Free Werewolves in Love 1: Kiss and Kin by Kinsey Holley Page B

don’t think I’m a bitch for freaking out about Taran claiming me, even though you lost your boyfriend when he found his mate?”
    TJ took a couple deep breaths, staring into space for a minute. “You’re not a bitch, baby. I’m your best friend; you’re supposed to come to me when you’re unhappy. I lost Josh seven years ago. I’ve healed.”
    “You’re healed, but you refuse to date werewolves?”
    “Yes,” TJ said firmly. “Losing Josh hurt like hell. But it hurt mostly because it wasn’t his fault. And once it happens to you, you want to make damned sure it never happens again. Josh loved me—he really loved me, I know that—and then Melissa showed up, and it wasn’t his fault or her fault. It just felt so fucking random.”
    “Some werewolves don’t leave their girlfriends, or their wives, when they meet their mates.”
    “True. But they end up miserable. If a wolf’s in love with a woman and his mate shows up, he’s screwed either way.”
    “But since it’s so rare for a wolf to even find a mate,” Lark said gently, “the odds of it happening to you again are, like, nonexistent. So you could —”
    “Lark, I’m not discussing Nick. Not today, not tomorrow, never. We’re talking about Taran.”
    “Okay. Sorry.”
    “Forgiven.”
    Lark knew she meant it.
    “Now. Can we agree having the wolf you’ve loved for ten years wind up bonded to you is maybe not the worst thing you’ve ever experienced?”
    She sighed. “Oh, hell. I guess so.”
    “All right. That leaves what? Anger at him for not telling you before he claimed you.”
    “Right. It feels like he trapped me.”
    “But he can’t. He can’t force you to stay with him. He’s fucked if you don’t want him. He’s bonded to you, body and soul, for the rest of his life, so if he committed some great sin, he’ll be doing penance forever.”
    “Yeah, but for the rest of my life, there’s a wolf out there who can sense me, can find me, can never forget about me… I mean, there are some really scary stories about bonded wolves whose mates rejected them.”
    “And none of them apply to y’all. He’ll never hurt you, he’ll never go crazy on you. Like you said, he’s never acted like he wanted you. You really think it’s because he didn’t?”
    She frowned. “What? You mean like, he wanted me and purposely acted like an asshole so I wouldn’t know?”
    TJ rolled her eyes. “Duh. And why do little boys chase little girls and hit them with their backpacks?”
    “I hadn’t thought about it like that.” She recalled something Taran said last night. “Oh. Oh, wow.”
    TJ raised her eyebrows.
    “Last night, after…after we made love. He said something about forgetting what it was like. He said he hadn’t been a busy wolf lately, and I was surprised, because he’s always had women, you know? So that would mean…”
    “That would mean he hasn’t had sex in a while because you’re his mate. He probably hasn’t wanted anyone else. Even when he’s horny, being with other women would just make him unhappy.”
    The implications staggered her. She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands. “Holy shit. What if he’s been feeling like this for years? What if he’s been suffering as much as me? I mean—”
    “How was it, by the way?”
    “Huh?”
    “The sex, Lark. How was the sex?”
    “Oh. Um, unfuckingbelievable.”
    TJ grinned slowly. “Really.”
    “Yeah. Scary good.”
    “Well, no wonder you’re so pissed off. Y’all could’ve been having heart attack sex all this time.”
    She snorted her margarita. It burned her nose. “That’s not what I’m really worried about right now, but yeah, I guess.”
    “So. What you’re really upset about is his not telling you first, because now you feel trapped.”
    “Yeah. I feel responsible for him. He asked me if I’d expected a fuck buddy.”
    TJ damned near snorted her own drink. “Shit. He said that? Did you punch him?”
    “No! I was too upset to even