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“Technically, they made me. I didn’t want to go. Most of our girls go around twenty if they still haven’t found a mate in the pack, and it’s a big deal. But I’ve never wanted a mate.”
“Really?” Lana looked at her in surprise, then nervously at Zhair. “Sometimes, I feel the same way. I worked with our baby doctor here in the pack, doing community service for her when I got in trouble last year. She told me so many stories, how my grandpa let her go to medical school, and what it’s like out in the world. If I met my mate, I probably couldn’t do that…right?”
“That’s the problem. When we get mates, we lose our minds, we give in to this temporary feeling of happiness, and we forget all our plans, who we are and who we want to be. It shouldn’t be that way.”
Their conversation had taken a quick turn, and the silence was a little awkward, so she glanced in her rearview mirror at Zhair.
“If you could be or do anything in the world, what would it be, Z?”
He hesitated but smiled. “I don’t think I’m college material, but maybe some kind of photography school. Or an apprenticeship with some big name photographer. My mom gotme a fancy camera for my birthday last year, and I’ve been watching a lot of videos and behind-the-scenes footage. But there’s not much need for a professional photographer here. If I said that that’s what I wanted to my dad, he’d probably give me extra training days.”
“And Makaii?”
They both hesitated, and Lana looked back at Zhair, then over to her. “A year ago? No. No way. He’s more my father’s twin than Ajax is. But now…maybe. At least, I know I’m counting on it.”
“I think your way in will be Ava.” She looked over at Lana, then changed the subject. “So, what else are you guys not allowed to do?”
“Everything.”
“Well, I know some of you have social media.” She winked at Zhair. “Is that allowed?”
“Nope. I got in a lot of trouble for that little stunt you pulled last year. Thanks for that.” He frowned, but his smile returned pretty quickly. “Worth it though.”
“We don’t even get to go shopping. If we want something, we order it through the internet now. Before, everything was made by our seamstresses here. So, the internet changed that at least.”
“So, you’ve never been to the city shopping?”
Lana sighed dramatically. “Only time I’ve been out of the pack was when we snuck to Corpus to go to a bar, and we got caught. And punished. Hard.”
She was shocked. She knew they didn’t let outsiders in, but for some reason, she thought they at least went out for necessities. And shopping? That was a necessity.
This time, Lana broke the silence. “Are your parents nice? They’re on your pack council? We meet them tonight, right?”
“Yeah, they’ll be here, and they’re really chill. Loving, not too serious. They know I do crazy things but look the other way.” She shrugged, realizing how great they were, how quicklythey’d supported her news channel, and how they encouraged everything she tried her entire life.
“So, I know your aunt Ife is amazing. Tell me about Nassau’s dad. He seems like a hard guy to understand. I know they’re coming to dinner, and that makes me nervous.”
“Uncle Red is…well, he’s a triply more serious and humorless version of Nassau. He thinks rules and tradition are how things should be run. I don’t think Nas is that bad. He just thinks logically and simply. He doesn’t like overcomplicating things.” She liked how Lana described him, but Zhair cut straight to the heart.
“They’re both buzzkills. But you’re right. At least Nas will go along for the ride, hang out and watch all our fun, and never snitch. He just doesn’t always participate. Unc is a full-on downer, and I think Nas worries about disappointing him. He’s definitely more relaxed when Auntie Ife is around than with Red.” Zhair grabbed onto the front seat as she took a corner, and he leaned forward. “This is why I sat in the back. Seems safer when she drives. Keep that in mind for the future, Lana.”
“So, you’re saying, no matter what I do, Red is not going to like me.”
Lana held on to the roll bar, hesitating only a second. “Unless you suddenly become prim and proper, probably not. But Auntie Ife loves you. Heard her talking to my mom about you over the weekend.”
That surprised her since both had warned her away from Nassau. She sighed. She wasn’t sure Nas would come with them. He would probably watch the boys instead, use them as an excuse to stay away from her.
“And Nas? Do you think he’s going to hate me forever when I leave tomorrow?”
Lana reached over, squeezing her hand, but didn’t look at her.“I think we’ve never seen him so worked up over anything, anddefinitely not a woman, before this past week. Who knows what he will do.”
Chapter 25
Thursday, November 25
5:15 p.m.
“Baby, you know you could bring the boys with you. They love to hang out with Zhair. Really wish you would come.”
