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Briony
Ugh.
Memories of the Blue Moon Bash haunt me like a hangover when I wake up the next morning. I left the party pretty much right after the incident with Evander, and I refused to cry until I got home.
I made it through my front door before the tears flowed down my face.
Now, I feel puffy and empty, and a little embarrassed.
Evander Alderwood does not deserve my tears.
To be fair, neither does the guy who grabbed my ass and made me feel awful on the dance floor, either. I don’t even remember his name… Leonard? Leo? Whoever he was, he was a fucking loser. I was well on the way to handling that situation when Evander punched him in the face.
Seeing him go down had been pretty nice, though.
But then, Evander had to open his stupid mouth and ruin everything.
I wonder, not for the first time, if Will asked Evander to spy on me. I’m sure that Will told the whole Frat Pack some awful version of our breakup that frames me as the villain. He probably told them that I dumped him for no reason… blah blah blah.
Definitely not that I found him and Kelly in Will’s house together, naked as the day they were born.
He probably told them that I broke his heart.
And not that I wanted to break his penis, but it was so far inside Kelly I could never have done that.
Ugh.
I roll over again and toss my pillow over my face. I need to get into the office and update my case notes, then see if I can arrange some assisted living care for Mrs. Bortles. I need to shower and get the makeup that’s smeared across my face off of it, and I need to eat some breakfast.
Instead, I let myself lean back on the bed and wallow for just a little longer.
The party really had started well.
Amira and I had gotten ready together at her house before heading to the alpha’s. He and his new mate, Iris, who is an amazing human with ermine shifter in her blood that just found out about her heritage, greeted us at the door. Thorne is the polar opposite of Evander. He’s thoughtful, kind, and steady. Dutiful. Diligent. He’s a great alpha, and I’m so glad we have him.
It’s so unfortunate that Evander comes with him.
A couple of drinks and some dinner later, and Amira and I had hit the dance floor. Being asked to dance by the nameless loser (Leander? What the hell had his name been?) from a different pack felt almost… promising.
Like my instinct to join a new pack was the right one.
There are many more mates out there than the ones who exist in Oakwood. Hell, I could meet someone like Iris, who doesn’t know that they’re a shifter.
The fact that they’re fated mates… I shake it off.
There have been two instances of fated mates recently. Two. Both in the Alderwood family. A distant cousin of theirs back in Montana found his fated mate, and so did Thorne.
It will just be cruel if the universe gives Evander a fated mate, too.
As a little girl, I always loved the idea of fated mates. Someone who the universe meant for you? Your perfect match?
It’s… nice.
I’m not close with my family, as both my parents have drifted apart. They both live back in Alaska, choosing to stay behind when the Oakwood pack moved to Colorado. We talk on the phone, but they’re mates in name only. Wolves mate for life, so they can’t separate or anything, but they’re definitely not together.
That feels… cold.
Not what I want for myself.
