I bare my teeth in what I hope is a semblance of a smile. The happy chatter of the pack fills the air, mixing with the scent of barbeque and summer. It's beautiful, surrounded by pack, family, and friends.

Another scent drifts my way. Perfume. Some sort of flower, I don't know. It makes my gut clench. Georgina. I thought that I would have to put in a concerted effort to ignore her tonight. She's wearing a skin-tight purple dress with fuck-me heels. When my eyes met hers earlier, I could see the rage hidden in their pretty blue depths.

I don't give a fuck. It's not hard to ignore Georgina at all. My attention is pinned to Lili like a wingless butterfly. More importantly, on the arm wrapped securely around her shoulders as she talks and jokes with the pups her age.

Braxton, that MateLess fuck, is moving in on my mate. I watch as he leans close until his lips are nearly touching her cheek, smiling and laughing at something she said. He steals a piece of food from her plate and pops it in his mouth. My wolf snarls furiously, fighting through the drugs to make his displeasure known.

"Sean, sweetie?" Mom leans over, her soft brown eyes looking at me worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, mom. I'm fine," I reply automatically, but my wolf's attention has now shifted to our human mother. He sniffs suspiciously in her direction as she twirls a piece of lettuce on her plate. A growl rumbles deep in his chest. Staring at his mother closely, he watches as she picks at her salad. She's always conscious of her weight, being surrounded by she-wolves.

"Eat," I snarl. The command bubbles up in my chest, and I spit it out before I can bite it back. "You're too skinny."

Mom looks at me, startled. I hear Dad growl in sharp reprimand. A bead of cold sweat rolls down my back. "Sorry," I mumble. Abruptly I stand. My spine crawls with the need to shift. Claws are starting to poke through the ends of my fingertips. My canines are sharp in my mouth.

"Sean-" Dad starts to rise, but I shake my head at him and walk away. I need to get away before he shifts in the middle of the party and hurts someone. As I walk away, my eyes slid to Lili one more time. The light from the globe lanterns strung overhead catch on her necklace, making the diamonds twinkle. She turns her head to look at Braxton. Her smile is even more beautiful than the gems on her throat.

Heading into the woods, I make sure I don't accidentally stumble onto any of the couples poorly hidden in the dark. Forced to take a circuitous route out of range of the party, I don't realize she's following me until that sweet flower smell floats over me.

"Sean," Georgina's voice is breathy and overtly sexual. I stop short but don't turn around to face her. A slim hand grips my suit-clad arm tightly. "Why didn't you come pick me up?" she asks quietly.

I finally spin around to face her. "What are you talking about?"

"Tonight. I was waiting for you," she said quietly. Her big blue eyes fill with tears. "You never came."

"Was I supposed to?" I snap. My wolf snarls, pacing, flashing fang at the stupid female bothering him.

"Yes, Sean," she says plaintively. Her bottom lip trembles. "You missed my exhibition, too. I won."

"I was working," I say with emphasis. I can't fucking sleep because of the nightmare of my job and all the shit I've done lately. I can't close my eyes without dreaming of Lili being the next murder victim.

"I miss you, Sean. I miss us," she presses her body closer.

"I never agreed to date you again, Georgie. We're over," I growl, consumed with the desire to shed my clothes and run.

"Can't we just be friends again?" she asks me desperately. "Sean... you're really suffering. I can tell. I just want to be there for you."

"Like you were there for me when you sucked Conner's dick?" I sneer at her.

She goes pale. Her hand drops away from my arm, limp. "I'm sorry," she whispers. "It was the worst mistake of my life."

"Yeah?" I ask her sarcastically. A dart of pain rushes through my body. My wolf is tired of having this discussion. Another lick of fire crawls up my spine as a thought worms its way into my fucked-up brain. "Your worst mistake was in stabbing Lili in the back," I say quietly.

Georgina gapes at me in astonishment. She stumbles backward a step before recovering, straightening up. "It's not even close," she snarls. "You are who is important. Iliana is nothing to me."

"She's your sister," I point out. "We betrayed her. Who the fuck does that?" I ask her. Part of me hopes that Georgina will agree with me. I want confirmation that I'm terrible.

"She's not my sister," Georgina says flatly. "She's always hated me, resented me for being prettier and older and stronger. You know that, Sean. You've seen the horrible things she's always doing to me."

I spread my hands out to my sides. "She's a bully, but you and I... Georgina, can anything hurt more than losing your mate and sister because they betrayed you?"

"Yes," she says abruptly. "I know exactly how much it hurts to lose your mate. I lost you."

"You betrayed me," I shout.

"So you understand, too!" she cries. "Look at us, Sean! We're so broken, but Iliana is fine! She's wearing a twenty-thousand dollar necklace that Braxton gave her tonight! He's feeding her, and she's smiling and laughing as if she didn't reject you only a week ago!"

I feel like I've just been punched in the dick. "What?" I ask in disbelief.

Georgina nods. Tears are coating her cheeks. "She doesn't care about you, Sean. I love you. I always have. You used to love me, too. Did it all just go away?"

I screw my eyes shut. My wolf is growling, snapping his jaws at the air crazily. Georgina's right about one thing; I am broken. Lili is moving on. Then again, she told me she was going to, didn't she?

Grey eyes, too big in a delicate, thin face, stare at me in hollow agony. Her body, skeletal, knees and elbows knobby because she has no extra flesh. Thin, short hair, lackluster and dull.

Lili is not fine.

"Get away from me," I seethe. "We are not friends anymore, Georgina, and sure as fuck, not lovers." I turn away from her and rip off my suit jacket and kick off my shoes. The rest of my clothes come off, and I shift onto paws, churning the dirt as I start to run, leaving the scent of female arousal behind me.

---

I lean my chin on my hand, staring at the milling crowd of the pack. Frustration, mine and my wolf's, rolls through me.

I was healing. I was there, or at least getting there. Then, tonight, when Sean and Georgina left together... I broke all over again. I hid it as best I could, shoving it down deep, but when Braxton gathered me a little closer in his arms, I knew that my sorrow and rage were seeping through the cracks in my shield. Unfortunately, or maybe, fortunately, Braxton was called away by his family. He left me with Mom, Dad, and Phoebe, and not five minutes later, Georgina returned to the party.

She came back stinking like Sean but not like sex. I still went to the bathroom to escape... and vomit. It's a new symptom, probably because I ate so well tonight. I need to delve deep into my bag of tricks to make me forget what could have happened in the woods between my never-mate and my sister.

Clinging to the sink, I splash cold water on my face and rinse out my mouth. I reach for a mint just as the door creaks open.

I freeze. I should have gone to a private bathroom instead of the public one, but I didn't think I would make it inside the packhouse, and these stalls are right next to the party.

A sense of profound relief hits me when I hear Luna Bailey's voice, "You are not following me inside the restroom, Conner Lucian Grim."

I have to bite back my grin when I hear Alphason Conner's response. "Honeygirl, we can go to the house. This is a public restroom-"

"I'm pregnant. Not a princess. I need to pee five minutes ago. Go away." Luna Bailey pops her head into the bathroom. "Hi, Iliana." She turns her head. "It's Ili. No one else is in here," she says to her mate. I hear him grumble a "fine," and then Luna Bailey walks inside the room.

"He's working on it," she explains.

My laugh bubbles over. "Working on what?" I ask her.

"The crazy over-protectiveness."

"You were injured in the bathroom once!" I hear Alphason Conner call out.

"Ili isn't going to attack me!" she calls back.

Someone is going to attack our Luna.

I snarl and flash fang. Claws erupt from the ends of my fingertips. The door crashes open, and Alphason Conner fills the doorway. His narrowed, glowing eyes survey the room as I clasp my hand over my mouth. "Sorry!" I say, muffled Oh. My. Goddess. My she-wolf just went berserk-o with Luna Bailey standing four feet away in a tiny, enclosed space. "You said, attack," I explain to them.

Alphason Conner relaxes while Luna Bailey just stares at him balefully. With a slight smirk and a nod to me, he steps back outside and lifts the door into the hole. He always did find the oddest things funny. He and Braxton are definitely brothers.

"I'm going to pee my pants because of that man," Luna Bailey announces. She rushes into a stall as she hikes up her dress (not pants) and I start to laugh again. Thankfully, she joins me in giggling.

When we stop laughing, I try to leave to give her privacy. It's not until I'm standing in front of the door that I realize that it's still being held in place by Alphason Conner. I'm not about to ask him to move.

"Ili?" Luna Bailey calls out over the sound of her tinkling.

I'm surprised she's a pee-talker. Humans are usually more prudish, right? "Yes, Luna Bailey?" I reply respectfully.

She snorts, and I hear the sound of the toilet roll spinning. "Just Bailey, please."

My she-wolf struts proudly.

"Do you want to go swimming with me on Saturday?" she asks hopefully.

My stomach clenches and falls for the second time tonight. "Swimming?" I ask her weakly.

"Oh. You don't like to swim, either," she responds quietly. She flushes the toilet and comes out of the stall. Washing her hands, she meets my eyes in the mirror.

She looks so sad. "There's a group of swimmers in the pack," I blurt out, remembering all the flyers hung around school advertising clubs and sports that continue during the summer. "Mostly hybrids or humans. You can join that group, maybe?"

She brightens up. "I love swimming. Conner showed me the pool at the athletic center. It looks amazing. When do they swim?"

"I'm not sure," I say. "I can find out?"

"And can you come with me? Even if you don't swim?" she blinks up at me. My she-wolf, quivering, peeks at her warily but with her tail wagging slightly. She wants to make this human girl happy so badly, but... swimming means water in a pool.

"Sure!" I respond with enthusiasm that is entirely unnatural because I can't say 'no' to this girl.

If Luna Bailey notices, she doesn't let on. Smiling brightly, she chirps, "fabulous! See you soon, Ili!" Floating to the door, it opens like magic for her. Alphason Conner smirks at me again, shaking his head ruefully when his mate skips past him. He leans the door against the wall outside, then follows his mate back to the party.

I think I've just been played by a master.

---

"They want to train you."

"No." I fold my arms and glare at my dad, fully aware that I'm mimicking his pose.

His arms unfold as Papa says, "it's just for a couple of months, Braxton. The summer."

Yeah, the summer that I'm supposed to be spending making Ili fall in love with me. Dad must have spoken with Uncle Alex about my interest. He's got that gleam in his eyes that says he's planning something. Unlike Uncle Alex's plans, which are typically intricate, devious, and unfold over months and years, Dad's plans are a little more in-your-face and quick. Sending me up north to RustClaw to get "real" training is Dad's idea, full stop.

"No."

"You were supposed to go when you turned eighteen," Dad says.

Papa pinches his waist in a silent reprimand until Dad captures his hand and brings it up to his lips to kiss.

It's a sore subject. Caroline had died only a couple of years earlier. I wasn't in any position train at all, much less go north to get knocked around by some of the baddest motherfuckers on the planet.

"I have things to do here," I hedge.

"We noticed," Dad says bluntly.

Shit. I overplayed my hand. I feel my wolf bare his fangs, furious at the thought of losing his female before we've even had a chance to begin.

"Four weeks," Papa bargains. "Then, maybe Orion can come down here to finish your training."

"He may," Dad admits. "He hasn't met his mate, yet." He rolls his shoulders, not letting Papa's hand go when he tries to tug himself away.

"Why don't you call up there and see if Alpha In can spare him?" Papa asks gently.

"It's a good idea," Dad croons to him. Trust Papa to be the middle man. They kiss while I roll my eyes. Mom isn't even in the room. Her absence speaks volumes about how much she hates the idea of me going north.

"Alright, Brax. I'll call, but regardless of their decision, you need to go up there to train, yeah?"

"I'll think about it," I tell him stubbornly. Finally, I turn and stalk from the room, trusting Papa to keep Dad from punching me in the kidney for being so disrespectful.

"I'll send him north in a fucking box," Dad growls out as I leave.

"Alright, sexy. Make the call," Papa says to him.

I make it to Ili's house in under three minutes. Panting, I go to her window on the first floor and knock.

A grouchy, tousled beauty greets me on the other side of the glass. She opens her window, not needing to unlock anything, I notice. "You are unbelievable," she mumbles.

"I'm sorry," I apologize. "Did I wake you up?"

"No."

I hide my smile as I brace myself on the frame and hoist my body over the sill into her room.

"Come on in, Brax," she says sarcastically.

I swoop in with a swift kiss on her mouth. She gasps, making a strangled sound in her throat. I hesitate, a little stunned at my own ballsy move. It just seemed so natural to kiss her. Especially with those pretty pink lips pouting.

Her grey eyes stare up at me in surprise. Her breath stutters a little as she searches for words. I can't listen to her scold me for stealing a kiss. My wolf and I are trembling at the idea of leaving her here for a month.

"I have to go north to train," I whisper to her.

That does the trick. Her eyes darken in sorrow. "When?" she asks me.

"Sometime soon. For half the summer," I tell her. I don't elaborate or make promises of when I can return. Part of me knows that this training will be good for me, so I'll do it, throw myself into it. "Will you miss me?"

"That was my first kiss," she blurts out. Red blooms in her face, the blush traveling quickly to parts of her hidden away under her baggy sweatshirt.

"Your first kiss and I stole it? What a jackass. I should make up for it." Her eyes open wide as I lean in. I hesitate, just a little, to see if she'll stop me. When her eyelashes flutter and her lips part on a soft inhale, I kiss her again.

I gather her closer as she melts into me. I go as slow and gentle as I can. My wolf isn't helping. Eagerly he paws the ground, wagging his tail as he sniffs at the she-wolf warily hidden away in Ili's mind. He can't get to her yet. I'll have to Mark Ili first, but he knows she's there.

"Braxton," she whispers against my lips.

"Yeah, doll?"

"What are we doing?"

"Cuddling," I tell her. Gently, I scoop her up and carry her to her bed.

"I can't-" she blurts out.

"Shh. I will never hurt you, Ili. I'm not pushing you for a fuck. When we pop our cherries, it's going to be done right."

She snorts out a laugh, just like I intended. The tension recedes from her delicate shoulders. "You're such an unromantic ass. I had high hopes for you."

Grinning, I tuck her into the bed with me and pull the covers over her. She burrows into me as I wrap my arms around her. Her hands feel like blocks of ice, so I tuck them under my shirt. Just to warm her up.

She caresses my bare stomach as I kiss her again. A slight worry niggles in my brain. I haven't been training as hard I should. Will she be impressed with my body? Shit. Maybe I really do need that training up north.

"What's wrong?" she asks me.

I smile at her. "Nothing. Just... babydoll I know I have no real right to ask this, but wait for me?"

She rolls her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere, dumbass."

"I love your pet names for me, Doll."

"Doofus."

"You make me hard when you talk like that."

Her nose wrinkles. "Males are always sporting wood, Brax."

"No cocks near my female," I snarl as rage sparks through me.

The smile falls from her face as she flinches away from me.

"Sorry," I whisper, ashamed at losing my temper. My wolf curls his shoulders, head bowed, looking guilty.

She's quiet for a long while, until she makes the most asinine observation I've ever heard. "Males don't look at me that way," she says stiffly.

Scowling, I look at her gorgeous face. "Of course they do. You're beautiful and sexy. Any male would be proud to have you on his arm."

I don't know if it's my dismissive tone of voice, or I've just overstayed my welcome, but Ili pulls away from me and gets up out of the bed.

"Come visit before you leave?" she asks, dismissing me from her bedroom like a little queen.

Reluctantly I stand up. "Of course, babydoll. I'm not leaving immediately. I'll be here tomorrow to pick you up-"

She shakes her head at me. My heart sinks, but she firmly tells me, "no. I have plans in the morning."

"Alright. When can I see you?"

She looks at me in silent contemplation. "Maybe tomorrow afternoon?"

I relax a little, but I'm not happy about her plans. "Fine. Text me or I'll come find you." Shit. That sounded... not great. Ili seems to agree as she side-eyes me. I walk to the window, wishing I could kiss her again, but she's clearly not the happiest with me right now.

"Goodnight, Doll."

"'Night Brax."