Untamed (Rejected Mate Academy #1) - E. M. Moore Page 0,73

We locked eyes briefly, and I silently thanked her.

Not embarrassing myself and staying away from Lydia are my two goals for tonight. When this is over, I’ll tell Jonah what his mom told me and ask him if he knows what the hell it means. We both know Lydia has something against me because of my no shifting rule but his mom’s warning seems bigger than that. And that’s saying something.

Ms. Ebon is lobbying for me to regain my shifting rights, but I sense my wolf and I are already behind in our relationship. Around me, my past wolfpeers are discussing a reduction in shift pain as the transition becomes more seamless. Jonah steers the conversation away to save me from having to answer how my own relationship with my wolf is going, and I squeeze his hand in thanks.

After an hour, the alpha’s wife announces that dinner is ready. We’re a party of twelve as we take our places at the table, and thankfully, no one tries to mix up the pairs. Each of us are sitting with our own fated mates, or in Jesse’s case, with the leech dressed in lipstick.

Jonah leans over as he grabs his cloth napkin from his lap. “Thank you for enduring this for me.”

A smile crawls over my lips. In moments like this, I know it will be easy to do these alpha dinners for years to come. Who knows? Maybe it won’t always feel like I’m separate from them. For the first time, I want to belong if only because it will make Jonah happy.

Mrs. Graves drilling dinner etiquette into me was almost a waste of time. I could easily turn my head and see what Jonah does so I don’t fall into any faux pas. By the time the dinner is finished, I can barely believe I made it out intact. I got a few funny looks at the table, but nothing that a warm smile couldn’t handle. It at least forced them to smile in return, and pressing them to be nice to me, even if only for social graces, felt like it was my biggest weapon.

The alpha claps his hands together as the liquor glasses empty. “It’s time for our ritual run.”

I stiffen, but Jonah clasps his hand on my knee. Discreetly, he leans over. “It’s okay. I’ve already arranged ahead of time to leave after dinner.”

I give him a grateful smile. It would be unheard of to turn down a run with the alpha; not to mention that everyone would figure out that I’ve had my shifting abilities taken away. I don’t need another rumor hanging over my head, that’s for sure.

While the party congregates in the sitting room, Jonah, his parents, and I approach the alpha and his wife. I thank them for inviting me, and they’re both so cordial that when we turn to leave, I can’t believe I’ve actually accomplished the very thing I was so distressed about. We say our goodbyes to his parents by the main door, and Mrs. Livestrong even hugs me. “You did amazing,” she whispers. “I’ll be glad to have you as part of the family.”

A lump lodges in my throat, and it stays there until we get outside. Jonah nudges me. “My mom likes you.”

I smile and gaze up at him with tears threatening my eyes.

“Happy tears, I hope?”

I loathe to tell him that it feels like I’m being included for the first time, but I don’t have to say a word. He gets it. I can’t hide my feelings from him. It’s as if we’re an open energy line, and we keep sending signals upon signals to each other without trying.

He helps me into the truck, a wide grin on his face. “I’m going to talk to them tomorrow about you. I want to move forward with this, Kinsey.” He turns toward me. “You can’t stay at Greystone anymore. I’m going to go out of my mind.”

I went from praying not to be mated to resenting Jonah and now to not being able to imagine my life without him. Call it fate. Call it a wolf’s natural instinct, but honestly, I call it so much more than that. “Me too.”

He gets in the other side of the truck and tucks his hand around my thigh again, drawing circles over the cloth of my dress—slow caresses that drive me wild. When he takes the backroads, I don’t understand where he’s going until he parks the car in front of