Page 77 of Awakened
“No fucking clue. Get this—Seth’s mate was engaged. I met the guy. My best bet is that we’ve been fed bullshit about mates. Grandma Rose said her mate bond felt like a physical attraction, but she was already in love with Grandpa Jack, so it never went any further.”
“Well, damn.” She wrapped me in a tight hug.
I shrugged in her hold. “It is what it is. When Aiden left me, I bought into the hype, so that softened the blow a bit.” I pulled out of Sarah’s arms and refilled my glass. Taking the whole thing like a shot, I enjoyed the familiar burn of self-medication. “Now I know he just didn’t love me enough. Seth loved me enough to ignore the bond, but I was too hurt, and now it’s too late.” I rested my forehead against my folded arms. “Why didn’t he fucking tell me?”
Sarah started rubbing my back. “I can come up with a few reasons. I just don’t know why that wasn’t part of his grand love declaration. That could have helped you get over the whole Aiden mess a lot faster.” She sighed and poured us both another shot’s worth of Old Crow. “This is the fucking worst.”
We both took the shot.
“The worst part? Seth has totally changed. He’s going to be alpha, is with his mate, and supports this wolf-gathering nonsense.”
Sarah frowned and shook her head.
“Oh, right. The Old Church Packs and some others are planning a gathering of all the mature wolves in North America to help them find their mates. I need to talk to Marie, but I already told them the Amazons wouldn’t be participating. The security headaches are enough to shoot down the idea, but beyond that, there’s something about all this Old Church revival junk that isn’tsitting right with me. Luckily, I have a week and a half off work to dig into it. I guess Seth did me a favor.”
Sarah gave me a sad smile. “You’re a good beta. I think you made the right call. If you need me for any of this, let me know. Emily wouldn’t mind if I skipped out on Aiden’s wedding next weekend.”
“No, no. You have to be there for her and Brandon. Oh, but you won’t believe this. Aiden knew Seth had a mate.”
SIXTEEN
For days, I hunkered down in my bedroom with enough strawberry Pop-Tarts to feed an elementary school and enough boxed wine to drown all the Real Housewives. The Monday after my return, I got a text from Marie requesting my presence at Blackthorn. We needed to discuss the meeting with Alpha Collins and, as Marie put it, “fill any heart holes with pizza and booze.”
The woman got me.
Unfortunately, that meant it was time for me to shower and join the living, even if my comforter and I had a deep understanding of one another. As I left, I ran my fingers over it, promising I’d be back soon.
The familiar smell of decades of spilt beer greeted me as I walked into Blackthorn. I was home. It wasn’t healthy—my liver wasn’t happy—but ending my reliance on the local watering hole was a self-improvement project for another day.
“Les is here!”
“Hey, Les!”
Marie’s husky voice carried above all the other Amazons. “About damn time, girl.” She pressed me to her side, kissing the top of my head. “We missed you last week.”
The loose hold I had on my composure slipped, and my vision blurred.
So much for making it through the night without shedding a tear.
I’d become a damn crybaby, and there just wasn’t enough fluid in my body to keep up with all the crying jags.
Squeaking out a hey, I accepted the “Celeste Special” from Taylor and followed Marie to the table.
“We went ahead and got a pizza just for you, you know, so the rest of us have a fighting chance.” The table erupted in laughter as we sat down. “We’ll talk business after you get your fill.”
Oh yeah. She gets me.
Spicy Italian sausage and pepperoni filled my mouth, and I truly believed everything would be okay. It’s amazing what a little meat can do for a girl.
After polishing off the pie, I wiped my hands and took out Alpha Collins’ proposal. As Marie read it over, her forehead became more and more scrunched.
“Hmph.” She pushed the papers back toward me. “You turned this down, of course?”
“Within seconds of seeing it.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I might have been a little too enthusiastic about my dislike of The Gathering.”
“I told you!” Bonnie yelled from my left. “You owe me $50, Marie.”
“Wait, what?”They bet on me. These bitches bet on me.
