CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER THREE - The Day Before (Part Three) "Is that Jacob?" my brother asked. I nodded and put the mug in the dishwasher. "I will see you tonight. Goodbye, Logan. Sienna." I said and gave my brother a kiss on the cheek. Logan smiled at me, and Sienna gave me a cold stare. I walked out of the kitchen and opened the front door. My friend Jacob was standing there, smiling at me. I always had a crush on him. He was handsome, tall, muscular, and had black hair. His dark brown eyes looked like a pool of chocolate. And I loved chocolate. Sometimes I wished that he would be my mate. We would have been great together, and I knew he liked me. He told me himself. We never dated or even talked about it. We saved ourselves for our mates. It wasn't forbidden to have sex with others, but it was frowned upon, primarily by our pack elders. The rest of the pack agreed that we should wait for our mates but turned away when they saw someone dating outside of a mate bond. Not all of us saved ourselves for our mates, though. I knew for a fact that my brother and Logan had their share of she-wolves. I was sure Logan even slept with Sienna, adding to her belief that she would become his Luna. Jake and I never talked about it, but I knew he slept with some she-wolves as well. Jacob was 22, but he still hadn't found his mate. So maybe he was mine, and I was his. I would not be happy to know he slept around if he was my mate, but I didn't want to hold his past against him. "Good morning, beautiful," he said and kissed me on the cheek. "Morning, Jake," I said and closed the front door. "Are you excited?" he asked and took my hand in his. "Yes, I am," I said with a big smile on my face. "I can't wait to shift." "It will be amazing," he said. "You will be amazing. I am really honored that you asked me to be there." "Of course, I did," I said. "You and Amy are my best friends! I want you there." "Maybe I will be something else to you as well," he said and winked. I laughed. "Maybe you will." We walked over to the training grounds together. Amy was already there, waiting for us. She was a year older than me, and we met at high school. She introduced me to Jacob. They were cousins. She and Jacob looked a lot alike. She had the same black hair as he did. Her eyes were a little bit lighter than his, though. "Well, if it isn't my two favorite wolves," she said and smiled brightly. "Hello, Amy," Jake said and gave her a kiss on her cheek. She gave me a big hug. "I can't wait to meet your wolf tomorrow, Emmy. Our wolves will be best friends. I just know it. Just like we are." "Oh, I am sure Alora will love my wolf," I said with a huge grin. Our wolves had their own names. Amy's wolf was named Alora, and Jake's was named Jared. I couldn't wait to learn my wolf's name. "Enough chit-chatting, girls. Time to train. I will see you later," Jake said and walked over to his training ground. Jacob worked as a patrol wolf, so he trained harder and differently than us. Patrol wolves trained separately from the rest of us. Amy worked at a greenhouse. She was terrific with plants. Jacob and I sometimes trained together. He taught me a little bit about what they do at their training sessions. He said he wanted me to know as much as possible to be able to defend myself. He wanted me safe. After an hour and a half, we were done with our daily training session. Jake still had an hour left, so Amy and I went home to shower and change. We would meet at the diner we always went to. When I came home, Andrew was not there. He was out dealing with pack stuff. Being a Beta wasn't like any other nine-to-five job. There was always something to do. Especially when your Alpha was Logan. I quickly showered and changed into a pair of jeans, a white sweater, and my black Converse sneakers. I dried my hair and let it fall to my waist. When I reached the diner, Amy was already sitting at our usual booth. "Hey, lady," she said. "You look amazing." "Thank you," I smiled. "Not as amazing as you." She was gorgeous, tall, and skinny but with curves in all the right places and totally confident. All the boys wanted her. "So, tomorrow is the big day," she said, sipping her chocolate milkshake. "Yes. I am so excited." "Maybe Jake will be your mate, and we will be family," she said with a big smile on her face. "I would love that," I said. "You know I love Jake. He would be a great mate." "And he is totally in love with you," she laughed. "Most boys are, actually." "What are you talking about?" I said and frowned. The waitress brought me my strawberry milkshake, and I thanked her before sipping my drink. It was amazing. "Come on, Emma," she said and rolled her eyes. "You are beautiful and hot. I can't believe you never noticed the looks you are getting. It makes Jake totally jealous." "I always thought they were looking at you," I said and smirked. Amy laughed. "Well, they do. But I am not the only one they are looking at." I blushed and looked down at my hands. "Well, I don't care. I will wait for my mate." "And here he comes," Amy announced and pointed at the door. Jake walked in with a big smile and came over to our booth. He sat down beside me and kissed my cheek. "Hey, girls. What are we talking about?" he asked. "Mates," Amy said with a massive grin on her face. "I can't wait to revisit that topic tomorrow," Jake said and winked at me. I laughed and blushed. "Okay, stop making me blush." Jake laughed and pinched my cheek. "Why? There is no prettier sight." "Okay, love birds. Enough," Amy said and laughed. "Emma, when are we meeting tomorrow?" "Well, I will have lunch with my brother and spend the day with him, and we will meet at the shift site at 8 p.m.," I said. My brother and I had a tradition of spending our birthdays together. No other people. Just him and me. We always had breakfast and lunch together. After that, we would watch a movie and eat as much cake as possible. I loved our tradition. "Great. I can't wait to see if your wolf will be as small as you," Amy said and laughed. Jake joined her as I glared at them. "You bitches." "Oh, come on, Emmy," Jake said, laughing. "We love how small you are." I frowned but joined their laughter. We spent the rest of the day talking, laughing, and planning our first run together. It was late when I came home, but Andrew was still out. I quickly showered, put on my pajamas, and got under my covers. I couldn't wait to see what was to come the next day.