Free Shoot for the Moon (Black River Pack Book 2) by Rochelle Paige Page A

into the diner for my shift. Slowing my steps, I glanced around the room and realized everyone was staring at me. Parker was seated at the long counter, and he jumped up from his chair to greet me.
    “Hot damn!” he crowed. “Never been happier to get stuck helping Hunter with work than I am today.”
    He wrapped his arms around me as he lifted me off the ground and spun around. When he set me back on my feet, I looked up at his huge grin in shock.
    “What?” I asked.
    “Like I don’t have enough going on at the bar, but how could I say no when he wanted alone time to celebrate with Grace?” he prattled on. “But ha! The joke’s on him because this is the first time ever I found something out before my big brother. And a long fucking time coming, too.”
    “Long time coming?” I repeated.
    “It feels like I’ve been waiting forever to tell you this, Eliza,” he said, his grin slipping from his face as he looked at me seriously. “Welcome to the family.”
    Tears welled in my eyes at his acceptance of me. “Thanks, baby brother.”
    “Baby brother?” he protested. “I may be younger than you, but don’t ever forget that I’m bigger and stronger and faster.”
    I couldn’t help but smile at his boastful tone and then blushed when I heard clapping and cheering all around us. Stepping away from Parker, I turned to find just about everyone on their feet with smiles on their faces and happiness shining from their eyes. Laughter bubbled up as I felt more welcome than I ever had in my entire life when members of the pack came forward to hug me and offer their congratulations. I was filled with the joy of the moment right up until a menacing growl filled the air.
    When the crowd divided, I saw the only she-wolf who was still seated. She was looking at me with contempt in her eyes.
    “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she hissed.
    “Layla,” Parker said as he tried to shove me behind him. “Whatever the fuck it is that you’re thinking, trust me when I say you don’t want to do this. It’s over and done with. Eliza is Spencer’s mate.”
    “Mate,” she spit out before jumping out of her chair. “I’ve kept my mouth shut for far too long, waiting for her to walk away and for Spencer to realize she isn’t his goddamn mate. He’s letting his dick do the thinking for him, and it’s about time someone put a stop to this fiasco.”
    “Shit,” Parker muttered, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. “This mating shit can never be easy, can it?”
    I squeezed around Parker to face the angry she-wolf, his hands wrapped around my arms to hold me back. “Fiasco? You dare to call my mating with Spencer a fiasco?”
    Fated mates were a sacred thing amongst the wolves. To call our mating into question after the mating and the marking was an insult I couldn’t allow. The road Spencer and I had taken to get here had been hard enough without some bitch trying to cast a shadow on our mating. I totally understood that my hesitation had raised questions amongst our fellow pack members, but I had no idea that it had caused anyone to wonder if Spencer was wrong to have claimed me as his mate, let alone some she-wolf who had no business sticking her nose into our life.
    “Hell yes, I called it a fiasco,” she snarled. “If you were his so-called fated mate, then it wouldn’t have taken Spencer a year to realize it. He’s not an idiot.”
    Tearing free from Parker’s hold, I strode towards the other wolf. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you don’t have any right to question the pace of my relationship with Spencer. All you need to know about us is that he mated me and I bear his mark. Beyond that, we are none of your business.”
    “That’s where you’re wrong,” she hissed. “I couldn’t give a fuck what you do with your life, but Spencer is my business.”
    “Who the fuck do you think you are to tell me my mate is your business?” I demanded just as Parker lifted me