Page 68 of His True Mate

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Winnie? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just wanted you to know that Lily Collier stopped by to see me today.”

“I’m surprised it took her this long.”

“You are?”

“Well yeah. I mean its Lily. She’s sort of protective of all the Six Pack. I know she’s excited that I found you and will want to get to know you.”

“But she’s the Pack Mother. We have nothing in common,” I blurted out.

“Don’t let the title fool you. Lily is great and she could use a few real friends. She doesn’t have many. Mostly she hangs out with Thomas’s sisters. I’m not saying they aren’t her friends, but well, Lil’s sort of family to me so I’d really love it if the two of you hit it off. No pressure there. You make up your own mind about her. She’s not everyone’s cup of tea.”

He chuckled, but I had no idea what he was talking about.

“She’s dragging me to ladies’ night tonight.”

“Really? Sweetheart, that’s great.”

“It is?”

“Yeah. You spend all your time with me or at the stables. You should get out there and make some friends in the Pack. There will be several great ladies there. I think you’ll like them.”

“You’re not upset or disappointed that I’m going to go tonight?”

“Are you wondering if I’ll miss you? Because I miss you every second you’re out of my sight. Yes, I’m going to miss you, but it’s one night. I’ll survive.”

“But you don’t seem to hang out with your friends or anything, so why would I need some.”

He sighed. “Win, you’ve only been here a few days. I do actually hang out with my friends. Not as often as I’d like, but when our schedules align. I even had breakfast with Thomas this morning. My friends are important to me.”

A social Clay wasn’t quite adding up in my head, though I’d seen him with his friends when we first arrived and Emmett, Austin, and even Brady had shared story after story of Clay, I still couldn’t quite picture it. They had all seemed largely embellished to me.

I wasn’t saying he was a hermit or anything. I knew he got out of the house every now and then. After last night, I now knew he could even be spontaneous when he chose to. But the stories his friends had shared didn’t entirely align with the quiet, steady man I was growing to care about.

“Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll go.”

He laughed. “You’ll learn. When Lily sets her mind on something, no one really has a choice but to obey.”

I gulped. “Because she’s Pack Mother.”

“No, because she’s pigheaded and acts like a dog with a bone when she gets an idea in that crazy head of hers.”

“Oh,” I said, a little shocked at how he was speaking of the highest-ranking female in the Pack.

“You’ll understand what I mean once you get to know her better.”

“Um, okay. So I guess it’s settled. You’ll be okay tonight by yourself?”

“I’ll manage, but I’ll still miss you.”

My chest warmed at his words.

“I’ll miss you too,” I confessed, quickly hanging up before I said anything too weird.

I got back to my chores while trying not to stress over tonight.