“It could be worse,” he said, drawing me back. “It could be some stranger. I mean, at least with Sam, you know him. I know you may not like him that way, but he has to be preferable to someone you’ve never met.”
My stomach lurched. The irony was that I would probably be a lot more comfortable mating someone I had never met. Except Elias didn’t know any of this.
“Elias…” I trailed off, realizing that I couldn’t explain to him the truth about why I was so reluctant to mate Sam, why I had promised myself I would have as little to do with him as possible. “I just don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
The words sounded lame even to myself, but I couldn’t bring myself to be that open with him, not when I didn’t know how he might react.
“I know,” he said. “It’s weird being told you have to mate anyone, let alone a guy you’ve known nearly your whole life.”
“Exactly,” I said, relieved he was giving me an out. “I just was hoping I would get to lead my own life.”
“So did I,” Elias admitted. “I know it isn’t always easy for you. But Sam’s a good guy. He’ll make sure you’re safe and protected, which would be a weight off my mind. Besides, since it’s Sam, you won’t feel any pressure to do anything after the ceremony.”
He didn’t have to elaborate on what he meant by “anything.” Still, the casual way he said it nearly made me burst into laughter. Pressure? I was going to be effectively confined with a guy I was absurdly attracted to, a guy who had rejected me. And despite all that, despite the fact that I should despise him, I still wanted him. I still wanted to know what it would feel like to have his body pressed against mine, for his hands to grip my hair, for his mouth to slam against mine. So, yeah, absolutely no pressure.
At the same time, even with my reluctance, I couldn’t stop thinking about Elias’s warnings. He actually thought that this would make a difference to the pack. So did the Oracle. If they were right, then this was a chance for me to help the pack, to be a part of it in a way I never had been before. That was all I had ever wanted. Silver Falls was my home. I hated what the wraithhad done to it. And not just the physical damage, even though we were still making repairs and recovering from its last attack. It was also the mental anguish it had brought along with it. People were still terrified. You could see it in the way they huddled in small groups, in the way parents ushered their kids to and from school. Even now, the wraith loomed over the pack, and it would keep casting a shadow until something happened to it. We knew it wanted power. The land Silver Falls was on, and the magic underground spring was filled with it. The wraith fed on despair, but that magic would give it strength on an entirely different level. We couldn’t let it access any of it.
I swallowed, watching the water droplets from my hair drip onto the stone as I bit my lip.
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
He nodded. “That’s all I’m asking,” he said. Then, with a mischievous grin I recognized from when we were kids, he reached out and ruffled my still-damp hair.
“Knock it off,” I said, then squealed when he dunked my head underneath the water. When I came back up, I sputtered, glowering at him as I splashed water back at him, spraying it over his face and shirt.
He laughed, shaking his hair like a dog, then pushed himself out of his seated position.
“I’ve got to get home. I’ll see you later,” he said.
***
“You’ll never guess what happened,” my best friend Liv said as she rounded the corner and rushed over to me.
“You managed to convince Jenson to give us both a raise and a long vacation?” I asked as I replaced cans of tomatoes on the shelf.
Liv snorted, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. “Hardly,” she said, though that didn’t stop her grin. “Though I did happen to see a certain woman strolling into his office.” Her eyes sparkled. “You know, that really pretty and tall one who always comes in? She just stormed out of Jenson’s office. If you ask me, it looks like a lover’s quarrel.”
I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. “Wait, seriously?” I asked. “You have got to be joking.”
Liv shook her head, biting her lips as she tried to hold back an amused squeal. “Isn’t it wild?”
I grinned. Liv had been my best friend since we were kids, one of the few people in town who never treated me differently. Half the reason I tolerated working here was that she was always able to entertain with a wealth of gossip.
“You know that means he’s going to be extra—”
“What are you two doing?” Jenson’s voice snapped.
I took a deep breath as I pinched my brow, then turned to glower at Jenson as he marched forward.
“I’m stocking,” I bit back. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
His lips turned into a thin line as his eyes narrowed. “It looks like you two are goofing off and aren’t doing your job properly,” he responded.
“Well, lucky for you, you’re wrong,” I said.
He snarled, stalking. “Watch your mouth,” Jenson growled as I glared back at him. “I could fire you in a heartbeat.”
I didn’t respond. Instead, I waited, arms folded. If he was going to fire me, then he might as well get on with it. I wasn’t about to complain. Finding a new job would be hell, and I would have to deal with my mother’s grousing, but I wasn’t in the mood for Jenson’s threats today.
