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"Of course, dear. The middle door on the right, go ahead." The Luna waves me on. Dominic looks as if he plans to follow, but the Luna stops him with a hand on his arm, resuming her tour as if there was no interruption at all.
It feels strange moving through her house alone. There's an eerie quiet that follows me through the hall and into the bathroom. I do my business quickly and then take a second to wash my face off with cool water.
"Luna," a voice whispers through the house.
I feel a cold chill sweep down my spine. I didn't think anyone else was here, but I can hear the voice so clearly.
"Luna," it calls again in that same hushed voice.
I know I should go get the Luna—the voice is calling for her, after all—but I feel pulled to follow it instead. My feet carry me all on their own into one of the little book-filled rooms. I wander to the worn desk where a solitary book lies open.
"Luna."
The spirits are calling to you,my wolf says.
No, I'm not Luna.
But still, I can't deny the pull that brought me here. I lean forward on the desk and study the page in front of me.
"Double-fated mates," I read.
I skim the page, getting the gist of what's in front of me. No. No way. I shove the book across the desk, as far away from me as possible. As I lean back in disgust, the pages start to flip on their own. I can feel my heart in my throat as I watch it, a display like nothing I've ever seen before.
"Look," that same voice whispers. "It's time to look, Luna."
I barely feel in control anymore as the book whips back across the desk toward me, opening to a new page. The air around me swirls, blowing my hair against my face. I push the strands behind my ears and lean in.
"Legacy Shifters," I murmur, reading the title of the new section.
This time, I don't just skim. I read two full pages with careful precision, taking in every word, missing nothing. The Luna hadn’t given me answers yet, and now here they are right in front of me. Because the painfulfirstshift, my scent, the strength of my wolf, they’re all side effects of the family legacy. Inherited traits.
If what this book says is true, my first shift didn't happen at eighteen. It would have happened moments after I was born.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" Dominic's rough voice demands. The energy swirling around me vanishes abruptly.
I didn't even realize I'd picked the book up. I glance at Dominic, then back down at the book in my hands, blinking heavily when I see the explanation for double-fated mates staring back at me. Dominic jerks the book out of my hands, staring down at the page with disgust.
"You shouldn't be touching someone else's things. Let's go," he says in a tight voice, his hand wrapping around the crook of my elbow as he tries to lead me out.
I dig my heels in, desperately trying to focus on one thing at a time.
"Did you know?" I ask, my voice cracking slightly.
"Know what?"
I shift to face him, but he avoids meeting my eyes. His body language is agitated as he shuffles his feet and looks anywhere but at me. These past couple days suddenly make so much more sense.
"So, what? You realized the fates had offered me to you again and decided you'd try me on for size? What was going to be the deciding factor? How much other people wanted me? Did that stroke your ego? Or were you hoping to bed me first, really get a good test drive before you committed?" I'm so disgusted that I'm the one who doesn't want to look at him.
I knew there were ulterior motives, but he knew we'd potentially mated again, and he chose not to say anything… he's a bastard.
"You're being irrational," Dominic says in a flat, calm tone that doesn't remotely match the reaction I'm having.
I've never hated anyone as much as I hate him right now.
Don't, my wolf begs.
But any semblance of control I felt is gone. Too much emotion is coursing through my veins to be rational, much less to pow-wow with my wolf about this decision. It's through gritted teeth I tell him, "I, Tess Jarreau, reject you, Alpha Dominic Parker, as my mate."
