Page 93 of Her Second-Hand Mate

“Proposition my mate one more time, do it!” She yelled at her, and Emily whimpered.

Theo and Carson just stared at the two of them with their mouths hanging open, and I quickly averted my eyes from Theo’s massively tented shorts.

“You. Don’t talk to me,” Theresa pointed a clawed finger at Theo.

“But,” he stepped toward her and she bared her canines at him.

“I’m not joking. Leave me alone.”

She gave Emily one last push and turned to leave. I quickly followed her.

“Feel better now?” I’d known my cousin her whole life. This wasn’t her first fight.

“I feel like I can finally breathe again.”

“Good to have you back,” I smiled, and she smiled back.

As the adrenaline of the fight wore off, I could see Theresa retreating into herself. That night, after I said goodnight to her and closed the nursery door, I could smell her tears, but I respected her need to lick her wounds in private.

“I can beat him up and throw Emily out of the pack,”Dominic offered helpfully when I entered our bedroom, where we’d moved Gabriel’s crib in preparation for Theresa’s visit.

“Theo needs to solve this on his own,” I shook my head. “Otherwise, Theresa will always wonder if her mate was forced to be with her or to accept her because she was the Alpha’s family.”

“I guess you’re right,” he sighed as I went into the walk-in to change.

I understood very well how Theresa felt. The sadness that occupied the place between what you’d hoped would happen and what actually happened was a special kind. It was grief forsomething you never even had. I wished Nana was here to sit with us and make us both feel better.

21 - Dominic

December 6, 2022

“Is everything ready?”

“Yes, Alpha,” Anthony replied, apparently a beat away from rolling his damn eyes at me.

So what if my wolf’s anxiety was weighing on everyone around me? It was a special day!

“Although,” he continued, ignoring my inner turmoil, “I have to ask once more: are you sure about the bridal bouquet?”

“As I’ve already told you, she loves dandelions. They might even be her favorite flowers. So just worry about taking photos, okay? That’s what I’m paying you for.”

“Alright,” he smirked, and I wanted to punch his lights out.

The things I did for my mate, like keeping his pup’s smile intact.

“How is she?” I finally allowed myself to ask what I really wanted since the moment I saw him.

“She’s almost ready. She’s happy, chatting away with all the females in her room. This will be a really great ceremony,” he conceded as he looked around the festively decorated pack hall.

My wolf huffed haughtily. Why was the pup so surprised? We’d enlisted the help of everyone who knew and loved our mate to prepare this special experience for her birthday.

I heard a commotion outside, and then his scent hit me.

“There’s the male of the hour,” David boomed happily, and all the wolves in the hall bared their necks to their king. I just grinned at my friend.

“John, hello. I see you brought your brother with you.”

“Careful, Dominic, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were making a joke,” David hugged me, and John shook his head at the two of us.

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