Page 3 of Her Second-Hand Mate

“Alpha Dominic Hedge, from the Greylock pack in Massachusetts.”

Massachusetts, where Isaac was moving for his studies. Very far away from Utah. I could vaguely remember hearing that someone was coming to give a presentation for all the males who were interested in going to the Shifter University.

“Alpha Hedge lost his mate three years ago while we were all at the Alpha Summit together. He just passed out one night at dinner, and when he came to in the hospital, he learned that his mate had passed in a car accident,” he recounted calmly while playing with some loose change that was on his desk.

That familiar fear gripped me and I froze as Father talked about death. It was a dark place that immediately turned me into ayoung pup again. For a moment, I expected Father to be angrier, more disheveled, and his wounded wolf to lash out at all of us, so I carefully took a step back.

Lost in his thoughts, he continued: “He will be a good match for you, you're an Alpha's daughter. You're part of the Blessed Family. Just follow his lead. The bond will take care of itself. You just need to submit to the bond.”

I nodded, having no idea what he meant, but I knew better than to ask.

“Don't disappoint me, Penelope.”

“I won't,” I spoke and my voice felt hoarse from disuse.

“Very well. Tell your brother to send Alpha Hedge in here.”

???

I sat on the floor by my bed, huddled under a blanket because my limbs felt frozen, when I sensed my stepmother's presence in front of my door. She lingered for a while before knocking.

“Come in, Eden.”

“Your Father wants you and Alpha Hedge to go for a walk in the garden,” she said without preamble.

Always his messenger.

“Alright. Do you,” I cleared my throat, suddenly unsure, “do you think I should change?”

Something in her face softened, and in all the years I'd known her, I'd never seen that look in her eye.

“Don't worry, you look wonderful.”

“Thanks. I'll be down in a minute then.”

As soon as I left my room, I could smell him again. My wolf kept pulling me towards him through my gut and it caused my insides to clench and twist in a way that wasn't entirely uncomfortable. It was insane.

I'd had maybe ten peaceful minutes alone after the conversation with Father to try and make sense of the world, and now that I was heading towards him, my knuckles white from how hard I was gripping the banister, all rational thought abandoned me once more. I was acting on pure instinct, at the mercy of the irresistible pull of our animals. I was an empty body posing as an intelligent life form.

Meanwhile, my mate stood at the bottom of the stairs in a deceptively relaxed stance.Dominic.He looked up as I whispered his name in my mind, and for a moment, I worried he could hear my thoughts.His nostrils flared and he very clearly stopped himself from stepping closer to me. I'd hunted enough deer to notice feigned calm.

When I reached the last stair, I stood and waited. Father said to follow his lead, and even if he hadn't, I wouldn't know what to do or say right now. I heard the wood of the banister crack and quickly removed my hand. Nana was going to kill me for ruining her staircase.

Dominic's eyes followed the sound but didn't really seem to be seeing anything.

“Can you show me the way to the garden?” he asked in that calm voice again, and I nodded.

Being around him became a bit easier outside because his smell was less concentrated. But as we walked side by side, my body kept wanting to brush against his and I had to focus all my energy on not allowing it to do so.

I didn't know if I was supposed to say something. And if so, what? All I knew was where he was from and that he was widowed. Neither of those was a great conversation starter.

“This mating couldn't have come at a worse time.”

Well. Now I knew a third thing about him. My mate was apparently not one to mince words. And despite all the hurt I'd endured in my life, I wasn't as resilient as I liked imagining myself to be. Because that statementhurt.It hurt a lot. I might have stopped walking after he said it. I could hear my blood rushing in my ears.

He stood in front of me now, looking down at my face. I was looking at his chest. At a button that was there. A button that was round and gray and had four holes and had never said or done anything mean to me.

“I'm sorry. I just meant I'm in a very busy period with my pack and the University right now. We'll figure it out.”

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