3

Stuck with him.

Henley

My hands shake as I sit in the driver's seat of Parker's Jeep. He's explaining how to put it into drive, but I'm hesitant to follow the instructions.

"And you promise not to hate me when I crash your Jeep?" I look at him, my heart stuttering when his blue eyes meet mine.

He smirks. "You're not going to crash."

"But what if?" I ask, needing to know that he won't hate me for crashing his car.

He cups my face with his hand. "Henley, I will not let you crash. I'm a wolf shifter, remember? I've got great reflexes."

I nod slowly. "Yes, but I am also supernatural. What if I get scared and accidentally teleport us out of here and your Jeep rolls into a tree or something?"

Parker tries to keep a straight face, but he starts laughing. "If you crash my Jeep, I'll just buy a new one."

My eyes widen. "You're in high school. How can you afford to buy a new car?"

"Future alpha, remember? I work all the time. I do get paid." He points to the steering wheel. "You're stalling."

I chew on my bottom lip.

I am stalling, but only because it feels like a herd of horses are stampeding through my stomach. I knew I shouldn't have eaten breakfast this morning, but Parker's mom is a really good cook.

I decide to change tactics. "We could make out instead."

That has his lips turning up in the corners. "While that is tempting, you need to learn how to drive and I promised your dad I would teach you."

"Why do I need to learn?" I ask. "It's not like I'll ever be alone." Because there is no way Parker will ever let me go out by myself. At least not until I can figure out how to block the thoughts of others.

"Humor me," he says in a tone that makes me believe I can't get out of this.

I sigh, putting my foot on the brake as he instructed. I put the car into drive, trying to ignore how sweaty my palms are.

"Henley," Parker says softly.

"Yes?" I ask. My foot is pressed down firmly on the brake.

"I will not let anything happen to you, and that is a promise." He gently strokes my hand with his thumb. After a moment, he lets go. "Now slowly let off the brake."

I do lift my foot. When I do, his Jeep goes rolling forward. I panic, slamming my foot back down. I jerk forward, my seatbelt catching me.

"Sorry," I say.

"Stop apologizing." Parker motions ahead of us. "Let off the brake again. And this time, give it a little gas."

I nod, taking a deep breath.

I can do this. It's just driving. People do it all the time.

And, if I am to believe Will, supernaturals have better reflexes than humans. Then again, I do frequently trip over my own feet.

It takes everything in me to lift my foot again. The vehicle moves forward and I slowly push my foot down on the gas.

"See, it's not so bad," Parker says as I drive us forward.

We're practicing on the gravel road we live on. We drove further down it, onto a part that is very infrequently used.

That way if I crash, I won't be hitting anybody else.

My hands shake as I hold them both tightly on the steering wheel.

We continue this pattern for the next half hour. I do eventually start to relax, but when Parker suggests we practice on the highway, I vehemently refuse. My nerves have had enough for the day. We change positions and Parker drives us back to his house.

When we get back, we sit in Parker's Jeep for a few minutes. He grabs ahold of my hand, lacing our fingers together.

"You did well today."

Parker hasn't stopped encouraging me and I'm glad. If he didn't encourage me, I likely wouldn't have even tried.

"I still prefer you to drive," I admit.

He grins. "I know. And you know I love driving you anywhere you need to go, but it's an essential life lesson." He brings my hand up to his lips and gently kisses it.

Something bangs against the glass, making me jump. I look up to see Parker's younger brother, August.

"Dad needs you," he says to Parker.

Parker huffs. "I need to take Henley home."

August shakes his head. "There's not enough time."

I squeeze Parker's hand. "It's fine. The walk to my house is only half a mile."

He narrows his eyes at me. "I am not having you walk home. I'll have Will come pick you up."

We get out of the Jeep and Parker kisses me on the cheek, mumbling a quick goodbye. He then shifts into his wolf form and takes off. I stand there for a few seconds, watching as he disappears into the trees. I consider waiting for Will, but what would be the point? It doesn't hurt for me to walk, especially since the cold doesn't bother me as much as it used to.

Squaring my shoulders, I take off down the path that leads to my house. The path is even more well worn than it used to be and I know it's because Parker makes sure the patrol route takes them by my house every night.

When I hear leaves rustle behind me, I almost turn around, but then I laugh as a squirrel jumps from one tree to the next.

I'm being paranoid.

As I turn back around, I nearly walk into somebody.

My heart races as I look at the figure. I've never seen this guy before, but that doesn't mean he's not pack. Upon further inspection, I realize he doesn't give off the same vibes as the wolf shifters. I can't read his thoughts though, so he's definitely a supernatural.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," the guy says.

"It's… fine," I say, but wonder if I should be running away right now. This guy is a stranger on pack land. And there is no telling what kind of supernatural he is. But the more I look at him, the less inclined I feel to run.

As I look into his eyes, I wonder how anybody could mistake him for a human. His brown eyes seem to almost glow, even in the darkness of tree cover.

"What are you?" I ask before I can consider if the question is rude.

The guy doesn't seem offended. He simply smirks. "You don't know?"

I shake my head.

But the sound of footsteps behind me has me turning my head. I spot Will running toward me. I turn back to the guy to say something, but he's gone.

Weird.

"Parker said you were going to wait on me." Will gives me an annoyed look.

I expect him to question me about the guy, but he doesn't say a word. Did he not see him?

"I wanted to walk," I tell him. "Parker worries far too much about me. I'm perfectly capable of walking half a mile."

"Fine. Then you won't mind if I walk with you." Will walks ahead of me on the path.

I sigh but follow him.

For a moment, I think about telling Will about the guy I saw on the path. But, if I do that, there is no doubt Parker would become even more worried about my safety. And since I'm trying to convince them to let me walk outside by myself, I don't want to mention that.

"I don't get why Parker won't let me walk home by myself. I'm on pack land—there is nowhere safer." I cross my arms over my chest as I follow Will.

He dunks under a low tree limb. "He has his reasons. I don't blame him for not wanting you out of his sight, especially since what happened yesterday in class."

"Yes, but I'm in no danger out here." I motion my arms wide. "There is no human around for miles. I'm not going to suddenly be overwhelmed."

Will doesn't respond, he keeps marching forward.

"Do you think I'll ever get to spend time with Parker?" I ask.

He turns to face me, his eyebrows furrowed. "Weren't you just hanging out with Parker?"

"Yeah, but only for an hour." My lips turn down in the corners. "I spent more time with him before we found out that we were mates. Now, it seems like he's always gone doing alpha duties."

Will shrugs. "It's just part of being alpha. This is your life now."

"So it'll always be like this?" My chest aches painfully at the thought and my voice breaks.

Will turns around to face me, hearing the emotion in my voice. "You're not going to cry, are you?"

"No." I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him.

"Good." Will puts his hand on my back to urge me along faster.

He wants to be with me about as much as I want to be with him.

"So… you are going to leave once I'm safely in my house, right?" I inquire, trying to keep my voice nonchalant.

He snorts. "Not a chance, Henley. Parker told me I have to keep an eye on you until he gets back. Which means you're stuck with me for the rest of the day."

I groan.

Great. Just what I always wanted—somebody who is forced to spend time with me.

"Why is it always you?" I ask. "Why can't Blaine ever hang out with me?"

Will raises an eyebrow at me. "What? You don't enjoy my company?"

I grin, saying nothing in return.

He rolls his eyes. "Blaine can't babysit today. His parents got into a big argument last night. His mom is threatening to move to another pack to get away from his dad or something. He's having to deal with that."

Poor Blaine.

I put a hand to the base of my throat. "Wouldn't it be better for everybody if they separated?"

"They can't," Will says.

"Why not?"

"Mates can't be without one another." He lifts a low hanging branch, motioning me to go first. "Within a few weeks, they'd both be going crazy."

"So you're saying I got really lucky that I actually get along with Parker?" I ask.

Will follows me from the tree line and into my backyard. "Mates do get along—that's the point of them. They're the other half of your soul. Blaine's parents are…unique. Or have you not noticed that every mated couple in our pack is blissfully happy? It's why they all have so many kids."

Wolf shifters do have big families. I hadn't thought of it before because Blaine and Will are both the only child in their family, like me. But Parker's family is the typical size for wolf shifters.

"So… do wolf shifters not have birth control or something?" I ask as we walk up the steps onto my back porch. I go to reach for a key in my bag, but Will steps in front of me and unlocks the door. I raise an eyebrow at him as he stuffs a key back into his pocket.

"Parker wanted us all to have keys to your house," Will says, motioning for me to walk inside first.

Of course Parker gave him a key to my house.

I walk inside, tossing my back on the kitchen island. Will follows inside, walking straight to the fridge.

Wolf shifters are so predictable.

"Yes, wolf shifters have birth control," Will says, as he rummages through my fridge. "It just doesn't always work."

My eyes widen. "What?"

He doesn't answer though. Instead, he's busy pulling out food. He opens a pack of hotdogs and dumps them all into a pot to cook. I don't bother asking if he's going to eat them all because I already know the answer.

I sit down at the island as I watch him cook. "So, what you're saying is, Parker and I are going to have a lot of children."

Will snorts. "Probably. Alpha's always have a lot of children."

I tap my fingers on the counter as I consider what he's saying.

He turns around to face me. "You look scared."

"Well, I was informed that mates usually get married within a couple of weeks of meeting one another. That obviously isn't going to be the case for Parker and me, since we're still in high school. But even if we get married right after high school, there is a pretty good chance I would become a teenage mother." I try to take a deep breath, but it gets caught in my throat.

"You look pale." Will tilts his head to the side as he watches me. "And your heart is beating really fast. Maybe I shouldn't have told you that."

I put a hand to my chest, realizing he's right. My heart is beating really fast. "I'm an only child. I've never even held a baby before. Or changed a diaper. I'm not ready for that."

Will steps closer, eying me cautiously. "Are you going to pass out?"

I shake my head. "No. I'm just rethinking this whole being mated to an alpha thing."

He laughs. "You were the one who fell in love with him before you even knew for sure you were mates. I tried to warn you off."

I shoot him an annoyed look that only makes him laugh harder. He turns back around to finish cooking his hot dogs. I put my elbow on the counter and rest my chin on my fist.

"Where is your dad?" Will asks as he grabs a bottle of mustard out of the fridge.

"Work, I guess." I shrug. "He's usually always at work."

"And you're usually alone?" He frowns like he doesn't like the idea.

"Yep."

He grabs the package of buns from the pantry and proceeds to pull out every single bun.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "You're going to eat all those hot dogs?"

"Yes." He pauses, looking at me. "Unless you want some?"

I shake my head. "No. I had lunch an hour ago."

"Me too." He crams a huge bite in his mouth.

I shake my head at him.

Wolf shifters sure can eat.