Shadow Mate - Jen L. Grey Page 0,35

angry all the time.

"Hey, what can I get you three?" A waitress appeared out of the crowd who had to be in her mid-twenties.

"Oh, I'd love a hamburger with everything, onion rings, and some mozzarella sticks." Bree then pointed at her cup. "And another one of this bad boy, too."

"Give me the same thing as her." Even though we'd eaten the same thing the other day, a hamburger always sounded good. Not to mention they had one of the best I'd ever tasted.

"Okay, and you?" The waitress's eyes landed on Tripp.

"Let me have a double cheeseburger with bacon, French fries, and some shrimp as a side. Oh, and I'll have water instead of whatever the hell that thing is."

"It'll be coming right up." She turned on her heel and walked away.

Tripp waited until the waitress was several yards away and focused back on Bree. "So where does he go?"

"To KSU with her brother." Bree nodded her head in my direction. "That's actually how we met."

"Oh, their football team is so good." Tripp shook his head. "Isn't that where we're playing next month? I wish it was this weekend’s game rather than the cupcake planned. We’re going to slaughter the other team."

"Yeah, it is." Bree chewed on her bottom lip as she smiled at me. "We're going, right?"

"Are you sure it's okay?" I remembered how Liam had acted when he came to the party to pick her up. He didn't want her there.

"Of course it is." She laughed a little loud and waved me off. "I’ve gotta go support my brother, right? He’s starting quarterback after all."

Ugh, Liam. He always managed to come up no matter how hard I tried not to think of him. I couldn't fault her though. "As long as we aren't going to cause any problems, I'm down. I'd love to see Max anyway."

"Hmm, you guys will need a strong male to get you there." Then he bumped into my shoulder. "And you'll need a strong protector once you're there. I think it benefits us all."

"I figured you'd weasel in one way or another." She rolled her eyes. "So of course, you're included."

I'd get to see my brother soon. At least that was a bright spot to look forward to.

The next morning, I woke up an hour before my alarm went off. I tried falling back to sleep with no luck. Liam consumed my dreams and thoughts. I'd dreamed that I walked in on him and blondie having sex. When our eyes connected, he just winked at me, which had jarred me awake.

I didn't understand what was going on between us. Could he have given in too much to his wolf so he was power-hungry? From the way Liam had blamed me for our kiss in front of Evan, it almost seemed as if they didn't trust each other. Like he couldn't admit that he had succumbed to our bond. Is that what this was all about? Him proving that a mate bond wouldn't bring him to his knees.

Still, at the end of the day, it didn't even matter. I grabbed my phone and saw that it was seven in the morning. Mom would be up.

Things had been stressed between us ever since my Wolf Moon Academy acceptance letter arrived, but she was still my mother, and I needed her. I took a deep breath, which was odd. I never had to build up the courage to call her before.

Refusing to overthink it, I dialed her number.

She picked up on the second ring. "Mia, is everything okay?"

The concern in her voice soothed me. "Yeah, I just wanted to call. I figured you were up."

"Yes, I am." I heard a door shut, and she took a deep breath. "I've been so worried about you, but I didn't want to call and make things worse."

"You're my mother. Worrying is part of your job." She almost sounded normal, which was something I didn't even realize I needed. "I miss you and Dad."

"Oh, we miss you too." She huffed. "I'm sorry I didn't go with the family to drop you off. I was wrong. I should've been there for you."

"You are now. That's all that matters." My family was my support system. I'd felt all wonky without them, so it was nice to see we were getting back on track.

"How are things there?"

"They're different." I couldn't come clean with Bree about her brother, and I needed to go to someone. "Mom, I found my fated mate."

"What? Really?" Her voice grew high