Werewolf Academy Year Three - Jayme Morse Page 0,50

Kane back that night. I knew it would have been a horrible idea for everyone involved in this situation.

Of course, me not calling Kane back didn’t stop him from calling me. If anything, his calls became more frequent after that. Every time the phone rang, I couldn’t help but think that he seemed so determined. It felt like every time I ignored one of his calls, he became more desperate to reach me.

The worst part about it all was that I didn’t want to ignore him. Every time I saw his name pop up on the caller ID, the butterflies would warm around instead my stomach.

No, every part of me wanted to answer him, but I couldn’t do it.

Answering him felt like a betrayal to Theo and the other Darken. But mostly, I didn’t trust answering him. Not And it wasn’t because I didn’t trust Kane.

It was because I didn’t trust myself.

The days all began to fade together. Before I knew it, midterms had already come and gone, and we were ready to leave Wolflandia for winter break.

Normally, we spent Christmas at the Darken house, but this year was different. Since I was going to be Maddie’s maid of honor on Christmas Eve and we were all invited to the wedding, we were staying with my uncle Ryan.

Even though I knew that I should have been excited to spend Christmas with my uncle and to be back in the human world, I wasn’t. I sort of dreaded the idea of being away from the Darken house—away from the home I had created with my mates.

It had been a year since my mates had proposed to me, a year since they had given me that engagement ring with the promise that I would choose to marry one of them.

And somehow, everything was so different now.

They were different, and so was I.

And now there were no longer just four of them. There were six of them now.

Even though I wouldn’t have said it out loud, the truth was that I also wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

There was something about Kane that just made my heart pump differently than the others did. It wasn’t that I liked him more or felt more attracted to him.

No, I loved all of my mates. I loved them equally.

When it came down to it, it was all about who was best for me. The problem with that was that I thought each of them was amazing for me in their own way.

I just wondered what would happen when I finally did end up choosing a mate. Would my mate and I still live with the rest of the pack? I wasn’t sure how the guys who I didn’t choose would respond to my making a decision. Would they be welcoming to me and the one who I chose?

There were the questions that kept me up at night, the questions that deterred me from choosing anyone at all.

Well, they were part of the reason.

The other part was him.

On Christmas Eve, I walked down the aisle to the song “Jingle Bell Rock” in the backyard at Branden Mitchell’s parents’ house. It was dark outside, and the aisle was lit up by gold Christmas lights.

I wore a long gold bridesmaid gown and carried a bouquet of red and white roses.

As I stood next to Vince, who was Maddie’s Man of Honor, “Christmas Canon Rock” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra began playing. The crowd turned to watch as Maddie began to make her way down the aisle with her dad at her side. She was wearing a long, flowy white wedding dress that made her look like a princess, and her silky black hair fell in long, loose curls over her shoulders. She looked beautiful.

As they approached the end of the aisle, Maddie’s dad kissed her on the cheek before handing her off to Branden.

“Dearly beloved, we’re gathered here today to unite this happy couple in holy matrimony,” the reverend began.

I glanced around the crowd then, noticing my mates sitting a few rows from the front.

Colton and Rhys were both watching Maddie and Branden as they read their vows to one another.

Aiden stared ahead, smiling to himself. He appeared to be lost in thought about something.

When my gaze shifted to Theo, I found that his eyes were already on mine.

I quickly glanced away, trying to pretend that I hadn’t caught him staring at me.

An overwhelmed feeling that I couldn’t really explain came over me then. I was pretty sure it was