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I’m still in shock over Warrick showing up. It's been four years since we found out that we were mates and not one single time has he ever sought me out. I figured he was content to reject the mating. It’s always seemed that way, with all the women he has coming and going. I thought the only reason he hadn’t actually rejected me was because he wanted me as an option.

Shaking my head, I finish putting my boots on. I have to head out if I am going to be at the coffee shop at the same time as the girls. It would be weird to ask them to meet me there and then I am the one late.

Fifteen minutes later, I’m opening the door to the coffee shop to find the girls already giving their orders to the barista. Damn them for being such good friends. Even Nova, who should be absorbing all the freshly mated time with Silas, is here to be a friend to me.

When the girls hear the bell above the door chime, they all turn to see who came in.

“Aspen!” They all cheer at the same time. It brings a broad smile to my face. Being with friends can turn any day around.

I come up behind Nova, who is studying the menu as if she will order anything different. I can guarantee you she won’t, but it is cute to watch her try. “You know you are going to order the hot chocolate with whip and chocolate shavings.”

She glances over at me. “Why does everyone have that memorized already?” she asks, gently shaking her head.

“Uh, because you literally order the same thing every time,” Willow says, as she leans around Hazel.

Nova lets out a huff. “Fine, I’m ordering something different because you don’t know me as well as you think you do.” She stomps her foot like a toddler.

Hazel brings her arm around Nova’s shoulders. “You know, it’s okay that we know you that well. It means we love you and care about you.” She is rarely wrong, even when you want her to be.

Nova drops her shoulders on a sigh. “Yeah, I know, but it’s just not something I am used to. Don’t get me wrong, Nellie can do it, too, but that is the only other person. I’ve known her for years, so it’s expected, I guess? But, with you guys, I’ve only known you two months, so it’s taking some getting used to.”

“Nov, it’s okay. We get it. It’s just part of being a pack member. It’s said that we are all given a soul match, not quite like our mate, but almost. Someone who understands you in a way that no one other than your mate would. We believe that friendship is a key part of a bountiful life. To encourage us to find our soul match, every pup is brought together from a very young age. Once you find them, you are paired together for every training, lesson, and run. Our elders encourage us to build that bond. So, for us, it’s our nature to nurture our soul match by knowing what they like, love, and dislike,” I say with pride.

She looks over at me. “Is that why you said that you felt like I was your long-lost soul sister?”

I nod my head. “I knew you didn’t know about pack life yet, so I didn’t want to scare you away. But I think you are my soul match.”

She leans in and bumps her shoulder with mine. “I feel the same way.”

After we all order our coffees, I watch in humor as Nova tries her new coffee. Flick the Bean is full of quirky coffee drinks, like “The Cum Shot,” which is an Americano. Apparently, she decided to live a little by grabbing the “Forgive Me Father,” which is cold brew with three shots of espresso, caramel, and whipped topping with cinnamon, caramel drizzle, and chocolate shavings. She is trying so hard to convince us she is going to love it. It’s hilarious, really. She takes that first sip, and her face bunches as it hits her taste buds. I giggle behind my hand as I watch her keep sipping it, as if she will suddenly love it.

“How’s the coffee, Nova?” I ask.

Her eyes shoot at me. “Oh, it’s…uh…great.”

We all burst out laughing because it’s so easy to see that she doesn’t like it at all. Knowing already that we aren’t going to let it go, she quickly changes the topic. “So Aspen, what is it you wanted to tell us? As much as I love coffee, we all know that isn’t why you dragged us out this early in the morning.”

Figuring that I might as well rip the bandaid off, I tell them, “Warrick showed up at the bookstore yesterday.”

Hazel and Willow gasp in shock, while Nova looks back and forth between all of us. “Wait, why is that so shocking?”

Willow whips her head to Nova. “That asshole hasn’t bothered to come around in years, and now he wants to show up?” She turns back to me. “What did he say?”

Flipping the napkin corner between my fingers as I stare at it, I shrug. “He wants me to mate with him. Claims that he is done with all the women and all that.”

“Oh my,” Hazel whispers.

“You don’t honestly believe that, do you? After years of him flaunting them in front of you, not caring how it affects you, now suddenly he wants to settle down?”

Continuing to flip the corner of the napkin, I don’t dare bring my eyes up to meet theirs, scared of what they will see. “I don’t know what to believe. You can’t blame me for wanting to give into it. You all know, well except you Nova, that I’ve dreamed of the day that I found my mate and bonded with them. Humans dream of weddings, but female wolves dream of their mating. Every time I inhale his sage, sea salt, and amber scent, it gets a little harder to remember why I can’t give into him. Just because he is my mate doesn’t absolve him of his cheating. Sometimes, though, when it's close to the full moon, when the heat is closer, it’s really hard to remember through that haze that I don’t want Warrick. At least not until he makes some serious changes. Thankfully, Gail showed up before anything could happen. It was weird, though. She wanted a book recommendation.”

“Wait, I’m lost. Remember, I haven’t been here my whole life,” Nova says with a slight chuckle.

Willow takes a sip of her coffee before setting her cup down. “Warrick is Aspen’s mate, but he has ignored that ever since we found out.”

Nova’s mouth drops open. “Why?”

I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter why he has. Tell me not to give into him.”