Page 44 of His Arranged Plus-Size Mate

“It’s really not,” Jade quickly added. “Everything takes time. This is just like anything else. Practice makes perfect.”

“I know….I just wish I were getting somewhere with it.”

“This is your first week.” Jade pulled herself up. “I think that’s enough for today. We can pick it up tomorrow.”

“No, can we try a little longer?” Hazel asked. “Please? Just a few more minutes?”

Jade nodded and remained seated. I watched as Hazel closed her eyes, her eyebrows knitting together. The space fell quiet.

“I feel a pull,” Hazel said, her eyes snapping open. “In the woods.”

“Where?” Jade asked.

Hazel looked around and pointed to the south. I quickly dug for my phone and yanked it out. I pulled our map up and walked closer, showing it to her. “Can you point where?”

Hazel slowly nodded and pointed to a location. It wasn’t a spot we had ever checked because it was several miles outside the territory. It was a spot we needed to check.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I feel something there.”

I called Brandon, and we set up a team together. If Hazel was feeling a pull, I wanted us to follow it. If she were connected to them, she could tell us where they were. She could tell us stuff we wouldn’t know.

Brandon and Kaleb arrived a few minutes later. They took a team into the woods soon after arriving. Hazel paced as we waited for them to return. She walked up and down a path, her eyes glued to the woods.

I don’t know how much time passed before they appear. They came back toward us and shook their heads. Her shoulders sank.

“It’s a dark area, but there was no sign of hybrids there. Just looks like an abandoned space. We saw no need to look further.”

Her face fell. “So, I was wrong.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re wrong. Maybe it was further out. Just keep training.” Brandon patted her shoulder andwalked past her. She turned to me, and I could see the hurt in her eyes.

“Hey, he’s right. You weren’t wrong. You’re still learning.”

“I was so sure,” she said. “I really thought I was leading them somewhere.”

“I believe you.” I gave her a smile. “Just keep training. You’re going to get better.”

She slowly nodded, and I bumped her elbow with mine. “Or you could just give up. Take on a different life. Maybe run away.”

She rolled her eyes but cracked a smile. “That’s a bad joke.”

“It got you to smile.” I looked into the woods. “You have to keep your head up.”

Chapter 16 - Hazel

I sat with Chelsey in the healing center’s back room. We were both taking a break from a long morning. I was munching on some carrots while she was snooping in the fridge. “I thought I had half a pizza in here still.”

I paused mid-bite. “Marie ate it yesterday. She worked late and didn’t have time to run out and grab anything. I told her you wouldn’t mind.”

Chelsey grumbled as she shut the door. “Well, that’s great. Maybe I’ll order something in. However, I have been ordering a lot of food in. I should really start packing food.”

I chuckled as I took another bite of the carrot.

She sat back down and smiled. “So, how is the training going?”

I shrugged. “It’s fine. I feel like I should be farther than I am with my ability. And the one moment I thought I was doing well and leading them somewhere was a bust, so...could be better.”