LOGIN(Danny POV)I followed Jenna into her house.Mason was grumbling about why Jenna had been with the Alpha King, but I tried to block him out. We had more important things to worry about right now.Like figuring out how we could possibly get her to accept our apology and agree to try again.Or even just hear us out.After I closed the front door behind me, I turned around. I wasn’t sure what I expected. An offer for coffee or tea, perhaps? An offer to take a seat in the living room? Jenna was always so polite and professional; those were reasonable expectations.Unfortunately, I got none of that.Instead, the moment that I turned around, Jenna slapped me across the face. Hard. It made my ears ring.“I deserved that,” I said, rubbing my cheek.“And more,” she growled.“And more,” I confirmed.She glared at me. Willow was close to the surface. I could see it in Jenna’s eyes. One wrong move and Willow might take over entirely.I decided to start out gentle.“Baby, I ---”Jenna le
(Nick POV)The barbeque was a success.My family loved Jenna, and she clearly loved them as well.Part of bringing her here was giving her a window into what a healthy, functional family looked like.And what our future lives could look like together, if she chose it.Even Mitchell’s sour looks did nothing to dampen the happiness I felt watching Jenna get along so well with my mother, sisters, and cousins.Still, when my uncle asked to meet with Jenna, my instincts screamed at me to stop it.Given the ongoing investigation, I knew my uncle would need to talk to her. I also knew both he and Jenna would prefer to do the interview away from a crowded interview room at one of the packs.Even so, I was unhappy waiting for them to be done. And I hated not being in control.I found myself pacing the family room closest to my father’s office.Thirty minutes after they went in, my uncle came out.His face was serious, giving me no sense of what they had talked about or how it had gone.“Is sh
(Jenna POV)To say that I was mortified was an understatement.Nick brought over a few towels, handing Uncle Roger and I each one and keeping one for himself.“Uncle Roger, I want you to meet Jenna Maxwell,” Nick said, introducing us.“I am so sorry,” I said apologetically. “I thought you were Nick, and I –”Uncle Roger frowned as he took off his eyeglasses and dried them.“This is how you treat the Alpha King?” he asked, not even a hint of humor in his voice.“We were playing,” Nick said, both defensiveness and annoyance in his voice.“Playing?” Uncle Roger repeated. “At your ages?”“Leave her alone,” Nick growled. “It is not her fault.”“I don’t blame her,” Uncle Roger said decisively. “I blame that b&tch that raised her. Probably didn’t teach her that games like this have a proper time and place.”Okay, that stung.I hated getting in trouble as a pup, and I hated it even more as a fully grown wolf.Still, I wasn’t going to let some arrogant former alpha king make me feel bad a
(Jenna POV)Okay, I won’t lie.Despite my initial reservations, the barbeque ended up being really fun. Nick’s mother and sisters were hilarious and outgoing, and they kept me laughing with stories about everything and anything under the sun.It was also nice to watch them interact with their mates. All of the males –including Nick’s father-- doted on their mates, It was nice to see examples of such healthy, loving and respectful relationships.Even seeing Mitchell walking around did nothing to damper my positive mood. Of course, it helped that Grace was quick to point out how few family members talked to him.“He’s got a reputation,” she told me, without elaborating more.Eventually, after trying and failing to steal me away a couple of times, Nick put his foot down.“You have been hogging Jenna,” he complained. “I still need to introduce her to Uncle Roger and everyone else.”“Fine,” Grace relented. “But if you don’t bring her back, I will bring out the photos.”Nick scowled.
(Jenna POV)The following Friday, Nick picked me up at my house so that we could go to the barbeque together.Two parts of the invitation surprised me.One, that he still wanted me to go. I had, after all, rejected him. Maybe not completely, but enough.The other part that was weird was that he told me to wear jeans.For some reason, my mind latched onto the jeans part of the invitation as super, super strange. I even called Ashley and Andrew about it, just to make sure that Nick wasn’t setting me up or something.“His family is super chill, Jenna,” Bryant had yelled from the background. “Just roll with it.”Because meeting the Alpha King’s family and the former Alpha King for the first time were “just roll with it” sort of events.Still, I did it.I almost threw on a blazer and a pair of heels to dress up the jeans, but I ultimately opted to just wear a nice blouse and a pair of casual flats.Nick’s parents lived about an hour from me –a little closer to Blue Mountain Pack, but t
(Nick POV)Before I could stop myself, I closed the distance between us.I growled, being careful not to touch her.“Sweetheart, you are dangerously close to being removed from your own kitchen.”She laughed.“It’s not my fault Mrs. Tankersley likes me better than you.”So it was true. I knew it.“I am a patient male, Sweetheart, but I’m also an alpha. You are playing with fire.”Her breath caught. Mine did too.That was all the confirmation that I needed.Neither of us moved.It was bittersweet torture.Eventually, I forced myself to back up.She was not mine.Not yet.Jenna shook her head, almost as though she too was coming out of a daze.“What time is it?” she asked.I checked my phone. “7:05.”“Ooooohhh! The Real She-Wolves of Anderson Pack is on. Tonight is the reunion special!”She hurried to the living room to turn it on.I grabbed the food and wine and followed her.“How can you watch that show?” I asked, as she searched for the remote.“It's brain candy.”“It's brain r
(Danny POV)We had been living in the duplex for ten days.In many ways, I felt like I was living a double life.On one side of the duplex, there was constant fighting. Constant drama. Constant reminders that my choices had led to Beth’s illness. “Danny, I know that you want to be with Jenna not
(Danny POV)The Moon Goddess had blessed me with two very different mates.Logically, I knew that made me lucky.However, in my heart of hearts, it felt more like punishment.Both of my mates were dying. One, physically. The other, emotionally.And both at my hands.I wanted desperately to fix th
(Jenna POV)“No, you can’t.”Just three and a half words. And yet they had just turned my entire life upside down.They kept echoing in my brain over and over again, while Beth sat there shocked and Ashley called Kade and Danny downstairs for an immediate meeting with Dr. Patel and Nurse Jessica.
(Danny POV)Beth just suggested that I spend a few nights “letting off steam” with another she-wolf.Was this her being helpful…. or manipulative? “I don’t care. Either way, it actually sounds good to me,” Mason said in a mind-link. “I miss Jenna.” He sent me a visual memory clip of Jenna naked







