Page 19 of Fifty & Feral

“Why didn’t you tell your mom or me?” Jack’s voice was strained.

Maya rolled her eyes, looking more like a teenager than the mid-twenties I knew her to be.

“And sound crazy? Or weird? No, thank you. Being a teenager was hard enough.”

“Maya—”

She held up a hand. “Of course I know you and Mom would always be there for me and you all are incredibly supportive, but there are some things that a woman would like to keep to herself. My imaginary wolf is one of those things. Honestly, I feel a little less crazy now.”

Jack went over to Maya and pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and the father and daughter hugged.

I found tears coming to my eyes.

“So when can we meet this Mason guy? And the pack?” Maya asked. “I assume we all have a ton of questions now. My first one will be when do I get to shift?”

We all chuckled at that.

“There’s a pack gathering for the new moon today, actually. I’d really love it if both of you went with me. Please.” He looked to me, and I nodded.

“Of course, anything you need.” I almost couldn’t tear my gaze away from him. He was so magnetic. His smile drew me in, and I wanted to see if that kiss was just as amazing now as it was yesterday. But his daughter was here. And the two of them probably had even more to talk about. “I should probably head home, though. I need to get fresh clothes and shower… water my plants.”

“You’ll be back later, though?” Jack asked, his voice filling with slight panic.

“I will. I promise.” Going out on a limb, I leaned toward him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. The scruff of his beard scratched against my cheek. Fuck, why was that so hot? I had to put some space between us, give me a moment to breathe, to think, to gather my thoughts. “It was great to meet you, Maya.”

“You, too, Connor.”

With that, I turned toward the door and left. And if it felt like I was leaving a piece of my heart behind, it was probably because that was exactly what I was doing.

Chapter 12

Jack

I’d almost forgotten about the pack gathering until Maya started asking questions. Then the text reminders started coming from Mason. He wasn’t going to let me forget it. I had a feeling that if I hadn’t answered, he would have shown up like Connor had. Between him, Connor, and Maya, I had many missed calls and texts from the previous day.

The pack gathering was taking place on the day of the new moon. Apparently, pack gatherings were very similar to a family reunion, only it happened more often — monthly, sometimes multiple times a month, depending on the time of year. Mason explained that many of their gatherings connected to a phase of the moon and that they always gathered as a complete pack on the full moon. But groups of them would get together to run on other days. Some of them preferred to shift multiple times throughout the month. Others preferred only to bring their animal side out during certain phases of the moon. It all seemed fascinating, and I only had about a million questions.

Now that this whole ordeal seemed survivable and I didn’t feel so alone since I had Connor, and Maya knew what was happening, I was feeling a lot lighter. It was giving me a whole new view of this situation.

The questions regarding my situation were bountiful, not that I’d been in the right headspace when I met Mason to voice them out loud. Today I may be able to learn more. I had to learn more.

In the back of my mind, I didn’t stop thinking about Mason’s words about me needing to find a mate, a person who would keep my human side anchored. How did I even begin to explain that concept to Connor? We had just met. I had turned into a wolf, for fuck’s sake. He was being a good friend. I couldn’t thrust more upon him, essentially throwing my life at his feet and asking him to bind himself to me—a man he had just met. I needed to know more about what this mate thing meant before I brought Connor into our conversation.

That didn’t mean I didn’t desire him, because I did, and Mason had described this turning into a wolf thing as a bit of a second puberty. And dear God, that was understating it. The simple thought of Connor would sometimes throw me into a frenzy. Being around him this morning had been difficult, even with Maya there as a buffer. I wanted to cover him in my scent and bite at his neck.

Was that a mate thing? Or just a wolf thing?

Once he had left and I’d showered, I’d nearly rubbed my cock raw, coming not just once or twice, but three times before I was able to calm down long enough to string a coherent thought together. Thankfully, Maya had also returned to her home, so I had the house to myself.

That was not a desire I’d ever had before. Was it a wolf thing? I knew that being around him with my daughter there was going to be even more awkward. She was all for me throwing myself at him.

As soon as he’d left, she’d teased me about him. She demanded to know everything. There wasn’t much to tell.

There would be though, if I had anything to say about it. First, I needed to get more information about this mate thing. If Connor accepted a mate bond with me, did he have to make the change into a wolf? How did that even work?

Connor returned to my house in the early afternoon, and we all rode together in my car. Connor sat in the passenger seat and Maya in the back.

“This is insanity,” Maya said. It wasn’t the first time she had said the words. I still couldn’t believe she trusted me at my word without any proof of me turning into a wolf. I should have let Connor take a selfie last night. I’d love to see what my wolf looked like in real life. All I had right now was a vague idea based on my reflection in the lake and the images that filled my mind when I thought about my wolf, but those were hazy.