Brock leered at me. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here before I lose my appetite.”
They left without giving me a backward glance. The doorbell chimed again as they exited, sending a gust of frigid winter air billowing inside. Once they were gone, I released a heavy sigh. Thank God that was over. I continued folding the clothes I’d been busy with, then stacked them in a small pile. As I worked, I tried my best to get my mind off Anders and his comments. A few months of power had gone straight to his head.
Before I’d even finished the pile, the doorbell jingled again, and my heart leapt to my throat. Had they come back to bully and degrade me some more?
“What’s up, girl?”
I nearly sobbed in relief at the voice. Not Anders or Brock. My best friend Beatrice.
“Hey,” I said. “Just working. What are you up to?”
She walked over, shrugging off her winter coat, her blonde hair swaying. “What am I up to? Are you serious? I’ve been doing whatyoushould be doing. Getting ready for tomorrow tonight. I got my hair and nails done for the occasion.”
“Oh,” I muttered, my smile vanishing. “That.”
She arched an eyebrow, peering at me with her dark brown eyes, as if trying to figure out what was wrong with me.
“That? Seriously?” Beatrice said, then looked over at my grandmother as she stepped out of the back room. “Mrs. Hollis, are you hearing your granddaughter right now?”
Gran looked up and smiled. “Oh, hello, Beatrice. What are we talking about?”
My insides shriveled. As much as Beatrice looked forward to tomorrow night, I’d been dreading it.
“She’s acting like the arrangement ceremony tomorrow night is no big deal,” Beatrice said.
Gran hurried over, looking eager to engage in somegirl talk. As much as she loved Grandpa, he wasn’t big on chit chat, and she thrived on it.
“June, you should be excited,” she said, running her hand across my shoulders. “It’s a big day. You know, that’s where your grandfather and I were first paired up.”
The arrangement ceremony, led by the pack elders, took place every year. Any wolf who had yet to meet their fated mates were paired together at the ceremony. The specifics of how they made their choices were kept hidden to everyone but the elders, but it was an open secret that they used some sort of astrological chart, birth records, and blood tests to make the pairing based on how well the two people would work together.
For the most part, the pairings worked well—my grandparents were the best evidence for it. It wasn’t an instant connection like a fated mate, but that was a once-in-a-lifetime find. You could grow to love whomever you were paired with and have a happy life nonetheless. Hell, some people never found a fated mate, and their only option was a regular mate. That was nothing to be worried about or ashamed of.
My issue with the whole thing was that the elders might pair me with one of the members of the pack who didn’t want to be with a shifter who had no ability to shift. I’d tried everything over the years to find my inner wolf, from meditation to yoga, andstillI couldn’t shift. How many shifters would want to bind themselves to someone like that for the rest of their lives?
“Was it love at first sight?” Beatrice asked, looking at my grandmother with bright expectant eyes.
Gran snorted. “I don’t know aboutthat.We’d known each other for years. Grew up together. When the elders called out our names, there was a bit of shock and surprise, though everyone realizes they’ll be paired with someone unexpected. Fated mates come from powerful binding magic, and they usually find each other naturally, but the pairings at the ceremony come out of left field.” She grinned conspiratorially. “That’s part of the fun.”
“Fun. Yeah,” I said, doing my best to smile. “Sounds great.”
Their smiles faded at my tone.
“You’re still worried about who you get paired with?” Beatrice asked. “I told you not to worry. Girl, you’re gorgeous, smart, funny. Hell, you’re prettier than I am. You’ve got it all.”
“Don’t say that. You’re beautiful,andyou have an inner wolf.” I sighed, shaking my head as I looked at Gran. “If I had the sight, I could go ahead and see who I end up with.”
Gran chuckled. “I don’t think it works that way. Not that I would really know. That was your grandfather’s side of the family.”
The sight—the ability to see into the past as well as anticipate the future—was one of the rarest gifts shifters had. Grandpa didn’t have the gift, but apparently his own father had. It appeared that little gift had run its course through the Hollis family, since I didn’t have an ounce of it.
“This is what you need to do,” Gran said, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. “Be yourself. That’s all. If you do that, then everything else will fall into place. Have faith. I’mpositivethe elders will pick someone wonderful for you.”
“Exactly,” Beatrice said, beaming at me. “You’re gonna have a great time tomorrow night. Mrs. Hollis, can Juniper take off early? I want to help her pick out something cute to wear.”
“Of course,” Gran said, patting my back. “Go on, dear. We can handle the rest of the day.”
“Okay.” Mustering as much excitement as I could, I grabbed my coat and stepped out from behind the counter. “Let’s go.”
