Page 94 of Her Second-Hand Mate

“This is Anthony,” I introduced them before I sent Anthony to take more photos of Penelope getting ready and Gabriel in his tiny suit. I couldn’t wait to have our pup on the dais with us.

“Thanks for having us,” John told me as he took in the room. “You really went all out, huh?”

Was it too much? The hydrangea flower arch alone was an expense that made all of Mom’s friends swoon and tell me I was a good male, but I knew that Penelope wouldn’t care about that. She’d care only in the sense that she'd notice its beauty, and she’d care that I’d made an effort. I hoped it was obvious that I had.

Faking a calm I didn’t feel, I just nodded at John. But there was no fooling his brother.

“Is the great Alpha Hedge perhaps nervous? Don’t tell me young Penelope has managed to thaw your frozen heart?”

“What if she has?” I raised an eyebrow at him, knowing how much it bothered him when I answered his questions with my own.

“It would make me happy beyond belief,” he said, his smile honest and warm. “I’ve always rooted for your happiness, Dom; you’re my friend.”

I cleared my throat and gave him a hard pat on the back. John cleared his own throat. David blinked a few times.

“Thanks, David.”

We stood in awkward silence for a few beats until David, out of nowhere, announced that he was abdicating the throne.

“I’ll propose John to take over as my replacement, and we’ll vote on it at the Summit this summer. I’d appreciate your support on this.”

I looked between the two brothers, and I couldn’t believe how I hadn’t seen it before. Johnwouldbe the better king.

“What does your mate say about it?”

“She says she’d love me more if I wasn’t king,” he laughed, and I shook my head with a grin.

“Well, then, let me help you out.”

“Thanks, Dominic,” John said. “I’d love to have you at Court as my advisor. I’ve seen what you’ve done with the University, and I’m really impressed. I was thinking, we could set up another one on the West Coast, but I’d need your expertise for that.”

I was shaking my head before he even finished, “You can take that up with my mate. Only if she says yes and only if she accompanies me. My long absences from home are a thing of the past now. But I gotta tell you right now, she loves our pack, I don’t think she’ll want to leave her support network.”

John nodded thoughtfully, “Elizabeth and I will talk to Luna Penelope. I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to make everyone happy.”

“Suit yourself,” I shrugged because I really didn’t care.

If Penelope wanted to move, we’d move. It was as simple as that.

“Where are your mates anyway?”

“They went to see the female of the hour,” David grinned. “I can tell you that Regina is sobbing right now, but with the pregnancy, she almost always is.”

I felt the familiar mixture of regret and sadness when I (once again) realized that I’d barely gotten to witness any of my mate’s pregnant habits. It wasn’t David’s fault, but since he was the one who’d invited me to accompany him to Spruce Mountain, I felt the urge to break his nose just a little bit. He’d heal in time for the ceremony.

“My mate is probably telling her how much she admires her. I don't know for sure since Penelope and I are blocking each other today. She thought it would be nice to pretend we weren’t marked yet,” I said instead, putting all the things I’d learned with Vera to good use.

Breathe.

Acknowledge the feeling.

Sit with it.

Let it go.

Don’t get stuck in the past.

Forgive yourself, but never forget and never repeat.

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