Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 60481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
“Come in. Come on up. I was just closing up shop.” I jogged into the office to turn around the closed sign and lock the door. “JT, bud, why don’t you take Remy and the other kids upstairs?”
“Want to see my room?” JT asked.
“Yeah!”
He and Remy took off racing, leaving the women and little ones in the dust.
“Sorry,” I said when I emerged from the office. “We haven’t honed his hosting skills yet.”
The women laughed. “We don’t need to be hosted. We brought the party to you. I’m Becky, and this little one is Lily,” she said as she set the toddler down.
“I’m Audrey, and the one who’s leading Lily is Lizzie.” She set her hand on her chest and smiled. “Please don’t stress about anything, especially since we’re barging in.”
“Barging in with wine is allowed,” I said and smiled.
I was first up the steps then directed them to the kitchen. I pulled out a wine key and glasses from the kitchen as they unpacked the grocery bag full of cheeses and crackers, grapes, raspberries, olives, pickled artichokes, and cured meats.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll just grab a couple of plates to arrange this?” Joy asked, already opening my kitchen cabinet doors, searching for what she needed.
“Make yourself at home.” It wasn’t green sandwiches, but it looked good. And there was wine.
The relief at having another adult around to make decisions and take charge of things after I’d barely been functioning nearly made me cry.
This was that sweet small town life. My business was everyone’s business, which meant I wasn’t alone.
These women were here to support me. They wouldn’t have shown up with kids and food and wine if they were going to run me out of town.
Maybe they’d been sent to plead Sam’s or their pack’s case. Maybe both.
I didn’t care. I didn’t realize until now just how desperate and lonely I’d felt since I’d left Sam in that field.
Within five minutes, they’d created a gourmet-level spread in the center of the table that the two kindergarteners took full advantage of with frequent drive-by snack grabs. The little girls followed Remy and JT around with that older child hero-worship in their eyes.
I hadn’t been able to eat much since Sam and I broke up, but I was tempted to nibble, too. I poured the wine into four glasses, and we sat down together. The apartment was small even for this small crowd, but everyone was content to squeeze close on the couch and loveseat.
I tried to remember what Sam had told me about the other two mothers–Becky and Audrey.
“Are you all…human?”
Becky grinned. “Yep. The theme here with this gathering is human moms with shifter kids. We thought you could use the moral support–if not about you and Sam then with raising a half shifter. We’re here for you no matter what happens between you and Sam.”
My throat grew tight. “Thank you.”
Harper from the fall festival was really nice, and I could’ve drowned my sorrows in a bottle of wine with her, except I couldn’t explain to her anything about why we broke up. Or what JT was. Or anything. The only answers she’d have for me were other restaurant recommendations.
I eyed the three women, who were kind enough to organize this ambush.
So much for me not wanting any part of their pack. I was so desperate for mom friends who understood, my misgivings started to leak away.
“How are you holding up?” Joy asked, sympathy in her gaze. She sat across from me on the loveseat beside Audrey. Her long blonde hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, like usual. “Falling for a wolf is some crazy shitake, right?”
I laughed at her modification of the word shit for the little ears present. “Yeah. Falling for one wolf six years ago was crazy.” I took a deep swig of the red wine. “Two wolves have pushed me over the edge.”
“Yeah, Wes said Sam’s pretty much going out of his mind, too.”
I went still, my heart stuttering.
I was right. Sam was hurt. This thing between us really was real.
“I couldn’t help but overhear what Sam’s bonehead brother-in-law said. About Sam being on seduction duty?” Joy added. “I just want to say that he’s an idiot for saying it that way. You’re Sam’s fated mate. No one had to tell him to seduce you. It’s guaranteed by nature.”
“Yeah, it’s really his only option for survival,” Becky said, nodding.
Audrey shot her a look, and Becky quickly said, “I mean–”
I held up my hand.
“What do you mean, survival?” I cut in. I wasn’t going to be an outsider with these women, too. They were human like me, and they had shifter mates. They needed to let me in on what they knew.
No one spoke for a moment.
Audrey sighed. “Sometimes with wolves with enough alpha in them, never meeting their fated mate or meeting her but not claiming her can essentially turn them feral,” she explained in a doctor-patient voice. I remembered that she was an OB/GYN. “They call it moon madness although it actually has nothing to do with the moon, other than that the symptoms are exacerbated by the full moon.”