A werewolf's life is a constant battle, but a chance to meet your soulmate eases the trials for most. Trae is happy with the mate he's given, a cute and daring girl who meets all of his expectations, but his brother Leroy... not so much. He is sure...
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Mae had been up all night to finish the book.
I knew she'd promised to call me, but part of me had still worried that she wouldn't; that she'd trashed my number and decided she never wanted to see me again. Now those doubts seemed stupid. She clearly needed someone to rant to. I quickly understood why she'd decided to call me rather than sending a text, too. It would have been way too much to type.
I liked listening to her voice anyway.
When she finally ran out of things to say, she let out a long sigh and said, "So how was your day—I mean, night?" She laughed. "The day has barely started. Oh, did I wake you up, by the way? Sorry if I did."
"Nah, don't worry. And it was, um . . . fulfilling?"
"That is an interesting choice of words."
An interesting word for an interesting night.
What would she say if I told her I'd spent it running around as a wolf? Would she think it was a joke and laugh? Would she think I was insane? All I could do was wonder—I couldn't take that risk so early on. I hummed and quickly changed the subject.
"Would you like to go out with me?"
"Oh, I'd love to. Just don't bring mini-Trae this time."
I let out a surprised laugh. "What? You want me to cut him off and leave him at home when I'm with you?"
"No, please leave him attached to your body," she chuckled, "but I would like to get to know you better before we let him out again."
"I agree," I said, smiling. "Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Yes."
"Why did you decide to help me?"
There was a moment of silence.
When I heard her sigh, I started to regret asking and opened my mouth, but then she said, "I don't know, actually."
"Oh."
"It's not as if I am the most innocent person ever, but in all honesty, I normally don't hook up with strangers. I just . . . I just wanted to. There's a first time for everything, right?"
"Yeah, that's true."
Did that mean our soulmate bond went both ways? Had she done it because she'd felt drawn to me? It was an interesting question but one I couldn't answer. My parents had always been the only ones I could get my information from, and they had no experience with being soulmates. Dad had once known other werewolves, but he hadn't been in touch with them since Leroy and I were born. From what I could gather, werewolves rarely interacted with each other. I could imagine why: we were quite territorial. The only reason for wolves to stick together was to form a pack, and it was best for lone wolves to avoid them. For some reason, packs believed they were superior to them. It was bullshit, of course. They had an advantage because they had numbers, but they were not any smarter, stronger, or richer.
