It's here! It's here! It's here!
Hope you're having a great Friday night and happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans! Wait, was that yesterday? Ours was in October! We still get Black Friday sales out here, by the way, they're just not as good!
For anyone interested in my new tie-In novel, "Her Alpha Mate," I posted the first chapter, and Logan has a cameo! It's a story about Hunter Sky, a hot Alpha who's really dominant and also a genius, and it starts on his 17th birthday.
Don't worry, I'm still updating this story daily! Her Alpha Mate will be updated once a week on the weekend, as a fun bonus!
This chapter is dedicated to @Lolita1902. I love those red hearts! Can you please, please, pretty please PM me and teach me how to comment them?
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Logan
I've been to the library millions of times, but I suddenly feel like I'm here for the first time. The walls are lined with shelves upon shelves of books about our kind. Could any of them hold the answer? The key to solving Saffron's problems? Or are all the important texts hidden away at the Wolfsbane Luna's? Her collection is stored in an underground, fireproof shelter because all the texts are original, whereas what we have here are replicas; texts that are important for an Alpha's and Luna's education, but that our kind can afford to lose. If there was ever a fire, or a government agency broke onto the premises, we could burn it all.
There's a second library in Father's office, but those books are part of his personal collection. He has a few original texts, but mostly it's stuff written by humans. There's a collection of Shakespeare that belonged to my grandparents, and a bunch of fiction and non-fiction. Mother's SciFi is also in the office, since she likes to read on the couch while Father's working. Which means that all the important Wolf texts our pack owns are right here.
"Wolves have been able to link since the dawn of time," Saffron reads softly, startling me. "It's an ability we take for granted," she continues, and then pauses to look at me. There's sadness evident in her eyes, and to me the words feel like a betrayal. I must have read them when I studied this text, and I didn't even bat an eye.
I walk up to Saffron and gently take the book from her. I slide it back onto the shelf and take her hand, gently pulling her to the couch.
"Why?" she whispers.
"Saffron—"
"Is there something wrong with me?" she asks, staring past me at the copy of The Goddess Moon.
"You're perfect," I tell her, and she is. It's circumstance that's the problem, not Saffron. If she weren't an Alpha's mate, it wouldn't matter that she's shy or scared all the time, or that she never studied pack history. If we were Rogues, it probably wouldn't even matter if she couldn't link.
Is that why she grew up without a pack? I wonder. If the problem is genetic, and she really can't link, maybe her dad was too ashamed to stay with his pack. Maybe we are better of as rogues. All the things that are so wrong with Saffron, with my mate, are only problems as long as we stay here. All the pain I'm putting her through, by not accepting her as my mate, pushing her to learn how to link, and challenging her to stop being an Omega—none of that would be necessary if we just left.
"I'm not perfect," Saffron whispers. "You can't mean that."
"Every word."
"What about Jess?"
"What about Jess?" I ask. "She and I broke up a long time ago."
"Before your birthday," Saffron whispers.
"Before my birthday." I agree and glance at where Saffron is sitting next to me on the couch. When we sat next to each other on the bathroom floor, I could tell she was tense and uncomfortable. Maybe even afraid of me.
Tonight, she's different. She's kicked off one of her flip flops and has her right foot tucked under her hip. She's leaning against the back of the couch, instead of sitting with her back rim rod straight like she did in the bathroom. She also seems more relaxed, maybe even completely at ease with me.
"She was really upset," Saffron tells me.
"I know, but we've been broken up for months." I wrap an arm around Saffron and pull her into my side. I'm so glad that I didn't get back together with Jess. I could have. She even offered the whole friends with benefits thing until I found my mate, but I just couldn't do it... not when all I wanted was this.
"Fifty-three days," Saffron mumbles against my side.
"What?" I ask in confusion.
"Never mind," Saffron tells me, snuggling into my side.
"Wait... she's keeping count?" I gape.
I've been getting more and worried about Jess lately. I know things have gotten bad, but I hadn't realized the extent of it. At first, I figured, yeah, Jess she was taking our breakup kind of hard, but she'd get over it. Then, I'd assumed it had something to do with her not being the next Luna. After that, I convinced myself she was in some kind of funk, and I should just give her time. Lately, though, I've been worried it was something more serious, like depression. I've started to wonder if she might actually hurt herself or do something stupid. I even talked to Father about it, and he said he'd talk to Jess about seeing the pack therapist.
"She told me to stay away from you," Saffron says but she leans into me instead.
"I would never hurt you, Saf." I squeeze her into my side and rest my head on her shoulder.
"I know," she whispers against my neck.
I smile into her hair and we sit quietly for a while, both lost in thought. When I finally look at my mate, I realize she's fallen asleep against me. I gently squeeze her shoulder, trying to wake her. "Saffron?"
"What?" she mutters against my shoulder.
"Do you want me to walk you back to your room?" I ask.
"I can't," Saffron tells me, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "Zara's supposed to call when... um... she's done... um... exercising?"
"Exercising?" I grin. "Is that what you're calling it now?"
"Um..." Saffron sets the phone on the coffee table in front of us, face down, and doesn't make eye contact.
"I know Jasper's with her."
"Oh." Saffron lets out a sigh of relief. She looks at me, trying to keep a straight face. Then she bursts out laughing and I join her.
Suddenly, the door to Father's office slams shut, the sound echoing outside the library. His pounding footsteps grow louder and I gulp. Shit! I instantly stop laughing, and Saffron does too. I see a flash of fear on her face, and then the library door is thrown open, and Father stands silhouetted in the doorway.
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POW's here you guys! Anyone freaking out?
What do you think will happen next?
Did you like this chapter?
I want to hear what you think!
Also don't forget to check out my other story. It's fully interactive, so I don't start writing until Thursday night, and you get to pick what happens next!
♥ If you love me, vote! If you hate me, but love this chapter, vote! If you like ice cream, also vote! ♥