Page 51 of Her Second-Hand Mate

The tears were too fast.

“The same thing happened with my father, but I don’t think I went in the same direction as Dominic did.”

“The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg,” she said, and I kept thinking about that saying for the rest of the day.

As I lay in our bed alone (something that made my wolf extremely unhappy), I briefly thought about whatpoor Heatherwould do without her chauffeur for the next three months, and it made me smile.

Then I remembered what Elliot had told me about not talking to Dominic while he was driving, and the thought of the two ofthem sitting in the car in silence on all their drives made me giggle.

I’d be alright. I thought of my pup.We’dbe alright.

Tomorrow was a new day.

12 - Dominic

We were finally done with this fucking cesspool of a pack. Language, Dominic,I could hear my mate’s melodic voice in my head, and I sighed. She wouldn’t want me to curse this much.

I couldn’t get home fast enough.

David chose me to help dismantle the pack because my mom was from here, and I had family in the pack, which helped us with the transition.

Right now, I was driving back home with three of them in the car, and I could let my mind wander as they sniffed and mourned the loss of their pack.

I really liked working with David, but I told him I’d no longer be traveling for work so much. I’d go to the Alpha Summit and trials, but I’d already arranged for Terrence to take over everything University-related. It was time. I’d been doing three jobs for far too long.

He said he understood and then started talking about not being happy in his royal role. I quickly stopped listening because he’d told me about that a hundred times before.

It was interesting to observe David’s demeanor now that he was mated. His wolf was very clearly on edge, and the male always found ways to insert Regina into the conversation somehow. I got the feeling if I’d told him I had a rash on my ass, he’d just use the opportunity to mention Regina also having an ass. Or a rash. It was hilarious.

What wasn’t hilarious was that he now considered himself qualified to lecture me on my mate. Mine. David didn’t understand what it was like to exist in this state of constant anxiety, of constantly waiting for the next bad thing to happen. What the hell did he know about my life?

Despite that, my wolf was deeply unsettled by our last conversation, and so was I. Could I have ruined things with Penelope? Was she unhappy? She’d been angry when I left, but that was understandable, and it was kind of the point of my leaving. I needed to put distance between us, both geographically and emotionally.

It was so hard to tell what she was feeling now that she was blocking me. I’d gotten addicted to her emotional broadcast. She was so pure both in her sadness and her joy. Feeling her unguarded feelings had healed so much of me, and it had even rebuilt part of my trust.

After her birthday, I’d unwittingly started to let my guard down. I gave in to my feelings somewhat. And then her heat... Fuck, her heat. I’d never experienced anything that intense in all my life. But then that awful trial happened, and as I sat there andlistened to all those wolves talking, I was reminded of the fact that all that mates did was torture you and betray you, and then they died, and you were left alone. Again.

And that fucker Larson. I should have ripped his neck out the second he uttered Penelope’s name with his foul mouth. My chest started constricting with the familiar pain as the memory assaulted me.

“I see your second mate is even more beautiful than your first one,” the fucker said at dinner. “I wonder if Penelope is as good a driver as good old Cassandra was.”

Three Alphas had to hold me back, or I would have killed him on the spot, causing all kinds of paperwork for David. My wolf bristled at the memory but then seemed to remember it was me he was angry at and curled up again, ignoring me like he had for the last three months.

After the first two weeks of being apart from Penelope (fuck, I loved her name), during which I dreaded feeling the stab of betrayal during every waking moment, I’d started to realize what an idiot I had been. An Alpha who was a coward. Someone should call that magazine that Penelope was always reading.

By the time the anniversary of Cassie’s death came around, I realized I no longer cared about solving the puzzle. Remembering her didn’t hurt as much anymore.

Maybe David was right, I thought, and my wolf huffed as if to say,you think?It made sense that a second mate needed to be reassured more.

Without the load of the Alpha work, dealing with the University, keeping my emotions on a leash, and my personal investigation,I’d finally had time tothink.I hadn’t lied when I told Penelope the timing of our mating had been unfortunate. I was so wrapped up in protecting myself that I might have acted somewhat selfishly. Now, our anniversary was coming up; I’d give her the letters I’d written for her, and we’d finally be a real mated couple.

As soon as I settled Phillip and his family in their new accommodations, I drove to our house. I could hear loud music and laughter from where I'd parked, three houses down.

The familiar clench of anger took hold of my insides. Was she partying while I was gone? I knew what was coming next, and I shut my eyes in vain as the memories ofherdrunken nights out mercilessly flooded my brain. I struggled to breathe for a few moments, and then I straightened and made my way to the backyard.

It was beautifully decorated with tons of flowers and balloons and streamers. Wolves started noticing me, and the crowd parted to let me through. I could scent her before I saw her. The heady black locust that was Penelope's unique fragrance was mixed with something new, something that made my wolf sit up.

Then, there she was, in the middle of the backyard, sitting on a chair that looked like a throne, my beautiful mate. She was wearing a stunning pink gauzy dress with waves, a sparkly crown on her head. She was laughing with her head thrown back, happy like I’d never seen her before, as she held her huge belly with both of her hands.

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