Page 45 of Howl for Me
She spins around, already pulling off her shirt. “Of course I’m coming with you. Not only am I going with you, but we’regonna make her jealous as hell and have her back in your lap by midnight.”
I blink again, still stuck in place. She sticks her head out of her bedroom, bra strap hanging off her shoulder. “Why else would you come crawling to my place?” She winks.
“I knew the minute I saw you two together. You rubbing your chest and looking sick. One of my girlfriend's a werewolf. They believe in all that fated mate stuff. She’s always talking about all those rules and the pack drama.”
She disappears again, digging through her closet. “I know all about it. When you mate with someone like that, it's fate. You can’t fuck with fate.” She reemerges ten minutes later in an orange velvet dress, hair wild and glorious.
“I’m not one to stand in the way of fate,” she says, grabbing her coat. “So let’s go get your girl.”
Chapter Twenty
Cassidy
The bathroom lights hum overhead, casting a soft yellow glow over the mirror and the lingering cloud of expensive perfume. I swipe another coat of lip gloss on, but my reflection won’t stop looking guilty. “He sounded really upset,” I murmur, blotting my lips.
Lori, standing beside me in a skintight green dress and glitter-smoked eyes, arches a brow. “Well, if you needed an answer to whether he cares about you, there it is.”
I sigh, capping the gloss and tucking it back into my clutch. “Yeah… I just wish he would’ve asked me. It’s not fair that he assumed I’d be his date.”
Lori shrugs. “Not only is he a man, but he's a werewolf. I mean, I don’t think communication is his strong suit,”
I glance at her in the mirror. “I just hope he shows up. He can’t mess this up.”
“Oh, he’s going to show up,” she mutters, voice dry. “That’s what I’m afraid of. Johnny’s a damn loose cannon.”
I shake my head. “He won’t hurt anyone. Especially not me.”
She gives me a look. The kind that says girl, don’t be naïve but also I hope you’re right.
I turn to face her fully, running my hands down my dress. “When he shows up, I’ll talk to him. If he feels that strongly, he should’ve told me. I’m not a mind reader.”
“Maybe he was nervous,” she says with a shrug. “He’s not exactly the dating type. I think this is all very new to him.”
I laugh. “Yeah, well, I doubt that’s the case. It’s hard to believe he likes me like that. He can literally have anyone.”
Lori pauses, eyes narrowing like she’s connecting puzzle pieces. “You better hope you’re not his mate or something.”
I frown. “Wait… he mentioned that before. He was drunk and said I was his mate. I thought it was just… drunk rambling,”
Lori goes still. Her eyes go wide. “Oh. Shit.”
“What?”
“If you are, Cass, you better be ready. They take that stuff seriously. It’s a fate thing. Bonding. Pack instincts. Blood-level obsession.”
My stomach turns over, but not in a bad way. Butterflies. Stupid little traitors.
“That’s kind of… sweet,” I say, cheeks warm. “But I think you’re wrong.”
She gives me a look like, am I?
I shift on my heels and smile. “Although… I wouldn’t totally be against him showing up and sweeping me off my feet. Hugo has been so…different. He was not this handsy the other day. He’s barely looked me in the eye all night.”
Lori snorts. “Yeah, I saw. When you two walked in ahead of us, his hand was practically on your ass.”
“I plan on ditching him the minute we get to the party.”
“You just say the word,” she says, cracking her knuckles, “and I’ll roundhouse his pervy ass.”
