They heard every word. If they didn't know Mona was our fated mate, they know, at least, that Grayson and I are courting her. With a sigh, after giving Andrea a few seconds head start, we follow outside.
The sun is high in the sky. I can feel Mona's nervous energy beside me, so I slip my hand into hers. Her grip is weak, palm a little clammy. The bright daylight does nothing to ease the tension rolling between us.
We walk in silence toward the picnic table behind the gym. There must be a hundred tables scattered around our little downtown area. Wolves love to socialize. And we love to eat.
Maybe food would make her feel better. I look around at the ground helplessly, as if a wild turkey or rabbit might happen by. But Mona's already climbing into the seat. She turns to face the dirt road off the gym, Andrea's figure getting smaller and smaller with the distance as she walks away.
"I'm sorry." Mona breaks the silence.
"Don't be." I sigh tiredly. "That wasn't about you. That was… shit, that was years of pent-up frustration."
"Against Grayson?" She tries to smirk, but it's small. It's obvious now that Andrea and Gray had a thing. I want to pummel him for putting this second-guessing look on Mona's face.
"Grayson, yeah. But also… Andrea's always had an aggressive side. She's strong and has been a great enforcer. But hates authority. Sometimes I think that's the only reason she wanted the role of Luna. So she could have more say in how we run our community. In what other wolves did. She wanted to put up walls, actual borders along the perimeter of our land. She wants new wolves to fill out applications and come with letters of reference, and she insists deltas, alphas, betas don't mingle…"
"Seriously? Eugenics?" Mona scoffs.
"I'm just saying… that wasn't all about you. And the witches… they're a sore spot for us right now. We believe they are responsible for the missing shifters, but we have no proof. And one of our own was taken a few months ago, and it's set everyone on edge. That's no excuse for what Andrea did. But she thinks she was protecting the clan."
"I don't know why I acted like I was here to stay and she had to get over it," Mona mumbles absently.
"You are here to stay."
"I just mean, I was awfully defensive about Grayson and my place in the clan when I don't even know what that means. If I'm staying. And it's not like Grayson deserves my loyalty. Not after yesterday."
I hum in agreement. "Maybe. But you deserve to claim your place amongst us."
"And why's that?"
I look at her. Really take her in. Red hair, blazing like a fire in the sun. Cool, arctic-blue eyes. Small, pert nose, dusted with orange and brown freckles. Her omega flashes behind her irises, waiting to see if I'll just be another in a long line of fuck-ups.
Mona's lips purse and she turns to look away, but I snatch her chin, gripping it tight, before letting my thumb trace the line of her jaw to her neck, down to the column of her throat. Her pulse jumps beneath my thumb. She feels like velvet.
"Because you deserve to be seen, Mona. To be heard. You deserve a place to call home. People to call yours. And all that shit Grayson said the other night about mates, the Moon Goddess—I believe all of that. But when I look at you, I don't just see my destined partner—I seeyou."
I press my palm against her sternum, where her heart thunders. "I vow to put you first, Mona. Until my last breath. I want you here. More than anything. Please stop threatening to leave. Please." I swallow hard. "If you do, I'll fucking follow you to the ends of the earth. But, please give me—giveus—a chance. I know some things are still fucked up—but that's just static. Background noise. We'll figure it out together. I promise."
She swallows. I release her, not commenting on her watery eyes or blooming scent. The jasmine and dogwood flowers are stronger this time, flush with emotion.
"I think it was Beep," Mona whispers, clearing her throat.
"What was?"
"All that stuff in there," she waves toward the gym. "I don't know, it was weird. I could feel Andrea's alpha challenge me, and it was like Beep stepped in. It's funny, I don't really think of her as diplomatic, but… I also don't normally sound so rational."
It didn't strike me as odd at the time, but she's right. Mona leans toward sarcastic and annoyed. But with Andrea, she was calm. Rational.
Mona changes the subject, asking about the missing shifters. So, I explain what I can, that over the last five years or so, wolves have gone missing from all over the continent. Young, female, mostly. And though she likely doesn't want to hear about him, I tell her Silas was one of the first, as far as we could tell.
"You think he was involved?"
Something in the way she asks gives me pause. "You think he was involved in kidnapping female shifters?" I ask, trying to remind myself all she knows of him is violence, not to be offended on his behalf.
"I'm not saying that. I'm saying… what makes you so sure he wasn't?"
"I guess I don't know. But I've known Silas for a hundred and fifty years. We grew up together. My family moved west when I was in my twenties, and I stayed here. We are also pack. The same way we know you belong with us—fated, blessed by the Moon Goddess herself—I also know that Grayson and Silas are my pack brothers. We're meant to be family, to be in this life together. That gives you a certain amount of… assurance, I guess. It's hard to explain. Do you think he was involved?"
"I don't know," she says honestly. She tucks her chin into her hand, squishing up her cheek. It's cute. I shouldn't find every single thing she does endearing, but I can't help it. And this close, spending all morning with her—I've been trying to suppress the urge to bury my face in her neck. To bask in the calm, easing energy that flows effortlessly out of her. Her omega pheromones are un-fucking-real.
