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Bjorn furrowed his brow. “No fucking way. You’re my mate. I know you’re not used to loyalty, but I don’t run when things get hard. When they aren’t what we expected. I figure out how to make them work. I’m not going anywhere, Marissa. Not unless you’re by my side.”
ChapterThirty-One
Marissa
“I’m not gonna lie, this the coolest thing ever.” If I ever doubted who I was in the face of this bombshell Bjorn had dropped on me, all I had to do was talk to Hannah. “It’s like a fairy tale to find out that you have this total secret identity. You can be a whole new person if you want to be.”
“I like who I am. I just want to discover more about it.” I carefully turned the page of the antique shifter book at the Colorado Ranch Library. I’d been spending every minute I could here, soaking up all the knowledge. After my stunt with the Hudaknocker, I was surprised Laura let me anywhere near her priceless collection of shifter reference books. Everything made so much sense now. Why the artifact had an effect on me and so many other things that I could never explain until I had the one word that summed up everything: wolf. “Maybe you’ll have a big revelation when we finally start filming your episode.”
Hannah closed the book, looked to make sure Laura was busy with Bibi, Tina, and Stephanie, and leaned in close. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I might back out.”
“What?” That was the last thing I expected her to say. It wasn’t as big of a bombshell as finding out I wasn’t human, but it was still pretty scandalous in its own right. “What about Lars?”
By all very detailed accounts from Hannah herself, they had shared a scorching hot night in his mountain castle. Apparently, Lars could do things with his tail that sounded like they might have been too good to be true. She’d even written some fan fiction about their encounter, but she’d chickened out before she posted it in the forums.
Why on earth would she ever back out of her episode?
She waved her hand, urging me to keep my voice down. “Lars is amazing. I’m worried about him. He’s not like Bjorn or any other guys on the show. He’s a total mountain man, one with nature, and how can I expect him to go in front of the camera and do all these human things? I feel like it could drive a wedge between us.”
“That’s exactly why everyone will be glued to your episode.” I had to pull my producer hat down over my ears and talk her into this. “And you have to go on stage.”
“That’s just a formality. Maybe this delay was good for me. I found my mate, and someone else will get a chance to find theirs in my place.” Hannah’s eyes widened as Bibi approached, and she plastered a smile on her face.
Now that Bjorn had been showing me how to tune into my shifter instinct, I picked up on so many things that I would’ve missed before. This time it was a slight furrow of Bibi’s brow. She knew something was up with Hannah. She wasn’t the most secretive human. But before I dealt with her drama, I had to deal with my own.
“I just got the text. The paternity test results are back,” Bibi said. “Of course, it’s just a formality, but Suzanne had her own test done as well. So even though we were already expecting fireworks at this meeting, we have time to brace ourselves for a few more.”
This would be the first time I’d face my mother since I found out who I really was. I’d been torn between confronting her right away in the heat of the moment, but I was glad I didn’t. I probably would have grabbed her by the shirt and screamedwhat the fuckwhile I shook her. It wouldn’t be the first time I felt that way, and the urge was definitely still there, but I’d had a few days to come to terms with my new reality. I’d gone through all the emotions—shock, anger, grief, sadness, and now, as Hannah had suggested, I was beginning to open up to the possibilities that were available in this new reality.
Although, the idea of shifting into an animal scared the daylights out of me. Maybe I could be a shifter who didn’t shift. I’d already asked Laura if they existed, and they did.
But mostly, I was thankful that I had Bjorn, Bibi, the crew ofThe Mating Game, the Colorado Ranch wolves, and all the other incredible shifters around me. Everyone was so welcoming, even though they were winking and nudging each other like they’d always known I was one of them. For the first time, I was willing to think past the next episode. The next season. I was ready to have a future.
As a crew, we’d decided that I would confront my mother when we got the paternity results. I was torn about this, and I might ask to have it edited out of the final episode. Even though Mom had no problem ambushing me in front of the cameras, or even a live audience, this felt harsh. Like I was going too far.
Couldn’t say I hadn’t learned from the best.
Bjorn was waiting with Tina by the van outside of the library. He gave me one of those delicious big bear hugs, rocking me back and forth just a little bit.
“What if you’re the dad?” I whispered, desperately needing to lighten this moment.
“If I were, of course, I would take care of the baby. But I’m not, and today isn’t about me. Tell me what you want me to do to make this easier for you.”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted it to be easy. I might need the emotional gut punch of it being as ugly as possible to find closure. “You know how she works. No doubt she’ll have me flustered, questioning everything, and it would be really nice if you could be the voice of reason because I don’t know what’s gonna happen when we walk into that office.”
He nodded. “I’ve got your back.”
As we drove to the chalet, I thought about what it meant to have a fated mate. I’d been a big fan ofThe Real Werewiveswithout understanding why, but my human side didn’t understand how a mate would be different from a husband. How going on these three dates with Bjorn would leave all my Swipe Right disaster dates in the dust.
He was my mate, just as much as I was his. And maybe that was why I’d felt such strong feelings about him. Why I couldn’t turn on him on that stage. Everything about us was fated to be.
“How are you feeling?” Bibi asked.
“Like you can read my mind.” I shook my head. “I have no idea what will happen when we confront my mom with this, not to mention the fact that we have to brace ourselves for her to hit back with something even more outrageous.”
Bibi turned to me. Today she was in her coppery red wig that fell in soft waves and leopard print pantsuit. “Honestly, what else could she possibly come up with?”
“This is Suzanne Marlowe we’re dealing with,” I reminded her. “When you don’t let pesky things like the truth get in the way, the possibilities are endless.”
