Page 16 of Wicked Wolf

Her mom grinned. “Maybe that as well, but, honey, Quinn is your mate.”

Gina froze. The thought hadn’t even occurred to her.

She’d never felt like this before with another wolf, but this feeling wasn’t love or happiness. No, this was all frustration mixed with need and desire. It was only a craving. Quinn couldn’t be her mate. They didn’t even like each other. Plus, there hadn’t been mating between the Redwoods and the Talons yet. This trick of fate wasn’t possible.

It couldn’t be.

“Gina. Breathe.”

She hadn’t even realized she was hyperventilating and going lightheaded until Mel took her hand and forced her to sit on the couch.

“I…this can’t be happening, Mom.” She knew her voice came out as a whine, but she couldn’t help it.

“He’s a potential from the way your wolf is reacting, sweetie.”

She nodded, numb. “A potential doesn’t mean I have to do anything about it,” she whispered.

“Gina.”

At the snap of Melanie’s voice, Gina looked over, her brain finally starting to work.

“You know the story of how your father and I met?”

She nodded. It was one of legend, even though it wasn’t all honey and roses.

“Kade had a potential mate before me. All wolves have more than one mate out there, though usually there are decades in between meetings, not a few months or days. Fate does give us a choice, though usually, we want the wolf meant for us in the first place. The woman your father could have mated had more than one potential at the same time. Kade’s friend was the one that other woman chose. Then Kade met me.”

Gina nodded, knowing where the story was going.

“I was so scared, Gina. So freaking scared that werewolves were real that I almost missed out on the best things in my life. Yeah, the things that went bump in the night were real, but I should have thought about it more than trying to run. I ran away from him and then met that asshole who thought he could be my mate as well. The fact that I had two wolves fighting for me scared me so much I couldn’t just come out and say what was in my heart—that I wanted Kade.”

“And because we wolves are so bent on rules and tradition, Dad had to fight in a mating circle for you.” She knew the story and hated this part as much as Mel did.

Mel growled. “I still think it’s a barbaric custom, and when North had to fight Corbin in one later for Lexi? I wanted to find a way out of it, but those damn things are still there because it’s tradition. If we break one tradition, those wolves not happy with the hierarchy can try to break more, and then things can go bad. Really bad.”

Gina nodded then leaned into her mom.

“What I was saying before I went on my diatribe was that I got scared and ran away. I didn’t make a decision when I should have, and people got hurt because of it. It has taken many years for me to get over that, and some days I still feel like I need to prove to Kade that I was worth it.”

Gina turned and kissed her mom’s temple. “You’re worth it, and Dad knows it.”

Mel gave her a small smile. “Thank you, baby. And about Quinn? You can’t know how he will react until you face it. I’m not saying you should mate with him or even tell him. He will be feeling it too, so that decision might be out of your hands. I will say that my running away from your father was the worst decision I’ve ever made. If it wasn’t for your mother, Larissa, pushing me into thinking, I don’t know what I would have done.”

Gina’s eyes watered at the memory. It hurt sometimes to hear Mel talk of Larissa since both women had raised her. She had two mothers who loved her with every ounce of their being. She counted herself lucky.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Mel nodded. “You don’t have to decide right now.” She hugged her hard. “No matter what happens, we’re on your side, your Dad and I. I won’t tell him or your brothers anything though. I don’t want them to interfere.”

Gina sighed. “God, they’re going to freak out if I mate with Quinn because that’s what overbearing male family members do. And if I don’t? They’re going to freak out even more and kill him or something.”

Mel patted her hand. “This is why we’re going to let you handle it without their interference.”

She nodded then sat there in silence. She needed to think. This was good for the Redwoods and Talons. She knew that. The whole point of the council was to find a way to make the Packs work more closely together. Gideon had said the Talons hadn’t had a mating in years, and yet here she was, a potential mate for a Talon.

This could be the answer.

Maybe they were finally goddess-blessed.