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True to her word, Justine got a trim and left her flaming red hair its natural color. To be honest, I’m not sure any dye would have taken, anyway. Her hair seemed bent on remaining the color of fire.
“I’m starving, and I’m guessing you are, too, since you barely ate anything at breakfast,” Justine said to me. “Let’s grab something from the diner before going back and stepping into the chaos.”
Mariam readily agreed, but I hesitated.It could be a totallydifferent diner, right?But as soon as we started walking toward Town Hall, I knew exactly where we were going. Still, that didn’t mean Gabe’s friend—Samantha—would be working there.
But she was. Of course, she was.
“Hey Samantha, what’s the special today?” Mariam asked as we sat in a big booth by the window. It was so close to where Gabe had been sitting, I could almost reach out and touch him if he was there now.
“We’ve got a French dip with macaroni salad or lasagna with garlic bread,” Samantha answered, grabbing her notepad, and clicking the end of her pen. “Who’s this?”
She looked me over, not bothering to hide her curiosity. I glanced at her but didn’t dare scrutinize her in the same way. Samantha gave off a decidedly confident vibe, and I deflated a little, for some reason thinking about how I couldn’t measure up against her.
“This is my sister, Ella. She’s here visiting for the mating ceremony,” Mariam explained.
“And she’s Gabe’strue mate,” blurted Justine. Mariam must have kicked her from under the table because she punctuated her statement with an “oof.”
Samantha’s eyes widened with surprise. There was another emotion there, too. Whatever she was feeling, it looked painful. But she quickly recovered and shrugged her shoulder like it didn’t matter.
“Oh yeah? Well, good for him,” she said. “So, what do you three want to eat?”
Justine and Mariam both ordered the French dip. I nodded to get the same thing, not caring what I ate. I watched as Samantha walked back toward the kitchen, hermovements stiff and awkward, like she was trying to play it cool but failing.
I knew that walk well, myself.
“Where’s the bathroom?” I asked.
Mariam gestured toward the same hallway Samantha went down. I nodded and stood, wanting to move fast before I lost my nerve. I walked around the wall that blocked the area from the view of the diners but ignored the restroom and continued toward the kitchen.
Sitting on an overturned bucket was Samantha. She was crying.
This was a bad idea. I turned to leave, but it was too late.
“Ella? Did you need something?” Samantha asked, sniffling, and trying to hide her tears.
“I’m really sorry,” I said, jumping straight into an apology. “I wanted to talk to you, but this is a bad time. I’ll see you around. And I hope you feel better.”
“Wait. I’m sorry, Ella. I know Gabe is your true mate and everything. It’s just….”
Samantha trailed off, not finishing the sentence, but her thoughts were clear enough. If I was my sister, I’d probably pull her in for a hug or something, but I’m not, so I just stood there wringing my hands.
“Was it serious between you?” I asked. Samantha’s eyes widened, and I cringed. “I don’t mean it like that. Not in a jealous way. In fact, we probably won’t even end up together. I saw the two of you the other day, I mean. Here, at the cafe. Gabe said nothing was going on between you, but clearly, that’s not the case.”
“You think Gabe and I….“ Her eyes were puffy from all the crying, but now they were more hopeful than anything. “Imean, you wouldn’t mind if Gabe and I became chosen mates? You would be fine with that?”
My throat went dry. My wolf whined under her breath. She understood that the female in front of us wanted our mate, and I waited for the intense feelings of possessiveness to pour from her, but nothing came. My own heart was beating in overtime. Was I really okay with that?
Samantha started grinning, her face lighting up as she took my silence as a yes. “Oh my gosh, thank you, Ella. I can’t wait to tell Gabe.”
I gave her a wobbly smile and left her to go back to the table. Sure, losing a true mate to someone else would probably be a little sad for anyone, but this was for the best. At least, that is what I told myself as I stuffed my feelings, and my wolf’s feelings, down deep inside.
__________
“You’re being really quiet. Is everything okay?”
We were headed back to the alpha house after lunch. I glanced at Mariam in the driver’s seat. She was right; I knew I had barely spoken a word while she and Justine had gushed about the mating vacation Trace was taking her on. It was somewhere in Europe, fancy and romantic, but I couldn’t focus on what was being said. My thoughts were still on Samantha and what happened in the kitchen.
“Of course,” I said, perking up. “Can you believe the big night is tonight? We’ve only got another few hours before the ceremony. Do you want to start getting ready right away, or are there last-minute things to take care of first?”
