Chapter One

Logan

"Alpha, your hands are trembling," I said, squeezing Jessie's hand in mine.

He looked as good as ever in his suit and tie, but we still had six hours before the ceremony and he'd be sweating bullets by the time it came around for us to leave.

"Zoey isn't here yet," he said, squeezing my hands back.

"She's with the rest of her graduating class," I laughed.

"Not our daughter. Not Zoey-bell. I mean, Zoey-Zoey."

"Your sister," I nodded, "she'll be here."

"She's missed things before and I don't need her disappointing Zoey-bell on the biggest day of her life," Jessie said, dropping my hands and crossing the room to look out of the window again.

We were staying at the longest standing family home of the Hemlock Wolf Pack. Before Sky and Rune moved in, it had belonged to Ignatius and Mariam Hemlock. They passed shortly after the war in the Raven Hollow Pack Territory. Every Hemlock ever born still considered it their home or at the very least their home-away-from-home.

"With Xander and their girlfriend," he nodded.

"Oh," I laughed.

"Oh, what?" He glanced back at me over his shoulder.

"It's adorable that you're nervous about meeting Hattie," I grinned, crossing the room to hug him from behind.

"I'm sure she's a great person. I just don't have a great track record with meeting the mates of my siblings," Jessie shrugged. "That and you know Zoey. She has a way of making everything about her."

"So, do you want her here or not?" I asked.

"I want her here because Zoey-bell wants her here. I love my sister but today isn't the day to come out as poly. Today isn't the day to make everything about herself," he whispered.

"I think almost everyone knows. Well, maybe not everyone. Ross knows already, though. So, he won't have a breakdown about being left out of the loop. I don't think it's really anyone's business, though," I reminded him.

"I know that, but I don't think everyone else has processed their own limitations yet, honey," Jessie chuckled.

"I'm sure Sky will set them straight. He doesn't put up with bullying," I reminded him.

"I just want today to go perfect for her – Zoey-bell that is. Well, maybe Zoey too, but this is ---"

"Hey, turn around and face me," I said, tugging on his sleeve. "Staring out the window isn't a much slower method of watching for someone than listening for a car is."

Jessie turned to face me, his brow furrowed.

"Stop making that face," I chuckled.

"I'm trying. I just want today to go off without a hitch for her. You only graduate once. You only get inducted into the trackers once. She's worked hard for this. So hard for this."

"And everyone knows that. If they have something to say about Hattie they can wait until our daughter goes off to party with her friends afterward," I said.

"How are you so calm right now?"

"Because the hard part is over. Zoey-bell came a hair's width of never being born, okay? Then we raised her. Then she switched majors five times! Then she passed her tracker entrance exam and never looked back. We did the hard part. We raised her and got her started."

Jessie never stopped being overprotective of our firstborn. My mate and I had true-mate responded during a time where breeding farms and a crazy vampire wreaked havoc everywhere he went. Said vampire and his henchmen nearly scrambled Zoey-bell when she was still in her egg. Zoey, Jessie's younger sibling, had prevented that from happening and nearly died in the process. We named Zoey-bell after her and the rest was history. Well, the rest was life more than it was history.

"She's here," I said, the whirring of the tires over the graveling driveway buzzing in my ears.

"What is Hattie again?" Jessie asked.

"What do you mean what is Hattie? She's their girlfriend," I chuckled.

"Shhh! Others are coming down," he pointed to the ceiling.

"Well, they're about to find out who Hattie is. Maybe what too, if you're lucky, Alpha," I chuckled.