered as she shook her head. She wore a cream-colored woolen turtleneck tucked into black cargo pants with her usual silver buckles and chains on. Once every two months, we’d go further into the field to escape the small-town fashion trends. It wasn’t that they wereterrible; they just weren’t for me. I missed my leather miniskirts and mesh-paneled bodysuits that came with big city nightlife.
As Luna of Silverlake Valley, Thalia was important. She wasrich. Thalia had risen in the ranks ever since her Mating Games more than a year ago. Now married to her mate and raising her baby daughter with a powerful pack at her feet, I couldn’t help but feel a little envious of my best friend.
It was a strange thing to feel envious of her. Thalia had always talked about me like Iwas the better of us two. Now I felt… not quite pushed out but not entirely as involved as I had been during her heartbreak recovery and climb back to herself. Getting her involved with Kato’s pack years ago had caused a rift between us. But Thalia had improved herself, and I felt a little lost at where I fit in with her now.
She had always depended on me. Now, she didn’t need me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what she had kept me around for.
I clenched my hand on the sweater I discarded in annoyance. I wasnotvulnerable. I hated these weak thoughts and shoved them, walking away.
Thalia, unaware of my inner turmoil, followed me. “Okay, so if we’re done in this one, then—oh, those boots would look gorgeous on you! I can totally see you at the Inferno in these.” She grabbed my hand, and we rushed over to the shoe racks at the back. For a second, it was like the old days: me dragging Thalia out to shop her heartbreak away, retail therapy in Atlanta, while she talked about her plans to end Fenrys.
Now, she was married to him. How far she’d climbed.
I grinned, genuinely feeling more happy at finding our balance again, as I picked up the vanilla-colored suede boot. It was knee-high, something I’d pair with a black minidress. IknewI’d find the perfect dress, but it wouldn’t be in Silverlake Valley. Somehow, the small town found the balance between clubbing and modesty—something I quite frankly despised—and it worked for some. Just not forme. I was a leopard, a woman who loved clubbing and dancing and drinking—I didn’t want modesty. I wanted to own my sexuality and body and never let anyone take it from me.
I held onto the boots, laughing as Thalia watched me with a raised brow.
“What?” I said. “They’ll be my new babies.”
“More like they’ll be the key to getting the next guy in your bed,” she teased.
I grinned, going along with it as I bought the boots. We left, heading towards a store where she could buy Christmas gifts ahead of the holidays for Reina, her baby cub. She’d already bought Fenrys a new Rolex and Dior cologne, decking him in designer brands that I was envious of because she receivedtenfold. The new bag slung around her shoulder was D&G; the pants were Balenciaga, effortlessly casual but gorgeously tailored.
What Thalia didn’t know was that I was still a virgin.
I was attractive; I got the attention from men that I enjoyed, but I’d never let anyone take me all the way with them. I enjoyed the flirting and the dancing and the conversation. The teasing games. But I just wasn’t ready for the whole physical commitment. Part of me knew I flitted between men easily and I still wanted my first time to be meaningful.
“Should I buy Reina this?” Thalia wondered aloud, running her hands across a baby’s beanie, the color an autumnal gold with orange trimming. I noticed the designer label on it and laughed.
“Thalia, she’s not even two years old.”
“So?”
“Just because you have money doesn’t mean you need to deck out your toddler in designer things. She won’t even know it to appreciate it.” I fixed her with a smirk. “Iknowyou love playing rich hot Luna, but we’re in a small town. Everyone fawns over you and Fenrys in your finery, but Reina can wait for that till she’s older.”
Thalia still looked unconvinced. She wasn’t shallow by any means, but she’d gotten used to Fenrys heaping luxury onto those in his inner circle.
Again, I couldn’t bite down the wave of envy.
“At least you have a family to buy for,” I muttered, unable to keep the comment to myself. I wasn’t angry at Thalia that she had everything I wanted. A family, security both within herselfand her life financially. A home to call hers, a pack of her own. I’d never had that.
“Sasha—”
“No, no.” I waved her off, laughing without a lot of humor to the sound. “I don’t need whatever’s about to come out of your mouth; come on. You’ve known me too long to give me pity about my family. They turned their backs on me all those years ago. I tried to reach out, but they rejected me again. In the end, I should be glad I’m away from them.” I shrugged, trying to brush it off. Deep down, the impending holidays had always been a struggle, thinking of them, wondering if they missed me after I’d left my hometown, following my boyfriend, a wolf shifter. They’d disagreed with me choosing a wolf shifter rather than a leopard shifter, like they wanted.
“I know, but—”
“Lia, it’s okay. My father is someone I’mdefinitelybetter off without,” I muttered. “Abusive prick.” He’d been the worst of them. At least my mom’s awful go-to comment was her threat that if I left, I was never welcome to return. My father had been taunting, physically abusive at times, because of being young and in love with a wolf at the time. Well, I had left, and I hadn’t returned.
“I shouldn’t have bragged.” Thalia frowned at herself. “Or got pouty over knowing it would be a sort of waste to not buy my daughter a…” She checked the tag and laughed, covering her mouth. “Thirty-five-dollar beanie.”
I sniggered, shaking my head. “It’d be her new, very expensive chew toy.”
