Page 171 of Chaos At Second Sight

“Oh, my star! I have bad news! Terrible news! It’s a catastrophe!” That was how Mrs. Tina welcomed me. Her hair was dyed black that day, since she was mourning. “My grandson found a mate.” Ah, mourning that. “Some short, good-for-nothing girl! She doesn’t even play wereball, can you believe that? What was Moon Goddess thinking?”

“I don’t play wereball, Mrs. Tina. It’s not a requirement.” I chuckled, curling my hands around my mug of jasmine tea that she’d given me. We sat in her kitchen, surrounded by cream-colored cabinets, brass handles, pale-blue tiles behind the stove, and little ceramic wolves lined up along the windowsill. Copper pots hung above the island, and jars of flour, sugar, cinnamon, and tea crowded a shelf in mismatched glass containers. Sunlight spilled across the wooden counters, making the whole place feel like a warm hug.

“Oh, please. You’re an exception.” She winked. “With volunteering and all of your studies, I wonder how you find time to sleep!”

She bent over and pulled one of her famous apple pies from the oven. I jumped up to help her with the tray.

“Why don’t you like this girl? Have you met her?”

“No.” She licked her finger before grabbing a pie cutter.

“Did she say something rude?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Did she do something bad to your grandson?”

“Oh, no.” The scent of cinnamon flooded my nose. My watering mouth almost made me miss what Mrs. Tina mumbled next. “But she isn’t you.”

Here we go again. “Mrs. Tina, I’ve also found a mate. You know him for sure! He’s the son of⁠—”

She waved me off. “You’d be perfect for each other. Perfect! Trust me, girl, in my past life, I was the Moon Goddess. I know a match when I see one!”

I didn’t bother pointing out that Moon Goddess was immortal or that, according to everything Mrs. Tina told me, her grandson possessed a personality that could never match mine: arrogant, spoiled, narcissistic, womanizer.

“Maybe you should meet the girl. She might surprise you.”

Mrs. Tina scoffed. “My dear grandson will walk all over the poor thing, crushing her with his exuberant personality as he does with everyone else.”

“That’s not a good quality. To walk over people.” Carpets made of real people flashed through my head and I blamed Killian and Logan for the horror movie we watched the other day. Next time it was my turn, and I had my four-hour brain surgery to watch. See if they have nightmares after. All bragging about nothing scaring them.

She handed me a humungous slice of heaven. “He needs a smart woman who can keep up with him, not some little mouse who lets him do whatever he wants! You know my boy still receives gifts from his fans? A mate shouldn’t allow that!” She added whipped cream to my plate.

“And don’t get mad but…” Guilt crossed her face as she glanced toward the window. “I invited him over, so you two could finally meet. But what kind of woman allows her mate to see someone else?”

Well, certainly not me.

“He didn’t even tell his mate because she never asked him about it!” Mrs. Tina scoffed, peeling off her apron as I shoved a generous spoon into my happy mouth. “My boy said she’s jealous.” A condescending laugh slipped from her.

I could understand the jealousy part. Sometimes Logan’s fans made me want to fetch my Scottish arrows and go hunting.

“Of course she didn’t ask if he was meeting someone else! Who would ask that, Mrs. Tina?” A tiny part of me suggested that this sounded like something Logan might do—omit. “I think he should tell his mate and explain why he felt the need to see her.”

“Maybe.” She folded her apron and placed it on the counter. “But my Lolo is so handsome! It’s not implausible to think you two might get along!”

“Who?” I blinked. Did she say Lolo? Even if she had, it could mean nothing.

Couldn’t it?

“Lolo. My grandson.”

“Mate,” Ruby hissed as my skin tingled.

No.

“Mrs. Tina…” My voice came out carefully. “You aren’t related to Alpha Jonathan, are you?”

“What do you mean?”