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“I meant it when I said we are friends, Mariam,” he replied. “But I also meant what I said about giving Trace a chance. The moon goddess has more insight than any of us, and don’t toss away a chance at real happiness with a true mate over something stupid like pride.”
I frowned. I was about to ask what Gabe meant by the cryptic warning, but he had to go. I hung up feeling much better about the day and my future and only a little guilty. I shoved the negative emotion down deep and got ready to leave the house with Justine.
Chapter 13
Before allowing us to leave, Randy had given Justine and me a long lecture about staying with the guards at all times, causing his mate to roll her eyes and me to agree readily to whatever terms he was offering. After my conversation with Gabe, I was itching to leave Trace’s house and enjoy the day. Although, I did understand Justine’s attitude, too. Having three male werewolves following us from shop to shop in Flagstaff felt excessive.
Randy clearly wasn’t willing to take any chances with me escaping. He was needed for a few council meetings ahead of the pack run, so he assigned three of his best men to the job instead. Two of them seemed all business and a little upset when they met me. No doubt, they were recently returned pack members who had taken part of the “wild goose chase” to bring me here, as Randy had so eloquently put it.
The third one was younger, and he seemed excited to be part of the assignment. He joked around with Justine for most of the drive into the nearby city while I looked out the window and soaked up the Northern Arizona beauty.
My wolf wasn’t interested in shopping or having lunch inthe city, but she did enjoy the scenery, too. We watched the landscape pass in comfortable silence. I could feel her excitement about the pack run without her saying a word. I hadn’t let her out to run in over a week, so there was no way I would be able to deny her the chance to run with the others. We would be there, no matter how awkward it was.
“What made you change your mind about going out today?” Justine whispered.
She might as well have just said it in a normal voice, what with werewolf hearing. But then again, we were in the third row of the SUV, and the men in the front seemed more interested in the radio than our discussion. The young guy in the center had turned to talk with them, too, and something told me Justine wouldn’t ask the question unless it was safe for me to answer.
“I talked to Gabe, and he made me feel a little better about everything,” I said hesitantly. Justine’s eyes widened a little bit at my admission.
“I wouldn’t say that to Trace,” she warned.
I gave her a look that told her I wasn’t that much of an idiot, and she giggled in response. Of course, I left out the part about Gabe offering to help me find a way out of the mating bond. As cool as Justine was, she was still Trace’s sister. Obviously, she would tell him something like that.
The driver spotted a parking space along the busy street and eased the large SUV against the curb. The younger wolf, whose name I learned was Jared, helped us out of the backseat, careful to only touch our hands. Justine reached up and pinched his cheek in thanks, causing him to blush.
“Let’s start with lunch,” she announced, gesturing to a restaurant on the corner. It was much larger than the smallTumblewild diner. My stomach clenched and felt horribly empty as we reached the entrance and the wonderful smells met my nose on the sidewalk.
“See, I told you this wasn’t the worst assignment ever,” one of the tall bodyguards said, elbowing his friend.
“Wait until I tell Randy you said that, Craig,” Justine threatened. She grinned as the werewolf’s face paled. He opened the door for us, which earned him a smile from her.
I was about to follow her inside when my wolf perked up. She had caught a familiar scent, and her focus forced me to pause. I looked around, confused by her interest. Then, I spotted a young woman down the street.
Jess reddened and looked away when our eyes met. She had been watching us from a short distance, probably since we had left the car. Happy to find the source of the scent, my wolf shook and fell back on her haunches.
I hesitated only for a split second. I left the doorway and walked toward her. One of the men hurried to follow me, likely worried that this was some ridiculous escape attempt. I had the same thought- that Jess would take off as I closed the distance between us. But she remained, almost frozen in place.
“Hey, Jess,” I greeted her softly. She gave me a cautious smile in return. She fiddled with the zipper on her jacket, betraying her nervousness. “Justine wanted to show me around Flagstaff, and we were just about to have lunch. Do you want to join us?”
My offer surprised us both. I wasn’t usually a person who went out on a limb to make new friends, and she clearly thought I was harboring some kind of grudge. It looked like she would refuse, so I reached out and touched her arm. “Look, I know that you and Trace had a close… friendship, and that isn’t a big deal to me. Really. You guys can even continue being really good friends if you want.”
Jess’s eyes widened at my words, but her shock quickly morphed into confusion.
My wolf growled a warning to me, not supporting my offer at all, but I chose to ignore her. I wanted my freedom when it came to choosing friends, and that would never happen if I tried to gatekeep Trace’s friendships.
“Why would you allow us to do that?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t own him.”
The look on her face told me she thought I was nuts, but it didn’t matter because she agreed to join us for lunch. As we walked back to the others, a new idea began formulating in my mind.
Jess became more comfortable with me as the afternoon passed. Justine raised a quizzical eyebrow at me when we walked up to the restaurant together. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head as she tried to figure out what game I was playing by inviting Jess to our afternoon out.
I smiled at her like I had no idea that befriending my mate’s former flame was weird at all.
The sky started to darken, signaling that it was time to leave Flagstaff and head back to Tumblewild. The pack run was only a few hours off, and I shared my wolf’s shiver of excitement. After making a few friends, I felt much more comfortable with the idea of running with the pack.
The ride back to pack lands was more subdued. Jess had driven herself, so it was only Justine and me in the backseat again. The younger male wolf -Jared- snored softly on the middle seat while the older two chatted in the front, onceagain oblivious to us. But unlike the ride that morning, Justine was lost in her own thoughts. I felt myself doze off as the swaying of the SUV lulled me to sleep.
