“The full moon?”
“Tomorrow night.”
My chest tightens.“So soon?”
“We don’t have to do it this month.We can wait until you’re ready, until you’ve made a decision,” he assures me.
I swallow.This is all happening so fast.Roxie will be here in two or three days, depending on the weather.That means that I have to decide quickly.
Do I stay in Night Grove Falls?Or do I run… again?
EIGHT
Jameson
I wake up on fire.
Not temperature-wise, this is something deeper, something inside my bones.My bear is already awake, pacing, restless, fully aware of what today is.
Mating heat,he growls.I can feel it already.
Yeah,I think.I feel it too.It’s stronger than I expected for so early in the morning.
Every nerve in my body is wired to one location.One person.Fern.I sense her the way I can sense a storm rolling in—inevitable, heavy, and impossible to ignore.
I climb off the couch and hover in the hallway outside my bedroom door.I can hear her moving around before she climbs back into bed.My bear licks his lips when we hear the mattress dip.I grit my teeth and force myself to back up instead of going to her.
I know she needs time, that she hasn’t made a decision about us yet, so I give her space.
Or at least, I try to.
Moving to the kitchen, I start breakfast.I burn my hand on the stove twice because I’m so distracted.Every time I hear Fern moving in the bedroom, I lose focus on what I’m doing.
My phone rings as I finish our pancakes, and I grab it, frowning when I see Abe’s name on the screen.
“Yeah?”I answer.
“Hey, man.Sorry to bother you on the full moon, but I think you should come in.There’s been movement along the northern border.”
“Movement?”
“A lot.We think they’re going to come onto our land.I’ve called the Alphas to let them know.”
“Shit.Okay, yeah, I’ll be there in a few.”
“Sounds good.See you soon.”
I hang up, and a second later, the bedroom door opens.
“Hey,” Fern says shyly.
“Morning.Are you hungry?I made pancakes.”
“Yeah.They look great.Thanks.”
I smile as I watch her grab a plate and add a few pancakes.
“Are you eating?”she asks me when she notices I haven’t grabbed a plate.
