Forever Mine (Westin Pack Book 3)

by Julie Trettel

  "And how long has this been happening?"

  "Nearly as long as I can remember. It worsened after Oscar was born. Annie says that's normal, that pregnancy can trigger heightened allergies."

  "Uh-huh, okay, well for today, let's pretend that's not the case and try something new. Oscar, no meds for Mommy."

  "But Daddy, you don't understand. It gets really bad and she's miserable without them. The faster she gets them, the easier it is."

  "Sometimes life isn't meant to be easy, kid. Can you just trust me on this?"

  "Liam, this really isn't the time. It's getting bad." He was starting to irritate me. I knew he hated human medicine, and I understood he wanted me off everything Annie had ever prescribed, but this was different.

  I got up and headed to the door, intent on getting the pills myself. I had to stop in the doorway and use it to scratch my back again. It wasn't helping at all. This time it was coming on fast and felt worse than usual.

  Liam laughed. He actually stood there laughing at me, grinning from ear to ear, like it was the greatest moment of his life watching me suffer.

  "Sweetie, I just need you to trust me. It's going to be okay, I promise. Here," he said, walking over and picking me up. "Just try not to scratch. It doesn't help anything at all."

  "That's easy for you to say, you aren't the one broken out in hives from head to toe, feeling like you're being eaten alive by a swarm of mosquitoes or something."

  He carried me out into the yard and set me down in the grass.

  "Great," I said, starting to get pissed. "Grass is one of the biggest allergy triggers for most people. Even those without the actual allergy are often highly sensitive to it. Are you trying to make things worse?"

  I couldn't help it, I was sitting on the grass, so I lay out flat and wiggled around on my back, just praying for some relief from all the itching. To make matters even worse, all it did was make Oscar join in on the laughing.

  "Just laugh it up. I'm so happy to entertain the both of you."

  "No meds, bud, no matter how much she begs. Just trust me, this is perfectly normal."

  "There's nothing normal about this, you jackass. Oscar. . ."

  "No!" Liam cut me off with a command, using some of that Alpha crap he'd started channeling when we met. It had helped a lot during several panic attacks, but right now it was just making me angry. How dare he.

  He stood there looking at me, then kneeled down and gave me a quick kiss with an evil glint in his eye. "Trust me, Maddie. I love you. It's going to be okay. Better than okay, even."

  He rose and began stripping his clothes off.

  "Liam!" I scolded. Oscar was right there, and I definitely wasn't in the mood. What was he thinking? I swore he'd lost his freaking mind. It didn't even dawn on me what he was really doing until his beautiful white wolf stood before me.

  "Oscar, I don't know what he's up to, but do Mommy a favor and go get the Benadryl."

  The wolf growled and snarled at Oscar. My son wasn't intimidated in the least, but I jumped to my feet, towering over him. "Have you lost your mind? You did not just growl at our son!"

  "Mommy," Oscar whispered in awe. "Look. You're doing it."

  I glanced down to where he pointed to my hand, which was now sprouting fur. Beautiful grey fur. I felt it and it was so soft. I started to cry.

  Liam barked to get my attention and nodded his big wolf head up and down. I could tell he was grinning. It was really creepy looking at his wolf, if I were being honest. He lay down, then jumped up and did it again.

  "I think he wants you to lay down, too." Oscar helped clue me in.

  I did as my son recommended and Liam nodded, rising to do a little happy trot before laying back down with me.

  "Are you telling me that all that itching was my wolf trying to come out?"

  He nodded up and down again. Next, he shifted back to human form.

  "Madelyn, this is the most natural thing in the world. Your wolf, she's not dead. She's been there all along. That itchy feeling isn't hives, it never was; it's her signal to you that she wants out. Anytime we spend too much time in our skin that happens. We know the signs and address it quickly before it gets to the point of being so miserable."

  "I don't know what to do," I whispered, both excited and scared half to death. I had never shifted before. They said it didn't really hurt, but I didn't see how that was physically possible. "What do I do, Liam?"

  "Don't fight it. Give her the control she's searching for. I'll be right here the whole time."

  "I'm scared," I whispered.

  "You have nothing to be afraid of.” He kissed me one more time before shifting back to his wolf form. He made it look so effortless. I wondered if I'd ever be able to do it with such ease.

  His rear end was in the air, but his head was down. He barked at me. He howled. The sound was so beautiful it relaxed me. The second I relaxed, my body started to transform. It was so surreal. I didn't really feel a thing. I could feel some pulls and tugs here and there, but it was more like an ethereal experience. I knew what was happening now, but it felt more like I was watching it happen than actually experiencing it.

  Soon, I was covered all in fur. I looked at Oscar, who was grinning.

  "You did it, Mommy! You're a beautiful grey wolf."

  I was grateful I hadn't just traumatized my son for life. Fortunately, he'd been around shifters just long enough to not be frightened and still be in awe at the same time. I glanced down at the ground below me and sighed. My clothes were ripped to shreds surrounding me. I loved those jeans.

  Wait, did he say grey? I was a grey wolf? I shouldn't be surprised. I was a Collier, after all, but there was never a certainty on wolf color. A lot of shifters had wolves with similar coloring to their own hair, but not all. Liam's wolf was white, lighter than his sandy-blonde hair, but similar enough. No one knew for certain how wolf colorings were chosen. Some seemed to be more consistent within geographical areas, others appeared completely at random. Collier Pack looked as diverse as Westin in human form, but the majority of wolves turned out grey. Like me, I thought happily.

  Liam barked at me and then nudged me with his nose to encourage me to stand. I did, then wobbled and fell back to the ground. Wow, it was such a strange feeling, nothing like crawling on all fours as we did as kids pretending we could shift. My legs, all four of them, felt unsteady beneath me. It took me a minute to find my coordination. I imagined I look much like a new calf struggling to stand and move.

  I tested my stability and started to walk, then trot. I looked around. Everything was sharper, crisper somehow. I closed my eyes and listened. I could make out so many new noises. I could actually hear a squirrel gnawing on a nut high up in a tree and somehow I knew exactly where he was, too. I sniffed the air. Kyle and Kelsey were two miles out and I could smell the food they were cooking on the grill. I knew it was them because it was combined with the sweet baby smell of little Zander after a fresh bath. All of my senses were heightened. It was unreal.

  Liam barked at me. It was loud because he was so close and startled me. I toppled over again on my not-quite-steady new legs. He chuffed as he laughed at me, but I forgave him quickly. Who could stay mad at his ridiculous wolf grin face?

  I got up and shook it off before giving chase. Liam turned and ran towards the woods, but stayed in the clearing running in circles. Oscar jumped up and down clapping, cheering us on. It got easier with each step and once I got the hang of maneuvering four feet instead of two, I was good to go and almost fast enough to catch Liam.

  I watched as he cut another corner and I changed paths to intersect, plowing into him and sending us both tumbling across the ground. Oscar shielded his eyes and shook his head at us. Liam looked at me with that stupid wolf grin still plastered to his face and gave my wolf a big lick right across my face. It totally disgusted me, but I laughed and pushed away to stand again.

  I was a wolf. I couldn't believe it. She wasn't dead, she'd been there all along. I just didn't
have anyone to help me see her signs. Joining with my wolf gave me a sense peace.

  Liam changed back into his skin and stood gloriously naked without the slightest hesitation.

  “Hey, kid,” he told Oscar. “Go pack your PJs and a toothbrush. I'm taking you to Grandma's. Mommy's going to be in this form for a while and I need to stay with her. Okay?”

  He nodded happily on his way into the house, stopping when he reached me. He knelt down and wrapped his arms around my neck, burying his sweet face in my fur.

  “I knew you could do it. I'm so proud of you, Mommy!”

  He disappeared into the house, returning quickly with a backpack stuffed full. I could tell it was much more than his PJs and toothbrush, but I was unable to question him. Liam pulled on his own clothes, having been smart enough to remove them first, unlike me, and they got into the car.

  For a moment, I started to panic. They were leaving me? I needed to change back, but I didn't know how. The irrational fear that I'd be stuck in my wolf form forever started to set in.

  Liam jumped from the car and came to me. He must have felt my anxiety rising.

  “Hey, it's okay. You'll change back, but it could be a few hours to a day. It gets easier, but she's been suppressed for a very long time. Best thing you can do is run.” I nodded my head to show him I understood, and started to calm. He took my big, fluffy head in his hands and stared at me in awe. “Most beautiful wolf I've ever seen.” He planted a kiss on my elongated nose before getting back into the car.

  “Try to keep up,” he yelled from the window as the car lurched forward, leaving a trail of dust in my face. I shook it off and ran, feeling the weight of a lifetime lift from my chest, letting go of all the pain of the past and giving in to the uncertainty of the future as I ran faster and harder than I'd ever dreamed possible.

  I couldn't have predicted how this year would turn out, or how much Liam would turn my life upside down in the best ways possible. I didn't know what the future would hold, but with Liam and Oscar by my side, I knew I was going to be okay.

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed Forever More. Westin Pack has been such fun to write and share with you all. I love all the characters in this series, but may be a little partial to Maddie and Liam!

  KEEP READING for a special SNEAK PEEK into Confusing Hearts. Poor Chase Westin doesn’t know what to think! He feels the mating call one minute and then nothing the next. He doesn’t realize his one true mate has an identical twin, AND she isn’t even a wolf. He knows what his heart tells him, but will he listen?

  For further information on my books, events, and life in general, I can be found online here:

  Website: www.julietrettel.com

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  With love and thanks,

  Julie Trettel

  SNEAK PEEK

  CONFUSING HEARTS

  A Westin Pack Novel

  By

  Julie Trettel

  Coming 2018

  Chase

  Chapter 1

  I dropped my bag on the floor and collapsed onto my bed. Three weeks at home had been enough. I loved my family, but they had tried to cram so much into my Christmas break that I was exhausted. I knew they loved me and didn’t want to waste a second of it, but I was ready for the break.

  I had an easy semester of classes planned. My roommate was studying abroad, so even though I lived in the frat house with 36 other shifters, mostly wolves, I was looking forward to the space and the quiet. Okay, as quiet as a popular frat house could be.

  Archibald Reynolds College, jokingly called the ARC, was a college specifically for shifters, all kinds of shifters. Archibald Reynolds had been a big proponent of shifter integration at the turn of the central. He had worked closely with our Grand Council that governed the wolf shifters to bring peace among all shifters, yet only in the last five years had there ever been a place to truly encourage that philosophy.

  My brother, Liam, had been one of the first graduates of the ARC. I was in my second year now, and loved everything about it. I had been raised in a wolf pack, like most wolf shifters. Going to the ARC had opened my eyes to so much I had never been aware of or even thought about if I were being honest.

  The pack gave us securities that other species simply didn’t have. And I had known Westin Pack, my pack, was better off than most. I just didn’t realize how much so, until I went to college and got to know people with very different backgrounds than my own.

  I groaned at the knock on my door. “What?”

  “Hey man, heard you were back,” Matt Williams, one of my frat brothers said walking in and plopping down on my roommate’s bed.

  Matt was a jaguar shifter, and while it was rare for felines and canines to mix, he had insisted on rushing Delta Omega Gamma his freshman year. We were in the same class and despite our differences, we’d hit it off immediately. He’s put up with so much more as a pledge than I had had to endure. They had even nicknamed him Kitty, and yet it never seemed to phase him. I asked him once why he was so determined to be a Dog and he said that he had always admired the sense of group, of family, that was instilled in the wolf packs. Felines tended to be loaners, and he craved that bond with other people like the canines had.

  “What do you want, dude?” I asked him.

  “There’s a new sorority that opened up two houses down. They’re having an open party tonight. You’re going, right?”

  “I just got back. I don’t know if I’m up for a party tonight.”

  “Chase Westin is not up for a party? What happened to you man? You’re the ultimate party animal. I’ve never seen you turn one down. Never.”

  “My nephews kicked my ass. You try keeping up with an eighteen month old and a seven year old hell bent on spending every waking moment with you. I love them, but I don’t know how my brothers do it. I’m exhausted. Need a vacation from vacation.”

  “You can sleep when you’re dead. Now get dressed and let’s go.” Matt told me, throwing my own phrase back at me. I had told my pledge class that every single day freshman year. It was what got us through to become full brothers of Delta Omega Gamma.

  I kicked him out, grumbling in protest as I got dressed for the evening. Meeting up with Matt and two of our other brothers, we headed out walking down the short distance to the new sorority.

  “DOGs in the house!” Matt announced as we entered. Our friends scattered to check out the new place.

  A tall, thin girl with long straight black hair approached us with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. She was sleek and sexy as hell. Despite the off-limits vibes she was sending, my interest in the night immediately piqued. I was up for a little challenge.

  “Dogs are not welcome here,” she said with complete arrogance.

  I grinned, enough that I knew my dimples were showing. Most girls found them irresistible, but this one seemed completely unaffected.

  “You must be new here, cause I’m sure I would have noticed you otherwise.”

  She rolled her eyes. “My sisters and I just transferred. To encourage more of this nonsense and fraternization between species, our entire sorority was transferred. But just because we were forced to come here, does not mean your kind is welcome.”

  “Oh, now, come on darling,” Brett, another of my brothers approached putting on his best southern charm. “This is the ARC where we encourage inter-species relations.” He wagged his eyebrows and for a brief moment the ice queen thawed.

  Game on, I thought. “Ignore the coyote. What’s your name, gorgeous?”

  She frowned at me. “You are clearly nothing but trouble.” She turned to Brett
with a look of disgust. “Coyote?” She whipped her long shiny hair as she turned and stalked away.

  “Come on Chase, What was that all about?” Brett demanded.

  “Dude, you totally cut in on my game.”

  “What game?” Matt laughed. “Hey, Ayanna,” the ice queen turned and cocked her head in interested. “Don’t be such a bitch.”

  She hissed as she turned and stomped off.

  “Dude, you know her?”

  “Chase, my man, you are aware that jaguars and black panthers are basically the same species, right?”

  “Why would I know that?”

  Matt laughed, “Well we are. Ayanna and her sisters,” he emphasized with air quotes, “are all black panthers. A bunch of elitist snobs. They even frown at fraternizing with my kind, even though the only difference is the color our coats. Trust me, I did you a favor. Let’s go grab a drink and find something better to distract you with tonight.”

  Much of the remainder of the night passed in a blur and my next fully coherent memory was waking up naked in bed and thankful I was alone. It was like me to get that wasted, and I didn’t like it. It made my wolf uncomfortable when I drank and I could feel my skin crawling with the sensation I knew as the sign I needed to shift.

  I threw on an old pair of shorts and used the bathroom before grabbing a cold bottle of water from the fridge and heading for the woods. One of the things I loved about the ARC was the massive one hundred and eight seven acre forest surrounding the college. It was the perfect getaway, and since everyone on campus was a shifter, I didn’t even have to hide when I needed time in my fur.

  Once inside the cover of the trees, I started to discard my shorts.

  “Chase Westin,” a sexy voice purred behind me and I nearly tripped in surprise.