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“
Oh, look, it’s Tessa still looking as cute as ever in her little uniform.” Shelby sneered when I came to a stop in front of their table.

“
Oh, look, it’s Shelby still going after things she can’t have,” I snapped back, refusing to filter any of the venom that dripped from my voice as I slapped her menu down in front of her.

My eyes flickered toward Jace. He sat with his arms crossed, rubbing his chin with a grin spread on his face. I couldn’t tell if he was grinning because of my comment or just because of the situation in general. The sight of it made my anger explode inside of me. Somehow, I’d have to get Jace alone so I could talk to him about sending Shelby home.

“
Sweet tea and a Pepsi?” I asked.

“
Yeah, and I’ll have the usual,” Jace said, his shit-eating grin still twisting up the corners of his lips.

“
Pepsi and a chicken fingers platter with mashed potatoes,” Shelby demanded, holding her menu out for me to grab.

I jerked it from her fingers. “I’ll get your drinks.”

As I poured their drinks, Shelby’s fake tinkling laugh assaulted my ears and I cringed.

“
Isn’t that your boyfriend over there?” Allison wondered.

“
Yup, sure is,” I answered, ripping out their order and slapping it into the basket.

“
Then what’s he doing here with that girl?”

I scooped up their drinks and maneuvered around Allison. “Oh, that’s just his ex and they’re only having dinner,” I said flatly.

Allison’s face fell as my words sunk in. She had every right to be shocked. In fact, seeing Allison’s reaction put the situation into perspective for me even more. It was one thing for Shelby and Jace to spend time together with a group, but it was something entirely different when it was just the two of them together, alone.

* * *

The remainder of my shift felt like torture. It was like watching Shelby and Jace on a date. By the time it was over I wanted nothing more than to smack Shelby upside the head and verbally assault her.

* * *

“
Didn’t anyone else come with her?” I asked Jace while we stood in the parking lot. Shelby had gone to the bathroom, no doubt to freshen up before the ride to Jace’s house. It would probably be our only moment alone for the entire night and here I was talking about Shelby.

“
Nope, just Shelby this time. She decided to come by herself,” Jace answered, pulling me closer.

I bit the inside of my cheek and glared at him. “Why?”

“
I’m not sure.” He sighed and placed his hands on my hips. “She said she needed to get away for a little while. There’s a lot you don’t understand; you don’t know what it’s like back home for her right now. Please don’t be angry. ”

Was he serious? How could I not be angry that my boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend had decided to shack up at his place and he seemed to be fine with it?

I looked past Jace at the double-door entrance to the diner, waiting for she-devil to walk out. “I’m not angry; I’m actually kind of pissed. How can you honestly think that it’s okay for her to stay with you?”

“
Look, she’s really going through a lot. And since she’s here I thought maybe the two of you could try to connect a little, become friends?” Jace let go of me and took a step back.

“
I can’t believe you right now.
Shelby’s
going through a lot, so I should become her
friend
? Is that what you’re saying?” I scoffed.

Jace put his hands in his front pockets and shrugged. “I know you’re angry, but don’t be. It’s not like I asked her to come, Tessa.”

“
No, his parents did,” Shelby cut in. I’d gotten so heated during Jace’s and my little argument that I hadn’t even heard her walk up.

“
Wait, what?” Jace asked, obviously just as confused as I was. “Why would they send you back again after everything?”

“
Oh, you know why.” Shelby smirked.

“
I already told them I’ve made my decision. Sending you here, I’m sorry, is not going to change my mind,” Jace said, his face softened by sympathy.

“
So what, you’re just going to embarrass us all? That’s why your mom sent me here for a second time… to hopefully change your mind before you brought this piece of half-blood trash home,” Shelby said, her body visibly growing tense. “You’re being selfish by not thinking of how your little decision affects the rest of us!”

“
Mom, of course. I should have known she’d be the one to put you up to this even after everything I said.” Jace shook his head. “I tried, Shelby, but it just didn’t feel right between us. I don’t know what else to say other than you can’t pick who you love and who you don’t.”

“
Right, don’t you think I know that? I’ve tried not to love you—I’ve even tried to hate you because of what you’re doing to me—but I can’t,” Shelby said, folding her arms across her chest, her eyes glistening with tears. “But haven’t you even given any thought as to what it’s like to be me right now? You were supposed to be mine, you were my betrothed, and then you fell in love with
this
.” She gestured to me as though I were the most disgusting creature she’d ever seen.

I had remained silent and unmoving, allowing my anger to dissipate as they talked the situation out between themselves, until I’d heard the word
betrothed
come from Shelby’s lips. Nausea churned in my stomach as suddenly everything clicked together. This was why Jace’s parents hated me without ever meeting me—I was going to embarrass the entire family when Jace brought me home. Now, I could also see why Shelby hated me. She’d had everything, or at least she’d had it within her grasp, until I stepped into the picture.

Jace looked at me then. I could see the panic flair in his eyes as he judged my reaction to Shelby’s words.

“
I guess I’ll just have to take my place the hard way then,” Shelby said through gritted teeth as she wiped away a falling tear. She spun to look at me, her electric-blue eyes piercing my soul. “Remember when I told you that Jace would only bite you once, but that I’d tear your ass up? Well… I meant it.”

My heart thudded forcefully in my chest while I stood there speechless. Words swam through my mind, but none of them sank to my lips. Shelby let out a frustrated breath and stalked toward her Mustang. She revved the engine to life and spun gravel as she sped away.

Jace stepped in front of me and laced his fingers through mine. “I’m sorry about all that. You okay?”

“
Betrothed?
” I choked out, the only word my mind and mouth could agree on.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“
Yes, betrothed,” Jace whispered, his thumbs making small circles across the tops of my hands. “I wanted to explain me and Shelby’s situation, but it just never seemed like the right time.”

I stared past him, unable to wrap my mind around this newly gained knowledge. “You’re engaged… to
Shelby
?”

“
Was,” Jace corrected. “The last time I went back I told my family and hers who I’d chosen—you, Tessa, and that I was renouncing the betrothal.”

The ground beneath my feet spun as the weight of the entire situation suddenly pressed against me. “What does this mean for me? There’s no way anyone in your pack will accept me. How am I supposed to stand by your side in Shelby’s place when I know that everyone will be thinking exactly what Shelby said—that you’ve brought home a piece of half-blood trash,” I muttered frantically as I blinked away tears.

Jace pulled me into his arms and sighed loudly. “They will accept you; you just have to earn it.”

“
I can’t believe this. I feel like I can’t catch a freaking break lately!” I shook my head and pulled in a deep breath. Cutting my eyes to the black, star-speckled sky, I untangled myself from Jace. “And how will I do that? How do I
earn
their acceptance?”

“
We’ll discuss that when the time comes,” Jace said, his amber-colored eyes becoming vacant and far away.

I folded my arms across my chest and narrowed my eyes. “Why do you always do that? Why do you always insist on acting like I’m some fragile child who’s going to break once they learn the truth?”

“
I’m not. I just don’t think right now is the time to worry about this.”

“
Well then, when is it going to be the right time, Jace? When I’m standing at the ceremony or whatever the heck it is with all of these random people I don’t know shooting death rays at me with their eyes?” I demanded. There was no way I was letting him get off that easy. I needed to know these things and I needed to know now. It was past time for me to get some answers.

Jace shook his head and crammed his hands into his front pockets. “You really wanna know? You think you can handle it?”

My chest tightened, but I nodded for him to continue, hoping he couldn’t sense how nervous I was.

“
You’re going to have to fight, Tessa. The only way you’ll gain their acceptance… is if you go up against Shelby in an actual fight during the Wolf Moon,” he said, without looking at me.

My entire body began to tremble as the meaning behind his words sunk in. This was what Shelby had meant.
This
was how she would take her place the hard way. As if that wasn’t enough, a new thought broke through to the surface of my mind… we’d be in
wolf
form.

“
You expect me to fight her during a full moon?” I whispered hoarsely.

“
It’s called an Ordeal between the Betrothed and the Chosen.”

“
When were you planning on letting me know?” I asked, bringing my eyes to his.

He took in a deep, pained breath and dropped his gaze to his shoes. “Soon. I just wanted you to make it through this next full moon first.”

“
Why, why does making it through every freaking full moon matter so much to you? Is it not pretty obvious to you that it doesn’t matter how slow you go in explaining all of this to me, it’s still going to be a lot to take in no matter what? I generally like surprises, but not this kind. So what happens during this
Ordeal
? It’s not a fight to the death is it?”

“
It could be, but it doesn’t always end that way,” Jace answered, and I thought my legs might give out.

“
What if I don’t make it?” Panic constricted my lungs, making it hard for me to breathe.

Jace met my frightened stare with a serious expression of his own. “I have faith that you will.”

“
And if I don’t, then you’ve practically sentenced me to death,” I said, unable to meet his gaze any longer. Feeling void of any emotion, I dimly thought to myself:
This must be what being in complete shock feels like.

* * *

I drove Jace home in complete silence. Shelby’s car was gone and the thought of her heading back home to prepare for our fight frightened me. Shelby was naturally intimidating and vicious, and I could only imagine what she would be like fighting in wolf form.

“
I love you, Tessa, and I wouldn’t have bitten you if I hadn’t thought that you were strong enough to handle it all,” he said reassuringly, a hopeful gleam in his eye.

I stared at him, but I couldn’t bring myself to smile. In my mind I already felt powerless and defeated by Shelby. To know that Jace was so sure of me and what he thought I was capable of did nothing for me. When I didn’t reply to him, he gently closed my car door and strode toward the porch of his house without glancing back once.

* * *

I made it home five minutes past curfew and didn’t care whether or not my parents grounded me for being late. The TV’s blue glow lit the hallway when I stepped into the house. Mom sat on the couch with a blanket draped over her lap, holding the remote tightly.

“
You’re late,” she said when I flopped down on the couch beside her.

I didn’t care if she yelled at me because right now that would be the only thing normal in my life, and at the moment I’d welcome anything normal. “I know.”

I heard her take in a deep breath beside me and waited for her tight-lipped words to come.

“
I can’t let this go on any longer… you’re right, just because you wish for something not to be true, doesn’t mean that it goes away,” she whispered softly. “I know what Jace is and I know what’s happened to you.”

My heart stopped and my lungs froze. I’d made a big stink about being able to handle stuff, and now it looked like the universe was getting ready to throw everything on me all at once.

“
I prayed every night Jace wouldn’t see that mark on your leg and realize what you were—a half-blood marked for change,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. “I’d hoped your relationship would fizzle out before anything like
this
could happen, but it didn’t and now here we are having a conversation I never intended to have.”

The words
I’m sorry
chimed through my mind, but I never said them because I didn’t feel they were mine to say. I simply stared at my mother, taking in her guilty expression. “Is that why you don’t like him, because you knew what he was all along? Why didn’t you warn me? Why didn’t you say something?”

“
Probably for the same reason you didn’t tell me anything—fear. Fear of what you’d think of me for keeping these secrets all your life, fear that if he hadn’t said anything to you you’d think I was crazy, and most of all the fear that you’d hate me.”