Page 32

I laughed lightly with Cole as he walked me to my front door. I noticed how his hazel eyes darted over our pack house, taking in the size of it.

“Nice house.”

I smiled at him. For a human he was handsome, friendly and funny. “Yeah, we have a large family,” I piped up. Walking up the last porch step I stood next to the door, turning back to face him.

“Thanks so much for coming out with me tonight, Chloe.”

Cole’s shaggy brown hair swooped across his face. I looked at the lip ring in the corner of his mouth. “Um, Cole, I should be thanking you.” I pulled my eyes away from his mouth and looked back into his hazel eyes. “Really, it was a great night. Thank you.”

Cole smiled shyly, stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets. “It was a little boring. Sorry about that.”

Cole had taken me out for supper and then to this function his college was having. I found it pleasant being around humans for a full night. Personally I loved how they couldn’t pick up on your emotions from your change in scent.

“Cole, it was a great night.” I stepped in closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, and pecked his cheek. “Thanks for inviting me. I am so glad I went to the mall today.” I smiled widely as I stepped slightly away from him.

Cole was eyeing me with a pleasant smile on his face. I frowned. What was so interesting?

“What, Cole? Do I have something on my face?” I quickly wiped my hand across my cheek, which caused him to chuckle.

“No, Chloe, I just can’t get over you.” He shook his head slightly. “I’ve never met anyone like you before.”

Well, I doubted he had met another werewolf, let alone gone on a date with one. “Good or bad thing?” I asked.

“Good thing.” He took a step closer to me. “I’m not usually the type of guy who says this. But can I see you again?”

My smile blossomed and I nodded my head. Fiddling with the purse in my hand, I wondered what he had meant by he wasn’t usually the type of guy. Letting it drop, I edged closer to my door.

“Well, you have my number, Cole. You should use it.” I winked at him as I twisted the doorknob.

“Night, Chloe.” He shot me a large smile before he turned and began to walk down the porch steps. Sighing softly, I walked through my front door and closed it gently behind me. Leaning against it, I thought, man, I hated to admit it, but I actually didn’t mind the guy.

“So how was it?”

My mom was in her dressing grown with a very large smile on her face.

Rolling my eyes, I walked towards her. “It was really nice. How was the rest of dinner?”

I now remembered how Xavier shot daggers at me when I left, and his unfriendly greeting to Cole when he rang the doorbell. I tried to get to the door before Xavier, but he beat me to it. I ground my teeth when I thought about Xavier, the way my blood boiled for his touch. I loathed his control.

“Uneventful,” Mom answered and she turned to walk up the stairs with me. “So was he a nice human boy?”

Rolling my eyes, I really had to get out of the habit of calling him that too. “Yeah, he was, very handsome.”

“I’m so happy for you, Chloe.” She shot me a sideways smile as we walked up our long staircase.

“It was only one date, Mom.”

“Yes, but it’s a start.” We reached the top of the stairs and she turned to face me. “I don’t know how you are doing it. You really are a strong person, Chloe.”

Reaching over, I wrapped my arms around her. She hugged me back tightly. “Thanks Mom.”

Pulling away from each other, we both had smiles on our faces and tears in our eyes. We both knew that not being with your mate was painful, physically and emotionally.

“Night, sweetie.”

“Night, Mom.”

I walked toward my room. Maybe being with a human wouldn’t be that bad. Cole would never find his mate like Dan could, and sure I could never love him the way I would love Xavier, or have that pull towards him. But at least I knew he could never hurt me in the way Xavier did. And that was the strongest reason why I wanted to keep seeing Cole.