Everyone on campus heard about what went down, and I guess you could say that meant the cat was out of the bag about Chase and me. The gossip and pettiness surrounding that seemed insignificant to me as I adjusted back to life at school. I had only been away from campus for one week, but it felt like a lifetime. I changed, grew up in that week.
Chase took Matt Williams’ death really hard. Within a few days of returning to school, he told me he couldn’t live in the frat house any longer, and moved into the cabin. It was just too hard for him. I knew he missed his friend and it broke my heart watching him mourn. Anita was still struggling, too, and somehow blamed me for it. We were talking now, but it was always tense.
There was a lot of tension at the sorority house, too. I stuck around for about two weeks before I packed up and moved in with Chase at our cabin. It was truly home now and we were both so much happier. Tessa came by several times a week, and we ate lunch whenever I was on campus. It was strange. With all that happened, I somehow grew closer to my twin than I had ever been before.
Chase might not have lived in the doghouse any more, but he was still very much a Delta Omega Gamma. Brothers for life and beyond, the slogan now went. Those guys had been wonderful through it all. They were family, my brothers too, and they never let me forget it. We had to put some boundaries on the cabin after it became the unofficial second doghouse.
It wasn’t the boys who were the problem; it was the girls that followed them everywhere. The cabin was now a mostly girl free safety zone. We especially had issues once the weather turned warm and Chad shed his ‘winter fluff’ as he explained it. He went from the cute chubby guy you’d want to hook up with your best friend who has terrible luck in guys, to panty dropping sexy, according to more than one girl wiping drool from her mouth. I still couldn’t believe it. It actually made me laugh every time I saw him. You would barely recognize him as the same person, yet he was in every way that mattered.
According to Chad, that was normal for squirrels; they bulked up in the winter and slimmed back down during the warm months. It was just what squirrels did. Damon had moved into Chase’s old room, unable to stand sleeping in the room he had shared with Matt. According to him, nothing had changed except Chad’s looks. He was still hiding food throughout the room and he still talked incessantly, but he had a huge heart and we loved him just the way he was.
The front door opened and closed. I didn’t budge. I had heard the Jeep coming up the drive, and I could smell my mate as potent as if he were standing before me. Hey, there were definitely some benefits to being an unofficial wolf.
“Babe, you home?” Chase asked, sounding breathless.
“In here,” I said, raising my arm.
He walked over to the couch and looked down at me, smiling and shaking his head. That damn dimple was showing. He knew it was my weakness.
“You up for a road trip?” he asked excitedly.
“What? I just finished my last final. Can’t we just chill for a few days?”
“No can do, beautiful. Liam just called. Maddie’s in labor and she has already told the doctor that she refuses to have this baby without her photographer there to capture the moment. Both she and Kelsey are still raving over the pictures you took for them during spring break.”
I sprung up and ran to the bedroom, throwing clothes quickly into a bag.
“We’ll never make it, Chase. It’s too long of a drive!”
“Don’t you think I told him that?” he said as he grabbed toothbrushes and other toiletries as fast as he could.
A loud noise sounded outside, and my panther hissed.
“Put those claws away, kitten,” he joked. “That’s our ride.”
“What?” I asked as he grabbed my hand and we ran outside. I checked up when I saw the helicopter sitting in our backyard just off my deck. A large logo for Westin Foundation covered the side.
I shook my head as we ran to the awaiting open door. I settled into my seat as Chase reached over and made sure I was buckled in before handing me a set of headphones. He closed the door and signaled to the pilot that we were ready.
“Ms. Lockhardt, Mr. Westin, it’s calm skies ahead, so we’ll have you back in San Marco as quickly as possible,” the pilot said as we nodded our thanks.
I turned to my gorgeous mate. “Will life with you always be such an adventure?” I asked.
He grinned, dimples and all, took my hand in his, and leaned over, kissing me breathless. When I pulled back with a happy sigh, he held up my hand and kissed it. Sometime during that world fading kiss, he slipped a huge princess cut diamond onto my left ring finger. My eyes went wide as I gasped. I looked back up at him with tears in my eyes, and he shrugged.
“There are some benefits to being a Westin.”
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Confusing Hearts. I enjoyed the classic Romeo and Juliet underlying theme of this story. If you enjoyed it too, please drop me a quick review here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BP9XL9W
Now, KEEP READING for a special SNEAK PEEK into LILY’S STORY, the one so many of you have been waiting for. She is feisty and larger than life and has big romantic dreams of her one true mate. She’s never understood why mating was so hard for her siblings. But all those opinions and grand ideas come crashing in around her in CAN’T BE LOVE.
For further information on my books, events, and life in general, I can be found online here:
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Much love and thanks,
Julie Trettel
SNEAK PEEK
CAN’T BE LOVE
A Westin Pack Novel
By
Julie Trettel
Coming June 2018
Lily
Chapter 1
Exiting the car, I stretched and smiled. There was something nice smelling in the air that called to me. I liked it. Collier territory was beautiful. I had visited it numerous times in my life, but something felt different this time.
Liam helped unload the car and I was practically skipping with excitement. It was the first time Maddie had been back to her home pack since my twin brother had found her. It was pretty cool that my oldest and dearest friend turned out to be my twin's one true mate. I was really happy for them. All my siblings had found their true mates, and I couldn't wait till I found mine.
Practically skipping with excitement and loving the wide-open space of Wyoming, Liam gave me a concerned look.
“What is wrong with you?”
Maddie laughed, “Leave her alone. This place just has that effect on people.”
Madelyn looked happy, I thought.
“Sweetheart, are you okay?” Liam asked her, and I knew he was worried about being emotionally overwhelmed from this trip. That's why he had asked me to tag along. I had a way of pulling her out of her shell.
Madelyn Amanda Collier Westin, also called MC, was my very best friend in the entire world. We had met at summer camp when we were six years old and practically inseparable every year after, until the dark day that she had disappeared. Eight years later, my brother would find her living a new life in the human world and bring her home.
Oscar, MC's son bounded out of the car. He was clearly as excited as I was. It didn't take long before her sisters swarmed. Maddie had five sisters, and 1 douchebag brother. I hadn't seen Thomas in years. He was a year young than Maddie and me, and had been a pain when we were kids, but had disappeared and pulled away from the family after Maddie's disappearance. Asshole.
We headed for t
he alpha house that Maddie had grown up in as everyone started grabbing our things and a round of welcome hugs.
There was something so familiar about the Collier alpha house. It made me happy just to be there.
Cora and Zach Collier were good people. Zach was a great leader and alpha of the pack. Both being alpha brats had helped Maddie and I become fast friends so many years ago. Few understood the pressures of that role, so it was a unique bond we had formed.
They had visited Westin a few times but seeing Madelyn home was starting a chain of tears and high emotions.
Sorry girl, I thought to myself. I'm out of here!
Leaving them to their reunion, I headed back outside. I breathed in the crisp mountain air and it made my whole body start to tingle. Mate, I thought to myself.
I didn't want to freak out, but I just knew my one true mate was here. He had to be a Collier. I could live with that. I had waited my entire life to feeling the tingly sensation that had the hair on my arms standing up. I could barely contain my excitement.
My siblings had all fought their bond in some way, but I knew that would never be me. The magic of true mates was so romantic and something I had longed for and dreamed about my entire life.
There were several groups of people around. Unlike the Westin alpha house that I was raised in that sat back in the woods away from town, Collier's alpha house literally sat on Main Street.
People had obviously heard of Maddie's visit ahead of time and were anxious to catch a glimpse of her. I started walking around and saying hello to people I passed, trying to make eye contact with every male in the area. I knew the moment I our eyes met, I'd know and everything was going to be perfect.
My senses were on full alert and I imagined my wolf was wagging her tail happily. He was here, this was it! There was even more spring in my step as I anxiously honed in on my mate, my one true mate! It took everything in my power not to “eek” out loud in excitement.
I channeled a little more of my wolf and let her guide me. We rounded a corner and I saw a group of young men standing around talking. Every single one of them was super sexy hot. Yes please! I was getting a super sexy hot mate. It was the greatest day of my life.
I looked at each of them wondering which one he was. They all smiled and nodded as attention turned to me. I was careful to make eye contact with each of them. Nothing. Then I noticed the one with his back turned towards me stiffen. His shoulders sagged, and he took a deep breath. I was acute aware of how his heart rate sped up and I was a million times positive this was him, the man I had longed for my entire life.
I took a moment to check out and appreciate my mate. The thought alone had me grinning from ear to ear. He had close cropped, brown hair. He was wearing a black flannel shirt tucked into tight jeans with a wide belt, completing the package with a pair of black cowboy boots. My very own cowboy. I quickly admired just how well his ass filled out those jeans too. I already knew he was hotter than hot and he was all mine.
He slowly turned around and our eyes locked. It felt like my entire world tilted and he was the new gravity holding me in place. Wow, I thought. He had the most alluring chocolate brown eyes. I was mesmerized. It was everything I had ever dreamed it would be.
Recognition flickered in his eyes, breaking the fog I had found myself in.
“Lily Westin?” I heard him say in a deep sexy voice that had my body trembling.
Surprised he knew my name, I shook my head and took a closer look. Revulsion immediately set in. I couldn't believe what my eyes were telling me. I couldn't believe what my heart was telling me.
“Thomas?” I spit out, disgusted at the very thought. “Oh, hell no!”
I turned and ran as fast as I could. I had to get away from there. God was a good, loving, and kind God, there was no way he could possibly be evil enough to condemn me to Thomas Collier as my one true mate. I had to have read things wrong. This could not be happening to me.
Check out more great books by Julie Trettel!
The Compounders Series:
Start with Book 1!
In the wake of terrorist attacks, economic collapse, and martial law, America has become a nation at war and a country at odds. Mike Jenkins was well prepared, and moved his family and friends to his totally secure compound on a remote mountain in western Virginia.
After several years, Holly Jenkins couldn’t wait for the elders to open the bunker doors, allowing her to roam at will, and feel free once again. Escaping to the sanctuary of her hidden cave would set in motion changes in her life heretofore unknown.
The AMAN presented a threat to the compound and the nearby towns; a threat that could not be ignored. They were prepared for war, but nothing could prepare Holly for her own battle between the two men she had grown to love… and the third she might be forced to marry.
Chaos will reign! Will love survive?
The Compounders: Book1
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018HKIU7O/?tag=kp-jtret-20
DISSENSION
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6FSGLE/?tag=kp-jtret-20
DISCONTENT
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07215QYL1/?tag=kp-jtret-20
Westin Pack Series:
Start with One True Mate
Kelsey Adams is alone, and has been since childhood. Running away is all she knows and necessary to preserve her deepest, darkest secret. She can not afford for anyone to get close, or know about the monster within. But when she lands a lucrative job as an administrative assistant to Kyle Westin, CEO of the Westin Foundation, her life changes and everything's at stake. Can she conceal her growing feelings and her true self from this enigmatic, strong willed man, or will her world fall apart?
Kyle Westin, an alpha male who always gets what he wants, has watched and waited for the little she-wolf he knows is his perfect mate to show any signs of recognition. For two years he endures her unnecessary formality and daily rejections with a patience he did not know he possessed. But even Kyle has his limits.... Can he make Kelsey notice him as someone other than her boss and break down the walls she built around her heart? Or will Kelsey do what she has always done --- run?
One True Mate
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071HXL3R2
Fighting Destiny
https://www.amazon.com/ dp/B07575HC9T
Forever Mine
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077V9WHMG
About the Author
Julie Trettel is author of the Compounders and Westin Pack Series, a full time Systems Administrator, wife, and mother of 4 awesome kids. She resides in Richmond, VA and can often be found writing on the sidelines of a football field or swimming pool. She comes from a long line of story tellers. Writing has always been a stress reliever and escape for her to manage the crazy demands of juggling time and schedules between work and an active family of six. In her “free time,” she enjoys traveling, reading, outdoor activities, and spending time with family and friends.
Visit
www.JulieTrettel.com
Confusing Hearts (Westin Pack Book 4) Page 29
