“You’re going to kill us with suspense until tonight!” Ava pouted. “But I should warn you, Alpha Draven knows you went to lunch with Jax.”
I felt my stomach drop. “How does he know?”
“Kyle told him.”
“And?…” I tried to keep my voice steady, though Rory was suddenly alert within me.
“I overheard him telling Ryan that it’s better if you move on, he doesn’t want you to suffer and Jax is a decent man But Carrie,” she lowered her voice, “his wolf was howling. He’s devastated.”
“I know, Ava,” I sighed, feeling Rory’s sadness echo my own. “But I can’t let myself sink. I have a son who needs me. Jax is a great person and we agreed to be friends for now. He knows my situation and my feelings. Soon Draven will be mated and I won’t be the other woman.”
“You’re right. Let’s get back to work.” She gave my arm a supportive squeeze.
When I sat at my desk, I checked my phone and had lots of messages from the girls, all wanting to know how my lunch with Jax went, with many emojis and funny stickers. I sent a message to the group saying the same thing I’d told Ava, that I’d tell them tonight.
There was a message from my parents asking how we were doing. Dad’s messages always carried that protective Beta tone, even in text. I hadn’t found the courage yet to tell them what happened with Draven. I’d wait to explain when I visited them again.
There was also a message from Mabel with a photo of Liam all covered in ice cream, hands up in the air with such a happy face. His purple eyes sparkled with joy. In the message, she said it was a very hot day and my little cub had been so well-behaved that he earned an ice cream after eating all his lunch. I smiled at that photo. My son ate everything and ate well, but he loved ice cream, candy, and chocolate just like any wolf cub with a sweet tooth.
And there was another message that made me smile, but in a different way. It was from Jax.
“I loved spending time with you, but I have a problem. I’m sitting at my desk with a silly grin on my face. My wolf won’t settle down. I have tons of work to do, but I can only think about you. My next invitation won’t take long. I want to see you again soon.”
I quickly typed back to him,”I really enjoyed spending time with you too. I’m looking forward to your next invitation. You sure know how to show a woman a good time.”
He replied with a sticker of a wolf pup lying on its back, paws in the air, surrounded by hearts. Below it said “yeah… my wolf’s smitten!”
I smiled at that, put my phone away, and went back to work. Jax really made my day lighter, and Rory was pleased too, even if she wasn’t completely satisfied.
After work, Ryan’s driver who was at my disposal drove Ava and me home. When I opened the door, four pairs of women’s eyes were fixed on me.
“Come on, Caroline, spill it! We want to know everything!” Eleanor demanded right away.
“First, I’m going to see my little cub.” Mabel was coming with Liam in her arms, and he was already squirming toward me, his scent full of happiness at seeing his mother.
“Well, ladies, since you’re all here and Liam’s already had his bath, I’m heading home.” Mabel handed Liam to me, gave him a kiss and another to me, grabbed her purse, and left.
The girls were very eager, but I didn’t tell them anything before putting Liam to bed. I kept stalling, and our conversation drifted to other topics.
After Liam fell asleep, I returned to the living room.
“Come on, Carrie, tell us. My brother hasn’t said anything!” Ruby said, her red hair moving as she sat up.
“You asked him?” I was surprised they wanted to know so much, but I shouldn’t have been. Women loved to talk, especially about new couples.
“Of course! You wouldn’t tell us, so I sent a mind-link to him. But he just said it was the best lunch ever and his wolf keeps walking around,” Ruby said.
“Come on, Carrie, tell us, did that good-looking guy kiss you? Did your wolves like each other?” Kyle asked quickly.
“Yeah, he did…” I said smiling, watching them clap softly so Liam wouldn’t wake up. “And it was good. Really good. Rory felt something too, not like with Alaric, but something nice and good.”
We talked for hours, all sitting close as I told them everything about lunch and the messages Jax sent later. They listened carefully, their wolves wanting to know about how Jax’s wolf and Rory got along.
“His wolf really likes you,” Eleanor said. “The way he acted with you, that’s a wolf trying to date properly.”
“You should have this, Carrie,” Kyle said, smelling honest. “After everything with Draven and Ella…”
I nodded.For the first time in many days, I went to bed without crying.
Draven’s POV
I stood at the window of my office, watching Caroline get into Jax’s car. Kyle had told me they were going to lunch. I took a sip of my coffee, feeling angry inside.
Alaric growled in my mind. “We should follow them. Show him she’s ours.”
I wanted to run after them, hit Jax in the face, and take Caroline with me. But I couldn’t. When I had asked Jax to Ryan’s house, he’d told me the truth. He said he liked Caroline, but because she liked me, he would stay away. But he also said if I ever hurt her, he would try to date her.
And now, I have to watch another man try to get my mate.
I knew this wouldn’t last. Soon, I would make Caroline mine again. For now, to keep her safe from Howard and his mean daughter Ella, I had to stay away.
I picked up my phone and called Alpha Arthur. He was the Alpha of the Northern Territory and had been good friends with my father. He was helping me look into the money problems in the company and my father’s strange death.
“Draven, what is it?” Alpha Arthur answered right away.
“Alpha Arthur, have you found the Alpha Council person who checked my father’s death?” I asked, rubbing my head.
He sighed deeply. “Still looking. The information from three years ago has been hidden, many files are missing. I think the person took Howard’s money and left…”
I closed my jaw tight, feeling very stressed. “I understand. I’ll keep looking here. Thank you for helping.”
“I heard you and Ella are getting married,” Alpha Arthur said slowly. “What happened? What about Caroline?”
“Yes, it’s true,” I said sadly. “I’ll tell you everything when we meet.”
After hanging up, I couldn’t stay in my office anymore. Like how the girls had their Tuesday “girls’ night,” my friends and I also met often to talk, drink, and play games. We’d planned to meet at the Social Club tonight, Ryan thought a busy place might make me feel better.
When I got there, I went right to the casino area to meet the guys. We played poker, which made me feel a bit better. I found myself smiling and talking with my friends, drinking soda, keeping my promise not to drink after what happened at Clara’s party.
Suddenly, I smelled very sweet perfume in my nose. Before I could move, arms wrapped around my neck like a snake. The awful person kissed me on the mouth, a messy, bad kiss that left my lips wet with her spit and covered in red lipstick. Alaric growled with hate inside me.
“Baby, you’re here!” Ella yelled with her loud voice, looking too happy to see me.
“Let go of me, you devil!” I growled while trying to pull her arms off my neck.
“Oh, baby, don’t joke with me like that.”
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