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“Well…” June trailed off, looking at Char. Charly shrugged in response, and June looked back at us. “I don’t know the feral pack, but everyone in town knows the gossip, so I don’t see why I can’t share. Their omega, Kai, is this gorgeous, inked-up hottie. He was mated to a total bitch who had cancer—may she rest in peace. Becoming a werewolf didn’t cure the cancer, or the shitty personality.”
She continued, “His bitchy mate tricked him into getting her pregnant, not because she wanted a kid but because she wanted theexperienceof pregnancy. Getting pregnant is difficult for werewolves, so the woman literally used her human eggs from before she went through chemo, and Kai’s sperm. She died a few months before the end of the pregnancy, but the doctors saved her baby. Kai’s baby. The baby turned out to be a full werewolf, and is totally fine. But after that shitshow, he swore off women, and he and most of the pack decided to retreat into the forest, to live as one with their wolves.”
June went on, “The gossip says that most of them swore off their fated mates, wherever they are or were. Two of their original members—I think it was the gamma and the sigma—decided to stay in town, and said the rest of them were insane. Ryder became their honorary sigma, and the gamma from another pack was rejected shortly after they retreated to the forest. He joined them, too. Finn, right?” She looked at Charly.
Char nodded in agreement.
June looked back at me and Iris. “So, I’d say Axel’s current issues probably stem from whatever promises he made his pack about not taking a mate, and the responsibility he feels toward them. But honestly, you guys are still in the very beginning of this shit. He hasn’t had time to process things, and you haven’t either. His wolfwon’taccept the man’s decision to abandon you—which is exactly what he did, whether he admits it right now or not. The feral pack guys live very much in tune with their wolves, letting the furry bastards dictate their lives. Which isn’t bad, as Char pointed out. Most of us in town are trying to be more like that, too. But I would guess that it will make it incredibly hard for Axel to actually stay away from you.”
“If they’re in tune with their wolves, how can they swear off their mates?” Iris pressed. “In school, we were told that werewolves live and breathe for their mates.”
“Oh, werewolves are obsessed with their mates. But it’s the men just as much as the wolves.” June lifted a shoulder. “I’m not pregnant, nor do I hope to ever be, but if I want cake at two AM, what does Zed, my mate, do?”
Char’s lips curved upward. “He makes cake at two AM.”
“And then we have a naked cake party in the kitchen,” June agreed.
“Male werewolves also have wolf-like instincts when it comes to taking care of their mates,” Char added. “The wolves enforce those instincts. When we were in the mating process, Ryder couldn’t control his wolf when the beast knew that I was hungry and he hadn’t fed me. So Axel can tell himself he’s not interested in living in town, but those urges won’t disappear. He’ll show up at your door with food, or toilet paper, or clothes… whatever he thinks you need. Eventually, he won’t be able to ignore it. He’s probably fighting his wolf hard right now, which won’t feel natural to him at all, after so many years in the forest.”
Char was starting to sound excited, and look it, too. “Plus, if you start working in the bar, the news will get to them out in the forest. They make money by training people how to get along better with their wolves; the people they see will ask about his mate, and mention you, and it will drive him insane.”
“I don’t evenwanthim to come back here,” I protested weakly.
Iris snorted.
Charly grinned.
June smirked. “What happens if you want cake at 2 AM, Morgan?”
I grimaced.
They all waited.
“I don’t eat cake,” I finally admitted, my voice glum.
June’s smirk grew. “Then honey, you want your mate.”
“Fine.” I shoved a hand through my damp, still-half-tangled hair. “But I can’t just accept him. He didn’t even ask me if I wanted to live in the forest, guys. He didn’t even try. Just walked out, without a backward glance. If I just let him inwhen he shows up here, it would be so damn pathetic.”
“Weneversaid you had to take him back.” June stood up straight, walking up to the island before leaning over the stone countertop so her face was only a few feet from mine. “If that man isn’t everything you want and more, you should turn him down. You should walk—or run—away. You should flirt with other men in the bar, if that’s where you decide to work. You should do whatever the fuck you want with your life. If that man and his wolf really and truly want you, he’ll do whatever the hell it takes to prove it to you. My mate followed me across the country for an entire year in his wolf form before my stupid, stubborn ass finally let him in, Morgan. If yours deserves you, he’ll do the same.”
“She’s right,” Charly admitted. “I love the feral pack, but Axel doesn’t deserve you just because he exists. My mate was rejected by the first woman his wolf chose, so believe me, fate doesn’t always get things right the first time. If that’s what happened here, then we’ll support you.”
“Why?” I asked, the question completely honest.
“Because we were you, years ago.” June lifted a shoulder. “And because women stick together in this town.” Her phone started buzzing, and she pulled it out of her pocket. “Oh, Zed wants to know if I can run to the grocery store before dinner tonight.” She looked up at Char. “Are you guys coming to pack dinner?”
“Yup. It’s been too long since I had all the baby snuggles,” Char confirmed.
“Sweet.” Her fingers flew over the keyboard, and she looked back up at us. “Do you guys want to come too? Zed’s a professional chef, so it’ll be damn good. And you’re practically pack, since you’re connected to Char now.”
I hesitated.
“We’ll pass tonight. I can’t get around much, and Morgan’s going to try to sweet-talk her way into a job at the bar,” Iris said with a grin.
Her expression was contagious, and I found myself reluctantly smiling too.
“Okay, the other girls are going to want to meet you though. So let’s do something soon?”
