14

Jealous.

Parker

I let out my breath in a huff.

The last thing I want to be doing right now is checking in on the patrols. I want to be at Henley's side. I want to protect her. The fact that my dad has me out doing mundane alpha duties is ridiculous. If my mother were in danger, my father would never leave her side. It's not fair of him to ask this of me.

Protecting Henley is going to be difficult. I didn't realize just how difficult until she brought up the teleporting thing. It's true, if the phoenix wants to get to her, he can. We don't know enough about how phoenix powers work to stop him. If only our ancestors had been better about recording history.

"Are you okay?" Will asks.

I glance over at him as we pace beside one another. "It's hard to leave Henley."

"Blaine is with her. He will protect her." Will turns to look ahead as if his statement is enough to calm me down.

I know Blaine will do all he can to protect her, but Henley isn't his mate. He can only do so much. He can't protect her like I can.

"I don't know how to protect her from a phoenix." I hate admitting it out loud, but it needs to be said. I need to get it off my chest.

Will turns to face me, crossing his arms over his chest. "You'll do the best that you can. Fate chose her for you, so I know it will work out. Besides, your mate isn't as helpless as she seems. She's strong. I heard the dragon king himself admitted that she is very powerful."

I nod. "He did. And she is powerful. But she doesn't know how to use her powers. You've seen her at school. And that phoenix wasn't affected at all. He knows how to use his powers."

"Give her some credit," Will says. "I know that you want to protect her and shield her, but you can't. Besides, Henley isn't the kind of girl who would enjoy being coddled. She's agreed to the guards and homeschooling, but she did it for you. She hates being watched all the time. Your girl is an introvert—she needs her alone time."

I run my fingers through my hair. "I can't give that to her right now. Do you think she'll resent me for it?"

"No. She understands." Will smiles sadly. "You have a very good mate, Parker. She's incredible. I'm jealous of you."

I understand his jealousy. I think all the unmated members of my pack are jealous. Seeing that I'm only eighteen and still in high school, meeting Henley now is a rarity. Though, if the mate bond hadn't revealed itself, I likely would've dated her anyway. I would've gone against pack rules for her. Henley is special.

"Who gets to meet their soulmate at eighteen?" Will shakes his head. "It almost seems cruel that the rest of us have to wait."

"Fate has a way of making sure you meet your mate at the perfect time." I pat Will on the back. "Henley needs me right now because her life is in danger. Trust me, waiting a few more years is preferable to seeing your mate in danger."

"Yeah." Will rubs at his chin. "I don't know how you handle how much danger she's in. I'd probably be twice as tyrannical as you."

I roll my eyes at his ‘tyrannical' comment. "I want to smother her, but she won't let me. If she hadn't been struggling so much with school, I don't think she ever would've agreed to homeschooling. But as it was, we were skipping more than we were going."

Will nods. "I've watched her suffer. Trust me, I know how hard it was on her. So many times I wanted to drag her out of class and she's not even my mate."

"But she's pack." It's in a wolf's nature to want to protect other pack members. The fact that Henley is the future luna only makes that instinct stronger. "I'm glad the two of you have finally made up. What were you arguing over anyway?"

He turns away and shrugs. "She read my mind."

I narrow my eyes. "But she didn't mean to."

"No," he agrees, still not meeting my gaze.

I start to question him, but another pack member comes walking down the path toward us.

It doesn't really matter what they fought over, as long as Will never does anything like that again. I won't allow him to be angry with Henley over her powers. It's not her fault she can't control them.

Henley

It takes me two hours to finish all of my schoolwork. It makes me wonder just how much time was wasted at school considering we'd be there for eight hours and I'd still bring home schoolwork to do.

Blaine finishes his schoolwork at about the same time as I do. Parker and Will are both out on patrol, so Blaine is stuck on babysitting duty for a few hours. Blaine, being a ravenous wolf shifter, decides it's time for his third round of snacks since breakfast. It's only ten and I honestly have no idea where he puts all that food.

I watch him, shaking my head in disbelief as he makes two burgers. "You're not going to be hungry for lunch."

He smirks. "That sounds like a challenge and I accept."

I roll my eyes but smile.

Since my wings first came out, my appetite has increased, but only slightly. I sip on a late that Mrs. Thorne made me while Blaine devours his burgers. As I take a sip, I swear I can feel a twinge of emotion—uneasiness, maybe? But it makes no sense.

Blaine looks at me, raising an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

It's then that I notice my hand rubbing against my heart. "Yeah, I just… something weird…"

"Weird like what?" He takes a bite of his burger, nearly eating a fourth of the thing in one bite.

"Uneasiness, maybe." I try to feel for the emotion, but it's not strong. It's just barely there, but I can feel it. "It's weird, though. It almost feels like the emotion isn't mine."

Blaine nods. "It might be Parker."

My eyes widen. "What do you mean?"

He swallows another bite before answering. "It's possible for the mate bond to start solidifying before it's completed. It's like nature's way of trying to push the couple to complete the bond. Since you and Parker aren't getting married anytime soon, the bond is trying to push you along."

I swallow hard. "Oh. But we're only eighteen."

Blaine shrugs. "You are thinking like a human when you're a supernatural. Eighteen isn't too young to marry for a supernatural—not when soulmates are involved. Shifters treat the bond with reverence. When the bond says you're ready, you're ready."

I snort. "Somebody should tell my dad that."

Though I do contemplate his words.

AmI ready to get married now? Right away, I want to deny it. But maybe I am thinking too much like a human. It's not like Parker and I are going to change our minds in five years—we're soulmates. That kind of bond doesn't ever go away—Blaine's parents are proof of that.

"Parker and I are going to be together forever," I say. "So I get where you're coming from."

"Your dad will eventually cave." Blaine stuffs the last of the burger in his mouth. "It's just hard on him because you're his only kid. And after he lost his mate, I imagine he's scared of losing you in a different way. Once you and Parker get married, you'll move in with him for good. And you'll have kids and your own life. It's just the way things are."

I nearly choke when he mentions children. "We're eighteen. It's a little too soon to start talking about children."

"Marriage and children go together." Blaine shrugs, then gives me a serious look. "You do know that birth control doesn't work for shifters, right?"

My jaw drops open. "What?"

He nods. "Why do you think Parker has so many siblings? Mrs. Throne cried when she found out she was pregnant with Carson. Don't tell him though. She's happy about him now. But at the time, she was pretty distraught."

I make a sound that is somewhere between a cry and a laugh.

That is all the more reason to wait to marry Parker. Because while I am certain that I want to be with him for the rest of my life, I know I'm not ready to be a mom yet. Just the thought makes me feel sick to my stomach. I hear a buzzing sound, but my vision narrows and I can't see anything other than the pattern of my skirt, and even that is a bit fuzzy.

"Are you going to get that?" Blaine asks.

I try to choke out a response, but nothing comes out.

He swipes my phone off the table and presses it to his ear, "Hello." Pause. "She's fine." Pause. "Well, not fine, fine. She's freaking out." He pauses, his blue eyes never leaving mine. "It's my fault. She's not in danger. I just… kind of told her that birth control doesn't—" his voice abruptly cuts off and he winces. "Yeah, I know I should've let you tell her. I thought she already knew." Pause. "Fine. I'll tell her." He ends the call, putting my phone on the table in front of me.

I manage to take a shaky breath. "Was that Parker?"

He nods. "He felt you freaking out, which confirms you two are feeling each other's emotions. He is on his way now to calm you down."

I rub my hands over my face, frustrated that Parker's on his way back. He has alpha duties. He can't just run to me every time I have a mild panic attack.

Blaine pats my shoulder. "It'll be okay, Henley. Trust me, Parker can be a good mate and a good alpha."

I peer up at him. "How did you know what I was thinking? Are you a mind reader now too?"

He chuckles. "No. But I do know you. And you're easy to read."

"How can he be a good leader and a good mate?" I ask. "It seems like he'd have to choose. And it's worse because I'm not part of the pack."

Blaine cocks an eyebrow. "You are part of the pack, even if you don't believe it. My wolf has thought of you as pack since that day you came to hang out at Parker's house. You heard my parents fighting and you tried to distract me by flirting with me, even though it made Parker mad."

I laugh. I did do that. Parker got so mad. At the time, I couldn't figure out what I had done to make him upset. Now I know, he was simply jealous, even if he had no reason to be. I love Blaine, but not like that.

"You've really thought of me as pack for that long?" I rub a hand at the base of my throat. I can't help but feel so small among the wolf shifters. I might be ‘powerful'—at least, according to the dragon king—but one powerful person is nothing compared to a pack of wolf shifters.

Wolf shifters are strong because of the pack. I get that now.

Blaine gives me a sad smile. "Yes, Henley. I really have. I'm sorry that you don't feel it yet. You're not a wolf, so you don't have the same instincts that I do. But one day, you will feel part of the pack."

"I do sometimes feel like part of the pack," I admit, playing with the end of my hair. "But then I get left behind on the full moon and it hurts."

He nods. "I could see that. I would be hurt to be left behind too. But there are members of the pack who don't shift. They always have a full moon party—you should go."

"Really?" I perk up at the thought of hanging out with others who can't shift. "How many members of the pack can't shift?"

"Close to thirty—some of them are mates of pack members, but some are hybrids," Blaine explains. "I imagine being a hybrid wolf who can't shift would be horrible. You'd have the instincts and feel the pull of the moon, but never be able to shift."

I frown. "Will Parker and I have children like that?"

He shrugs. "It's possible." One corner of his lips turns up. "To be honest, I'd rather get the wings. It would be awesome to fly."

At the mention of flying, I feel a tug in my heart. I haven't got to fly since we left the dragon's island. I'm going to have to let my wings out soon or I'll start to get antsy, but I doubt Parker is going to want me to fly. It's likely not safe with that other phoenix around. Nobody else in the pack can fly and I'd be unprotected.

The door swings open with a loud thunk. I jump, putting my hand to my racing heart. Parker comes running into the room, his eyes scanning me over from head to toe.

"You're okay?"

I nod.

He turns to Blaine and narrows his eyes. "Can you not talk to my mate about things before I get the chance to? I don't want to frighten her."

"Sorry," Blaine smirks, not looking repentant in the least. He stands from the couch. "That's my cue. Bye, Vixen." He winks at me.

Parker growls at Blaine as he walks from the room. I shake my head at him.

One of these days, he's going to push Parker too far and Parker will punch him.

Parker comes to sit down beside me. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I nod. "Yeah."

Parker raises an eyebrow. "I felt you freaking out."

I nod again, not saying anything. I'm not sure what to say. It feels weird to talk about these kinds of things with Parker. Parker may be my soulmate, but he's also my teenage boyfriend. Shouldn't talking about our future scare him?

Parker sighs. "I can still feel you freaking out."

"Sorry." I chew on my bottom lip.

"Blaine explained to you that birth control doesn't work for shifters." Parker's eyes flash yellow and I can feel his aggravation.

"Yes." I pull my knees up to my chest and hug them against me. "Were you going to tell me?"

He shrugs. "You don't like talking about the future, so I didn't want to scare you by bringing it up. If we're up to me, we'd be married already."

I swallow hard.

Married.

At eighteen.

But… married to my soulmate.

The thought doesn't send panic through me. Instead, I feel… at ease.

Parker's lips turn up in the corners. "You're not freaking out."

I shake my head.

"Does that mean you're open to the idea?"

I shoot him a look. "You know you have to get my dad's permission, right?"

He raises an eyebrow in surprise. "It's wolf custom, yes. But you always tend to think more like a human, and I thought that asking for a father's blessing was outdated."

I shrug. "Maybe, but I'm not a human. And even if I were a human, I'd still want you to ask for my dad's permission."

"I've already asked him," Parker admits.

"Really?" My eyes widen. "What did he say?"

He just grins, saying nothing.

It's probably best I not know just yet. It's between Parker and my dad, at least for now. I want it to be a surprise.

I sit up straighter. "Since I can feel your emotions, how are you going to hide it from me when you do decide to ask? Won't I be able to feel it through your emotions?"

"I'll find a way," he says. "If we were older, we'd already be married."

Though it's nice to have met Parker at eighteen, there are some serious downsides to having met him this young.

"Everything will work out the way it's supposed to." I lean closer to him. Parker slips his arm around me and I rest my head on his chest. My entire body relaxes as I feel contentment from him.

I get now why Parker wouldn't date until he met his soulmate. Because this is worth waiting for. It was worth every moment of pain and loneliness that I felt until the bond revealed itself.