Chapter 3

The drive from my parents’ house didn’t take long. The baseline of Andrew Bayer’s “Bullet Catch” rattled the speakers, and I grinned. I freaking loved this track. The dirty beats made my heart race every time. When the breakdown hit, Dastien squeezed my leg.

He was smiling. I love this one, too.

It’s kind of perfect, right?

He cranked the volume as he hit the gas, and we wound through the curves of a back road, pushing his fancy-ass car to its limits.

This. This was why I was with him. He’d totally played this track for me—for us—because he knew it’d make me happy.

The greens and browns of the forest blurred past. As we neared campus, a brick fence loomed. The gates to St. Ailbe’s were just ahead. I held my breath, waiting for Dastien to slow down, but he blew straight past.

I gripped the door handle. You missed it.

Did I?

He sounded a little more than mischievous. The guy was definitely up to something. Where are we going?

I want a little time with you before tonight. Is that okay?

Alone time with Dastien? You read my mind.

He laughed, because that wasn’t far from the truth. Ever since I’d gone furry for the first time, we’d been using this form of communication more and more. It was easier than talking aloud. Or maybe I just liked it better. It felt special.

Dastien finally slowed as he turned the car onto a dirt road.

Huh. I’d never been down here, and for good reason. The “road” was practically a deer path.

A loud thunk rattled the car as it bottomed out. The scratching noise pained me. “Holy crapola! That sounded like it hurt.”

“Eh. I’m sure it’s fine.”

The guy had lost his mind. After ten minutes of holding onto the “oh shit” bar, he finally stopped the car in the middle of the forest.

I unbuckled and got out. “Where are we?”

He gave me a small smile, and a wave of his nerves hit me. “This way.”

Why was he nervous?

I sighed. Sometimes Dastien wasn’t the most forthcoming person. I could’ve dug into his mind and figured out what we were doing. At least, I was pretty sure I could do that now that our bond had strengthened, but being patient was the better route. Snooping of any kind was rude, especially the mental kind.

I followed behind him as he wove through trees. After a little bit we hit a clearing.

The grass, brush, and flowers were wild and overgrown. I could hear and smell the wildlife that lived there. The view even had a small lake—okay maybe a pond, but whatever—it was amazing. “Wow. This is awesome. How did you find this?”

“You like it?” He was still nervous.

Not going to pry. Not even going to think about it. The temptation was too strong.

I was quiet for a second as I walked closer to the pond. The clearing was massive. Acres. It’s beautiful.

Dastien’s cheeks reddened.

Holy shit. He was blushing. My mate was actually blushing.

Something was up. Something was special about this land, and I wasn’t getting it. I looked around again, trying to figure out what this was about, but nothing sprang to mind.

He closed the distance between us and pulled me into a hug. “I know I said we didn’t have to move in together, but I thought one day, this could be a good place to live.”

I laughed. “Here?” There wasn’t anything around except for a forest and a pond.

“Here.” The nerves were back.

What was he talking about?

“It’s kind of like a dual birthday and bonding present.”

“My brain isn’t functioning.” I blinked a few times, trying to process his words. “This—all of this land—is a present? For me?”

“For us. The spread is about fifty acres. We could build a house near the lake. There are fish and it’s quiet. Plenty of room to go for runs. Not too far from your parents or brother—if they stay in Texas. Obviously, it’s a long-term thing. But my cabin won’t work forever, and when we start to think about a family and—”

Wow. My mind was blown.

He’d bought me acreage. For a house. So we could raise a family here. The guy was light-years ahead of me, but that wasn’t anything new. Still, I was worried about growing up and taking the next step, and he was onto building a house and raising a whole pack of kids.

It was a little absurd. I stepped away from him as I took in everything.

“You don’t like it?” His tone was more than a little pouty.

“That’s not…” I didn’t know what to say. “I mean, I love it. I just wasn’t prepared. I didn’t expect anything like this.” I was totally messing this up. “Am I supposed to get you something? Because I definitely didn’t buy you a farm or two goats or whatever.”

He grinned, and the dimples deepened in his cheeks. “No. You’re giving me you. That’s what I want. It’s tradition that the guy gifts his mate the home they’ll share. This isn’t exactly a place to live yet, but I think it could be perfect.”

I tucked myself to his side and scanned out at the land again. A house. A lake. I could handle that. “It’s perfect.”

Dastien put his arm around my shoulder and I reached up to link my fingers with his.

One thing that he’d said stuck out though. “Kids, huh?”

“In a few years?”

“A few years?” Now that was something I wasn’t ready for. “You realize we’re kids.”

“We’re also werewolves. We can wait twenty years, but I see you and I see the future. I want to be prepared. I want to give you everything.”

That was sweet, but I really didn’t need all of it. “I only need you.” I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. “But umm…I won’t have puppies will I?”

He pulled away, looking at me like I was nuts. “Puppies? We’re not dogs.”

“I know…but you know—” I waved my hands around, trying to ease the tension. “The babies…they won’t come out furry, right?” Because I didn’t know if I could handle that.

Dastien started laughing. Hard. Like he probably was busting a gut. He fell to the ground when I shoved him.

“It was a valid question!” My cheeks were burning. Okay, so it was a dumb question, but it was a fear of mine.

He pulled me down beside him. “No. They won’t be furry.” He chuckled again. “We don’t change until puberty. Remember? That’s why the school exists.”

Oh. Right. “Well, I got carried away for a second. You buy me land and start talking about a family and my mind is still sort of in pieces. I mean…I can barely think about what’s going to happen post-St. Ailbe’s—or post-next week really—and you’re talking family.”

His rough hands ran up my arms and I shivered. “I thought the girl was the one who was supposed to be all into the family thing.”

“That’s a cliché. And if there is one thing I refuse to be, it’s a cliché.” His mouth was inches from mine, and I couldn’t look away from his lips.

“No one would ever think that, my bruja, alpha werewolf, human. You are anything but normal.”

Done waiting for him to close the distance, I brushed my lips against his quickly and my heart kicked into gear. “Isn’t it grand?”

“It sure is, cherie,” he said with his lips a breath away from mine. His hands on my cheeks, he deepened the kiss. I lost myself in it. The warmth of him. I ran my fingers under his shirt, and wrapped one leg around his hips.

It wasn’t enough. I wanted more of him. It was like I was drowning and he was my air.

We rolled until I was under him. “I love you.”

“Je t’aime.” He ran his nose along my neck and I moaned. Goose bumps spread out along my skin as he muttered something in French.

I loved it when he did that.

He nipped my earlobe, and I pulled him back to me. I needed his lips. Again.

My cell phone started ringing, playing a loop from Above and Beyond’s new track.

Dastien pulled back from the kiss just long enough to say, “Ignore it.”

I was with him. His hips ground into me and I moaned. My body was burning up.

My phone went off again. Ignore.

His hand ran under my shirt, and I swear I saw stars as he lightly teased my nipple.

When my cell rang a third time, I pulled back. “Damn it.” I panted. Trying to catch my breath, I checked the screen. Meredith had called three times.

Oh shit. “We’re so late!” I said as I plopped back down on top of him.

“What time is it?” Dastien sat back enough to pull his phone from his pocket. “Oh. Wow. It’s almost seven. We should head back.”

“But I was having such a good time.” These days, time alone with Dastien was mostly made of stolen moments here and there. It was frustrating. Or maybe I was just frustrated.

He brushed the hair from my face. “Me, too.” He quickly pressed his lips to mine and stood. “Come on. If we don’t go now, we’ll stay forever.”

I took his hand and he pulled me up. I scanned the clearing one last time before heading back to the car. “Thank you, Dastien.”

He squeezed my hand. “Thank you. I’m excited about living here with you.”

“Me, too.”

His answering dimpled grin made my heart soar. I felt so full I could burst.

***

As soon I stepped onto my floor in the girls’ dorms, Meredith’s door swung open. “Where the hell have you been?” She stormed down the hall. “Is that a twig in your hair?” She tugged so hard she practically ripped out a piece of my scalp.

“Ouch. Watch it.”

“It is…it’s a twig.” She studied it for a second. “What have you been up to?” This time the anger was gone, replaced with a heavy dose of curiosity.

“Nothing,” I said, but I was sure my cheeks were a lovely shade of red, totally giving me away.

“Mmm-hmmm. Nothing my ass.” She held out the twig and I snatched it from her.

I started down the hall to my room. The dorms were set up so everyone had their own room, but two rooms shared a bathroom. Meredith and I shared ours. I’d been nervous about it at first, but she’d ended up being the best part of the dorm. I’d never really had a girl friend before.

My room was still decked out in all white. Even though I could probably add stuff now that I didn’t have to bleach the emotions and memories from everything, I was still a little paranoid.

I tossed the twig in the trash. “So, Dastien kind of bought me a bunch of land?”

“He bought you land?” She sounded excited.

I grabbed a brush from the bathroom and saw my reflection.

Yup. I was looking crazy. My hair was one giant rat’s nest. I started attempting to fix the tangles. “Yeah. Fifty acres so we could build some sort of monstrous house and start a family.”

“Nice!”

Picturing the pond and what could be there made me smile like a moron. “I know, right? But it’s a little nuts.” I pulled a leaf from the brush.

“And romantic. Most people who do the Full Moon Ceremony have estates to move into. Dastien’s parents have a place somewhere in France. I don’t think he’s been in years, though. But if the mate doesn’t come from a rich family, then the guy makes sure they have a place to share post-ceremony. I was expecting him to give you the keys to something, but land to build on is a nice touch.”

“So, when you and Donovan do your ceremony, you’ll move to his place? In Ireland?” I said, taking a wild guess. I had no idea where Donovan usually lived.

She shrugged. “I hadn’t thought about it, actually. I guess I should’ve. I don’t even know where Donovan lives.”

I grinned. It was nice being on the same wavelength with her.

Meredith was quiet for a second, but then she laughed. She was totally asking him using their bond. “He just told me that I’m ruining surprises by asking him questions, but I have options. He says he has a place on every continent but Antarctica. Although he favors the one in Ireland in County Clare, I get my pick.” She plopped down on my bed. “I like the sound of that.”

I gave up on my hair. It wasn’t going to be fixable without a shower. I tossed the brush on my bedside table. “When are you two gonna do the whole ceremony hoopla?”

She snorted. “Ceremony hoopla? We’re going to do it at the Full Moon Ceremony next month.”

“Why wait?”

“We could do two in one night, but usually it’s one couple at a time. Plus, I wanted to give you and Dastien the chance to have your own special time. You’ve worked hard for this.”

I sat next to her. That was nice, but made me feel a little guilty. “I don’t want you to wait because of me. It’s not like you’ve had an easy time either.” That spell she’d been under was horrible, and not being able to shift for years…

“No, but Donovan and I have both been Weres our whole lives. We always knew what we were and the dangers around us. This life wasn’t at all what you were expecting, and you’ve had to make huge adjustments.”

No kidding. I hadn’t imagined that werewolves existed in my wildest dreams, let alone that I’d be one.

“Plus, this is my first Full Moon Ceremony in years. I’ll actually get to run with the pack now that the curse is gone. I’m happy enjoying just that for now.” Meredith popped up from my bed. “Okay. So you need to shower, and then we’ll get you ready. I got the robes from Mr. D in my room.”

“Robes? Really?” I knew that there were some in the boxes of clothes stashed around campus, but it still seemed totally weird.

“Unless you want to shred what you’re wearing or undress before you shift in front of everyone, the robe is the best way to go.”

Shit. “I’ll take the robe.”

“Thought so.”

Meredith headed into her room, and I closed the door behind her. I flipped the shower knobs, putting the water as hot as I could stand. Showering was one of my favorite things. I did some of my best thinking in there.

The past week had really been a blur. Between breaking the curse on Meredith and the birthday and everything else, I hadn’t had time to catch my breath. The nerves that I’d felt since my cousins showed up at my parents’ house finally started to settle down. No wonder I was feeling so anxious. It was natural to be worried when it came to them. But Donovan and Dastien had it covered. Everything was going to be totally fine.

I was happy with the way my life was going. Had things been a little hectic? Yes. That only made life interesting. Soon, everything would settle down. It had to, right?

When I was done showering, I worked on detangling my hair. Maybe rolling around on the ground with Dastien hadn’t been the smartest choice hair-wise, but it sure had been fun. I was pretty sure we’d move on to the next step in our relationship soon. And then I’d be spending more nights in his cabin. We’d just been sleeping so far, but waking up next to Dastien was kind of perfect on its own.

“All right, girly. Time’s up.”

I tightened the towel around myself as Meredith opened the bathroom door. She held a red robe. It was long, floor length, and hooded.

“I got this one altered for you.”

I was at least half a foot shorter than the shortest werewolf. “Thanks. I wouldn’t have thought of that.”

“No worries. I got your back.” She set the robe on the counter. “Let’s fix your hair, put on a little makeup, and then head out.”

I forced myself to take steady, even breaths. “Right.” My voice was a little squeaky.

“It’s going to be fine. This is no big deal. You’re already bonded to the hotness.”

“Right.” Still squeaky.

“And you love him.”

I let the breath go. “Right.” Not even a little squeaky.

“I’m thinking we do some braids. That way you can put on the hood and not mess it up too much.”

I shrugged. My normal style was leaving the hair down and letting it air dry or tying it up in a totally sloppy knot. I wasn’t one for fixing myself up, except for special occasions. But this totally counted as one.

“Whatever you think.” Because I couldn’t think about anything other than what would come next. My mind was already a million miles away, going over the steps of the ceremony.

Meredith clapped her hands. “Perfect. Go sit at my desk. I’ll bring everything over.”

I was fidgeting too much as she worked. “You’ve got to stop moving.”

I chewed on my lip. “So, did you see the latest episode of The Soup?” It was a total non sequitur, but it kept me distracted when all I wanted was to be outside with Dastien, and fully bonded.

I borrowed Meredith’s computer to show her the latest clip of Finding Bigfoot. We were laughing when I realized that maybe I was the dumb one. Could they really be onto something?

“Wait. Is there a bigfoot?”

Meredith snorted. “No. Not that I’ve ever heard of.”

“Thank God. If those morons were right, I was going to freak out.”

“Even if they were real, I doubt leaving a half-eaten donut in the middle of the forest is going to attract one. And what is with that crazy screaming bigfoot noise that guy makes? Does he really think that it’s going to attract a bigfoot? I mean, how does he know that’s what a bigfoot even sounds like?”

I laughed. “I know! Right? Because they’re not real. It’s horrible.”

Meredith stepped away from me. “Okay. Done.”

“Really?”

“Yup.”

I got up to look in the mirror. My hair had gotten pretty long—the dark brown wavy-curls reached halfway down my back. Meredith had shaped the mess into lots of little braids that twisted together and formed a crown. “Wow. This is amazing.”

“Thanks.”

“How did you learn to do this?”

“The same way anyone learns anything these days—the Internet.”

I picked up a compact mirror so I could see it from all angles. “Seriously. I’m impressed.”

“Happy to be of service. So, makeup?”

I gave myself an honest once-over. Ever since I became a werewolf, I hadn’t used much. My complexion was pretty perfect—which it had never been before. I put on a little shadow, some eyeliner, and mascara.

My hands were sweating as I slipped the robe on over my towel.

This was it. Today was the day that I was going to do this whole werewolf ceremony thingy.

You okay? Dastien’s voice rumbled through the bond.

I tied the robe and ran a hand over my trembling stomach. Fine.

I’ll see you soon, okay?

I closed my eyes as his love and support washed over me. Okay.

The nerves were still there, but lessened. I still had the nagging feeling like something bad was going to happen, but I hoped that was just me being a pessimistic worrier. I was ignoring my gut and trusting my heart.

What could possibly go wrong?