Cronan is angry. Angry that after years of waiting, he's mated to the one wolf he never wanted.
Fen is stuck. Stuck in a state of purgatory that he doesn't know how to escape from.
After learning of his mate's crimes, Cronan never expected to see h...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I wasn't quite sure what exactly it was about me that attracted particularly annoying people, but I needed it to stop. It wasn't as if I had lived a particularly long life. I was still in my early twenties after all, but I was already at my max limit for infuriating people for one lifetime.
Penelope sat in front of me, yapping away while I willed myself to remain calm. I supposed it having to deal with her never-ending conversation was the price I paid for going to Jollie's. The ice cream shop had become a haven for me in a way. If I wasn't at the bar watching people drink away their sorrows, I was drowning my own in a cup of the cold, sweet treat. The unfortunate part about Jollie's was that Penelope worked there and I happened to be the unlucky bastard to walk in right as she took her break.
"Earth to Fen," Penelope snapped her fingers in front of my face. "You there?"
"I'm just thinking," I replied.
"About what?"
"How much I pity your brother."
Penelope rolled her eyes, but I could tell by the smile on her face that the comment didn't bother her in the slightest.
"So what's actually bothering you?" She interrogated. "You've been stirring your ice cream for the last ten minutes. It's a pool of melted slush now."
My eyes dropped to the cup and I sighed. "It's nothing."
She frowned. "You don't have to tell me, but it clearly seems to be upsetting you if even Jollie's can't cheer you up."
Truthfully, I felt a little silly. Here I was, sulking in an ice cream shop over a man—a man that I should've known better than trying to peruse. It was downright idiotic of me. Getting involved with Cronan only meant more foreseeable headaches and besides, it wasn't as if he'd be rushing into my arms anytime soon.
I knew all this and yet, it seemed like whenever I was around him, logic was thrown out the window. I liked being around him, having his attention focused on me, and seeing the way my presence affected him. Maybe it was the mate bond at play or maybe there truly was something wrong with me.
"What have you been up to?" I asked Penelope instead to distract myself.
If she picked up on this, she didn't mention it. "Nothing much. I've been meeting new people and trying to coax Kingston out of the house. He's a lot like you, you know. Gloomy and antisocial."
I rolled my eyes at her comment. "New people? I was under the impression that you already knew everyone in this town."
She smiled. "It seems not. There seems to be a lot of people coming to Oakwood recently, so there's always someone new to meet...in fact—"
