See My Girl
Emory
I knock on the door of Lola’s bedroom. There’s loud music playing from inside. When I don’t hear a response, I knock on the door again. There’s still
no response.
“Lola?” I call out. “It’s me. Can I come in?”
“What do you want?” she demands.
“I’m back from Moon Grove. I just wanted to see you.”
There’s an audible sigh. “Fine.”
I open the door, and the smile freezes on my face when I see Lola. She’s seated on the settee reading through a comic book. Her long dirty blonde hair has been chopped short and unevenly which makes me think she cut it herself. There’s a lone streak of red that stands out against the dark blonde..
“Hey,” I say, trying not to freak out at her change of appearance. “How have you been?”
She glances up from the comic book she’s reading for a second before flipping to the next page. “Fine.”
“And the hair?” I ask. “Is this a new thing?”
She shrugs. “I did it last week. I was bored.”
“It looks… fun.”
That’s the word I land on? I panicked.
Lola looks up again from her comic book to stare at me. She appears to be annoyed–like I’m bothering her. “It’s just hair.”
“I know that, but maybe you could have had someone help you cut your hair? Nettie is great at cutting her hair. She cuts mine.”
Her nose wrinkles as she stares at my hair. “No thanks.”
1/8
I resist the urge to look at my long red hair. I don’t think it looks bad. No one has ever said my hair doesn’t look good. Maybe I should go check a mirror later.
Wanting to change topics, I question, “What have you been up to while I was gone?”
“Nothing much. Just reading and listening to music.”
“What are you reading?”
“It’s a graphic novel about a wolf shifter who’s also a superhero.”
“That sounds nice
Lola goes back to reading “Yeah, it is.”
Did she just roll her eyes at me?
What has happened to that sweet kid who I used to read bedtime stories to? When was she replaced with this snarky teenager? Lola is sixteen now, and that means she’s going to be changing and figuring herself out, but I haven’t expected a whole personality overhaul remember being a teenager, and 1 don’t think I became a different person overnight
Refusing to give up. I add “Cot found his mate. Her name is Lydia. She’s from the Nightstone Pack”
“Good for him” Lola replies in a bored tone
“We’re expecting a wedding within the year. That means you could be a flower girl again”
Lola scoffs. “I’m too old to be a flower girl, Emory I’m sixteen, not six
“Oh. Right.” I’m sputtering in embarrassment now “You could be a bridesmaid, I think. If Lydia is good witht
“Whatever.”
I sigh, feeling defeated Lola does not want to engage with me at all it’s like trying to talk to a wall that rolls its eyes at me. I’ll try again another day
“I’ll update you about the wedding,” I say finally. “If you care at all.”
Lola turns up the music, and I can barely even hear myself think. I try to tell her bye, but she’s not looking at me at all. Feeling like a rejected dog, I leave her room. Closing the bedroom door behind me, I can only stare at the heavy oak door in dismay.
I tell myself that this is a phase. The real Lola who is sweet and kind will return. I just have to wait out this angsty teenage chapter. This can’t last forever.
Coit
I haven’t had the opportunity to visit the Nightstone Pack that much. Their territory is called Nightfall and is one of the furthest from Moon Grove. It takes hours to drive to their location near the mountains. They border on the territory of one of the vampire kingdoms, Sardonia.
The Nightstone family’s home is a large three–story house half–covered in ivy. The turrets and the seven–story tower attached to the house must be for defensive purposes. It looks like a fortress. My father tried to attack this pack for their territory over ten years ago, and I can see why he failed.
I stop the large black Jeep Emory and my mom gifted me for my eighteenth birthday. I decide against bringing any of the pack with me, wanting to make this a more casual visit. This is not a diplomatic trip where I have to represent my pack. I’m just a guy visiting a girl at her family home.
At least that’s what I want this to be.
I glance up and can see armed men at the top of the tower watching over me. Trying not to show my nervousness, I stroll up the front door of the house like I do this every day. I ring the doorbell and wait. Standing there and waiting for someone to answer the door is nerve–wracking when you know someone is potentially waiting to jump out from the bushes and claw your face off.
Moon Goddess be damned. We’re not this paranoid in our pack.
After what feels like an eternity, the front door opens, and Lydia is there dressed casually in a soft sweater and Jeans. She smiles when she sees me. “Hi.”
I smile back. “HL.”
There’s only a second of hesitation before she moves closer to kiss me. It’s short and sweet, merely a taste of things to come. She feels so good in my arms, her womanly curves wrapped in a soft sweater. My cock is already trying to say hello.
Lydia looks down and frowns at my shoes. I’m wearing my favorite pair of white sneakers. I can’t stand dress shoes. I have a whole collection of vintage sneakers at home.
“You’re not scared to get those muddy, right?”
Just the thought is terrifying. It would take me forever to get these shoes clean again if they got mud on them. Confused, I ask, “Why?”
“I’m sorry. I should have told you to wear different shoes,” she says. “My grandpa wants you to go a little hunting trip with us.”
оп
That doesn’t sound too bad.
“Won’t we be shifting?”
She nods her head. “Yes, but the rest of the family is already out in the woods waiting for us, so we’ll have to walk for a bit, and they want to meet you in your human form first. They like to hunt big game, and that’s usually out in the woods quite a way.”
I remember Gerald bragging about taking down a grizzly bear with his brothers years ago.
“And who else is going to be on this hunt with us?”
“Just my dad and my brothers.”
My stomach tries to sink to my feet. “How many brothers do you have exactly?”
+25 BONUS
“Five but only two of them are going to be here today. Jake is in class, Tyler is away on business, and George has a prior engagement.”
“This is going to be you, me, your grandpa, your dad, and two of your brothers?”
She nods. “Pretty much.”
I try to hide how utterly terrified I am. I’ve managed to avoid dating girls with older brothers. There’s no avoiding this with Lydia. Family is important to shifters, and if Lydia’s family doesn’t accept me then my life is going to be significantly harder.
“Anything I should know?” I ask. “What topics should I avoid? How should I act?”
Her lips quirk in a smile. “Just be yourself. They’ll love you.”
That’s easy for her to say. I can charm the pants off every woman in her family. Men are a different beast altogether, figuratively and literally. My
tricks don’t work on them.
“You can’t walk out there in those shoes. They’ll get ruined,” Lydia says. And your clothes are so nice. You won’t want to ruin them. I think you and Jake are about the same height. You can borrow his stuff. He won’t care.”
Lydia brings me upstairs to one of the bedrooms. She picks up clothes and shoes from her brother’s closet and leaves me to get changed. I wouldn’t have minded if she stayed to watch me undress. And I would love to return the favor and see her undress, too.
The thought has been plaguing my dreams since I met her at the Ball. Lydia in any state of nudity is my favorite fantasy these days.
Turns out, Jake and I are the same size as his clothes fit me fine. His hunting boots are also a good fit. It’s a simple outfit consisting of jeans, a plaid button down and a green vest. Comfortable and functional.
I join Lydia downstairs where she smiles over at me.. “Are you ready to go?” she asks.
“I guess so”
We hunt primarily small game in Moon Grove. I’m just hoping not to embarrass myself in front of her family weigh telling her the truth of my inexperience with large animals or hope I can figure out how to do this, should the opportunity arise..
Lydia leads us outside the house toward the woods nearby. Their property. goes on for miles.
“Just a heads up. They can get a little competitive. You know how male shifters are.”
That’s great.
They’re going to be competitive.
Isn’t this exciting for me?
Unfortunately, I’m more than aware how competitive the men in our species. are. I’ve been in enough fist fights during my school days to know firsthand. Male shifters have a tendency to try and work out their pent–up tensions with. their fists. Eventually, they work it out with sharp teeth and claws.
It’s a good thing wolf shifters heal fast, or there would be significantly less. of us around. The mortality rate would skyrocket from us beating each other. to death.
“There they are,” Lydia says, raising her hand to wave. “Hey, guys!”
Right outside the thicker forest stands a group of men. They’re all tall, muscular, and dark–haired. One of the men looks very similar to Gerald except he has a full beard. The two younger men must be Lydia’s brothers. The only resemblance Lydia has to them are the blue–gray eyes.
Gerald’s booming voice greets me, “Lydia! Coit! It’s about time!”
“Sorry for the delay, Grandpa. I forgot to tell Coit to dress for hunting,” Lydia explains. “Luckily, he and Jake are the same size.”
I nod, trying my best to be polite. “Thank you for having me.”
Gerald pulls me into a bear hug, patting my back before I even know what’s happening. He releases me and with an arm around my shoulders, he leads me toward the other men.
“Coit, this is my son, Alcide, Lydia’s father, and his sons, Scott and Tommy, her brothers. Boys, this is Lydia’s mate.it Moonraker.
Alcide’s blue–grey eyes narrow in recognition. “Moonraker? Any relation to Bernard Moonraker?”
Curse you, Dad, wherever you are.
I try to hide my wince. “He was my father.”
The look Alcide Nightstone gives me could freeze my blood. He is clearly not a fan of my father.
“Come now, AL” Gerald persuades. “We can’t choose who our parents are. And I assure you. Coit landed very far from that asshole of a tree. Right, Coit?”
I nod quickly. “Right I’m nothing like my father.”
Alcide doesn’t look like he believes me at all. “We’ll see about that.”
“Dad,” Lydia’s voice cuts in. She gives her father a warning look. “You said you’d be nice”
“I’ll be nice, darling “I don’t know how sincere he’s being as he’s already turned his back on us. “Let’s go hunt
Gerald slides his arm off my shoulders and follows his son. He
enthusiastically repeats. “Let’s go hunt!
Lydia gives me an apologetic look. “They can be a little bit much. They’re kind of protective of me?”
Kind of?
i feel like she’s severely understating things. I will not be deterred. Her family is going to like me. They have to
See My Dut
Lydia steps behind a tree to strip down in privacy while the rest of us men. do it as a group. We shift into our wolves, and I take a deep breath.
I hope I don’t get killed.
