Page 61 of Awakened
“Sweetie, you and Seth have what Jack and I did. You love each other for who you are, not because some bond tells you to. Will and I felt the mate attraction, but it was nowhere near as deep as my pull to Jack. I needed Jack. I needed him to be happy. Seth needs you, I have no doubt. And you need Seth. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting in my kitchen right now about to track the silly boy down.”
Grandma Rose reached into her pocket and took out a ring.
“This was my engagement ring. I want you to have it.”
“No, Grandma, I can’t?—”
“Will you shut it? I want you to have it. No matter what happens, I will always choose you as my granddaughter.”
She slipped the ring on my finger and looked up at me. Tears welled in our eyes, and she hugged me tight.
“Thank you, Grandma Rose. I just hope . . . I hope I’m not too late.”
“Sweetie, if my boy is anything like his grandpa, he’ll be waiting.”
THIRTEEN
I tried clearing my throat, but they wouldn’t stop sucking face.
“Brandon, please let go of Emily so we can start the long, boring drive to Topeka. I’d like to get there by lunch.”
I thought I’d been a good sister by postponing the start of our trip until the next morning and staying at Grandma Rose’s. It gave the newly engaged couple some private time, and I got to bask in the remaining traces of Seth’s scent in his old room. When you’re a wolf, you find yourself in some embarrassing positions. I completely freaked myself out when I realized I was standing in Seth’s closet just smelling his shirts, but that didn’t stop me from stealing one for the drive.
Brandon sneered, pulling away from Emily and glaring over her head, “Don’t be jealous. I know once you get your hands on Seth, I’ll have to avert my eyes to avoid being scarred for life.”
He gave Emily one last peck on the lips and sulked down the front steps. Emily followed him down to give me a big hug. She whispered, “Take care of him and make sure no ladies get any ideas.”
“Since when have you been the jealous type?” I laughed. Just a year ago, she would have never worried about what a partner wasdoing, but with Brandon, she had staked her claim. It was terribly cute.
“Oh, shut up,” she mumbled as she let me go. “Make sure you give Seth my love and then give him—” She started to aggressively pelvic thrust at me.
“Get off me. I thought last night would have calmed you down.”
The smile left her face, and she became very serious. “Never, Les. Never.”
“You’re ridiculous. I’ll see you in a week or so.”
She smacked my ass, then darted out of reach. “Later, gator!”
That girl’s not right.
Shaking my head, I went to the car.
Brandon had already taken the driver’s seat, which was fine with me. I had absolutely no interest in driving four hours across flat-ass America. Emily waved from the porch as we pulled away from the tiny white house. Brandon sighed and waved back. This was the last thing he wanted to be doing.
“Hey, we’ll be back in no time,” I tried to reassure my little brother.
“Yeah, yeah. He better come back without a fuss, or I’ll kick his ass.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Brandon had never been able to beat Seth in anything. In fact, if Seth had ever wanted to, he could have easily been beta. It was lucky for Brandon that Seth had an aversion to leadership.
“I’ll let him know you said that.” Brandon gave me a side-eye glare and then settled his attention back on Highway 63.
Car trips with Brandon were never fun. By the time we reached Topeka, I was ready to beat him to death. First, he complained about leaving his fiancée, and then he apologized for being so insensitive to me and what I must be going through. Then heasked me what I planned to do if Seth didn’t want to come back. It was exhausting and put me on edge.
Leave it to little brothers to ruin any optimism you’ve banked.
Needless to say, I was not a happy camper when we stopped in front of Alpha Peterson’s home in the Prairie Pack. It was one of those McMansions—completely unoriginal and beige. Brandon and I made our way up the front walk and stood, duffel bag in hand, as we rang the doorbell and waited for our host.
