He plopped down into the chair behind his desk, and clasping his hands behind his neck, he lowered his head between his knees, like the entire world was spinning out of control around him. With a deep breath, he finally spoke. “This is real?”
“Y-y-yes,” a squeaked out in a stutter preparing to apologize.
“Not some sort of sick joke, you're serious? You're pregnant?”
He still wasn't looking at me.
“I'd never joke about something like this, Kyle.” I said softly and sadly prepared myself for the apology speech I had planned should he not be happy about the news. “Look, I know we've never talked…”
He cut me off as his head shot up and his face was practically glowing with the biggest grin I'd ever seen. He let down the wall between our bond and immediately emotions washed over me. Happiness. Joy. Love. And I knew everything was going to be okay.
He picked me up and swung me through the air as I laughed with tears streaming down my face. He kissed me sweetly before dropping to his knees and kissing my belly over and over.
“I love you. You hear that, in there? And I love your beautiful mother too.”
As we rejoined the others, Elise silenced everyone. She was beaming. Kyle looked at me and back at his sister. You told Elise first?
Who do you think convinced me to keep it from you and torture you all day? I playfully grinned and winked at my gorgeous mate who looked happier than I ever imagined possible.
He chuckled, Thank you, it's good to see my sister again.
“Mom, Kyle's doing that mind thing with Kelsey again.” Chase whined.
“Kyle, no bonding talk during family dinner. You know the rules.” His mother scolded him like a small child.
Jason laughed, “Share it with the family or sit down and let's eat already.”
“We're having a baby!” He blurted out to all our family as cheers erupted throughout the room.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for taking the time to read One True Mate: a Westin Pack Novel. This is my first self-published project. I greatly appreciate the support and truly hope you enjoyed the book.
If you liked Kyle and Kelsey’s story, just wait! There’s plenty more of them both to come in Elise and Patrick’s story, book 2 in the Westin Pack Series coming Fall 2017. Keep reading for a sneak peek of Fighting Destiny: a Westin Pack Novel.
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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Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14703924.Julie_Trettel
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Julie_Trettel/e/B018HS9GXS
With love and thanks,
Julie Trettel
SNEAK PEEK
Fighting Destiny:
A Westin Pack Novel
By
Julie Trettel
Coming Fall 2017
Elise
Chapter 1
I smacked the alarm clock with a groan. Who got up at that ungodly hour? For the last two and a half months that answer would be me. And why? Because the one person in this world I didn't want to see had come to town, and he wasn't leaving.
His auburn hair stuck out like a beacon anywhere I went. And like the coward I was, I hid every time. A part of me longed to look into his eyes and feel that final spark of recognition. What color were his eyes? I had wondered about that too often and immediately scolded myself.
Patrick O'Connell would give up and go home, eventually. He had only come here to kill my brother in that ridiculous mating ritual and take his one true mate. No doubt he hadn't smelled me coming until it was almost too late.
I was out with my sister, Lily, and my brother's mate, Kelsey, to scout out Kyle's latest challenger during the mating challenges. See, once a newly mated pair is announced there's a challenge period where an eligible wolf can issue a battle to the death for those mating rites.
Kyle and Kelsey's period was shortened due to extenuated circumstances. Basically, Kelsey's a super powerful she-wolf witch with all kinds of awesome powers that caused them to bond faster than should be possible. I had totally called it, but even still they had to endure a month of absolute terror through the challenges.
Sure, Kyle, being Alpha of our pack made his position much more sought after, but my position in the pack made me only slightly less desirable, and I didn't have any super powers to lessen the challenge period. Four months. That's what I'd have to endure if I took a mate. Four months of hell. I couldn't do it.
Currently Kelsey's expecting their first child. If it's a boy, some of the pressure will come off me. As second oldest to my parents, should I take a mate, that would put the line of succession to him until, and unless, Kyle heirs a son. It's such a mess. My plan all along has been to just not take a mate until that happens, but then Patrick showed up and he won't go away.
Anyway, back to my story. Lily, Kelsey and I went to scout out the Irish challenger that had just arrived. As we got close, my whole body started tingling almost like I needed to shift to my wolf form, and then, I smelled him. It was the most delicious thing I'd ever smelled and it called to me. I saw the tall, strong man with the auburn hair from behind and he stiffened his shoulders and sniffed the air. I knew immediately, like some blaring neon sign pointing and exclaiming, ‘this is your one true mate’. Of course, I did the only sane thing possible. I faked a headache, and ran home with my tail between my legs, scared half to death.
Since that moment, I had done everything in my power to avoid one Patrick O'Connell. San Marco, the town my pack inhabits is not an extremely big place. Everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows everyone's business. It's both a blessing and a curse.
So, of course I knew Patrick had gotten whiff of his one true mate, and had no plans to leave without her, or rather me. He had even reneged his challenge against Kyle for Kelsey, telling my brother there was no way he could do that after he'd smelled me. My now sap of a brother thought it was pretty romantic and actually gave him clemency in Westin territory, and put him up in Kelsey's old cottage on the edge of town after she'd moved in with him.
I couldn't even run through my favorite woods anymore for fear of running into him. My theory was that there had to be more than just his smell, but I knew if I saw his eyes I'd be a goner. So, avoidance it had to be.
My alarm sounded again, interrupting my thoughts. I turned it off instead of hitting the snooze button again, and reluctantly got up, pulling on my robe and heading for the bathroom.
Four A.M., that was my new routine. Up at four meant in the office by five ,where I could hide out with little to no chance of crossing paths with him. I brought my lunch and ate in my office alone every day. It was what I needed to do to survive.
Yes, I knew my family was worried sick about me. Some days I even agreed they should be. It had become almost a sick obsession – avoid Patrick O'Connell at all costs. But the alternative made me physically ill. Not him. Not meeting him, but I knew from everything I'd compulsively found out about him these past few months, that I'd likely fall head over heels for him. It wasn't that that scared me. It was the challenges. It was the thought of losing him. I'd rather just not have him at all.
I was twenty-five years old. I was a strong, independent woman. I was a wolf-shifter from one of the strongest blood lines in shifter history. I didn't need a man.
I grabbed a strawberry pop-tart from the pantry on my way out, trying to be quiet and not wake anyone. I was not a morning person, but you had to do what you had to do.
At 5:01. I unlocked the door to my office and sighed in relief at the safety I now associated with the room. The Westin Foundation was a private company used to legally and gainfully employ wolf-shifters and keep up appearances of a normal community in the eyes of the humans. It didn't hur
t that it was extremely profitable, and gave the Westin Pack a much plusher living than any other pack.
I had recently been promoted to VP of Human Resources and I loved my job. Part of what I loved most was the interactions with people. I was very much a people person. But lately my focus was on paperwork and it hadn't gone unnoticed. I was asked if anything was wrong, or if I wanted to talk about it, on a daily basis. They meant well, but I could never confess what a coward I was. Kyle had even called me in for two disciplinary chats, now formally on my record. I still couldn't believe it. Who was I? I wasn't sure I even knew anymore.
It had been a quiet morning, but by lunchtime I was fighting a massive headache and considered going home. A knock on my door sounded, making the pain worsen. I considered ignoring it, but the banging just continued.
“What?” I snapped, opening the door.
“Is that anyway to welcome your sisters?” Lily, my little sister, asked, with Kelsey in tow.
“Sorry, headache. This really isn't a good time.” I tried to close the door, but she just stuck her foot in the way, and I knew they weren't going to leave peacefully.
“What?” I asked, a little snappier than I meant, as they barged passed me. “Please come on in.” I said under my breath, and not in a polite way.
“Don't mind if we do,” Lily said, as Kelsey fished an aspirin out of her purse and handed to me.
“Thanks,” I said, genuinely feeling like a tool for taking out my frustrations on them.
“Sit down” Kelsey said, motioning to the sofa in a corner of the room. Something told me she meant business, and that I wasn't going to like it. “Shall I start or you?' she asked my sister.
“Oh, I got this,” Lily said, with a wicked grin. “Elise, it's been over two months of the sulking, hiding, hermit crap. We've tried to be understanding and give you your space.” I snorted at her. “I said 'tried'! Anyway, enough is enough. You don't want to talk about whatever happened to you. Fine. But E, you're really scaring us.”
“Kyle's convinced you were raped and ready to start interrogating every wolf in San Marco to get to the bottom of it.” Kelsey said, matter-of-factly.
“What? Raped? He can't be serious. Nothing happened to me. I appreciate the concern, but honestly, I'm just busy with a lot on my mind.”
“Bullshit,” Lily challenged.
“It's just some personal stuff I'm dealing with, but I'm fine.”
“You're not fine. There's nothing fine about you waking up at 4 A.M. and sneaking into the office. You are less of a morning person then I am. There's nothing fine about locking yourself away from everyone, whether here in your office, or at home in your room. If you had a smile on your face, even once, I'd think you were having an illicit affair you didn't want anyone to know about, but E, you look completely miserable, and it scares us.”
I sighed. I was going to have to stop being such a coward and start facing things. I certainly never intended to upset or scare anyone.
“I'm fine. I promise. How about we head to lunch? I don't want you guys to worry about me.”
“If it's the new position at work, Kyle will hire another assistant to help with your workload.” Kelsey offered, fishing out reasons for my behavior.
“No, I'm fine. I can handle it.” Oh God, they thought I couldn't handle my job now? This was getting bad. I'd just have to prove to them that everything was just fine.
“I hear the Crate is serving lunch. How about we go there?” Lily suggested. I knew she was really hoping to see Cole Anderson who's tattoo parlor was only a few doors down, and who Lily had been crushing on forever.
“Sure,” I said. Of course, I didn't want to go, but I had to get some of the heat off my back and just prayed Patrick O'Connell was no where in the area.
Planting my best fake smile, I grabbed my bag and we headed for the door. Maybe lunch out with the girls wouldn't be so bad.
As we entered the Crate, I couldn't help but sniff the air and look around. No sign of Patrick. I tried to breathe a sigh of relief, but if I were being honest, I was a little disappointed by it too.
The Crate was really a bar and a bit of a dive., but it was a popular hangout in San Marco. Dark paneling covered the walls matching the dark wood floors. A bar with stools for seating ran along the back wall. To the right was a small stage, mostly used for karaoke night, but occasionally a group of local kids would attempt to start up a band and they'd play there some nights. The current hot group in town was my youngest brother, Chase's band. They really were pretty good, too.
We headed off to the left towards the booths that ran along that wall. There were also several tables that sat in the middle of the room and at night they were often pushed aside to clear a small dance floor. The place may be a little dark, but it was always clean and when Jesse, who owned the bar, had decided to open for lunch it had become a popular eatery too.
“Hey Misty,” Lily waved to the pretty blond waitress who was as much a staple of the crate as Jesse himself.
“Hey ladies. Elise,” she said, surprised but happy to see me, “we've missed you. How have you been?”
Fake smile in place, realizing that gossip and concern had surpassed just my family. “I'm good, just really busy. How are you?”
We chatted for a few and she took our orders before flitting off to the next table. Misty had always reminded me of a hummingbird the way she moved throughout the room. I couldn't help but smile, genuinely smile, and realized it had been a long time since I'd done much of that. It felt good.
“So, Kels, how are you feeling?”
I didn't miss the shared look she gave Lily with my change in character.
“Overall not too bad. It's still early. A little nausea in the mornings and a constant hunger, and I get overly emotional easily which drives me nuts, but overall, I can't really complain. Micah thinks I'm about ten weeks along, but that seems farther than I thought. I go for my first ultrasound next week, so we'll see.”
“Ok, if you're listening to Kyle you'd think she's about to pop second, always fussing over her. It's cute and annoying.” Lily rolled her eyes. “Who knew that big strong wolf of a brother of ours would be such a kitten over his mate? It's hysterical.”
Kelsey glared what I'd deem the 'mom eyes' at Lily. “Lil, don't harass him. This is new for both of us and he's just nervous. I am too. We're going to be parents. I can't even believe it.”
I looked at her and said sincerely, “You two are going to be the best parents any kid could ask for.”
I hadn't meant them to, but my words started a flood from Kelsey's eyes. It made us all laugh.
“I'm sorry. I just get so emotional!”
Conversation the rest of the meal was light and friendly. They weren't on my case anymore and I was relaxed and actually enjoying our time together. Excusing myself, I headed for the bathroom. Staring at the mirror I was surprised to see me staring back. Not the empty hollow, scared coward I'd gotten used to seeing, but me. And I looked happy and alive again. I vowed to try to open up a little more and not let a certain wolf continue to drive me into darkness.
As I stepped out of the bathroom I smelled him. Patrick was there. I was certain of it. My palms started sweating and my heart began pounding in my chest. I peeked around the corner, out into the dining hall and sure enough, there he stood with my brother at my table talking to my sisters. I watched him for a moment as he talked effortless and laughed with my family, but something in his posture was tight and I found him looking around the room like he was searching for someone. Then it dawned on me. He's looking for me. He knows I'm here.
I flagged Misty over and asked her to tell the girls that my headache had returned and I had gone home to rest. She looked at me with concern, but said she would. Like the chicken I was, I let myself out of the back door and fled once again from the man who haunted my thoughts day and night.
Patrick
Chapter 2
The moment I entered the Crate my body warmed and relaxed. Her sce
nt was everywhere. It was the strongest I'd smelled my mystery woman, my mate, since that very first day, warming up before my challenge with Kyle Westin. I had reneged on the challenge and it had cost me everything.
I was so grateful to Kyle and all the Westins for taking me in, and allowing me to stay in their territory. Liam and Chase had become staples at my place. They hung out there all the time, and it was great. I had a lot of brothers, five of them actually, but our father raised us in competition. His dream was to be the strongest, most powerful alpha in history. His plan was to keep Colin, my oldest brother, close to him, groomed to take over the pack someday. Then as other packs' firstborns began to mate we would each in turn challenge and defeat, essentially taking over that pack in alliance and dedication to him.
My brother Finn had done exactly as planned, challenging and defeating the alpha of a small pack in the Amazon. He seemed happy enough in life. So, when Kyle Westin mated, I was next in line. I had no choice in the matter, and my father had sent my challenge ahead of sending me. I was prepared to do as I had been raised, to fulfill my father's dream. As alpha of the prestigious Westin Pack, I would have been top son in my father's eyes. It was all I had ever wanted, and while a very small part of me regretted it being Kyle, who had been a friend to me through our college days, still I knew what I had to do and was prepared to do so. Until I got one whiff of the woman that would change my life forever.
It had been a rash decision on my part to pull out of the challenges. I did not discuss with my father. I knew what he would have said. ‘True mates made for weak males’. But knowing she was there, I hadn't been able to think straight. My entire focus had shifted to her and I didn't even know what she looked like, but her smell was like a drop of rain amidst a drought, and even through my frustrations over her elusiveness, I could not find it in me to regret the decision.
One True Mate (Westin Pack Book 1) Page 28
