When my best friend Sylvie turned eighteen, I took her to an amusement park with the tallest roller coaster in Oregon. She had a blast. I lost my voice, screaming in terror, but I did it for her. I made her promise to keep things low key for my birthday. She won’t tell me what she planned, but insists we need to do it the day before my birthday and promises I will love it. I try to stay as still as possible when I hear the door to my room creak open because I know what’s next. It’s the same every year. Three…… twwwoooo…... one…… “UMPH!” All my air gets pushed out when Sylvie pounces on my mountain of bedding. She laughs maniacally while she tries to tickle me through the blankets. “ZeeZee! I know you’re in there somewhere!” She squeals from outside my fortress. “We have so much to do today! GET UP!!” “Sylvie! Come on, you promised low key,” I groan from the bottom of the pile at her weight on top of me. The covers pull away and I’m uncomfortably close to Sylvie’s megawatt smile,

I look around, confused. Panic is building in my chest. People around us are finding their mates, smiling and laughing, but something seems off. The guys close to us put their noses in the air, then look toward Liam and I. There is an odd look on everyone’s faces as they hone in on me. “Mate,” Mark says from next to me. I turn and look at him, confused. He is looking at me with a mix of desire, anger, and confusion at his confession. “Mark, what are you talking about, babe? You’re my mate. Not Zara’s,” Sylvie tries to get his attention off of me, but he is staring me down, making me feel very self-conscious. I try to hide myself behind Liam. Next to Mark, several other guys look at us the same way. “Mate,” they murmur when they see me. All of them. The meadow grows quiet except for the sound of the male werewolves calling me their mate. I look beyond Liam and see that even Alpha Williams is calling me his mate. I shake my head, “No. What’s wrong with all of you?” Sylvie is tryin

I pick up my phone and dial Dad. “Ah, Keller, my baby boy. Jensen said you hooked one already.” I can hear the pride in his voice when he picks up. “Two actually. They’re twins.” I correct him, feeling good about the acquisition. “Keep them together if you can. I sort of promised them.” “Twins!” He exclaims. “Haha! They’re way more valuable together than separate. Definitely keeping them together. Good job, son.” “Thanks, Dad.” I can’t help but smile at the rare compliment from my old man, even if I feel like a slimeball. “I’m putting a little extra in your account as we speak, and I want you to take the rest of the day off." He starts off happy, but his tone quickly changes. "But first, I have other things to discuss with you.” “What’s up, Dad?” There’s always a catch with my dad. “Mom and I have been talking. We decided it’s a good time for me to think about retirement.” He sounds serious now. “That means I’m most likely going to be handing the business over to Jensen if he ca

Fifteen minutes later, I pull up in front of a white house with blue shutters. There’s a silver car in the driveway as well as two sedans from the pack fleet. “Mom is here!” She sounds relieved and tries to open the door. “You stay in the car with Sam and Jasper for a minute, Zara.” I lock the doors before she can open it. “I need to have a word with your mom first.” I look in the rearview and watch Sam take a swig from a bottle of rum he found in the back seat and try to hand it to her. She shakes her head sadly at him and looks out the window at her house. I step out of the SUV and walk up to the house. I’ve never met a sigma who still has a family. How did they not know they were putting her in danger when they sent her to the Mating Gathering tonight? There are a couple of lights on even though it is after two-thirty a.m. I ring the doorbell and stand back. After a minute, a woman peeks her head through the skinny window beside the door, then cracks the door open an inch.

When I get back into the thick trees, Zara is curled up in a ball, crying silently and rocking herself back and forth with her arms over her head. Rocky flashes an image of me giving her a comforting hug. I consider it for a moment, then I sigh heavily and roll my eyes when I realize he is trying to manipulate me just as much as she is. “No, Rocky. Just be happy I’m cutting this one loose and not in for processing.” I snarl at him. “Get up, Zara." I reach my hand out to her. “I want to teach you something before I leave.” At first she doesn’t answer, she just stops rocking and holds still in her crouched position, just like they all do. I stand patiently with my hand outstretched for at least ten minutes before she lifts her head up and looks at me with fat tears rolling down her cheeks. “Wh-what?” “I’m going to teach you how to shift.” I lean forward so she’ll take my hand to stand up. “You need to shift before the sun comes up so your wolf can get her full strength. Otherwise, y