I smiled at her; it was true that she had once hated me, back when she thought I wanted

Ethan for myself. But after she found out that Ethan had been ying her the entire time

and that I posed no threat to her, she became one of my best friends.

If she found it strange that I was marrying her father, she didn’t make it known.

Nan closed the magazine she was flipping through and grinned at me.

“Let’s go. I’m thinking of having a girls‘ day today. We’ll go shopping, have some lunch,

and just enjoy ourselves without the stress of guys and babies.”

“I love that idea. Plus, I need a distraction desperately,” Irene said, and for the first time, I saw a hint of sadness lingering in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

“I just miss Chuck,” she said with a sigh. “He can’te here this weekend because he has a pack event going on. I miss him so much, and I want to die.”

“So dramatic,” Nan said with a head shake.

“You try being far away from your mate and tell me how it feels,” Irene shot back.

“My question is, why hasn’t he marked you yet?” I asked, my brows furrowed. “You’ve been mated for months now, and he hasn’t even made an effort to mark you or move you to his

territory.” fn188c Original content can be found at findnovel/fn188c

She wrapped her arms around herself and started to worry her bottom lip.

“I don’t know,” she said softly. “After what happened with Ethan, I’m afraid to get too close to anyone. I think maybe he can see that, and he’s holding back. But also, I’m afraid to ask him for the truth, not sure if I really want to know.”

“He’s your true mate, Irene,” I tell her. “You shouldn’t be afraid to ask him these questions.

Do you want him to mark you?”

1:35 PM Wed b1 /bbOct /b

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“It would make my wolf feel a lot better,” she confessed. “But I’m scared… I have no idea

what’s truly holding him back. He tells me he wants to be with me forever, but he makes no

effort to show it.”

“Words are pretty, but actions speak volumes,” Nan said, a frown marring her lips. “I can see why you need the distraction.”

Irene nodded.

“I haven’t even heard from him in over a day.”

“Have you tried calling him?” Nan asked, her eyes wide.

She shook her head and looked away from our prying eyes.

“I don’t want to be a bother to him.”

“Irene…” I tried to say, but she stood up quickly.

“Enough about my dramatic love life. Let’s go shopping and forget about all of this,” she said, looping her arm through mine.”

I was pleased to see that Erik was our driver for the evening. It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve seen him, and he gave me a boyish grin as we approached the car. I was careful not to hug him because I knew Gavin would smell his scent on me, even though he knows Erik is harmless. However, now that I’m pregnant, he’s been extra protectivetely.

We piled into Erik’s car, and he drove into the city.

“Let me park and I’ll head in with your girls,” Erik said as he searched for a spot.

“Erik,e on. The pack has been ruled safe since the threat has been eliminated. We don’t need an escort,” Ireneined.

“Your father would have my head if he found out I let his daughter and pregnant mate out of my sight for a second while in the city,” Erik shot back, raising his brows.

“Then we won’t tell him,” she said with a sly grin. “Just give us this time… please.”

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He stared at her through the rearview mirror for a short while before sighing. I knew that

sigh; he was about to give in to whatever Irene wanted. He always had a soft spot for Irene and could rarely say no to her.

Once he parked, we got out of the car and started towards Sasha’s Boutique; it was huge and could probably light up the city on its own. Just as we reached the doors, Irene paused and grabbed her phone, her face immediately lighting up.

“I have to take this. It’s Chuck,” she told us. “Go inside and I’ll meet you in a second.”

We nodded and walked into the vast space. Just as we were about to step in further to explore all the amazing–looking designs that surrounded us and take in the morous atmosphere as a whole, we were suddenly stopped by one of the workers. A sleek woman with long tinum blonde hair and dark blue eyes. She wore a red dress that hugged her curves perfectly, and her hands were ced delicately on her hips.

She took one look at me and her eyes dropped to my stomach.

“Sorry, but we don’t‘ make maternity clothes,” she said, her lips curving up in disgust. “Plus, I doubt either of you can afford this ce. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”