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Chapter 17
Allie CarstensI'M BACK! Thank you all SO MUCH for your patience and understanding during my brief hiatus last week. My self edit and formatting of Pen Pal took MUCH longer than I anticipated (I know now for next time!) and I was physically and mentally drained after spending over 30 hours doing that. But I am back and ready to bring you all more Taryn and Reid! My update schedule will stay the same -- MWF with occasional Saturdays. Thank you again to all my amazing Allie Cats for your support this weekend as Pen Pal went to print! It means more than you can all know to have you all by my side. Lots of love, Allie
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The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 18
REID POV For the second time this week, I pace the training grounds, waiting for Taryn to arrive. The last two days spent apart from her were even worse than the first two days I spent apart from her. My wolf was even more on edge, and I had to stop myself from snarling, growling, or snapping at more people than I care to admit. But I hadn’t heard one word from her. Not one. No text or phone call, nothing letting me know how everything went when she spoke to her alpha about the warrior challenge. I refrained from texting her — no news must mean good news, and I didn’t want to be too forward or come across as possessive and controlling — but I was dying to know. And my wolf wouldn’t calm down until we saw her again — until we could smell her again. Her scent had all but vanished from my mustang — my plan of not driving it at all was in vain, because her scent still dissipated into almost nothing. I couldn’t sleep. Not at home, or in any of the other places I had taken to crashing in
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 19
TARYN POV The icy wind whips around me, slicing through each layer of my clothing to my skin, sending a shiver down my spine and goosebumps up my arms. I hug my faux fur coat tighter to my body, covering my chest and the small slivers of my stomach exposed by the criss-crossed bodice of my bodycon dress, and take a steadying breath before I pull open the door to La Dolce Vita. Inside, the Italian restaurant is warm, both in temperature and atmosphere. The little square tables are lit with candles, and the scents of garlic and fresh baked bread floating on the air tickle my nose and tease my taste buds, making my stomach growl in anticipation. At least I’ll get a meal out of this sham of a meal. That’s the only positive I can find right now. My feet move me forward, the heels of my over the knee boots clicking on the stamped concrete floor, but my heart and my mind are filled with lead, pulling me back to my car and up the mountain. Not to Silver Ridge. But to Crescent Lake. Which
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 20
REID POVBuzz. Buzz. Buzz.My phone vibrates against my chest, laying where I dropped it as I finally drifted off to sleep last night. I’d stayed up well into the early morning hours, sleep evading me, my wolf pacing and whining in my mind. I searched the werewolf research database on my phone for a while, hunting for anything I could find on one sided mate bonds or small wolf forms.When my search was once again fruitless — as I should have known it would be — I switched to those paranormal romance stories I found that first night after I met Taryn. I needed something to distract me from the ache caused by our distance. I’d had to weed through a lot of terrible books, but I eventually found a few authors who seemed to know what they were writing about.Maybe those authors are supernaturals in disguise.I lift my phone and tap the button that snoozes my alarm, setting it back down on my chest all without even opening my eyes. But it buzzes again right away, tickling my bare chest.I bl
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 21
REID POV My fists clench, and I’m moving across the field, launching myself at him and clocking him square in the jaw as soon as the words are out of his mouth. It doesn’t matter that I know he’s lying. It doesn’t matter that Taryn already told me how awful her date was last night, or that I know nothing happened between them because I would have felt it if it had. All that matters is he’s talking about my girl. Mine. She. Is. Mine. His head snaps to the side with a satisfying crack, his feet stumbling beneath him, unprepared for an attack. I use his shock to my advantage and tackle him to the ground, both of us slamming into the frozen ground with a loud thud. Before he can even react or retaliate, I have him pinned on his back beneath me, my knees trapping his arms at his sides, my fists raining blows onto him with the speed of a roadrunner, a speed unlike any I’ve used before, fueled by my rage and my wolf’s. Fueled by the need to protect my mate. I don’t even see the male be
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 22
TARYN POV Reid waits for me on the front steps of Crescent Lake’s large log cabin packhouse, his hands in the pockets of his gray sweatpants and his knee bouncing. He tracks my every movement up the stairs, his eyes leaving behind a heat that brands not just my skin, but my soul. His body is tense, muscles rippling under his black t-shirt, and his fists clench in his pockets. “Hey,” I say as I reach him, stopping one step below where he stands. I stare up at him, hands on the backs of my hips, waiting. For what, I don’t know. Maybe for him to pull me in the rest of the way, to hug me like he did yesterday after I pinned him? Or for him to tell me he missed me as much as I missed him? He stares back at me, his eyes scanning my body, leaving that heated trail behind. It’s not like when Kent checked me out last night. That look sent my stomach roiling and my skin crawling. But Reid’s look — him checking to see if I’m all right — turns my insides to mush and fills my heart with warmth.
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 23
REID POVSunlight teases and dances against my eyelids, tempting them to open, but I squeeze them shut tighter. Warmth surrounds me, my body relaxed and at ease, more rested than I’ve been in weeks. Or maybe ever.I adjust my body, settling further into the plush, soothing warmth, wrapping my arms tighter around the person snuggled on top of me.My eyes snap open and my chin tilts down until Taryn fills my field of vision. Taryn, curled up on my chest, my blanket tucked around her body, her eyes shut tight and her breathing deep and even, a small smile on her face even in her sleep.I hold my breath and don’t move a muscle, too afraid to wake her up. Because when she wakes up, the magic of this moment will disappear, the spell broken, and she’ll leave my arms, taking her warmth, light, and scent with her. And because I am selfish, I want to steal any moment with her I can, even though she can’t feel our bond yet. My wolf is calm and settled, pleased that we just spent the night with Ta
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 24
TARYN POV Reid’s arms are around me, holding me close, keeping me safe, my head against his chest and over his heart. He lowers his face to the top of my head, lips moving, voice whispering, but I don’t hear what he says over the beating of his heart in his chest. His lips brush against my hair as he speaks, and he breathes in, long and slow. His hand strokes my back, sliding down almost to my butt, and then just when I think he’ll move it lower, when I think he’ll caress it and squeeze it, he slides his hand back up. He cradles the back of my neck, thumb tracing my skin, sending little zings of desire through me. Heat spreads through me from each spot our bodies touch, and I press my palms into his chest, seeking more of his touch and the delightful sensations it brings me. “Honestly, it’s probably better this way. I’d never have gotten to know you otherwise. Or seen who you are on the inside. I’d never have accepted my feelings for you,” he says. His voice is tight and thick, but
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 25
TARYN POV My mind is still in turmoil when I show up at Crescent Lake in the afternoon to train with Reid. He dominates my every thought, making it difficult to focus on anything else. Him and his blue eyes and his cheeky grin and his chiseled muscles. Those powerful, warm arms that embraced me against his solid chest all night, holding me with tenderness. The same arms that pummeled a male into the ground, breaking his nose and jaw and taking him out of commission for the competition he was supposed to participate in, all because he said nasty shit about me. He’s a drug, and I’m just an addict, waiting for my next hit, my next high. Even though it will just leave me feeling emptier when it wears off. Even though it might kill me when I can’t have anymore of him. I don’t say a word to him as we stretch on the training field. I didn’t even say hello to him when I walked up. I just dropped my bag on a table and pulled my jacket off, and started in on the stretching routine he’s been
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