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Jace took my hand in his, and I felt his stance tense a little beside me. His mother’s eyes dropped to our interlaced fingers, and she took another swig of her drink, which I presumed to be scotch. Its spicy aroma clung to the air in the room and filled my nose as though I were holding the bottle and huffing it.

“
Where’s everyone else?” Jace asked. His thumb brushed softly across the top of my hand, somehow managing to tame the nervous butterflies in my stomach some.

“
Out back,” Vivian answered coolly.

“
Come on, I’d like for you to meet the rest of my family,” Jace insisted, pulling me away from his mother’s murderous stare and toward the back of the house. “I’m positive the entire pack isn’t here right now, but I’m sure Jenna will be.”

As soon as we entered the kitchen the huge French doors that lead to the well-lit patio area outside came into view, and I paused mid-step.

“
Um, could I get something to drink first? Please,” I asked. I didn’t need something to drink, but rather I needed a moment to gather myself before meeting the
rest
of Jace’s family. Vivian had rattled me. Badly.

“
Sure, let me see what they’ve got.” He released my hand and walked to the fridge. “Looks like Sprite, Coke, water, milk, or lemonade.”

“
Lemonade, please,” I said, still thinking about whether or not the rest of his family would seem so cold and intimidating.

Jace handed me a tall glass of cool lemonade. “My mom’s the hard one to please; my dad’s not nearly as bitter or hard to get along with. To him it’s all about being able to prove your title, which is what I have no doubt you’ll be able to do in the Ordeal.”

“
Right.” I flashed a weak smile. His words had not helped my nerves any. In fact, they only reminded me of the other thing I had to be nervous about—the Ordeal.

Jace reached out and rubbed my arm, obviously noticing how shaky my hand holding the glass was. “Come on, you can bring that with you.”

I followed closely behind Jace as we walked through the kitchen and toward the French doors that led outside. I stepped to his side and shoved one hand in my coat pocket while holding my lemonade in the other, wishing the glass were bigger so I could hide behind it. From the look on everyone’s face I wondered if they’d been able to hear our conversation in the kitchen. I tried to remember what exactly we had been talking about, but my mind failed, becoming completely fried by my bad case of nerves.

“
I’m so glad you’re finally here!” Jenna exclaimed from where she sat at a picnic table. She came rushing toward me with her arms opened wide.

“
Thanks, I’m glad to be here, too,” I insisted, returning her unexpected hug.

“
Son, it’s good to have you home again,” said a man— who even if he hadn’t called Jace his son, I would have known right away was Jace’s father due to his chiseled good looks and the startling power of his presence—in a deep voice.

“
Thank you, Father,” Jace replied.

Jenna released me and stepped to my side. Gazing around I noticed there were five others besides Jenna and Jace’s father standing in the backyard. One of them I recognized as Jace’s uncle, Everett.

“
This must be Tessa, I presume,” Jace’s father said. His eyes grazed over me with curiosity.

Jace took my hand in his. “Yes, Father. This is Tessa.”

“
Welcome, my name is Nicholas.” An amused smirk touched his lips and his eyes never wandered from me.

I straightened my back, refusing to show any trace of the unease I felt under his stare. “Thank you, nice to meet you,” I said as evenly as I could, wondering if he was testing me in some way or sizing me up against Shelby in his mind, his smirk was throwing me off.

“
I’m being rude. Allow me to introduce you to a few members of our pack,” Nicholas said, his eyes finally shifting away from me. “I gather you’ve already met Jenna. This is her husband, William.”

I followed his gaze to a tall, muscular, redheaded, green-eyed guy in his late twenties. William flashed me a white smile and waved. I smiled in return, and for whatever reason, glanced around at all of the other men. They were all huge, towering over the women and very solidly built. I wondered if this was a werewolf thing.

“
You’ve met my little brother, Everett,” Nicholas said. “This is his lovely wife, Lily.”

“
Nice to meet you.” I nodded and smiled at the older, blond-haired, blue-eyed woman with fair skin and freckles who sat beside Everett.

“
You too, Tessa,” she said politely, her lips stretching into a thin smile.

“
The little guy over there trying to snag another cookie is Corey, Jenna and William’s little boy.” Nicholas grinned.

My eyes darted to a little boy. I hadn’t noticed him until just now. He looked so much like Jenna it was amazing, but he shared his daddy’s red hair.

“
Hi.” Corey giggled, shoving a cookie into his mouth. I decided he couldn’t be more than three years old.

“
Hi,” I replied.

“
And last, but certainly not least, is Regina—Shelby’s mother,” Nicolas said, and my stomach knotted.

I shifted my gaze to Regina, ready to tell her how nice it was to meet her even though it really wasn’t, but once my eyes reached her, I couldn’t speak. She was an older version of Shelby, a replica—white-blond hair, icy-blue eyes, a body to die for, and plump, full lips.

Regina’s eyes locked with mine. “Hello,” she said, a bitterness to her words like nothing I’d ever heard before.

“
It’s nice to meet you,” I said, unsure of what to say to the woman who was the mother of my boyfriend’s betrothed.

“
I’m sure,” Regina insisted coolly, her eyes boring through me like daggers.

Vivian stepped through the French doors, breaking up what was bound to have been an awkward silence between the nine of us. “I went inside to pour myself a drink and figured what the heck, I’ll just bring the whole bottle out.” She sat down the crystal canister containing the amber-colored liquid that I’d presumed to be scotch earlier on to a picnic table near where Nicholas was grilling. “Jace, dear, why don’t you go grab some more tumblers and a bit of ice?”

“
Yes, Mother,” Jace replied, squeezing my shoulder as he started to walk away.

“
Why don’t I help?” I offered quickly, stepping to follow behind him, not wanting to be left alone out here with the others, especially Regina and Vivian.

“
No, Tessa, stay. Have a seat,” Vivian insisted as she walked to sit in the overstuffed patio chair beside Regina.

“
Yeah, you go ahead. I’ll help Jace,” Jenna said, scurrying into the house.

“
Okay.” I moved toward the picnic table and sat at the end closest to the house.

“
Do your parents know you’re here?” Vivian asked.

I met her gaze. “Yes, they do.”

“
And I presume they know the repercussion of your actions in coming here,” Regina chimed in, making me feel as though I were on trial due to the severe glare she directed toward me.

I straightened my back, not wanting for either Vivian or Regina to see how nervous I was, it was bad enough that I was sure they could smell it on me. “For the most part, yes, they know.”

It wasn’t a lie. I had told my mother about the Ordeal I’d be taking part in. She hadn’t been happy, but there was little she could do to persuade me not to come. Her knowing had also made my goodbye that much harder, because in reality it could have very well been my final goodbye to her, ever. And as for my dad, he didn’t want to believe any of it so there’d been no point in going into any details.

Vivian stared at me with a perfectly arched eyebrow raised, tapping her ring against her glass. “You appear to be a little bit scrawny… I wonder if this is what your wolf form looks like also. If so, you won’t last long, not against Shelby.”

I felt like I’d been slapped. “I’ve always been told it’s not the size of the player, but the amount of fight that’s in them that matters.” Shelby wasn’t bigger than me any place besides her chest.

Regina flashed me a vicious smile. “Well, looks like we only have two days to find out if you were lied to because Shelby is all lean muscle.”

Jenna and Jace stepped back outside carrying tumblers and a bucket of ice. I felt my cheeks flush from Regina’s statement and glanced around at all of the others. If this was any indication as to how the pack would accept me, I was in for a lot more dirty looks and heated words. My eyes paused on Nicholas; he seemed to be staring at me from the corner of his eye with a small sense of satisfaction. Did he enjoy seeing people squirm during confrontation? Because that was what I was doing and I was sure that I wasn’t hiding it well.

* * *

After dinner Jace turned in for the night, the drive from North Carolina to Ohio finally taking its toll on him, and Jenna offered to show me around the house and get me settled in. The entire house was huge—seven bedrooms, five bathrooms huge. I’d asked Jenna if some of the pack members lived here but she’d told me no. They lived in such a large house due to their status. My jaw had dropped—Jace
was
like freaking werewolf royalty.

“
Oh. My. God. Jace and Shelby’s mother’s are both real pieces of work,” I whispered on our way down the hall, once we’d left the vicinity of their hearing capabilities.

“
They both have their reasons.” Jenna nodded, not entirely agreeing with my statement but not disagreeing either. “For both of them it’s mostly about family pride.”

I was just about to tell her that I understood what she meant when we walked past a door that really caught my eye. It was solid wood with an intricate carving of a wooded scene and a lone wolf howling up at the full moon.

“
It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Jenna asked from beside me. “Jace made that, you know? He’s a much more skilled carpentry worker than what he lets on.”

I stepped forward, my hands reaching out to touch the smoothed wooden edges. “Jace made this?”

“
He did.”

Rubbing a finger over the delicately carved wolf I noticed words had been burned into the center of the door.

Beneath the silver light of the fullest moons we change,

To run through the darkest hours a creature known as strange.

A curse is blended deep into our blood by the Goddess of the Moon,

A curse that is to be carried from past to future and never to be rid of soon.

For those of us born each fate is sealed from birth unto our death,

From the very first scream of life until our final breath.

For together we all are bonded by blood, heart, and soul,

To share this odd fate together until forever as a whole.

A sadness twisted inside of me. “Who wrote that?”

“
Jace,” Jenna whispered.

“
It’s beautiful and sad all at the same time,” I said, turning to meet Jenna’s stare.

She nodded. “Yeah, he went through a slightly emo period around sixteen.”

“
I’d say.” I grinned.

“
Come on, your room is the next one.” She walked past me and opened the next door.

The room was huge. A large four-poster bed made of dark wood with a deep red comforter stood in the center of the space. A matching nightstand, wardrobe, and desk rounded out the room. The walls were painted toffee brown and large drapes hung from the ceiling to the floor on either side of a bay window that was straight ahead.

“
This is amazing…” I trailed off, heading directly for the bay window. It overlooked the backyard and the never-ending woods surrounding the house.

“
I’m glad you like it.” Jenna smiled. “Here, I’ll set this bag against the wardrobe. I’m sure you’re exhausted, so I’ll let you settle in and get some rest. See you in the morning.”

“
Thanks, for everything,” I said as Jenna was leaving the room, and I meant it. Jenna and her little family had been the only truly welcoming faces I’d seen tonight. If she hadn’t been here, I didn’t know if I would have fared so well.

“
You’re welcome,” she said, closing my door behind her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Early morning rays of sunshine streaked in through the bay window. I rolled over in bed, rubbing my eyes. I’d been awake for most of the night, unable to sleep in such an unfamiliar place where I felt completely unwelcome. It would have been nice if Jace and I had been able to share the same room, but I understood how out of the question that was.

I was unwanted here, especially by his mother, so to have me sleeping in the same bed as her son would mean allowing me to spend more time with the one person she didn’t want him spending any time with.

I grabbed my cell from the nightstand and stared at Rachel’s name in my phone for the millionth time. I wanted to call my best friend and tell her how horrible Jace’s mother had been and that Shelby’s mother had been just as vicious as Shelby, if not worse. But, I didn’t. Instead, I called the one person who would be up and know exactly how to make me feel better about the situation, the one person who would always answer no matter what. I called my mom.

“
Come home. Hop in your car and come home,” mom said after I’d told her how unwelcoming Jace’s family had seemed.