**** Author Note…… I was originally going to end the book at the Josephine’s Wedding chapter, but I decided I wasn’t ready to let Cassie and Aaron go just yet. Plus, I can’t leave Jason hanging. Get ready for part 2 of this very bumpy ride. Part 2 will focus a lot more on Jason, but we are far from done with Cassie and Aaron.**** (Jason POV) Does the Moon Goddess hate me? I am definitely starting to think so. I am currently standing at Alpha Blake and Josephine’s wedding reception, staring at my beautiful second-chance mate. Unfortunately, I can tell from the look on her face that my mate is shocked, scared, and slightly offended by our pairing. And I can’t honestly blame her. As my wolf continues to go crazy in my head –-begging and pleading with me to not to mess up another mating— I can’t help but think of all of the events that led us here. Just to recap: I met my first mate at a wedding dress boutique while she was trying on wedding dresses. When I met her, I wrong

(Candy POV) The Moon Goddess either has a cruel sense of humor, or she has a blind spot when it comes to Jason Baxter. Either way, her near-perfect batting average for pairing mates seems to be slipping. To be fair, had you told me a year ago that Jason Baxter was my mate, I would have been thrilled. I might have even gotten on a table and performed a happy dance. After all, I had had a secret crush on Jason since I first moved to this part of the country. I knew he was a womanizer, but in every picture I saw of him, there was something in his eyes that spoke to me and my wolf. Because of some of the things that happened to me at my original pack –and at some of the other places I’ve lived since leaving there-- I learned early on how important it is to do your research before moving somewhere. In my case, I found that it was especially important to know the names of all the packs within a 4-hour radius, as well as the names of their alphas, betas, gammas, and heirs. I also nee

(Jason POV)My heart drops when I see that Candy is no longer standing there. Where did she go?I follow her scent to the parking lot, where I see her walking to her car.“Candy!!!” I shout.I see her hesitate, but she doesn’t turn around.“Candy!!!” I yell out again, hurrying as quickly as I can to catch her.She still doesn’t turn around, but at least she isn’t getting into her car. Finally, I reach her. “Candy!” I say in a softer voice. I reach out and grab her gently on her arm, and I feel powerful sparks shoot through me.“Go away, Jason,” she says softly, still not turning around.“Candy, please,” I beg. My heart is pounding inside of my chest. I can already feel the power of the connection between us. My wolf is right; I cannot let her go. “Candy….”*****(Candy POV)As soon as I heard Jason call my name, the single tear running down my cheek became a river of tears. Everything in me wants to turn around and face him, but I do not want Jason to see me crying. Instead,

***TRIGGER WARNING*** I promised that the next few chapters would introduce some humor, and it is definitely coming in healthy doses! However, this chapter will also touch on unwed mothers and suicide, which is a necessary part of the story. I have flagged the section of the chapter that deals with this; please feel free to read the first part of this chapter (the Granny Apple section) and then skip the rest. ****** (Candy POV) My grandmother – Granny Apple—is here. I am relieved and happy. She always seems to know when I need her. When everything happened at my original pack, she was the only person in my family who trusted and supported me. To this day, I think that she is the only person in my family who even cares to know that I am alive and well. Granny Apple is a force of nature. She is 79 years old, going on 19. She married my grandfather at age 18, and went on to have nine children including my father before she turned 27. All nine of her children were boys, meanin

(Candy POV)Well, that was an interesting way to introduce Jason to my grandmother.Leave it to Granny Apple, though; she does not do awkward. At her age, and with her spunk, there is no such thing as a taboo subject in her mind. She would rather you just lay it all out there and deal with it.So that is what we did. Or rather, what she did. Instead of letting me run --which I desperately wanted to do after seeing my mate get an obvious hard-on for his first mate-- Granny Nanny made me stay. Without Granny Nanny, I would have expected my insecurities to get in the way of a productive conversation with Jason, but Granny Apple was determined to not let that happen. After berating Jason, she turned to me. She told me that she had seen more than her fair share of penises, and that "an erection is a male body's natural reaction to stimuli" (yes, she really did use those words). She said I could no more blame a sex-starved man for "getting it up" than I could blame a man for farting o