Chapter 4
four
ZOE
“You weren’t supposed to do my laundry,” Connor said, when he met me in the kitchen ten minutes later. The mountain of sandwiches had been replenished, and the stack of loaves of bread in his pantry told me he’d asked his friend for more than just oat milk.
It was sweet.
Really sweet.
“It wasn’t difficult,” I said.
“I don’t care if it’s difficult, Zoe. You’re not here to do housework.”
“What am I here for, then?”
I didn’t look back at him. I was worried it would make me feel things. Or just more horniness. I was still slick between my thighs from the way he’d touched me in the closet.
“I thought your wolf might not let me out of her sight. That happens most of the time with mated couples. Ones who don’t split up, at least.”
My forehead creased.
My wolf hadn’t cared when I left him in the kitchen to go shower, or when we were separate while I ate.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Definitively? Nothing.”
“What about theoretically?”
Connor let out a quiet breath. “For the guys in my pack, it meant rejection.”
“Including you?”
“Yup.”
Damn.
That would be a problem, for both of us. More him than me, though. I’d survive, at least. His survival would be a question.
“How could she have already decided she doesn’t want you? I was looking for a mate, and you saved my life by helping me through the shift. Hers too.”
“I don’t know. Fate’s a pain in the ass.”
Considering how our friend groups had been mashed together with mate bonds, that did seem accurate.
“Do you mind if I borrow your phone?” I asked. I’d seen it sitting on the counter, plugged in next to the stove. It had taken a lot of self-restraint not to snoop. “I left mine in my car.”
“Sure.”
I unplugged it and took a step toward him.
“The code is 1020.”
“Thanks.” I bit my lip and typed it in. He had texts from a few of his packmates. I tried not to read them, but the previews were hard to ignore. All of them were some form of an offer to help, except Ethan’s. He was asking how to text someone who had blocked you.
Connor had Emmy’s number saved, so calling her was simple. I lifted the phone to my ear while it rang.
She answered on the second tone. “Hey, how’s Zoe?”
“It’s me,” I said.
“Oh, thank fuck! Finn just told me that people can die the first time they shift. Did you know that? No one ever warned me! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Shifting was pretty bad, but Connor helped a lot.” My gaze met his.
His expression was calm, but somehow intense too. I felt like he was staring into my soul. Or maybe waiting for me to reject him.
“Can you do me a favor?” I asked Emmy.
I hated asking for help. Always had. After my childhood, asking for anything felt like a major risk. I was only comfortable doing it because Emmy and I had been so close for so long.
“You know you can. What do you need?”
“Connor thinks if a female werewolf can be away from her mate during the chase, she’s going to reject him. I guess that happened with all of the guys in the pack.”
“And your wolf can be away from him?”
“Mmhm. Is there anyone you can call to ask if that applies outside of their group?”
“Of course. Me and Finn will figure it out. You should know if you’re doomed.”
“Exactly. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. It’s my fault you’re in this situation at all. I basically dragged you to that book club, Zoe.”
I grimaced. “You didn’t drag me anywhere. I made a plan to get out of a contract with my parents and needed a husband to make it work.”
Emmy sucked in a breath. “You didn’t.”
“I did.”
She laughed. “Damn, Zoe. I’m impressed. How does Connor feel about it?”
Well, that was far better than her thinking I was a terrible person. Maybe my plan wasn’t as awful as I thought.
I glanced at him. “He doesn’t hate me for it.”
His eyes narrowed.
“If he doesn’t hate you for it, he’s probably excited,” Emmy said. “I think Connor and Ethan both wanted mates.”
I narrowed my eyes back, just for the hell of it.
His lips curved slightly.
“Maybe,” I said.
“That’s a yes. What else does your plan involve?”
“You’ll find out soon.”
“Ooh, that’s ominous. I love it.” I could hear the grin in Emmy’s voice. “This is exciting. Alright, have fun with your knight in shining fur. I’ll bring your congratulation cake over when Finn and I have dug up enough info for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Anytime. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I hung up the phone.
“Emmy’s congratulation cakes are legendary. Ethan talked her into making one for him last Wednesday just so he could experience it. He keeps it in his freezer and pulls out one slice a week,” Connor said.
“They’re inhumanly good,” I agreed.
“Should I ask for more details about your plan?”
I grimaced and blushed at the same time. “You probably don’t want to know.”
“Sure I do.” He leaned back in his chair. “So we need to throw together a wedding in the next month.”
“The next week. And there’s no throwing it together. It’s already planned.”
He blinked. “You planned an entire wedding before you were sure you would find a mate at the book club?”
“Yeah. It was reasonably likely. And Maya agreed to marry me if I didn’t find a werewolf, just to keep me from having to marry my parents’ friend. She’s having issues with a professor in her department anyway, and she thinks making him think we’re married would help.”
His eyebrows lifted. “She’s in on the werewolf plan?”
“Sort of. Maya is… complicated. Now that I’m mated to you, I wouldn’t be surprised if she leaves town to avoid Ethan.”
“He’s going to be a mess if she leaves.”
“Ethan?”
Connor nodded. “He’s the last unmated guy in the pack. Though I guess your wolf could still reject me.”
“Ethan was never rejected?”
“No. He’d prefer it over never finding a mate, but he’s so enthusiastic about mating that I don’t know if he’d survive rejection.”
“Damn. I think Maya would sooner commit murder than agree to have another mate. Her wolf rejected the guy who bit her because he was abusive.”
“Fuck. She’s already a werewolf?”
“Yeah. I assumed that was common knowledge now.”
“Nope. The guys who know probably aren’t willing to piss off their mates by sharing the information. It’s not theirs to share, anyway.”
“That’s true. You can tell Ethan, just so he leaves her alone,” I said. “Although I would guess that one of my other friends already has by now. They would’ve told him before giving him her phone number.”
Connor nodded.
I turned back to the pan and started another sandwich. My ridiculous stomach was still growling, and my anxiety was asserting itself by making breathing more difficult than usual.
I felt his eyes on me while I assembled the sandwich, trying to breathe through my stress. “There’s plenty of food. You should eat.”
“I’d rather talk about this wedding. Our wedding.”
My face flushed. “It’s going to be large, but tasteful. I had to book it in my hometown, to make sure I could invite all of my family and my parents’ friends.”
“What day?”
“Next Saturday.”
Connor whistled. “I imagine I’m going to need a suit or something.”
“A tux. I’m going to try on dresses tomorrow, so I’ll schedule you an appointment then.”
“Alright. Is there anything I need to know about your family before the wedding? Or the people who who’ll be there?”
I nodded. “I made flash cards.”
“You’re not playing around.”
“No, I’m not. I worked my ass off for years to get out of my parents’ claws, and I’m not going to give up my freedom now.”
“Good.”
The simple word in his low, sexy voice had my mind going back to the forest. And the way he’d praised me there.
I forced myself to refocus on the sandwich I was making.
“Any plans for the rest of the day?” he asked.
“Not really. I wasn’t sure how things would go with the shifting. We should pick up my truck from Emmy’s place, but that’s about it.” I turned to put the newest sandwich on top of the pile.
“Are you planning on heading home tonight?”
My gaze met his. “Do you want me to?”
“Fuck, no.”
I turned back to the pan and started another sandwich, forcing myself to breathe normally.
That was getting more difficult by the moment.
“Then I’ll just stay here, if that’s okay with you.
All of my stuff is packed already, so my apartment isn’t very comfortable.
I was going to ask Emmy about living at her house in town after I figured out whether or not the werewolf thing would work. ”
“Do you always plan for everything?”
“Pretty much.” It was a side effect of having no control over any aspect of my life as a kid. I was aware of it, but planning made me feel better, so I didn’t try to stop.
“Do you need to be back for classes on Monday?”
“No, I’m teaching online for the current semester to buy myself time to figure everything out.”
“So you could move here, if you wanted to.”
“Yeah.”
“Good to know.” I felt more than heard Connor cross the kitchen. His front pressed to my back lightly as he reached around me to take the spatula from my hand. “Sit down and eat, Gorgeous.”
“I don’t really need—” I started, but my stomach cut me off with another growl.
He chuckled. “Just sit down.” His hand brushed my waist lightly, over the top of the t-shirt I had on. It didn’t pass my notice that he was touching the place his wolf had bitten me. Or that his fingers slid gently over the fabric, like he was trying to feel the outline of the scar.
“Alright, but you need to eat too,” I said.
“I’ll eat when you’re done.”
“That’s silly.” I grabbed a sandwich off the top of the pile and handed it over. He accepted it and took an emphatic bite.
I bit back a smile, sitting down in the chair he’d occupied a moment later.
We both ate until I was finally full enough to feel satisfied, then picked my car up from Emmy and Finn’s place. The walk there was only a few minutes. When we got back to Connor’s place, I grabbed the carry-on suitcase I’d brought with me and took it into the spare room so I could change.
Connor had offered me the room for as long as I wanted it, so that was nice.
And slightly awkward.
Maybe more than slightly.
I just wasn’t sure how to make things less uncomfortable.
My usual leggings, sports bra, and oversized sweater made me feel slightly better before I joined Connor in the kitchen. He was already cooking again, and my rumbling stomach told me I was going to be very glad about that pretty soon.
I insisted on helping, and we made small talk while we whipped up enough pasta to feed a small army. It wasn’t insanely awkward, but there was definitely still space between us.
Emmy knocked on the door while we were dishing up the pasta. When I pulled it open, she threw herself into my arms and hugged me tightly.
I hugged her back, emotions I’d tried to fight for months surging to the surface.
Everything had changed for both of us. She met Finn, fell in love, and moved to Moon Ridge to start teaching kindergarten again. I’d packed up my life in preparation of my parents costing me everything.
Now, I was mated to a werewolf too.
I had no idea what that was going to mean, despite my best attempt at making a plan. I didn’t know what to do with Connor, or how to stop the rejection that he was convinced was impending.
“It smells amazing in here,” Emmy gushed, as Finn slipped past her with a cake.
“I’m insanely hungry,” I admitted.
“Oh, that’s the worst, isn’t it? I ate so many pizzas in the first few weeks.”
“I’m not loving it.”
“I bet. Vegetables aren’t very filling.”
“It’s a shame,” I agreed.
Emmy grinned.
Finn sat down next to her, and Connor brought four bowls to the table. Mine and Emmy’s were both filled higher than the guys’, so it seemed safe to assume that my hunger wasn’t going to return to normal in the immediate future. Em was already a few months into werewolfism.
“We have great news,” Emmy announced, as she twirled her fork in her pasta. “After calling a few dozen different people, we found three couples who could be apart during the chase and still ended up mated.”
“Ryder said Char’s wolf didn’t give a damn when she moved back to her own house alone, so I wouldn’t worry about it,” Finn told Connor. “You’ve seen them together. Disgustingly happy.”
I didn’t know who those people were, but the way Connor relaxed said he did.
Emmy bumped Finn’s shoulder with hers, flashing him a teasing grin. “Sounds like someone else I know.”
He met her grin with a small one of his own.
I’d heard from the other girls how angry he’d always been before he met her, so the mate bond had obviously changed things for him despite their rocky start.
“Maya told me there’s going to be a wedding next weekend,” Emmy said, her gaze sharpening as she looked at me. “I’d better be invited.”
“You will be. I’ll send invitations tonight, but it’s back in Westford.”
“Perfect. My parents have been nagging me to bring Finn for a visit. What do you need me to do? Do I get to be the maid of honor? I’d better be the maid of honor.”
I smiled. “You’re basically married too, so I think you’d technically be matron of honor.”
Emmy made a face. “We haven’t had a wedding, so I’m sticking with maid.”
“Do you want a wedding?” Finn asked.
Emmy lifted both eyebrows at him.
He snorted. “Of course you want a wedding. I should’ve assumed that.”
“I bet you already have pictures of pink wedding dresses saved to your phone, don’t you?” I teased.
“Of course I do.” She didn’t bat an eye at the question. “When are we going dress shopping? I’m going to be pissed if you already went.”
“I made an appointment tomorrow, but you don’t have to—”
“I’ll be there. A bunch of the others will be too. I’ll make it happen. What do you have planned for flowers?”
The guys talked about some issue with their pack’s wolf-training business while Emmy and I got into the nitty gritty details about the wedding. The mood was upbeat, and I was surprisingly relaxed.
It was nice.
Really, really nice.