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“Who needs caffeine?” Giselle arrived home like the conquering hero with treasures from a far off land. Her offering to Gavin seemed to appease him enough to let her off the hook for taking his car.
The smell of bacon still lingered in the air, though Giselle couldn’t spot a single slice left. At least she’d managed to snag those precious first few off the pan slices before she’d run. Her stomach growled in protest.
“Giselle, honey. Just in time. I have our itinerary booked. We leave in the morning.” Martina came up behind her and snatched one of the coffees. She sniffed the top of the lid. “Caramel latte?”
“What else would I order?” Giselle followed along as Martina walked to the kitchen table.
“Too much sugar, dear.” Martina gave the obligatory speech about eating healthy, but drank the coffee nonetheless.
Giselle set the tray of drinks on the table and backed away quickly as the other wolves descended on their prey.
“I want you to pack enough clothes for a week. One of those days will be a special event, so dress to impress.” Martina had a pad of paper in front of her, and between sips of her drink she scrawled down notes. “Richard will be here later this afternoon. He’ll act as our liaison for the entire Council event. Giselle, you will sit with him tonight for training. And I have you sitting next to him on the airplane. We have a few days to cram as much knowledge into you about wolves as we can. You will listen; you will learn. Are we clear?”
And so it begins. Giselle nodded and sipped her drink, knowing that she was in for a long few days.
Martina continued to check things off on her list. “Di, I need you and Taylor to help with wardrobe. Giselle has to look and act her best, and it will be up to us to make her shine.”
“That’s what we do best.” Taylor smiled way too happily for as early as it still was in the morning.
Di at least had the decency to look exhausted, but despite the light circles under her eyes, she still managed to look runway-ready with a perfect messy bun and lip gloss. “Whatever you say. We’ll work some magic on her.”
Giselle almost took that as an insult, but she knew the girls’ skills and had witnessed the transformations they could work. If anyone could make her look her best, they’d do it. “So all I need to do is sit here and look pretty?” She snickered. “Ash was right. This is sounding more and more like a political campaign. When do I get my banner?”
“Are you taking this seriously, Giselle?” Martina had clearly missed the joke.
“Just trying to lighten the mood. Last night you said―”
“You have one chance to prove yourself. One. That’s it.” Martina cut her off. “If you fail, that’s it. You don’t get a do over. So if you want to avoid embarrassment, then you will do your best with this one chance.”
So much for being her little werewolf. Giselle pursed her lips. “I will do my best. I’m trying not to stress out about it. Like you told me. Remember?”
Martina’s face softened. “I just want you to put your best face forward. We get one shot at this.”
“And if I fail?” Giselle asked.
Martina sighed. “Then you return to normal life.”
“I don’t want to fail. Honestly. But if I don’t laugh about it, don’t try to see some humor in it, I’ll give myself an anxiety attack.”
Taylor threw an arm around Giselle. “I can whip you up a campaign poster if that’s what you want.”
Giselle laughed. “Making Wolves Great Again.”
Martina cracked a smile. “Oh, good lord. You’re ridiculous. Both of you.”
“But at least we’re laughing now,” Giselle said.
“Let’s make a deal, then.” Martina tapped her pencil on the edge of her paper. “Be present and willing to do what you are called to do, and I will not bog you down with lists and schedules.”
“So, I go with the flow?” Giselle asked. “While you make lists behind my back?”
Martina winked. “What you can’t see, can’t stress you out.”
“And that’s why you’re the Alpha.” Giselle laughed.
Martina slugged down the rest of her drink and returned to her paper.
Di strolled into the kitchen and by the sounds of it was making a plate of food.
Giselle’s stomach growled, reminding her that she couldn’t live on coffee alone, no matter how much sugar it had in it. She stood ready to follow Di towards breakfast, but Taylor grabbed hold of her instead.
“Got a minute?” her sister asked.
Giselle whimpered as Taylor lead her away from the kitchen toward the stairs. “But breakfast...”
“Won’t be long. I promise. I just want to talk with you in private for a minute. Please.” Taylor tugged at Giselle’s arm.
With a defeated sigh, Giselle allowed herself to be taken up the stairs toward their bedroom.
“So, you talked to Ash today?” Taylor asked, busying herself with her suitcase to avoid eye contact with her sister.
“And you’re bringing this up because?” Giselle asked, feeling angry that she had been pulled away from food to talk about a boy. And not just any boy... Ash.
Taylor folded a shirt and shoved it into her suitcase with a loud sigh. “Because it’s time I let it go, and I wanted you to know... I’m totally cool with any...” Taylor snatched up another shirt from her bed and rolled it up. “Relationship...” She slammed that shirt into her suitcase as well. “Whatever the two of you have.”
If Taylor thought she was convincing anyone with that act, she was sorely mistaken. It was plain as day that she was not truly over the hurt Ash had caused with his rejection. But Giselle understood the gesture. Girl code and all, she would never entertain the idea of a relationship with anyone her sisters had eyes on.
“I do have a boyfriend already. You remember that, right?” Giselle hoped that reminder would soothe the tension she could see in her sister.
Taylor barely glanced at Giselle as she stepped past her into the closet to grab more clothes. “Yep. And I love Damien. He’s a great guy. But you know how it goes with our kind, and you’re going to have a suitor list a mile long once you’re made all official and stuff.” She walked out of the closet with a pile of clothes conveniently covering her face. “So I want you to know that I will not stand in the way.”
“Yet your tone and body language tell me otherwise,” Giselle said.
“Me and Ash were not a great couple. We are going to be awesome friends. And that’s cool. I just have a lingering sense of jealousy, that’s all.”
“Because of me being Alpha?” Giselle asked.
“No, silly. I’m totally psyched about that. But you’ve had both Ash and Damien at your beck and call since you joined our pack.” Taylor stopped mid-fold. Her fingers dug into the fabric of the pair of jeans she was prepping to go into her suitcase. “It’s hard not to be jealous of that when you don’t seem to try at all.”
Giselle reached out and pulled the jeans away from Taylor’s hands, and finally her sister looked up. It wasn’t pain she saw behind Taylor’s eyes; it was longing. Her sister was such a beautiful person, and as long as they’d known each other, Taylor had been single. Odd, since she was the outgoing one. The girl who belonged to all the social circles and was uniquely gifted in the art of fashion. She deserved someone fawning all over her. Someone who appreciated all she could bring to a relationship. Ash was an idiot for letting her go.
“Taylor, you’re the best, sweetest, and prettiest girl I know. Don’t tell Di I said that. You’re in for one hell of a wolf when the time comes. Trust me. Ash was stupid to walk away from you.”
“Thanks. He is an idiot. But not my problem anymore.” Taylor laughed, but it was empty. Giselle’s words might have comforted her some, but Taylor was clearly not completely happy.
“Well, I never said I was taking him on. But I’m glad your blessing is there on our friendship. That means a lot to me,” Giselle said.
“Just do me a favor.” Taylor resumed packing her bag, but she did look up when she spoke.
“What’s that?”
“When the time comes? Let Damien down easy.”
Giselle sighed.
Taylor met her eyes with determination this time. “You know it has to happen eventually.”
Everyone, it seemed, felt she and Damien were a bad idea. And Giselle hated to admit that she understood why. However, the more people told her not to do something, the more her defiant nature began to surface. “I hate having my hand forced.”
“I’ve learned that about you.” Taylor laughed genuinely this time. “But in our world, an Alpha has to be able to produce heirs.”
She nearly stuck her fingers in her ears at that point. “Puppies? Hell, no! That’s years down the line.”
Taylor sighed loudly and set down her clothes. “Damien is not like other high school boys. He’s the type who’d stick around for the long haul.” She took hold of Giselle’s hands, holding them lightly in hers. Before, when she talked of Ash, she wouldn’t make eye contact, but now, she looked deeply into Giselle’s, silently pleading for her to listen and understand. “It would be unfair to drag him along for that long, only to have to cut him loose because of your duty.” Having said her piece, Taylor let go of Giselle’s hands and returned to her suitcase.
The thought had weighed heavily on Giselle’s mind since learning the truth of her mother and father. She’d already tried once to let Damien off the hook, but he’d held on tight, proving yet again his loyalty to their relationship even in the face of his family’s disapproval.
“Seems my relationship is the topic on everyone’s mind,” Giselle grumbled. “Ash warned me in much the same fashion.”
“It’s unfair. That’s for sure. And another reason I’m not jealous of what you are to become.” Taylor smirked and began to roll socks to stuff into her suitcase.
“Thanks,” Giselle grouched.
“Just being honest,” Taylor said. “You can’t have it all.”
Truer words had never been spoken. But it wasn’t a question in her mind of Damien over Asher. If she were forced to drop her boyfriend for her role as Alpha, then she’d remain single for as long as possible. No one would dictate to her whom she could be mated to.