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When she looked at her husband, there was so much love between them it was visible with or without any powers. Benjamin leaned forward and placed a light kiss on Juliet’s cheek, then turned back to Kenzie, “We are chosen mates. We could not be fated because Julz was not born a wolf.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was bitten. It was just after I graduated from university, I was twenty-two and working in a little art gallery in San Diego. One night I stayed late, and I couldn’t find a cab, so I decided to walk home. About a mile from my apartment, I came upon two wolves fighting on the side of the road. It was weird because wolves are not indigenous in those parts, so I froze. But one of them saw me and he ran at me, I tried to run but obviously I was too slow. He jumped on me, slamming me into the ground and locked his jaws around my throat.”
“Oh Gosh.” She instinctively covered her throat like she could protect herself from the horrible story. Aiden gently pulled her hand away from her neck and laced his fingers through hers.
Juliet nodded, “Yes, it was terrifying. I was sure I was going to die. I blacked out and when I woke up, I was in the hospital. There was a man I didn’t know sitting next to my bed, but before I could say anything to him the police walked in. I told them my story of what happened, and even though they didn’t seem to believe me, the evidence of the bite was plain to see. So, they left. And then the man told me what really happened. That I was bitten by a rogue werewolf and my life was about to change. The man told me he was the other wolf, that he’d stopped the one who attacked me and now he would help me.”
“That must have been a shock.” Kenzie couldn’t even imagine.
“Oh, it definitely was. I called him a psychopath and threw a few things at him. So, he closed the hospital door and changed right in front of me. I instantly recognized him as the other wolf. I almost screamed for help but, I realized as impossible as it was, if what he was saying was true, I would need him. He took me to his pack and helped me to acclimate to my new life and now here I am.”
“Wow. That’s incredible. I can’t even imagine how hard that must have been. It’s lucky that other wolf was there! I didn’t know humans could be turned, I just thought we were born this way. So, who was the other wolf?” She watched Juliet as she leaned into Benjamin, and Kenzie understood.
“It was you?”
Benjamin smiled at her. “Yes. I was in love with her from that first day. Pretty much from the moment she threw the first paper cup at my head. Eventually I tricked her into marrying me.”
“Oh bull. You didn’t trick me into anything, and you know it. I fell head over heels for him so fast. He was such a gentleman, a man out of time. He courted me. We went on horseback rides, picnics, dancing, and theater shows. It was a romance for the ages. He even asked my father for my hand, which was a bit difficult since I had to hide what I was. But he agreed, and we were engaged within four months of meeting.” The way she spoke made it seem like a dream.
Kenzie felt like she was sitting on the edge of her seat with anticipation, “So, then you got married?”
Juliet shook her head, “Actually no. We had to wait longer than we intended. You see, two weeks after we became engaged, Ben met his fated mate.”
Kenzie gasped, “What! What did you do Benjamin?”
He shrugged, “Please, call me Ben. I was confused for about a minute. My hormones were telling me I wanted my fated mate, but my head and my heart wanted Julz. So, I rejected my fated mate. Unfortunately, back then it was basically considered a crime in the werewolf community. The alpha threw us out of the pack. It took us a month before we found another pack that would accept us. It was Christophers father Garrick, who took us in. We have been a part of Silver Lake ever since.”
“Wait,” Kenzie was confused, “Christophers father? But how long ago was that?”
Juliet laid her head on Ben’s shoulder, “We met in 1927.”
Kenzie nearly fell off her chair. She gripped Aiden’s hand tighter to steady herself, “What? That’s not possible.”
She saw Aiden’s face change as he glanced between her and his parents. A frown started to crease his brow as he focused on her, “Kenz, you know we age slower than humans, right?”
She stared at him, shocked. She wasn’t sure she could speak so she shook her head.
“Oh, my word.” Juliet exclaimed.
She was still staring at Aiden, watching his face closely. It was Ben who spoke, “We stop aging at about twenty-five. Or rather, our aging slows down to a crawl. We can live for a few hundred years. It’s why we must have our own communities, the packs. Humans would notice if we didn’t.”
“I think I’m gonna faint.” It was too much. She couldn’t handle anymore. Her vision blurred as she started to hyperventilate.
Aiden gently rubbed circles on her back, “Breathe baby. It’s going to be okay, just breathe.”
She felt someone take her other hand and glanced up to see Juliet crouched in front of her, “Listen to me Mackenzie. Listen to my voice.” She spoke in a soft calming tone as she rubbed Kenzie’s hand between her own.
She waited for Kenzie to nod before she continued, “I know this is scary. I know it is terrifying. You have been through so much and so many changes in such a short amount of time. Think about it like this. Out of all the changes, this is probably the smallest. You won’t even notice for several years. And you are not alone in this.”
Kenzie realized Juliet’s words were helping, “But…” She paused. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say. The only person she had was her uncle, and he would understand. Juliet was right, her life would not change much. Not right away at least. She was panicking for no reason.
She met Juliet’s eyes, “Thank you. I’m so sorry for freaking out.”
“Oh, hush with that. We are all aloud a little freak out sometimes. How about we order some food and stop talking about the heavy stuff?” She gently patted Kenzie’s cheek then returned to her seat.
Ben still looked concerned when he asked, “Are you alright?”
