“I warned him not to touch my things,” she says to me.
“And I told you to shut it,” Tyler retorts.
The photo has seen better days. Crinkled and discolored, its edges are torn, and the corner is ripped. It shows a man and woman in a hospital bed smiling down at a baby swaddled in the mother’s arms.
Jay’s eyes are full of concern as she watches me handle it.
It must be important to her.
“Is this you?”
Jay nods.
I flip it over. On the back, it reads:
The day we became a family. Our daughter, Ja
April 2-
Her name and the year are cut off from the torn corner. Only aJand a lowercaseafor the name. The date is more legible, but what’s written next to it is faded. April and the number two.
“How old are you?”
Her face falls and voice softens. Seemingly difficult to talk about, she shakes her head and shrugs. “How old do you tell people you are?”
“Twenty-one.”
Interesting. Twenty-one, yet she seems completely unfazed by the mate bond.
Probably because she wasn’t sent here by the Moon Goddess but from Satan himself, I ponder.
On a more likely note, it must be because she’s not actually twenty-one. Nineteen—twenty, maybe—but not twenty-one. Otherwise, she’d recognize me.
There can be early signs of attraction to your mate, but your wolf can’t fully recognize and verify it’s them until you reach your twenty-first birthday.
“It’s just a stupid picture. It doesn’t mean anything,” she lies.
With a raised eyebrow, I challenge, “Oh really? Then you won’t mind if I just—”
I’m getting ready to tear the picture.
“No, don’t!” Jay blurts.
I pause, waiting.
“Ugh, fine. It means something to me.”
“Something?”
“Okay, everything,” she huffs.
“Oh, so youcantell the truth?”
Jay opens her mouth but closes it.
She’s got a lot of attitude for someone at a disadvantage. I would’ve thought she’d be more compliant than this. I’d love to punish that smart mouth of hers and then fuck her into submission until she’s—
Tyler looks between Jay and me. He scratches his head.
