Page 64 of Mated to the Werewolves
Sebastian picks up the present and hands it to me. “Merry Christmas, Emma.”
Carter leans in from my right side and kisses my cheek. “I hope you like it.”
“If you don’t, we’ll get you something else once this weather clears,” Troy rumbles from my left.
“Guys,” I say while trying to undo the wrapping without tearing the paper, “stop. First of all, you didn’t even have to get me anything, and I don’t?—”
My words stall out as I open the box and find a Christmas card inside. It’s a simple winter scene with robins in a snowy holly bush, one you’d find at any paper shop or grocery store at this time of year. I glance up at Sebastian to find him staring at me, his lips pressed together, his hazel eyes luminous. He nods at me, indicating I should read the card.
For some reason, my fingers tremble as I pluck it from the box and unfold it.
Dearest Emma,
This is your certificate for any program at the University of Maine.
Merry Christmas, baby.
Their names are signed below,each in their own handwriting, though the rest of the text matches Sebastian’s signature.
I stare at the message for a long moment, my mind whirring with a hundred different thoughts.
Sebastian kneels in front of me, and I meet his gaze, sensing the slight worry in his expression.
“I thought you might want to…” he starts, then stops and clears his throat. “I mean, it’s not— You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Troy doesn’t have a college degree. He never wanted that, but I thought you could…if you wanted to?”
He’s tripping over his words, and I want to say something, anything, but I don’t trust myself to speak.
Carter reaches over and puts his hand on Sebastian’s shoulder, stopping his flood of words.Then he turns to me and says, “It’s only a suggestion. An offer you can choose to accept or not. But I liked college, and so did Sebastian, so we thought you might enjoy the experience.”
Troy rubs my back in slow circles. “Or you could use the cash to start a business. Open up a shop in Clearwater or work from home, whatever you want.”
“Guys,” I finally choke out. “Stop. I can’t accept this.”
I’d expected… I don’t even know what I thought they’d give me at such short notice. A coffee mug, maybe? A pair of nice woolen socks for my perpetually cold feet?
Not this, clearly. Not a chance to start my life over and educate myself. Or start a business, like Troy said.My mind takes off, imagining all the possibilities, even as a part of me is screaming that this is too much.
“Is it the fact that you don’t want to go to college?” Carter asks. “Or the amount of money you think we shouldn’t be offering you?”
My lips twitch up in a smile. “The second, I think. I never really thought about going to college because it was never a possibility.”
He sniffs the air, and his admonishing look has me squirming in place.
“The truth, Emma,” he says gently.
I glance down at my lap. “Is this going to be a problem?” I ask, stalling. “You guys always knowing when I’m not telling the truth?”
Troy leans back against the couch but takes my hand and holds it between his warm palms. “No, we’ll never pry. But it is important to know the truth sometimes.”
I get that. And I don’t want to hide things from them.
“I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a kid,” I admit. “I love animals, and I always thought it would be nice to work with them.”
Sebastian stares at me for a long moment, his eyes round with shock. Then he throws his head back and laughs so hard he loses his balance and lands on his ass, still chuckling. “Oh, man. I volunteer if you ever want tostudywolves.”
I roll my eyes good-naturedly, but my smile matches his as I focus on the Christmas card again.Any program. Those words offer me so much freedom, such amazing opportunities, and I’ve never had that in my life.
“Thank you.” I look from one to the other. “This is an incredible gift.”
