Page 52 of Adored By the Wolf

I put my hands up. “No, this is too much. I never asked for this.”

“None of us did,” Jill said.

“And I . . . Wait, did you just say ‘none of us did?’” I asked.

“Yes. We were like you once, and Jill and I are not shifters,” Becca said.

I stared at them, probably looking like Lira had after I’d finished my story. “You’re okay with them being . . . ? Oh, I don’t even know what to call them!”

“Wolf shifters, and yes, we love them. The whole family is wonderful and super protective of their loved ones. You can’t go wrong being with Jacob.”

My stomach dropped. “What makes you think I still want to be with Jacob?”

“You two are—” Jill began.

“No, Jacob told us not to tell her,” Becca cut in.

“But she—”

“No.”

I stared at them. “What is it you two are not telling me?”

“It’s for Jacob to tell you,” Becca said.

Pain pierced my heart, a reminder of what could have been. “Then I guess I’ll never know.”

“Millie,” Becca began.

But I cut in quickly, “It was really nice to see you two, though under very strange circumstances, but I think we should end it here.”

“Millie,” Becca began again.

“Let her be, Becca. Remember our reactions when we first found out.” Jill came and knelt in front of me so that we were eye level. “Millie, I’m really sorry about how this was revealed to you. It’s not how it should have gone. Jacob really is a super nice guy, and he loves you. He loves you so much. His family loves you too. They would do anything for you. But I understand your trepidation. Becca and I were both in your shoes once, so we understand.” She gave my hand a squeeze. “It was really nice to see you again. I hope we meet again soon.”

I just nodded. Becca came over and gave me a hug, and then they were gone, and I was left alone with just my thoughts.

Jacob

The ax came flyingover my shoulder and landed right where I aimed it—in the center of the wood, slicing it clean in half. The thud it made on the stump below was satisfying. I picked up another block of wood and set it on the stump. Swinging my ax, I breathed in deep when I heard the thunk sound again.

“You’ve been chopping wood for the last hour. I think we have enough for a while,” Sandy said.

“There’s never enough. We have a lot of homes to heat.”

“The pack is well supplied with enough wood for the winter, Jacob. Please stop.”

Sandy placed a hand on my arm before I could swing again. I tried to fight her, but Sandy was stronger than anyone gave her credit for.

“What are you going to do about Millie?” she asked bluntly. She was never one to mince words.

“I have to let her go. Jill said she’s moving back to San Francisco. We’re done. I’m done. And I suppose whatever it was that was going to happen to Brandon when he wouldn’t claim Becca will happen to me now.”

Sandy slammed her hands on her hips. “Why are you giving up so easily? You never gave up trying to steal my French fries in all the years you’ve been alive. You and Bruno even came up with an elaborate plan to have me be distracted so that you could steal my whole tray of fries before I could even eat one, and that was only a month ago. And now you’re telling me you’re just going to go and give up on your mate? She’s alive; you’ve met her. She’s within your grasp, Jacob.”

“No, she’s not! She doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

Sandy put her hands on my shoulders, and I tried to shove her off, but she elongated her nails and dug them in. I stilled and stared at her. “Either you come up with a plan to get Millie back, or I will make your life miserable.” Her eyes started glowing, and her nails were starting to hurt.